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 There are good and bad things in this world. There are good and bad trades. The NFL is generally not a big trade league and football is not a big trade sport. For that kind of thing you generally look to baseball, or occasionally basketball. Still, the trade of Jason Taylor to the Redskins and Jeremy Shockey to the Saints is a pretty big one-two punch for the NFL offseason (or as I am now calling it, the oddseason).
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Jason Taylor leaving the Dolphins is a heckuva thing. He is an aging
player, yes, but still very capable and effective. He is still a guy
that can change a game. Certainly he fills a need in Washington, and
he can help a poor defensive line get better, but he probably won't see
much winning. I hope I am wrong, for Taylors sake, but I see them in
a division with a superior Giants team and superior Cowboys team and I
don't think the addition of Taylor alone can make that much
difference. From the defensive end position he cannot improve the
offensive line blocking, increase Portis' yards per carry, make
linebackers younger, or throw touchdowns.
Bill Parcells is a house cleaning machine. There is no doubt. I
wonder, though, at the sanity of his moves. Can an immediate shift to
a 3-4 really make Miami that much better? Can he really transition his
personnel into an effective 3-4 and be as productive as they would have
been with Taylor in a 4-3? If they could have kept Taylor for a year
or two as a 4-3 team would their wins or losses have really changed
that much. Parcells is still going to have to find a nose tackle and a
set of outside backers to make his scheme work. I wonder if any effort
was ever made to sit down with Taylor and discuss whether or not he
could have transitioned. The athleticism is there. Joey Porter is the
presumptive weak backer in the 3-4 and he hasn't been relevant since
the Steelers won the Super Bowl. This team has holes to fill and
things to do and I don't know if getting rid of Taylor makes any of
that happen faster.
The John Mackey award is the award given to the nation's  top
college tight end. Does anyone know who won the inaugural John Mackey
Award? You don't? Let me tell you. His name was Tim Stratton, and he
was Drew Brees' tight end at Purdue University. Now, don't say you
came to Cobra Brigade and didn't learn anything. The reason I love
Jeremy Shockey going to the Saints has nothing to do with how the
Payton connection and everythign to do with the way Brees plays the
quarterback position. Lots of quarterbacks do not have the guts to
stand in the pocket, the mind to read their progressions, or the
intelligence to check down. A lot of them have a route within a
pattern that they like to throw at, they have keys they read to
determine whether that route is going to work. They read a key and
decide that this kind of ball is best thrown in that situation and they
throw it. If they can't make that key, then it is pretty much a crap
shoot. Brees is a different kind of quarterback. He reads his
progression. He will throw to the third receiver for eight when
another second might break open the two-read for a touchdown. He is
smart enough that the extra second might mean a sack or worse, a tip
and a pick. Brees won't let bad plays get worse, and that may not
mean heroics, but it is the best way to play. When it hits the fan, he
hits his tight end, and that is now Jeremy Shockey. Brees knows how to
use his tight end. Ask Gates, who had his biggest year with Brees.
Ask Tim Stratton. He was a guy who won awards and was a beast on the
field but he was also a head case. He never went anywhere. He won the
award for his position and I don't think he ever played in the NFL.
There may have been extenuating circumstances. Regardless, Brees made
him something of a college star despite being a lowly Boilermaker.
Think what he can do with Jeremy Shockey. That is a good trade.
Shockey is worth 8 touchdowns with Brees.
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2008 Cubs Preview
You are the only blogger on the web who has ever made a Tim Stratton reference. Shame on you.
You give Shockey too much credit here - I would give him 3 touchdowns. Nice article though, you definitly know your stuff!