Kaspers Korner

Cleveland Browns quarterback Derek Anderson had a break out year last year.  With Anderson set to become a restricted free agent on February 29 contracts talks have been on going between him and the Cleveland Browns. With the way they are going it is inevitable that the two will split.

THe two parties are worlds apart when it comes to the length of the contract.  Anderson wants six years, and the Browns want to only committ to three, so in case Anderson fails they can change course to Brady Quinn.

The matter of the fact is that on one hand Anderson has earned the benefit of the doubt to sign a long term deal.  On the other hand you never know, and this could be a one year wonder.

The answer to the problem is that there should be a clause in the contract.  That clause should be that if Anderson gets the Browns into the playoffs then a addition three years should thus be added, and additional bonus money be given to Anderson.

Both sides feel that they are right, and that theirs is the way to go.  The problem is that Anderson is a restricted free agent, and some team without a quarterback is going to throw huge amount of money at Anderson, and also give him his six years.

Phil Savage even admitted that to the Cleveland Plain dealer, “There’s some quarterbacks out there in recent history that got six-year deals, and we’re trying to do something a little bit unique.’’

Anderson is only 24 years old, and has only start to hit his prime.  If the Browns do not realize that they have to committ to three years or stand to let Anderson walk away, and can they say that Brady Quinn is the answer.

So, what would the Browns get in return for letting Anderson walk away as a restricted free agent?  That would be a first round draft pick and a third.

With the likes of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Philadelphia Eagles needing a quarterback, the first round pick might not even be that high.  Thus, the player might not even have that much impact.

IF the Browns do not come down from their stance, then they will be setback for at least a couple of years.

The New York Jets were a huge dissapointment in 2007 after making the playoff in 2006.  Now, it looks like that not making the playoffs will become a trend for a while.

Rich Cimini of the New York Daily news said this about Jonanthan Vilma, “The popular linebacker, whose star has dimmed in two seasons under Eric Mangini, has received permission from the Jets to shop himself for a potential trade, the Daily News has learned.”

Vilma was rookie of the year in 2004, and made the Pro Bowl as an alternate in 2005.  Now, under head coach Eric Mangini Vilma has been reduced to a little above average.

The move from a 4-3 to a 3-4 was stupid in the first place.  You cannot just make players fit the scheme that you want to run.  You have to make a scheme for what the players can do.

It does not mean that Mangini could not eventually switch to a 3-4.  What they needed to do is gather a couple of key parts on the defensive line, and in the linebackers, and then switch to a 3-4.

The annoucement along with Vilma’s knee injury will result in a second day draft pick.  Also, you can add in there that Vilma is in the last year of his rookie deal.  Most likely he will want a new one when he is traded to a new team.

In the end the Jets are making a huge mistake.  Vilma will comeback with avengence in a scheme that suits his talents, and the Jets will once again have egg on their face.

The Chicago Bears have become a team that even the best psychologists cannot figure out.  Especially after the notion that quarterback Rex Grossman will resign with the team.

That news on belhalf of ESPN’s John Clayton is very troubling.  Grossman has been inconsistent at best, and many think that he does not warrant to be resigned.

Bears fans should be outraged by the move, especially with quarterback’s Duante Culpepper, and the Buffalo Bills quarterback JP Losman available.

The only thing that I can figure out is that they figure that Grossman will bust out like Drew Breese did a couple of years ago. 

The fact of the matter is that some quarterbacks never figure it out at all.  With a proven commdity, if helathy, in Duante Culpepper the move to resign Grossman is foolish.

In the end the Bears showed why they did not get th job done at the Suoer Bow.  That being that they overestimate how good some plaeyers are.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been a solid team when it comes to decision from the front office.  Now, it seems that has fallen by the waste side, since the Steelers used the transition tag.

The transition tag has been rendered utterly useless be the use of the Poison Pill provision. That provision usually fully guarantees a contract after somethng simple is attained if the club exercises its right to keep the player.

So, with the Steelers using the tag on tackle Max Starks one has to wonder what they were thinking.  ON top of that they only instituted the first refusal clause in it and not asking for any compensation, which is weird.

So, what does that mean? It means that the Steelers are confident enought that a deal will get done with Starks before free agency opens up.

If Starks were to walk it woud be a huge loss for the Steelers afterall guard Alan Faneca is also a free agent, and will command a lot of money.

In the end the Steerlers not using the franchise tag could come back to haunt them.

The Indianapolis Colts will once again be at the top of the best teams in the league.  However, general manager Bill Polian has not learned his lesson when it comes to building teams.

Bill Polian will go down as one of the great general managers in National Football League history.  However, he only knows one way to build a team, and that is around the offense.  That was confirmed as the Colts signed Dallas Clark, and left guard Ryan Lilja to long term deals.

Yeah they did sign defensive end Dwight Freeney to a long term deal, but can anyone name a player on that defense besides him and strong safety Bob Sanders.

As the New York Giants have shown defense wins championships.  That is why the Colts have only won one  Super Bowl, and many can argue that if the Colts played in the days prior to free agency they would have never even won a Lombardi trophy.

Being a Bills fan I respect Polian tremendously for his ability to build teams.  On the other hand that respect only goes so far.  He is a great team builder, bit not championship teams builder.

As for the Colts they will once again win their division, but it is only a matter of time before they slip into the basement of the NFL.  That is due to how good Peyton Manning can be for, becuase once his abilities fade so will the Colts.

It will be interesting to see how long Manning’s arm lasts for.  In an age of technology, nuitrition, and work out regiments Manning may have a long time to go.  After all who would of though Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Farve’s arm would last this long.

The Green Bay Packers, along with others, made their moves on their current roster in preparation for free agency.  However, those moves show the positives, and the negatives of the franchise, and transition tag.

The Packers used the franchise tag on defensive tackle Corey Williams, and then cut tight end Bubba Franks.  The tag on Williams will gives him a guaranteed contract of $6.4 million, while cutting Franks will save $2.5 million, or more.

The Milwuake Journal Sentinel sight these reasons for cutting Franks. “Franks is also due a $500,000 roster bonus, which the Packers obviously didn’t want to pay. His $3 million base salary would not have come due until the season began.”

Eventhough Franks production dropped off, since the Packers used the transition tag on him in 2005.  Some desperate team will take a chance on him due to the lack of quality tight ends. 

Franks is the only other tight end with the potential of being a impact player in the right situation.  Obviously, he has to stay healthy, which is one of his problems as of late.   That means most likely his guarantees will include a lot of incentives.

Williams on the other hand is a solid young tackle, and the Packers do not seem close to signing him.  The Packers have to be scrambling to get Williams done, becuase if they do not that will surely hurt them dramaticly.

Good tackles do not grow on trees, and if you do not have one then your whole defense is affected.  Also, with being a solid pass rusher makes him a rare defensive tackle, as most defensive tackles do not get more than five a year.

If they do get Williams done that will mean that they are pretty much set until the draft as they only have $18 million more in cap space.

The franchise tag usually brings ill will between a player and his team’s front office.  Eventhough, Baltimore Raven Terrell Suggs does not care if he gets franchised tag now he could be later.

The main problem could be that Suggs plays both defensive end and linebacker.  Then add on a franchise tag, and you got a receipe for disaster.

The problem with the tag is that there is a $800 thousand difference between the twi positions, with defensive end being more.

Suggs is saying all the right things in regarding the situation as he said, “I’m disappointed because I really wanted a long-term deal, and I think I earned it. But this also keeps me in a Ravens uniform, and this is just another way of eventually getting it done.”

That is what people want to hear.  As most players would prefer to go on the open market to get the huge pay day.

Players like Suggs might be the future of teh National Football League, becuase with labor unrest in the future the best deals might be with their own clubs down the road.

Deals in free agency are not that great to being with anyways.  Most clubs insert some huge roster bonus that they never achieve.  Sooner or later agents, and players will realize that this is not good.

In the end a deal should be done, but if that does not happen then there will be a big problem.

It seems that every off season now has a story that stuns the football world.  That story would be that of Kenechi Udeze, who has been diagnosed with Leukemia.

At only 24 years of age Udeze could be fighting for his life.  Unfortunately, nobody outside of the organization knows how serious the Leukemia is.

Vikings head coach said this in a released statement, “With reports surfacing about Kenechi Udeze’s condition, we respect the privacy of Kenechi. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Minnesota Vikings organization are with Kenechi and his family.”

That is an unfortunate thing for fans, becuase in the end any form of cancer is a serious thing, eventhough some forms of the cancer are cureable.

With Udeze battling cancer that leaves a huge void on the line of scrimmage. After all they drafted Udeze to fill that void, but that obviously is a problem now.

Most likely the Vikings will take another defensive end, especially with the New York Giants winning the Super Bowl.  The significance of that is the Giants use three defensive ends constantly.

In the end Udeze’s battle could be a huge distraction for the Vikings all year long.

The Seattle Seahawks wasted no time in getting into the swing of things when it comes to free agency.  When guard Mike Whale was signed that was a sign that the Seahawks will pursue former Atlanta Falcon Alge Crumpler.

Whale comes cheaper, and was a good signing for the Seashawks.  Whale played previously for Holmgren in Green Bay, so Holmgren knows what he is getting.

Not having to pursue a high priced free agent like Pittsburgh Steeler guard Alan Faneca means that they have extra money.

“I think everyone is right on in saying that this could be a good fit for the Seahawks, but Alge Crumpler is a guy who won’t come cheap,” according to Seattle Times writer Jose Romero.

That would be the guy people want to see next in a Seahawks uniform.  However, we are talking about free agency, and to get his services you might have to over pay what he is worth.

In the end taking a chance on Crumpler will not hurt, and if lives up to his billing it was a smart move.  If not then all you can do is cut him, and then move on.