Monday, June 23, 2008

Killing Time: The Sober Guy and NFC North Notes

ESPN the Magazine has a feature article on the Vikings' newest acquisition, one Jared Allen, and on the drinking scene that is the NFL It's an interesting read and one that will hopefully assuage any lingering fears you might still have about Allen's ability to stay out of trouble.

Packers
  • The Packers are still attempting to acquire Jason Taylor from the Dolphins, but if they're going to get him, they're going to have to be creative. I'm not a big fan of seeing Taylor in the Green & Gold, but I'm not too worried about it, since the Packers already have two very good defensive ends (and KGB will be back in time for Week 1). Adding a third is almost overkill and would probably cost the Packers more than Taylor adds.
  • Daunte Culpepper turned down a contract offer from the Packers to be Aaron Rodgers' backup because he wants to start somewhere. Maybe not the best decision for Culpepper's career, but definitely the best move for my sanity.
  • Since they're a publicly owned company, the Packers' books are open and they show that the owners' concerns about the rising cost of players is a legitimate one. The teams are still making a big profit, but when your profit drops thirty some percent because your personnal costs increased by twenty some percent, well, that's something that likely needs to be addressed.
Bears:
  • 25 year old defensive tackle Tommie Harris signed a four year extension with da Bears, a contract that should prevent Chicago's defense from getting too bad, even as Brian Urlacher and company get older. The contract also prevents da Bears from having to deal with another messy "Lance Briggs" style renogiation, which I'm sure people in Chicago are thankful about.
  • Da Bears will be starting a rookie running back, an announcement that wasn't too surprising after Cedric Benson was released. It says something about your running game that a complete unknown like Matt Forte is considered an upgrade before he's even put NFL pads on.
Lions:
  • Matt Millon remains in charge of the Lions, and the Lions continue to remain irrelevant.

1 comment:

Jason said...

Daunte needs to get work wherever he can find it. That 2004 season looks dimmer and dimmer in the rearview mirror each day.