We've been focusing on the Steelers (for damn good reason) fairly extensively the past few days. A quick check in on what else is going on in the NFL.
*The Cleveland Browns have entered the Trent Green Sweepstakes. Why? I'm not sure. Green looked pretty awful for most of 2006. Green is just one more concussion away from having to call it a career. I don't know why any franchise would want to invest in him, even for the short term. I might understand it if he landed on a team that had a legitimate shot at the playoffs in 2007. The Browns obviously do not, so why just burn a year without developing a younger, more long-term prospect??
*Might the Redskins do the unthinkable and trade up again in this year's draft? The Skins have arranged a meeting with former LSU QB and potential #1 pick JaMarcus Russel. Is it possible that Dan Snyder gives up on current QB Jason Campbell before giving him a full year as a starter to prove his meddle? ANYTHING is possible with Snyder, so we'll see. Our friend Skin Patrol at Hogs Haven has been covering the story closely today. Check over there for more details. For those of you who remember Skin Patrol from the early days of 'Curtain but have not checked out his site recently, do so. He's one of the most prolific bloggers writing about the NFL without doubt. Too bad his team is a joke :)
*26 of 32 teams have voted in favor of penalizing players who spike the ball in bounds. Good. I'm all for having some fun if you make it to the endzone, but it was getting pretty damn annoying watching players spike and spin the ball after every positive play last year.
*Tampa Bay head coach Jon Gruden isn't ready to declare Jeff Garcia as his starter just yet. Bruce Gradkowski and Christina (I mean Chris) Simms still have the same opportunity Garcia does to win the starting QB position. Yikes. The Bucs have 3 QBs who are all good enough to play, yet not one of them can really be expected to do anything special for the team. For those who think Garcia will carry over his cinderalla finish to the 2006 season to this coming season, I say no way. The Bucs were an abysmal football team last year unlike the Eagles. Even if Garcia (who I think will start the majority of the football games for the Bucs this year) does play solidly, it still probably won't be enough to get the Bucs back to the playoffs in the one of the more underate divisions in football, the NFC South.
*Wow, how badly are the Titans going to regret letting Travis Henry walk away this offseason. The plan was to have Lendale White take over the every-down running back duties this year, but he's apparently 30 pounds heavier than he was at the end of the 2006 season. There were questions about White's dedication to conditioning and his passion for the game. I think those questions have been answered, but not in the fashion the Titans would have liked.