Greetings from Vail, CO. I just got here for a family ski trip. But....I have time to update my blog. Slow day in football but a lot of small things are worth talking about. I will hit on some of those later. It's time for Mailbag.....
P.S. These questions can be found in the comments section of each post. I'm not making these questions up lol. I say that because I always joke with Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com about how he makes up questions from readers on his site. I know he doesn't, but we still kid him about it.
John,
I agree with not taking a tackle that high, but for different reasons. I think they should move Collins to Right tackle and Whitworth to left tackle. They could be the tackles for years to come. Collins was a fourth round pick. Why not draft one later in the draft.
Do you think it would be a good idea to pick up a center in free agency like Steussie or Faine? I know Steussie is older but has a lot of exp. Faine has only played for 5 years.
I would like to see them sign Ray Lewis and draft Raji. That D would be awesome! I also would like to see you stay and play some D end. Let me know your thoughts.
Last thought I hope they sign Crocker and Benson!
Thanks
Jim
Response:
Jim,
Thanks for the email. About the OT's. I don't think that Anthony Collins is a RT. Can he play it? Probably so. But remember, he is on the small side like most LT's. He is very lean and athletic. Most RT's are a little bigger. Whitworth is a LT or LG too. But I'm sure he could move over there if he had too because he is a good athlete. Whitworth actually looks more like a RT than a LT or LG. And......don't forget about Levi Jones.
My reasons for not drafting a OT with the sixth pick is because that position can be filled in free agency with a guy that will be much cheaper than a 50 million dollar contract. Sedrick Ellis was the 7th pick last year and got a 50 million dollar deal. And don't think that this won't be a long holdout either. So I hope all of you OT lovers are taking that in to account. You want to take a guy and pay him 50 mill and prob hold out most of Training Camp? And then come in and protect Carson? Ok. Good luck with that. Believe me, his agent is gonna want more than what Ellis got and I don't think he will get it very easily.
As to the center position. I thought Jeff Faine signed a big deal with Tampa Bay last year with a 15 million dollar signing bonus? I'm pretty sure of that. And I think you are talking about Matt Birk not Todd Steussie. Steussie is an OT/OG and came into the NFL in 1994. Matt Birk has been the top center in the league before, I'm not sure how he played this past year, but he would come in and help. Forget about Ravens OC Jason Brown. He will want to top the deal that Faine signed last year. I know that because he has Harold Lewis as his agent if I'm not mistaken. And Harold was my agent the last time I was a free agent back in 2003. Harold will suck every dollar out of a team. Which is good, that's his job. But if the player doesn't step in and say OK, I can accept that deal, he will go to highest bidder. Don't forget about Bengals OC Kyle Cook. He is the strongest Bengal and he would have played more last year but He broke his toe in pregame warm ups in the Dallas Cowboy game. There are good centers in the Draft too.
I think every team will want to sign Ray Lewis. The Ravens will get the first crack at it. My agent David Dunn, who also represents Ray, told me last night that Ray is very excited to be a free agent. This is the first time in his 13 year career that he is free.
I like BJ Raji, but the 6th pick may be a little too high for him. The only DT taken that high taken in the past few years that produced has been Richard Seymour. I think a guy has to be a big time pass rusher to go in the top 10. Pat Sims and Peko will hold down the fort inside for a lot of years if they keep getting better. You don't need a DT in the first day of the draft.
Man, you want to sign everyone! ha ha. You must have a lot of cap space.
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