The recent signing of Jeff George by Oakland started me thinking about other events this past off season which I found rather puzzling.  In no particular order, and with apologies to C.C. Music Factory, these are the things that made me go Huh?

1. Oakland signs Jeff George.  In Moss and Porter, the Raiders have one of the most explosive wide receiver tandems in the league but no one to get them the ball.  They signed Aaron Brooks to be their starter this past offseason, and to no one’s surprise he has not looked good in the preseason. The backups have not been much better, so it makes sense to bring in another arm, but Jeff George?  He has been out of football for 4 years, and wasn’t that good when he left.  George has always had a strong arm, and maybe Al Davis thinks he can just take the snap and chuck the ball down the field for the receivers to fetch.  Other QB’s were available including Kerry Collins who started for them last year.  Ex Steelers Kordell Stewart and Tommy Maddox were also both available, and both would have been more ready to play than Jeff George. 

2. Kansas City gave a 4^th round pick for Herm Edwards.  I like Herm Edwards (as a person), but I don’t think he’s a particularly good coach.  His team completely fell apart last year, albeit with injuries to key players, ie. Mawae, Pennington, Martin.  He did have a good season a few years ago in which his team should have beaten the Steelers and gone to the championship game against the Patriots, but his poor coaching probably cost them that game (for those of you who don’t remember, he needed a field goal to win, and his team was on about the Steelers 30.  They had the Steelers reeling and another 10 yards would have probably iced the game, but he got conservative, as did his opponent Schottenheimer the week prior who made the same mistake, ran the ball three times and missed the long field goal.  Pittsburgh then drove for the winning field goal.  Last season, he chose to play Pennington, when he was obviously not ready.  This led to an injury which cost Pennington the season and possibly his career.  I’ve read that the Jets were looking to dump Edwards after the season, so were more than happy to take a 4^th round pick for him.

3. McCarthy is head coach in Green Bay.  I’m all for giving assistants opportunities as head coaches.  This past offseason, most of the prime coordinators had already been taken in St. Louis (Linehan) and Minnesota (Childress), so the pickings may have been rather slim, but why would you replace a successful coach, Mike Sherman, who’s team was decimated by injuries the past year, with an unknown assistant who presided over the worst offense in the league last year.  I hear he had some experience working with Favre, but it was not even known whether Favre would return at the time he was hired, and Favre will not be around long anyway.  McCarthy has not shown any acumen in developing young QB’s, ie. Alex Smith, so he probably was not hired to groom Aaron Rodgers.  This one is a complete head scratcher.

4. Brian Billick is still coach in Baltimore.  Baltimore has one of the most talented teams in the league, but they missed the playoffs the past two years and looked like a complete mess last year even after getting Samari Rolle and Derrick Mason from the Titans.  He is still obviously riding the wave of his Super Bowl win years ago, but this wave is now a ripple and he had to lick the boot of owner, Scott Bisciotti in order to keep his position.  His teams have been regressing over the past few years even with brilliant drafting by Ozzie Newsome which netted the team Terrell Suggs, Ed Reed, and Todd Heap.  He made his biggest mistake five years ago when he dumped Trent Dilfer after their Super Bowl win and signed Elvis Grbac.  Dilfer was not exactly Joe Montana, but he was a decent game manager which is all they needed with that defense.  Grbac, and all subsequent QB’s have stunk

5. Miami vs Carolina in Super Bowl.  The experts at Sports Illustrated made this pick in their most recent issue.  I can believe Carolina in a weak NFC, but I can think of at least five teams in the AFC I’d take over Miami.  In my next article, I’ll explain why Miami will have the most disappointed fans next year.

6. Millen is still general manager in Detroit.  Anyone in Detroit will understand this one.  When Millen came to Detroit, his hand picked coach was Marty Morningwhig who was clearly not ready to be a head coach.  He then used high first round picks on wideouts for three straight years.  He picked a Tedford QB:  Joey Harrington, with his the 3^rd pick in the draft.  For some reason, he fired a decent coach in Steve Marriuci.  Things may be turning around now in Detroit.  Millen brought in a drill sergeant from Tampa Bay to whip the troops into shape which may be a good move.  He did not draft a receiver with the team’s high first round pick this year, but finally helped his defense with the pick of Ernie Sims.   His best move may be bringing in Mike Martz as offensive coordinator.

7. Patriots using its first picks in the draft on offense, and then signing Junior Seau.  The Patriots drafted Lawrence Maroney with its first round pick this year.  He has great talent and fills a need.  They then continued to use most of their picks on offensive players.  Granted, Tom Brady is their franchise and giving him plenty of weapons may make him happy, but they have glaring needs on defense and these were not addressed at all.  Brady probably also does not need new weapons because, he like Brett Favre in his prime, makes everyone around him better.  They are so desparate at linebacker they signed Junior Seau who is a shell of his former self and doesn’t even want to play.  I believe it was Nietsche or maybe Chuck Noll who said “If you’re thinking about retirement, you already have.” Seau not only thought about it, he already did, before jumping at the chance to win a championship with the Patriots.  I wonder how the Chargers felt about its former star dissing them after they gave him his big retirement party.  Luckily for him, the Patriots do not play the Chargers this year, though they may meet in the playoffs.

8. Any writer or general manager who questions whether a small back can make it in the NFL.  I hear it every year and every draft.  Can a smaller running back take the punishment in the NFL and succeed?  A small back is around 210 lbs or less.  Tiki Barber, Edgerrin James, Willie Parker, Warrick Dunn, Clinton Portis, Brian Westbrook, and Tatum Bell all fall into this category and are key components of their teams.  Marshall Faulk, Emmitt Smith and Thurman Thomas were also small backs.  I read the same complaint about Reggie Bush this past draft, and this may have led the Texans to bypass him, a mistake of phenomenal proportions.  A big bruising back probably has a shorter career because he can’t avoid the hits like small backs can.  Smaller backs are usually more versatile and can be used as receivers like Faulk.

9. Cincinnati drafting Ahmad Brooks.  The Bengals’ most recent team picture resembles the wall at my post office.  Its wide receiver, Chris Henry has been arrested four or five times the past year (I have lost count).  Draft picks AJ Nicholson and Frostee Rucker were also recently arrested.   Starting guard Eric Steinbach was recently arrested for drunk boating.  Now they bring in Ahmad Brooks, a highly talented linebacker who was kicked off the Virginia football team, under mysterious circumstances, but reportedly for failing a drug test.  Prior to picking up Brooks in the supplemental draft, Marvin Lewis publicly chastised Chris Henry and AJ Nicholson, then he brought another red flag player into the Cincinnati community.

10. The Patriots let Adam Vinatieri sign with the Colts.  Vinatieri is as much a part of Patriot lore as Brady and Belichick.  They could have easily fit him under the cap and kept him a Patriot for life, yet they let him sign with their arch rival, and for just a few hundred thousand more than they had offered.   If there is any justice, he will kick the field goal to beat them in the playoffs.

11. Brett Favre saying this is his most talented team.  He actually said this in public.  In front of writers and TV cameras.  With a straight face.  Perhaps, due to his advanced age, Alzheimers has set in and he has forgotten he once played with Reggie White, Antonio Freeman, Robert Brooks, Keith Jackson, Dorsey Levens, Edgar Bennett…