By Mike Dougherty

Just got back from vacation in Aruba and missed out on two of the biggest off-season moves in the NFL so far. Brandon Marshall to the Dolphins and Santonio Holmes to the Jets marks a big shift in philosophies for both franchises.

Marshall brings Miami something they've never had. A true #1 WR. Ted Ginn Jr. was very obviously a mistake as a top 10 pick and was shipped off for a 5th round pick. Davone Bess is a good slot WR and Brian Hartline showed some ability in his rookie season last year. Chad Henne now has an nice collection of weapons at his disposal with the addition of Marshall. The running game should also benefit from Marshall's presence. No longer can opposing defenses cover Miami WRs with single defenders and load up the line of scrimmage against the run. That offense went from average to dangerous overnight. It all depends on Henne now.

The Jets also added a quality target in Santonio Holmes to a talented pair of WRs in Braylon Edwards and the vastly underrated Jerricho Cotchery. Holmes is most remembered for his remarkable, tippy-toe catch which won the Super Bowl. But he's been more than just a one-hit wonder in Pittsburgh. He has nearly 4,000 yards and scored 20 TDs during his 4 years there -- not too shabby for a guy playing in run-first offense. The Jets have now added 3 former 1st round picks to their roster since January's loss to the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, but they desperately needed to add another WR this year. Aside from Edwards and Cotchery, the rest of the WRs on the roster are fringe NFL players at best. Most of them would have trouble finding a spot on just about any other roster.

But what's most notable here isn't about adding talented football players, its about adding talented football players with a cargo plane's worth of baggage. 

Marshall is a laundry list of legal problems, including several domestic violence incidents. Reports stated that police were called to Marshall's residence a total of 11 times since 2006 for various problems. He just can't seem to keep his hands to himself, and we're not talking about beating press-coverage here. He's one of the players on commissioner Rodger Goodell's watch list. Miami hasn't been known to take risks on players like Marshall in the past. But to keep pace with the Jets, Miami had to take a chance on a player with Brandon's talent. Top shelf players in their prime don't often become available unless there are legal issues. Big risk, big reward moves aren't for the feint of heart. Finally, the fans in Miami have a front office stable and confident enough to make this type of move.

Holmes is embroiled in a legal dispute revolving around an incident in a nightclub in which he allegedly smashed a glass over a woman's face. He's also suspended for the first 4 games of 2010 for violating the league's substance abuse police... again. He was arrested in Pittsburgh in 2008 for possession of marijuana. He also tweeted that it was time to "wake and bake" one morning. A term very familiar to stoners worldwide. He is a serious risk for a franchise that was known for adding players of only the highest character under Herm Edwards and Eric Mangini. Rex Ryan is a different type of coach who believes he can get through to troubled players. And the Jets have a locker room with high character veterans like Bart Scott who have no qualms about getting into a teammates face for their behavior on or off the field.

These moves are a stark contrast from teams we've come to know from the past. These teams are hungry for championships and apparently are determined to add the talent they need to compete by any means necessary.

Now, the logical question is who got the better deal?

Well, it's not such a simple answer. Brandon Marshall is a better player than Holmes, but Miami also gave up this year and next year's 2nd round draft picks. They also had to make him the game's highest paid WR -- $47.5-million over 4 years. The Jets, on the other hand, gave up only a 5th round pick in this year's draft. So while they wound up with the inferior player, they paid a fraction of the price. Based strictly on value, Holmes was the better deal just because he was acquired for next to nothing. But he will miss 4 games this year and his contract expires after 2010. In the end, I think Marshall is a move that Miami absolutely HAD to make. And they paid dearly. The Jets bought low on a guy who may or may not be on their roster in 2011, but they don't NEED him to be the focal point of their offense -- they just needed another option in the passing game.

By Mike Dougherty

Holy crap. What are the odds of a MLB player hitting his own mother with a foul ball in a game? That's exactly what happened on Wednesday when the Twins played the Yankees in a Spring Training game in Florida. Denard Span fought off a pitch that went screaming into the 1st row near the 3rd base dugout, hitting his own mother in the shoulder. That's among the most absurd and improbable things I can remember happing in sports history.

Think about it, there are some 250 pitches thrown in every MLB game. Dozens of pitches are fouled off into the seats each game, but for a player to hit his own mother... unheard of.

There two more that I can think of off the top of my head that are on par with this once in a lifetime event.

The first one is Randy Johnson throwing a 100mph fast ball and striking a bird that decided to fly through the diamond at the wrong time. The sheer timing of this is something that a physicist should look into.

The other is another unfortunate foul ball incident involving former Philles player Richie Ashburn. He was notorious for fouling off pitches, and in one game, he hit the SAME woman twice. TWICE. Nothing like going to a game and coming home with a pair of Rawlings tattoos. What I want to know is why this lady didn't move her seat after getting drilled the 1st time. She probably thought, "there's no way it happens again." 

The Span mishap has rekindled the debate on extending the netting at parks. Frankly, I'm surprised it's taken this long to address the topic. People are seriously hurt every summer by taking foul balls off the dome. When I was just a wee lad, I was one row behind a man who wasn't looking and took a line drive off the ear. The sound of the ball blasting this man's skull was gruesome. And I had blood all over my shorts.

Netting needs to be extended to at least the edge of the dugout in order to prevent screaming line drives and slippery bats from slamming into the flesh and bone of paying customers. It took some young girl's death to exact change in the NHL. Hopefully MLB realizes that it's a serious safety hazard before some pays with his or her life.

By Mike Dougherty

Quarterback Sam Bradford dominated Oklahoma's Pro Day today. The performance should have cemented his status as the #1 pick in the 2010 NFL Draft. According to reports, Sam was nearly flawless and threw the deep out pattern with precision -- a staple of most offenses. If he's medically cleared from the two shoulder injuries he suffered in the 2009 season, it shouldn't even be a tough decision for the front office in St. Louis to make.

Nebraska defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh is one of the best DTs to come out in recent memory, but DTs don't lead teams to championships. Quarterbacks do. And St. Louis has figured that out the hard way. They've spent top picks on linemen in the past three seasons and they've selected in the top 5 again each April. The team passed on Matt Ryan and Mark Sanchez in the past two years for DE Chris Long and OT Jason Smith, can't justify losing out on another potential franchise QB. If he's near the top of their list of overall draft prospects, say top 10, he must be the pick.


The Rams have needs in every aspect of the game. Offensive line, wide receiver, linebacker... you name it, they need it. But none of those positions come close to the need for a signal caller. Most experts believe there are only two starting caliber QBs in this draft class. The depth at other positions, particularly at defensive line, is unusually strong this year. It's one of the most talent-rick drafts in the past 15 years or more due to the influx of eligible underclassmen. None of the DTs are as good as Suh, but it's not a stretch to think they could find a starting caliber player at the beginning of the 3rd round.


It couldn't be any more obvious who the #1 pick should be.

By Mike Dougherty

Gilbert Arenas dodged a judiciary bullet when a Washington D.C. judge sentenced him to just 30 days of house arrest and two years of probation -- most legal were already booking him a room at the big house.

This is just the latest case of an athlete getting preferential treatment in American courts. It's sad because people like Arenas just don't think the rules apply to them. He blatantly ignored the gun possession laws in D.C. by bringing not just one gun, but four guns to work -- he claims it was part of a practical joke. I've been on both ends of quite a few practical jokes and not one of them had anything to do with ammunition. Bottle rockets, Ben Gay (keep away from genitals, seriously) and poop, sure... but never guns.

Not everyone, however, agrees with my position on sending Arenas to jail for the crime he admittedly committed. ESPN columnist JA Adande says hasn't Gilbert given enough? Isn't his 50 game suspension from the NBA enough? Isn't he $7-million in salary that he lost enough? To that, I say HELL NO! He deserves to be in jail with the rest of the people who have also violated the same gun laws. Adande says jail should be for violent criminals and threats to society. Well, the problem with that, of course, is that the prisons in this country are filled with bookies, prostitutes, marijuana salesmen and tax deadbeats. Not exactly Jack the Ripper there. This isn't the time or place to argue about prison reform.

Had I, or any other normal person, come into work with a small arsenal of weapons and waved them in the face of a co-worker, not only would I be locked up immediately and sentenced to significant jail time, but I'd also be fired from my job and have an extremely difficult finding another job with a gun violation on my record. But not Arenas. He gets to keep his job and his career as a basketball player appears to be safe despite his egregious disregard for law and order.

At what point does a league commissioner stand up and say enough is enough. Breaking the law is unacceptable for professional athletes just as much as it is for a computer programmer. But these athletes think they're above the law and know that jail isn't a career ender, so the bad behavior continues (this was Gilbert's 2nd gun violation) and the "I'm above the law" mindset is rewarded with slap-on-the-wrist penalties.

The rules should be very simple: Get convicted of a felony, go to jail and forget about your career as a pro athlete. I don't think that's asking too much.

By Mike Dougherty

The "swaggerlicious" New York Jets were announced today as the featured team for HBO's hit series "Hard Knocks" -- a show that gives fans of the NFL an unprecedented look at the inner workings Training Camp. It was probably an easy choice to make, given the larger-than-life personality of head coach Rex Ryan. Rex is a shoot from the hip loudmouth who is never afraid to share what's on his mind, sometimes to a fault.

First, I want to talk about how entertaining this is going to be, even for the casual NFL fan and non-Jets fans. Rex is one of those guys most people can't help but like -- sort of like the cool uncle who would sneak you a beer at a family party. He understands how to connect to players and give them the confidence they need to succeed in a very entertaining manner. His comedic, brash approach to press conferences pale in comparison to his day to day interaction with players. DISCLAIMER: This is not for kids. Since the show is on HBO, Rex's potty mouth will be at full-bore. But there's much more than Rex to pay attention to.

The addition of LaDanian Tomlinson (a future HOF) is an obvious story line. Darrelle Revis (who was robbed of Defensive Player of the Year) is one of the games best players and Mark Sanchez is a star in the making. But the storyline I'm most interested in is the handling of former #6 overall pick Vernon Gholston. VG is a colossal bust of a pick to this point and this is likely his make or break year. He's a freak of nature -- a 6'3" 265lb linebacker who is as strong as a lineman and fast as a defensive back but hasn't been able to apply his physical gifts on the field. He's a quiet giant who is often accused of not loving the game and some say he doesn't have "a killer instinct." I really want to see how he works at practice, how he prepares and how he interacts with teammates who might be jealous of his fat bank account.

The announcement came as welcome news to most Jets fans, while others seem to think this will "distract the team from keeping their eye on the prize." I cannot see the logic behind this line of thinking. I have no idea how a camera crew hanging around during Training Camp in August can impact in any way, shape or form, a game in November or December. The players are so used to cameras, it's almost second nature for them. Embrace the exposure, Jets fans. Times are changing in New York.

And from the "Saw This Coming a Mile Away" department, radio personality Mike Francessa, in his typical pot-stirring fashion, called the Jets an "organization of clowns, from top to bottom" for this move. He thinks (as many Giants fans do) that the Jets are and always will be a second class franchise. He went on a tirade at the top of his show about how the Giants would never accept an offer like this from HBO. But the thing is, they wouldn't be asked because they're an average team without much entertainment value.

By Mike Dougherty

Word on the street is that "Big Red" and the Eagles are listening to offers for one of their 3 QBs -- well it's about time.

Everyone who knows anything about football knows that there's absolutely NO CHANCE that the Eagles start the 2010 season with Donovan McNabb, Kevin Kolb and Mike Vick all under contract. The team has serious needs elsewhere, especially on defense. If the 2009 showed the Eagles anything, it was that Dallas is a MUCH better team and they have a long way to go to catch the Cowboys. Hoarding QBs isn't helping close that gap.

What better way to improve a team than with a couple of early draft picks? That's exactly what the Eagles should be doing. Trade McNabb AND Vick before draft day. Why those two, you ask? Because it's time to shit or get off the pot with Kevin Kolb. They moved up to draft this kid a few years ago -- they obviously like him -- and I've heard rumors that they think McNabb has done all he can do.

Now who is interested and what are they willing to give up? St. Louis, Seattle, Cleveland, Washington, and Minnesota should all be in the mix for McNabb. He's probably worth a 2nd, depending on who's giving it up. Cleveland would be an ideal choice because the number of picks they have and they can send Delhomme/Wallace in return as a backup if need be.

Vick is a much more difficult call to make, and he won't be nearly as easy to move as McNabb. First of all, it's a PR nightmare to bring in the disgusting dog-killer QB who didn't do anything in 2009. He's mentioned that he'd love to play for Carolina. But that organization doesn't want anything to do with him. I can only see the Raiders and Bengals being interested in Vick, but Cincy has a QB. Oakland, however, is perfect for Vick. JaMarcus Russell is looking like a bust and needs someone to push him for the starting job. As for compensation, I don't see anyway that Vick is worth more than a late 3rd/early 4th round pick. But at this point, Philly should just take what they can get and move on.

By Mike Dougherty

Finally. Sort of.

The NFL owners voted 28-4 in favor of the modified overtime rule. It passed by a much wider margin than most anticipated because some "traditionalists" like the rules the way they are. The new rule makes OT a "1st team to 6" game -- score a TD and win the game. Or kick 2 FGs. The rule goes a long way in solving a problem the NFL hasn't been able to shake in the past 10 seasons, but it doesn't go far enough. Regular season games aren't included. Yet.


The owners need to push for the rule to include regular season game as well. They'll vote on that in May. If the Competition Committee presented a wonderful case and convinced some fence-sitting owners that this rule makes sense, why stop at the playoffs? If it improves the outcome of an overtime game, it will certainly improve regular season games which, if you haven't noticed, are also slightly important.


But this is a perfect solution to the problem -- as long as it's included for every game.