The National Football League has seen its fair share of interesting moves since free agency opened on March 5th. I completely struck out in my free agency predictions (Thomas Jones went to the Chiefs, come on), and there’s been some trades that have greatly benefited some teams. Here are the moves that have caught my eye the most.

THE GOOD

I absolutely love two trades thus far. Baltimore picking up Anquan Boldin and a fifth round pick from Arizona for a third and fourth rounder is a stroke of genius for the Ravens. They needed a go-to wide receiver, and Boldin will be that guy. They also resigned Derrick Mason to go with the signing of Dante Stallworth. In half a month, the Ravens have transformed their receiving core into a respectable unit.

The second trade I fully endorse went down on Sunday, with the Denver Broncos acquiring Brady Quinn. I know his numbers in Cleveland were atrocious, but he’s still just 25 years old and has plenty of potential. For a fullback (Peyton Hillis), a sixth rounder and a conditional pick (rumoured to be no higher than a fourth rounder), the Broncos have potentially found their quarterback for the future. If he’s surrounded by the right pieces and Josh McDaniels keeps his QB-friendly system, Denver has a chance at having a major steal on their hands.

On the free agent front, some of the signings I’ve been a fan of include Chester Taylor to the Bears, Karlos Dansby to the Dolphins, and Aaron Kampman to the Jaguars. All three players plugged major holes for their new teams, and Dansby especially is primed for a huge season.

THE BAD

Not too sure I understand the Larry Foote signing in Pittsburgh. Three years, $9.3 million for a guy you released before last season seems a little high to me. The Steelers must be down on Lawrence Timmons, because bringing in Foote at over three million per season to back up Timmons and James Farrior seems odd to me.

I knew Dunta Robinson would get a big contract due to the diluted cornerback market, but the six year, $57 million dollar contract he signed is ridiculous. It includes $22.5 million in guaranteed money, for a corner who averages just over two interceptions per season, including a grand total of zero last year, and has a history of knee injuries.

THE UGLY

The New York Jets confuse me to no end. The decision to cut Thomas Jones made sense to me, but the idea to sign LaDainian Tomlinson throws everything out of sorts. The Jets had Shonn Greene and Leon Washington on the roster, but still felt like replacing a productive aging running back, with a worn down aging running back.

Monday morning, Mike Holmgren said he may select a quarterback with the seventh overall pick, or even trade up to grab either Jimmy Clausen or Sam Bradford. If that’s the case why trade for Seneca Wallace and sign Jake Delhomme? Is either of those two going to be happy as a third option, or is the seventh (or higher) drafted player going to hold a clipboard all year as an emergency policy? I don’t really understand what’s going on in Cleveland, but I’m sure Holmgren has some sort of plan.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- in my last post when I discussed the retirement of Chris Samuels, I mentioned Orlando Pace, Walter Jones and Samuels as the great tackles of this generation. As one reader pointed out, I omitted another incredible player, Johnathan Ogden. Ogden was a staple for the Ravens for twelve seasons, and clearly deserves to be mentioned among the best tackles of the past twenty years

- a story on profootballtalk.com (http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2010/03/15/scout-on-vick-he-cant-throw/) tells that a scout evaluated Mike Vick, coming to conclusion that “he can’t throw”. Why is this a story now? Anyone who watched Vick on the Falcons knew he couldn’t throw then, and sure can’t now

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s turkey day across the border and that means one thing: a full plate of NFL football. Three games on the docket today. The Green Bay Packers (6-4) take their show on the road as their in the Motor City to take on the Detroit Lions (2-8). Both teams are coming off big week 10 wins, but both got are dealing with some serious injuries. The Pack dumped the 49ers 30-24 and in the process lost both defensive end Aaron Kampman and corner back Al Harris for the season. Kampman leads the team in sacks and Harris is a great cover corner. The Lions beat the Browns 38-37 i n the final seconds of their game. Quarterback Matt Stafford dislocated his shoulder at the end of the game, but he’s toughing it out and will be behind centre today. Who knows how effective he will be.

Next up the Oakland Raiders(3-7) are in Dallas to take on the Cowboys (7-3). At first glance this one looks like it’ll be one-sided. Oakland is coming off a monster win over the AFC North leading Cincinnati Bengals last week and the Cowboys have struggled mightally on offence. The Raiders finally benched JaMarcus Russell and gave Bruce Gradkowski the starters job. He responded with two touchdown passes, including a last second score leading to the upset win. Over the last two weeks the Cowboys offence has been less then effective. Over the last two weeks the ‘Boys have scored two touchdowns. If they don’t get things together they may end up being the turkey in a Raider’s feast.

The last game is probably the best as the New York Giants (6-4) battle the Denver Broncos (6-4). Both teams limp into this one. Denver has lost four straight and they got pummeled 32-3 last week by the San Diego Chargers. New York has dropped four of five and needed overtime to beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-31. The Giants come into this one banged-up, on three days rest and have to play in the mile-high air. If Denver can take advantage they just might end their skid.

No, I’m not referring to the terrible 2007 Jim Carrey movie. 23 is the number of passing yards Cleveland quarterback Derek Anderson amassed on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bills. 23 passing yards in a 60 minute game. Tony Romo had almost three times that amount on one play in overtime. Cleveland managed a grand total of six points on the afternoon. Pathetic. But, the Cleveland Browns picked up their first win of the season, a 6-3 decision over the Buffalo. This game was completely beyond my football understanding. Being away from TV for the Thanksgiving holiday and having to rely on a faint internet signal and the FAN 590 for my football coverage, I was almost sick upon hearing the stats of the Cleveland/Buffalo game. Derek Anderson completed two of 17 passes on the afternoon. The Browns rushing game torched the Bills for 171 yards, but they were unable to muster even a single touchdown.

The Bills, on the other hand, had 152 yards passing and 145 yards on the ground – and still no touchdowns. How can two teams be so incredibly inept? I wrote Friday night that Cleveland had only a 25% chance to go winless on the season, with the fact that they were playing the Buffalo Bills largely on my mind. But a 6-3 win? There is no excuse for that, for either team. Both of these teams have serious talent issues surrounding them, but they’ve crossed a line. I’ve never the rain of ‘boo’ last as long as Sunday afternoon at Orchard Park.

I’m done with the Denver Broncos for a while. Each week I examine how they’ll probably lose a game or crumble when their schedule gets tougher, only to see them triumph over my football beliefs. With back-to-back wins over Dallas and New England, I’m more than willing to give them a tip of my hat. But looking at their roster, I still don’t understand how they win games. So for the time being, I’m going to use some ancient wisdom I was once told: “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

And so much for my game of the week. Atlanta completely demolished San Fransisco 45-10, with 329 passing yards from Matt Ryan and 210 receiving yards from Roddy White.  Monday November 2nd is a game I’m really looking forward to right now: Atlanta at New Orleans, with the NFC South lead potentially on the line.

TWO POINT CONVERSION

- I guess Matt Hasselbeck really does make a difference in Seattle

- even without having television: turkey/potatoes + NFL = bliss. Why does this only happen twice a year?

Happy Labour day to all. So LT is still kicking it up north, the man is a vacation MACHINE! Here in city, we have finally had an awesome weekend.

There are 3 good things about summer ending:

1. Fall tv kicks off
2. NHL/NBA/NFL Football
3. Mrs. TSM goes back to work.

DL will be providing us a good look at the National, Football, League in days and weeks to come.

Mrs. TSM is driving everyone nuts as school kicks in tomorrow.

Damien kicked off the day with a juicy rumor that Brian Burke remains intent on landing Boston Bruins free agent Phil Kessel. Burke made a minor deal yesterday to clean up his draft pick house, reacquiring the Maple Leafs 2nd round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for two other picks. Cox, like many others feels that this move is a “shot across the Bruins bow” that Burke is now in a position to sign Kessel to an offer sheet. Man would that be ironic. Cox states that Burke is prepared to over pay for Kessel which is reason enough for caution. What is more troubling is Cox’s theory that Burke is going to forgo the proper building plan and put his foot firmly on the gas pedal to speed things up. The punch line is of course that first round picks and prospects could be thrown overboard in attempt to accelerate the building process. It’s an interesting read for sure, and certainly better than anything we have seen in the sports section Leaf related in weeks if not months. For some reason I am not buying it. I don’t see Burke following in the footsteps of others before him.

Worse yet, another article about Kadri’s religion. I have no problem with anyone’s religion or practices. What they do is what they do. The only reason this is the least bit of an issue is because certain media keep making an issue out of it.

More later

Have a great labour day

@yyzsportsmedia