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NFL Retirements Emerge as One of NFL Lockout’s Side Effects

Rather than trying to land a blockbuster deal in a much shorter window than usual, multiple NFL players decided to walk away from the game that made them household names this year. The limbo created by the lockout left many players in poor shape with little time to adjust to the resolution that allowed the preseason to begin this week.

Others just couldn’t find a team willing to spend the money to retain their services. Certain teams decided the conditions of the post-lockout world were more conducive to rebuilding their teams rather than reinventing them.

Retirement became a better option for some players than signing a low-ball deal with a team having little to no chance of making the playoffs this season.

The huge free agent pool teams had to choose from this year created a climate where player trades were outnumbered by acquisitions. Some of the bigger names were easy to get lost in the mix of available talent. Salary cap concerns were also likely a factor in causing some players to go out to pasture.

For Former Cincinatti Bengals Quarterback Carson Palmer, it was easier to leave the team and the sport for good than it was to deal with the team’s management. Having one of his top targets in Chad Ochocinco get shipped off to play in New England could have also helped speed his departure. Palmer was not exactly in the prime of his career, but he also wasn’t completely shot, either.

A bigger surprise was 27-year-old Linebacker Channing Crowder hanging up his cleats. The Miami Dolphins drafted Crowder in 2005, and he was slated to make $2.5 million with the team this year. They released him instead. He reportedly visited New England for a physical before making his final decision, but there’s no word that his exit is injury or health related.

As a Dolphin Crowder recorded 469 tackles (343 solo). The Patriots are still in search of a new linebacker or two after releasing Tully Banta-Cain, but Crowder is off the market. Crowder is confident that leaving the league is his best choice and told local Miami news outlets that he saved most of the money he’s earned in the NFL over the years.

Right Tackle Damien Woody quit the NFL earlier this month after 12 seasons as an offensive lineman. He has a geniune backup plan, though. He’s set to join ESPN as an NFL studio analyst. The former Jets, Lions and Patriots player is known for his quick wit and formidable size. He spent his last three years with the New York Jets.

Woody was drafted by the Patriots in the first round out of Boston College in 1999. He helped New England win two Super Bowls. This year he might watch and comment on them wining another one from the broadcast booth.

Polarizing Receiver Randy Moss had his share of ups and downs in the NFL, but there were at least two teams willing to sign him this season. Some saw his retirement announcement as a play to increase the offers coming his way, but when the Eagles and Patriots had talks with him none of the contracts they presented were appealing enough to prevent his leaving the league completely.

Moss couldn’t find a home after the Patriots let him go and replaced him with Deion Branch, but his teammates had nothing but nice things to say about Moss when he departed the squad. Moss himself showed great respect for his old team and likely would have been ecstatic to play for them again if they really needed him to. Signing Chad Ochocinco made that prospect much less likely, though. The Eagles were still showing interest in Moss even after his retirement announcement, but their recent signing of Ex-Giant Steve Smith pretty much eliminated any shot of Moss coming back this year.

Another NFL Retiree, Jerry Rice, will work with ex-Patriots Coach Bill Parcels at ESPN this year. Rice left the league a long time ago at the end of a very lucrative and long career. He ripped Moss for leaving so much on the table when he heard of Randy’s retirement.

Another NFL analyst will leave his media post for the field of play as one of the only players to actually vacate retirement since the lifting of the lockout. Tiki Barber had a positive workout with the Miami Dolphins and flirted with the possibility of signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but nothing is set in stone for the running back just yet.

The lockout resolution hashed out multiple contentious issue, but one problem still looming is how to take care of retirees. There is an ongoing lawsuit led by Hall of Famer Carl Eller that seeks to arrange for the NFL to share billions of dollars in yearly revenue with retirees as well as active players. If the suit is successful this year’s retirees could wind up collecting cash without even having to play a single snap.

Why You Should Feel Good, Yet Bad About Your NFL Team (AFC Edition)

With ongoing NFL labor talks, the odds of there being a season next year is up in the air. The ongoing dispute has disrupted the offseason and has every fan worrying that there won’t be any football on Sunday’s come September.

In the end though, they will agree to a deal and there will be football this fall and fans can go back to worrying about their actual team. I’ve taken it a step further and done it for you, listing a reason why you should feel good about your team heading into next year, but also why you should have your concerns.

New England Patriots

Good: They went 14-2 and Tom Brady had perhaps his best season ever.

Bad: They are 0-3 in their last 3 playoff games and haven’t won a  playoff game since 2007.

New York Jets

Good: In their first two seasons their coach/quarterback combo (Rex Ryan, Mark Sanchez) have been to back-to-back AFC Championship Games.

Bad: Mark Sanchez had 15 dropped interceptions. No other quarterback had more than 8.

Miami Dolphins

Good: The Dolphins went 6-2 on the road, winning in tough places like Green Bay and New York.

Bad: After using a second round pick on a quarterback in 4 of the past 5 years, the Dolphins are still searching for a franchise quarterback.

Buffalo Bills

Good: In Kyle Williams the Bills have an elite nose tackle, the hardest position to fill in a 3-4.

Bad: They haven’t made the playoffs since 1999.

Pittsburgh Steelers

Good: They have made the Super Bowl in 3 out of the past 6 seasons and their QB us in his prime.

Bad: After each of the past two Super Bowl appearances, they missed the playoffs the next year.

Baltimore Ravens:

Good: The Harbaugh/Flacco combo has been to and won at least one game in their three seasons together.

Bad: Age is starting to creep up on a lot of key players (Lewis, Reed, Mason, Birk).

Cincinnati Bengals

Good: They might finally be ridding themselves of Carson Palmer and his back breaking interceptions.

Bad: If they get rid of Palmer, their backup is Jordan Palmer, his brother.

Cleveland Browns

Good: No more Eric Mangini

Bad: Mike Holmgren is still running the draft and he doesn’t have a great track record.

Indianapolis Colts

Good: Despite a ton of injuries and a rough stretch from Peyton Manning, they still won the division.

Bad: Peyton Manning now has a 9-10 career playoff record.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Good: With three games left in the regular season, the Jaguars controlled their own destiny.

Bad: They still haven’t gotten over the hump that is the Colts in the South.

Tennessee Titans

Good: Chirs Johnson, arguably the best running back in the league, is only 25.

Bad: Their new head coach, Mike Munchak, has never been a head coach at any level.

Houston Texans

Good: Wade Phillips has a great track record as a defensive coordinator.

Bad: If you think Wade Phillips is going to save you, your in trouble.

Kansas City Chiefs

Good: They were one of the surprise teams of the year, going 10-6 and winning the division.

Bad: Their offense went into the tank after Charlie Weiss announced he was leaving.

San Diego Chargers

Good: They have the most talented team in the division.

Bad: Phillip Rivers has yet to show he can deliver consistently in the clutch.

Oakland Raiders

Good: They won the most games (8) since they went to the Super Bowl in 2002.

Bad: They’re still wildly overspending for players.

Denver Broncos

Good: Josh McDaniels is out of town and can’t alienate any more star players.

Bad: It looks like their 2010 1st round picks (Tebow, Demaryius Thomas) won’t make much of an impact for them.

Can you guys think of any more? Share yours in the comments section.

Quotes of the Week: Week 5

A look across the NFL at some the stupidest, craziest, weirdest, greatest, and just funny quotes.. There were too many to list, but here are some of the Week Five’s best:

“It was just total domination.”

- Houston Texans coach Gary Kubiak after the teams 34-10 loss to the Giants.

It was and now people are questioning whether these are just the same old Texans again.

“We didn’t win, and it’s my fault.”

- Cincinnati Bengals QB Carson Palmer after throwing 3 interceptions in a 24-21 loss to the Buccaneers.

Yeah, pretty much. Those two interceptions late in the game were crucial and now the Bengals are 2-3 not 3-2. We could be witnessing the final games of Carson Palmer in a Bengals uniform the rest of the season.

“I simply pointed out all the good things he did and then I said ‘Of course there was the drop, which was a touchdown.”

- Giants coach Tom Coughlin talking about WR Hakeem Nicks, whose 12 catches 130 yards and 2 touchdowns apparently weren’t enough for Coughlin.

And he wasn’t joking. At least he’s living up to his reputation.

“We’re going to win the division.”

- 49ers President Jed York in a text to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Notice how he didn’t specifically say this year. Yeah maybe in 2014.

“The politically correct answer is that we want to go and fight with the team we have. But whenever you look on the TV and you see breaking news and it’s somebody making a deal like that, a part of you wants to do something to rival the attention that another team is getting from making a big trade. We would definitely welcome that … For us, as players, there’s nothing you can do.”

- Green Bay Packers CB Charles Woodson

True words spoken by Woodson here.

“It was fun. I said this earlier, it was kind of easy.”

- Lions C Domonic Raiola after beating the Rams 44-6.

You better marinate that W now because it’s going to be a long time before they win like that again.

“It’s terrible.  It’s 0-5, the laughingstock of the National Football League. I think we are losing fans by the minute.”

- Bills S Donte Whitner after the loss to the Jaguars.

Could the Bills really go 0-16?

Bengals Cut Anotnio Bryant. What to do with $7.85 Million?

On March 10th of this year, the Bengals signed Antonio Bryant to a 4-year deal worth $28 million. Oh how different things were back then. That was the day the Bengals thought they found their complement to Chad Ochocinco. Things were looking up in Bengals land.

Now fast forward to today, August 31th, and look where we are. Antonio Bryant is no longer with the Bengals after being released by the team on Sunday despite never playing a down for the team. Don’t feel bad for Bryant though, he has already collected $7.85 million from the Bengals and filed a grievance for the $1.55 million he was scheduled to make in base salary.For the 172 days he was a Bengal, Bryant made $45,639.54 per day. Not a bad gig if you can get it.

Which got me thinking, what could you do with that $7.85 million Bryant collected for his short time in Cincinnati?

• Buy 87,222 Carson Palmer jerseys.

• Buy 9,812 pairs on season tickets seated on the sideline.

• Bail Cedric Benson out of jail 1,570 times.

• Buy 2,616,666 boxes of the new “Ochocinco’s” cereal.

• Buy 673,241 copies of T.O.’s book “Little T Learns to Share.”

• Pay Chad Ochocino’s recent twitter fine 314 times.

• Buy 174 Lexus’s that Chad Ochocino promised to give away during a raffle at a comedy club.

• Legally change your name in Ohio 38,088 times.

• Buy 1,121,428 beers at Paul Brown Stadium

• And finally, make it rain with Pacman Jones 7,850,000 times.

Bengals Chances Not Looking Good in 2010

The Cincinnati Bengals were one of the surprises of the NFL last season finishing 10-6 and winning the tough, AFC North.

In the offseason the Bengals signed Terrell Owens, Antonio Bryant, and drafted Jermaine Gresham and Jordan Shipley to help bolster their weak passing game.

All signs are looking good in Cincinnati for the first time in a long time, with many “experts” pegging them as a Super Bowl dark horse.

Though the site Cold Hard Fotball Facts would beg to differ. They broke down why the Bengals offseason additions will do little to help them and that Owens will actually hurt them.

ONE – The Bengals already made a long list of moves to improve its dreadful passing game of 2009 here in the off-season.

They signed Antonio Bryant away from Tampa, a 29-year-old receiver who indicated in 2008 that he could be fairly productive (83 catches, 1,248 yards, 7 TD) when paired with a decent quarterback (Jeff Garcia). They signed free-agent Matt Jones, the rangy former Arkansas QB who finally produced a decent season with the Jaguars in 2008 (65 catches, 761 yards, 2 TD). They devoted their No. 1 pick to Oklahoma’s Jermaine Gresham, the mostly highly touted tight end in the draft this year. And they devoted their third pick to Jordan Shipley, the uber-productive wideout who was Colt McCoy’s batterymate during the most prolific passing seasons in Longhorns history.

Adding a volatile, aging, me-first receiver to the corps will do nothing but inhibit the development of these receivers, especially the rookies.

TWO – The 36-year-old Owens is well past his prime. TO was still super-productive with Dallas in 2007 (81 catches, 1,355 yards, tremendous 16.7 YPA and 15 TD). But older players hit the wall hard and fast in the NFL (helloooooo LT!) and Owens followed up his great 2007 campaign with a pair of mediocre years in Dallas and Buffalo (average 62 catches, 840 yards, 7.5 TDs).

T.O. turns 37 in December and it’s unreasonable to expect him to be an impact player. In fact, the list of all the receivers in history who produced 1,000-yard seasons after age 36 is a very short one: Jerry Rice.

THREE – Owens is a dick. To use the old editor’s joke, we avoid clichés like the plague. But there is one cliché that applies here: the definition of insanity is doing something over and over expecting a different outcome. Well, we’ve seen four teams now regret putting T.O. on their roster: San Francisco, Philadelphia, Dallas and Buffalo. He shot his way out of three of those towns, with high-profile blow-ups with his Pro Bowl quarterbacks (Garcia, Donovan McNabb, Tony Romo).

So history tells us that we can expect T.O. to quickly turn on his teammates, and his fragile QB in particular, when things don’t go according to the irrational plan that he and the organization harbor in their minds. Given this history, Cincy’s decision to sign T.O. reeks of desperation or cynicism: it’s not a move to improve the product on the field; it’s a move to drum up PR and sell a couple jerseys and tickets.

FOUR – Wide receiver is the last thing you need to build a winner. We’ve chronicled this fact through the years. Receivers are easily the least impactful players on the football field – at least as far as their correlation to victory goes. A receiver can only prove that impact player when all the other pieces are in place: great offensive line, great quarterback, solid, two-pronged offensive attack, and a legit defense. Then, and only then, do big-star receivers bring a turbo boost to your team that might lead to a title.

Otherwise, as we’ve seen throughout the ages, teams can win big and win consistently without so-called “star” receivers. The 1960s Packers won five championships without superstar receivers; the 1980s 49ers won two Super Bowls with a good but not great corps of receivers before Jerry Rice arrived on the scene; the 2000s Patriots won three Super Bowls with a corps of castoff receivers nobody heard about before or since; the 2000s Steelers won two Super Bowls with a top receiver known more for laying out defensive backs than for setting pass-catching records.

FIVE – The Bengals really need a quarterback more than anything else. We know it’s not PC to point out Carson Palmer’s flaws as a quarterback. But we’ve done it anyway, most notably back in January, before Cincy’s playoff game against the Jets.

We told Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer that Palmer simply is not a legit Super Bowl-caliber NFL quarterback. We laid out all the reasons for these Cold, Hard Football Facts right there in black and white.

Our analysis, as you know, is as sure and true as the flow of the Ohio River past Paul Brown Stadium. So what happened? That’s right: Palmer simply did not perform at a winning level against New York’s mighty pass defense: he completed just 18 of 36 passes for 146 yards, a dreadful 4.06 YPA, 1 TD, 1 INT and a 58.3 passer rating in a 24-14 loss.

Palmer’s been given six years to prove himself as a Super Bowl-caliber quarterback. Clearly injuries have inhibited his career, especially the gruesome one he suffered in the early moments of the 2005 wildcard game against the Steelers. He also missed most of the 2008 campaign.

But the Cold, Hard Football Facts are the Cold, Hard Football Facts: and what they tell us is that Palmer doesn’t have the stuff to lead the Bengals to a Super Bowl – no matter how many repugnant, self-centered aging wideouts they put around him.

The Bengals, for their part, paired two explosive wideouts (Ochocinco and T.J. Houshmandzadeh) for pretty much the entire past decade. The Bengals, and their offense, have nothing to show for it.