Mar

30

Whew, A Breather!

Posted by Charger_Girl

March 30, 2008 |

It appears the frenzied free agency period is taking a much needed breather (or is it my poor fingers that needed that rest?)  At any rate, the stock-market-like buying and selling of players is definitely on the downturn; at least until the draft.

K Olindo Mare signed a 2-year, $3.5 million deal to be Seattle’s new kicker, now that Josh Brown has gone to St. Louis.

Ex-Lion DB Kalimba Edwards is off to Oakland, expected to “bolster” the Raiders’ pass rush.  Yeah, O.K.  Keep telling yourself that Al Davis, but know that until you are no longer the “Chairman of the Board of the Chief Executive General Partners” or whatever you are choosing to call yourself this week, the Raiders will be mediocre at best.

I had to laugh…when I saw Bill Belichick’s smug mug on nfl.com with a link to a Vic Carucci piece entitled “Integrity, accountability are in the game plan for league meetings.”  They couldn’t have picked a better poster boy!!

Talk about a bored Board- NFL owners will be meeting to discuss a proposal to ban players whose hair “flows from their helmets.”  Players (Troy Polamalu anyone?) won’t have to cut their hair; however, it cannot “flow” past their names on the back of their uniforms.  Proposed by Kansas City, the regulations would require players to pin their hair up instead.  Personally, I like the T.J. Houshmenzadeh braid.

Another item on the agenda includes a possible change to playoff seeding; specifically, while division winners would, in fact, earn a playoff berth, they may not host a home game.  This proposal is believed to level the playing field for teams in tougher divisions and eliminate the whole “let’s rest everyone since we already have a home playoff game secured” mentality.

Furthermore, the committee will examine the current “force-out rule” which has been criticized for allowing officials to make a “loose judgment call.”  Also, a review of field goal attempts may be allowed, as well as elimination of the 5-yd face mask penalty, another subjective rule.  Re-examination of the proposal to allow a defensive player to wear an electronic helmet (like the QB does, presently) is also on the agenda.  Finally, providing for a 5-7 day “dead period” before free agency negotiations to allow players and teams to talk.  Currently, no communications are allowed until the beginning of the signing period.

Messed up priorities - The NFL is considering moving up the start of the season opener on September 4th to 8:30 pm ET so as not to interfere with the Republican National Convention.  I’m sorry, but let’s move the convention instead.  Think of all those poor fans on the west coast who may miss kick-off because they are stuck in traffic.

On a VERY sad note - Hot draft prospect, 24 year-old offensive lineman from Newberry College, Heath Benedict was found dead on his sofa last Wednesday evening.  While no foul play is suspected, an autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of death.  Benedict was just shy of completing his business degree and was preparing for the draft next month.  My heart goes out to his friends and family.

(Sources: nfl.com, chargers.com)


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