Gridiron Experts

Years From Competition?

It would be considered generous if one were to call the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Detroit Lions, and St. Louis Rams rebuilding franchises. Although the teams have each made respective large steps in overall team progression, they still have years to go in order to truly compete in the NFL. The Lions are the best off of the bunch with former 1st overall pick Matthew Stafford at the helm, current 2nd overall pick Ndamukong Suh leading it’s defence and a plethora of wise free agency moves over the past two seasons.  St. Louis lies somewhere in the middle, as they are in need of major work but have just acquired 1st overall Sam Bradford to QB the team into the future, still have Steven Jackson (who can produce as good if not better than most RB’s), and generally have a winning atmosphere (with the exception of the last few years). The Buccaneers although rest at the far end of this spectrum; with no real QB, no real RB, and a 2nd year head coach with an overall lack of team identity. Tampa Bay is years from competition and the following reasons are why.

QB Situation

Tampa is about to enter this season, like last, without a true starting quarterback. Currently on the roster rest Josh Johnson, Josh Freeman, Rudy Carpenter and Rookie Jevan Snead. Last season Johnson, Freeman, and even Bryon Leftwich partook in a carousel at the position, and it looks as if so this will happen again the upcoming season as the …Continue reading NFC Trio Years From Competition?

Three Way Trade: Eagles, Lions, Broncos
The Philadelphia Eagles can scratch off one of their draft needs after acquiring Ernie Sims on Monday morning. The Eagles made out like bandits in a three-way deal with the Detroit Lions and Denver Broncos.  Philadelphia has sent a fifth-round pick to Denver, who then sent tight end Tony Scheffler and a seventh-round pick to Detroit,  in return Lions send LB Ernie Simsto the Eagles.

The Linebacker rotation for the Eagles was a nightmare last season. With as many as seven different starters playing all LB positions, the Eagles decided to acquire former first round pick Sims in hopefully mending a defensive wound.

2009 first-round pick Brandon Pettigrew is still recovering from surgery on his left knee, and with the already lack of depth at this roster spot the trade for Tony Scheffler fills a need.

The Broncos new system never fit well with Scheffler, a restricted free agent who had been skipping the Broncos’ offseason programs, and rumored to be not a fan of Josh McDaniels. Getting something for a player that was part of the plan is positive way to look at letting go of a talented offensive target. Mind you, after trading Marshall and Scheffler the need for skilled players has all of a sudden became a huge need.

Detroit is making some real strides on trying to get out of the NFL basement. Only time will tell if these moves result in any sort of success. While you have to hand it to the Eagles once again, gaining an excellent LB prospect for a mer 5th round pick.

NFL NEWS & RUMORS

• Rams release Marc Bulger on Monday. Someone should tell Sam Brafford he needs to get himself a real estate agent in the St.Louis area because this is a slam dunk. Bulger was scheduled to make $8.5 million next season and was never expected to be with the team, heading into training camp.

• The Seahawks and Detroit Lions made a few trades today: Seattle sent guard Rob Sims to Detroit for a fifth-round draft pick. Sims was a 4th round pick for the Seahawks back in 2006 and started 14 games for Seattle last year. The Lions also traded away Robert Henderson for a 7th round draft pick in this years draft.
• Defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove has signed his tender offer, and the team announced that he’ll be back in New Orleans in 2010.
• NFL Network’s Jason La Canfora reported that the Redskins already have buyers remorse after signing Albert Haynesworth to such a huge contact. Rumors were that the big man was on the table when McNabb trade talks were commencing. Eagles had no interest.
• We had DT Jared Odrick high on our draft boards but not as high as the Cleveland Browns. PFT.com is reporting there is a lot of love for the big man in Clev-town
• Tim Tebow Signs A Deal With Nike

NFL Players Give Us Their Favorite Swear Words- Maxim.com

NFL Players are known as some of the nastiest dudes on the planet, and based on some of the lengths of the bleeps in this video, you can see why. Maxim recently had the chance to hang out with some of these….click on th Picture

Seattle’s deal for Whitehurst most intriguing QB move of free agency- SI.com

Intriguing as the roll of the dice Seattle took by boldly trading for San Diego’s Whitehurst in a deal that has boom/bust potential written all over it. Whitehurst was the little-known and even lesser thought of No. 3 quarterback in San Diego, behind starter……click on the Picture

Reid: Team evaluating trade offers- ESPN.com

Andy Reid has said Donovan McNabb is his starting quarterback heading into the 2010 season. But the trade rumors around the team’s quarterback situation have persisted. And now Reid says offers are being made for all three of the Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterbacks….click on th Picture

Bears-Cowboys Thanksgiving game gaining steam- Profootballtalk.com

With FOX televising the game, the opponent definitely will be one of the Cowboys’ six NFC opponents: the Redskins, Eagles, Cowboys, Lions, Bears, and Saints. As Williams points out, the Cowboys haven’t hosted an NFC East opponent on Thanksgiving since 2002. The Lions are otherwise unavailable that day, and Saints-Cowboys is…..click on the Picture

Florida wideout excited to play with a “real quarterback”- Yahoo Sports

Tim Tebow’s departure for the NFL hasn’t left everyone in Gainesville in mourning. Thompson isn’t losing any sleep over the loss of Tebow. AP. While most of Gator Nation is still trying….click on the Picture

Detroit Lions sign WR Burleson to five-year deal
Nate Burleson has played the last 7 seasons with the Seahawks and Vikings but has found a new home in Detroit signing a new 5 year deal worth an impressive $25 million dollars, with $11 million guaranteed. Detroit is trying to add another solid addition for their young quarterback, an in my opinion they might have found themselves a gem. Burleson was over shadowed by a few more high profiled wide receivers in this years free agency and have added a good 2nd option to play opposite Calvin Johnson.

Burleson has had some injury trouble over the years, playing only 1 game in 2007 and missing a few in 05, but overall his experience should be a great addition for the Lions.

Detroit Acquires DT Corey Williams
In a move that people will shrug their shoulders at, the Detroit Lions traded for a huge center piece to add to their defense. 29 year old Corey Williams is a big defensive tackle at 6’4 230 lbs, his addition could be lining up to the Detroit Lions 1 round draft pick soon, with all indications that Gerald McCoy or Ndamukong Suh will be selected by Detroit. This is a great step forward, if the Lions can beef up their run defense quickly the odds for a better season will not doubt improve. Detroit rank dead last in yards per game last season and 25th against the run.

No word yet on which pick the Lions had to give up, but rumors are it’s a for a late-round draft pick

More Detroit Lions News?
The Detroit Lions are also pursuing free agent defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, who once played for coach Jim Schwartz.

NFL Trade: Antonio Cromartie to the Jets

Breaking News: Jason La Canfora with his nerdy classes and wisdom has sniffed out the first NFL trade news of Free agency. The San Diego Chargers have looked to have traded CB Antonio Cromartie to the New York Jets for a 2011 conditional draft pick. Pick looks to be around a 2nd/3rd pick next year

Stafford vs. Sanchez: Did The Lions Make A Mistake?

For those of you that don’t know, Matthew Stafford was selected first overall by the Detroit Lions in this year’s draft; Mark Sanchez was taken 6th overall by the New York Jets (moving up 11 spots to select him). One crucial reason that the Lions opted to go with Stafford was that Sanchez was relatively inexperienced, with only one full college season under his belt. These two young quarterbacks are impressing so far this season, and they appear to have the potential to keep up this success, so I would like to table a debate for Grid-X readers: who will have more success as their respective careers continue to progress?

As pick number one, Stafford will get the honors of being evaluated first. Stafford had a very impressive college career; his only weaknesses were occasional lapses in judgement and needing to improve his accuracy. At the pro level Stafford seems to be developing more with each start, however I’m hard pressed to say that he has been fantastic. He seems to be progressing rapidly and looks quite poised in the …Continue reading Stafford vs. Sanchez: Did The Lions Make A Mistake?

According to ESPN.com, the Detroit Lions are very close to signing ex-Pittsburgh Steelers LB  Larry Foote to a one year contract.


“I’m excited because it’s a fresh start for me,” Foote said Tuesday night in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “It’s a one-year deal to show my talents, and hopefully end up signing a long-term deal after showing the Lions and their new coaching staff what I can do.”


With Lawrence Timmons ready to start, Foote told the Steelers last week he wanted to be dealt or cut. Pittsburgh released Foote after failing to find a team willing to part with a draft pick for him. To read more click here


The Lions are putting together a pretty solid team, they should win at least one game next year-lol