Wellness

[teganslaw]

Yellowrose, wishing your husband well in his retirement.

My husband planted green beans, carrots and peas last year. Very successful with the green beans, but the peas turned out quite small, and the carrots were eaten by rabbits or other animals. This year he is trying cantaloupe along with the green beans. We also have a wild grape vine near our garage, but it hasn't grown very large.

Sometimes I wish that the AFC South was as competitive as the NFC East. The downside is that the Colts would have more difficulty winning the division, but it would be a bit more exciting. On the other hand, maybe I shouldn't wish too much.

Andrew Luck is coming to my area in May. He will be guest speaker at a dinner for Big Brothers and Big Sisters program. Reservations are required, and it's at least $300 a person. $2500 if you want to reserve a table for five. I'll have to miss this one, as the price is a bit steep for me. I guess someone has to pay his salary.

[gardenman]

teganslaw. Sometimes the NFC East is a bit too competitive. This is one of the more unpredictable years coming up for the NFC East. Can the Cowboys repeat without DeMarco Murray? Is Chip Kelly making a Super Bowl capable team, or blowing up a playoff capable team? Will RGIII and Gruden figure out a way to co-exist and perform at a high level? Will Victor Cruz and O'Dell Beckham Junior be an unstoppable pair of receivers for Eli Manning?

Pretty much no one knows what's going on now and we won't until the real games start in September. Any of the four teams could win it all this year, or finish in last place. You just don't know right now. I'm hopeful the Eagles are making the right moves, but we won't know for a while. I anticipate preseason predictions for the NFC East being all over the place.

Now in the AFC South, the Colts should be the clear favorite to win it all, but the NFC East is a much cloudier picture.

[gardenman]

And we're now just two weeks from the start of the draft. Things will be pretty crazy in two weeks time as teams sort out who they do and don't want, and try to figure out how to get the guys they want.

The Titans now seem to be indicating they won't be drafting Marcus Mariota based on their recent statements that Zach Mettenberger is another Tom Brady. They're apparently putting the "For Sale" sign up to see if there are any takers for that second overall pick. If they're not taking Mariota though teams are more likely to look to move into Jacksonville's or Oakland's spot (neither of who need a QB) to get ahead of the Redskins and Jets who might take him. If you can trade up to four and get Mariota for less than it would take to trade up to two, then trade up to four.

I'm anticipating quite a few trades on draft day. There are about twenty or so guys with first round grades for most teams (each team will have some different guys based on their offense/defense and schemes) so if several of the guys a team covets are still available when their pick comes and they get an opportunity to move back a spot or two and pick up an extra pick or picks, you're apt to see them move and still get one of the guys they want. Likewise teams that see their list of twenty guys all nearly gone they may make the move to jump up and grab one before they're all gone.

I kind of anticipate the Eagles moving back, maybe completely out of the first round if they can get a high second round pick and maybe another second round pick for next year in exchange for pick 20. The guys the Eagles have been bringing in for visits are mostly all second round pick type guys, so if Chip can nab an extra second round pick and still get two guys he wants you're apt to see the Eagles leave the first round completely. (The Eagles pick at 20 is valued at 850 points on the draft value chart, so two mid-round second round picks pretty much equals it. I suspect there will be some teams anxious to trade up for a Todd Gurley at about the time the Eagles' pick comes around and we could see the Eagles move that pick for a good value.

[brandiwine]

My poor Steelers! Having Troy retire and now Ike Taylor just announced he's retiring as well. No more LeBeau on the sidelines. It's going to be a time of major rebuilding. Thanks to all of you for the amazing memories.

[gardenman]

That Steeler defense has some really big holes in it now. It'll be interesting to see how they fill those holes.

[yellowrose]

thank you Tegan for the well wishes, and good luck with that cantaloupe. Love it, but never tried to grow my own.

Yet another Steeler gone. Geez

[gardenman]

And the annual migration of players back to their team's home city is now well underway in preparation for the start of the OTA's (organized team activities) that kicks off for most of the league on Monday, April 20th. Every sports reporter in the world will be happy to see the players back so they have something new to write about. This will be the first chance for many of the players to meet the new guys who came to the team in free agency and start to form a relationship. Team building kicks off in earnest come Monday.

The schedule release is coming this coming week (reportedly Tuesday or Wednesday.) That always leads to mad speculation as to which teams will win which games. Expect to see the last half of the schedules full of division games. That makes finishing strong more important than getting off to a good start.

Still lots of speculation on the draft. I think the Phillip Rivers being traded storyline is/should be done with. Apparently several GM's around the league have called the Chargers about Rivers and been flat out told that he's not available at any price. That tends to imply they're planning to keep him.

The Raiders are now said to be leading the pack in the hunt for Adrian Peterson. It'll be interesting to see if the Cowboys let him go without a fight.

[gardenman]

Okay then, I wasn't expecting that. The Eagles are signing Tim Tebow to a one year deal tomorrow. They liked him when they worked him out a month ago, but things had been quiet since then. This makes for an interesting situation at quarterback. We've now got Sam Bradford, Mark Sanchez, Matt Barkley, GJ Kinne and Tebow on the roster.

Where things get interesting is when you look at the type of quarterbacks the five are. Three are your typical pocket passers, Bradford, Sanchez, and Barkley. Two are more running/scrambling quarterbacks in GJ Kinne and Tebow. Chances are we draft a kid somewhere in the draft who's likely to be a scrambling quarterback too, so we'll have an even mix of the two types. (Assuming we don't trade some of those now on the roster.)

So, what kind of offense will we run this year? One based on a pocket quarterback or one based on a mobile/scrambling quarterback? Is Bradford trade bait to move up and get Mariota with GJ Kinne and Tebow poised as his backups? What happens to Sanchez? Is he the number two QB no matter what and if the starter goes down (say a Mariota if things go right) then Sanchez takes over for the rest of that game only to slip back into the backup role the next week as one of the other mobile/scrambler quarterbacks takes over as the starter? Only Chip seems to know what's going on and he's not talking.

[teganslaw]

The other teams Tebow was on didn't do much with him, so I'm wondering if the Eagles have different plans. Maybe he'll be number two or three.

Bradford is coming off IR, and hasn't proven that he can stay healthy, so I'm not sure why the Eagles are counting on him as starter. (Unless, of course, they deal him to another team during the draft.) That could provide Tebow with a chance to move up.

Gardenman, what are your thoughts on the Eagles signing Tebow, anyway? Do you think it's a bad move? Tebow has several critics who think that he isn't a very quarterback. There also is the media hype surrounding him; that could prove to be a distraction.

[gardenman]

I like the Tebow move. It gives the Eagles more versatility in how to go in terms of the quarterback position. Tebow was better than a lot of people give him credit for being and with two years of intense training now behind him he should be better than he was before. Worst case is he bombs and gets cut. If he can perform at a high level though we might have found a gem. His teammates on every team have loved the guy so he's not a locker room problem. Give him a shot and see what happens. It's not like a marriage. If he succeeds he'll earn a roster spot. If he fails, he won't.