Then comes a day like Monday, with a slap in the free agency face that will remind all of us that finding help in the land of unrestricted free agency is tougher and tougher these days.
On Monday, the Tennessean newspaper in Nashville reported that the Titans had reached a new five-year contract with UFA-to-be guard Eugene Amano. ESPN.com reported that the San Francisco 49ers have decided to use their franchise player tag on DT Aubrayo Franklin (right).
Amano and Franklin were two of the best players on the list of potential UFAs. As a guard and nose tackle they would have been nice additions to the Chiefs roster. Amano was a potential prize since he’ll be just 28 years old and in his seventh NFL season; he should be in his prime right now and for several years to come
Every year around this time, football news becomes stretched. The headlines are dominated a few times a week with a “big name” player receiving his walking papers. Radio call-ins, sports newscasts and blogs all begin to speculate just where the newest free agent will call home. Your latest NFL example is four-time Pro Bowl LB Joey Porter’s release from Miami on Friday (or reported released, or flawed released, or whatever you want to call it).
Only so many hours can devoted to the topic of one player, leaving plenty of void to be filled for football fanatics to discuss over the three-week football-less period leading up the the NFL combine. Each and every year one extra football topic comes to light during this time: Tampering.
“We have a number of areas that have to be addressed as we continue to improve. Personnel on offense at a number of those positions is (among) those. We’ll do whatever we can with whatever is available, keeping in mind we have a whole team to try to improve. A lot of things can happen. Things don’t always go as you planned, and sometimes you have to make do.
“There are only so many things you can do. We felt like we exhausted all avenues (last year) that we had as far as what was available. We had a number of different areas — and still do — that we have to address on this team. So I don’t second-guess any of the decisions we made from a personnel standpoint.”
Chiefs’ Cassel has expectations as high as his salary – KansasCity.com
Every year we see a couple of guys who become the unlikely heroes to a fantasy owner’s season. One of the biggest surprises was Kansas City RB Jamaal Charles. While Charles has great speed and playmaking ability, his lack of size (5’11″, 199 lbs) has me pessimistic he’d hold up as a feature RB for an entire season.He had 20 carries or more in each of the last 4 games of 2009, but in the first eight games, he never had more than six carries in any week. His legs were fresh the second half of the season. And it needs to be remembered that he only got his chance because of the combination of the Larry Johnson debacle and a slew of injuries at the RB position for the Chiefs. Charles was in the doghouse the first half of the season with a fumbling problem and he’ll need to prove he can hold onto the ball or he could fall out of favor again.
Patrick is a lifelong Chiefs fan who took over Arrowhead Addict in December of 2009. Along with being a sports crazy, he holds an MFA in Acting from the New School for Drama. He lives in New York City with his fiance Mag.
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