The Texan trap
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In hindsight do you think most teams looking for a quarterback at the time were correct in their unwillingness to give up a high draft pick at the time for Bledsoe? Also it is interesting to see the status of the 3 QB's who signed the "10year/ $100 mill." deals a few years ago in Bledsoe, Favre, and Brunell.
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-- Brendan Maguire, Bridgewater
A: In hindsight yes, they were correct. At the time, no.
Do you think Belichick and Pioli deserve mid-season recognition for the jobs they did with the draft and free agents? This year's draft surely exceeded everyone's expectations, rivaling 1985's Law, Johnson, et. al.). Plus their free agents have been an overall plus (Harrison). What's your opinion?
-- Joe Curtis, Weston, CT
A: They did a tremendous job and they've received a ton of recognition for it. It's written and talked about almost every day, every week. It's written and talked about locally and nationally.
I'm a big fan of your mailbag. You seem to give us an insider's view of the Patriots that is much appreciated. My question is about Rodney Harrison. Do you think his reputation as a 'dirty' player has obscured how good a player he is. I know he's been to a couple of pro-bowls, but could he have gone to more?
-- Jason Harris, Bennington, VT
A: No. I think it's part of how good a player he is. Part of his game is intimidation and that means at times he has to take a shot at someone to make sure they know he's lurking out there. He may be the most fined player in NFL history. As long as he keeps that intensity he's going to continue to be an be an effective player. I think that intensity is something that Lawyer Milloy might have lost along the way.
I see the 2 Aggies are doing well so far. But on to more interesting matters. I heard Bill Parcells discussing the lack of trades happening in the NFL at this time. As is usually the case, its the cap hit from the huge signing bonuses that cause most teams to not be in the cap space to take that hit. Why don't more teams skip the signing bonuses and just guaranty that money over the length of the contract? Then whichever team gets the player in a trade is liable for that money against their cap.
-- Henry Chosta, Northbridge, MA
A: Henry, this is a pet peeve of mine as well. I wish there could be some adjustment made so we can eliminate some of these bogus contracts. Instead of signing a guy to a 10-year, $100 million deal he'll never see, why not go to a 3-year deal for $30 million guaranteed? Continued...
