Friday, 5 March 2004 - 12:29 PM EST

Well, this will certainly be an entertaining season.

There is a (small) chance that Billick and the savages on that team might be able to intimidate TO into shutting his hole and actually playing football 100% of the time. He was a big turd in a small bowl with the Niners, but the Ravens are Ray Lewis' team.

I don't know if this is a guy I would want on my team, but the at least the Ravens acquired him in a competent fashion, demonstrating once again that they have the best front office in football. The Skins gave up a second round pick AND one of the the best corners in the league just to get a running back.

Friday, 5 March 2004 - 1:37 PM EST

I honestly don't believe that there is any one player or team that can get T.O. to settle down and focus on football. This is a thirty-year old man, not some rookie from Miami with a bad attitude. I think he's set in his ways as far as personal conduct goes. Having said that, I would say that of all the teams in the league, the Ravens probably have the best (albeit slight) chance to change T.O.

Winning with the Ravens should determine how T.O. reacts to being there, but unlike most players I don't think winning will be enough for Ownes. (Remember, the 49ers were a playoff team just one season ago.) Even when the Ravens do win, including their title run in 2000, the team struggles and at one point that season went several weeks without an offensive touchdown. Do we really think T.O., a guy who went after his coaches and quarterback (both on the field and through the press) while in San Francisco, will keep quiet when Kyle Boller's the one not getting him the ball? Second, T.O. will be at best the third star, in terms of on the field production, of the Ravens, behind Ray Lewis (and the defense as a whole), and Jamal Lewis. Will winning really be enough for T.O. if it's obvious that he is not the X factor?

I think the success of this trade is going to depend on how well and more importantly how long T.O. performs for the Ravens. In today's NFL second-rounders are quick to become starters and usually play for more than one or two seasons. Further, before we start heaping praise on the Raven's front-office (which I'll admit has made some very good moves in the past), let's remember that the reason that they don't have a first round pick this year is because they traded it away in order to acquire Kyle Boller (who Billick has already said will be the starter next year) in last year's draft.

Finally, did the Skins overpay for Clinton Portis? Probably. But Champ Bailey made it very clear that he was getting out of Washington, so he had to be dealt to someone. I wouldn't have included so many auxiliary draft picks, but Portis puts up the numbers that he is expected to, it's going to be hard to say it was a bad move.

Friday, 5 March 2004 - 2:10 PM EST

I was going to mention Kyle Boller. That poor bastard might be in counseling by the end of the year.

The Ravens might be the only team to straighten out Owens, because I think he is a pussy at heart. I really don't see him running his mouth to the guys on that team. On the field, the challenge will be for Billick to remember that he has the best running back in the league, and not to go pass-wacky like they did in the playoffs.

About the Bailey trade - if he left as a free agent, the Skins would have been compensated with a draft pick, right? Almost no running back is worth what they gave up, because they are so disposable and easily replaceable (Stephen Davis was a 4th round pick, BTW).

I guess if you have the money, then spend it, but Snyderism hasn't worked thus far in the NFL. Look what the Cowboys did last year after not only not signing anyone, but subtracting a Hall of Fame running back. As Sally Jenkins put it in the Post, "Great players go to Pro Bowls, great teams win championships."

Friday, 5 March 2004 - 5:28 PM EST

ESPN is reporting that Terrell Owens had agreed in principle to a deal with the Eagles, but the 9ers traded him to the Ravens without alerting him, his agent or the Eagles. If this is true it's going to throw a few wrenches in the works.

Friday, 5 March 2004 - 5:31 PM EST

I don't have all the details at my fingertips, but I don't think Bailey was leaving as a free agent, I think he was just demanding a trade. The only other team I ever heard who had demonstrated interest was Detroit. I guess we could have gotten a few draft picks from them for Bailey, but so far I'm giving Gibbs the benefit of the doubt. It's true that Snyder's plans haven't worked in the past, but this year it is Joe Gibbs evaluating talent and deciding who he wants, Snyder is merely going out and getting those guys. That could be the difference between this year and the past five.

Friday, 5 March 2004 - 11:59 PM EST

Had to do a little research... From a Feb. 23 Post story:

Last Wednesday, the Redskins placed the franchise tag on Bailey by making a one-year qualifying offer of $6.8 million, which is the average of the top five players at his position. Without it, Bailey would have become an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of March. The Redskins can retain Bailey for next season by matching any contract offer from another team.

If the Redskins allow Bailey to sign with another team without a trade, Washington would get two first-round draft picks. No trades can become official until March 3.

-Let Bailey sign with someone else and collect the first-round picks.

-Sign Springs to replace Bailey.

-Take a running back in the first round.

-Trade the second first-round pick for a bunch of lower-round picks.

-Take another running back in the fifth or sixth round.

Saturday, 6 March 2004 - 12:04 AM EST

This guy is a real piece of work:

Owens said in a television appearance on Fox Sports Net that he wasn't comfortable with his conversations with Newsome. He called the trade to Baltimore "unfortunate" and said he considered himself "kind of unemployed at the moment."

He added: "Baltimore was definitely one of my choices, but they weren't high on the list. My priority was trying to get to the Eagles . . . I'm going to stand my ground and see if we can't get something resolved. I want to go where I feel comfortable and where I can be happy. I don't want to go anywhere where someone just trades me off to."

Saturday, 6 March 2004 - 9:22 AM EST

Wow. This was a bad trade. If they had just let him go, the Skins would have been in a prime position to take Chris Perry, amoung others. I'm not sure what's going on.

By the by, 6 kids right out of high school have declared themselves eligible for the NFL draft. I dont' think they will get selected, but I'm rooting for one of them to get picked and get broken in half during training camp. My guess is that the guys in the NFL are going to be gunning for these kids, and someone's going to end up in a body cast.