Scouring the internets

I always love reading the idiocy on the internet. Let's see what's out there. This is from ESPN's NFC North blog.

"Anthony of Clinton Township, Mich. writes: There are numerous comments and rumors from Miami Dolphins fan sites stating that the Dolphins and Lions are in talks of some kind of trade. Names thrown around are Calvin Johnson, Cliff Avril, Ernie Sims, Ronnie Brown, and Ted Ginn Jr."

Calvin Johnson's name appearing here should automatically discount this so-called rumor. And they're going to trade him for a package highlighted by Ronnie Brown? Give me a freaking break. But then Kevin Seifert, who works for ESPN running this blog, says this: "I've heard nothing concrete on any such trade talk, although several readers wrote in to ask specifically about a Cliff Avril-Ted Ginn Jr. trade. If I'm the Lions, I take that deal."

A Cliff Avril-for-Ted Ginn Jr. trade would be a terrible, Matt Millen-esque trade for the Lions, and I can't believe someone who gets paid to write about the NFL would approve of it. Cliff Avril is a young pass rusher who had 5.5 sacks last season to lead the Lions. Ted Ginn is a complete bust of a receiver who was benched last year, and is strictly a returner at this point. "I know pass rushing defensive ends are a premium commodity, but if Avril is going to be a 5-sack per year player, I'd take my chances that Ginn could develop into a game-breaker." This is laughable. Ted Ginn has been in the NFL for 3 years and regressed if anything; he is what he is at this point, and that is a bad NFL receiver. Cliff Avril is a nice young pass rusher, the type of player the Lions absolutely should not trade unless they're getting a legitimately good player in return, which Ted Ginn most assuredly is not.

Okay, so we've figured a way to somehow make the Lions worse. What else is out there?

"Mupad3da of the Bay Area writes: I don't know if this has been mentioned or not in the midst of your thoughts about the other North teams and their RB situations, but what are your thoughts about either Brian Westbrook or LaDainian Tomlinson going to Green Bay?"

Well, here's the deal Mupad3da; the Packers already have a good backup RB in Brandon Jackson. I know he isn't a big name, but he's a very capable backup who I think might be better than Ryan Grant; he's more explosive anyways. And I'll go ahead and let you in on a little secret, Mupad3da; Westbrook and Tomlinson are done. Westbrook can't stay healthy, and Tomlinson has hit the wall that most RBs hit after so many carries. Tomlinson's explosiveness isn't coming back.

By the way, I just looked it up and Brandon Jackson only had 37 carries last year, four less than Ahman Green. Are you freaking kidding me, Mike McCarthy? Ahman Green is an absolute nothing at this point; whatever he gains, you can figure a live NFL RB could probably gain 3 more yards than that. That is unbelievable to me; Brandon Jackson can play, and brings some explosiveness to the backfield.

"Derek of Baldwin, Wis., writes: I have to ask about Chester Taylor's situation. Why wouldn't the Vikings put the franchise tag on him to, at the very least, control where he goes and to get some sort of compensation for him WHEN, not if, he leaves them. I realize it is a $7-8 million risk, but what if they could negotiate a 2nd-round pick from some team and avoid him going to a rival?"

This is awesome. I wish I could live in a universe in which Chester Taylor nets the Vikings a 2nd round pick in a trade. I like Taylor, but he's more valuable to Minnesota than he is to other teams. Other teams can find RBs in the draft, or sign a cheaper, younger alternative. RBs are the most replaceable entity in football; if Taylor could net the Vikings a 2nd round pick they'd have absolutely tagged him and made that trade. In actuality, he'd maybe get the Vikings a 5th round pick, and I don't even know about that. And frankly, I can't believe I'd have to explain that.

"What does this mean? He is not athletic enough for LT? It seems NFL prefers the converted basketball or baseball player who is the all around athlete for LT."

Number of converted basketball or baseball players starting at LT in the NFL currently; zero.

And finally, one note on the NFL Draft (at some point, I'll probably post about Jimmy Clausen). One of the real joys for me is watching how certain narratives grow. Apparently since there are no games going on, we just have to talk about something, so these narratives develop and they start to become perceived as fact. For instance, the narrative developing about Ndamukong Suh and Gerald McCoy is that Suh is the "better run stopper" while McCoy is "more disruptive" and allegedly the better pass rusher.

Suh last season had 24 tackles for loss and 12 sacks. McCoy had 15.5 tackles for loss and 6 sacks. Maybe last season was an abberation? The year before Suh had 16 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. McCoy had 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. I don't mean to put too fine a point on this, but at no point in his life has Gerald McCoy been a better football player than Ndamukong Suh. I hear this business of McCoy being more disruptive, and it's bogus. Suh has indisputably made more impact plays the past two years than McCoy. I think Gerald McCoy is a great prospect, but Suh is clearly the better player here. His performance against Texas sold me; that was the most dominating performance I've ever seen out of a collegiate DT, and he almost single-handedly won that game for Nebraska.