Spring Brings Resolutions for Cutler, T.O. and Brady
Albert Breer - SportingNews.com
Jun 22, 2009
Get excited about this player.
Get worried about that team.
And expect the same reaction from NFL types.
They don't hand out the Lombardi Trophy in June.
But in today's NFL, springtime has become increasingly important for clubs to lay groundwork for autumn and, they all hope, winter success.
Training camp remains a month away, so there are plenty of questions left to be answered across the league. Here is a quick look at five that have been answered, at least tentatively, as NFL players, coaches and executives go into their annual pre-camp hibernation:
1. How will the Broncos replace Jay Cutler?
When Denver put Cutler on the trading block, getting a quality veteran quarterback in return -- as part of the package -- was a priority. And coach Josh McDaniels put serious research into identifying that player.
Yes, Kyle Orton was meaningful in completing the trade to sending Cutler to Chicago and, as expected, Orton will take Cutler's old spot in Denver, having beat out Chris Simms for the job. Orton displayed the same things in spring practices -- accuracy and decision-making skills -- that first attracted McDaniels to him.
Orton said as much in explaining the quarterback's role in the Broncos' new offense: "It's based on accuracy and getting the ball out on time and dissecting the defense."
2. What will the Cowboys do with Terrell Owens?
Dallas traded for Roy Williams last October, giving up first- and third-round picks and more than $20 million guaranteed to make him T.O.'s heir apparent. At the time, Cowboys owner/G.M. Jerry Jones thought Williams would have time to grow alongside Owens.
That time is up. Jones said the offseason was about making the offense more "Romo-friendly." Ousting Owens removed questions about QB Tony Romo's place as a team leader and alleviated pressure on him to constantly look in Owens' direction with the ball, which could reduce mistakes.
"For me, the big thing has been when somebody else makes a mistake, you don't compound it with a mistake of your own," Romo said. "I think that sometimes in the past where you run into trouble is when somebody messes up and now you have to make up for something."
3. Is Tom Brady all the way back?
Yes. Medically, anyway.
Brady's progress in shaking off the rust over the course of the Patriots' spring practices was noticeable. His reconstructed left ACL still could cause problems -- mentally, he'll have hurdles to clear when the pass rush coming after him is real -- but Brady is as close to being fully healed as any player in his situation would be.
"I feel as good as I possibly could feel," Brady said. "I don't think about (the knee). It doesn't bother me doing anything."
4. Who will quarterback the Jets?
The Brett Favre experiment failed, and the Jets wisely moved on. And after a couple months of singing the praises of Kellen Clemens and Brett Ratliff, the latter was dealt as part of a deal to trade up and draft Mark Sanchez, the heavy favorite to win the quarterback job.
Maybe we don't know for certain who will start in Week 1. That will be determined by Sanchez's progress in training camp -- and likely have nothing to do with Clemens' performance. What we do know is it will be an absolute shocker, particular since he signed early, if Sanchez isn't the starter by midseason.
After bragging on Sanchez's hot finish to minicamp earlier this month, Rex Ryan said, "We probably won't know (the starter) until ... who knows? Whenever it becomes obvious to us, we'll make the decision. Obviously, you'd prefer it sooner than later, but I don't think that's going to happen."
As for Favre, it looks as if he'll have a new job pretty soon.
5. What do the Giants do with Plaxico Burress?
It hardly qualifies as a surprise that a player in Burress' legal predicament would get whacked by an NFL team. The Mara family, however, had been successful in handling guys in such situations in the past, seemingly giving Burress a chance to stick in New York.
He didn't, of course. Burress will be a free man through, at least, the first of the year and probably will be on an NFL roster during training camp. It just won't be the Giants' roster.
As is the case in post-T.O. Dallas, New York will enter the summer with plenty of questions at wide receiver. Making the move early afforded quarterback Eli Manning a full offseason to work with the receivers he'll have, rather than worry about what might/might not happen with Burress.
"We have thrown the ball down the field some, made some plays," offensive coordinator Kevin Gilbride said of his receivers last week. "The next step will be when we go against somebody different. Can they maintain that poise? Can they continue to show that athleticism they displayed?"
Proof that, in all of these cases, answering one question simply leads to asking another.
Staff writer Albert Breer covers the NFL for Sporting News. E-mail him at abreer@sportingnews.com.
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