Posted by ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert
Let’s continue our weekend routine of addressing your questions and comments as Sunday approaches. We had a fun week discussing Minnesota’s (very) short passing game, Matthew Stafford’s short-term role in Detroit, a pair of rookie receivers and Green Bay’s busy week on the personnel side.
Remember, you can send a question to the mailbag or contact me through Facebook and Twitter. On with it:
Via Facebook, Gary notes our Air and Space entry this week and asks for a comparison between Chicago’s current and previous quarterbacks on the scale of “Standard Pressure” versus “Added Pressure.”
Kevin Seifert: Here you go, Gary:
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Obviously, these are numbers based on a small sample of the season. But it’s interesting, if nothing else, that the figures are reversed for the two players. Cutler has been better against added pressure while Orton has been worse.
Brett of South Dakota writes: Chad Greenway is the defensive player of the week. Wanted to let you know.
Kevin Seifert: Not sure if that was earnest or meant as a bit of a dig, but either way I’m glad Brett brought up the topic.
Personally, I’m not a big fan of the weekly conference awards the NFL hands out, especially now that they’ve been diluted by a multiplicity of sponsored awards. When you boil it down, they are publicity tools designed to draw attention to positive news. (Boooo! Positive news is boring.) Seriously, when a player has an impactful game, usually they get plenty of media attention for it.
Greenway intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble in Minnesota’s 27-13 victory at Detroit. There’s no denying that takeaways are among the most important jobs of a defensive player. But let’s be realistic: Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford threw both passes into Greenway’s hands. I think Greenway would be the first to admit the best thing he did was not drop them.
During the week, reporters tried to get coach Brad Childress to say Greenway had turned a corner in becoming a dominant defensive playmaker. Childress wouldn’t bite.
“He was doing exactly what he needed to do,” Childress said. “We talk to our guys all the time about, ‘If you do what you’re supposed to do, there are just times when the ball is going to hit you in the face.’”
My point here isn’t to denigrate Greenway or diminish his accomplishment. Sometimes a player causes turnovers and sometimes he accepts them. In this case, I would say it was the latter.
Jon of Milwaukee writes: Are there any repercussions for claiming someone off waivers? In the case of Aaron Rouse, do the Giants have to give up anything by claiming him? Or does Green Bay get anything in return? Otherwise, what's the benefit to the waiver system?
Kevin Seifert: Players with less than four years experience are subject to waivers after they’re released. The short version of the explanation is that NFL players can’t be free agents until after their fourth years. Their movement is restricted until that point. When a third-year player is released, he isn’t allowed to choose his team until all 31 clubs have a chance to claim him first.
The only downside to claiming a player on waivers is that you inherit his current contract. That’s not usually a big deal. But if a player was a high draft pick, or has received an early contract extension and is making more than the NFL’s minimum salary, the team would have to decide whether it’s worth spending the extra money. If a player passes through waivers unclaimed, he becomes a free agent and teams can sign him to the contract of his choice.
The original team gets nothing in return.
Mike of Detroit writes: I notice a lot of comments by people questioning the Lions’ offseason because of the "old" age of the team. I feel the front office did about what it could to change over the roster. Almost no team in the NFL will give up good or promising young players so most free agents are older players. The core youth of a team comes from drafted players. My feeling is the blame for the age lies squarely on Matt Millen's drafts from 2002-2006. From the 40 players Millen drafted over that time only 1, Ernie Sims, is on currently on the team and only a few are even still playing regularly in the NFL. How can you blame the current front office when there was no youth worth keeping?
Kevin Seifert: I don’t disagree with your point, Mike, and I wish I could have stolen your ideas for last Tuesday’s column on Stafford and the short-term. I don’t fault the Lions for their approach. They didn’t have the infrastructure to stand pat on personnel. And if they had created a policy of signing only younger free agents, the pool would have been too small to fill their holes.
My only beef is that the Lions seem to be going in two different directions at once. They signed a big group of what I would call “holdover” free agents -- players who could tide them over until they start getting more production from drafted players -- but have paired them with a rookie quarterback.
So on one end you have a group of veterans who are trying to win now. And on the other end you have a quarterback situation that suggests the Lions are willing to sacrifice the short term. If that weren’t the case, you would think Dante Culpepper would have been the Lions’ starting quarterback.
Via Facebook, Flava Dav notes recent reports that the NFL might appeal a recent ruling that allowed the Williams Wall to pursue its legal case through Minnesota state court. What are the chances the Court overturns a decision already rendered twice by the same court? For that matter is it possible the rehearing will be refused?
Kevin Seifert: This case is getting so complicated that it’s become a story unto itself. So I’ll defer to some of the reporters who can spend more time than me digging up the details. In this Star Tribune story, Rochelle Olson writes: “Even if they do appeal, it's a long shot. The full appellate panel and the U.S. Supreme Court agree to hear only a small portion of the cases sent their way.”
In fact, attorneys met Friday morning to begin plotting out the state trial, which is likely to be in February or March 2010.
Mark of Plainwell, Mich., points us in the direction of this explanation for the bizarre non-play from Detroit left tackle Jeff Backus last Sunday.
Kevin Seifert: Yes, according to Tom Kowalski of Mlive.com, Backus was not to blame for Jared Allen’s sack of Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford. (No one blocked Allen, the NFL’s sack leader since 2004, on the play.) The story suggests that fullback Jerome Felton was the guilty party.
Ok, I apologize if I implicated Backus here. But now I’m faulting the Lions’ blocking scheme. I don’t care how quick of a pass Stafford was designed to throw. Any play that requires a fullback to block Jared Allen is a play destined to fail.
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ABOUT THIS BLOG
Kevin Seifert
Seifert joined ESPN.com in 2008 after covering the Minnesota Vikings for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for eight years. He lives in the Twin Cities with his wife and daughter.