| ProFootballWeekly.com asked
contributing editor Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the news around the NFL. 
The Broncos' offseason spending spree
CB Tyrone Poole has a new home in Denver, where the Broncos signed him to a one-year
deal with a base salary of $477,000 and plenty of incentives. Poole was released by the
Colts this spring after he declined to restructure his contract.
Buchsbaum: He gives the Broncos enviable depth at cornerback and a player with great
speed. Poole originally was compared to Darrell Green coming out of college, and while he
never developed into a premier pro, he was good enough to start for the bulk of his
career. He seemed to lose his confidence at the end of last year. Having a lot of cover
corners really helps the Broncos because none of their safeties are very good in coverage.
Profootballweekly.com: How is it that the Broncos have been able to add so much
quality depth when everyone else tends to have to go with younger reserves?
Buchsbaum: The reason they’ve been able to do it is because so many older veterans
who were making big money and now see that they won’t be able to make it this year,
are willing to go to Denver for near minimum veteran wages in order to get all the
advantages they feel they will gain in Denver. By those I mean playing on a field that is
friendly to your legs, playing in a new stadium, having state-of-the-art workout
facilities, an owner who takes very good care of you and a coaching staff that does not
work you very hard in practice and lets you save yourself for the game. They also feel
that by coming to Denver they have the best chance of winning a Super Bowl ring. It’s
very similar to the way the 49ers used to operate when they had great success.
Profootballweekly.com: Is it fair to say the Broncos haven’t mortgaged the
future to the degree the 49ers did?
Buchsbaum: To a degree they mortgaged the future like San Francisco did, no question.
But it will not catch up to them for a number of years the way they’ve structured
things. The way they can get in trouble in a hurry is if the younger guys they’ve
given huge money to suffer injuries that have a dramatic effect on their careers in the
first three years of the contract.
Raiders lose in court
The Raiders and owner Al Davis lost their $1.2 billion suit that claimed the NFL forced
them back to Oakland in 1995. Two decades ago, the Raiders won a court case that allowed
them to move the franchise to Los Angeles.
Buchsbaum: This is another case of Al Davis putting his vengeance against the NFL and
feeling that everyone in the league is against him, ahead of his better judgment. Now
it’s time for Al to drop the thought of appealing this and stop all these lawsuits
and to concentrate on doing what’s best for his football team. At one point Al was
considered if not the, then one of the top football men in the game, but since he
started suing the NFL, it seems to have affected both he and his football team to a
degree.
Eagles hire Heckert
Former Dolphins scout Tom Heckert was hired Monday as the Eagles’ director of
player personnel. Heckert will manage the college and pro scouting departments in
Philadelphia and work on personnel matters with head coach/executive vice president of
football operations Andy Reid.
Buchsbaum: Heckert worked hard and worked his way up in the Dolphins’
organization. He’s still young, but he has over 10 years of experience in the league.
He’s not going to bring the experience or the overall expertise yet of a Tom Modrak,
but the Eagles feel he will fit better into the system they now have in place. He was Andy
Reid’s choice, and they feel he will grow in the job, but by the same token he
understands that Andy Reid has full control of the organization and is perfectly willing
to accept that fact.
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