ProFootballWeekly.com
asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in
football.
Eagles re-sign Landeta, Mitchell
P Sean Landeta, a 17-year veteran, signed a one-year, $750,000 contract to remain with
the Eagles after having one of his best seasons last year. Landeta, 40, averaged 43.5
gross yards and 36.4 net yards on 97 punts in 2001. He had 26 kicks inside the 20 and just
11 touchbacks. Mitchell, 33, also re-signed with the Eagles. The 12-year veteran has
played the last two years in Philadelphia after playing for Washington for 10 seasons. He
is the NFL’s all-time leader in return yardage.
Buchsbaum: The Eagles made two good moves in re-signing P Sean Landeta and RS Brian
Mitchell for one year each. Both may be old players, but they are still very effective and
don’t make the types of mistakes that beat teams. Landeta is coming off one of his
best years and although he may be the oldest punter in the league, he seems to be like a
fine wine and improving with age. Mitchell never had great speed to begin with and is
probably a step slower now, but he is one of the smartest, toughest and most reliable
return men in the game. Don’t overlook the reliability factor — you could be as
explosive as TNT like Az-Zahir Hakim was, but if you keep dropping the ball, you’re
going to end up being a liability to your football team.
CBS, Fox turn down proposal for flexible 'Monday Night Football' schedule
The NFL had proposed allowing the struggling "Monday Night Football" telecast
to select the best game of the week for the final four weeks of the season, but that idea
was shot down by rival networks CBS and Fox. As a result, the NFL will release its 2002
schedule, with the same television format as in past years, later today.
Buchsbaum: CBS and Fox made a very poor decision in not letting "Monday Night
Football" swap four games in December with ABC to make the Monday-night schedule
stronger. The bottom line on football is not to beat the other guy in the ratings,
it’s to increase your own ratings and therefore increase your ad revenue in the long
run.
By giving ABC some decent games in December, the NFL would be able to increase fan
interest, which would carry over to the broadcasts on CBS and Fox. However, both networks
would rather screw ABC than to do something that would be a positive for the game, a
positive for the fans, and in the long run a positive for the networks.
This is the type of mentality that has permeated the media for years now and is one
reason why they always end up losing money on sports events. The whole idea should be to
make the entire package as fan-friendly as possible. The networks simply do not get it.
Pennington may have opening for Jets' QB job
New York Jets QB Vinny Testaverde had surgery to remove a benign bone tumor on his
right foot on Wednesday. The 38-year-old will be on crutches for a month before beginning
rehab. He is expected to be 100 percent by the time the Jets’ training camp opens on
July 27. However, while Testaverde recovers, backup QB Chad Pennington will take the
majority of snaps at the team’s minicamps.
Buchsbaum: Vinny Testaverde’s surgery, if it keeps him out of training camp, may
open up a window for Chad Pennington to be the Jets’ quarterback. However, if the
Jets still feel they can make a run at the Super Bowl this year, and if Testaverde’s
healthy, he will probably still be their man — unless Pennington has a
sensational training camp.
Bills sign ex-Broncos OT Trey Teague
Desperate to improve their offensive line, the Bills signed free-agent OT Trey Teague
to a four-year, $10 million contract with a two-tiered signing bonus of $3.5 million that
will be spread over this year and next. Teague, 27, played his first four years in the
league with Denver. He started all 16 games at left tackle for the Broncos last year.
Buchsbaum: At one point, the Broncos felt Teague was going to be a good replacement for
Tony Jones at left tackle. But last year as a starter, he really struggled. The Bills feel
he’ll be an upgrade over John Fina, and now that he’s got the starting
experience under his belt, he’ll only get better. He is a good athlete and he does
have good feet. |
