ProFootballWeekly.com
asks personnel expert Joel Buchsbaum for his thoughts on the hottest topics in
football.
Jackson finds chance to shine in Atlanta
The Falcons signed eight-year veteran WR Willie Jackson on Friday. Jackson spent the
past two seasons with division-rival New Orleans. He had his best season last year with
career highs of 81 receptions and 1,046 yards while making 28 catches on third down for
the Saints, second-best in the NFC. His best performance was in a Nov. 11 loss at San
Francisco when Jackson caught 11 passes for 167 yards. He has been in the playoffs four
times.
Buchsbaum: It will be very interesting to see how Jackson performs for the Falcons this
year. On the surface, he is an excellent signing. He is a big, sure-handed receiver who,
despite average speed, has shown the ability to get downfield and make some plays and is a
major upgrade over any receivers the Falcons currently have for Michael Vick to throw to.
On the other hand, Jackson has always been a No. 2 or No. 3 receiver, and very often when
you ask a No. 2 or No. 3 receiver to step up and be the man, he will really struggle. This
is not an isolated case that happens once or twice, if you look at how many No. 2
receivers have gone elsewhere because they felt they would be the guy and had it backfire
in their faces.
Patriots add fifth former Jet
Veteran S Victor Green has agreed to a one-year contract with the Patriots. Green would
become the fifth former Jet to land in New England this offseason, joining DE Rick Lyle,
DT Steve Martin, S Chris Hayes and CB Tony Scott. Green played both safety positions with
the Jets, starting 108 games, including all 16 last season at strong safety.
Buchsbaum: The Patriots made a good move in signing Green for the veteran’s
minimum. At best, Green will take over for Tebucky Jones at safety. He is a hard hitter
who knows Bill Belichick’s system, but despite being in the system a long time, he
will still blow some assignments. However, Jones tends to blow even more. At worst, he
will provide the Patriots with depth at a position where Belichick generally keeps nine or
10 players.
Bears go four-deep with DT Peter
Chicago signed free-agent DT Christian Peter to a one-year contract on Friday. Peter is
a five-year NFL veteran who played for Nebraska. He spent last season with the Colts after
four seasons with the Giants. Peter played in 14 games with the Colts and had 26 tackles
and one sack.
Buchsbaum: Signing Peter was a good little move for the Bears. Because their defensive
tackles are so overweight, they need to rotate four, and Peter is a very effective role
player rotating in and out. He doesn’t have great ability by any means, but he is a
warrior who will always give you 110 percent effort.
Seahawks release LB Kirkland
Seattle released former Pro Bowl LB Levon Kirkland on Friday. Kirkland, a 10-year
veteran who played one season for the Seahawks, finished with 101 tackles, one sack and
two forced fumbles in 2001. He had his sixth straight 100-tackle season and eighth
overall, pushing his career tackles total to 1,005. He started all 16 games last season,
extending his string of consecutive starts to 123.
Buchsbaum: There was no surprise in the Seahawks cutting Kirkland. He had just gotten
too heavy and too slow to be an effective player anymore. Once they had a younger player
they felt was ready to step in and do the job, that was the end of him because he is too
slow to help on special teams.
RB Levens seeks playing time in Philly
Dorsey Levens, the fourth-leading rusher in Green Bay history, signed a one-year
contract with the Eagles on Friday. The 6-foot-1, 230-pound Levens was looking to get more
playing time than he did in Green Bay. He could get that chance with Philadelphia, which
was looking for a running back to replace Correll Buckhalter, who will miss the season
with a knee injury, and possibly split time with Duce Staley. The 32-year-old Levens
rushed for 3,937 yards during his years with the Packers. He was a two-time 1,000-yard
rusher and earned a Pro Bowl berth after the 1997 season. Levens was limited by two knee
injuries during the 2000 season. He lost his starting position to Ahman Green in 2001 and
gained 165 rushing yards and 159 receiving yards, including one TD reception, in a backup
role. He was cut for salary-cap purposes in February.
Buchsbaum: In Levens, the Eagles are getting a useful back who is well past his prime
and doesn’t realize it. Levens has really slipped as a runner, but by the same token,
he catches the ball well, he does a very nice job picking up the blitz and he still is an
effective kickoff returner. He is a smart football player and a good competitor who could
be a useful back if he accepts his role. On the other hand, he may be someone who blocks
the progress of the Eagles’ third-round pick, RB Brian Westbrook, who is a very
quick, elusive back but not the accomplished blitz picker-upper or blocker that Levens is
and probably not the receiver either, although he is more of a threat after the catch and
down the field.
Matthews retires after 19 seasons
Veteran OL Bruce Matthews is expected to officially announce his retirement following a
19-year NFL career Monday at a news conference in the offices of Tennessee Titans owner
Bud Adams in Texas. The announcement has been expected since the end of last season, but
the man who has played more NFL games (296) than anyone except kickers had kept his
options open just in case he wanted to return.
Buchsbaum: As expected, Matthews retired after a tremendous, long and distinguished
career marked by his incredible durability and outstanding play. Matthews made the Pro
Bowl at every OL position. He was an outstanding Pro Bowl blocker virtually every year of
his career until the very end, when he did show signs of slipping, plus he had another
valuable asset in that he was a deep snapper. He was a player who, come heck or high
water, you could count on to be out there every week and to give you a great effort. The
thing that really stood out about him as a football player was he had uncanny balance and
was always on his feet with good body control. He was very hard to beat overall, very
versatile, very smart and just had a tremendous knack for getting his body in the right
position to make the block and to avoid injury. Like his brother Clay, he played an
inordinate number of years without injuries, so you have to say there was something very
good in the bloodlines of that family to have two brothers who played that long, that
well, with very few injures. Matthews is a certain Hall of Famer, and if he doesn’t
get in after five years, they should hold an investigation to find out why. |
