With only one NFL preseason game today (San Francisco 49ers at Chicago Bears), I would like to take a quick read of one the current stories from across the NFL landscape and perhaps offer a little prescient insight into the future. Or maybe it is just fantasy.
1) Anquan Boldin has apparently asked for a release from the Arizona Cardinals due to the fact that they have not restructured his contract. The Cards say he will not be released and that they are still trying to come up with a deal. For his part, Boldin says he can’t foresee ever getting along with the organization again.
1a) Over in Philadelphia, the receiver-corps-strapped Eagles have lost their leading receiver from last season, Kevin Curtis, for at least the start of the regular season. Curtis will have sports hernia surgery today, an injury the Eagles are all too familiar with, as both Donovan McNabb and L.J. Swith have lost significant playing time over recent years to the same injury.
While it is not a part of their recent history, it would be very prudent for the Eagles to acquire a real number one receiving threat if they truly desire to rise back to the top of the NFC East this season. While making a deal to acquire someone with Boldin’s skill set certainly will not guarantee a successful season, trying to make do with what they have almost certainly will leave the Eagles out of the playoff picture yet again.
In Arizona, the last thing this seemingly cursed team needs is a player who wants nothing to do with them – even though Boldin is saying he will be a professional about the whole thing and play hard on the field. This sort of distraction has derailed the hopes of better teams in the past and the Cards do not need the infighting this situation could bring to their locker room.
I see the Eagles trying to put together some sort of deal to bring Boldin over to Philly. I don’t see either team making the playoffs, unfortunately, because I can’t see the deal getting done. It just is not the way the Eagles normally play. Even though the one year they brought in a very good receiver for McNabb they went to the Super Bowl, the fallout from that Terrible Omens episode will likely scare them away from offering enough for Boldin’s services – if they try at all.
Meanwhile, at FanYard, the Eagles are predicted to lose to the New England Patriots tomorrow in their third preseason tilt of 2008, according to the Yardstick for the game.
Arizona plays Oakland on Saturday, and the FanYard community is predicting a three-point victory on the Yardstick for the home team Raiders.
Related posts:
I love Boldin and Arizona, they did pretty well last year, and of course I don’t see them making the playoffs, but Boldin should be moved to a better team.