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Happy Leap Day, everybody! I hope you're wearing your blue and gold. Or maybe "30 Rock" was just funning us all along (meaning there's no Leap Day Willie, either). Just watch the episode here.
In any event, I'd like to take time on Leap Day to look at the six biggest leaps of faith that NFL teams, players and others will take as we approach free agency and the draft.
And without further ado ...
Adding a big-name wideout sounds so exciting, but as somebody who lived through the David Boston era in San Diego, I know you should be careful what you wish for. So while Mario Manningham seems like the final piece to the puzzle (I'm looking at you, Ravens), remember the names Bert Emanuel, Alvin Harper and Andre Rison before you get excited.
Good news: One free-agent receiver who did work out pretty well -- Terrell Owens in Philadelphia -- still is looking for an NFL team.
I don't want to call out those who are skeptical the NFL can continue to be successful as it floods the TV market (though his name rhymes with Moy Fakeman), but to quote Zack Ryder: "Are you serious, bro?" If a league like the NBA can have games seven nights a week, I'm sure a league people actually care about can survive having games on Thursday.
Go ahead and make your Scott Mitchell jokes, but there have been some successful free-agent quarterbacks in recent years (Drew Brees, anybody?). But what teams like Washington, Cleveland and Miami have to decide is: Do you move up in the draft for Robert Griffin III, or do you break the bank for a guy who could just be a system quarterback?
It was Verbal Kint in "The Usual Suspects" who said, "I believe in God, and the only thing that scares me is Keyser Soze." The Madden curse is Keyser Soze, because I don't know how many times we need to see the cover boys flame out before we actually believe it.
And really, EA Sports, you need to take some responsibility. Do like you do for the college game and put retired legends on the Madden cover.
Well, I guess I'm taking things literally here. Here's what we do, though: Put Tebow on the Madden cover.
Getting Manning won't cost a lot contract-wise. But the team that ends up with him will put its Super Bowl hopes on a soon-to-be 36-year-old who's coming off neck surgery and has only one Super Bowl title in his illustrious Hall of Fame career. But then again, if the alternative is Kevin Kolb, is this really a leap of faith?
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Agree or disagree, contact Rank via Twitter or via Facebook. Also be sure to catch the latest on the Dave Dameshek Football Program.
