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In the wacky off-season, I have a feeling this isn't the end of negotiations. If we sign Lavar, I think Keyshawn will want to be part of a franchise that has the components to definitely make it to the Super Bowl. And if he doesn't get the money he wants from any team, then he may take a pay cut to play with us.

I think Seattle is going to give him what he wants so I expect him to sign there

A cherry lollipop?

Well, they had that "Looking back, looking forward," thing last year. But I agree, it's not as if slogans sell tickets or anything...

He wants his way and wants an excuse to get the hell out of that horrible hitters ballpark in his contract year. His stats no matter what should fall down pretty dramatically.

So if we can't trade picks then I assume that we can't trade players AFTER they were drafted for picks?

Vidro is starting at second no matter what.

I'm in.

Let these guys talk shit about Shockey now. When he has 70 catches for over 1000 yards, they'll leave out of pure humiliation.

Let these guys talk shit about Shockey now. When he has 70 catches for over 1000 yards, they'll leave out of pure humiliation.

I don't see us scoring that little. If we advanced to the second round, we obviously would have had some offensive momentum. They had a young defense and an inexperienced coaching staff and we surely would not have been shut out there. We would have lost 24-13 as I stated earlier.

I highly doubt it.

What about that Japanese guy we got in here? Or one of the Orioles we traded for besides Julio? Surely, there must be a player that can be in the pen that we have on our roster somewhere. It's not as if Padilla isn't replaceable.

How doesn't it? A-Rod gets those bases empty hits with two outs in the playoffs in the first inning. Is that considered clutch? First and second, two outs, tie ball game, bottom seven. He gets a hit. Now that is considered clutch and unfortunately for you guys, a rare sight in the post-season.

As bad as Mo was for us, I'm always going to remember his series's against the Yankees. He destroyed them and I remember on this one particular home run, he hit it in Yankees stadium way in the upper deck and it hit the hot dog guy in the back of the leg! Ironically, it was the hot dog guy. Waste of money and crappy seasons with Mets aside, he did provide us excitement there.

A part of me really wants to give Bannister a shot but that is a big change for a team with a lot of potential. However, I don't trust Julio at all and want Heilman to replace him there. But what has Aaron done to lose the 5th spot job? Don't want to get him upset. He has has a future in starting IMO. Who knows? Maybe Lima can be a gem in the pen

Thing is I've got team average in my guys and I've got Reyes to get the SBs that I lose with Crawford. That's what I like about the deal so much.

I was actually wondering the same thing...

I don't like Arroyo much but I feel that the Sox could've gotten a lot more in a package deal containing Arroyo. Willy Mo has some potential though.

They have a decent amount of proven talent on their line and I think their experience helps them out there. However, potential wise, we may have the edge. But we aren't looking at potential yet. Why not? Bledsoe proved last year that he still has a great arm and an excellent deep ball while Eli showed some flashes but didn't prove to be consistent. I think Eli will be a better QB then Drew in his peak but for now, there really isn't anything to base on that Eli is the better QB then Drew right now. I think that was a missed thing on my part. As you read at the end of my match up analysis, I said I'd give Washington the edge. I'll fix that momentarily. That's what I thought until I read their depth chart. But it turns out they don't have much there, especially on the inside and Ware is the only main guy that sticks out. Even without Lavar, Giants still have decent OLB in Torbor and Emmons when healthy and of course, Pierce in the middle. I do. Despite overpaying Randle El, he should be very good for them. That already gives them a big advantage at #2. Lloyd made some amazing plays with the niners last year with Dorsey, Pickett, Rattay, and Smith at QB. He can do some big things there. And I don't think Moss will have as good as a season either but I still think he has more of a chance to outperform Plax. So they do beat us in that department.

I thought you don't like basing posts and arguements on stats?

I think you guys are giving too much credit to Nick here. He was great at LSU but this is still only his second year in the NFL and is still getting a feel for things. To say that he'll turn Allen into a superstar right off the bat is wrong, he's not that good just yet.

If it's too hard for you to understand, Tampa Bay sucks, they got lucky to play them. If the Cowboys didn't get that break against Carolina and lost to them, we're talking about us beating Tampa at home in the first round.

But they had the benefit of playing Tampa bay. That overcomes a playoff home game easily.

Okay guys, much criticism has arisen regarding how we are falling down the ranks of the NFC East. Well, I decided to compile match ups describing and giving an analytical break down on who is better, worse, or virtually tied. MATCHUP # 1 EAGLES VS. GIANTS Quarterbacks: McNabb vs. Eli I believe this is going to be a fun game inside a game from the 2006 season on. Both have loads of potential, but McNabb has proven to be the winner and has much more experience then Eli so you have to hand the advantage to Philly. Advantage: Eagles Running backs: Barber vs. Westbrook/Buckhalter/potential draftee I think that it really doesn’t matter who the Eagles would pick up in the early rounds or possibly June 1st cuts. We certainly have the inside track here with Tiki and that is basically self-explanatory. Westbrook seemingly can’t stay healthy consistently and Buckhalter hasn’t played in the regular season in two years. Advantage: Giants Wide Receivers: This is where it may be a bit too early to tell which is a consequence of compiling this list so early. I just felt it’s necessary to post something like this now to stir up a different topic and maybe bring your spirits up… or down. Anyway, as of now, the Giants do have the advantage here but the production for both teams has to increase. Advantage: Giants Tight end: Shockey vs. Smith This is a fun comparison. Shockey has much more hype around him and most likely much more talent. But LJ has improved consistently over the past couple years and is proving himself to be a legitimate threat in the Philadelphia passing game. However, as soon as McNabb went down his performance decreased significantly down the stretch. Either way, the advantage has to go to our boy, Shockey. Advantage: Giants O-line: This may be one of the tightest comparisons yet. All of us know about our guys so I won’t bother to go into detail but the Eagles you guys may not know about. They have that excellent LT all of us know, Tra Thomas who easily beats out Luke. At RT though they have Todd Herremans who I honestly can say that he is not really a known name to me and Kareem has much more potential, so he beats him out here. However, this is where it gets tricky. They have that gigantic guard Andrews, the former first rounder who is a monster if he is healthy and we have a solid guard in Snee. They have Hank Fraley at center who was hurt last season but still IMO is a better center then O’Hara. Then we have David Diehl and they have Artis Hicks, which is even. So it is tough to tell in this department. Advantage: Push D-line: You guys may just look at Strahan and Osi and say that we have the better line but hold up a bit. While we have the superstar talent, they have a lot of balance on their line. They have two more talented DTs then us with Mike Patterson and Darwin Walker compared to our Fred Robbins and William Joseph. The ends we have the edge on but not as great as we think when they have Kearse and Howard and we have Osi and Strahan. But potential wise, my unbiased take is that we beat them out. Advantage: Giants LB core: A lot of this stuff may change during the course of the off-season and through the draft. As of now though since I decided to post this now the match ups are tough to analyze. We have more of a star in the middle in Pierce but the outsides are in question with Emmons and Torbor. They have consistency throughout their core with Jones, Trotter, and Barber. So as of now, Philly gets the edge. Advantage: Eagles Secondary: I personally believe that this is the most definite victory either way. And it goes in favor into the Eagles. Although I believe they are slightly overrated, they still have four potential Pro Bowlers in there while we have a CB who may be slowing down, an unproven CB, and two safeties that are still getting a feel for the game. So the answer is obvious. Advantage: Eagles Well, we got the inside match ups. Now we need to look at the overall team one, which contains the coaching also. Even though my opinion states that we have advantages in more things then the Eagles, it is a lot closer then we all think. These two teams are equally matched in most to almost all parts of the game and it will make for two very interesting games this season barring any health concerns. But advantage wise, well I think this is the answer. OVERALL ADVANTAGE: GIANTS MATCH UP #2: REDSKINS VS. GIANTS QB: Manning vs. Brunell This is a tough one. Although Brunell is getting older, his performance, specifically down the stretch of last season does not show it. He appears to be very good right now with his arm strength while Eli still has some work to do with his mechanics, throwing, etc. However, when in doubt you have to look at the facts. Eli is in his third year, second full starting. That’s the time where these #1 picks seem to break out. Brunell is in his latter years, and while he is proving a lot of people including myself wrong, the odds go against him having as good as a year as he had last year. Advantage: Giants RB: Barber vs. Portis This is a fun one to break down. I think both of these guys are excellent fits in their systems. Barber is the guy that can fit into those small holes and make something out of nothing and makes big plays all the time while Portis is the guy that defenses know will take the ball 25-30 times a game and get around 120 yards. And that is what both coaches appear to be looking for out of their RB. However, the Skins RB didn’t carry his team down the stretch and has the talent that our’s does. Advantage: Giants WRs: I think this one is pretty simple. While we do have talent at WR, the Skins have made some transactions that have put them out of reach of us, even if they did overpay one of their guys. As if Moss wasn’t too much as it was, try Moss, Lloyd, and Randle El. Advantage: Redskins TE: Shockey vs. Cooley Both of these guys are great contributors to team. Cooley gets more TDs then Shockey but Shockey is much more of a threat then Chris throughout the game, and possibly in the red zone. Both players fit their systems well. It’s tough to decide between these two. But Shockey had his best season of his career with a broken sternum and a QB struggling down the stretch. If healthy and if he has Manning on his best game, Shockey is out of reach from Cooley. Advantage: Giants O-line: This is where I may be stumped. While searching for the official depth chart, specifically of the Skins o-line on redskins.com, it stated that no depth chart is available during the off-season. Gee, I guess the fact that they sign 20 new guys a year contributes to that. Anyway, from the information that I contain now, I believe that the Giants have more of a balance in their line then the Skins. Advantage: Giants D-line: Again, the lack of having a depth chart on my screen hurts the analysis but I will try anyway. They’ve got a terrific DT in Cornelius Griffin and a solid end in Renaldo Wynn. Phillip Daniels can be a force on their line too. And I believe that their other DT is Joe Salave'a, a decent DT. They have more of a balanced d-line attack while we have a more intimidating one. It’s close but I gotta give us the edge here. Advantage: Giants LB Core: I think this is a pretty even matchup. We have a stronger MLB as we did against Philly but they have more of a threatening attack then we do on the outside, barring a signing of Arrington or Peterson for us. However, if we draft an OLB, they have an advantage there anyway. Advantage: Push Secondary: As far as I’m concerned, I think the talent level has to go to the Redskins, unless Taylor does not come to the Skins due to his allegations and all that crap. But they have Carlos Rogers, a top 10 pick of only a year ago, so there’s potential right there. Taylor is one of the best safeties in the league if he stays out of trouble. And despite being overpaid, Archuleta is pretty good himself. That overmatches our secondary. Advantage: Redskins Okay, so now we summarized the Giants vs. Redskins match up and once again it is pretty even. It may have to come down to strategy and coaching along with health and control of the team and I think through that, our team will shine through. OVERALL ADVANTAGE: GIANTS MATCHUP #3 COWBOYS VS. GIANTS- the match up we’ve all been waiting for QB: Manning vs. Bledsoe I’m really going to put a challenge on myself here. This is very, very evenly matched up. Bledsoe, no matter what you guys say I firmly believe still has the arm to make some of the best throws. Manning as we know, has the potential to make some of the best throws. It may have to come down to the support cast where we have the better RB, and they have the better WRs. So it’s tough to say this but…. Advantage: Cowboys RB: Barber vs. Barber/Jones This is one of the more easy ones to decide. Barber is the MVP of the league. These two guys are young, not so proven and still learning the game. I’m sure they will be fine RBs in the NFL but they are not even close up to Tiki’s level just yet. Advantage: Giants WRs: Again, this is pretty easy too. The Cowboys have the best WR in the NFL now, Terrell Owens to go along with one of the better ones in Terry Glenn and the under the radar guy, Patrick Crayton. We have some nice guys ourselves, but not up to their level. Advantage: Cowboys TE: Shockey vs. Witten Another tough one to decide between Shockey and an NFC East TE. Witten sort of fell off the map this season after his break out year in 2004 so I expect him to have a better season but not significantly. TO will take away some catches from him on the stat board but he will be an impact player. Shockey however I believe will shine through the most. Advantage: Giants O-line: Both teams have great lines this year. Dallas got another tackle though recently in Fabini, who’s signing got overshadowed by TO and will play a big factor on this team. They’ve got talent all through the line and their potential IMO slightly goes over ours. Advantage: Cowboys D-line: I think we have them beat here. The 3-4 complicates things a bit but our two ends easily beat theirs and their DT beats ours. However, the gap between our two DE and theirs overpowers their DT and ours. Advantage: Giants LB core: With Demarcus Ware, you guys may think that they easily defeat our guys. Not so fast though. They don’t have that great ILB and as far as I know, they don’t even have a SLB. That may change via draft or FA but for now, it’s closer then we may think, and we actually may have a slight edge here, especially if we sign Lavar. Advantage: Giants Secondary: I think this is an easy one. They’ve got three very capable corners, compared to our questionable three. They have Roy Williams and Keith Davis compared to our Gibril Wilson and Keith Davis. No contest really here. Advantage: Cowboys Overall, this may be where we are defeated. The Cowboys have more of an overall edge over us talent wise and possibly coaching. I believe that they are the better team. OVERALL ADVANTAGE: COWBOYS To sum all this up, I hope you read and enjoy and eventually debate or agree with some of the points I made. Seeing that it is only March, I will make ramifications in August or some time around there if necessary if there are some changes made. Enjoy!