No deals at the deadline.

I know it is a rare occasion for big trades to happen in the NFL, especially in the middle of the season. But this is where I think baseball is smarter than football. In baseball you see a flurry of trades at the deadline, normally involving players that have expiring contracts and teams that are not in contention deal high priced, or expiring players that they know they can't sign to teams that need that one piece for a playoff run. For example the Reds, having no real hope of making the playoffs, traded Ken Griffey Jr., and Adam Dunn near the deadline and got a few prospects for them. Both the Diamondbacks(Dunn), and the White Sox (Griffey) were looking at the playoffs. Enter the Bengals, who clearly have no shot at going to the playoffs, unless they run the table and that is just not possible, not with this team. So, with no shot at the playoffs and with a need to either free up money or get more draft picks to save the ailing team the Bengals do nothing at the trade deadline.

Like I said I am not totally surprised since NFL teams are content to just let a free agent walk in the off season and not get anything for him. But here is what bothers me and I have suspicions. The Dallas Cowboys and the Detroit Lions made a deal, and if you ask me the Lions made off HUGE. The Lions got a 1st, 3rd, and 6th round draft pick for Roy Williams, a wide receiver that they were probably not going to re-sign after this year anyway. The Lions are in the same situation that the Bengals are in, they are win less, have no shot at the playoffs, have a good wide receiver that they will not re-sign, and allot of holes to fill through the draft. I am not sure who called who, but I still say the Lions made off like bandits.

The Cowboys, while I am not surprised that they made a move, made a bad one. Jerry Jones loves to hit that panic button just like George Steinbrenner in New York does. The problem with both men, while they are passionate to win and I respect that, however, they don't always go get what they need. Jerry made a deal with the Lions and gave away three draft picks on one draft to get a wide receiver on a team that already has one of the top three receivers in the league in Terrell Owens. The defense is what has been killing Dallas this year, not the offense. I guess a 50 year old Zach Thomas at middle linebacker was not the answer! Every game I have seen Dallas play, they have put up plenty of points and seemed to move the ball well on offense. They have one great quarterback, running back, one great tight end, one hall of fame receiver, and another good change of pace back. The only issue maybe that their quarterback, Tony Romo, is not out 4 weeks with a broken pinky. Probably trying to give Jessica the shocker. But again they didn't trade for a quarterback, they went out and got a receiver that they really didn't need. The "experts are calling this a good trade for Dallas, but I think it was a bad move. I think that they could possibly salvage the deal if they can lock up Roy Williams for 4 years, but if they can not work out a deal then it was a total bust of a trade.

But here is where this trade really effects me, who called who? Did Dallas call Detroit, or did Detroit call Dallas? Who cares? I do. If Dallas was calling around then you know that they called the Bengals to discuss Chad or TJ. And TJ is in the same spot with the Bengals that Roy was in with the Lions, contract is up at the end of the year and the team has not made an effort to re-negotiate. And if Dallas did call and offered the same thing to the Bengals why in the hell didn't they jump on it? I would have preferred to trade Chad and free up some cash and resign TJ. I know TJ is older, but he does things that Chad can't/won't, like block, go over the middle, and catch a crucial third down pass. But if it came down to it I would even be willing to part ways with TJ in order to get all those draft picks since this season is a wash anyway. At 0-6 you might want to starting looking towards the future.

Just for giggles I looked up some numbers to compare the three wide receivers that I have mentioned. To build anticipation I will give them fake names and there will be no bias. Well there will be a bias from the names that I give them, but I had to be funny.

1. Injury McDropsalot. Over four years he has averaged 913 yards, 7 touchdowns, and played 13.75 games. Age = 26


2. Consistant McToughnuts. Over four years has averaged 1040 yards, 8 touchdowns and played 15 games. Age = 31


3. Gatorarm McQuick. Over four years has averaged 1379 yards, 8 touchdowns and 16 played in 16 games. Age = 30

Now it would seem to me that either Consistant or Gatorarms would be a better option for the sheer fact that they play in more games. You are getting more for your money. The only upside that Injury has is that he is younger, but as we all know younger doesn't mean more talented. For clarification....

1. Injury = Roy Williams


2. Consistant = TJ Houshmandzadeh


3. Gatorarm = Chad Johnson

Now doesn't it seem more odd that Dallas would give up all of those draft picks for that guy? Are you ready for even more of a shocker? Randy Moss was traded from Oakland to the Patriots for a fourth round pick! Randy freaking Moss, who will in all likely hood be in the hall of fame. Easily one of the best receivers of our generation and the Patriots got him for a fourth round pick, ONE fourth round pick. When I first thought about this I blew my own mind, so I will give you a moment to regroup from that mental bomb I just dropped on you..............

Something to keep in mind of course is that it was Oakland, a terrible franchise run by a senile old man in Al Davis, that traded Randy to the Patriots, who are run by Bob Kraft one of the smartest executives in all of football. It would be like Lenny, from "Of Mice and Men," trying to match wits with Bill Gates.

So in conclusion the Lions get three additional draft picks for next year, and since they are just as terrible as the Bengals, they will have a top three pick on their own and I am looking at Dallas to sneak into the playoffs as a wild card team, but not much further, so they will also get a middle of the road pick as well. Dallas gets a good receiver, I will not call him great, to crowd an already crowded offense. And the Bengals did nothing, as usual, to better their team either for now or for the future. I have no idea what happened, if Mike Brown really does hate Jerry that much, because we all know Mike is stubborn enough, if Jerry never even called Mike, or if Detroit was the instigator. But I do know that if Matt Millen was still in Detroit none of this would have happened. I miss you already Matt, since you are gone the Lions might have a chance to get better, which means the Bengals are again the laughing stock of the NFL.