This is my favorite time of the year for the National Football League.† Not because the playoffs are wrapping up, or because the postseason awards are given out. Not because of seeing old Don Cheadle Playoffs commercials (best football commercials† ever created). Not even because of the laughable attempt to make the Pro Bowl seem appealing to the American public.† This is the time of year when fans of the NFL finally get to see if their team has the guts to make the tough moves, and cut their big name players.
Sure, it seems like a ridiculous concept.† Why would a team choose to get rid of its biggest names and fan favorites? How does this actually help out the team?
The way the NFL is set up, there is the chance for any team, with the exception of maybe the Wittenberg Alum Al Davisí Oakland Raiders, to compete for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.† The salary cap and draft system have allowed teams like the Carolina Panthers to go from a 1-15 team in 2001 to a Super Bowl runner up in 2003.
The problem is that with 32 teams in the NFL, 31 teams end up as failures at the end of the season.† All that matters is winning the Super Bowl, and all regular season accolades are meaningless without it. Ask any fan which team had the best record in the 2008 season and most people will draw a blank. However, when it comes to the Super Bowl champion they will name the Pittsburgh Steelers nine times out of 10.
With all of these failures of teams, you would think that teams would start to make changes, shake up their roster a little bit.† If a system didnít work last season, a team canít expect to go into the next season without making any changes and compete for a title.† Everyone else would be improving, and so should they.
Owners have no problem putting the blame on coaches, which they constantly do, and assume bringing in a new coach will solve all of the problems. Sadly, this logic is as flawed as second marriages, which constantly are described as the triumph of hope over intelligence. If a player has a history of folding under the pressure, that player is not going to take any team to the glory land.
So, without further ado, I have a list of three players that need to be cut, whether the teams want to admit it or not.
Donovan McNabb, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
Every year, fans in Philadelphia call for him to get the pink slip.† He has about as much respect in the City of Brotherly Love as our last president had from the American people.† It is about time that McNabb is finally let go.† At age 33, he is the fourth oldest starting quarterback in the NFL. His numbers havenít necessarily dropped at all, but with a history of injuries it is hard to determine when his best season actually was. He has been a good quarterback, but take a look at his postseason record (10-8, with the losses including four NFC Championship games and a Super Bowl) and it becomes more obvious that he is not the player the Eagles need to lead them into the land of Super Bowl Champions.
Nate Kaeding, K,
San Diego Chargers
Kaeding passed Mike Vanderjagt as the most accurate kicker in NFL history this past season. He flaunts an impeccable 90 percent field goal percentage during the regular season. However, the regular season has no bearing on winning a Super Bowl.† In post-season games, Kaeding is three for nine in field goal attempts, including a huge miss that would have beaten the New York Jets in overtime in the 2004 wild card round, a shank that could have tied the Chargers with the Patriots in the 2006 playoffs and, most recently, three missed field goals (one that was a measly 36 yard boot, more than 20 yards shorter than his career long) in a playoff game against the New York Jets, who they lost to by three points. Kaeding canít do it in the post season.† He has to go.
Tony Romo, QB,
Dallas Cowboys
Romo is the biggest enigma in the entire NFL.† After going undrafted in the 2003 draft, Romo spent three years hidden away on the Cowboys bench as an undrafted free agent before finally getting his chance. He excited people because he was an improvement over an aging Drew Bledsoe, which is like being a better parent than Octomom or Charles Manson.†† Take an extended look at his statistics and they are somewhat impressive.† In the three years he has started every game, he has thrown for over 4000 yards twice.† The problem is his off-season woes, highlighted by his flubbed hold of a 19-yard field goal attempt that would have sealed victory for his team in 2006.† Romo is 1-3 in the playoffs, and seems to disappear whenever his team needs him in big games.† Owner Jerry Jones is one for statement. He needs to make one by getting rid of Romo.
Owners need to stop putting the blame on the coaches and start putting the heat on the players that matter.† Despite a playerís status as a fan favorite, or even tenure with a team, owners need to learn to fall in love with a playerís skill, and not their name.