Jeff: Where to begin?

Wow what a week! March Madness, some crazy free agent signings, and of course, Daunte the Dolphin (which, along with the Brees signing, completely shakes up the draft). Jer and I both have been Daunte supporters since the beginning (go as far back on this site as you want, and when we mention Daunte, we've been in favor of him), and although, like everyone else, we were disappointed with his performance last year, we both wanted to see him back in Minnesota this year. Which Daunte would have returned? The former Pro-Bowler, or the Deer-in-the-headlights guy we saw last year? I wanted to find out. Call his bluff, make him report to camp, and give the guy a chance to play under the new "Triangle of Authority's" regime. Learn from what happened to the Timberwolves by letting Stephon Marbury go: Yeah guys can make life miserable for their team when they're unhappy, but let it play out a bit and see what happens. Give him the 2006 season to see what he looks like, because I don't think there's any way he could be worse than he was in 2005. As witnessed in the Moss and Culpepper deals, you'll also never get full value in trade for a quality player.

So the Vikes caved to his wishes and dealt him, and frankly getting a 2nd round pick in this year's draft was impressive, considering you were only dealing with one team, the Dolphins, who were actually willing to give you a 2nd rounder (the Raiders were apparently only willing to give up a 3rd). Really I think the TOA (Triangle of Authority in Winter Park) felt like they wanted to completely wipe the slate clean, and start over with THEIR guys, and guys who wanted to be there. Not a bad theory, and really, if they felt they had to trade Daunte, they did as well as they could in the deal, and along with their free agent signings, it give the Vikes a lot of flexibility in the draft.

(Strib reports today also that the Vikes will get new uniforms for 2006. Considering how ugly most new uniforms have been- think Cincy, Arizona, Buffalo or Seattle- and the fact we're dealing with purple and yellow as a color scheme, let's just say I'm not too thrilled about what these things are going to look like.)

Speaking of the draft, what happens now? Damn good question. For Minnesota, I think they stay put at 17, unless they feel like they can make a good enough deal to get up into the top 10 for one of the QB's. However, now that the Saints have a QB, there's no telling what will happen in the top 4 picks now until draft day comes, and those top 4 will affect everyone after that. If New Orleans ends up at staying at #2, their management should be fired on the spot. With a top talent like Leinart available, and teams behind you like Tennessee, the Jets, Oakland, Arizona, Baltimore, and Minnesota all needing a franchise QB (I'd include the Lions in there but we know they can get the best WR without moving up), the Saints SHOULD have no trouble finding a good deal to move down, stockpile picks, and still end up with a quality 1st round pick. This draft is stacked at the top, with 7 or 8 guys (Bush, Leinart, DE Mario Williams, LT Ferguson, LB AJ Hawk, TE Vernon Davis, Cutler, Young, and DB Michael Huff) grading out as top 5 talents. Although many scouts are saying Williams is another Julius Peppers, QB's are always worth more, and the Saints could move down even a couple of spots, with either the Jets or Titans, and still get him.
IF the Saints do stay put and take Williams, then Leinart goes to the Titans at 3, the Jets take Cutler or Ferguson at 4, the Pack perhaps go Hawk at 5 (or Lendale White), and then from there? Well you'll have to wait for our 1st Annual MWSR Mock Draft next week.

Regardless, the Vikes, for the first time since Daunte was drafted, need to look for a quarterback to develop in the draft. Despite some rumors or prognostications to the contrary, I'd be shocked if Cutler or Young falls all the way to 17 for Minnesota. If they don't go up to get one of those two guys, you have to use one of your 2nd round picks on either Brodie Croyle from Alabama or Charlie Whitehurst from Clemson (who I'm a big fan of), as this is a pretty weak QB draft after the Big 3, and after Whitehurst and Croyle, it's an absolute free-fall in talent.

As for the wild moves in free agency, both Brees and Edgerin James took the most money they could get, even though it looks like their new teams will be much worse than their old ones. The Saints were offering more guaranteed money than the Dolphins were, and according to one article earlier this week, Brees said he looked forward to the challenge of rebuilding the Saints, and doing what he could to help the city of New Orleans rebuild after the hurricane. He's always been an underdog in his career, as Purdue was the only D-1 school to offer a scholarship (who he helped lead to a Rose Bowl. Why doesn't that ever happen at Minnesota? Oh that's right, Glen Mason's there and Gopher fans are happy with 6-5 seasons every year. I forgot. My mistake. Go mediocrity! Go Gophers!), and despite gaudy collegiate numbers, he was a 2nd round pick with San Diego. It could also be a nice excuse for taking more money. As for Edge, despite what Indy said, apparently the Colts had no intentions of bringing him back. With very few teams needing a starting running back (especially with a strong draft class coming), he took the best deal he could get. At 28, with already a lot of wear on him, I don't think you can blame the guy for taking $20 million over the next two seasons. I don't think he'll be as successful as he was in Indy. Teams last season dared the Colts to run, often dropping seven or eight guys in coverage on every play. With Arizona, they had one of the league's worst lines last year, and teams are likely, despite the threats of WR's Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Bolden, to play the run first. I don't think he'll have a terrible year, but I would doubt he'll put up the MVP-like numbers he did the past season.

Finally, this from ESPN.com's Gary Horton: with Tennessee likely to draft a QB and keep McNair, Billy Volek (a 29 yr old QB who was outstanding filling in for an injured McNair- wait, that's redundant. McNair's ALWAYS injured!- two seasons ago and who I think could be a good starter in this league), is now expendable. With some extra draft picks on hand in Minnesota now, what would you think of Billy Volek in some new hideous purple uni this fall? Personally? I say let's get it done-- well minus the hideous uniform part.