Football News

The big news of the day is, the Eagles have traded quarterback Donovan McNabb to the Redskins. Now, most Philly fans seem to be glad to see him go, but the question remains, why strengthen a division opponent? In the 2009 season, the Redskins did not win a single division game. They went 0-6 in the NFC East prompting one commentator to quip, "The Giants owned the Cowboys, the Cowboys owned the Eagles, the Eagles owned the Giants, and EVERYBODY owned the Redskins." Now, the analysts seem to think that this will benefit the Redskins, enough so that they may actually keep the Eagles out of the playoffs this year. Whether that happens remains to be seen. However, the move doesn't bother Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff. Said he,"mcnabb to redskins. makes no difference to me. he'll still have to answer to me twice a year."

In other football news, the Cowboys have cut safety Ken Hamlin and pro bowl left tackle Flozell Adams. Now, Hamlin won't be missed. He was pretty much a non factor in the Cowboys defense. He had been cut by the Seahawks because he just wasn't a player. The Cowboys picked him up. He had one good season, but when he got his long term contract, he became a non factor in the Dallas secondary. Get this-- seven passes defensed. Yep, that is his official stat for the 2009 season. Seven. And when the best thing the coaches can say about you is that you tell everybody where to line up, that says a lot.

Flo, on the other hand, well that breaks my heart. He is one of the best left tackles in the league. Now, before you all start squealing about his false starts, he only had 5 last season. And did you know that Jason Witten had more than that? Nobody is squawking for him to be cut. And you know why? Because the only time an offensive lineman gets noticed is when he doesn't do his job. And Flo was good at his job. Good enough to cause Justin Tuck to lash out in frustration, calling Flo a "dirty player". Good enough for Tuck to start fights, for which Flo always seemed to get blamed--and fined. But Tuck started them, every one.

The Cowboys opponents this year featured some of the best pass rushers in the league. But they were a non factor. Justin Tuck--zero sacks; Osi Umenyiora -- zero sacks; Julius Peppers -zero sacks; But then, we all saw what happened in Minnesota when Flo went out with an injury. In case you missed that game, I'll tell you what happened: the Minnesota D ate Tony Romo for lunch setting a single game record for sacks allowed in a post season game. Yep, Flo was good at what he did, but age is creeping up on the old man. He'll be 35 next month, and in football years, that's great grandpaw. Still, three other teams have already contacted him. It was a big gamble Jerry took in cutting him--much like the gamble he took last year in cutting Terrell Owens.

Doug Free is to be Flo's heir apparent at left tackle. The question, though, is if he can do the job. He couldn't handle Jared Allen, but then he was just a backup. As starter, he will get all the reps in practice, and that will definitely improve his game.

That's how Flo got so good. Because in practice, he had to go up against....

DeMarcus Ware.

And that'll make a man out of ya real quick.

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