Most wonderful time of the year

I love this time of year. It is one of the few times in a year that I can have a little hope that the Lions will come out better than in previous years. So many mornings I find myself with a cup of coffee and view at the recent NFL transactions hoping to gain insight into what my favorite team will do to crush my spirits. I have been watching these huge mega-deals go through and been very thankful that we are not in on those, but that seems to be the way that the new front office operates.

Albert Haynesworth got the fattest deal ever for a defensive lineman. $41 million in guaranteed money, $32 million in the first 13 months, and over $100 over the length of the contract. Whoa, this for the guy playing on a very solid d-line as well as having the honors of a fine and suspension for purposely stepping on another players face that didn't have a helmet on. What a weird world, huh?

Otherwise it is just been very interesting to watch these big money deals come through. I think a lot of the wild spending has to do with the fact that no one knows what will happen next year with the cancellation of the end of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Basically 2010 will have no salary cap unless something can get done soon. That is very sad to me as I think that sports with a salary cap are much more enjoyable to watch.

On the Lions front, they have pick up Maurice Morris, recently of the Seahawks. He is a good second runner. Nothing spectacular for a signing though on such a huge first day of free agency. Right now I am hoping for two signings in particular. The first is to get Khalif Barnes who has proven to be a very solid left tackle and still pretty young. This would be a great addition to the offensive line and allow them to do some shifting to put their best 5 players on the line. The second player is Michael Boley who is a great linebacker waiting for a run stuffing opportunity. I think the Lions could really use that type of player on their D.

But that was only the first day, and this period will last 1 month or so leading up to the draft. Trades are now allowed as well and there likely will be some pretty big trades as some of the new coaches are coming into teams that traded away this year's picks for last year's busts.