Three Topics I'm Trying to Avoid

First of all, you gotta relax.  Peppers has to wait on a deal.  Peppers and Freeney came into the league at the same time and Freeney has more sacks, and didn't miss four games because of a suspension.  Peppers and JR know, just like we do, that Peppers is better.  Last year, the player ranked 30th in the league with 7.5 sacks had two more sacks than Freeney.  At 255, he can't compare to Peppers in batted balls or run stopping either.  So he is going to show in the last year of his contract what he's worth and have a Shaun Alexander like season where Alexander has 1880 yds and 28 TDs.  Peppers will have the DE equivalent of that kind of season and get a better contract than Freeney around March.  It's really not that big a deal right now.  

I'm just not worried about Donovan Darius.  There are other safeties available that have played just as well over the last two years (not much because of injuries).  I was exctied about it at first, but he's really not much of an upgrade for the money he's asking, considering he hasn't had a good season since 2005.  He had some good games, though, but I have confidence in Nate Salley because he's got good size and has had a year of learning the defense.  Ken Lucas will be healthy this year.  His last two healthy seasons, he had 13 ints.  Last year he played, but rehabbing broken ribs all year made certain plays and run support difficult for him.  This year, he's got something to prove.  If he's playing better, teams will throw to Chris Gamble more, and he's a playmaker.  Both will be playing for their jobs all year because one of them will be gone in 2008 when Richard Marshall is officially named a starter.  So big Nate Salley will be better in run support without getting hurt than the often-injured, smaller Darius.  We're good to go there.  We could use another safety, but Darius isn't the answer.  Better play from the corners and a better pass rush with Johnson, Peppers, Rucker, Wallace, McGlover and the guy from NFLe will help to keep Minter from being exposed deep.

All the experts are always wrong.  You think we could've made the playoffs with less injuries.  With all of our injuries to the O-line and Morgan, I think just having Smith for training camp and all 16 games healthy would've been good for two more wins.  A healthy O-line would've been a division title for us.

This year, at 12-4 we'll beat somebody else in their stadium in the chamionship game and win the SB against NE.  Remember this team wasn't supposed to do anything, then got to Philly in the championship game, and became the first team to win on the road without a single penalty or turnover.  John Fox can still coach.