Article 1: Long Suspensions, Long Deals, and the Possibility of Great Value
YES!!!! ARTICLE #1!!!! What I'm planning on doing with these articles is talk about any recent sports news which I believe can be very important to our upcoming podcasts or could use a little analysis from myself or any of our hosts/guest hosts. There also could be sports which we don't talk about in our podcasts which you'll find in these articles (like the MLB, NBA, PGA, etc.). So anything that I hear about in the days leading up to a new article, I could throw in here and will probably have quotes by hosts from our podcast network. All right, let's get this going.
Josh Gordon Hires Maurice Suh
The Cleveland Browns #1 wide receiver, Josh Gordon, has hired an attorney to assist him in his appeal of his one-year suspension for failing a drug test. Maurice Suh, the attorney he has hired, is the same attorney who represented Richard Sherman when Sherman tested positive for Adderall. Sherman won his appeal of his four game suspension.
This is good news for Gordon because of the experience Suh has with the NFL appeal process for drug usage. Suh should know exactly what to say and what to bring to the table when trying to win this appeal.
I have all reason to believe that Gordon's suspension will be knocked down to 6-8 games. He has a lot of things going for him now. Ever since Ray Rice's suspension of only 2 games for domestic violence, the general public has been going off about how the suspension should have been worse. I completely agree. The way I see it, the NFL doesn't seem to care much about things like domestic violence and cares much more about failing drug tests. This is exactly what a lot of people believe. If the NFL wants to look a little fairer with their suspension process (AHEM, talking to you too NHL), they will drop Gordon's suspension down.
Connor Campbell (@CCam33), our friend and upcoming guest host for the Third and Long Podcast, said this:
"Best case scenario for him is the same thing Big Ben [Roethlisberger] got. Six games with the opportunity to cut it to four. Then again, apparently raping (allegedly) and beating women is okay but smoking weed isn't."
This quote basically sums up how everyone feels and what we see coming. Look for Gordon's suspension to probably be cut in half.
Derick Brassard Signs Five-Year Deal
Derick Brassard, restricted free agent for the New York Rangers, has signed a five-year, $25 million deal, according to Elliotte Friedman. This leaves only John Moore for the Rangers to resign, after deals have been struck with guys like Zuccarello and Kreider.
Personally, I like the deal. Yes, five years is a long time, but Brassard is only 26 and the Rangers are already short on centers. There also will be very few quality centers entering free agency next season. Krejci and Spezza are some names that come to mind but I think their respective teams will eventually sign them before free agency begins anyway. Five million per year may also seem like a lot but the salary cap will be going up over the next few seasons and it should look like a good deal by the end of the contract. In summary, Brassard will be entering his prime and if he can keep up with how he did this past season, it is a very fair deal.
Mike Kane (@ThatMikeKane), host of the Going 5-Hole Podcast, said:
"It's fine. $5 million per [year] is what you have to pay for a 2nd line center. If he puts up 60 points it's fine."
However, others may feel slightly differently than Mike and I do. Dennis Malles (@DMalles98), host of the Going 5-Hole Podcast, told me:
"I like him locked up for long term, but it's a little much. They paid for potential, not production."
Dennis does have a point. Brassard has looked great when he's on his game but he's had trouble with consistency. But at 26 years old, I can see him becoming that 50+ point player this season. He's been so close over the past few years...47 in 2010-11, 41 in 11-12, 29 in 12-13 (shortened season...would've been about a 48 point season in a full season), and 45 in 13-14. I think he figures everything out this season and becomes the player that the Rangers are hoping he'll be.
Lucio Leone (@TheThirdEsquire), host on Three By Five Sports Network, said:
"Good short term deal but might be a roadblock on the way to resigning Stepan, Zuccarello, [and] Staal soon."
Nick Paine (@nrpaine), an NHL guest host we've had on our podcast previously, said this to me earlier today:
"Got overpaid by about $1.5 million. [The Rangers] have too much trouble now this year."
What I'd argue to this is there wasn't really a better option. Brassard is not the kind of player you want to walk away because you could see him really panning out over these next two years. He's a big piece of the Rangers search for the Stanley Cup and you don't want to be going into the season without your second line center. The deal will look better when the cap goes up since everyone in the league will be asking for more money and there will be more room to resign other key players on the team.
Look for more on this in the next Going 5-Hole Podcast coming out this week.
Arian Foster Fantasy Football Value
Ah yes, I had to get a little bit of fantasy football in this article since that's all I've really been paying attention to over the past two weeks. ESPN's Ken Daube, wrote an article this morning on how Arian Foster is worth the early risk in the draft. This coincides with exactly what I was saying for the past few weeks.
Foster, coming off an injury last season, may not seem like the best option out there for your RB1, but I disagree. He's in consideration to be the number 1 overall pick according to my analysis.
Last year Arian Foster did not have the type of season that his fantasy owners were hoping for. 725 total yards and 2 touchdowns in 8 total games played. But last year isn't what you should be paying attention to. First off, Arian Foster was never 100% last year except for maybe one game. Neither was a lot of the Texans team. This year will be different.
The defense will be better this year with the additions of Clowney, Clemens, and coordinator, Romeo Crennel. This will lead to way more opportunities to run the ball during the course of the game. Another reason to believe in the Texans this year is their schedule. They are playing the NFC East (one of the worst defensive divisions in the league), Oakland, Cleveland, Buffalo, and obviously Jacksonville twice. It's an incredibly easy schedule for them this season, just like Kansas City's regular season schedule last year (KC started the season 9-0). Lastly, Foster can run and catch in an offense run by Bill O'Brien now. O'Brien was the offensive coordinator for the Patriots in their 2011 Super Bowl loss year (in which they barely lost). That should be enough information to show why O'Brien will know how to run this team. Oh yeah, and no Ben Tate this season.
In my opinion all signs are pointing to an elite season from Foster. But would I take him #1 overall like I have him projected? Probably not. But if you have a late first round pick, pull the trigger and just wait for another huge season like we know Foster can have.
About the Author
Alex Sappe
Co-creator and co-editor-in-chief of Three By Five Sports Network
Co-host of the Third and Long Podcast
Co-host of the Footballistically Speaking Podcast
Follow me on Twitter: @Alex Sappe
There's more bad news for David Wilson. The New York Giants running back now may never play football again due to another neck injury, this time during training camp. After having a season ending injury, which originally was called spinal stenosis in 2013, Wilson was diagnosed with a "burner" on Tuesday, according to ESPN. The Giants have ruled him out for the rest of the team's practices as well as the first preseason game on Sunday. Now there are reports from NJ.com which say Wilson needs "a miracle" to play football again.
