Andy Richardson

Like Ferris Bueller said, life moves pretty fast. That was the case in the NFL over the past few days; there's no shortage of things to talk about. So forgive a second pop culture reference, but with a nod to Top Chef, here are some quickfire reactions to the major developments....

Jake Delhomme to the Browns: Initially I assumed that this was still Seneca Wallace's job to lose. Then I was reminded that Delhomme played in a west coast offense for a couple of years early in his career (when Mike McCarthy coached in New Orleans), and learned that Delhomme would apparently make $7 million this season. In a word, wow. Cleveland is paying Delhomme almost as much to play for them as the Panthers are paying him not to play for them. Anyway, I'm putting it about 70-30 Delhomme being the starter there. Whether he'll do well, or keep the job, is less certain, but things probably can't be any worse for Mohamed Massaquoi and whatever receivers the team cobbles together than they were last year.

Brady Quinn to the Broncos: I'm no Kyle Orton fan, but for all that Josh McDaniels accomplished in terms of running quality offenses in New England, I'm not sure I believe in him as a player evaluator. Mike Holmgren, in contrast, has earned something of a reputation for knowing a good quarterback when he sees one, and he shipped out Brady Quinn for peanuts about as quickly as he could. So for now I choose to believe that the only good quarterback McDaniels has had the opportunity to coach in Denver is the one he traded to Chicago. I think Quinn will start more games than Kyle Orton this year, but I don't know that either guy will be the team's starter in 2011.

LaDainian Tomlinson to the Jets: Like Ian, I'm not sure why this makes sense for the Jets. Best I can think is that they're not as optimistic about Leon Washington's return from a gruesome leg injury as they've let on, and wanted a better pass-catching option than Thomas Jones. Or they want to sell seats in their new stadium, or they just panicked after letting Jones go. Whatever the case, even Jets fans are curious about this one. As a guy put it on the radio, the Jets are a young team on the way up. Tomlinson is an old back going in the opposite direction. For Tomlinson, the deal makes sense: New York had the top rushing offense last season, Leon Washington is coming off injury, Shonn Greene isn't Adrian Peterson. But a big year isn't likely. Not a guy I'm interested in.

Packers take care of their own: Very quietly, the Packers locked up both offensive tackles, nose tackle Ryan Pickett, and safety Nick Collins to long-term deals. (Well, for Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton, long-term is probably 2 years, tops.) But it's definitely a bunch of moves by a team that thinks it's going to be in the hunt for a Super Bowl in the next few seasons. And I can't say they're wrong. If the league is smart they'll be scheduling Vikings-Packers in week 15 or 16 next season, because that could be the game that determines the NFC's 1 or 2 seed.

Bengals sign Antonio Bryant: It's almost funny how quickly the Bengals are attached to, shall we say, wayward souls in the NFL; players who bounce about from team to team, get suspended, and/or spend entire seasons out of the league. That said, if Bryant is healthy, this is a nice signing, for the team and for him. Far better than who the team would have signed if Chad Ochocinco was calling the shots. As an Ochocinco and Carson Palmer dynasty owner (for now; the hot stove is a'burning), I like this move.

Washington signs Larry Johnson: I guess this isn't really a big deal, but then again, Mike Shanahan has put together a good running game or two in his day. If and when Clinton Portis breaks down, maybe Johnson will step in and show he's got something less. He certainly doesn't have the mileage Portis does; although he's older, he's carried the ball just 1400 times in his career -- about 700 carries fewer than Portis. If the guy weren't a jerk who will no doubt be griping about his role two games into the season, I might be interested in him.

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