These are, of course, two topics that rarely meet, but this weekend, one became a metaphor for the other.
As one would expect, the Jet fan in me was thrilled to land Mark Sanchez yesterday. Our quarterback situation was terrible; now we have a reasonable chance for a great QB for the foreseeable future. What was given up to get the draft spot needed to pick Sanchez (the team’s no. 17 and 52 picks, Abram Elam, Brett Ratliff, and Kenyon Coleman) were more than worth it (only Coleman was a starter last year, and while Elam played well, the defensive backfield became a glut when D0nald Strickland was signed).
So, for the Jets, it was a good deal, but here’s the thing – it was a good deal for the Browns (who gave up the No. 5 pick), too.
Cleveland had no real interest in any of the top names this year. They had some holes to fill, and Head Coach Eric Mangini had a good idea which players he wanted from his former team. He knew better than anyone what talent couldn’t get on the field in New York but could work for his team. So he got the players he wanted and a second round pick, plus a few more after dealing the Jet’s No.17 pick and moving down to No. 21. I suspect most Brown fans are happy with how events transpired.
That is the nature of international trade. Sure, the economist in me could bore you, dear reader, to death with comparative advantage charts and production-possibility curves, but for football fans, it’s an easy explanation.
If football were more like politics, you could see measure taken to ban the Jets from dealing quarterbacks (the talent pool was low, making it worse would be counter-intuitive), or draft picks (too many holes to fill on the offensive side of the field), or a whole slew of things that would make no sense because they take only a narrow view of the team’s situation.
Well, substitute the economy for the team, and (I hope) one can see why economic protectionism is such a bad idea.
April 27, 2009 at 7:23 am |
You forgot a 90% tax on signing bonuses.
April 27, 2009 at 8:46 am |
Sanchez is going to be terrible. He is the sole reason that USC did not win the National Championship this past season (see his performance against Oregon State) and lest you forget, he was not good enough to beat out the putrid John David Booty for a starting job as a junior. Toss in the fact that every USC QB who has come out during the Pete Carrol era has failed miserably in the NFL (See Palmer, Carson and Leinhart, Matt) and it is clear that the Jets have shot themselves in the face yet again.
April 27, 2009 at 11:35 am |
Carson Palmer failed miserably. So we all imagined that division title the Bengals won. Who knows would’ve happened if Kimo von Oelhoeffen hadn’t rolled on his knee in that playoff game. And while Leinart hasn’t been successful so far I think the book isn’t closed on him yet.
April 27, 2009 at 11:44 am |
If memory serves, Palmer completed a 70-something-yard pass on the play during which he was injured.
April 27, 2009 at 1:19 pm |
Yes, the Bengals won a division–not coincidentally during the worst year the AFC North had in years. As for Palmer, check out his numbers, he had exactly one decent year. I think it is fair to say that under the standards imposed on such drft picks he has been a miserable failure. And Leinhart is worse because not only does he have Palmer’s tunnel vision and happy feet, but he is also a drunkard with an aversion to any sort of off-season preparation.
Face it, USC is a criminal program built on illegal payoffs and fawning media attention. It is not suprising that the low character kids they produce can’t handle the harsh glare of the NFL spotlight. Then again, Poodle Pete was never any good at anything related to the NFL.