2013 Offseason Update, Week 19

Leach has moved quickly since being cut by the Ravens, visiting the
Miami Dolphins early in the week. He has also been linked to
Kansas City and Denver. Photo credit to ESPN.

We’re now seven weeks from Preseason. Also, Tebow-mania picked up a bit this week when he signed a two-year deal with New England, one that includes no guaranteed money.

Ravens Lose Major Piece

I’ve written about a possible opening for the Dolphins in the AFC East with the Patriots lack of experience at receiver, and about the important year Jake Locker and the Titans have in the AFC South.

Meanwhile, in the AFC North, the release of Vonta Leach could give the Bengals an even better chance to win the division than I already thought. These days, we rarely see impact players at fullback who have the ability to influence the outcome of games.

Leach is the exception to the rule. He can run the ball in more than just short-yardage situations, the can catch it out of the backfield, and he’s a solid blocker on both run and pass plays. With an offensive lines that already can be suspect at times, letting go of Leach is going to come back to bite Baltimore. I can it costing the Ravens up to two games this season, which should allow Cincinnati to win the division comfortably.

Austin Collie Working Out

After more concussions than even I can remember, Austin Collie, the former Indianapolis Colt, is trying to keep his NFL career afloat. He worked out for the Patriots on Wednesday and the 49ers on Thursday. Both teams are in dire need of experienced receivers. The Patriots only have a couple active receivers with solid NFL experience and the 49ers are looking someone to offset the loss of Michael Crabtree. San Francisco signed another receiver recently, Brandon Carswell, but he suffered a torn ACL.

Lombardi Turns 100

Vince Lombardi, one of the greatest coaches in NFL history and also one of the most quoted sports figures, would have turned 100 last Tuesday. To honor him, I’d like to share my Top 10 favorite Lombardi quotes.

10. “Some of us will do our jobs well and some will not, but we will all be judged on one thing: the result.”

9. “Success is like anything worthwhile. It has a price. You have to pay the price to win and you have to pay the price to get to the point where success is possible. Most important, you must pay the price to stay there.”

8. “If it doesn’t matter who wins or loses, then why do they keep score?”

7. “The difference between a successful person an others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

6. “Winning is not everything – but making the effort to win is.”

5a. “The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender.”

5b. “Once your learn to quit, it becomes a habit.”

4. “The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It’s your mind you have to convince.”

3. “Winning is not a sometime thing, it is an all the time thing. You don’t do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time.”

2. “Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence.”

1. “Watch your thoughts, they become your beliefs. Watch your beliefs, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. What your actions, they become your habits. Watch your habits, they become your character.”

If I am missing anything important, or if you just want to hear my thoughts on any other offseason news from the past week, feel free to contact me via my Twitter account, @cpuffnfl.