Gift Wrapped with a Bowe

Some of you may remember this gem from a couple seasons ago,
a great play against Indianapolis showcasing Bowe's athleticism.
Photo credit to CBS Sports.

Corny headline, I know. But if he does not stay with Kansas City, Dwayne Bowe will be one of the biggest stories of free agency.

As the season came to a close, it seemed a done deal that Bowe would hit the free agent market as then GM Scott Pioli did not seem too keen on signing Bowe to the long term deal he wants.

John Dorsey, Kansas City’s new general manager, may have a different take on Dwayne Bowe, and many might remember that Andy Reid was hoping Bowe would fall to the Eagles in the ’07 draft. The Chiefs selected Bowe three spots ahead of Philadelphia.

This information falls in line with last night’s report that the Chiefs are working toward a new contract with Bowe. The 28-year-old receiver has not had great numbers the past couple of seasons, but that shouldn’t hurt him too much in negotiations considering who he’s had throwing him the ball. Matt Cassel is a decent quarterback, but no #1 wide receiver is going to have stellar numbers with him under center.

But what if Kansas City does hold that over him in contract talks? What if he walks because they won’t give him the money he deserves?

Personally, I think Miami would be the top landing spot for Bowe. Ryan Tannehill is a solid young quarterback who needs targets. Bowe may not be the biggest guy out there and he will never be able to do what guys like Megatron and A.J. Green can do. But Bowe is one of the most athletically gifted receivers in the league right now. He would be the perfect guy to come in and make plays to build the confidence of a young quarterback who could be yet another legend from possibly the greatest draft class of all time for his position.

Likewise, he could also be a fit for the Minnesota Vikings. Christian Ponder needs a go-to wide receiver and it doesn’t seem like Minnesota is too keen on bringing back Percy Harvin. If Harvin leaves, Minnesota will be desperate for a wide receiver and they would be dumb not to make a play on Bowe in free agency.

Of course, all of this depends on his status in Kansas City. Right now, it looks like Bowe is likely to stay put. But there will be plenty of interest if he does walk. If he can’t get his money in Kansas City, he’ll get it elsewhere.

Check out my blog’s Facebook page and follow me on Twitter, @cpuffnfl, to keep up with new blog posts every day during the week and on special weekend occasions.

Sunday Football Afterword: Week 8 Early Games

Michael Vick said after the game that Andy Reid is
"obviously considering a change" at quarterback.

Once again the NFL scheduled a ridiculous number of games for the Sunday 1 p.m. time slot; it certainly kept me busy trying to keep up with everything. As was the case last week, I couldn’t keep track of everything so I’ll talk about what I know and I won’t talk about what I don’t.

Carolina didn’t play particularly well, and Cam Newton threw two picks, but the Bears played their worst game of the season defensively, allowing him over 300 passing yards. Carolina led 19-7 in the fourth quarter but the Bears offense finally came alive and took the lead twice in the final minutes of the game, the second time coming on a 41-yard field goal on the last play of the game to give them a 23-22 victory. The Bears were honestly lucky to win, but win they did.

Cleveland knocked off San Diego in an outcome that I predicted, but I didn’t get to see much footage from the game so I’ll just say it was a 7-6 victory, the second win for the Browns this season.

Matt Stafford finally had a good game and he barely used Calvin Johnson. He threw three touchdowns, his first multi-touchdown game of the season. Seattle’s secondary finally had a poor game. I won’t discredit them for it yet; after all, they did shut down Tom Brady’s passing game and I can’t truly fault them for overlooking Matt Stafford who had been the second most disappointing quarterback in the league until yesterday.

Jacksonville was in the game for a while, but without Maurice Jones-Drew I didn’t expect it to last, and it didn’t. Green Bay won 24-15 at home to keep pace in the NFC North.

I expected Miami to beat the Jets, but I didn’t expect them to blow New York out of MetLife Stadium, and I certainly did not expect them to do so with Ryan Tannehill hurt. He went down in the first quarter after throwing for just 18 yards and Matt Moore came in and played pretty well. The Jets, a week after a very close loss to the Patriots, were crushed 30-9 in one of their poorer defensive showings of the season.

The Patriots came off the close win with their first win over an NFC West opponent this season. After losses to Arizona and Seattle, they scored touchdowns on each of their first five drives and rode that to a 45-7 victory over the Rams, who were playing as the home team in this year’s edition of the NFL’s Europe series.

One streak had to end, and it was not Atlanta’s run at an unbeaten season. Andy Reid is now 13-1 coming off a bye after the Falcons trounced his Eagles in Philadelphia. The 30-17 score is much closer than the game itself was. But people calling for Michael Vick’s head, STOP! Philadelphia’s defense did not get a stop until the 4^th quarter. That’s not something you can overcome.

Pittsburgh played a fantastic game. Their offense took advantage of Washington’s ineptness on defense and the Steelers defense did what no other team has been able to this season – shut down Robert Griffin III. Now, for anyone thinking that this is a sign that RGIII is in danger or having a Cam Newton-like season next year, don’t jump the gun. Keep in mind that the Redskins receivers dropped at least eight passes, several on third down plays that would have gone for first downs. We could have had a completely different ball game. But we can’t take anything away from Pittsburgh, who used everything to their advantage as a good team has to.

The final game of the early afternoon was in Tennessee where Andrew Luck gave Indianapolis fans something they haven’t been treated to in a couple of seasons; a fourth quarter comeback. Luck led an 80-yard drive to end regulation, capped with a touchdown, to send the game into overtime. Then he let another 80-yard touchdown drive to steal the win from Tennessee.

Check back later for my Sunday Football Afterword for the three late games. Thanks for reading everyone!