NFL Thoughts (2/6/07)
by Armin Mohajeri

1) Many in Philly believe Andy Reid may take a leave of absence after his two sons had altercations with the law. Phil Anastasia of the Courier Post makes a great point in his article today when he says Andy Reid would be a huge loss to the Eagles. Marty Mornhinweg and Jim Johnson are the offensive and defensive coordinators, respectively. Neither has good, nor extensive head coaching backgrounds. Furthermore, Reid is more like the team's CEO, as he has become more involved over the years with personnel matters and operations. Nobody would fault Reid if he took a leave of absence. However, the team could be in a difficult situation if he did.

2) Signs are pointing to the Cowboys signing Ron Rivera as the defensive coordinator, and Norv Turner as the head coach. ProFootballTalk makes an interesting point, which I neglected in my previous bit about the next Cowboys head coach. Rivera runs the Cover 2, which only needs one stud linebacker and a good linebacker to make a majority of the plays from the linebacker position (e.g. Derrick Brooks & Shelton Quarles). The Cowboys are so deeply invested at linebacker, that (assuming all players will return) position changes are required to switch from a 3-4 to a Cover 2. Marcus Spears and possibly Chris Canty would have to move inside with Greg Ellis manning one DE spot. Akin Ayodele may have to switch back to his college position of DE. DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James would have to be the top linebackers. It looks good on paper. However, multiple position changes make for a difficult transition. This is why Mike Singletary makes a little more sense as the defensive coordinator, as he has experience with the 3-4.

3) According to the Houston Chronicle, David Carr could be done with the Texans. Quotes from Texans owner Bob McNair touch on Carr's inconsistency and the fact that the team needs help at the position. Jake Plummer could be a target, once released by the Broncos, especially with Kubiak's familiarity with the former starter. However, Plummer is not your prime example of consistency. McNair also mentioned that if they bring in the right players at certain positions, the team would be open to taking a cap hit from dropping players on the current roster at those positions.