No Podcast Today but a Little Fun with Some Living Legends

I am putting off the podcast for a reason unheard of in the ranks of sports talk radio: I just don't think there's enough to talk about to warrant a show. I know. I know. That flies in the face of the very spirit of sports talk radio, but alas I am nothing if not a heretic. A few bullet points for an occasionally sunny Monday.

• This guy:
  

  The smile of a child that took his dentist's advice.

Was cut by Mike Holmgren to retain the services of Rick Mirer. Matt Hasselbeck was no hot shit in the 1998 preseason, though he was promising. He wasn't cut directly to make room for Mirer, he was in fact cut to make room for a returning Dorsey Levens, but he was cut in favor of Mirer who became the Packers third string quarterback. Briefly. Hasselbeck cleared waivers and signed to the Packers practice squad. This foolish beyond justifying move paid off like a lotto ticket as the Packers found a yet stupider trading partner and fleeced the Parcells Jets for a conditional pick. That pick became a fourth round pick after Mirer started six games. Think Matt Hasselbeck has no value on the open market?

• Daniel Te'o-Nesheim got the mohel treatment at the East West Shrine Game, losing an inch and a half off his listed height. That further hurts the chances of my beloved Husky making much of an impact in the NFL draft. An end can be small or slow, but he can't be both. That's a shame for a player that busted his butt in college and turned into an extremely productive player on a garbage team. It invites the question: Could Te'o convert to defensive tackle? He started the UCLA game at DT, but it was his only career start at that position. Daniel is a pretty lean kid, and he would likely need to gain something like 50 pounds to play tackle, but he's a hell of a football player. I hope there's a path to the NFL for him.
• Speaking of switching positions, many of the best fullbacks did not start their pro careers as fullbacks. Mack Strong was a 200-something pound rusher out of Georgia when Tom Flores recruited him to Seattle. Strong was a quality receiver in Georgia's "Air Georgia" attack, but the lesser half of a rotation headed by Garrison Hearst. I think Owen Schmitt is fighting for his roster spot at this point. Three head coaches in three years has a way of endangering unestablished players. If Seattle finds itself in the market for a fullback, and Schmitt or no, it needs depth, it might consider one of the slower, stronger backs that can catch.