Sep 23, 2012; Arlington, TX, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Aqib Talib (25) returns an interception in the first quarter against the Dallas Cowboys at Cowboys Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE
Hurricane Sandy dealt a minor blow to the NFL in comparison to what she has done to the east coast as a whole, but she did move the trade deadline back from Tuesday to Thursday.
Unlike baseball, the NFL trade deadline generally passes without many significant moves. Today wasn’t much different but saw the Patriots make a pretty decent upgrade at a position of need.
The New England Patriots had one of the worst pass defenses in the NFL for the last several years but today they made a move for former first-round pick Aqib Talib from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Talib has had off the field issues including an incident in which he shot at his sister’s boyfriend. Normally that isn’t the kind of attitude that Bill Belichick takes on but recently he has been willing to trade mid to late round picks for guys with character issues.
The Detroit Lions also made a move for Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Mike Thomas to fill the void left by an injured Nate Burleson. Of the two major moves made before the deadline the Patriots obviously made the biggest improvement to their team at a relatively efficient price.
The Houston Texans almost never make noise around the deadline and this year was no different. However, I still look for the Texans to be better teams than either of the two that made moves.