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The end of the road came quickly for the Houston Texans running back. A promising career snuffed out by a series of injuries that took him off the track three straight seasons.

 
A tough finish for what was such a promising start for Arian Foster. An amazing story. Recruited out of Mission Bay High School, he goes to Tennessee, and has an amazing two seasons, then gets hurt as a senior. A guy many thought could be a first rounder, never got a call on draft day.

He does not get drafted, and instead signs as a street free agent with Houston. The rest is history, a short history, but an impressive one. In a 3-year span, Fosters runs wild, rushing for 41-touchdowns, catching 5-more scoring passes, 46-TDs. His rushing totals and workload were staggering, 1616,1224, and 1424-yards rushing in that 3-year window. Add on another 159-receptions, and he was the Texans offense.

And now they are all gone. His quarterback Matt Schaub woke up injured and saw his career evaporate. Andre Johnson, the huge wide receiver, was cut loose a year ago, father time collecting tolls on him, and Foster pink-slipped in a salary cap move on Thursday..

For Foster it was devastating. A different major injury each of the last three seasons. A sports hernia, a hamstring, and then a torn Achilles. Each time he came back, but his durability and his paycheck (6.5M) became the big issues. Once upon a time as heavy duty as there was, he missed 23-games over the last 3-years.

 
Modern day history shows two types of running backs. The heavy duty guys, who never seem to get hurt, Adrian Peterson, LaDainian Tomlinson, Emmitt Smith amongst others. Smith had (4,924) touches, running and receiving with the Cowboys, and had 1-neck injury. Tomlinson had a remarkable (3,803) carries and receptions, and suffered just a bruised knee. Peterson has over (2,300) carries in Minnesota and is still going.

History also shows us how quickly it ends, Foster, no different that potential Hall of Famer Terrell Davis of Denver, a brilliant career cut short by injuries.

He might get a chance somewhere else. Yes he is at the 30-age threshold, where running backs are no longer productive. But to look at him in that three year window, powerful, a glider, great cutbacks, and explosion at the second level, it just stuns you, it can be over so quickly.

As the NFL says, you’re just 1-play away from going all the way on a score, or going home with a career ending injury.

 
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“Where Do You Go-When Not Wanted?”

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These have been hard years for the two schools. And now they are no longer wanted, have no home, and are at a crossroads of where they should go.

 
Such is the case when your ego, your alumni, get in the way of decision making

 
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Idaho and New Mexico State haven’t had many winning seasons in the last couple of decades. And now the losing, and their geographical location has let them out in the cold, with no home.

 
The Sun Belt Conferece dropped them as conference members, effective after the 2017 season. Too far to travel. Too costly. Not much of a program. Little TV interest.

 
Idaho has had 1-winning season since 2000, and has a composite (41-129) record in that span. Not too many fun Saturday’s in the Kibbie Dome.

 
It’s even worse at New Mexico State, a barren landscape worse than the desert landscape of the Tex-Mex border. The Aggies had have just 2-winning seasons in 25-years, and dating back to 1979, they have had 38-losing seasons in 41-falls. A combined record of (75-205) in that span. Coach Warren Woodson was a long, long, long time ago.

 
Idaho was a power in Division 1AA football in the Big Sky Conference. New Mexico State’s good seasons have been few and far between. Both decided to try to move up to Division 1-status, where it took 85-scholarships to compete.

 
Idaho never won trying to play as an independent with the big boys. New Mexico State could hardly compete at 1AA and has become a coaching graveyard since going true Division 1. Name a conference, they’ve tried it PCAA, WAC,. Big West.

Even being in the Sun Belt was not a solution. They combined to go (21-99) in conference play in that league. The Vandals say they might consider dropping down. Big Sky officials are ready to welcome them with open arms to allow them to come back to renew rivalries with Idaho State-Montana-Montans State-Weber State. They spent 30-years in that conference, had some great years, great quarterbacks, led by John Friesz, who went to the NFL.

For the Aggies, names like Pervis Atkins, Charley Johnson, Bobby Gaither and Roy Gerela and others come flooding back when you think of the program they used to be, but that was more than 50-yearsago.

Conference affiliations were always a problem. Ever since the old WAC folded up football operations, they were between a rock and a hard place.. And being in small markets, without much tradition, quality recruits were seldom attracted to Moscow and Las Cruces. There were hardly any blue-chip players in their own state, and if they wanted to stay home, chance are they wound up at Boise State and New Mexico, not with the Vandals and Aggies.

 
The Mountain West won’t look at them, for they bring little. If the Mountain West ever decides to push the expansion button, it must include BYU and Tulsa more than anyone else, but the Big 12-is rumored also to be interested in those schools.

 
Swallow your ego, get rid of the red-ink P&L statements, and play wheree you belong. Go to 65-scholarships and then compete in the Big Sky. There are all types of implications though, Title IX women’s programs, a dropoff in conference revenues, in addition to prestige. Each school has at least 5-payday games scheduled for the future. Auburn, LSU and the likes will cancel the contracts if they drop to 1AA.

 
The Big Sky conference has survived the loss of Boise State and others over the years. Everbody throws the ball in that league, they draw on-campus, and they have a playoff you can qualify for. And yes, they’re elite players wind up in NFL camps on a year by year basis.

 
Some pretty good coaches lost their reputations at Idaho and New Mexico State, notably Tom Cable, who wound up in the NFL, and once regarded DeWayne Walker, a great coordinator at UCLA.

 
The shakeup five years ago, when conferences raided other conferences, rocked some big time traditions. Big East football is gone. There are some strange people now in the Big 10, and even stranger road trips involving the ACC. Tell me West Virginia fits in the Big 12. And look who was added in the PAC-12.

 
The little guys were impacted too. Just ask any Vandal alum or Aggies backer how it all worked out for their schools. The next decision better be the right decision, or it might lead to a final decision, to drop football.

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“It Pays to Win-Then You Pay Up”

 
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Oh to be John Elway these days, the General Manager and VP of Football Operations of the Denver Broncos.

 
When last seen, he was raising the Super Bowl-Lombardi Trophy, amidst the Orange and Blue tinsel floating thru the air, his quarterback Peyton Manning on one side of him, coach Gary Kubiak on the other.

 
Oh to be John Elway today, facing the NFL salary cap, and this time likely to take some type of quarterback sack.

 
He committed 15M dollars of his salary cap yesterday afternoon, franchise tagging LB-Von Miller, not having been able to work out a salary cap friendly deal with a signing bonus. By tagging him at 15M-base salary, every contract discussion from this morning on with Miller, will revolve around ‘he got 15M in 2016, so we negotiate from that level up.” Ouch.

 
The Broncos now have an issue with their bright young defensive tackle Malik Jackson, who had a monster Super Bowl on top of a very good regular season. His pricetag would have gone up to about 10M for next year based on performance. He’s asking 14M, for a salary, and that does not include signing bonus money on a multi-year deal. Look what Miami gave Ndomakong Suh (23M) per year, and Jackson seems a better player. Ouch.

 
Unresolved too is the dollar value attached to QB-Brock Osweiler, who came off the bench and helped win four games the back half of the season, after Peyton Manning was shelved with that foot injury. Denver might not have gotten to the Super Bowl without the late season wins from Osweiler, but the NFL defensive coordinators did catch up with him late in the year. He wound up getting benched.

 
But Osweiler knows what’s going on around him. The Redskins just gave Kirk Cousins the 20M franchise tag yesterday, and he has had just one good season of football and has never won a playoff game. Sam Bradford just got 18M a year on a two year deal to stay with the Eagles, and no one compares him with the elite in the league, even ahead of Philip Rivers 17M a season San Diego deal.

 
So here’s Osweiler, with 4-key starts on his resume, asking for 10-to-15M per year and with a signing bonus on top of that. Ouch.

 
And Elway must deal with the 9M-contract of left tackle Ryan Clady, who has now missed two years in a row with 2-knee injuries, and the 10.4M-deal owed DE-DeMarcus Ware-who has back issues and was hurt last year and has lots of miles on those tires.

 
And if Elway doesn’t have enough on his plate, there’s the extra serving of the Peyton Manning story, heading towards age 39, with the surgery history, lack of arm strength, and a 19M-guarantee due next season, if there is a next season.

 
Elway must decide by next Monday, stay or leave for the future Hall of Famer. And it’s complicated, because now Manning’s super-agent, Tom Condon says his client wants to play next year.

 
Oh to be John Elway right now. Denver spent lots in free agency two years ago, but now has contracts coming due next week with big money dollar signs attached to them.

 
In the NFL it pays to win, but then you have to pay up when you do win. It will be fun to watch how Denver’s dollars are spent beginning next week.

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“The Toronto Problem- Hex-and-Hurts”

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I don’t know how you explain this, what has happened in Toronto, and how all these guys wind up in San Diego as Padres free agents.

You have to fell sorry for veteran pitcher Brandon Morrow, setback after setback, after having put up some good numbers in Toronto. One wonders if he’ll ever get the chance to put up a bunch of wins in a Padres jersey.

The veteran right-hander was a winner with the Blue Jays early on his career, quite a feat for a pitcher who is a lifetime diabetic. But injuries caught up to him, and he was finally shutdown with the Jays electing to let him have forearm surgery, then letting him go as a free agent.

He started (2-0) with a (2.73ERA) in five games in San Diego last year, but was battling shoulder woes all spring. They finally put him on the DL in late spring, and surgery soon followed, after setback after setback in his rehab. It was a minor process, cleaning up debris in the right shoulder.

But as in all things with Morrow, more health issues, then came off season illnesses, first pneumonia during his winter rehab, then a case of valley fever. He is really behind the curve now, and likely won’t be ready to start the season in San Diego. He has to prove he can pitch post-surgery, and prove he can stay healthy. All this from a guy who made 77-starts and won 31-games over a 3-year span north of the border.

Oddly, he used to locker next door to Josh Johnson, another ex-Blue Jay and Florida Marlin, who put together 3-dominant years before elbow surgery took him out of the majors. At one point, he was (36-13) over a near 3-year span, then was struck down with Tommy John surgery, twice.

The Padres paid him 10M in 2014 and he never got on the mound. He signed for just 1M last season on a make good contract, and had more surgery at the end of the season. And he stopped rehabbing at the Peoria facility this winter, his career now very much in jeopardy. And this from a guy who was so dominant for a short stretch of time. He hasn’t pitched since mid-summer 2013, and you wonder if he ever will again.

And this year’s edition of the walking wounded is former front line closer Casey Janssen, out on the street corner till a week ago. He too had strong seasons, working out of the Toronto bullpen, and he too, his career went off-track, with the same old-same old, arm miseries. Shoulder woes, not the surgery-kind, but the type that robbed him of his roster spot. He tried to get back on the mound in Washington last year, but they cut him loose too.

Janssen was impressive coming out of the bullpen at the Skydome, accounting for 81-Blue Jays saves in a 3-year span before he started to hurt.

Pitchers are such a fragile commodity. Johnson was a fire and ice competitor on the mound, 97mph fastballs, shutouts, strikeouts, a 1-hitter. Morrow is quiet and intellectual and easy to talk to. Janssen just likes to play baseball.

All 3-had something special, now they are trying to reclaim something in hopes of salvaging careers.

 
Baseball can be so lucrative and so much fun. Baseball can also be pretty cruel too. JJ, Brandon and Casey can attest to that.

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“NFL Draft-Chargers-Fluid”

 
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They have the chance to hit the jackpot in April, they being the Chargers, the jackpot being the NFL draft.

 
The Bolts brass and its coaches come home tonight after a long week at the NFL combine. Watching workouts, meeting amongst each others, and interviewing some 63-players.

 
The San Diego needs are everywhere, most of them on defense, and defense is the strength of this draft. Their needs also involve offensive linemen, and that is the second most important of the draft.

 
Everyone will spread rumors between now and the late April draft day.

 
The Bolts will take defense, likely upfront, to patch a woeful run stop group, and add to a group that has not had alot of quarterback sacks over the last four seasons.

 
San Diego may take an offensive lineman, because of the siege of injuries virtually everyone of Philip Rivers’ blockers has had. They used 11-different guys upfront. Five players had concussions, there were knees, shoulders and ankle injuries too.

 
When they finish tonite at Lucas Oil Field, the Chargers will have seen closeup the top three defensive lineman, all who could be on the board with the third choice in that opening round.

 
Ohio State’s Joey Bosa comes with credentials, sacks and tackles for losses. Someone has to project whether he is really a 3-4 defensive lineman, or better served as a rush linebacker. He ran a disappointing (4.89) in the 40.

 
There was nothing negative though about Oregon’s monster defensive end, DeForest Buckner, all (6’7-290) of him who clocked an amazing (5.0) in his 40.

 
And then Ole Miss inside tackle Robert Nkemdiche motored to a (4.87) time, pretty good for a near 300-pounder inside.

 
The Chargers won’t likely get a shot at OT-Laremy Tunsil, who seems earmarked for the lst pick and Tennessee. That’s okay because there are a wheelbarrow full of OL who could be there early in the second round.

 
The most intriguing comes with little awards, just four years of conistent play. Indiana Hoosier left tackle Jason Spriggs, not only ran well for a (6’6-299), at (4.9) but benched press the house, doing 225-31-times. Add to that a center from Notre Dame, and 2-Stanford tackles, and there will be choices.

 
Next up will be on campus visits and pro days, and more meetings. 1-weekend workout will not influence the Chargers decision makers. Game tape, visits and coaching interviews will carry the day.

 
As bad as it has been for the Bolts on the field, 1-postseason win in 7-years, and this (4-12) fiasco of a season just completed, this team can get help immediately at the top of those draft rounds.

 
Fluid is the key word, because you never know if someone will trade up to grab players ahead of them in the lst or 2nd round. The quality at the top of the board should dictate, ‘don’t trade too far back’ if you deal out of the 3rd spot.

 
This will be a fun march and April, with free agency just ahead of the draft too.

 
Injuries and bad free agent signings-wasted bonus money, have hurt this team. Now they have a chance to fix it drafting 3-35-66.

 
Based on what we saw at the NFL combine, hitting the jackpot is not out of the question. It better be so we don’t have a repeat of last year

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