Pats not the only team with issues

Perhaps it comes with the territory of being a Boston sports fan, but there seems to be a certain level of “woe is me” attitude about the New England Patriots lately. Every little bit of negative news, even if it is drummed up (see Brady/Pats disconnect story), seems to get plenty of airplay where the issues of other teams gets barely a whisper. Sure, it could come with the territory of being a perpetual winning team in a major sports market, but I do think things get a little overblown.

Logan Mankins wanting out of New England is a blow to the team this year should he get his trade wish granted. However, the team does have contingency plans in place. Don’t worry about Brady either, because he isn’t going anywhere. So let’s put things into perspective and take a quick look at some other issues floating around the NFL:

• The Jets have contract issues of their own. One of their most indispensable players, Darrelle Revis, is likely to hold out of training camp if he doesn’t get a new deal. They also have an unhappy center in Nick Mangold and looming deals with left tackle D’Brickashaw Ferguson and linebacker David Harris.
• Titans’ 2,000-yard rusher Chris Johnson has not appeared at any team activities because he wants a new contract. The Titans’ QB Vince Young was involved in a fight at a strip club recently, which is a terrible PR move for him seeing as though he finally seemed to “get it.”
• The Lions, Jaguars, Raiders, and Ravens alllost OTA’s due to breaking the rules on how physical those activities can be. Imagine if the Pats lost part of their OTA’s due to breaking the rules??? PANDAMONIUM!!
• The never-ending Favre Saga in Minnesota, stoked again recently by comments made by Favre about wanting to beat the Saints. The only thing I enjoy about this ridiculousness is the “Favre Watch” graphic and theme that plays every time there’s an update on the aged QB on NFL Total Access. Nice to see some media outlet sees how overplayed the whole thing is.
• Panthers WR Steve Smith broke his arm at a flag football game. Not good for getting a rhythm with new starting QB Matt Moore.
• The Broncos and Champ Bailey are not seeing eye-to-eye on a contract extension, and Bailey is “disappointed”in the team’s lack of interest in extending one of teh NFL’s better corners.
• Buffalo’s DE Aaron Schobel is contemplating retirement, which would be a major blow to the Bills’ defense. Schobel has pestered Tom Brady for years. There’s some speculation that Schobel may be trying to get released from the team.
• One of the biggest stories is Redskins’ DT Albert Haynesworth wanting out of Washington due to his unhappiness with the team’s scheme change from a 4-3 to a 3-4 after cashing a $21 million bonus check. His own teammates have spoken out against him, which is a rarity in the NFL. Now he is suddenly planning on attending training camp. It should be interesting.
• Last but not least, the biggest story of them all: the Arlington, TX police are cracking down on prostitution around the Cowboys Stadium! The City Council is looking into creating a Prostitution Exclusion Zone, which would prevent any convicted prostitute from entering the zone. The horror!