pakowitz

http://www.houmatoday.com/apps/pbcs....onCat=SPORTS02

Turley takes act to St. Louis


JON T. STEWART

Send out the clown.

To St. Louis, that is.

After five years of throwing helmets, bickering with the local media and other fun-filled activities, the circus act that is Kyle Turley will take his sideshow to St. Louis after the New Orleans Saints traded the offensive tackle to the Rams Friday for a second-round pick in next year’s NFL draft.

And just what are the Rams getting in Turley, who was given a six-year, $26.5 million contract with a $10 million signing bonus?

You know, other than the constant sideshow, no one knows.

As a Saint, Turley never earned an outright invitation to the Pro Bowl. Part of that is because he toes the line between being a "dirty" player and going all out between whistles.

NFL players and coaches vote for Pro Bowlers and since most of them view Turley as a "dirty" player and cheap shot artist, they’ve never given him the nod.

The other part is that, after watching him play this past season, he’s not really a great player.

He moved from his right tackle position to the more arduous left tackle spot this past season to replace Willie Roaf.

And he didn’t fare that well.

As a matter of fact, quarterback Aaron Brooks needed eyes in the back of his head.

Flashback to Week 4, when Turley had his problems against the Detroit Lions and was beaten for three sacks.

And then there’s the Saints’ season finale against the Carolina Panthers when Turley forgot to pick up a simple blitz assignment and ex-Saint Mark Fields blew right past him to sack Brooks and effectively end New Orleans’ season.

So what was the big deal about moving from right tackle to left tackle?

Most quarterbacks are right-handed and the left tackle must protect the QB’s blind side. So teams put their best offensive tackle to that side because opponents usually put their best defensive ends on that side.

Turley, who fancies himself as one of the best offensive tackles in the league, played solidly but didn’t live up to expectations having to face the NFL’s best defensive ends.

Not what you want to do when you want a new contract.

And when Turley asked for more than the six-year, $30 million contract with an $8.5 million signing bonus the Saints offered him, they decided to shop elsewhere and they came up with free agent Wayne Gandy.

With Gandy in the mix and a desired contract nowhere in sight, Turley did what he did best: gave us a sideshow.

He blasted Saints management on local and national radio talk shows, hoping for a trade.

And Friday, he got what he wanted -- maybe even more.

The Rams are just a tweak here and tweak there from being Super Bowl contenders again.

The Saints got a high-round draft pick for him and if Gandy turns plays as well as he did with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Saints could come out of this smelling like a rose.

The Rams hope they get a quality offensive lineman in Turley and not a three-ring circus.


[Edited on 3/25/2003 by pakowitz]