Several trends are emerging as the trade deadline approaches Tuesday.
I love that the NFL moved the deadline back a couple of weeks. Having the deadline after the eighth week instead of the sixth gives more teams the chance to see if they are contenders or pretenders. With the deceased practice time under the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, it takes coaches longer to determine the direction of their teams.
As it turns out, trades have escalated. The Snack Harrison trade from the Giants to Detroit this morning is the 94th trade this year, topping last year’s total of 93. Last year, there were seven trades in the final days of the trade deadline. That number should hold up this year.
Let’s study the trends: