The NFL Offseason/Pre-Draft Thread

[Guest El Satanico]

Their second and third string RBs have done fine when James wasn't playing, so their running ability wouldn't change drastically.

 

Denver scenario. That attack is fueled by an excellent blocking scheme. No way Rhodes is as good as James though, but that goes without saying.

Yeah there's no doubt about that. The point is that they can survive without James and they can use his money on the defense.

[the pinjockey 0]

Raiders sign Derrick Burgess, 5yrs/17.5mil/6mil bonuses.

 

espn.com

 

That is in-fucking-sane to pay him that much based on, really, one great performance against Michael Vick. He has already missed two full seasons to injury and was not exactly a world beater when he did play. He is a nice DE, with some potential, but he is worth 1 mil, 1.5 max.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Browns released Courtney Brown.

 

Hopefully they'll be going for a defensive lineman in the draft.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

Take that with the fact that the Titans were a yard short of a Super Bowl and...well...fuck.

I hope you're not honestly insinuating that had the Bills won the Music City Miracle game instead of the Titans, that they'd be close in the Super Bowl?

Hey now, the point is the Bills should have beat a team, in their unbeatable home stadium (at the time) with their backup. A team that was a yard short of a Super Bowl. At the very least, that's impressive. At the most, that could have been the Bills riding into the Super Bowl. You can't deny that they gave the Titans their toughest AFC game, in Tennessee to boot.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Why couldn't they make all of these moves when they still had Randy Moss? Was his contract that bad? The Vikings have no offense at this point however, without a solid running game and no one for Culpepper to throw the ball to. They still have that seventh pick though. The Vikes have a lot of overrated guys on D too, particularly Hovan, and Williams.

 

If Kerry Collins doesn't suck, the Raiders could have the most productive offense in the league.

 

I still hope the RAIDAZ~! do better than the Vikes, although I think barring a complete breakdown the Vikes have that division in the bag.

They made these moves in spite of Moss, not because of Moss. His contract gave them room for maybe one more of the free agents they signed, but not that much more. Remember they have to sign the guys they draft, too, and the #7 pick doesn't come cheap. I wouldn't owrry about the Vikings offense, either; Culpepper showed than Burleson, Robinson, And Campbell (should his legal troubles clear up) were a more than capable trio of receivers, and Culpepper's already probably the best quarterback in the league with the plays he can make on the ground and through the air. They also have a very capable running game, but just choose not to use it because Mike Tice is a fucking dolt.

 

At least the Vikings won't have a problem in the secondary with Corey Williams, Darren Sharper, Antoine Winfield, and Fred Smoot, and with Napoleon Harris in the LB spot and Hovan and Udeci in the front seven, their defense has gone from terrible to respectable.

 

Astute observers will note however, that having a big name doesn't necessarily guarantee having a big-time defense, as is evidenced by the Patriots' secondary.. hell their whole defense with the exception of Seymour, McGinest, and Bruschi (all 3 of which may not even come back in the near future). Law doesn't count because he was out most of the year. This is the only hope I'm relying on for Green Bay at this point, though as I don't see how they could afford to shore up the secondary having lost their defensive leader and only Pro-Bowler (although it could be argued that Barnett will eventually get there and probably assume the leadership role if not Diggs, and KGB I believe got there..).

 

At least FAVRE~~~ is still playing, although at this point I'm not sure if I would have minded him retiring and giving Nall the starting spot so they could have more room under the cap to spend on defense, but whatever.

[Guest Failed Mascot]

Chris Hovan is gone. He became an UFA this year.

[Brett Favre 0]

Really? The Jets should take a look at him.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Rubbing salt deeper into the wound..

"This has been a team on the brink of getting over the hump and going to the Super Bowl," Darren Sharper told the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis. "The one thing that always held this team back was its defense. But I think with what they're doing this off-season, we have a chance to have one of the top defenses in the league and get over that hump."

 

The Packers wanted Sharper to swallow a drastic cut in salary - he was slotted to count $8.3 million against the cap and was due a $2.6 million roster bonus on Friday. Sharper and the Packers couldn't come to terms, so he was released Thursday. Sharper's deal with the Vikings is a reported four years and $4 million per season.

 

Minnesota's defense ranked 28th in the league last season., including 27th against the pass. Sharper, who ranks fifth in team history with 36 interceptions, should help considerably. Even with a subpar season due in large part to a knee injury that slowed him for the second half of the season, Sharper picked off a team-high four passes. His three touchdowns underscore his big-play ability.

 

"I'm pretty sure the Packers know what they lost. And if they don't, they'll find out twice this year," Sharper said.

 

That's exactly what new Packers general manager Ted Thompson didn't want to hear.

 

"I would have just as soon seen (Sharper go) to an AFC team," Thompson said. "Darren's a good player and I'm sure he'll do a good job for Minnesota."

 

Talking about his new coach, Mike Tice , Sharper took a parting shot at the Packers and head coach Mike Sherman .

 

"I heard people say that he was a player's coach, and I got a sense he definitely was," Sharper told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "I could talk to him and not feel awkward. I could never say that in Green Bay. Not to rip anybody, but I never felt I could do that with the head coach in Green Bay."

 

So wait.. How much of a paycut did the Packers want him to take?! If he's making $4 million this season with the Vikings, and he was scheduled to make $8.3 in Green Bay, they wanted him to slash his salary by way over half of what he was to be getting?! But on the other hand, with that attitude, I hope that knee injury that slowed him down for the majority of this past season comes back and bites him in the ass this year. I'd take Mike Sherman anyday over Mike Tice as head coach. How many great coaches have been "player's coaches" anyways?

 

I'm bitter. Fuck off Darren, you and the Vikes deserve each other.

[Guest guerillagenius]

Haha Bitch. Can you say Vikings NFC North Champs?

[therealworldschampion 0]

Preseason schedules are out. Eagles are playing three teams that they usually play in the preseason: Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and the Jets, and the Bengals. Pittsburgh game is an ESPN telecast in Pittsburgh.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

After seeing a bunch of Vince Lombardi stuff, I'd say he was a player's coach. Mariucci too, who isn't a great coach, but I'm sure will be when all is said and done.

 

Don Shula was also a player's coach. I'm sure I could go on.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Haha Bitch. Can you say Vikings NFC North Champs?

I already conceded to that fact way before you even joined the board during the Vikings-Packers playoff games. The offseason solidified it even more as the NFC Norse.

 

After seeing a bunch of Vince Lombardi stuff, I'd say he was a player's coach. Mariucci too, who isn't a great coach, but I'm sure will be when all is said and done.

 

Don Shula was also a player's coach. I'm sure I could go on.

 

Lombardi was a master motivator, and practically invented the art of gameplanning. His players respected him, but by no means did that mean they were buddy-buddy. This book I have that came out a year or two after the Packers' Super Bowl win, entitled Green Bay Replay, shows the link between the old and the new, and explains how players related to Holmgren and Lombardi in a similar fashion, in that both men were to be respected and admired, but they weren't player's coaches, like say Ditka, Reid, Mariucci, I think Cowher is at times from what I've seen, and obviously Tice. Jack Del Rio is definitely a player's coach and one I think will be extremely successful.

 

But by no means does that define whether a team is better or not, although you could look at the Giants who loved to play under Jim Fassel but hated Tom Coughlin at first. Winning makes everyone happy.

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

After seeing a bunch of Vince Lombardi stuff, I'd say he was a player's coach. Mariucci too, who isn't a great coach, but I'm sure will be when all is said and done.

 

Don Shula was also a player's coach. I'm sure I could go on.

ESPN Classic said Shula was a bitch to play for

[Guest Frank_Nabbit]

Packers are talking about signs Guards A. Klemm from the Pats and Matt O' Dwyer (?) from where ever

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

After seeing a bunch of Vince Lombardi stuff, I'd say he was a player's coach. Mariucci too, who isn't a great coach, but I'm sure will be when all is said and done.

 

Don Shula was also a player's coach. I'm sure I could go on.

ESPN Classic said Shula was a bitch to play for

Well most of his players have said that he was great to play for, and I've read up on how much of a genuine guy he was, and how much the players liked that. He was hard on them, but being a player's coach doesn't mean being soft.

 

Jimmy Johnson seems like he'd be a player's coach. Especially with the way he stomped on Flutie's son with all of them.

[Guest Vitamin X]

Packers resigned C/G Grey Ruegamer who developed into a fine player last season filling in for Mike Flanagan, and just signed G Adrian Klemm from the Pats, completing their rebuilding of the offensive-line.

Ruegamer back in fold

Todd Korth - Scout.com

March 15, 2005 at 5:55pm ET

 

Offensive lineman Grey Ruegamer, released in a salary cap move in late February, re-signed with the Green Bay Packers today.

 

The Packers also signed safety Todd Franz, who was with the team on and off in 2002. Ruegamer, 28, restructed his contract with the Packers last year to help the team's salary cap. But he started 11 games for the injured Mike Flanagan at center and actually cost the team about $200,000 against the 2005 salary cap because of incentives that were triggered in his contract.

 

Ruegamer signed a three-year, $2.655 million contract ($275,000 signing bonus) as an unrestricted free agent in 2003. It is believed that he signed a one-year deal for the minimum of $540,000, plus a modest signing bonus.

Packers start OL rebuilding with Klemm

Bill Huber - Scout.com

March 17, 2005 at 4:25am ET

 

After watching their starting guards roll out the door, Packers general manager Ted Thompson is rolling the dice with a member of the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.

 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting the Packers have agreed to a contract with unrestricted free-agent guard Adrian Klemm .

 

The Packers also re-signed tight end David Martin , the team announced Wednesday.

 

The Packers hope Klemm can replace standout left guard Mike Wahle . Wahle and Klemm have similar backgrounds. Klemm was moved to tight end for a portion of his senior season at Hawaii while Wahle began his career at the Naval Academy as a tight end.

 

The catch, however, is the 6-foot-3, 312-pound Klemm has been available for only 26 of 80 regular-season games over the second-round pick's five-year career.

 

That makes the signing a major risk-reward scenario. Klemm's contract is worth $2.6 million over two years, including an $800,000 signing bonus, according to the Journal Sentinel. If Klemm develops into a player close to the caliber of Wahle, they will be getting a heck of a bargain. If Klemm remains injury prone, then the Packers will get little bang for their buck.

 

"I have had some freak injuries," Klemm told reporters during his visit with the Pittsburgh Steelers earlier in the week. "I work out hard. I got the performance award for offensive line over at New England last year. I just have had some kind of bad breaks. I'm healthy right now. ... I'm not a wreck like some people might think that I am. I'm feeling pretty good. That's one of the reasons I'm looking at other places, I just want a fresh start."

 

For the Packers, time was running short to acquire a potential starter during free agency. Most of the top guards went shortly after Wahle and Marco Rivera left. All of the top guards in the tier below Wahle and Rivera have signed, capped by former Colt Rick DeMulling joining Detroit on Wednesday with a two-year deal. Atlanta's Roberto Garza reportedly declined the Packers' overtures.

 

Among Klemm's 26 games, he has started 10 times, some at guard and some at tackle. He missed almost all of last season after breaking his foot in practice. The injury put Klemm on injured reserve for the third time in four years.

 

In 2003, he played in three games, all starts. In 2002, he played in all 16 games, with three starts. He was unable to play a regular-season snap in 2001 due to a torn calf. In his rookie 2000 season, Klemm started four of his five games after injuring his knee during training camp.

 

Meanwhile, Martin is back in the fold after an unsuccessful quest to find a starting role elsewhere. The oft-injured Martin has been a disappointment during his four years in Green Bay.

 

The former wide receiver and sixth-round pick from the University of Tennessee has the athleticism to be a star but that ability has never translated onto the field. With three-time Pro Bowler Bubba Franks - assuming he returns - primarily being a red zone and possession-type receiver, Martin could earn a big role as a deep threat if his production ever approaches his athletic ability.

 

Martin has 39 catches for 344 yards and four touchdowns during his career. Last season, he made just five catches for 88 yards. In perhaps the biggest play of his career, a 35-yard catch in the Nov. 14 home game against Minnesota, Martin aggravated a nagging knee injury. He was put on season-ending injured reserve after the game.

I was kind of disappointed they didn't go for Floyd "Pork Chop" Womack, simply because of the nickname. But, they both still look like very solid signings. Chad Clifton is easily a Pro Bowl-caliber player in his own right, and Tauscher is vastly overrated. I think both Klemm and Flanagan can bounce back from injuries, and Ruegamer can fill in Wahle's place nicely, though either one will have a tougher time replacing Rivera, who was a hell of a run blocker.

 

Although, I'm still not worried about the offense. They'll be fine, especially with Brett Favre in charge, and I think Craig Nall can even step in and do just fine if #4 ever does go down. What troubles me is an already weak secondary losing their best player, an aging and overpaid interior line with a 3rd down pass rusher being paid as a starting defensive end, no actual pass rush or run defense on the other side, and an undersized linebacking corps missing an OLB at the moment. They must REALLY be banking heavily on the draft.

[Guest Flyboy]

Plaxico Burress is close to a deal with the Giants. I don't feel like finding a link because I'm lazy.

[mike546 0]

Official: 6 years 25 mil.

 

 

Whoo!

[Guest Flyboy]

Peerless Price Pt. II. Nice going, Giants.

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

Browns have signed RB Chester Taylor, LB Matt Stewart and DT Jason Fisk this week. It's been a very interesting offseason so far.

 

My only complaint about Phil Savage so far is that he's bringing too many former Ravens onto the team. I hope he isn't trying to imitate past successes.

[Crimson Platypus 0]

I'm a big Chester Taylor fan, hopefully the Browns give him the chance to be the man there, I don't think they will be disappointed.

 

 

Dolphins signed Stockcar McBackup. Sadly he will be starting for them I bet. Very down on that signing...

[LaParkaMarka 0]

The Vikings have traded a 7th round pick to the Jets for MLB Sam Cowart. Story is here.

 

You know, if the Vikings had a defense and Randy Moss, they would be scary. How much cap room did they recoup by trading him?

[Guest Vitamin X]

They don't need Randy Moss. Fucking hell, this just reeks of that one Redskins offseason. I could only hope it turns out the same way.

 

Next news item for the Vikings: Mike Tice investigated by NFL for ticket scalping scandal, resigns. New coach Jimmy Johnson to come out of retirement and coach Minnesota to Super Bowl.

[LaParkaMarka 0]

Seeing their offseason, I could more see the resurrected corpse of Vince Lombardi coming back and coaching them. Why not?

[Guest El Satanico]

My only complaint about Phil Savage so far is that he's bringing too many former Ravens onto the team. I hope he isn't trying to imitate past successes.

Well, all of the Ravens signed were at or near the level of other players in the same price range.

 

I'd like to see Savage add one more Raven...ILB Ed Hartwell

[Guest Salacious Crumb]

I haven't minded much to this point other than Trent Dilfer. I think Baxter and Taylor are good additions.

[Guest Vitamin X]

HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Dolphins: Williams talks to Saban

Sunday, March 20, 2005

 

News

The Ricky Williams rumors are heating up again. The Miami Herald reports the former running back spoke with Dolphins' head coach Nick Saban by phone last week after avoiding his calls for weeks. Williams says he has quit using marijuana and Saban left open the possibility of Ricky returning if he brought "value" to the team.

 

Views

Now that they have actually been in contact, this could get kind of interesting. The Dolphins probably want to have some sort of answer, one way or another, on the Williams issue before next month's draft. Stay tuned for more on the Ricky saga.

 

Also,

Vikings: Henderson moves to backup MLB

by Fanball Staff - Fanball.com

Saturday, March 19, 2005

 

News

Friday's trade that sent middle linebacker Sam Cowart from the Jets to the Vikings in exchange for a seventh round pick in the draft, means incumbent Vikings starting middle linebacker E.J. Henderson is moving to backup. "I think E.J. has a lot of football to learn, and he can learn it from Sam Cowart," Vikings head coach Mike Tice told the Minneapolis Star Tribune on Friday. "E.J. needs to dedicate himself to being a much better football player. Hopefully, he can return to being an elite special-teams player for us. I'm not saying that's going to be his role, but it's what he needs to work towards."

 

Views

How's that for a goal, E.J.? Special-teams ace! It was no secret that the Vikings' linebacking corps was the weak link in their weak defense, and many of the problems stemmed from inexperience and being out of position. Should Cowart stay healthy (which is always a big if) he will go a long way toward solving that problem.

[Crimson Platypus 0]

Ed Hartwell signed with the Falcons. Just reported on ESPN radio 6 years 26 mil I think it was.

[Brett Favre 0]

There's a rumor going around that Jerry Azumah could be traded to the Jets. Any Bear fans, or NFC North fans know what we're getting? His statistics are very respectable.

[KingPK 0]

The Thursday night season opener and first Monday night game have been announced:

 

ABC's NFL "Monday Night Football," the most successful and longest-running primetime sports series in television history, will kick off its 36th season as the two-time defending Super Bowl champions, the New England Patriots, host the Oakland Raiders and new receiver Randy Moss on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 9 p.m. ET, it was announced jointly today (March 21) by ABC and the NFL.

 

ABC Sports bookends the NFL kickoff weekend with the first of 16 consecutive Monday night games on Monday, Sept. 12 at 9 p.m. ET when the NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles travel to Atlanta to take on Michael Vick and the defending NFC South champion Falcons in a rematch of the NFC Championship game, which the Eagles won 27-10.

 

Under the leadership of head coach Bill Belichick, the New England Patriots have become a dynasty, winning the last two Super Bowls and three in the last four years. Two-time Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady leads the Patriots, as they host the Oakland Raiders, who have retooled their offense this off-season by trading for WR Randy Moss, the most dynamic wide receiver in the NFL, and by signing former Jets RB LaMont Jordan.

 

In the first Monday game, Donovan McNabb, Terrell Owens and the defending NFC champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, travel to Atlanta to take on Michael Vick and the Falcons. The Eagles, who have been to four straight NFC Championship games, finally broke through and made it to the Super Bowl last season by defeating the Falcons 27-10 in the NFC Championship Game. It was a great turnaround season for the Falcons, who went from 5-11 in 2003 to 11-5 last season.

 

The remainder of the 2005 "Monday Night Football" schedule will be announced at a later date.

 

During this past season, "Monday Night Football" finished in the Top 10 (6th) among all primetime shows on network television for the 15th consecutive season among households, viewers and all key adult and men demographics. In fact, once again it finished first in the key male demographics.

 

The NFC title rematch should be a good game, but the Raiders seems like an odd choice for the Patriots' first opponents. The Colts are coming up here again, but I can understand why the NFL would hold that off for a late-season Monday night game or something. Hell, I'd even go for them opening in Pittsburgh against the Steelers, so both prime-time games would be conference title rematches.