NFL Offseason Thread

[Guest Epic Narcissism]

Late to the party on Cedric Benson, but mark my words, now that he got his payday, he'll never play football again.

[naiwf 0]

The Giants need to cut bait on Shockey and work out a new deal with Burress otherwise our passing game will have no legit targets.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

Late to the party on Cedric Benson, but mark my words, now that he got his payday, he'll never play football again.

 

Screw that loser. How do you think Forte will do this season, since he has to be the guy now.

 

A) Offensive ROY

B) Promising young RB. Thousand yard season.

C) Total disaster.

D) As mediocre as Adrian Peterson (our AP, not the good one, obv.)

[Edwin MacPhisto 0]

B, or close to it. Given the continued WTF of the passing game, there will be a heavy weight on him. He's really good, though there's always the question of whether his great stats were mostly a case of him playing against terrible competition most of the year. Still, good measurables in addition to that, and I was always impressed with him.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

B on Forte.

 

I think he has a chance at Rookie of the Year unless a LB blows up ala DeMeco Ryans last season.

 

I currently have Forte at 1,123 yards with 8 TD. Very good year for a rookie RB.

[Sideburnious 0]

I think McFadden will take Off Rookie before Forte. Forte has a chance to make a big splash in Chicago but I think Oakland have the better offence. Russell will hopefully shine, they have better (though not by much) WRs and I could see McFadden in a Westbrook style roll. Their Olines are also very similar righ now. Fargas might start, but I could see McFadden taking over by week 6.

[Jorge Gorgeous 0]

B on Forte.

 

I think he has a chance at Rookie of the Year unless a LB blows up ala DeMeco Ryans last season.

 

I currently have Forte at 1,123 yards with 8 TD. Very good year for a rookie RB.

 

Theres an OROY and a DROY, and... in Portland, Oregon... there's a BRoy.

[MillenniumMan831 0]

Even though this news is almost a week old, I'll add that after practicing for one play two years ago and one practice just last week, LeCharles Bentley asked for and got his release from the Cleveland Browns.

 

I'm guessing Bentley was pissed no one checked on him and was offended when no one sucked his cock when he came back. He was listed as the 7th OL on the depth chart.

 

On the flip side, the Browns were probably pissed Bentley rehabbed in Arizona rather than Cleveland (especially w/ Bentley being a Cleveland kid) and also probably assume Bentley's career as a useful OLineman is over.

[KingPK 0]

So Javon Walker got the shit beat out of him and robbed in Vegas after going to a club and buying 15 bottles of Dom Perignon (cost: $15,000) and spraying them on everybody.

 

He's fitting right in with the Raiders, isn't he?

[Ripper 0]

Yeah. They should suspend him for being the victim of a crime.

 

In other news, the Falcons cut Jimmy Williams, their top draft pick from 2 years ago.

 

This is probably the first move since the Shaub trade that I have agreed with .

[Broward83 0]

Yesterday, Houston announced they reached an agreement with Rosevelt Colvin to be a situational pass-rusher to play opposite of Mario.

 

I like the sound of it, but I know he's been injured lately so I'm a bit wary on if this will pan out or not.

[WCS 0]

My question on the Walker robbery is where were this guy's bodyguards/posse? You'd think that after what he's gone through over the last couple of years, along with the phatty-boombatty contract he just signed, that he'd be a little wary of situations that could lead to that sort of thing. Not that I'm blaming Walker for what happened. Nobody deserves that, regardless of how careless they may or may not have been.

 

Of course, even with a bodyguard or posse they can't be around you 24 hours a day. Still, in his position I'd hardly go anywhere without protection of some kind. Hoping this wasn't some kind of setup.

 

 

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10871302

 

Packers are among those who are in talks with Kevin Jones. I approve.

 

I'm not to saavy with the X's and O's of football, but I assume Jones would be a nice backup if nothing else in our scheme - no?

[BruteSquad_BRODY 0]

My question on the Walker robbery is where were this guy's bodyguards/posse? You'd think that after what he's gone through over the last couple of years, along with the phatty-boombatty contract he just signed, that he'd be a little wary of situations that could lead to that sort of thing. Not that I'm blaming Walker for what happened. Nobody deserves that, regardless of how careless they may or may not have been.

 

Of course, even with a bodyguard or posse they can't be around you 24 hours a day. Still, in his position I'd hardly go anywhere without protection of some kind. Hoping this wasn't some kind of setup.

 

Rumors in Green bay was that he hired a "professional escourt" and once they got alone, her buddies or thugs or whatever were called and jumped him. Pure BS but weeze just a small town - rumors be rumors

[HarleyQuinn 0]

http://www.sportsline.com/nfl/story/10871302

 

Packers are among those who are in talks with Kevin Jones. I approve.

 

I'm not to saavy with the X's and O's of football, but I assume Jones would be a nice backup if nothing else in our scheme - no?

 

I know that the Patriots liked Kevin Jones when he was coming out of Virginia Tech, for whatever that's worth. I really like KJ as a running back and think he'd make great depth and possibly challenge for the starting role.

 

What I like about him is that despite playing behind a poor offensive line and being underused by Martz at times, he has the following numbers.

- In 11 games where he's had 20 carries, he has a YPC of 4.51 including games against Chicago, Dallas, Green Bay, and Baltimore.

 

I think that the team that signs him, if he ever becomes a starter, would be smart to have him average around 18-19 carries a game (In a full 16 games that'd be 288-304).

[Guest Vitamin X]

The thing that's slightly disturbing to that is that there's already several running backs on the Packers' roster, and that Ryan Grant still doesn't have a long-term deal. Jones seems like a great third-down back, and hell even a feature back, but he definitely can't carry a full load by himself. The Patriots would be smart in signing him.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

The Patriots also have three running backs on their roster too though: Laurence Maroney, Sammy Morris (also like KJ has struggled with injuries), and a 3rd down back in Kevin Faulk.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I nearly forgot Kevin Faulk was still playing for you guys. Jesus, that guy's been around forever.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Since I was bored...

 

In 2005, Kyle Orton had 4 games with fewer than 20 attempts so I chucked them and re-did his QB Rating: 63.69 with 9 TD vs. 11 INT and a YPA of 5.30. His comp % was also 53.5 so yeah, he sucked. He did have 1 game with 5 INT though...

 

For comparison, Grossman scored a 73.9 QB rating in 2006 for the season.

 

Maybe they could sign Daunte Culpepper already. The guy had QB ratings of 77 and 78 the past 2 seasons going a combined 189/320 (59.1%) for 2,260 yards (7.06 YPA) and 7 TD vs. 8 INT.

[Guest Vitamin X]

If Culpepper's knee ever gets better, he could be a great dual-threat again.

 

I think one of the most interesting things that have happened in recent NFL years is the propagation and then decline of scrambling QBs. There was a time when seemingly most of the teams in the league where chomping at the bit to sign a guy with more speed than brains at QB, like Culpepper, Vick, and then of course you have McNabb. The injury history that those guys have dealt with- considering a lot of these were broken legs or blown out knees- has made it so people shy away from it. So it's pretty interesting since some time ago, there was a huge argument over whether having a scrambling (or as analysts liked to call them at the time, "dual threat") quarterback was better than having a pass-first pocket passer with some limited mobility. The question has certainly looked to have been answered quite well by now, as is the idea that scrambling quarterbacks trying to switch to being pocket passers with mobility is a good idea. I think the decline of Favre's numbers in the late 90's, aside from losing Holmgren, was in part due to that, and obviously the same could be said for a lot of other NFL qb's,

[Ripper 0]

The only flaw there is that all the scrambling QB's got hurt behind the line standing in the pocket. All of them. Vick broke his leg when his offensive lineman fell and he got sacked from behind in the pocket. Culpepper knee was destroyed on a guy coming untouched. McNabb, I can't even remember the last time he got hurt by running the ball. Scrambling QB's are seeing the same amount of injuries that non mobile guys are seeing. Its just that there is an assumption along with the mobile QB that he was hurt, he must have been running the ball and taking a big hit.

 

The problem is the stupidity in trying to match up a scrambling QB with a mobile, smaller line instead of going with the hosses like the pocket guys have. It was a dumb way of building a team that lead to the guys having to tuck the ball so much faster because they had shitty lines. then people assumed they were taking so many hits because they were running when if you watched them play, it wasn't the case.

 

I still think a mobile QB with a traditional line would be the way to go. The added threat on the field is just too huge to ignore.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

The only flaw there is that all the scrambling QB's got hurt behind the line standing in the pocket. All of them. Vick broke his leg when his offensive lineman fell and he got sacked from behind in the pocket. Culpepper knee was destroyed on a guy coming untouched. McNabb, I can't even remember the last time he got hurt by running the ball. Scrambling QB's are seeing the same amount of injuries that non mobile guys are seeing. Its just that there is an assumption along with the mobile QB that he was hurt, he must have been running the ball and taking a big hit.

 

The problem is the stupidity in trying to match up a scrambling QB with a mobile, smaller line instead of going with the hosses like the pocket guys have. It was a dumb way of building a team that lead to the guys having to tuck the ball so much faster because they had shitty lines. then people assumed they were taking so many hits because they were running when if you watched them play, it wasn't the case.

 

I still think a mobile QB with a traditional line would be the way to go. The added threat on the field is just too huge to ignore.

 

Interesting that you pointed this out because scrambling quarterbacks also have a higher tendency to get sacked more, whether that be because they are trying to elude the rush and then throw rather than throwing first or just holding onto the ball too long with the belief that they can escape after a couple more seconds.

 

It's also interesting that VX pointed out the growth and then "decline" of scrambling quarterbacks.

 

1999-2001: Rich Gannon topped 200+ yards including 529 in 2000 at age 35(!)

1999-2002: Mark Brunell was hitting 200+ yards with ease.

2000-2002: Steve McNair had 3 straight seasons of 400+ yards rushing. In 2003, he only had 138 yards and stayed there afterwards.

2000-2002: Donovan McNabb ran for at least 460+ yards every season. Since then, he's run for about 200+ including 236 last year.

2000-2004: Daunte Culpepper topped 400+ yards and has thus faded in part due to lingering knee injuries.

2002-2004: Jake Plummer topped 200+ yards all three seasons.

 

Even David Carr had 3 seasons of around 300 yards rushing.

 

I think the "ideal" quarterback is somebody like John Elway (230-260 yards rushing) or Brett Favre (Peak was 180-210 yards). Pass first quarterbacks who throw first but aren't afraid to scramble when it helps them.

 

IMO, what's hurt scrambling quarterbacks is their own desire and belief that they can throw the ball just as well as they can run as evidenced by Michael Vick's continued assertions that because he threw the ball well one year, he could "pass" just as good as he could run. I think Vince Young is kind of in that same mode right now, trying to show that he can throw the ball too and isn't "just" a running quarterback.

 

What people forget about Cunningham is that in his first 3 seasons as a starter he had 406, 560, and 532 passing attempts.

 

Now compare that to:

Michael Vick: 421, 321, and 387.

Vince Young: 357, 382, and ???

Kordell Stewart: 440, 458, 275 (12 starts)

 

Players like Culpepper and McNabb had similar attempts to Cunningham.

[Ripper 0]

Also with vick and Stewart, you also have to take into account of coaching philosophy change (with Vick) and the players around them (with McNabb and Stewart).

 

Vick was a fine QB under Reeves, because Reeves knew how to run a offense. They then fired him for a offensive coordinator that didn't allow his QB's to audible because the plays he called were right all the time, they cut all the offensive linemen or made then lose weight because none of them were allowed to be over 300lbs and Vicks recievers were leading the league in drops (although I still think alot of this could be attributed to the spin of the ball from a lefty). The subtraction of a coach willing to try some stuff and run a better playbook for one that only had recievers running 3 routes, with no audibles and no real protection(its not like the sack numbers went down with Harrington, and Leftwich back there) was the real reason for the decline in Vicks passing attempts and numbers.

 

Kordell lost most of his offensive line and recievers after his successful years. I don't think he was that good of a QB, but I still think he was better than Tommy fucking Maddox and kinda got a raw deal there.

[HarleyQuinn 0]

Also with vick and Stewart, you also have to take into account of coaching philosophy change (with Vick) and the players around them (with McNabb and Stewart).

 

Vick was a fine QB under Reeves, because Reeves knew how to run a offense. They then fired him for a offensive coordinator that didn't allow his QB's to audible because the plays he called were right all the time, they cut all the offensive linemen or made then lose weight because none of them were allowed to be over 300lbs and Vicks recievers were leading the league in drops (although I still think alot of this could be attributed to the spin of the ball from a lefty). The subtraction of a coach willing to try some stuff and run a better playbook for one that only had recievers running 3 routes, with no audibles and no real protection(its not like the sack numbers went down with Harrington, and Leftwich back there) was the real reason for the decline in Vicks passing attempts and numbers.

 

Very true. I think the change over to the "West Coast Offense" was completely moronic given the fact that everybody knew Vick had an absolute rifle of an arm. I think an offense similar to the Vikings of the late 90's (deep throws) would've been more beneficial to Vick even if they didn't quite have the wide receiver talent.

 

I also think that at times, Vick was his own worst enemy though because he scrambled so much rather than keeping his eyes downfield and throwing instead.

 

2004 he had 321 pass attempts and 120 rushing attempts. If he cut that down to even 85 attempts (Still 638 yards) he would've had 356 pass attempts (+35). Given his YPA, that would've been 2,563 passing yards.

 

2005 he had 387 pass attempts and 102 rushing attempts. If he cut that down to 85 attempts (Still 502 yards) he would've had 404 pass attempts (+17). Given his YPA, that would've been 2,505 passing yards.

 

2006 he had 388 pass attempts and 123 rushing attempts. If he cut that down to 85 attempts (Still 714 yards) he would've had 426 pass attempts (+38). Given his YPA, that would've been 2,726 passing yards.

 

3 Seasons: 7,794 passing yards and 1,854 rushing yards.

 

Again, his receivers weren't the greatest but I think part of that issue was that Vick had a laser for an arm and expecting anybody to catch a rifle shot from a lefty 8-10 yards away was questionable, at best.

[Ripper 0]

Oh Vick was at fault too. His insistance on becoming a complete pocket passer was moronic. Its like Reggie Miller saying he was going to try and stop taking jumpshots. You don't remove what makes you special to become more ordinary.

 

Also, Vick didn't have short pass touch. He would rifle that bitch out there when the guy was 10 yards down the field. It woudl get there and if caught would be a big gain, but guys were giong to miss alot of those.

 

People liked to talk about his accuracy, but that wasn't really the problem. Vick seldom missed open recievers and he put the ball in places where it could be caught. Just with way too much velocity. He seemed to have alot more touch when dealing with Reeves. then there was a change in QB coaches and his touch was inconsistant.

 

His receivers weren't great and dropped some easy ones, but they also dropped some lasers that I could understand dropping (although that one 10 drop game by his group still is the most amazingly bad game i have ever seen from professionals).

 

its a shame. I honestly felt that Vick was a type of player you could build your offense around, put him out there with journey men that were good at their role, blow your wad on defense and get a Superbowl out of it.

 

But then he let a mutha fucker with no job talk him into spending his money on dog fighting. Oh well.

[MFer 0]

Not much discussion going on in this thread, so I'll just throw this article out there (it has been a topic of discussion on sports talk radio).

 

Some curious rankings and omissions there...

[Guest Vitamin X]

In other news, the Kansas City Chiefs have decided to ban fans from standing up during games. Seriously.

 

CHIEFS FAN CODE OF CONDUCT

 

The Kansas City Chiefs are committed to creating a safe, comfortable and enjoyable experience for our fans. When attending a game, the stadium staff will proactively intervene to support an environment where event patrons, their guests and other fans can enjoy the event, free from the following behaviors:

 

• Foul, obscene, offensive or abusive language or actions

• Excessive standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans

• Intoxication or other signs of impairment

• Smoking except in designated areas

• Fighting and unruly or inconsiderate behavior

• Obscene or indecent clothing or signs

• Conduct that endangers spectators or participants

• Harassment of visiting team fans

• Interfering with the progress of the game, going onto the field or

throwing any object onto the field

• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel

• Selling items or tickets in the stadium or on sports complex grounds

• Attempting to sit in a location other than the guest’s ticketed seat

• Destroying property

 

Event patrons are responsible for their conduct as well as the conduct of their guests and/or persons occupying their seats. Please respect the rights of others. Event patrons and guests who choose not to adhere to these provisions will be subject to ejection without refund.

[Just John 0]

I can't imagine that being enforced at all.

 

I think there's a similar rule on the books at Mizzou, and when someone behind us complained about it to security, it was basically ignored and everyone laughed it off.

[Kinetic 0]

So it turns out that Tampa's 1st and 7th round draft picks got into a scuffle at the rookie symposium. I couldn't care one way or the other about Cory Boyd because there's almost no chance of him making the team, but I'm starting to get a bad feeling about Aqib Talib. What with there already being character concerns, it's a little disconcerting that he wasn't able to get through a goddamn seminar without doing something stupid.

[TheDevilAndGodAreRagingInsideMe 0]

Not much discussion going on in this thread, so I'll just throw this article out there (it has been a topic of discussion on sports talk radio).

 

Some curious rankings and omissions there...

 

What a shitty list.