NFL Off Topic

[mestevo]

Quote: Originally Posted by Ruff Ryder

To be fair, he's on the tail end of his career. The average age of retirement in the NFL is 30. He's in win now mode.

and after being a 28 year old rookie is still simultaneously in 'hope i can get a contract and stick with a team' mode.

[XXstormmXX]

Mike Bennett might leave Seattle. My pick for where he will go is Carolina to play with the rest of their great pass rush defense, but I'd like the Patriots to pick him up to try and fix this defense, especially if Wilfork leaves.

[Maelstrom-XIII]

If Bennett is going to want a big money contract (like 12M/yr) we're better off just re-signing Greg Hardy.

If he wants to come in for 8M/yr or something to that effect, then I'd be okay with it.

Quote: Originally Posted by N51_rob

Amazing the number of soft schedules that play-off teams have.

Carolina gets Seattle, Green Bay, Philly, NO x2, ATL (who should rebound in 2014) x2, and TB (with a new coach who can actually get something out of his players likely) x2.

Just sayin'.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by XXstormmXX

Mike Bennett might leave Seattle. My pick for where he will go is Carolina to play with the rest of their great pass rush defense, but I'd like the Patriots to pick him up to try and fix this defense, especially if Wilfork leaves.

Quote: Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII

If Bennett is going to want a big money contract (like 12M/yr) we're better off just re-signing Greg Hardy. If he wants to come in for 8M/yr or something to that effect, then I'd be okay with it.

Agreed Maelstrom.. though, I'd rather them save the money to sign a big name DE and sign a #1 CB and Safety. The Panthers are still really cap strained for the next 2 years, so I honestly don't see them signing Hardy nor Bennett and drafting a DL in the mid rounds (which was where they got Hardy).

[Maelstrom-XIII]

Kraken was a 6th round pick. I wouldn't mind them taking a guy like Kareem Martin (DE out of UNC) if he falls to the fourth and he's BPA.

Otherwise, I feel like Carolina can just roll with Frank Alexander/Mario Addison/Wes Horton at RDE across from Charles Johnson. With Star, Short and CJ, they could probably get pretty good play out of any semi-competent DE.

As for the cap, we're actually about $20M under (carried over about $14M cap space from this past season), last I heard...and we'll probably be restructuring a few contracts to get further under. Problem is that we had a lot of 1 year deals last year so we'll be needing quite a few fill in depth players.

[Jr.]

Quote: Originally Posted by Maelstrom-XIII

Kraken was a 6th round pick. I wouldn't mind them taking a guy like Kareem Martin (DE out of UNC) if he falls to the fourth and he's BPA. Otherwise, I feel like Carolina can just roll with Frank Alexander/Mario Addison/Wes Horton at RDE across from Charles Johnson. With Star, Short and CJ, they could probably get pretty good play out of any semi-competent DE. As for the cap, we're actually about $20M under (carried over about $14M cap space from this past season), last I heard...and we'll probably be restructuring a few contracts to get further under. Problem is that we had a lot of 1 year deals last year so we'll be needing quite a few fill in depth players.

Forgot he was a 6th round pick.. I was thinking 4th for some reason.

Gettlemen seems to be pretty good with creative cap flexibility, but there are a lot of positions to be filled/upgraded. I agree with you that I think they would be satisfied with those guys rotating opposite Johnson. They'll need to get at least 1 good corner at some point though, as I don't think it's reasonable to expect similar consistent pressure that Hardy provided.

[LowerWolf]

Quote: Originally Posted by areobee401

Cleveland Browns fans school me on Micheal Lombardi. Is he has worthless as I perceive him to be. Reports are suggesting he will be hired in New England.

I've got a friend who's a Browns fan. I texted him after the moves to say he deserves better. He texted back to say he was "stoked" and that the only person he hated more than Banner was Lombardi.

[slickdtc]

That's why it could be a blessing in disguise. By and large, Lombardi is a clown. When he has free reign, bad things happen.

Haslem may be vilified for all this nonsense, but it could come back around to benefit the organization. You can't patch up your organization. He had to clean it up from the top down.

I suppose he brought in some of these guys, so that's on him. But I guess it's better to correct a mistake then continue to let it erode your franchise.

I wonder where he stands on Pettine? I actually have a feeling he could somehow, magically turn around this team. That they had to go a bit off the radar to grab him after being turned down (assuming here) by so many other headline grabbing candidates could be what they needed. Those coaches were relieved of their old jobs for a reason. Get some fresh blood in there that isn't coming from the college ranks. Pettine really turned around the Bills defense with similar personnel as the year before. And he had a run of good defenses with NYJ, keeping them semi-relevant with Sanchez leading the offense. Pettine could really be a diamond in the rough. And building your team off a solid defense is never a bad idea.

The question is, can they surround the team with quality players in free agency/draft? Not many teams are able to wipe the slate clean as the Browns have now done; they have a real chance to change the culture of losing there. Pettine started something in Buffalo, and despite still being a losing football team, the mood has changed for the Bills. We're a team with a clear path and key players are emerging to lead us there.

Cleveland needs a franchise QB. They can't whiff on that pick. They need a solid RB or pack of RB's to firm up their run game. There are pieces spread throughout the roster. They just need it all to come together. They are not as far off as all this drama would have you believe. They may be a farce now having fired their management in staggered tiers, but we could look back on these moves as laying the foundation for a new, successful regime.