2012 NFL Offseason thread

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Hah! Poor Wittle Dowphins!

Wittle Woss and his band of Wittle Cewebwities drove me away.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Rizon

Wittle Woss and his band of Wittle Cewebwities drove me away.

Awww... The Lions always have room for wayward fans.

[Rizon]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Awww... The Lions always have room for wayward fans.

I always did like Bawwy.

[tucker rocky]

Chiefs sign Peyton.......














































Hillis that is.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

DeSean Jackson signs 5/$51M with Eagles.

I guess being a complete fool can net you riches.

[cartman]

I have a vewy gweat fwiend in Chicagwo called 'Biggus Ditkus'

[Havok]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Well perhaps the deals "arent so bad" but considering your team just traded a lot of draft picks they need to save this money for players you cant get early in the draft. Personally, I think you can find plenty of decent 2nd/3rd WRs in rounds 3-7 of the NFL drafts. They would be smart to invest in postions they miss out on from not drafting early. Offensive Tackles, Defensive Lineman, Cornerbacks. They all may be fine players but it still doesnt make them smart signings.

Giving your new QB, who can really throw the long ball, a bunch of young, fast, productive weapons isn't smart? Our WR's sucked last year. Santana Moss is washed up, Gaffny played ok, but that was mainly because there was no one else.

Now we have Garcion, who is a pretty dam good WR. Not sure why everyone keeps saying he drops it a ton, he had a whopping 4 last year. We also have our second year guy Hankerson who everyone on the staff thinks will be a stud, and a 26 year old Morgan who everyone in the league loves. Maybe not a 1, but a solid all around player with upside, and Fred Davis at TE who is turning into a hell of a tight end. (needs to lay off the weed though)

Our O-line needs some work, but its not awful. A RT and maybe a solid guard and it's more than fine. You mentioned our d-line, which im not sure why, because they played excellent last year. We have a solid starting 3 with some good depth.

We do need Safeties badly and some depth at CB.

Overall those 2 WR's account for what, 5 or 6 million against the cap this year? And we have like 40 million (or 20 million, depending on what happens with that ruling). I realize it's fun to jump on the hate the Redskins offseason moves bandwagon, but like i said earlier, Bruce and Shanny did fantastic in free agency last year, so i have no doubt that these will turn into solid free agent moves.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by stevew

Why are there so many random Dolphin fans on this board? The team has largely sucked for like 20 years. Basically nobody seems like they even have geographic ties to Miami. It's okay if you tortured souls want to switch teams, because you're never going to be good again.

I think some here are old enough to have started rooting for them in the 70s. 20 years really doesn't seem like a long time ago comparatively.

I wasn't old enough for the SB teams of the 70s, but in the early 80's I rooted for them (before I started rooting for the hometown Eagles). Before Marino, even. Though in my case I think it was because I liked the uniforms. *shurg*

I work with a guy who grew up in south-central PA, and he's a big Dolphins fan. A few years younger than me, but grew up squarely in the Marino era.

[stevew]

I can't believe Garçon only had 4 recorded drops. Unless every Colts game I can remember watching was an outlier, I have a firm opinion that he is excellent at the soul crushing drop. Very Braylon-esque.

[oykib]

I can't think of any of these second WRs that's really worked out as a free agent signing. I mean, you can go back to Alvin Harper and see that it hasn't worked for a while. Even 1A guys like Gary Clark or Anquan Boldin never really produced at the level that was expected.

[Grover]

Cincy Jungle's open thread at SB Nation is asking what us Bengals fans think of the first two days of free agency. These are my thoughts.

I’m not worried. At all. I know along with a couple of others I’ve been in the minority of folks who are not upset about losing Fanene and Rucker.

Let’s face it, they were rotation players and roleplayers and with the Bengals they would not have been any more than that. New England and Cleveland have offered these players bigger roles and the amount of money that comes with those responsibilities. That’s fine, best of luck to them in the future. We still have 75% of our defensive line in tact, the continuity is still there. You know they’ll pick someone up through the draft to add into the rotation. Would I have liked to see these guys come back? Absolutely, but not at the salaries they signed for.

Aaron Ross and Kendall Langford are coming in for visits this week. Those are positives. We lost out on a visit from TE Davis, but that’s okay. I like Cochart, even though he’s probably not a #2 TE yet, I’m sure we’ll get a solid veteran in, we always do.

Free Agency is 28 hours old. There’s a lot of off-season left to go and there’s a lot of quality players still out there, not to mention a draft in which we have two first round picks. You have to imagine we’ll be getting 2-3 starters out of our first three picks in the draft.

I’m okay with losing Reggie Nelson too, if that’s what happens. Until last year, he was not a very good player at all. We have solid guys in Sands and Mays in the wings.

Everyone is overreacting because we’ve lost two players all of have liked. Anyone who thinks we’re suddenly no longer a playoff contender is kidding themselves. We’re going to have a third place schedule this year. We’re going to have a second year QB and WR coming off very good rookie season and that was WITHOUT a full training camp. The offense will be better than last year, I can guarantee that. The defense was a top 10 defense, yes, but look how much they struggled down the stretch and in the playoffs. The defense needs some fresh blood.

Sit tight folks, things will get better.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Havok

I realize it's fun to jump on the hate the Redskins offseason moves bandwagon, but like i said earlier, Bruce and Shanny did fantastic in free agency last year, so i have no doubt that these will turn into solid free agent moves.

I dont really think it is the bangwagon gathering momentum, I think it is the Redskins really do make bad offseason moves. This trend has been going on basically since Snyder took ownership.

Very little to indicate that changes have been made in a postive direction.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by oykib

I can't think of any of these second WRs that's really worked out as a free agent signing. I mean, you can go back to Alvin Harper and see that it hasn't worked for a while. Even 1A guys like Gary Clark or Anquan Boldin never really produced at the level that was expected.

Dude, were you listening to TKras here in Tampa??? I just heard this exact same argument on my drive home...except they did mention that Reggie Wayne was a pretty good 1A that worked out as a true #1. But yeah, most of those #2 are good for a reason...they don't get all the attention.

[Dutch]

The Bucs just signed V. Jackson, C. Nicks, and E. Wright to about $120M and not a cent was in bonus money. although each received guaranteed contract years regardless of whether they ever actually take the field or not.

That's going "ALL IN" and probably the Bucs only play to prove they are a serious organization after last year's sad play. All three were flown down to Tampa on private jets to get their minds right that Tampa is for real. I have a feeling the Bucs are just getting started...great opening salvo for the new regime.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by oykib

I can't think of any of these second WRs that's really worked out as a free agent signing. I mean, you can go back to Alvin Harper and see that it hasn't worked for a while. Even 1A guys like Gary Clark or Anquan Boldin never really produced at the level that was expected.

The only ones I can think of would be Keenan McCardell and Plaxico.

[Atocep]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Dude, were you listening to TKras here in Tampa??? I just heard this exact same argument on my drive home...except they did mention that Reggie Wayne was a pretty good 1A that worked out as a true #1. But yeah, most of those #2 are good for a reason...they don't get all the attention.

I think finding any that became a number 1 through free agency is pretty difficult. There are guys like Santana Moss, TO, Randy Moss, Welker, and Wayne that became number 1s through trades or other players leaving but guys that signed big deals to become number 1 receivers and lived up to hype are very rare.

[stevew]

There was a piece on PFT that was about the Morgan deal(and seemed to have disappeared). Basically the Skins gave him a 5 year deal, but it automatically voids after 2 years. Thus allowing the skins to split a 5.5m bonus over 5 years, saving 1.65m/year in cap hits over the first 2 years. Say what you want about the Skins, but they are so far ahead of the curve in using the cap.

[Havok]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I dont really think it is the bangwagon gathering momentum, I think it is the Redskins really do make bad offseason moves. This trend has been going on basically since Snyder took ownership.

Very little to indicate that changes have been made in a postive direction.

i do agree he has been a train wreck, and we deserve to be made fun of. But i do think it's getting better, but maybe I'm just being a homer

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Havok

i do agree he has been a train wreck, and we deserve to be made fun of. But i do think it's getting better, but maybe I'm just being a homer

I think its perfectly fair of you to be optimistic. I think your problem is that Dan Snyder becomes so impatient that once you start doing some good things he completely blows it up by make some idiotic signing. We will have to see what happen.

[cartman]

Originally Posted by stevew

There was a piece on PFT that was about the Morgan deal(and seemed to have disappeared). Basically the Skins gave him a 5 year deal, but it automatically voids after 2 years. Thus allowing the skins to split a 5.5m bonus over 5 years, saving 1.65m/year in cap hits over the first 2 years. Say what you want about the Skins, but they are so far ahead of the curve in using the cap.

I think the article disappeared because that scenario isn't possible under the new CBA. I believe the new CBA states that if a contract is terminated, then the un-amortized portion of the bonus accelerates into the current year.

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Havok

Giving your new QB, who can really throw the long ball, a bunch of young, fast, productive weapons isn't smart? Our WR's sucked last year. Santana Moss is washed up, Gaffny played ok, but that was mainly because there was no one else.

Now we have Garcion, who is a pretty dam good WR. Not sure why everyone keeps saying he drops it a ton, he had a whopping 4 last year. We also have our second year guy Hankerson who everyone on the staff thinks will be a stud, and a 26 year old Morgan who everyone in the league loves. Maybe not a 1, but a solid all around player with upside, and Fred Davis at TE who is turning into a hell of a tight end. (needs to lay off the weed though)

Our O-line needs some work, but its not awful. A RT and maybe a solid guard and it's more than fine. You mentioned our d-line, which im not sure why, because they played excellent last year. We have a solid starting 3 with some good depth.

We do need Safeties badly and some depth at CB.

Overall those 2 WR's account for what, 5 or 6 million against the cap this year? And we have like 40 million (or 20 million, depending on what happens with that ruling). I realize it's fun to jump on the hate the Redskins offseason moves bandwagon, but like i said earlier, Bruce and Shanny did fantastic in free agency last year, so i have no doubt that these will turn into solid free agent moves.

Let's call it the Daniel Snyder effect. Everything the Redskins do will be considered idiotic because of the shit he has pulled in the past. If it was the Patriots that had given Garcon that deal, everyone would be talking about how smart they are.

I think Garcon's reputation for drops has extended beyond where it should have. Even I am guilty of it. You are right that he didn't have very many drops last year. It is hard for people to change their minds sometimes.

I will always remember Garcon dropping a drive killing 3rd down conversion then making a spectacular catch late in the same game for a TD that doesn't matter because the Colts have pretty much lost and when he makes the catch he points at the name on the back of his jersey. WTF, homie? I can't tell you that I remember what game that happened. I just remember it happened. It is memories like that where reputation gets skewed.

I hope he is the next Jerry Rice in a Redskins uniform.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by Dutch

The Bucs just signed V. Jackson, C. Nicks, and E. Wright to about $120M and not a cent was in bonus money. although each received guaranteed contract years regardless of whether they ever actually take the field or not.

That's going "ALL IN" and probably the Bucs only play to prove they are a serious organization after last year's sad play. All three were flown down to Tampa on private jets to get their minds right that Tampa is for real. I have a feeling the Bucs are just getting started...great opening salvo for the new regime.

You were the first person I thought of when I heard the Bucs snagging all these players (then I thought of a make believe kickoff return, but that's something else entirely...). You must be pretty stoked.

[Matthean]

Originally Posted by stevew

Say what you want about the Skins, but they are so far ahead of the curve in using the cap.

So much so they are getting smacked by the league for it?

Redskins salary cap actions angered NFL - The Washington Post

[Grover]

Funny that it's the same league who signed off on all of those contracts.

[fantom1979]

Not a fan of the Eric Wright signing for the Bucs. Haven't really looked into the contract, but hopefully it is very team friendly. The last two years in Cleveland and Detroit, Eric Wright has been listed as one of the worst 10 CBs in the league by just about every website that charts that kind of stuff.

[stevew]

If the Titans do pull off the Manning thing, I'd imagine that Matt Hasselbeck will be a good signing for someone. i.e. Miami, KC, Cle, Was, Den, Hou, Philly, STL, Zona.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by cartman

I have a vewy gweat fwiend in Chicagwo called 'Biggus Ditkus'

this needs more love.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

bucs seem to be spending money for the sake of spending money.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

jags signed chad henne. wonder what that means for any potential tebow deal.

[fantom1979]

Jags also got Laurent Robinson. His 5 minutes of fame are probably over.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

bucs seem to be spending money for the sake of spending money.

That would be optimistic. They may get them 1-2 more wins in that division but still pretty bad.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

bucs seem to be spending money for the sake of spending money.

It's our expertise with cap space that give that appearance.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

over/under number of games hillis plays for the chiefs this year? i'll go with 6.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by Dutch

It's our expertise with cap space that give that appearance.

i like the bucs, but hate the glazers with the fire of a thousand suns.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

That would be optimistic. They may get them 1-2 more wins in that division but still pretty bad.

The Bucs are rebuilding...they are still very young...lots of new faces...but damn, every journey begins with the first steps and the Bucs have taken some pretty good first steps if you ask me.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

i like the bucs, but hate the glazers with the fire of a thousand suns.

Why?

[oykib]

Originally Posted by Atocep

The only ones I can think of would be Keenan McCardell and Plaxico.

I'd forgotten about Keenan. But I'd say Plaxico was 1 and Ward was 1A with the Steelers. Even conceding that, though, giving big money to these second banana wideouts doesn't seem to pay off. We have to rack our brains to come up with situations when it's worked.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Why?

ManU

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

ManU

Why do you hate them for that?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Why do you hate them for that?

I'm going to assume it's because they're using Man United to do nothing but saddle it with bad debt.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Grover

I'm going to assume it's because they're using Man United to do nothing but saddle it with bad debt.

I'd assume that as well. I'm not a fan of my owners investing in another sport, honestly, but I don't hate them for it.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Why do you hate them for that?

same reason i hate the dolans, kroenkes, sterlings, lorias etc etc. i'd like to believe owners at least care about the team (or at least take some pride in it's success) and not treat them as personal cash machines.

it's naive i know. but what they did to manu is just.. ugh. a public institution, a point of pride for englanders and they turned into a pyramid scheme.

[Lathum]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

same reason i hate the dolans, kroenkes, sterlings, lorias etc etc. i'd like to believe owners at least care about the team (or at least take some pride in it's success) and not treat them as personal cash machines.

it's naive i know. but what they did to manu is just.. ugh. a public institution, a point of pride for englanders and they turned into a pyramid scheme.

True, but the other side is owners who treat the team like toys and don't let people who are actual talent evaluators run the organization.

[stevew]

Looks very possible that Mario Williams is going to sign with the Bills tomorrow. Bold move by them. Dareus and Williams is going to be a helluva half of a defensive line.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

same reason i hate the dolans, kroenkes, sterlings, lorias etc etc. i'd like to believe owners at least care about the team (or at least take some pride in it's success) and not treat them as personal cash machines.

it's naive i know. but what they did to manu is just.. ugh. a public institution, a point of pride for englanders and they turned into a pyramid scheme.

I'd say Roman Abramovich is more disgusting than the Glazers.

At least the City owners are proving that they care about the club succeeding.

[Grover]

Originally Posted by stevew

Looks very possible that Mario Williams is going to sign with the Bills tomorrow. Bold move by them. Dareus and Williams is going to be a helluva half of a defensive line.

NFL Network (either La Canfora or Lombardi) kept insisting that Williams was essentially waiting to see where Manning would go because the Titans are also interested in Williams, but can only sign one. I think he'll sign with the Bills as well.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by Grover

I'd say Roman Abramovich is more disgusting than the Glazers.

At least the City owners are proving that they care about the club succeeding.

I admit I dont know alot about English Premier League soccer...I cant even point Manchester out on a map honestly, but a quick search shows they finished in 1st place last year.

[Samdari]

Originally Posted by Julio Riddols

I guess until a cancer gets old, there is no need to cut it out.

He was only a cancer because they didn't pay him. That would appear to be fixed.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by NorvTurnerOverdrive

bucs seem to be spending money for the sake of spending money.

Isn't that the beauty of the salary floor?

Although I detest such things, it would be great theater to see such a thing instituted in baseball simply for the apoplectic reactions to some floor-related signings by statistically inclined analysts.

[Ksyrup]

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Titans coach Mike Munchak had a big smile on his face when he left the team headquarters Wednesday night after daylong meetings with Peyton Manning.

The quarterback waved to fans waiting for a glimpse of him and gave a thumbs' up.

Maybe signs that Tennessee's pitch to the four-time NFL MVP went well, though no deals were announced after Manning spent about eight hours with Titans executives on a plane and at the team's headquarters.

The next move is up to Manning.

Titans spokesman Robbie Bohren declined to comment. However, owner Bud Adams told Nashville station WSMV-TV late Wednesday night he thinks Manning was very pleased with what he saw from the Titans.

"He's going to make his mind up fairly soon, hopefully we'd be in the running," Adams said.

Manning walked out of the Titans' building with Munchak at 10:05 p.m. EDT where about 50 fans who had gathered along the fence greeted him by yelling "Peyton, Peyton." Manning acknowledged them with a wave before getting into Munchak's SUV and the two driving away through a back gate.

It was unclear if Manning was on the team plane that returned Wednesday night to the Raleigh-Durham airport, where the Titans had picked him up earlier. Manning's friend and Duke coach David Cutcliffe lives in the area. Cutcliffe was Manning's offensive coordinator at the University of Tennessee and the quarterback has worked out several times over the past six weeks at the Blue Devils' facilities.

Fans of Denver, Arizona, Miami and now Tennessee all are looking for clues on which team Manning will pick.

One sign Titans fans should possibly pay close attention to was a visit by the team doctor Burton Elrod to the facility during Manning's visit. Elrod arrived and spent 90 minutes inside before leaving.

Offensive line coach Bruce Matthews, a Hall of Fame lineman like Munchak, also was seen leaving the facility not long after Elrod.

The Titans did just what Adams said: The 89-year old Adams instructed team executives to spend the day with Manning.

Tennessee pulled out all the stops.

Munchak, general manager Ruston Webster and chief operating officer Mike Reinfeldt landed in North Carolina just before 1:30 p.m. EDT to pick Manning up.

The quarterback, wearing a Tennessee orange shirt, arrived at the Raleigh-Durham airport riding in the backseat of black Escalade about 20 minutes later, boarded the plane and the group headed back to the Volunteer state.

The owner got plenty of help from fans of Manning and the Titans, flocking to the street in front of the team complex throughout the afternoon. They broke out in cheers at times, while Rob Shuler of Nashville brought two friends with him. They drew up posters begging Manning to sign with Tennessee.

Cars and trucks slowed to watch, honking in response to a sign asking them to let Manning know how much he's wanted.

Even Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam called Manning during his visit, Adams told WSMV-TV.

A local radio station set up briefly and blared "Rocky Top" over speakers alongside TV reporters busy broadcasting live during afternoon newscasts, adding to the circus atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the Titans were going about their business.

Reinfeldt left around 6 p.m. EDT talking on a cell phone, followed shortly by dinner being brought in from a nearby Italian restaurant.

Fans came and went during the day. People stayed near the fence despite a storm that had lightning slicing the sky nearby followed by a rainbow. Then a shooting star was seen, prompting two fans to instantly make a wish that Manning sign with Tennessee.

Adams has said he will do whatever it takes to sign Manning in his chase for a championship. He sees the quarterback as the missing piece. The owner remained in Houston Tuesday, which why Reinfeldt joined Webster and Munchak for this trip.

The owner promoted Reinfeldt from general manager in January to senior executive vice president and COO to act as his point man with the team in Tennessee while he lives 650 miles away.

The Titans already have veteran Matt Hasselbeck with two years left on a deal signed last July, and drafted Jake Locker with the eighth pick overall in the 2011 draft.

When he hasn't been working out at Duke, the quarterback visited Denver and Arizona in person, while reportedly visiting with the Dolphins in Indianapolis on Monday night.

His friend and Duke coach declined to answer any questions about Manning earlier Wednesday following the Blue Devils spring practice. However, when asked how his players were handling the distraction with the new faces around, Cutcliffe laughed and said, "you found a way, didn't you" to get in a question about Manning.

He said having Manning at the team's facilities has not been a problem.

"That's always, for them (the Duke players), encouraging and fun. That's the honest truth," Cutcliffe said of Manning working out at Duke's facilities. "But they've done a great job of letting anybody that's in here work and do what they've got to do, and they work around them.

"I think it's always good to have examples and see the kind of work ethic it takes to succeed in football."