NFL 2016 Head Coaching and Offseason Stuff

[Thomkal]

kinda already talked about here, but Josh Norman did try and sign his franchise tender after Carolina rescinded it. Maybe next time his contract is up, he'll pay more attention to what his agent is doing:

Josh Norman offered to sign Carolina Panthers’ franchise tag

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15...s-rescinded-it

[Logan]

Tough to make the argument that he should change anything after he more than tripled his guaranteed money.

[SteveMax58]

Didn't see anything about this posted....

Agent: Sam Bradford wants to be where 'he's the man' - NFL.com

Bradford is becoming one of the douchiest players I can recall in recent memory. A guy that has been overpaid grossly compared to his actual play on the field (when he's not injured) and should really just shut his mouth. He should be happy to play as well as he can and understand that his lack of being on the field is his biggest question mark. And that nobody will feel secure about having him as their QB without a good backup plan.

Much as I enjoy turmoil in Philly (as a Giants fan), I have to say I hope they cut him and he sits out a year because of no takers.

[bhlloy]

Yeah, seriously fuck Bradford. He was lucky enough to be drafted #1 overall in an era where the top guys in the draft got paid an absolute shit ton of money. He did nothing to reward that contract with anything but mediocre play and injury. He somehow turned that into a starting job under Chip Kelly, where he was again mediocre and probably played a decent part in getting the guy fired. And now he's butthurt that that team doesn't feel like he's the long term solution and traded up to get a QB? How about you buckle down and show Philly why they were wrong and earn that next contract? He's still going to be a starter this year which is possibly more than he deserves.

Wouldn't want my team to go anywhere near him. Would love to see Philly cut him and him end up signing a one year deal to back up somewhere. Off you go son.

[Butter]

He was the man in St. Louis for 5 years, and they were never good in any of those years. Most QBs don't even get that much time, but he did. He's lucky his career isn't over.

[Kodos]

Yep. He should be thankful he has a job at all. Much less one with a huge signing bonus.

[EagleFan]

He's getting torched on the talk radio here.

[Dutch]

I'm starting to see why he wants out. If he isn't the man, why keep him? Leadership at that position is important and with a QBOTF on the bench, he probably won't command much respect. It's a better role for an aging vet than a guy like Bradford anyway.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Dutch

I'm starting to see why he wants out. If he isn't the man, why keep him? Leadership at that position is important and with a QBOTF on the bench, he probably won't command much respect. It's a better role for an aging vet than a guy like Bradford anyway.

i don't get the hate on Bradford at all. he signed a contract with the presumption he was going to be the starter with a chance to be there long term. The Eagles decided two weeks later that wasn't the case.

I don't care what Bradford did before this. He doesn't want to be a lame duck QB and I don't blame him a bit for it. Everyone says "just perform and you'll get traded" He had a chance to go wherever he wanted before signing with the Eagles.

Everyone acts like because he's made all this money, he should just be thrilled that the Eagles did this to him. As someone who was hired for a job and then had them change the rules on me, I know what it feels like.

What's beyond stupid here is how Bradford is getting the hate and nobody is ripping the Eagles. They jettison Kelly and one of the big reasons why is that they said he didn't communicate with players and that wasn't the way Luria wanted it. They proceed to sign a 7 million dollar backup QB, resign their starter to a decent deal and then trade up to draft a QB? Seriously?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but why in the hell is this team planning on spending 32 million dollars on 3 QB's this year? Their plan was that Bradford would just be thankful he had a job, perform well and they could recoup some of the draft picks they traded to get the #2 pick. Their problem is they never bothered telling Bradford of their master plan and it pissed him off.

This isn't me defending Bradford and saying he's a hall of fame QB. Hell, I'm not even saying he's a capable QB. (though I think he is) The fact is the guy was blindsided by a team with a different agenda than he had. Had he known their master plan, he would have had the chance to accept it or move on.

As of now, he gets the "reward" of going to lead a bad team and will get blamed for whatever start he leads them to. If it's 2-6, it's time for Wentz. If it's 4-4, they should have been 6-2, put in Wentz. Yeah, it's a blast being a lame duck for a team that doesn't want you. He should be jumping for joy at this.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by TroyF

He should be jumping for joy at this.

That anyone is willing to pay his brittle ass a nickel, yeah, pretty much.

I loathe Matt Ryan, I don't think he could lead starving dogs to fresh meat ... but I'd take him for 5 years over Bradford for half a season.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

i don't get the hate on Bradford at all. he signed a contract with the presumption he was going to be the starter with a chance to be there long term. The Eagles decided two weeks later that wasn't the case.

I don't care what Bradford did before this. He doesn't want to be a lame duck QB and I don't blame him a bit for it. Everyone says "just perform and you'll get traded" He had a chance to go wherever he wanted before signing with the Eagles.

Everyone acts like because he's made all this money, he should just be thrilled that the Eagles did this to him. As someone who was hired for a job and then had them change the rules on me, I know what it feels like.

What's beyond stupid here is how Bradford is getting the hate and nobody is ripping the Eagles. They jettison Kelly and one of the big reasons why is that they said he didn't communicate with players and that wasn't the way Luria wanted it. They proceed to sign a 7 million dollar backup QB, resign their starter to a decent deal and then trade up to draft a QB? Seriously?

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but why in the hell is this team planning on spending 32 million dollars on 3 QB's this year? Their plan was that Bradford would just be thankful he had a job, perform well and they could recoup some of the draft picks they traded to get the #2 pick. Their problem is they never bothered telling Bradford of their master plan and it pissed him off.

This isn't me defending Bradford and saying he's a hall of fame QB. Hell, I'm not even saying he's a capable QB. (though I think he is) The fact is the guy was blindsided by a team with a different agenda than he had. Had he known their master plan, he would have had the chance to accept it or move on.

As of now, he gets the "reward" of going to lead a bad team and will get blamed for whatever start he leads them to. If it's 2-6, it's time for Wentz. If it's 4-4, they should have been 6-2, put in Wentz. Yeah, it's a blast being a lame duck for a team that doesn't want you. He should be jumping for joy at this.

That's what sports is. Did Favre act like a teenage girl that got stood up for the prom when they drafted Rodgers? That's the difference between a leader and Bradford.

If he thought there was long term potential, he was a fool. The team doesn't sign him for only 2 years if they actually had long term plans for him.

He should try making it through an entire season before he acts like he is entitled.

He had a perfect chance to prove himself to be a leader and he blew it. If he rallied the team around him and led them anywhere close to the post season he would have improved his bargaining position.

[Dutch]

Fabre was in his 14th season and the Pack selected Rodgers at 1.24. Which goes to my point that it works better with an aging vet versus a younger guy trying to make a name for himself.

This was completely expected.

[flere-imsaho]

Relevant:

[Butter]

Originally Posted by TroyF

i don't get the hate on Bradford at all. he signed a contract with the presumption he was going to be the starter with a chance to be there long term.

A 2 year contract = long-term starter?

If he made that presumption based on his track record, he's a doofus.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

That's what sports is. Did Favre act like a teenage girl that got stood up for the prom when they drafted Rodgers? That's the difference between a leader and Bradford.

If he thought there was long term potential, he was a fool. The team doesn't sign him for only 2 years if they actually had long term plans for him.

He should try making it through an entire season before he acts like he is entitled.

He had a perfect chance to prove himself to be a leader and he blew it. If he rallied the team around him and led them anywhere close to the post season he would have improved his bargaining position.

If you see ANY similarity between Bradford and Favre, I pray for you.

Again, I think people are missing the point. He was told one thing and switched to another after he signed his deal. There isn't a single person here who would be happy with that if it happened with their personal job. Not one of you.

Everyone is trying to make this about how good Bradford is. I don't care how good he is. That part is irrelevant in this situation to me. The Eagles should have been upfront about their plans. After he signed the contract, Bradford was stating how excited he was and that he wanted to stay in Philly for a long time. That's the talk of a guy who has been told "Have a good year this year and you are the guy long term" not the talk of a guy who is going to lose his starting job in 8 weeks if he's playing at anything less than Tom Brady level football.

And I'm not saying we should all cry for Sam because he's a poor, broke kid who lost a chance at his big contract. No. . . I'm saying he was misled (of that I'm almost 100% certain) and then had the rug pulled out from under him within a month of signing the contract. That's garbage. Hell, the guy went to Oklahoma University. Most of the time I'd be thrilled if horrible things happened to any player who went there. Just not this time. The Eagles should have been honest with him. Sorry, they just should have.

[Logan]

Originally Posted by TroyF

If you see ANY similarity between Bradford and Favre, I pray for you.

Again, I think people are missing the point. He was told one thing and switched to another after he signed his deal. There isn't a single person here who would be happy with that if it happened with their personal job. Not one of you.

Everyone is trying to make this about how good Bradford is. I don't care how good he is. That part is irrelevant in this situation to me. The Eagles should have been upfront about their plans. After he signed the contract, Bradford was stating how excited he was and that he wanted to stay in Philly for a long time. That's the talk of a guy who has been told "Have a good year this year and you are the guy long term" not the talk of a guy who is going to lose his starting job in 8 weeks if he's playing at anything less than Tom Brady level football.

And I'm not saying we should all cry for Sam because he's a poor, broke kid who lost a chance at his big contract. No. . . I'm saying he was misled (of that I'm almost 100% certain) and then had the rug pulled out from under him within a month of signing the contract. That's garbage. Hell, the guy went to Oklahoma University. Most of the time I'd be thrilled if horrible things happened to any player who went there. Just not this time. The Eagles should have been honest with him. Sorry, they just should have.

I'm not really on any side of this, but I think you might be overstating how disingenuous the Eagles may have been here. They gave him a 2 year deal which isn't much of an indication that he was in their long term plans, especially when it was structured with a $4MM roster bonus due in March next year.

Where did you come up with "anything less than Brady performance" and he's gone after 8 weeks?

[stevew]

I agree with troy.

[vex]

Originally Posted by stevew

I agree with troy.

+1

[CU Tiger]

+1

And even a touch further. Everything given up to acquire QB could have been used to acquire weapons to surround him with. Now he is a lame duck QB, with limited playmakers and he is playing for a career. Make no mistake if he flames out in Philly he will be out of the league. I think that is his main point of contention.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Dutch

Fabre was in his 14th season and the Pack selected Rodgers at 1.24. Which goes to my point that it works better with an aging vet versus a younger guy trying to make a name for himself.

This was completely expected.

A think Bradford's situation is more comparable to Drew Brees/ Philip Rivers.

I don't recall Brees whining when Rivers got drafted (well technically traded for) but he did go out and win.

[Arles]

I'm still trying to figure out why people think Bradford is a legit #1 starter. He's had 5 seasons and has just one full season with a rating over 83 (86.4 last season). His 16 game averages are:

3700 yards, 60% completion, 6.45 ypa, 19 TDs, 13 INT and a rating of 81.0.

Here are 16 start averages for some other QBS:

3600 yards, 58% completion, 7.17 ypa, 19 TDs, 14 INT and a rating of 82.2.
3668 yards, 60% completion, 7.16 ypa, 22 TDs, 11 INT and a rating of 87.3.
3550 yards, 60% completion, 6.70 ypa, 23 TDs, 17 INT and a rating of 81.0.
3850 yards, 60% completion, 6.75 ypa, 20 TDs, 16 INT and a rating of 80.1.

The 4 QBs are Brian Hoyer, Nick Foles, Ryan Fitzpatrick and Josh McCown. I don't think the agents of any of these four would be outraged if their teams signed a young QB. Actually, all four QBs have been on teams who drafted a young QB and none said a peep. If Bradford hadn't been signed for all the money he got from St. Louis (last year before the new CBA), he would have been bouncing around as a backup/bottom tier starter like McCown or Hoyer the last few seasons. He can't even hit the high points from Fitzpatrick or Foles in their best seasons. Fitzpatrick has had a 90 QB rating and over 30 TDs and Foles had his 27 TD, 119 rating season. Bradford's "best" season was 19 TDs and a rating of 86.4.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by Logan

I'm not really on any side of this, but I think you might be overstating how disingenuous the Eagles may have been here. They gave him a 2 year deal which isn't much of an indication that he was in their long term plans, especially when it was structured with a $4MM roster bonus due in March next year.

Where did you come up with "anything less than Brady performance" and he's gone after 8 weeks?

Yeah this...and a couple more points to consider.

Far beit for me to defend the Eagles....but who's to say the Eagles had any clue they could land a deal for the #2 pick when they resigned Bradford? I don't think they would have paid him anywhere close to $18m/Yr if they expected that to be a possibility. Opportunity presents itself and a franchise ought to do what's believed to be in their interest. Whether it actually is, remains to be seen, but (presumably) Wentz is expected to need more time to develop anyway. Plenty of time for Bradford to make his claim on qb of the future....whether it be in Philly or elsewhere.

Also, Bradford's lack of top caliber play is highly relevant here. Sorry....you aren't Tom Brady, Drew Brees, or any other face of a franchise with a reliable injury history and on field consistency. You had that shot, it didn't work out, so now you're given a 2 yr deal....at nearly Brady money. What more could you possibly expect?

I'm not saying Bradford should be thrilled about this, nor would I in a similar situation. Not at all. But I also wouldn't expect a franchise to put all their eggs in my basket when my basket has never produced a dam thing. And to not realize all of these things....makes me question Bradford's emotional and intellectual durability...to go along with his physical durability questions.

[SteveMax58]

Originally Posted by Arles

I'm still trying to figure out why people think Bradford is a legit #1 starter.

The worst part might be that HE actually thinks he's done anything to warrant that type of treatment.

[RedKingGold]

3 49ers predictions for the draft:

(1) They take LB Leonard Floyd from Georgia at #7 overall. Ballke loves edge rushers, recall he took Aldon Smith over Blaine Gabbert in 2011, and Floyd as the type of athleticism and potential identified in Smith. I'm somewhat surprised no one notable has mocked Floyd to SF to date.

(2) They trade Kaepernick to Denver before Friday's round concludes.

(3) They don't take a QB until Day 3.

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by SteveMax58

The worst part might be that HE actually thinks he's done anything to warrant that type of treatment.

This.

[EagleFan]

dola: I couldn't care less if he is upset about it; but acting like a spoiled brat is where things really go south. He needed to cowboy up and put on his big boy pants. How many players in the league are going to be happy if he ends up on their team at this point (except for second level quarterbacks who want to have a chance to start)?

[Abe Sargent]

So take my Jags. Two years ago, great defense, 5th in league in sacks, a huge pro-bowl year for new signee Sen derrick Marks, and horrible offense, starting recently drafted rookies like Bortles and Robinson.

Last year, the offense really clicked with the addition of TE Julius Thomas to the mix and the growth of Bortles and the Allens.

But the defense was older, and there were only a few players of real quality here, like LB Telvin Smith. You also had the star and top rookie pick out for the year with an injury. Marks was injured, as was LB Paul Poz.


Go out in FA and sign one of the best S in Gipson, sign arguably teh best defensive FA in Malik Jackson, and bring in CB Prince Amakamara, often injured on a one year prove-it deal to see if he can bring it.

Bring back no longer injured DE Dante Fowler to the team. Bring back a healthy Marks, who is two years removed from a year where he led DTs in sacks.

Now add in rookies Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey to the mix.

Go along players like SS Cyprien, CB Davon House, and LB Telvin Smith

Holy crap. That's a good defense. Layer around in players like CB Colvin, DE Alualu, the leader Paul Poz, and more.

That's got the potential to be a smothering defense.

I'm just saying. Go JAGS!

[Suicane75]

Feel good for ya Abe, Jags are shaping up to be a fun team to be a fan of.

[Abe Sargent]

Thanks!

[EagleFan]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

So take my Jags. Two years ago, great defense, 5th in league in sacks, a huge pro-bowl year for new signee Sen derrick Marks, and horrible offense, starting recently drafted rookies like Bortles and Robinson.

Last year, the offense really clicked with the addition of TE Julius Thomas to the mix and the growth of Bortles and the Allens.

But the defense was older, and there were only a few players of real quality here, like LB Telvin Smith. You also had the star and top rookie pick out for the year with an injury. Marks was injured, as was LB Paul Poz.


Go out in FA and sign one of the best S in Gipson, sign arguably teh best defensive FA in Malik Jackson, and bring in CB Prince Amakamara, often injured on a one year prove-it deal to see if he can bring it.

Bring back no longer injured DE Dante Fowler to the team. Bring back a healthy Marks, who is two years removed from a year where he led DTs in sacks.

Now add in rookies Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey to the mix.

Go along players like SS Cyprien, CB Davon House, and LB Telvin Smith

Holy crap. That's a good defense. Layer around in players like CB Colvin, DE Alualu, the leader Paul Poz, and more.

That's got the potential to be a smothering defense.

I'm just saying. Go JAGS!

London's getting a pretty good team...

Seriously though, that could be their division this year. If the Colts can rebound it could at least be a good race; but I suspect the Colts will struggle.

[JAG]

My six year old daughter (more or less inexplicably) became a Jags fan this past year, so she was excited when I told her I thought they had a good chance to have a great year. Huge talent infusion defensively and the offense was already starting to look dangerous at times last year.

[jbergey22]

It is the NFL if Bradford plays well he will keep the damn job. He is being a baby cause he must realize he sucks and will get beat out by a rookie.

Why would Bradford feel entitled to get the job and have no competition? The guy has proved nothing in the NFL except he can get hurt and throw ints as good as any starting QB in the league.

Bradford should spend less time complaining and more time working on his game.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

So take my Jags. Two years ago, great defense, 5th in league in sacks, a huge pro-bowl year for new signee Sen derrick Marks, and horrible offense, starting recently drafted rookies like Bortles and Robinson.

Last year, the offense really clicked with the addition of TE Julius Thomas to the mix and the growth of Bortles and the Allens.

But the defense was older, and there were only a few players of real quality here, like LB Telvin Smith. You also had the star and top rookie pick out for the year with an injury. Marks was injured, as was LB Paul Poz.


Go out in FA and sign one of the best S in Gipson, sign arguably teh best defensive FA in Malik Jackson, and bring in CB Prince Amakamara, often injured on a one year prove-it deal to see if he can bring it.

Bring back no longer injured DE Dante Fowler to the team. Bring back a healthy Marks, who is two years removed from a year where he led DTs in sacks.

Now add in rookies Myles Jack and Jalen Ramsey to the mix.

Go along players like SS Cyprien, CB Davon House, and LB Telvin Smith

Holy crap. That's a good defense. Layer around in players like CB Colvin, DE Alualu, the leader Paul Poz, and more.

That's got the potential to be a smothering defense.

I'm just saying. Go JAGS!

This seems like such a nice draft. Things are falling into place for them and they arent out thinking themselves.

[AlexB]

Originally Posted by Suicane75

Feel good for ya Abe, Jags are shaping up to be a fun team to be a fan of.

Excited too - the rookies should have acclimatised to the demands of the NFL by the time the franchise comes over to London

Edit - EagleFan beat me to it

[Thomkal]

Hoyer signs one year deal with the Bears.

[bhlloy]

That's an interesting one, but I suppose if you are looking at a list of teams where you are a terrible starter away from playing a lot the Bears would be high on the list, and Cutler isn't massively durable either.

Still not sure what the Jets plans are if their game of Fitzpatrick roulette doesn't go well. Are they seriously planning to start Geno Smith?

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

That's an interesting one, but I suppose if you are looking at a list of teams where you are a terrible starter away from playing a lot the Bears would be high on the list, and Cutler isn't massively durable either.

Still not sure what the Jets plans are if their game of Fitzpatrick roulette doesn't go well. Are they seriously planning to start Geno Smith?

We all know Fitx will start...

[bhlloy]

They have to sign him first

[Abe Sargent]

That was my point. It'ss happen

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

It is the NFL if Bradford plays well he will keep the damn job. He is being a baby cause he must realize he sucks and will get beat out by a rookie.

Why would Bradford feel entitled to get the job and have no competition? The guy has proved nothing in the NFL except he can get hurt and throw ints as good as any starting QB in the league.

Bradford should spend less time complaining and more time working on his game.

Bradford gets shoved aside as soon as they feel Wentz is ready. The Eagles have too much invested in Wentz.

[Logan]

This story is awful. I was an enormous fan of Stubblefield and Bryant Young on that team.

Former NFL Star Dana Stubblefield Charged With Raping A Developmentally Disabled Woman

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by BillJasper

Bradford gets shoved aside as soon as they feel Wentz is ready. The Eagles have too much invested in Wentz.

Exactly. I said earlier in the thread, Bradford can play like Brady and it simply doesn't matter. He's gone. He won't play like Brady. I think a lot of people here are focusing on what type of QB I think he is. I don't care what type of QB he is in this, that part is irrelevant to me. What I know is that he had a chance to go to multiple teams this offseason. Denver would have taken him over Sanchez in a milisecond.

He decided not to go that route because he believed the Eagles were going to give him a chance to be the long term guy. (that was my belief when this started and nothing I've heard since has changed that) Instead of having a "chance" to be the long term guy, he's now a lame duck. The Philly eggs are in the Wentz basket now. (and again, that is probably better for them in the future. I don't give a damn about how good you think the QB's are here)

Philly's plan was to make this trade, start Bradford and hope he played like the end of last year and then use him to recover some of the picks they traded for Wentz. That's fine and all, but if that was their plan they probably should have conveyed that to Bradford.

I keep hearing how Bradfor is too scared to compete. Bull. They signed Daniel to a fairly large contract and brought in his position coach to be the head coach. No matter what Philly was saying, this was going to be a competition had they not drafted a QB. Bradford's issue is that he thought he had the CHANCE to be the long term QB of the Eagles and that chance went bye bye with the trade.

He feels like they screwed him and I'm inclined to agree.

Now he plays terrific, they'll still trade him (to a team he won't be able to choose). He plays decent, it'll be portrayed that he's horrible in the Philly media because the Wentz countdown clock is already ticking in their minds. Bradford is now in a bad situation and he's there because the Eagles lied to him.

And to think. . . this is the organization who fired Kelly because he couldn't communicate with players correctly.

[Abe Sargent]

Man I just love telvin Smith so much.


Jaguars' Telvin Smith calls players-only meeting, says no to settling - Jacksonville Jaguars Blog- ESPN

[stevew]

Sigh, try #3-
Claussen draft eval.

Spoiler

Edited for size

https://imgur.com/gallery/ivp1i some other draft evaluations by the raiders.

[cuervo72]

Good at throwing deep, outside of his lack of arm strength.

Might be an asshole. But could capture the clubhouse!

Can escape the pocket. Except when he can't!

Has a herky-jerky motion, which results in multiple arm deliveries.

Sometimes looks like he doesn't have the natural rhythm, but not most of the time when it's good. This makes him inaccurate, except in the immediate.

WTF, Raiders.

[BishopMVP]

As someone who watched most of Jimmy Clausen's starts at ND, that was a pretty accurate scouting report. He was very, very good and accurate, except when he was not! (Snark aside, for all of Weis' supposed tactical genius, our offense was basically lob jump balls/fades to Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, and Kyle Rudolph... which obviously worked pretty well for a college team. But makes it kind of hard to read if a quarterback can go through progressions, or if those were bad throws to a covered guy or good throws to a great guy against an overmatched DB.)

[QuikSand]

Claussen NFL eval:

Originally Posted by QuikSand

But for crying out loud, you don't decide you're set at QB because you have pocket lint like Jimmy Claussen already on hand.

[albionmoonlight]

Following an NFL team in an area with a passionate college football fanbase is amusing.

There's a thread on the Saints' message board right now about how the team would be foolish not to sign . . . Zack Mettenberger.

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Following an NFL team in an area with a passionate college football fanbase is amusing.

There's a thread on the Saints' message board right now about how the team would be foolish not to sign . . . Zack Mettenberger.

Tampa went through the same thing with Tebow. Mettenburger-Mania! Hahaha

[lungs]

Around here the rumor was that the Patriots would take Joel Stave in the third round. :0