NFL 2021 Regular Season Thread

[albionmoonlight]

"I think we're gonna sign Dalton."

"OK, boss. That's a good plan. But you know what would be a great plan?"

"What?"

"Getting the fan base really excited about Russell Wilson first. Then we swoop in and sign Dalton."

"That's brilliant! The fans will love it! I like the way you think, Jenkins!"

[Coffee Warlord]

Amusingly, I'm okay with this, but not for talent reasons.

- Bears don't give away a billion 1st rounders.
- Odds are good the Bears continue to be mediocre/bad with Dalton, Pace gets fire, and new GM still has draft picks to use.

[rjolley]

QB Tyrod Taylor signs with Houston.

The most incredible piece of info in that article? Taylor lost his job to Herbert because the team doctor punctured his lung giving his a pain-killing shot. WTF? That's a messed up way to lose your starting job.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

"I think we're gonna sign Dalton."

"OK, boss. That's a good plan. But you know what would be a great plan?"

"What?"

"Getting the fan base really excited about Russell Wilson first. Then we swoop in and sign Dalton."

"That's brilliant! The fans will love it! I like the way you think, Jenkins!"

I don't know if it was a joke but Rovell posted that the Bears odds of winning the SB went down after signing Dalton.

[bhlloy]

Yeah Tyrod got done dirty in San Diego, which ironically was the best thing that could have ever happened to the team as it allowed them to see what they had in Herbert.

It's a very interesting signing for that amount of money. Up to $12.5m doesn't mean that's the hit or he's likely to see most of it, but it's also a lot for a guy who is just a backup and happens to play a similar style as your starter. Who is talking about not returning to the team at all. Hmmm... pick your narrative on this one.

[molson]

The QB free agent market is now basically done. Just Alex Smith and Trubinsky left.

I don't know what any of these contract numbers really mean, but I can understand why Dalton did OK, if he did. Probably the last fringe starter available.

[Edward64]

I know just a hypothetical but I have no idea who Trey Lance is!

It is nice that Falcons own #4 pick this year.

2021 NFL Mock Draft: Falcons trade up for QB Trey Lance, WR Jaylen Waddle heads to Detroit to replace Kenny Golladay | NFL Draft | PFF

3. ATLANTA FALCONS (VIA DOLPHINS): QB TREY LANCE, NORTH DAKOTA STATE
The only franchise that traded up in the draft more consistently than the Atlanta Falcons under former general manager Thomas Dimitroff was the New Orleans Saints, where new GM Terry Fontenot rose through the ranks before becoming the man in charge in Atlanta. New Orleans traded up 13 times from 2011-20 — with zero trade downs. Atlanta traded up 12 times and traded down three times.

Dimitroff selected QB Matt Ryan with the No. 3 overall pick in his first draft as general manager back in 2008. Here, Fontenot trades up to No. 3 to get the franchise quarterback of the future in Atlanta. Lance started just one season at FCS North Dakota State, so this shouldn’t signal an immediate end to the Matt Ryan era, as he’ll need time to adjust to the NFL game.

[JPhillips]

Not sure I agree with the Bengals plan to let their two best defensive players walk.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by Edward64

I know just a hypothetical but I have no idea who Trey Lance is!

It is nice that Falcons own #4 pick this year.

2021 NFL Mock Draft: Falcons trade up for QB Trey Lance, WR Jaylen Waddle heads to Detroit to replace Kenny Golladay | NFL Draft | PFF

FWIW I was reading the chances of the Falcons taking a QB now is zero with the Ryan extension/restructure as he’s there for the next 3 years. Seems likely they will try to trade down as they are unlikely to take Sewell either with the Matthew’s extension.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Not sure I agree with the Bengals plan to let their two best defensive players walk.

It's the Bengals. I'm sure they know what they're doing

SI

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Bengals plan

lol

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

FWIW I was reading the chances of the Falcons taking a QB now is zero with the Ryan extension/restructure as he’s there for the next 3 years. Seems likely they will try to trade down as they are unlikely to take Sewell either with the Matthew’s extension.

I think that actually tracks as the smart move for them... it weakens the Miami hand at pick 1.3 (though they remain well positioned for a trade-down, which I suspect is likely) but for Atlanta, they now can join the trade-down ranks. QB #3 or #4 may indeed be very attractive for someone, or by draft day perhaps we will see increased hype for T Sewell, one of the receivers, or maybe someone else.

The Giants were in the 1.4 slot last year and decided to sit tight and just take their own best fit guy... but they likely missed out on a nice haul had they traded down a few slots (and they still would likely have gotten the same player at pick 1.8 or so).

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by Atocep

This deal is the most blatant example of NFL contracts being stupid. The reality is nothing really changes with how much he'll actually earn but the headline will be 4 years and $140 mil for Taysom Hill.

Agree 100 percent. So much wrong with the NFL cap and contract structures/re-structuring.

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Lol indeed.

Also, tip for the Vikings: if ever you look up and find yourself in a bidding war with the Bengals, Browns, and Jets, you might want to just back away and have a front office meeting where you can discuss where things went wrong.

HAHA

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by molson

It's probably too optimistic to wonder if the Patriots now may be appealing to one of the disgruntled star QBs.

But ya, Fitz would have been a great fit. I also wonder why we don't hear more about Gardner Minshew being available. Mariota would be interesting. All better options than Cam. I would be very surprised (but not shocked, because the Patriots are weird like this sometimes), if they went to camp with Newton/Stidham. I'd bet they find a QB in the draft and this is a position of big weakness overall in 2021, limiting their upside.

I must say this is certainly strange with what the Pats are doing. Normally, seeking out value and players that "fit." This feels more like just trying to get some decent players so the team doesnt completely fall of a cliff.

Nelson Agholor feels like a complete non-Patriot move. Non-productive and vastly overpaid.

[QuikSand]

The only thing I see about the Agholor deal that makes Patriots sense to me is that it seems to have a lot of base salary, rather than fully vested bonus. So it may be more of a one-year deal with a team option.

I like their deal with Bourne a lot better, but... well, I don't really understand what they are doing over there.

[thesloppy]

Wait, Richie Incognito A) was still in the league and B) just got re-signed by the Raiders. Ummm, aren't you the guy who practically bullied another player into suicide, held all the team's O-line meetings in strip clubs, got committed to an involuntary psychiatric hold, threw dumbbells at gym patrons, and threatened to kill a funeral home's employees when they wouldn't let you cut off your dead father's head?

[Kodos]

We've all made mistakes in life...

[Thomkal]

My beloved Cards going all in after signing Watt, they trade for Pro Bowl Center Rodney Hudson and signed WR A.J. Green to a one year deal

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

My beloved Cards going all in after signing Watt, they trade for Pro Bowl Center Rodney Hudson and signed WR A.J. Green to a one year deal

It's the NFL in the 2020s. Go all-in when you have the QB on the rookie deal.

[JPhillips]

HArd not to like what Washington is doing.

[NobodyHere]

Not sure if this will have legs or not but imagine the impact if it does.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson facing more assault allegations?

If true then he's probably going to get suspended a year and his trade value would be severely diminished.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Not sure if this will have legs or not but imagine the impact if it does.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson facing more assault allegations?

If true then he's probably going to get suspended a year and his trade value would be severely diminished.

My buddy thinks that the Texans are somehow behind leaking all this to kill his trade value and make him have to come back and play for them.

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

My buddy thinks that the Texans are somehow behind leaking all this to kill his trade value and make him have to come back and play for them.

It also wouldn't be the first time that the hometown keeps bad behavior under wraps until public opinion on the player shifts. If the locals feel like Watson is betraying them by his recent stances, it makes sense that people are no longer protecting him. I would see this type of stuff as more scorched Earth than trying to leverage him coming back to play. If some of this stuff is proven to be true, it is hard to see him continuing with his career (or at least as the face of any franchise).

As a Steelers' fan, we would occasionally hear odd things about Antonio Brown while he was still in Pittsburgh (a few driving citations or some off color quotes), but the floodgates sure opened up in a hurry when he demanded to be traded.

[sabotai]

Kenny Golladay meeting with the Giants today. *fingers crossed*

[Honolulu_Blue]

Mitch Trubisky to the Bills.

I, for one, am happy to see that notorious Lion killer out of the NFC North! No doubt The Red Rifle will now have his way with the Lions.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Swaggs

It also wouldn't be the first time that the hometown keeps bad behavior under wraps until public opinion on the player shifts. If the locals feel like Watson is betraying them by his recent stances, it makes sense that people are no longer protecting him. I would see this type of stuff as more scorched Earth than trying to leverage him coming back to play. If some of this stuff is proven to be true, it is hard to see him continuing with his career (or at least as the face of any franchise).

The lawyer filing them (in civil court, not criminal) was Bob McNair's neighbor & he was tweeting on Instagram about that 2 days ago? It's a weird situation https://twitter.com/uSTADIUM/status/1372027580048629760

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

I must say this is certainly strange with what the Pats are doing. Normally, seeking out value and players that "fit." This feels more like just trying to get some decent players so the team doesnt completely fall of a cliff.

Nelson Agholor feels like a complete non-Patriot move. Non-productive and vastly overpaid.

Originally Posted by QuikSand

The only thing I see about the Agholor deal that makes Patriots sense to me is that it seems to have a lot of base salary, rather than fully vested bonus. So it may be more of a one-year deal with a team option.

I like their deal with Bourne a lot better, but... well, I don't really understand what they are doing over there.

The overall strategy makes a ton of sense - hoard cap space in one year when almost no teams have it, throw the comp pick strategy out the window for a year & load up on a bunch of solid free agents. And considering it's "day one" of FA & a lot of these guys were top tier players I don't think there's one huge overpay or anything that hamstrings them if the fit isn't right... but yeah either we draft a QB (Trey Lance!), trade for one (Derek Carr?), or Belichick really does try to prove he can win without a QB who can throw the ball. I think that team could make the playoffs (the September/pre-Cam getting Covid Patriots could've been 9-7/10-6) - and this is a better version of it with real TE's & like 5 defensive starters added (Hightower, Van Noy, Judon, Mills, Godchaux), but yeah I'm still not sure you can win a Super Bowl if your quarterback can't throw a 10 yard pass without bouncing it off the turf so we'll see if there's another QB move via draft or trade.

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Not sure if this will have legs or not but imagine the impact if it does.

Texans QB Deshaun Watson facing more assault allegations?

If true then he's probably going to get suspended a year and his trade value would be severely diminished.

Hard to tell what is going on in these situations. The lawyer does seem sketchy. But there are "trouble" guys that always seem to have something hounding them, and Watson isn't one of those. I hope this is all false.

[AlexB]

Excited to see how Will Fuller can do at Miami. I haven’t seen enough of Tua to know if he has the arm to find him deep, but in theory Fuller, Parker, Williams and Geskicki look like a good base of targets, albeit all of them have durability issues

[sterlingice]

And word on what the new cap will look like with the new TV deal?

SI

[Swaggs]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Hard to tell what is going on in these situations. The lawyer does seem sketchy. But there are "trouble" guys that always seem to have something hounding them, and Watson isn't one of those. I hope this is all false.

Agreed - I hope I didn’t sound like I was jumping to judgment on him. I’ve never heard anything bad about him and Clemson, to my knowledge, does not seem like a program that takes chances on guys with character issues. It’s all real surprising.

[Coffee Warlord]

Kyle Fuller released by the Bears for cap room.

[SirFozzie]

new TV deals reached:

NFL announces TV deals with ESPN/ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, Amazon

[albionmoonlight]

In hindsight, it seems like the NFL & the NFLPA could’ve agreed to keep the cap artificially high for this off-season in exchange for artificially lowering it for a few seasons when this deal kicks in. Player salaries are going to be all kind of wonky based solely on the year you happen to hit free agency or extension time. Seems very arbitrary.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

In hindsight, it seems like the NFL & the NFLPA could’ve agreed to keep the cap artificially high for this off-season in exchange for artificially lowering it for a few seasons when this deal kicks in. Player salaries are going to be all kind of wonky based solely on the year you happen to hit free agency or extension time. Seems very arbitrary.

They actually did a bit. I think without the smoothing it'd be like 150-165 million.

[albionmoonlight]

Ah. Didn’t realize they had smoothed.

They’ll certainly have enough money to make up for that and then some.

[AlexB]

Texans QB Deshaun Watson facing four new lawsuits, bringing total to seven

This has all the hallmarks of the Bill Cosby/Jimmy Saville type cases - a snowball effect of multiple victims feeling emboldened to come forward. Although innocent until proven guilty, there is a pattern to these things

I hope I’m wrong because he is an amazing talent, but not looking good

[Honolulu_Blue]

Detroit Lions Head Coach Dan Campbell on recently acquired defensive lineman Michael Brockers:

“ I’d say this about Brockers -- he’s probably one of the few in this league that can wield the hammer of Thor. So, we’re really excited about that.”

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by AlexB

Texans QB Deshaun Watson facing four new lawsuits, bringing total to seven

This has all the hallmarks of the Bill Cosby/Jimmy Saville type cases - a snowball effect of multiple victims feeling emboldened to come forward. Although innocent until proven guilty, there is a pattern to these things

I hope I’m wrong because he is an amazing talent, but not looking good

It is not looking good at all. 12 accusers is a lot of accusers. The only thing about all of this is the timing, which, as the kids say these days, is a bit sus.

[bhlloy]

Timing and the lawyers link with McNair but yeah... I mean the chances that they have found 12 separate people all willing to lie about this has got to be pretty small.

[rjolley]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

It is not looking good at all. 12 accusers is a lot of accusers. The only thing about all of this is the timing, which, as the kids say these days, is a bit sus.

I wonder if this is a pattern of actions that the Texans were aware of and covered up. Once Watson started talking about being unhappy and wanting to be traded, the owner utilized the services of one of his friends to move this forward.

[BishopMVP]

Gotta love the NFL comp pick system, which not even the league can understand Looks like the NFL just awarded the Patriots an extra draft pick - Pats Pulpit

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

It's the NFL in the 2020s. Go all-in when you have the QB on the rookie deal.

In the 2010s an offense with Larry Fitzgerald, DeAndre Hopkins and A.J. Green would sound amazing.

[thesloppy]

Seems like the 17-game season got lost in the shuffle a bit. I hate the idea, especially with the NFL's injury & concussion issues the last thing they need is more games, and I hate that it adds another hiccup to comparing any modern stats.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Seems like the 17-game season got lost in the shuffle a bit. I hate the idea, especially with the NFL's injury & concussion issues the last thing they need is more games, and I hate that it adds another hiccup to comparing any modern stats.

Agreed.

[Atocep]

Question for Georgia fans.

Did Isaiah Wilson show this many red flags at UGA?

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

Seems like the 17-game season got lost in the shuffle a bit. I hate the idea, especially with the NFL's injury & concussion issues the last thing they need is more games, and I hate that it adds another hiccup to comparing any modern stats.

If they do anything they really need to cut the preseason in half. two games is more than enough to tell who is going to stick.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

If they do anything they really need to cut the preseason in half. two games is more than enough to tell who is going to stick.

You what nobody has ever said?

It's "I really missed the preseason last year"

[BYU 14]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

You what nobody has ever said?

It's "I really missed the preseason last year"

It really makes no sense. College teams have no pre-season games and in HS we have 1 pre-season scrimmage and that is pretty much standard, but of course the NFL makes money on those games, sooooo.