2020 NFL Offseason Thread?

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by molson

The weirdest one in my state is the Orofino Maniacs. Which would be a pretty awesome name - if it wasn't literally named after a state psychiatric hospital, which it is.

That is both horrible and awesome!

[jbergey22]

Trump in negotiations with Snyder to get Trump branding on the former Redskins.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Trump in negotiations with Snyder to get Trump branding on the former Redskins.

The Orangemen?

[jbergey22]

Originally Posted by stevew

The Orangemen?

HAHA!

[molson]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

That is both horrible and awesome!

The mascot is on point - for better or worse

https://media.spokesman.com/photos/2...29/maniacs.jpg

[Scarecrow]

Ok, who had Skydog as the Chief's GM...



4 years/$85M

Remember when the Chiefs has $177 in salary cap space after the draft...

[stevew]

Supposed to be some major shit hitting the fan about the Skins tomorrow. Sex parties. Culture. Etc.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by stevew

Supposed to be some major shit hitting the fan about the Skins tomorrow. Sex parties. Culture. Etc.

I can't believe it'll live up to the hype, but man, to get the Redskins & Dan Snyder running while simultaneously having the name change be a huge story they could point to instead and take the heat off?

I've seen rumors of Snyder tied to Epstein, or the cheerleader stuff (but didn't we already have the expose about them pimping out their cheerleaders a few years ago?) Can't imagine it's racism related or someone would have leaked it on Twitter by now. We'll see, couldn't happen to a more deserving owner!

[Chief Rum]

Man, if only there was a Cam Newton out there they could sign.

Maybe they'll check in on AB?

[albionmoonlight]

Dan Snyder is on that list of guys that it would be hard for my opinion of him to go lower.

[ISiddiqui]

And the other Washington scandal drops:

15 women accuse former Redskins employees of sexual harassment and verbal abuse

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...l-alex-santos/



Sent from my Pixel 4 XL using Tapatalk

[thesloppy]

Hmmmm. The level of hype & gossip did not quite match up the details in the article. Significant and awful stuff to be sure, but not much worse than the cheerleader stuff that was already out there.

That said, if the hype was bigger than the article, so was the response by the team...they fired all those people immediately AND initiated an internal culture audit to get ahead of it AND finally change the name AND partial owners are looking to sell their shares, because of sexual harassment allegations involving a broadcaster and head of scouting? Seems like there's plenty of room for conspiracy theories in there.

[albionmoonlight]

So a decent amount of NFL players are tweeting this morning with #WeWantToPlay and putting the onus on the League to make things safe.

Interestingly, these negotiations (i.e. how to handle COVID) present the rare instance where the players have leverage over the owners. Normally, the owners can bear the brunt of lost games more easily than the players, and that dictates every CBA. The person who can afford to walk away from the table always ends up winning the negotiation.

Now, though, the players already have their contracts for the season. So the owners kind of need football to happen to limit their losses. If there really is no football, then that will be felt in future caps. But, right now, a bunch of players are owed money that the NFL will not generate without a season.

I expect that there will be NFL football, but that it will end up being on terms much more favorable to the players than we are used to seeing.

[miami_fan]

Time to cancel the NFL? Not seriously but it is 2020.

For those wondering, yes, it is league-wide: fans at NFL games this season will be required to wear face coverings pic.twitter.com/D139KGKQ4r

— Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) July 22, 2020

[miami_fan]

So the new name is Washington FT?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

So the new name is Washington FT?

Yes!

Dan Snyder has managed to out Dan Snyder himself this time.

Effective immediately, Washington will call itself the “Washington Football Team”, pending adoption of a new name, sources tell ESPN.

This is not a final renaming and rebranding for team; this is the name it wants to use until pending adoption of a new name in the future. pic.twitter.com/sBs0Uo0ICm

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 23, 2020

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

So the new name is Washington FT?

WashingtonTF?

[miami_fan]

Ok now the final name has to be put to a vote. Inter Washington, Washington City, or Washington United are the options.

[ISiddiqui]

DCFC is the obvious choice, of course.

(though Detroit City FC may be put out a bit)

[molson]

I thought they had a plan for all this.

[Ksyrup]

Tells me there's a trademark issue to sort out. Or I guess if they're gonna do it, they need to cash in properly and there just wasn't enough time to do the rebrand and have all the new merch ready.

[RainMaker]

I love numbers on the helmets though.

Washington will not have any change to its color scheme. It will still use burgundy and gold. The Redskins logo on the helmet will be replaced by the player’s number in gold. The Washington Football Team will debut its home uniforms in week 1 against the Eagles. pic.twitter.com/8DpC6b0Tyj

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 23, 2020

[ISiddiqui]

Looks like old style college uniforms, which is fantastic. Keep it even with the new name!

[NobodyHere]

Elimination of 2020 Pro Bowl pay likely means no 2020 Pro Bowl

[albionmoonlight]

Football is my favorite sport.

It is also the sport for which an all-star game makes the least sense.

Keep voting for All-Pro players, but no need to make them play a game.

The NFL should, instead, make the whole thing a skills challenge. I'm not tuning in to watch the Pro Bowl. But I'll watch Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes, Matt Stafford, etc. in a longest throw contest.

[JPhillips]

Basketball is my favorite sport

I like the way they dribble up and down the court

[thesloppy]

They're playing basketbaaaaaaaallll

[Atocep]

New York Jets trade Jamal Adams to Seattle Seahawks, get two first-round picks

[Thomkal]

Seems like a steep price for someone who caused such conflict with ownership. Not happy to see him end up in the NFC West either

[QuikSand]

Seattle just pisses away their firsts anyway, at least they get an anchor caliber player here, just like Percy Harvin. What could possibly go wrong?

I actually am fine with the deal.

[stevew]

It’s a good trade for the Seahawks. Their window is now

[NobodyHere]

Well if nothing else this trade makes it seem like the Seahawks are extremely confident there will be a season this year. Because if there isn't one, how does that affect the value of the trade?

[bhlloy]

The style Seattle wants to play revolves around having somebody like Earl Thomas and they got the closest thing to prime Thomas in the league right now. I can't hate the deal too much.

[Danny]

Originally Posted by Thomkal

Seems like a steep price for someone who caused such conflict with ownership. Not happy to see him end up in the NFC West either

He will do well for the Seahawks and Petey. Hes wanted an extension and the jets messed around. Seattle is going to pay him.

[Atocep]

The bears monopoly on shitty tight ends pays off as they send Shaheen to the dolphins for a conditional late round pick.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

The style Seattle wants to play revolves around having somebody like Earl Thomas and they got the closest thing to prime Thomas in the league right now. I can't hate the deal too much.

Adams is (a better) Kam Chancellor, not a Thomas-type. (Closest thing to prime Thomas is still Thomas? Devin McCourty? Minkah Fitzpatrick? Anthony Harris? Trying to think of guys who are best in that single high safety role.)

An underrated part of the draft capital given up is how much uncertainty there will be in the next 2 drafts. If we even have a college season it won't be a full one, it won't include every team, so there won't be nearly as much tape on players & I think a 1st is worth less in comparison to a later draft pick than it usually would be. I don't know if the 2021 draft will be much less deep than usual with guys opting to go back to school instead of the mass exodus of underclassmen at big schools who have one good year as a starter & go, but it'll definitely be much less clear than usual.

[SirFozzie]

6 Patriots have already opted out (including Hightower, Chung, Cannon etcetera)

THe fact that folks making so much (Hightower was to make $8 million this season) are opting out so quickly is a sign that I don't think that we're going to have a season.

[stevew]

I wish they would just postpone this season until February or something. Maybe by then they can run at half capacity and there will be a vaccine rolled out. No way 53+ guys will be able to stay covid free by then.

[Kodos]

Yeah. It's seemed absurd for me from the start to even think that football could be safely played this fall. I love football as much as the next guy, but we should focus on bigger issues right now.

[molson]

I can't decide whether it's odd or comforting that the major pro leagues and players seem to be carrying on with an assumption that things will be back to normal next near - with long term contracts, etc. Nobody's really in a holding pattern, they're just trying to limp through the present or upcoming season and get to next year.

I'm hopeful things will be a lot better next year, but, when the best-case scenario is a vaccine that's 70-75% effective that maybe 2/3rds of of Americans will be willing to take, with distribution kind of a mystery, and maybe we all get access at some point in 2021 - it's hard to imagine next year's sports seasons won't have the same daily uncertainty, loss of revenue for lack of fans, lack of interest because nobody knows what's going to happen, etc.

Personally, I've been DVR'ing various sports since Taiwan baseball started, but I don't think I've watched a second of anything except UFC, which just feels different because of it's nature - it's an event-by-event thing rather than a season, with only 2 people competing at a time, and no COVID-depleted teams, so I can still get vested it. Whittaker v. Till and Gustafsson v. Werdum over the weekend had pretty much the same stakes and general competitive essence they would without COVID, whereas the team sports feel kind of like a desperate distraction. Like there's a team name, but the players on that team that day entirely depend on who's tested positive lately and who's made the personal COVID-related choice whether to play. It's not the same product, its not the same type of competition, it's more of a exhibition, like the randomness of replacement player games in a strike season. It can be fun to watch to pass the time I'm sure, if I ever get around to it, but it's hard to feel like it matters when you can't know if they're will be a playoffs or even games tomorrow, or who which players will be playing.

[SirFozzie]

Have to laugh a bit about how much space Belichick takes rent-free in opponent's heads.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/sta...39768044412928

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Kodos

Yeah. It's seemed absurd for me from the start to even think that football could be safely played this fall. I love football as much as the next guy, but we should focus on bigger issues right now.

What's a bigger issue than football?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Have to laugh a bit about how much space Belichick takes rent-free in opponent's heads.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/sta...39768044412928

It's good to be the King.

He should arrange to get a picture taken with him, Dr. Fauci, and Kanye all huddling together and looking conspiratorial and leak it to the media.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

What's a bigger issue than football?

Just a short list.

COVID-19
Black Lives Matter
Unemployment crisis
Upcoming national elections
Attacks on the rule of law by the current administration
Privacy legislation
Infrastructure legislation
Immigration issues caused by the Trump administration

Football is entertainment. It's optional.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

6 Patriots have already opted out (including Hightower, Chung, Cannon etcetera)

THe fact that folks making so much (Hightower was to make $8 million this season) are opting out so quickly is a sign that I don't think that we're going to have a season.

Part of it is the price of having smarter, veteran players. Hightower is the huge loss so far - Ju'Whuan Bentley is the only returning LB (& I wonder if he'll be calling the signals or if they'll go the unusual route of having a Safety in McCourty do it.) Cannon is more about depth - he wasn't great at RT last season - and our Safety depth is ridiculous so Chung's loss is mitigated by Phillips & Dugger.

Originally Posted by molson

I can't decide whether it's odd or comforting that the major pro leagues and players seem to be carrying on with an assumption that things will be back to normal next near - with long term contracts, etc. Nobody's really in a holding pattern, they're just trying to limp through the present or upcoming season and get to next year.

I'm hopeful things will be a lot better next year, but, when the best-case scenario is a vaccine that's 70-75% effective that maybe 2/3rds of of Americans will be willing to take, with distribution kind of a mystery, and maybe we all get access at some point in 2021 - it's hard to imagine next year's sports seasons won't have the same daily uncertainty, loss of revenue for lack of fans, lack of interest because nobody knows what's going to happen, etc.

A 75% effective vaccine that's taken by most people (and presumably sports leagues would be able to make almost all players take it) would put us a lot closer to herd immunity and make an outbreak unlikely instead of basically guaranteed. I also think your lack of interest is kind of a you thing - the ratings for sports have been high because people are desperate for some entertainment.

The craziest part to me isn't that pro/D1 CFB where there are millions of dollars at play are trying to push through, it's that we're still in the weird place where we freak out if anyone gets it, but we're sending kids back to school and letting them play football. (At least until there's an outbreak, then everyone will freak out and stop them for a couple weeks.) NCHSAA moves into Phase 2 of reopening plan on Aug. 3, will allow usage of some equipment

We've basically made the decision subconsciously that it's okay if kids and younger pro athletes get COVID, but coming up with a coherent plan that focuses on containing the spread from there to vulnerable parts of the population would require actually admitting that & people are afraid to do that.

[RendeR]

Am I alone in believing the "opt-out" movement is just beginning and as more high profile players opt out more and more players will also and it will hit a "go/no go" breaking point before the season starts?

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by RendeR

Am I alone in believing the "opt-out" movement is just beginning and as more high profile players opt out more and more players will also and it will hit a "go/no go" breaking point before the season starts?

Short of high profile QB's opting out I don't think it will matter. Some skill position guys might move the needle in the media, but even if say a Zeke Elliott opts out won't the natural reaction be to see if you can snag the new Cowboys starting RB for your fantasy team? Tuesday is the deadline - obviously players could pull back after then, but I think we'll pass that date & it'll be focused back on whether whoever's left can actually play enough games to have a real season before an outbreak occurs (and then on the actual football implications.)

[thesloppy]

I just can't imagine how the hell the NFL is going to work looking at the MLB clusterfuck? The sports that have managed to pull it off so far (in the US) all seem to be using some version of a bubble model, and that doesn't even seem possible with the NFL.

Is anybody expecting a 'complete' NFL season at this point?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by thesloppy

I just can't imagine how the hell the NFL is going to work looking at the MLB clusterfuck? The sports that have managed to pull it off so far (in the US) all seem to be using some version of a bubble model, and that doesn't even seem possible with the NFL.

Is anybody expecting a 'complete' NFL season at this point?

A few months ago, I spent about 20 minutes trying to devise a scenario where the NFL took over, like, 3 Las Vegas mega resorts and tried the super bubble concept.

But I gave up when I realized how many weight rooms, training rooms, film rooms, practice fields, etc. you would need. Let alone enough fields to play the games (though I was working on the assumption that high school and college football would go away, so the NFL would be playing Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to maximize the use of fields).

It is just impossible to bubble the NFL.

[thesloppy]

Yeah, and I think they're keeping 90 man rosters through the whole season as opposed to the usual ~50. That seems like a good way to mitigate losing players to covid and also a good way to increase the risk of players getting covid. They're still just planning on shuffling 16 visiting teams of 90 dudes through airplanes & airports across the country every week, as usual?