2014-15 NFL Offseason Thread (Non Draft Edition)

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by ColtCrazy

Now where's Spiller off to?

Somewhere "warmer".

I think Seattle might be a real possibility.

[Eaglesfan27]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Somewhere "warmer".

I think Seattle might be a real possibility.

Pete always coveted him.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Somewhere "warmer".

I think Seattle might be a real possibility.

Somewhere where he can stay on the field for 16 games in a row would be great.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by stevew

Somewhere where he can stay on the field for 16 games in a row would be great.

I don't think the NFL is expanding to fantasyland.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by stevew

Somewhere where he can stay on the field for 16 games in a row would be great.

Shrug.
He was injured this year and missed half the season, sure.

But in his first 4 seasons he missed a total of 2 games and was available for both.

I mean if breaking a collar bone on a freak fall makes him injury prone, well there are going to be a lot of NFL RBs judged harshly.

And he has averaged 5.46 yards per touch (rushing and receiving combined) for his career from the LOS.

[Dutch]

Steves judgement was probably best placed on the duo of bad luck...not one guy.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Shrug.
He was injured this year and missed half the season, sure.

But in his first 4 seasons he missed a total of 2 games and was available for both.

I mean if breaking a collar bone on a freak fall makes him injury prone, well there are going to be a lot of NFL RBs judged harshly.

And he has averaged 5.46 yards per touch (rushing and receiving combined) for his career from the LOS.

I know CJ Spiller's your guy, and he is a terrific RB when healthy. But those first four year's games played stats can be misleading. I am an avid fantasy guy, and I am very familiar with Spiller's time in Buffalo. He may have played in most of those games, but he entered a lot of them hurt/dinged up. He is a constant on their injury report, from the start of the season on, and he is often limited in his usage as a result. There's a reason why the Bills held onto Fred Jackson all these years, despite having Spiller.

[CU Tiger]

Admittedly I'm a fan and impartial because of that.
He is not now and never will be a 25 carry a game guy. Its just not his build.

But how many NFL RBs dont spend a fair amount of time on the injury report?

If you want to blast the guy, blast his ball security. It sucks. But I dont know that its fair to say he is any more often injured than most NFL RBs.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

Admittedly I'm a fan and impartial because of that.
He is not now and never will be a 25 carry a game guy. Its just not his build.

But how many NFL RBs dont spend a fair amount of time on the injury report?

If you want to blast the guy, blast his ball security. It sucks. But I dont know that its fair to say he is any more often injured than most NFL RBs.

I wouldn't say I am blasting him. I am just acknowledging what I have found to be the general belief of most fantasy football players--don't trust Spiller 100% when it comes to production. He will be dinged up, his usage will suffer as a result and Fred Jackson will steal his carries. This has been true some three years running now.

[korme]

It's true. I drafted Spiller almost every year, and every year you're left shaking your head.

[stevew]

He had 15 or more carries in a total of 15 games for his entire career. Shady had 13 or 14 games of >15 carries last year alone. Maybe Spiller will change into more of a workhorse but I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as injury prone, you'd literally have no idea which Buffalo back was even healthy late on Friday heading into the weekend.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by stevew

He had 15 or more carries in a total of 15 games for his entire career. Shady had 13 or 14 games of >15 carries last year alone. Maybe Spiller will change into more of a workhorse but I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as injury prone, you'd literally have no idea which Buffalo back was even healthy late on Friday heading into the weekend.

Part of it was just Buffalo dicking him around and never settling on a time - share. No reason they couldn't have settled on him mostly being the 3rd down back and getting 12-15 carries a game.

[stevew]

Peyton Manning has agreed to take a 4m paycut, allegedly. I can't see how he's going to be worth 15M next year, one of these years he's bound to majorly fall off.

[Kodos]

You are ever the optimist.

[stevew]

Buffalo adding a QB, Buffalo still needing a QB.

[stevew]

Looks like Polamalu got the "retire" edict. He cant really play anymore so hopefully he makes the right call before he really starts to embarrass himself.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by stevew

Peyton Manning has agreed to take a 4m paycut, allegedly. I can't see how he's going to be worth 15M next year, one of these years he's bound to majorly fall off.

Yeah word is here the Broncos wanted him to take an 8 millions cut. I am frankly done with this experiment rather be be a 8-8 rebuilding team as opposed to 11-5 and get our asses handed to us for the fourth year in a row.

[Fidatelo]

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah word is here the Broncos wanted him to take an 8 millions cut. I am frankly done with this experiment rather be be a 8-8 rebuilding team as opposed to 11-5 and get our asses handed to us for the fourth year in a row.

This is insanity. You remember the Brian Greise years right? Or Jake Plummer? Or Jay Cutler? Or Kyle Orton? Or Tim Tebow? Oh and remember how that Elway guy just kept taking teams to the playoffs just to get killed? Yeah that worked out ok in the end, so I'll roll with Manning for as many years as possible because odds are good we're going to head into another decade or two of guys like the ones at the top of this paragraph before we find the next Elway or Manning.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

This is insanity. You remember the Brian Greise years right? Or Jake Plummer? Or Jay Cutler? Or Kyle Orton? Or Tim Tebow? Oh and remember how that Elway guy just kept taking teams to the playoffs just to get killed? Yeah that worked out ok in the end, so I'll roll with Manning for as many years as possible because odds are good we're going to head into another decade or two of guys like the ones at the top of this paragraph before we find the next Elway or Manning.

Thanks, Fid. I had similar thoughts yesterday when I saw Galaril's post, but didn't have time to respond earlier.

I see this sort of thing a lot, where fans just don't seem to know what they got until it's gone.

I could feel like that about the Ducks, perhaps the quintessential awesome regular season, uber-talented hockey team that consistently "Boudreau"s it in the playoffs, and figure we'll just blow it. But I still keep hope alive anyway.

[QuikSand]

I'm really intrigued to see what becomes of Randall Cobb. I think his skill set likely translates better than most to doing well on a second team (which is not a really common thing in the NFL at the WR position) -- but I think it's also really hard to know how much of his success arises from being in such a WR-friendly setting in Green Bay thus far.

If he's in Jacksonville or Oakland next year (each seems very possible), he could get fed a ton of balls and be a great security blanket for a young QB... but will he really be the sort of dynamic threat that he had been? Tough to say.

I bet he lands $10m a year, though.

[Chief Rum]

Put me in the camp of thinking Cobb could blossom into one of the top 10 receivers in the league and a clear #1 if he was the top dog for a team. I always thought he had the talent, but it's hard to establish yourself as a great receiver when your QB is as good at Rodgers is at spreading the ball around.

[Logan]

Sam Bradford had a $17.6MM cap hit during 2014 and will count for $16.6MM this season. Let's keep that in mind when we think of the value some QBs bring.

[Arles]

It's hard to get a read on GB WRs when they leave. Everyone thought Jennings might put up big numbers when he went from sharing with Driver/Nelson/Cobb/Jones to being the clear #1 on Minnesota. Yet, he's been pretty pedestrian. Same goes for James Jones in Oakland. It's rare for a GB receiver to get double coverage (I've only seen it a few times with Jordy). So, Jennings, Jones and even Cobb will go from being one of many defensive targets to being the lone focus on the new team. I think Cobb is the best equipped to handle that with his quickness from the slot, but he's struggled in GB when Jordy was hurt or Rodgers wasn't in.

I'd be a little hesitant to pay him north of $9 mil because of his injury history and the fact that he's a slot receiver (which can be replaced easier than the Nelson/Bryant/Calvin/Demarious outside role). I hope GB can get a deal done to keep him at $9, but if Jax or Oakland is offering 10-12 as reported - I doubt GB would match.

[Abe Sargent]

Originally Posted by Arles

It's hard to get a read on GB WRs when they leave. Everyone thought Jennings might put up big numbers when he went from sharing with Driver/Nelson/Cobb/Jones to being the clear #1 on Minnesota. Yet, he's been pretty pedestrian. Same goes for James Jones in Oakland. It's rare for a GB receiver to get double coverage (I've only seen it a few times with Jordy). So, Jennings, Jones and even Cobb will go from being one of many defensive targets to being the lone focus on the new team. I think Cobb is the best equipped to handle that with his quickness from the slot, but he's struggled in GB when Jordy was hurt or Rodgers wasn't in.

I'd be a little hesitant to pay him north of $9 mil because of his injury history and the fact that he's a slot receiver (which can be replaced easier than the Nelson/Bryant/Calvin/Demarious outside role). I hope GB can get a deal done to keep him at $9, but if Jax or Oakland is offering 10-12 as reported - I doubt GB would match.

Not on the Jags -

If he comes to Jacksonville, here are his WR mates:

Marqise Lee
Allen Robinson
Hurns
Ace Sanders
Maybe Justin Blackmon

That's a lot of talent to get the ball - I'm not sure Cobb gets a lot of double coverage, with that group of WR mates. Do you want to toss a LB on Lee? Robinson? Blackmon?

[albionmoonlight]

Pierre Thomas getting released by the Saints. Y'all all know him as that guy you keep on the end of your fantasy bench and hope you never have to play. But he was one of the most fan-liked players in Saints history.

I understand that it's a business and all that. And I am sure that, as a football/cap move, this was a no-brainer. But it is still bumming me out that he won't be a Saint anymore.

Hope that he catches on with the Pats. He's a very smart back with good hands, so I could see a place for him there. And it would give him the chance for one more ring, which I would love to see for him.

[Arles]

Originally Posted by Abe Sargent

Not on the Jags -

If he comes to Jacksonville, here are his WR mates:

Marqise Lee
Allen Robinson
Hurns
Ace Sanders
Maybe Justin Blackmon

That's a lot of talent to get the ball - I'm not sure Cobb gets a lot of double coverage, with that group of WR mates. Do you want to toss a LB on Lee? Robinson? Blackmon?

There's a lot of talent, but not much production. If they put out Lee, Robinson/Hurns and Cobb. I'd double Cobb (caught 91 of 120 targets) and take my chances with Lee (caught 37 of 68 targets), Hurns (51 of 97) and Robinson (48 of 82 targets). Heck, if they love Ace Sanders (51 of 85) - why pay Cobb all that money?

There's a reason Jax is considering paying Cobb 11-12 million a year - and it's not because they love the current production level of their receiver corps. They remind of the Raiders WRs a few years back. Everyone gushed (esp fantasy gurus) about their talent with DHB, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, ... Yet even with Carson Palmer, their production was crap. I need to see one of these guys catch 60 passes or atleast 700 yards before I get excited about them. Blackmon had a chance a few years back, but that chance may have passed now.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Arles

It's hard to get a read on GB WRs when they leave. Everyone thought Jennings might put up big numbers when he went from sharing with Driver/Nelson/Cobb/Jones to being the clear #1 on Minnesota. Yet, he's been pretty pedestrian. Same goes for James Jones in Oakland. It's rare for a GB receiver to get double coverage (I've only seen it a few times with Jordy). So, Jennings, Jones and even Cobb will go from being one of many defensive targets to being the lone focus on the new team. I think Cobb is the best equipped to handle that with his quickness from the slot, but he's struggled in GB when Jordy was hurt or Rodgers wasn't in.

I'd be a little hesitant to pay him north of $9 mil because of his injury history and the fact that he's a slot receiver (which can be replaced easier than the Nelson/Bryant/Calvin/Demarious outside role). I hope GB can get a deal done to keep him at $9, but if Jax or Oakland is offering 10-12 as reported - I doubt GB would match.

I don't put Jennings or Jones in the same category. I feel that Jennings was on the downside of his career and abilities by the time he left Green Bay. And Jones was much more a product of the system in Green Bay, not a bad receiver but not a great one either.

I think Cobb is young enough and talented enough to have a much different career with a second team than those two did.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by Arles

There's a lot of talent, but not much production. If they put out Lee, Robinson/Hurns and Cobb. I'd double Cobb (caught 91 of 120 targets) and take my chances with Lee (caught 37 of 68 targets), Hurns (51 of 97) and Robinson (48 of 82 targets). Heck, if they love Ace Sanders (51 of 85) - why pay Cobb all that money?

There's a reason Jax is considering paying Cobb 11-12 million a year - and it's not because they love the current production level of their receiver corps. They remind of the Raiders WRs a few years back. Everyone gushed (esp fantasy gurus) about their talent with DHB, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, ... Yet even with Carson Palmer, their production was crap. I need to see one of these guys catch 60 passes or atleast 700 yards before I get excited about them. Blackmon had a chance a few years back, but that chance may have passed now.

I generally agree with you. That said, you should take into account with those catches versus target numbers that all of those JAX WRs had Bortles throwing to them, while Cobb had Rodgers.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Pierre Thomas getting released by the Saints. Y'all all know him as that guy you keep on the end of your fantasy bench and hope you never have to play. But he was one of the most fan-liked players in Saints history.

I understand that it's a business and all that. And I am sure that, as a football/cap move, this was a no-brainer. But it is still bumming me out that he won't be a Saint anymore.

Hope that he catches on with the Pats. He's a very smart back with good hands, so I could see a place for him there. And it would give him the chance for one more ring, which I would love to see for him.

Without any insider knowledge, it seems like a minsal re-sign after he fails to latch on in free agency seems very possible.

[Arles]

Jones also played 94% of the games for GB and Jennings played 87%. Cobb has missed 12 games in his first 4 seasons and last year was the first he played all 16. Cobb has the talent, but durability might be a question mark. That said, I agree on your overall point and think he will do well wherever he goes (provided he stays healthy). The dimension he brings in terms of playing out of the backfield, slot and even returns makes him an impact guy.

[Castlerock]

Originally Posted by stevew

Peyton Manning has agreed to take a 4m paycut, allegedly. I can't see how he's going to be worth 15M next year, one of these years he's bound to majorly fall off.

Originally Posted by Galaril

Yeah word is here the Broncos wanted him to take an 8 millions cut. I am frankly done with this experiment rather be be a 8-8 rebuilding team as opposed to 11-5 and get our asses handed to us for the fourth year in a row.

Originally Posted by Fidatelo

This is insanity. You remember the Brian Greise years right? Or Jake Plummer? Or Jay Cutler? Or Kyle Orton? Or Tim Tebow? Oh and remember how that Elway guy just kept taking teams to the playoffs just to get killed? Yeah that worked out ok in the end, so I'll roll with Manning for as many years as possible because odds are good we're going to head into another decade or two of guys like the ones at the top of this paragraph before we find the next Elway or Manning.

I'm with Fidatelo. I'd pay him whatever is required until he proves he no longer has anything left. Then I'd continue to pay him for 2 more years, just to be sure. Manning is an all-time talent. Denver is one of the top teams in the league with him - a legitimate super bowl contender.

[Kodos]

Yeah. Why rush to be an 8-8 team (or worse). The guy is 15 months out from setting the NFL record for TD passes in a season.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Arles

There's a lot of talent, but not much production. If they put out Lee, Robinson/Hurns and Cobb. I'd double Cobb (caught 91 of 120 targets) and take my chances with Lee (caught 37 of 68 targets), Hurns (51 of 97) and Robinson (48 of 82 targets). Heck, if they love Ace Sanders (51 of 85) - why pay Cobb all that money?

There's a reason Jax is considering paying Cobb 11-12 million a year - and it's not because they love the current production level of their receiver corps. They remind of the Raiders WRs a few years back. Everyone gushed (esp fantasy gurus) about their talent with DHB, Denarius Moore, Rod Streater, Louis Murphy, Chaz Schilens, ... Yet even with Carson Palmer, their production was crap. I need to see one of these guys catch 60 passes or atleast 700 yards before I get excited about them. Blackmon had a chance a few years back, but that chance may have passed now.

This is pretty spot on. My question about Cobb is: will he make his QB better? Is he a guy that can find soft spots in coverage and capitalize on them?

[miked]

Man, all these Manning haters considering he still had an All-Pro year. Try being a Jets fan and watching Geno Smith you spoiled bastards. Oh no, my QB may only throw 34 TDs this season...

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Without any insider knowledge, it seems like a minsal re-sign after he fails to latch on in free agency seems very possible.

Put Vince Wilfork's "release" today in the same category (albeit at a higher amount than minsal). Test the market, see what it'll offer (less than the $8m he'd be guaranteed March 10) and the Pats will give an offer too.

[jeff061]

I'll be surprised if either Wilfork or McCourty is back next year. I just don't think they are going to come close to matching what McCourty is going to get in FA. I don't think they value him as highly as the fans do or as 2 or 3 teams will, their lack of tag supports that.

Wilfork I think they want to clear the way for young guys, barring Wilfork taking a bizarrely low contract I don't see it happening.

I'm hoping they'll give Revis whatever they hell he wants though. I'm very interested in seeing how that plays out. McCourty's value in the last year skyrocketed because of Revis.

[Grover]

Pats will need another DT. I really don't think Easley is going to be the answer.

[Suicane75]

I'm hoping the Eagles sign Suh, Wilfork and Cobb, so all their games last approximately 5 hours.

[stevew]

I predict the top tier FA get enough money to make the heads of middle aged sports fans turn

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by miked

Man, all these Manning haters considering he still had an All-Pro year. Try being a Jets fan and watching Geno Smith you spoiled bastards. Oh no, my QB may only throw 34 TDs this season...

It's truly astonishing to me as well. Didnt he throw for 4,700 yards last season?? The lone comment about Manning at work I heard was , "Dude needs to retire.". WTF?

[molson]

Manning was great in 2014 until he got injured. I'd bet he'll be great again if he starts the season healthy. It's just now, he's probably more likely to get injured, and less likely to be able to effectively play through injuries. Maybe there's a way to limit is on-field time before the playoffs. Maybe he could play 12-13 games, and/or take some quarters off.

[BishopMVP]

McCourty's all but gone. Wilfork I could see back for $3-$4m if no other team wants to guarantee multi-year money. Easley is a pass-rushing guy, Sealver Siliga would be the Wilfork "replacement" amongst current Pats DL. Easley I actually hope is used to give more rest to Jones/Ninkovich. Ninkovich played an insane number of snaps last year - literally missed 30 in the last 15 games, mostly just in that week 17 Bills game.

[stevew]

Why is it so hard for the NFL to give straight up answers to both Peterson and Hardy on their suspension status for next season? I realize that neither of these are good guys. In the case of Hardy, FA dollars are going to be flying around on Tue, and he isn't even reinstated yet. The whole process is so silly and I can't believe Rodger doesn't have to follow any rules of order.

[CU Tiger]

That's just it. Roger G does have rules he has to follow. They are in fact enforceable by law under the anti-trust.

He will go down as the worst commissioner in the game though it will still take a few more years for the top to blow off.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by stevew

Why is it so hard for the NFL to give straight up answers to both Peterson and Hardy on their suspension status for next season? I realize that neither of these are good guys. In the case of Hardy, FA dollars are going to be flying around on Tue, and he isn't even reinstated yet. The whole process is so silly and I can't believe Rodger doesn't have to follow any rules of order.

Actually, I TOTALLY can believe Roger doesn't have any rules of order to follow (or at least that aren't of his own devising), given what the players seem to have given up in the last CBA, all of the commissioner rights regarding player conduct. And the owners seem content to let Goodell roll with that.

What shocks me is that he can handle these situations so consistently poorly, from the Rice video tape to the Peterson and Hardy suspensions (and subsequent reinstatement processes) to Deflate-gate. It's as if he has no concept of the public image impact he and the league are taking in these cases. The NFL has so much money, you would think they would have hired a competent PR staff by now, and incorporated their public image into the decisions they are making.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

That's just it. Roger G does have rules he has to follow. They are in fact enforceable by law under the anti-trust.

I forget if the NFL literally has an anti-trust exemption like baseball, or if the government just treats them similarly, but regardless, they take actions to some extent under the protection of such. That allows for the existence of the CBA and thus the manner in which the NFLPA stupidly allowed the owners to take away much of their veto power/bargaining leverage on player conduct issues.

So until someone in Congress or the like raises enough huff to challenge the NFL's practices through threatening them through anti-trust legislation or stripping away from them what exemptions they currently enjoy, no one is in place to stop Roger who aren't already content to agree with him (the owners).

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by Chief Rum

I forget if the NFL literally has an anti-trust exemption like baseball, or if the government just treats them similarly, but regardless, they take actions to some extent under the protection of such. That allows for the existence of the CBA and thus the manner in which the NFLPA stupidly allowed the owners to take away much of their veto power/bargaining leverage on player conduct issues.

So until someone in Congress or the like raises enough huff to challenge the NFL's practices through threatening them through anti-trust legislation or stripping away from them what exemptions they currently enjoy, no one is in place to stop Roger who aren't already content to agree with him (the owners).

I'll go on record and predict the NFL will lose and entire season to a work stoppage/strike in the near future.

[Radii]

Very happy to see Carolina resign Greg Olsen

[Logan]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I'll go on record and predict the NFL will lose and entire season to a work stoppage/strike in the near future.

Can't see it. The players always cave because of the short career spans and the lack of guaranteed contracts. Discipline will never be the top issue.

[QuikSand]

I haven't heard anyone saying this but me... but Spiller to the Colts seems like a great match. Even if his lot in life is to be a 10-15 touch guy, that team seems like a great place for that sort of threat to land. I'm not really a huge fan of either the guy or the team, but this seems like it would be good for football.