2013-14 NFL Thread

[tripolie atche]

WOW Michael Bennett to Seattle for 1 year, $5 million.

So Seattle picked up two of the best pass rushers that were available on the FA market with cheap, short-term contracts having signed Cliff Avril for 2 years, $15 million yesterday. These two are in addition to last year's 1st round pick Bruce Irvin & Chris Clemons, who they definitely won't have to rush after tearing his ACL in the Wild Card Round.

I know it's only March & you don't usually win the Super Bowl after having a great free agency, but it's going to be hard for me to pick anyone other than Seattle to win at least the NFC for this upcoming season.

 

[Big Sexy]

The only thing Seattle really lacked last year was a great pass rush. They solved that by adding two of the top pass rushers on the market and they did it for next to nothing. The Seahawks are the favorites in the NFC and if the season started today they would be the Super Bowl favorite. Their defense is stacked and on offense they will be even more explosive with the addition of Percy Harvin who, when healthy, is a top 5 receiver.

 

[Nate DaMac]

Matt Cassel reportedly turned down Tampa Bay to go to Minnesota. It may have been a money issue, but I'm sure Ponder being medicore had more to do with it. He's probably not going to unseat Josh Freeman but after a couple of shitty games from Ponder, Cassel has a chance to start.

Basically, Minnesota still doesn't have a Quarterback but when you have AP, who the fuck needs a Quarterback?

 

[Big Sexy]

What are your thought's on KC's offseason thus far Nate? I think they are right up there with Seattle as having the best offseason of anyone. They get a great coach in Reid, new qb in Alex Smith, resign their big names Dwayne Bowe and Brandon Albert, and pick up more offensive fire power with Donnie Avery and Anthony Fasano. They also now have arguably the best trio of corners in the NFL after adding Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith to go with Brandon Flowers.

 

[Nate DaMac]

What are your thought's on KC's offseason thus far Nate? I think they are right up there with Seattle as having the best offseason of anyone. They get a great coach in Reid, new qb in Alex Smith, resign their big names Dwayne Bowe and Brandon Albert, and pick up more offensive fire power with Donnie Avery and Anthony Fasano. They also now have arguably the best trio of corners in the NFL after adding Dunta Robinson and Sean Smith to go with Brandon Flowers.

I've liked everything I've seen so far. The main issues I wanted to see dealt with were on the defensive and offensive lines and hoping they wouldn't let Bowe slip away. They added Devito which doesn't alleviate all of their issues up front but it's certainly an upgrade from Dorsey. They franchised Albert and are likely to take the best O-Line option available in the draft (can't remember his name.)

I'm still not sold on Smith, but hell I think Cassel would have been successful with a good O-Line and and a few more weapons. Smith should definitely be able to at the very least manage the team. I think Reid will probably let him loose more than Harbaugh did so we'll get to see if he can be more than that.

I liked the additions of Smith and Robinson as well. One of the most over-looked losses of their season last year was Brandon Carr. Hopefully they can fill his shoes.

 

[Big Sexy]

And the Lions offseason keeps getting better. They resigned Louis Delmas today who, while injury prone, is a very good safety. He and Glover Quin will make a great tandem at the back end of the defense. This now narrows down their draft needs to DE, offensive line help, and another corner. They could also use one more receiver but hopefully they wait for the middle rounds for that.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Well, the New York Jets signed 3 people today.

1. Mike Goodson, who was backing up Stewart/Williams for a few years in Carolina before backing up Darren McFadden in Oakland in 2012. He's a solid choice for a change of pace type guy. He'd be better if he had the ability to hold onto the football.

2. Willie Colon, former Steelers offensive lineman. He's a solid signing for the Jets, as they had a hole and filled it with a guy who plays the Jets style well. Of course the signing would be better if Colon didn't miss 20 games the past 2 seasons.

3. Defensive Tackle Antonio Garay, a meh player who was most recently with the Chargers. He is going to compete with Kenrick Ellis for snaps as the Nose Tackle.

Clearly, the Jets are the offseason winners so far. I mean three elite talents like this?

Yeah that was sarcasm. But honestly, the 3 moves are pretty good all things considered. The Jets need to fill the holes with cheap guys off the scrap heap. They all are cheap (3 years 6 mil for Goodson, 1 year 1.2 for Colon, Garay is probably a bit less then Colon), and can see some playing time.

Also, the Jets are rumored to be interested in Kevin Kolb, who was released today by Arizona. Kolb had his greatest success under Marty Mornhinweg, who is now the Jets offensive coordinator. It could be a solid short-term fit for the Jets at the QB position, if Kolb will come relatively cheaply.

All the Jets are waiting for now is for Tampa (or someone else) to finally give in and offer their 1st round pick for Revis, and the Jets will be in good shape.

 

[BooCocky]

After the Steelers disappointing season I really don't mind them cleaning house. Their defense has gotten a lot older and their defensive system is really outdated. Dropping rush linebackers into coverage, wtf Dick?

The Steelers have these problems because of the draft classes from 2008-20012. Not a single player from 08 or 09's draft is on the team now that Rashard Mendenhall has signed else where.

The Steelers do have a lot of problems, both offensively and defensively. Losing Keenan Lewis will hurt. But the guy only had one solid year so I don't believe in over paying for a Cornerback with one year starting under his belt. James Harrison in my opinion isn't that big of a loss. The man demanded too much money and it's showing because teams aren't fighting for his services. He played much better as the year progressed but he is injury proned now. Besides, the Steelers are usually good at getting rid of over the hill linebackers. Most recently noted, Joey Porter.

Losing Mike Wallace on the offense will hurt this team even though the average yinzer doesn't want to believe it. He helped spread the field that created space for Antonio Brown to produce. Now the Steelers are down to Plaxico and Brown now that Sanders is getting offers from other teams for whatever reason?

This upcoming draft in April will make or break this team. They have a lot of holes to fill on both sides of the ball. With Heyward and Hood under-performing they need defensive line help. Help at rush linebacker. Help at cornerback. Help at safety and now they need a playmaker at receiver. Obviously you're not going to fill all your needs in one draft. But it's going to be fun watching their approach.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

A good amount of Dolphin fans are going nuts over the Mike Wallace signing. I don't know why, and I can't listen to any sports radio shows (especially 560) until the season starts. Same thing happened with Ricky Williams, Chad Johnson, Nick Saban, and Bill Parcells. And I was still a young kid, but you can throw Jimmy Johnson's name in the hat. Some people down here never learn.

Yeah, we have Mike Wallace, but on the flip-side of that, we lost Jake long AND Reggie Bush. After suffering through Chad Henne, Tannehill feels like a breath of fresh air, but he's going to need more time. As always, I'll be rooting for the Dolphins, but as usual, we're not getting anywhere near the playoffs or Patriots, so it'll be another year of fighting for the bottom of the barrel spots with the Buffalo Bills (and maybe the Jets) in the AFC East.

 

[The Butcher]

Well, while other Ravens fans were kicking and screaming, I was just basking in the afterglow of SB XLVII and trusting in Ozzie. And, lo and behold, another Denver Broncos mistake has lead to Baltimore scooping up another great defensive player. Haloti Ngata flanked by Terrell Suggs and Elvis Dumervil. Wake me up I'm dreaming. You can afford to let an Ed Reed go if you're going to have the best pass rush in the league. Our secondary could ride on rascal scooters next year; they won't be very busy with opposing QBs on their ass and begging the league to reinstate the tuck rule. Your team's free agency period just became irrelevant. Champs are still on top.

 

[The Butcher]

And we just added Michael Huff. Much more well-rounded than today's version of Ed Reed or Bernard Pollard. Can play center field and knock fools silly with big hits. And the off-season is far from over! Watch Ozzie find a way to draft the rights to Jadaveon Clowney or some shit. Good stuff.

 

[Stormtrooper]

The Darrelle Revis trade is seemingly 99.999% done.

Revis is getting a physical in Tampa today, he has a contract extension agreement in place, and the Bucs and Jets have trade parameters all set (the 13th pick IS in the trade).

As a Jet fan, Good riddance. Revis is the best corner in the league, but you aren't gonna win in the NFL by paying a cornerback $16 million, espeically when you have a guy almost as good making half that. And considering Revis has held out twice, he wasn't gonna re-sign with the Jets, so getting the 13th pick (and more) is a GREAT haul.

As for what the Jets will now do in the Draft, I don't see them getting a corner in Round 1. Kyle Wilson and Cromartie are still there, and they had a lot of success in 2012 without Revis. I do think they will definitely get an offensive lineman, and then either a pass rusher or Wide Receiver. Tavon Austin would be an awesome get at 13. Or Tyler Eifert.

Another thing they could do is trade down from 13 and get 2 later firsts, if they feel like the draft is deep enough and someone else wants someone bad enough at 13.

 

[Stormtrooper]

Well the trade is now official, as Revis put pen to paper on a 6 year extension with the Bucs. Also, according to Adam Shefter, they replaced his current contract with a new deal. 6 years, $96 Million, and NO Guaranteed money.

The Bucs send the 13th overall selection in this years Draft. The Jets will also get a 4th round pick in 2014, that becomes a 3rd round pick if Revis is on the roster on the 3rd day of the 2014 League Year.


If they didn't trade him now, he'd walk next year and the Jets would get a 3rd round compensatory pick (likely in the high 90's) in 2015. Now they get a 1 and a 3 (or 4).

The Jets got what they could for Revis, and now have 2 of the top 15 picks in the draft. Considering the holes they have, that's a good thing.

 

[MattyB]

This is the boring part of the football year ... all we have left to wait for is preseason.

unless you guys are in fantasy leagues ... looking forward to drafts are always fun.

 

[HBsam31]

Has anyone else seen the poll that came out Tuesday? It was current and former NFL players voting on the top guys in the league. Ben Rothisberger was number 61 and the 12th quarterback. I don't put much stock in polls, but this seems a little harsh. Rothisberger to me is at least in the top 20. I am just curious if anyone else has seen this, and what they think of that ranking.

 

[miz2676]

The poll is taking by all the nfl players they list their top 20 players in the whole league no matter what position they play then they tally all the votes up and the list is made so the players in the nfl feel ben isn't a top 20 player to be on the top 100 is still a very good sign since there are well over 1000 players in the nfl

 

[Big Sexy]

Has anyone else seen the poll that came out Tuesday? It was current and former NFL players voting on the top guys in the league. Ben Rothisberger was number 61 and the 12th quarterback. I don't put much stock in polls, but this seems a little harsh. Rothisberger to me is at least in the top 20. I am just curious if anyone else has seen this, and what they think of that ranking.

The poll doesn't take into effect the entirety of these players careers. The poll is for players to decide who are the 100 best as of right this second. Roethlisberger had an injury plagued season last year and the Steelers missed the playoffs. He still probably should have been a little higher but based off last year he certainly wasn't a top 20 player.

 

[HBsam31]

The poll doesn't take into effect the entirety of these players careers. The poll is for players to decide who are the 100 best as of right this second. Roethlisberger had an injury plagued season last year and the Steelers missed the playoffs. He still probably should have been a little higher but based off last year he certainly wasn't a top 20 player.

Ok that kind of clears things up for me. I thought it was taking into account his whole career. Roethlisberger definitely had a rough season last year for sure. I also think he still should have been a little higher, but if it is a right now poll his rank makes more sense to me. Thanks for the info.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Gronk can't stop partying and getting surgeries.
Hernandez can't stop shooting and murdering people.
Jake Ballard is coming off of microfracture surgery... which is much, much worse than ACL Reconstruction.
Amendola is made of glass.
Our hopes lie with Julian Edelman, rookie WRs (these never pan out), whatever a "Donald Jones" is, and perhaps Tebow at TE.

I see a 9-7 season in order.

 

[Wolvieaero]

Some Dolphins fans are wondering why there is so much excitement for this off season. We signed Mike Wallace, but some fans don't see why we can contend. What they don't recall is the reboot we made on defense. Dion Jordan was added to the d-line, we swapped Dansby for Ellerbe and Wheeler for Kevin Burnett, then we picked up the underrated Pro-Bowler Brent Grimes and drafted two corners in the first three rounds of the draft. This makes us faster and helps us in the most probable reason we didn't make the playoffs last year, Pass Defense. We were 29th in pass yards per game, but these new additions will improve that. We also added oter pass catchers for Tannehill, including bringing back a very capable 2nd receiver in Hartline, Brandon Gibson, and Dustin Keller to fix our TE "situation". We also "patched" the hole at tackle with the addition of Tyson Clabo, another pro Bowler from Atlanta. While I admit the hole at running back is large with Lamar Miller, this team is WAY better than last year. Coupled with the WR/TE issues in New England and... rebuilding processes in Buffalo and New York, I think the Dolphins have the power to contend for an AFC East Title.

 

[The_YES_No_Man]

I'm just hope that the Falcons can make it to the NFC Division title again but this time actually WIN it. Our Defense should be really good this year and hopefully our run game will be good too now that Steven Jackson is our RB I really liked Michael Turner but he was getting old and couldn't run like he use to. I'm just counting down the days the football season I can't freaking wait

 

[The Butcher]

In news that is of great interest to Joe Flacco, Eli Manning, Carson Palmer, and Michael Vick, Broncos LB/human-wrecking machine Von Miller is facing the possibility of a four game suspension:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/9498862/von-miller-denver-broncos-faces-suspension-sources

It's under appeal at the moment, so he may not serve anything. It's worth pointing out however, that Miller tested positive for amphetamines and steroids in 2011. Certainly something to keep an eye on as it develops.

 

[D-Will]

I think this will be an interesting season, and I can't wait for it to get started. I just had my fantasy draft for my main league this afternoon. I think one of the most intriguing aspects of this season is to see how the second-year quarterbacks will fare this year. Couple that with the legit QB battles in Philly and New York and multiple training camp injuries already, and I think there are some interesting storylines headed into the season.

 

[HEEL Blazy]

I'm going to be here all season to rep my favorite team the Falcons! Rise Up, this is our season and we'll prove that! Do it for TONY!

 

[Big Sexy]

As we near the final week of the preseason I figured it's time for some predictions on the season.

NFC East
New York Giants (10-6)
Washington (9-7)
Dallas (8-8)
Philadelphia (5-11)

Like every year this will be a hard fought division. I can't see the Giants missing the playoffs two seasons in a row and I expect David Wilson to have a breakout season. Obviously the Redskins success falls on RGIII and his health. If he stays healthy they will compete for a wild card spot. Dallas just doesn't have enough defensive talent to stay in the race and while Philadelphia will be exciting on offense, they have absolutely no defense.

NFC North
Green Bay (11-5)
Detroit(10-6)
Chicago (8-8)
Minnesota (7-9)

The Packers are the clear cut favorites here. They lost some talent at receiver but should have a much better rushing attack. This may be a homer pick but I think the Lions will have a nice bounce back year and get in the playoffs as a wild card. Chicago still has a great defense but without the leadership of Urlacher they may fall off a little and I still don't trust Jay Cutler at all as a franchise qb. The Vikings will come back down to earth this season after surprising everyone and making the playoffs last season.

NFC South
Atlanta (11-5)
New Orleans (9-7)
Carolina (8-8)
Tampa Bay (7-9)

The Falcons are still the class of the division but I don't expect a season quite as good as last year. The Saints will be improved with Sean Payton back but I think their defense will just keep them out of the playoffs. Carolina is still a year away and Tampa will bring up the rear.

NFC West
Seattle (12-4)
San Francisco (12-4)
St. Louis (8-8)
Arizona (6-10)

The Seahawks and 49ers will have a great battle this season for division supremacy and both are Super Bowl favorites. I like Seattle to win the division as I think they have a little more talent overall. The Rams will have another solid year but they won't be able to overcome how strong this division is. The Cardinals could surprise some people but unless Carson Palmer and Rashard Mendenhall can jump into a time machine, I don't see them doing much.

AFC East
New England (10-6)
Miami (9-7)
Buffalo (6-10)
New York Jets (5-11)

The Patriots looked absolutely horrendous against the Lions and have lost nearly all of their receiving weapons from last year but at the end of the day, they are still the Patriots. They will find a way to win the division and it helps that the division is weak this year. The Dolphins are everyone's favorite pick to make some noise but I still see some holes on their roster and see them just missing the playoffs. The Bills and Jets will struggle with rookie quarterbacks and this season should mark the end of the Rex Ryan era in New York.

AFC North
Cincinnati (11-5)
Baltimore (10-6)
Pittsburgh (8-8)
Cleveland (6-10)

This will finally be the Bengals year to win the AFC North. They have a ton of talent on both sides of the ball and this will be the third year the core of this team has been together. The Ravens are completely revamped on defense but should still get a wild card spot. The Steelers aren't getting any younger and have some major running back questions. Cleveland will be greatly improved but still a year or two away from competing for anything meaningful.

AFC South
Houston (12-4)
Indianapolis (9-7)
Tennessee (6-10)
Jacksonville (4-12)

Houston will again be the class of a weak division. The Colts will still be good but I do see a little decline as they won't be surprising anyone this season. The Titans and Jags are both awful and will struggle.

AFC West
Denver (12-4)
Kansas City (10-6)
San Diego (7-9)
Oakland (3-13)

The Broncos should again win the division easily. The Von Miller suspension hurts but they will be fine overall. The Chiefs are my big surprise. Talent was never the issue, they just didn't have a qb or a proven coach/system. Now they have both and I have them as my biggest playoff surprise. San Diego will once again be average and Oakland is my winner in the Jadeveon Clowney sweepstakes.

Playoff Predictions

NFC
Wild Card
Detroit over Atlanta
San Francisco over New York

Divisional Round
Seattle over Detroit
San Francisco over Green Bay

Conference Championship
Seattle over San Francisco

AFC
Wild Card
Cincinnati over Kansas City
Baltimore over New England

Divisional Round
Denver over Baltimore
Cincinnati over Houston

Conference Championship
Denver over Cincinnati

Super Bowl
Seattle over Denver