2006 NFL Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[ChrisMatson]

It has been hard to be a 'Skins fan for the last decade.
After making the playoffs last season, hopes are high for this year as well.
I think they showed some spark at times--all is not lost.
Getting Shawn Springs (a highschool classmate ) back will help with defending against the pass.

 

[Jerry Klawiter]

I think the vikes O-line is now the highest paid or near the tops in the league, correct me if I’m wrong, last week with the McKinnie’s new seven year deal I think that placed them way up near tops in O-line payroll
All this with a QB salary of near zero
That needs to be corrected.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Well, the Raiders have a bye in 2 weeks so you're right on with that one.

Actually, I don't think Aaron Brooks will be alive at that point. I think all 5 linemen should be arrested for attempted murder as I'm sure what they did would fit the definition of trying to get him killed.

As for not drafting Leinart it wouldn't have made one damn bit of difference last night. Michael Huff did play pretty well, but the reason it wouldn't have made a difference is that there wasn't a QB in history that was going to look good last night. So if Leinart had been drafted it would be his funeral I would be thinking about today and not Aaron Brooks.

Maybe they would've had better pass protection if they had not sent out an offensive line at all.

Scott, thanks for saving me a seat in hell. Kinda warm around here though.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Jerry Porter was on the inactive list last night which means he was one of the lucky ones not to receive a beating.

Would he be worth a second round pick? To quote one of my favorite Simpsons lines:

Short answer: Yes, with an if.
Long Answer; No, with a but.

Porter's biggest problem is that his ego is larger than his talent (it seems to be a common trait held by wide receivers) Porter says he should be a number 1 WR but often plays like a number 2 or 3.

I suppose that if New England were to trade for him they could hope to make him into another Corey Dillon but that may be too much to ask for Porter. Its interesting that Doug Gabriel was inactive for the Patriots on Sunday, I personally thought that was a good trade for them especially for a round 5 pick.

 

[Andy Sheets]

Heh. My wife went to high school with him, too, not that he needs to be there for her to be a Redskins fan

 

[Scott Merryfield]

So, which team wins the award for worst offseason moves:

• Seattle, who failed to franchise Hutchinson, overpaid for Burleson (who will now be the #4 WR behind Jackson, Engram and Branch), and gave up a first round pick for Branch.
• Washington, who overpaid for Archuleta, Lloyd and Randle El.
• Houston, who passed on Bush, and also failed to trade such a hot commodity pick, when their starting RB was already injured.
• Oakland, for passing on Leinhart.

My vote goes to Seattle. Also, I would like to point out that Matt Millen didn't even make the list this year.


Foxx spent way too much time talking about what a great guy Tom Cruise is. I wanted to throw up.

 

[Jordan_E]

Good God that Raiders game was hard to watch, but I couldn't take my eyes off of it!

 

[Philip_T]

My vote goes for Houston passing on R. Bush. That will be mentioned for years to come.

BTW, anyone else enjoy the second MNF crew better than the 1st (J. Foxx interview aside)? Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski and Dick Vermeil were much more listenable and had me somewhat enjoying what was a dog-butt game.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

In the long run, Bush being a Saint and not a Texan won't be huge, even if Bush is the next Sanders (doubtful). They should be taken to task for not trading the pick to a top 5 team...they still would have gotten Mario Williams, or at least D'Brickashaw, more money saved, and probably a player. TENN has a few RB's.

I am not huge fan of Leinart (or USC), but he'll be going to Pro Bowls long before (and maybe long after) Vince Young does. Leinart could actually be starting for the Titans right now. In a strong draft, I think TENN and OAK reached early (no knock on Huff, who'll be a fine player), with major talent (filling a NEED) sitting on the board.

 

[Jordan_E]

Quote:
BTW, anyone else enjoy the second MNF crew better than the 1st (J. Foxx interview aside)? Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski and Dick Vermeil were much more listenable and had me somewhat enjoying what was a dog-butt game.

Well, except when they brought in Arnold and there was that moment of uncomfortable silence (or did I just read too much into Arnie's reaction?) when mention of the Gov's past use of steroids was mentioned.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

The only other thing I want to say about last night's game is this.

Most of what happened was not Aaron Brooks' fault.

Yes, he got sacked 7 times but he should've been sacked 4 more times but wasn't because of his mobility, Kerry Collins would've been dead lunch meat for example.

Now as for the 7 sacks, Aaron Brooks is maybe to blame for 1 of them. As several callers on the Raiders postgame show noted, the biggest problem is that the offense is designed with no short range to intermediate range passes, thus requiring the QB to hold the ball longer for the receivers to get down field.

Add that to an offensive line that just couldn't block San Diego if they were allowed to build a brick wall and you have exactly what happened. So Tom Walsh (offensive coordinator is first to blame on the staff) then the offensive line, and then Brooks.

As was written today on the SF Chronicle Raiders blog, Shell didn't take Brooks out because of poor play (although he could've easily done that) he took him out because he "feared for his safety".

That is more than a troubling quote IMO.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

You...don't...want...Jerry...Porter.

An incident from last night's game. Porter is on the bench when Aaron Brooks is sacked for the 7th time.

What does he do?

Laughs and pumps his fists.

Doug Gabriel is hardly some cast off, most Raiders players were down right shocked that they traded him, he was due to start opposite Moss as he had done that throughout the preseason.

If I were running an expansion team right now and you said Doug Gabriel or Jerry Porter, I'd take Gabriel 100 times out of 100.

As for worst offseason move, its Bush being passed over by Houston and its not even close.

Leinart wouldn't have helped the Raiders 1 damn bit last night, not 1 in fact a game like that last night might've ruined the confidence of a first time starting QB for the rest of his career.

 

[Patrick Sun]

That was a funny "live" moment on TV where you just cringed when Nessler went down that road with Ahnuld.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

I'm thinking longer term than last night's game, Casey. I'm not blaming Brooks for last night's disastrous offense. I'm just blaming Brooks in general for not being a NFL caliber starter.

That Shell quote is almost horrific in a professional league.

 

[Trey Fletcher]

Remember though, that Seattle likely would've re-signed Hutchinson but for the poison pill the Vikings put in the contract. In that case, their strategy of letting other teams negotiate for them backfired, but you can't really blame them as they had no idea that was coming. Signing Burleson was a direct retaliation to the Vikings, while at the same time filling a need. And given the contract language, much of the money isn't guaranteed.

As for Branch, expensive yes, but you've got to strike while the iron is hot. Their championship window will likely close in the next few years, so on that level getting a proven player makes sense.

Personally, I'd vote Houston. Given their holes, they should've taken Bush, or traded that pick.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Seattle's mistake with Hutchinson was in not making him a franchise player, which would have required Minnesota to give up two first round draft picks as compensation had the Seahawks decided to not match an offer. That would have effectively prevented the Vikings (or anyone else) from going after Hutch. Instead, they used the "transition" tag instead, which opened the door for the entire poison pill fiasco. The difference in salary between a franchise and transition player for a guard was very little, so there was almost no downside in using the franchise tag.

As for Burleson, "retaliating" against Minnesota's poison pill tactic by overpaying for a questionable talent is not a very intelligent front office move, IMO.

Don't get me wrong, I think Houston messed up their #1 pick big time. I agree that their best move would have been trading down if they did not want to pay Bush's asking price. However, I think Seattle's moves have really hurt a team, both now and in the future, that should be contending for a 2nd straight Super Bowl trip.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Yes, the story is true.

Here's the thing, teams get scared off of players for reasons that have nothing to do with what happens on the field. Houston was turned off by Reggie Bush's asking price, but they were also unhappy that he didn't give them a straight answer about that scandal that cropped up just a few days before the draft.

As for Leinart reportedly more than a few people inside the NFL questioned his heart and interest in playing football. Reports surfaced that Leinart viewed the NFL as a good way for him to launch a career in Hollywood. Now whether that's true or not remains to be seen but it was out there.

The point is that you never know why a team will be scared off of a player and they could end up looking really bad in hinesite.

As for Leinart Vs. Huff, Leinart hasn't exactly done anything yet in the NFL that suggests he's a franchise QB for years to come. (not saying he won't, but he hasn't seen the field yet) besides, with Leinart or with Huff, the Raiders will still be picking near the top if not first overall this coming draft. They'll have their shot at Brady Quinn. The question in a case like this is would the Raiders have won more games with Leinart than they will with Huff and the answer is IMO, no. I say this because the offensive line is piss-poor terrible and that isn't changing with Leinart or Huff on the field. Plus, Leinart isn't exactly world famous for his mobility either, so IMO they're a 2-win team with Leinart and they're a 2-win team with Huff. Now if you want to say that they'd be better next season with a 2-year starter in Leinart than with a rookie like Quinn, its a perfectly valid argument but one where I'd like to see Leinart play first. Besides, all of this is assuming that Leinart would even start as a rookie and with Al Davis in charge 1 can't assume that would be the case, in fact the smarter you think the move to start Leinart would've been the less likely it is that it would've happened.

Plus, for whatever reason they like Andrew Walter and had him rated as the best QB on their 2005 draft board, so I knew they weren't going to take Leinart long before that pick was ever made.

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

Guess who's back in Detroit

 

[Casey Trowbridg]

here's a link to the SF Chronicle blog
that contains the previously mentioned quote from Art Shell by me.

I frankly am outraged that those 5 linemen will be paid for what happened last night.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Gee, now Matt Millen is resigning his previous free agent busts for a 2nd tour of duty. Will Bill Schroeder be next? Also, what does this say about the team's confidence in Mike Williams? Last week they signed a receiver off the practice squad to play while Williams was deactivated for the game -- then that player was waived on Monday morning. Now, the great stone-handed Az is back on the team.