NFL 2009 Offseason thread (1 Viewer)

[DavidJ]

I was going to go with 5 wins, maybe 6, but could see 4 too. Hey, maybe next year they'll grab a highly touted offensive lineman with their top 5 pick.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Fours wins would be my "high water" pick for them. I could also see them easily going 2-14. The only low number that would surprise me would be another zero win season. I just cannot imagine any team doing that two straight years. Heck, even that awful Tampa expansion team managed to win in the 2nd year after starting 0-26 as a franchise.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Since most of the major off season moves are now over, I thought it may be interesting to talk about which teams will be most improved, and which may be worse this upcoming season.

Most improved:

Chicago -- adding Cutler gives them the one piece the Bears have been lacking for years -- a QB. Now they just need some receivers for him to throw to.

Patriots -- just getting Brady back will be a huge lift, but they have added some role players via free agency and the draft, too.

Philly -- improvements in the offensive line, RB depth and WR will help the offense. However, they are losing two big time players from their defensive secondary. How will this balance out?

Jacksonville -- improved the offensive line, and Holt finally gives them a legitimate #1 WR.

Green Bay -- really seemed to address defensive needs via the draft.

Biggest step back:

Denver -- Shanahan gone, Cutler gone, and not much off season help for a defense that really needed it.

Dallas -- Cut TO, losing three starters from the defense, and not much help from a weak draft. Wade Philips may be #1 on the list of coaches most likely to be fired first in 2009.

Indy -- Just by virtue of Tony Dungy leaving. I think the coaching change will really hurt the Colts, and reliable Marvin Harrison probably will not be back, either.

Other teams that made a lot of changes, but I do not know which way they will go include Tampa Bay, Cleveland and KC.

 

[DavidJ]

What no Favre talk? Or is everybody just tired of it all. By the way, the Lions did sign Foote: Larry Foote wants to help hometown team, Lions history aside | detnews.com | The Detroit News

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I really am not looking forward to another off season of 7x24 Favre talk on ESPN.

Foote is a good pickup for the Lions and fills a big need. He is not a Pro Bowl caliber player, but he is much better than anyone else on the roster at middle linebacker.

I know he is from Detroit, but you would think Foote would want to go to a team that has some chance of winning. Instead, he goes from arguably the best organization in the league to the worst.

 

[Patrick Sun]

It's funny to hear the sports talk folks equate Favre to a scorned woman wanting to exact revenge on a former lover.

 

[DavidJ]

Well, Manny took care of that for a while, but as that dies down we've got more Favre talk. The last I heard it sounded like he was probable to play with the Vikings. I haven't check in a while so I'm the stories have changed again. Sage Rosenfels has to be loving it.

Oh, and I know I said I liked Kevin Smith, but he may be nuts:

Repeat performance: Kevin Smith says Lions will make playoffs | detnews.com | The Detroit News

 

[Jeremiah]

Well they signed Dawkins who should be the leader like Lynch was several years ago, they signed Goodman at CB who should be an upgrade over Bly, from what I read Andre Davis is a good LB. The drafting of Ayers could be a good pick.

Probably the best thing they did for that defense was getting a true RB in Moreno, with Denvers OL and skill players he should be able to produce right away. I am not a fan of Orten but he should be decent at QBing a run oriented offense.

The worst part about the Bronoc draft was them trading next years #1 for Alphonso Smith in the 2nd round, if he was 2-3 inches taller he would of been a 1st rounder but at 5'9 I think it was a stretch. Very good talent(from his stats) but IMO gave up too much for him.

 

[DavidJ]

So, I was watching First Take on ESPN2 this morning and there were a couple of interesting NFL tidbits:

Did anyone else hear or read Tarkenton's rant about Favre? It was pretty harsh. And while I'm sick of the whole Favre "saga," I thought Tarkenton was off base.

There was also a report about how pleased the Lions are with Stafford. So much so that the commentator said he wouldn't be surprised if Stafford was on the field opening day. He didn't say it was what they were striving for just that what many thought wasn't at all possible now was slightly possible.

My take:

Of course, the Lions are saying they are pleased with and encouraged by Stafford's performance. They drafted him #1 and gave him a huge contract. Now that doesn't mean that he isn't doing well, it just means they'd say the same thing regardless.

I'd also like to add that any talk of starting Stafford early in the season is nuts. You've got Culpepper and there is no need to rush Stafford's development.

 

[ZacharyTait]

NFL Rookies show off their touchdown dances at the Upper Deck shoot:





I like Stafford's (insert joke here about how he's not going to use it this year) and Moreno's plus the blonde who chats up Sanchez.

 

[Malcolm R]

I don't think there's such a thing as too harsh when talking about Favre lately. He's proving himself to be the prima donna that many people suspected years ago and is making a laughing-stock of himself and any legacy he might have once had. Now he's just an easy punchline for comedians.

But, if he wants to unretire...again...I look forward to him setting another interception record.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

At this time of the year, every team says they are very pleased with the progress of their draft picks in camp. You never hear a team say "this guy really sucks. I can't believe we drafted him". It's just off season fluff.

I agree that the Lions should sit Stafford for the first year and let Culpepper take the pounding behind that weak offensive line, but since when did this franchise ever do the smart thing? If they put him in too soon, he could become shell shocked (ala David Carr in Houston).

I didn't see the Tarkenton piece on Favre, but I've been trying to be Favre-free this off season. I am really tired of the entire media circus.

 

[DavidJ]

Scott, I thought you might "like" this:

Lions ranked worst NFL franchise | detnews.com | The Detroit News

Adam Schein went through and ranked every franchise from 1 to 10 in eight different categories. The Lions had the lowest total and I thought you'd appreciate his comment:

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Nice article, David. It certainly is easier to determine which franchise is #32 than who is #1. I think it's a toss-up between Pittsburgh and New England. Also, he has the Cardinals ranked way too high at #11. Their ownership is just as bad as Detroit's, and Arizona will surely come crashing back to earth quickly under their guidance after somehow lucking into a Super Bowl appearance.

 

[Patrick Sun]

RIP, Steve McNair.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4306275

 

[Scott Merryfield]

The news on McNair really shocked me. I always thought he was a much better QB than he got credit for. Had that final play in the Super Bowl vs. the Rams gained one more yard, McNair would have been looked on much differently, IMO. He would have been 1-0 in the Super Bowl, and Warner would now be 0-3.

RIP, Steve.

 

[Patrick Sun]

The girlfriend of McNair had GSR on her, so it points to her being the shooter, and he being asleep when she pumped 4 rounds into him. Sounds like jealousy and financial troubles motivated the girlfriend into such drastic actions.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-mcnairkilled&prov=ap&type=lgns

 

[Patrick Sun]

So, Michael Vick is now an Eagle. Thoughts?

 

[Joe McCabe]

 

[Johnny Angell]

I think I was one of those who posted their disgust at Vick's actions and his lack of character. I also believe that, to use a trite phrase, when someone has paid their debt to society he/she should have the opportunity to seek employment. They should have the opportunity to start over again.

I personally hope he has truly opened his mind to the suffering he caused and is in the process of changing his attitude towards dogs and other animals. He has an opportunity to reach a generation of young people and turn them away from animal cruelty and I hope he succeeds in this.

The moment it becomes evident he's still the same guy, he shouldn't touch a football in the NFL again.