NFL 2010 Off-season Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

That's not a bad deal for the Chargers (Cromartie). However, keep in mind that a 2011 draft pick may be worth less than usual, since there is a chance the NFL could not be playing next year. There would probably still be a draft, but any picks would miss a season of development/learning if there is a lockout or strike.

The Lions struck quickly in free agency, signing Nate Burleson, trading for NT Cory Williams (5th round pick to Cleveland), and appear to have a deal with DE Kyle VanderBoch. None of the moves are huge, but they fill some of the many holes on the team.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Jeez, I had no idea how much of a jerk Cromartie was until I read this in the SD paper:

Last month, the Union-Tribune reported Cromartie was past due on about $25,000 in child support, according to court records and a local attorney.

Cromartie has at least seven children with six different women in five states. All children are under 6.

He's a 25 year-old juvenile delinquent.

 

[Ockeghem]

Johnny,

Yes, this is some of the 'baggage' that I alluded to above. I'm pleased New England wasn't interested in him.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Merlin Olsen has passed away at 69 after a long battle with cancer. I always like Olsen -- he seemed like such a gentleman.

RIP, Father Murphy.

 

[Patrick_S]

Very sad news, he really wasn't that old if you think about it. Looking back he had a remarkable life; Hall of Fame football player, successful broadcasting and acting career.

 

[Ockeghem]

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield

Merlin Olsen has passed away at 69 after a long battle with cancer. I always like Olsen -- he seemed like such a gentleman.

RIP, Father Murphy.

Wow, I didn't know about this. May he RIP. I liked watching the Rams teams from that time.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

LT to the Jets? That seems like a strange move to me -- NY just released a similar aged RB (Thomas Jones) who has performed well for them the past few years. I thought for sure LT would end up in Minnesota.

The Brady Quinn era is over in Cleveland. He was traded to Denver for a bag of chips (a fullback and two 6th round picks -- one conditional). He'll only be remembered for his fall down the board during the NFL draft, as ESPN kept showing Quinn every time a team passed on him.

 

[Patrick Sun]

Supposedly LT went to the Jets because of their offensive line.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Originally Posted by Scott Merryfield

LT to the Jets? That seems like a strange move to me -- NY just released a similar aged RB (Thomas Jones) who has performed well for them the past few years. I thought for sure LT would end up in Minnesota.

Jones was a couple years older, wasn't he? But he just finished 3rd in the league in rushing, I think. Of course he's at an age where production can fall off a cliff.

LT will now play for the team that was the last team he played against as a Charger. I'll be a mortgage payment that if the Jets ever play in SD, he gets a standing ovation.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Originally Posted by Johnny Angell



Jones was a couple years older, wasn't he? But he just finished 3rd in the league in rushing, I think. Of course he's at an age where production can fall off a cliff.

LT will now play for the team that was the last team he played against as a Charger. I'll be a mortgage payment that if the Jets ever play in SD, he gets a standing ovation.

Jones is a couple of years older, but he probably has about the same mileage on his body as LT -- Jones did not get many carries early in his career. Jones had 1,400 yards rushing last season, so there must be something left in the tank.

It sounds like the parting was a money issue. Jones was owed a big roster bonus, so the Jets released him. Jones was not happy about the release, so chose to go elsewhere instead of resigning with NY.

 

[Johnny Angell]

The Chargers have engineered a trade that seems to be a steal for the Bolts. They traded 3rd string qb Charlie Whitehurst for a 2nd round pick this year and a 3rd the next. The article is poorly worded but it appears we traded number two picks which means the Chargers moved up 20 places in the second round.

The Chargers have made Whitehurst a 3rd round tender restricted free-agent and the Seattle didn't have a 3rd rounder this year. So Seattle had to sweeten the deal by exchanging 2nd round drat picks.

On the surface, this looks like a steal for the Chargers. Whitehurst hase never thrown a regular season pass. Apparently Seattle is going to pay him $10 million for two years.

On another topic, just how good do we expect the Jets to be this coming season? LT made a big deal out of wanting to go somewhere for a ring. I know the Jets made it to the AFC Championship game, but they've got a qb in his second year this coming season. I just don't see the Jets in the SB.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

That is an excellent deal for the Chargers. The only way it works out for Seattle is if Whitehurst turns out to be another Matt Schaub... and not another AJ Feeley.

I'm not sure what to make of the Jets. They certainly appear to be headed in the right direction. I like their philosophy of a team built around ball control and tough defense. Shonn Greene looked very good late last season, and Sanchez should continue to grow as a QB. I'm not too fond of their receivers -- Braylon Edwards has suffered from the dropsies since his days at Michigan.

 

[Ockeghem]

So what do you all think about the new NFL overtime rule? I'm not sure I like it yet, but maybe I will after a time. I'll have to see it in action a few times, I think.

 

[Dave B Ferris]

You may still have to wait awhile to see it in action, because I think it will intially apply only for post-season games. With such a small sample of games, I wonder how they'll subsequently decide whether to expand the new rules to all regular season games.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I never had an issue with the existing overtime rule. My feeling was that defense and special teams make up a large percentage of the game, so the team kicking off has ample opportunity to influence the outcome of the game through these two areas. If you lose the coin flip and you want to win, it's simple -- stop the other team. Only three of the past 11 post season games have been won on the first possession by the team winning the coin flip, so the argument that the current system was unfair does not hold water, IMO.

I think the reason this happened now, though, is in each of the last two seasons one of the league's superstar QBs did not get a chance to touch the football in post season OT. This year it was Favre -- last year it was Peyton. Had the two QB's instead been Matt Hassleback and Jake Delhomme, no one would care.

It will be interesting, though, to see if a coach now decides to kick off after winning the coin flip. The advantage would be, if you held your opponent to just a field goal, you would now have four downs each time on your possession to make a first down. Of course, you could still lose the game on the first possession by giving up a touchdown, so there is some risk.

I am just glad they did not adopt something similar to college. That's not real football -- it's an arcade game.

 

[Ockeghem]

Okay, after thinking about this today, and hearing what a couple of sports programs had to say about it, I am now against it. Besides what Scott has mentioned above, I don't like taking the field goal -- to me one of the most exciting aspects of NFL football -- out of the game. I think this change will do that.

I almost wish they would either just 1) leave it as is; or 2) play out an entire extra quarter -- with additional quarters as needed -- to decided the outcome.

Scott,

I heard today that the primary reason this is being implemented is because a number of owners didn't like their teams losing in close games in overtime. But I didn't hear whether these teams lost via a field goal, or what percentage of teams who lost also lost the coin flip.

 

[Jim_F]

I don't like the new OT rule. There was nothing wrong with the old rule. I agree this is much better than the NCAA abomination.

Sudden death adds quite a bit of excitement, otherwise I wouldn't mind ties in the regular season. Ties used to be a part of football, they just don't produce as much beer and truck revenue as the alternative.

Moving OT kickoffs to the 40 yard line could be OK. If you can't hold the opposition to a touchback (or less) and prevent a 50 yard drive, call it a day (or a season, if you will)

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Originally Posted by Jim_F

Moving OT kickoffs to the 40 yard line could be OK. If you can't hold the opposition to a touchback (or less) and prevent a 50 yard drive, call it a day (or a season, if you will)

I've always thought moving the kickoff up 5 or 10 yards would be a good tweak for the overtime, too. If a team cannot prevent a good kickoff return in that case and give up good field position, they deserve to be in a hole.

Originally Posted by Ockeghem

Scott,

I heard today that the primary reason this is being implemented is because a number of owners didn't like their teams losing in close games in overtime. But I didn't hear whether these teams lost via a field goal, or what percentage of teams who lost also lost the coin flip.

That is an odd viewpoint. Isn't any game lost in OT, by definition, a "close game"?

 

[Patrick Sun]

How about just turn it into a field goal kicking contest for the kickers, start with the ball from 60 yards away, and as long they both hit their kicks, they stay at that distance and kick another round, but if they both miss, move in another 5 yards for each round of kicks. But when one hits and the other one misses in a round, that's the ball game.

 

[Malcolm R]

from me, as well. The team that loses the coin flip just needs to play defense, period. Now there's no urgency on the defensive side because as long as they hold the first offensive drive to just a FG, their team will get the ball back anyway.