Nfl 2012

[sunvalleylaw]

Glad for you Rev! I may start casually paying attention to the teams Fretters are interested in. It has been a long time since i followed it much.

 

[NWBasser]

Glad for you Rev! I may start casually paying attention to the teams Fretters are interested in. It has been a long time since i followed it much.

Me too. I'm happy for the Rev to finally have a decent team going. The Lions have been bad for so long now that it's really a relief that they are starting to have some success at last.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Here is some more info on Flynn, containing the opinion of Coach McCarthy on Flynn's readiness:

http://blog.thenewstribune.com/seahawks/2012/03/20/morning-links-mccarthy-says-flynn-is-ready/


And here is some more from the other TNT sportswriter, who feels Flynn is a good fit.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/03/20/2074447/hawks-just-like-flynn-young-and.html

The article also touches on why he feels the contract is a fair one and what he feels the current QB market is.

 

[piebaldpython]

I thought it was a pretty good analysis of the Elway/Tebow relationship. I had no sense of "browbeating" in it.QUOTE]


Where's the "browbeating"? I don't see it. To be honest, I was shocked when I read the the Broncos had taken Manning.....because everything I read coming out of Denver was that they were happy with Tebow.

Then they go and get Manning and you have to figure that unless Manning makes a mess out of training camp......that he will be the starting QB and Tebow will be relegated to spot duty.

So, the thought is that the Denver brass figured that Tebow caught "lightning in a bottle" for a season (and what a season it was) and that next year was going to be a season of paybacks from defenses that get hip to Tebow.

 

[marnold]

Saw that the Lions re-signed Stephen Tulloch for five years which is b.i.g. huge as far as I'm concerned. The Lions' braintrust (and I can type that without smirking) really did a whale of a job getting everybody signed and under the cap, with money left for the draft and a minor free agent or two. I'd imagine that Tulloch is pretty happy to be playing behind the likes of Suh and co. too. Next year they're going to have to redo Stafford's contract since he has restructured twice and his cap hit would be gigantic. I hope they can get Cliff Avril on a long-term deal by then too. Of course in 2014 the new T.V. deals kick in so the cap is going to jump.

I saw that the Bucs signed Wright for five years, $37.5 million. That's a lot of money--although I don't know how much of it was guaranteed. No wonder the Lions didn't bother to counter offer.

Hmmm. If the Lions actually know what they are doing, maybe the Mayans were on to something.

The picture of Manning holding an orange jersey strikes me as weird as seeing Montana's Chiefs jersey. Sounds like the contract has plenty of protection built in for the Broncos.

 

[R_of_G]

I saw that the Bucs signed Wright for five years, $37.5 million. That's a lot of money--although I don't know how much of it was guaranteed. No wonder the Lions didn't bother to counter offer.

I've yet to read how much of it is guaranteed, but yeah, that sounds like quite a deal for Wright and one for the Lions to not get involved in. I hope the Bucs' expectations for him are realistic.

Seeing Manning in another jersey is definitely odd, but I lived through Gretzky getting traded to Los Angeles. and Montana and Favre playing for different teams late in their careers, I can get used to this.

 

[marnold]

I thought of you, R of G, when I heard on the radio that the Jets are one of the teams thought to be in the running for Tim Tebow. I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force.

And leave it to The Onion to put their own unique spin on the Redskins/Rams trade.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I thought of you, R of G, when I heard on the radio that the Jets are one of the teams thought to be in the running for Tim Tebow. I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force.

:what You can almost hear the wails of Alderaan, or in this case, New York.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I thought of you, R of G, when I heard on the radio that the Jets are one of the teams thought to be in the running for Tim Tebow. I thought I felt a disturbance in the Force.

:what You can almost hear the wails of Alderaan, or in this case, New York.

 

[NWBasser]

Big News!

I just read that Sean Payton will be suspended for the 2012 season and that Geg Williams was banned idefinitely. The Saints also got a $500,000 fine from the league.

As I expected, Goodell came down very hard the Saints for the bounty scandal.

Annnd...wait for it...Tebow is going to the Jets!:thwap

 

[marnold]

Well, the deal is done. Tebow is a Jet. They got him for a fourth and a sixth this year and get back the Broncos' seventh rounder. What I don't understand is why Jacksonville wouldn't have given at least that much. I must confess that I don't understand why the Jets would do this at all, having just extended Sanchez and signed Stanton from the Lions.

The NFL also dropped the hammer on the Saints. Payton out for the year. Their GM out for 8 games. Williams suspended indefinitely--this year for sure, to be reviewed at the end of the season. The Saints get a half-million dollar fine and lose their second round pick this year and next. An assistant coach is out $100K and six games. That's a pretty serious hammer.

Sure, NWB, post the same thing while I'm typing I have linkage though, so I win.

 

[Tig]

Wow, Tebow and the Jets... Sounds a little like an Elton John song!

What a strange week...

 

[sunvalleylaw]

Man, not happy for R_of_G. Also, I bet my local Jets fan buddy is not happy either. He does not like overt religious displays in sports, and is certainly not a Tebow fan.

 

[R_of_G]

I must confess that I don't understand why the Jets would do this at all, having just extended Sanchez and signed Stanton from the Lions.

What, you mean you can't understand why a team that just extended it's already mediocre QB and signed another mediocre QB to back him up would go out and trade away draft picks (something in short supply for the Jets) to pick up a QB who many consider less than mediocre? What doesn't make sense about that?

My best friend, my wife, and my dad all sent me messages as soon as the deal was announced today, all trying to be the first to break the news to me gently.

It actually couldn't have come at a better time. After watching Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan take a very good 2009 team and make it progressively worse over the next two seasons had already brought me to the point of considering shifting my energies as a fan to the Bucs.

When the Jets didn't fire Mike Tannenbaum and then extended the contract on Sanchez and Wayne Hunter (worst OL in NFL history) I was fuming.

When they did virtually nothing meaningful in the opening of free agency while the Bucs signed two stars at two need positions and added depth at another, it made the thoughts of transition more appealing.

Today was the final straw. The team already has one QB that isn't progressing. This was the year to either replace him or bring in someone to challenge him.

What's Tebow going to challenge Mark Sanchez about, seeing who can throw a wobbly pass further over an open receiver's head?

It's a joke and a publicity stunt, and not that the Jets give a rat's arse, but today they lost a family of fans because my parents and siblings have now sworn off them as well.

As I said on Twitter and to my friends and family, and now to you guys (with editing here)....

F*** the Jets.
F***Woody Johnson.
F*** Mike Tannenbaum.
F*** Rex Ryan
Go Bucs!

 

[NWBasser]

As I said on Twitter and to my friends and family, and now to you guys (with editing here)....

F*** the Jets.
F***Woody Johnson.
F*** Mike Tannenbaum.
F*** Rex Ryan
Go Bucs!

:rollover

You have my condolensces. Rex Ryan's inevitable spouting off at the start of the season will come across as absurdly comedic given the makeup of the team now.

 

[Tig]

I think the Jets are trying to see if they can become the most difficult team for fans to stick with. Call them the Met's of the NFL! :thwap

 

[R_of_G]

I think the Jets are trying to see if they can become the most difficult team for fans to stick with. Call them the Met's of the NFL! :thwap

At least the Mets delivered a championship and three pennants in my lifetime.

Even the Knicks had some bright years in the early-mid 90s under Pat Riley.

The Jets have always been a joke, and under Mike Tannenbaum it's gotten progressively less funny (or I suppose more funny if you hate the Jets).

Today was a new low. Apparently there were issues over the contract which almost killed the deal, about which it was reported that the Jets never actually read Tebow's contract before making the deal.

I ask, is that the act of a responsible GM? Than why is Mike Tannenbaum so respected throughout the league?

It's a mystery to me how the man still has a job, though I suppose with the acquisition of Tim Tebow, Mr. Tannenbaum now fancies himself as more of a PT Barnum type than a football man.

Step right up and see The Tim Tebow Snake Oil Medicine Show.

 

[R_of_G]

How's your team doing in the draft?

I couldn't be happier with what the Bucs have done so far. Instead of mortgaging their entire draft to take a big-name RB (Richardson) which many of the "experts" in this town said was the only smart move the Bucs could make, they moved down (which got them a pick in RD 4 they didn't have before) and took the best player on the board at the time, Mark Barron, who just happens to be the top prospect at a need position.

I thought RD 1 was over for the Bucs at that point, and I'd have graded it an A. Instead, they swapped the #35 with New England for #31 and swapped 4th round picks (moving the Bucs up 25 spots in that round). They used the #31 to take RB Doug Martin who (a) is a great prospect and more importantly (B) is a complementary back to LeGarrette Blount who the "experts" here gave up on despite him playing perfectly well when he has blocking. Tonight they again ignored the big names on the board and took a solid prospect from Nebraska at LB, another need position.

So far, I give the Bucs a solid A for this draft.

As for that other team I once followed, I was surprised to see them take a DE and WR. I figured "need positions" for the Jets were acrobat, lion tamer and clown-car driver since they're running a circus, not a football team.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I haven't fully looked into it, but saw some blurbs that the Seahawks made an "edgy" pick or maybe squandered their pick, depending on your point of view. Bruce Irvin, a pass rusher out of WV. That is just from the headlines I read. Got a linebacker out of Utah State, Bobby Wagner in the second round. Don't know enough to really comment other than that.

 

[piebaldpython]

I was pretty sick for 2 days this week and stayed home from work for 2 days. Happened to click on ESPN and caught a bit of Jon Gruden's Quarterback Camp thing. Good grief, such a pompous twit.......OMG, no wonder I can't watch/listen to him on TV. I hadn't seen him in about a year (probably about the time of my last rant re him) and if anything, he's gotten more obnoxious and full of himself. Can't some team hire him so WE don't have to suffer him on TV??? PLEASE!!!!

 

[R_of_G]

I haven't fully looked into it, but saw some blurbs that the Seahawks made an "edgy" pick or maybe squandered their pick, depending on your point of view. Bruce Irvin, a pass rusher out of WV. That is just from the headlines I read. Got a linebacker out of Utah State, Bobby Wagner in the second round. Don't know enough to really comment other than that.

I can speak a little bit on Irvin as I saw many of his games being an alum of a Big East school myself. He's a good player and has potential to be a quality NFL player, but it was a massive reach on the part of the Seahawks to take him that early. There were several other players at his position that I think are better pro prospects. If Irvin was the guy they wanted no matter what, they would have been better served trading back and picking up extra picks and still getting Irvin later. Wagner I know virtually nothing about.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

The 'Hawks have seemed to be less effective with their draft options the last couple years, at least according the The News Tribune, and their pretty good writers there, and of course the history of the last year or two. I hope these picks work out better. The 'Hawks seem to be coming back, and I would love for them to get deeper in the ways I mentioned in this thread earlier. I have to read some more to see if we got that front line help I thought we needed. Injuries to the front line hurt us in the end of the year last year, and I feel we need more depth there. My nephew, super-fan, feels we are getting some, but I am not sure why he says that. Gonna have to figure it out. I am in this year in really following the team.

EDIT: I now see we picked up another QB (Wilson) out of Wisconsin in the 3rd. Hmmmmmm. We just got Flynn, and still have Jackson. I wish we would invest more in the other players we need. Carroll said they pick him because he was the most "alive" guy left and other teams in the third round behind the Seahawks wanted him. Maybe there is more trading to do.

The word on Wagner is more positive in my mind. "Carroll said that Wagner, 21, already is being looked at as the starter at middle linebacker, and he’ll work with the first unit during offseason workouts while veteran Barrett Ruud gets healthy."

He is 6' and 241lbs, has 445 career tackles in 46 starts. I like that better.

Read more here: http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/04/28/2124119/another-surprise.html#storylink=cpy


Here is more on why QB's get picked in the draft. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2012/04/25/2120354/with-two-qbs-headlining-draft.html

I kinda get what they are saying, but I guess I would just like them to build the whole team. I would like the economics and rules of the sport to revolve less around the guy taking the snap.

 

[R_of_G]

SVL - Though I definitely hear what you're saying on QBs, I think Wilson is a good pickup for the Hawks. There but for being an inch taller, he'd have likely been the third QB taken after Luck and Griffin. The guy was amazing at two different schools (which also shows he's able to learn new offensive terminology and schemes quickly) and is about as solid a character guy as you're going to find.

Call it hedging their bets or whatever, but with someone like Wilson in camp to push Flynn, the competition for QB is going to be a lot stiffer than it would have been with Tarvaris Jackson who everyone in the world knows is there to be a backup.

Also of note to the Seahawks, I though the 49ers had a strong draft and are doing very well in free agency as well. St. Louis also did well provided Bradford can get it together and hit some of his new weapons this season.

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I would expect the 'Niners to do well. Though I miss the AFC days, I am more than before willing to let that finally go, and look forward to hopefully a good, competitive season. I don't need for the 'Hawks to be dominant. Just deep enough to weather a season, and stay scrappy and competitive. Here's to the hoe of a new season!

Re: that new middle linebacker, I like hearing about him. Again, I love to see a good linebacker play. Here's to hoping to see some good pop in the middle D too!

 

[R_of_G]

Again, I love to see a good linebacker play.

Try to watch some of Carolina this season if you get the chance. I'll see plenty of them here in NFC South country. They already had Jon Beason who is criminally under-rated. In the first round the other night they added Boston College LB Luke Kuechly who looks to have the full complement of skills to develop into a dominant NFL linebacker.

 

[Tynee]

I wish I'd been around more the last couple of months, I'd like to have weighed in on my Redskins and a few other topics. Suffice it to say I was not thrilled with the deal, but I'm coming around as I hear more and more good things about RGIII. How pitiful is it when the best you can say for your team's newly minted stud QB is, "Let's hope he's not a complete bust."

Marnold, keep an ear open for the name Ronny Sneed. I went to church with him while he was here in Lexington, and I'm rooting for him to make the Lions this year.