NFL 2014

[Ingmar]

Keep in mind that Johnson has a pretty huge cap number.

[Ingmar]

Drafting WR's high in the first roud, or frankly in the first round at all is probably a waste.

I dunno. Andre Johnson, Julio Jones, Calvin Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, all top 10 picks, and I didn't go back very far looking. Sure, there are plenty of bad ones too, but waste is juuuuust a bit strong.

[Paelos]

I was sure Buffalo was trading up to get Matthews. Then they took a WR, and had to spent a first round pick to get him. 

That's yet to work out well. Ask the Atlanta Falcons, or the Detroit Lions.

[01101010]

http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/10908822/josh-gordon-cleveland-browns-faces-season-long-suspension

I am laughing and crying at the same time. 

[Nevermore]

The one thing he'll have going for him in Cleveland is Josh Gordon.

 

[Hoax]

By far the worst move of the first round was spending 2 first rounders on a wideout. So the Bills are currently beating the Raiders/Browns for the being dumb and sad sweepstakes.

Then the Bills get fleeced by the 49ers. I honestly don't understand how as a GM you ever make a trade with the truly elite successful orgs in the NFL. Like if the Pats, Ravens, 49ers etc. come knocking to make a trade shouldn't you assume they are about to out maneuver you?

The trade is far from the worst, but its so inconsistent with the crazy trade up they did in round one. It was a total win now move and now they are trading proven assets for something next year? You know what would be awesome next year? A first round pick.

[Cyrrex]

If I had to play my career in Cleveland, I'd probably be high all the time, too.

[HaemishM]

So the draft is over and the Packers end up drafting S, 3 WR, another DB, TE, C, DT and OLB. Three wideouts? The fuck? Including a second rounder? I realize they lost James Jones but with Boykin coming on late when Nelson, Cobb and Jones were all out, I'm not sure they needed 3 new wideouts in addition to the guys they have on the practice squad. Especially when they have such huge defensive needs. And they only got the one TE when they really don't know what they have in that position.

But at least we ain't Cleveland or Buffalo.  

[01101010]

So the draft is over and the Packers end up drafting S, 3 WR, another DB, TE, C and OLB. Three wideouts? The fuck? Including a second rounder? I realize they lost James Jones but with Boykin coming on late when Nelson, Cobb and Jones were all out, I'm not sure they needed 3 new wideouts in addition to the guys they have on the practice squad. Especially when they have such huge defensive needs. And they only got the one TE when they really don't know what they have in that position.

But at least we ain't Cleveland or Buffalo. 

And Cleveland knowing Gordon screwed the pooch drafted 0 WRs. I guess they just said fuck it and ran with the draft planning board rather than adjust - which is mostly how the offense was run the last three years.

[HaemishM]

Well, apparently Green Bay has lots of wideouts to spare now. 

[01101010]

Michael Sam goes to the Rams.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20140510/michael-sam-st-louis-rams-2014-nfl-draft/

Good on them... I don't see him getting off the practice squad though given their defensive line and that division. But who knows.

[jgsugden]

By far the worst move of the first round was spending 2 first rounders on a wideout. So the Bills are currently beating the Raiders/Browns for the being dumb and sad sweepstakes.
...

Raiders had a darn good draft.  It is my pick as the best draft, even if it was not flashy. 

Mack would have been a #1 overall in many drafts - and Raiders took him at 5.  Carr is a very solid QB prospect... there was a reason he kept creeping up boards.  Jackson was the best guard in the draft in my books and they took him in the mid-third.  I'm not too excited about DT Ellis, but it wasn't a bad pick... just nowhere as good as their other 4th round pick, CB McGill - who needs to learn a bit, but has all the physical traits you want to see these days.  They did not fill all their holes (which would have required about 20 picks in the first 4 rounds), but they did an excellent job. 

[Hoax]

Yeah and?

Its the Raiders. They will fuck this up somehow. Also the last place I want someone like Mack to go is a place with awful locker and organization culture. The knock on him from everyone is that he took off plays/games in the MAC when he could have dominated with ease every out. You could argue if you like Manziel that the Browns draft was great. So what? Those two franchises are the benchmarks for fuckery and will be until someone takes the crown away or they actually start looking like nfl football teams for entire 16 game seasons multiple years in a row.

[Tannhauser]

Lions picks

Elbron-Who needs another TE?  Pettigrew really improved last year.  First pick wasted.
Van Noy-OK finally the defense is being helped.  Need a standout LB.  Approved.
Swanson-Another offensive guy.  Big woop.  Draft Raiola's replacement next year or further down.  Mistake.
Lawson-OK another defensive guy, a CB.  But he's 'small and scrappy'.  Great.
Webster-Might be a steal of a pick of a DE.  Approved.
Jones-Well it just wouldn't be a draft if the Lions didn't pick a fucking WR. 
Freese-LOL troll pick.  The Lions now have three kickers.

Grade C+
The Lions seem to think no one is going to pass on them.

[Paelos]

Dallas picks: bear in mind our defense was the worst in the league.

Zach Martin - OT
Demarcus Lawrence - DE
Anthony Hitchens - LB
Devin Street - WR
Ben Gardener - DE
Will Smith - LB
Ahmad Dixon - SS
Ken Bishop - DT
Terrence Mitchell - CB

I would be very on board with this draft if it weren't for Zach Martin. Why we decided to spend the first rounder on an OT, I'm not sure. I was extremely happy they didn't take Manziel, but it's not a help to the defense. CJ Mosely would be a huge help to the defense. It's a risky move to trade up for Lawrence, but they had to after taking Martin. They wouldn't have had to take Hitchens if they'd taken Mosely. The draft seems odd in my mind, but it's Jerry.

[jgsugden]

Yeah and?

Its the Raiders. They will fuck this up somehow. Also the last place I want someone like Mack to go is a place with awful locker and organization culture. The knock on him from everyone is that he took off plays/games in the MAC when he could have dominated with ease every out. You could argue if you like Manziel that the Browns draft was great. So what? Those two franchises are the benchmarks for fuckery and will be until someone takes the crown away or they actually start looking like nfl football teams for entire 16 game seasons multiple years in a row.

The crown was on Al's head when he died.  There are new people in town that handled the salary cap hell well and had a good draft.  They have a few years of rebuilding to do to get good, but I think they took good steps.  We'll see what those steps look like in 2 years...

[HaemishM]

I'm not so sure the Derek Carr pick was a good fit for the Raiders. If he's like his brother, he will fold under the pressure his shitty offensive line will allow, and his mentor will be... Matt Schaub, a QB whose confidence is just fucking shattered. Of course, I'm not sure any QB could be helped in their situation but... LOLRAIDERS.

[K9]

I read a quote the day before the draft describing the Raiders in 'win now' mode, and I think that's probably the barmy truth. The raiders need to swallow their pride, take a leaf out of Jacksonville's book, and accept the shitty years the team needs to rebuild. The Patriots and Broncos are allowed to be in 'win now' mode since they're on the clock with future hall of fame QBs on the brink of retirement; I really can't think of many other teams where they have a window that would justify mortgaging away the future for short term success, in fact I don't see 'win now' as a trait of successful franchises, and as long as the raiders keep chasing wins without doing any actual team building they're just going to keep failing. You can't compare them to the Browns, the browns actually have a roster stacked with talent that has been acquired somehow that has been badly mismanaged and just lacks a franchise QB. The raiders seem to have needs everywhere, even after the draft.

[Nebu]

So the draft is over and the Packers end up drafting S, 3 WR, another DB, TE, C, DT and OLB. Three wideouts? The fuck?

Want to guess which position is the safest to draft if you're a team with a conservative drafting style?  Yep... the WR.  If they suck, you can always add them to special teams.

[Chimpy]

Green Bay is also the unofficial WR factory for the rest of the NFL for the last like 20 years. Guys no one has heard of go to Green Bay, get a spot on the roster and have a break out season due to someone else's injury or playing in a second or third WR spot and they are snatched up in free agency.

[Phildo]

There was a really nice article on ESPN a week or two ago about how Carr was being mentored by his brother with an eye on avoiding the kind of mistakes that his brother made the first time around.

[WayAbvPar]

But is his hair as sexy? This is important.

[HaemishM]

There was a really nice article on ESPN a week or two ago about how Carr was being mentored by his brother with an eye on avoiding the kind of mistakes that his brother made the first time around.

Unless he has a "all defensive players miss you" enchantment he can cast on his brother, Derek is likely to suffer the same case of "defensiveuslineus upus his assus." Because he's going to get hit... a lot. Not as much as Manziel mind you, but that just means he'll get more concussions and less shredded ACL's.

[01101010]

There was a really nice article on ESPN a week or two ago about how Carr was being mentored by his brother with an eye on avoiding the kind of mistakes that his brother made the first time around.

Unless he has a "all defensive players miss you" enchantment he can cast on his brother, Derek is likely to suffer the same case of "defensiveuslineus upus his assus." Because he's going to get hit... a lot. Not as much as Manziel mind you, but that just means he'll get more concussions and less shredded ACL's.

Hey now... if Manziel attempts to use the pocket, it should be there for him with Thomas, Mack, and now this mauler Bitonio. But yeah, if he gets happy feet every drop back, he'll have problems. I don't see it given that line and Shanny's previous experience with RGIII. It is Cleveland though, so it is probably best to err on the side of Manziel dying early.

[Paelos]

Hey now... if Manziel attempts to use the pocket

 

[K9]

Brandon Marshall signs a $30m extension, immediately donates $1m of it to promote mental health awareness

I'm so glad this guy is a Bear. Not only is he one of the best WRs in the league, he seems to have found a genuine purpose that will help others. Looking at the numbers it seems that he wasn't kidding when he valued being in Chicago, in the stable environment they have provided for him, with people he likes, over going for the big money. Looks like he's set on retiring a Bear at the end of his contract too. He's definitely a different guy from the one who came to us from Miami.

[Paelos]

Some players grow up. Glad he did.

[Trippy]

He also got help for his BPD.

[Paelos]

That would be a big part of it then.

[K9]

I think that's the crux of it, and it's why he's become such a vocal spokesman for mental health issues.

[Ingmar]

Well this is interesting:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/11102096/us-patent-office-cancels-washington-redskins-trademark

I don't think I had ever heard about the prior case in 1999.

[Paelos]

Sounds like it will get tossed again on appeal.

[Chimpy]

Sounds like it will get tossed again on appeal.

Did you read the judge's remarks (I did not see them in the ESPN article, the one I read this morning from a facebook link had it)? They were about as clear about the reasoning behind the strikedown as you could possibly be. I don't think Snyder is going to win the appeals.

[Paelos]

I disagree. They failed once to get this done in a prior case, and I see no difference in the two cases except time.

And frankly, I don't want them to throw out the name. In the case of the football team, if you're offended by the name, you have every right as an American to boycott their merchandize, games, etc. Similarly if you're offended by music that uses racial slurs, you have the right to not buy that music. At its core, the Redskins are an entertainment organization. Nothing more.

[Ingmar]

The last one was supposedly some weird technicality based on the age of the people bringing the suit. I don't think that will fly today.