American Football

[Martino Knockavelli]

National Signing Day on Wednesday, what more do you want.

Like transfer deadline day, but with attention drunk 18 year olds making all the decisions.

 

[Destruction]

Good game last night, not enough titty bo jangles from Perry.

Hope everyone is looking forward to the next few months where I carefully select a team to support. Current front runners are 49ers (won the superbowl year I was born), Green Bay (most morale NFL team I hear) or Oakland Raiders (I like an underdog plus can look hipster if I buy one of them caps).

Stay tuned.

 

[Kim Mitten]

William Hill offering 25/1 that Wembley hosts the Superbowl by 2025, might be worth a few quid that.

A few dates (posted on EPSN Lions, for Lions read all NFL teams) here for some of you who aren't overly familiar with NFL as of yet:

Monday (Feb. 2): The waiver system began for 2015, meaning teams could release players under contract.

Feb. 10: Players with expired CFL contracts can sign with NFL teams beginning at noon, ET.

Feb. 16: The first day the Lions can franchise or transition tag Ndamukong Suh (or anyone else).

Feb. 17-23: NFL combine

March 2: The Lions must decide whether to use the franchise or transition tag on a player by 4 p.m. ET.

March 7-10: Teams can contact and negotiate contracts with unrestricted free agents from other teams, but cannot sign them.

March 10: All option clauses, qualifying offers for restricted free agents, and exclusive rights free agent tenders must be submitted by 4 p.m. The new league year and free agency begins at 4 p.m., and the Lions must be under the salary cap with their top 51 players by this time.

March 22-25: Owners meetings.

April 20: The Lions can begin their offseason program.

April 24: The deadline for signed offer sheets for restricted free agents.

April 30-May 2: The NFL draft

May 8-11: Teams can hold a rookie minicamp.

July 15: A team has until this time to sign a player to a multi-year extension if that player was franchised. Otherwise, they must wait until after the last regular season game of the season.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Spot Will Muschamp.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I could take him.

 

[Kim Mitten]

I could take him.

Saw this on twitter - bout time the Americans gave back something to the country they have made the most obese on earth, giving a few of the Tonga teenagers a shot at fame and fortune is a start.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Quiet a few Tongans knocking about already to be fair. BYU and Utah both do pretty well with that talent pipeline.

 

[Kim Mitten]

didn't know about Tongans, good - to think that kid is still growing as well, wonder what his 40 yard dash time is?

 

[Anon]

Letroy Guion arrested for smoking dope while driving. That'll be a few $$$s shaved off his contract then, if TT decides to keep him. He's been a steal this season for $1m, being our starting NT and getting 3.5 sacks, but was probably gonna get a long-term contract and payrise to match.

---

So, who do you see moving on from your team this off-season? We've got a decent amount of cap room, but keeping Bulaga and Cobb will be the priority and I'd be slightly surprised if either one left, we don't tend to let key players entering the prime leave but both had very good years so will cost us. Hawk had an underrated 2013 but a big step back this season so he and the useless Brad Jones may both go, will save $7m+ for the pair. Williams also had a bad year, is 32, and won't be worth anything near his $8m 2015 figure. Would like to keep Raji on a further reduced one-year deal too.

 

[Kim Mitten]

It'll be all to do with Suh with who stays and goes. The main FA are - Suh, Fairley and Mosley from the line. If Suh stays most likely the other 2 go. However I think a deal could be done with Mosley with Suh on the roster. Mosley will get offers though, has been superb the last 2 seasons, utterly underrated.

Raiola's already gone, no surprise as Swanson was drafted last season to be his replacement. The others I'd like the Lions to keep would be Tapp the OLB, he had a good season, as did George Johnson at DE. Rasheen Mathis had one of the best seasons of his career last year, but he's getting on, a decent 1 year deal would keep him on the roster.
Oh and Prater is a FA, after all the kicking issues I'm pretty sure he'll be one of the first to get a new deal!

As I say Suh is the big one, his contract will take up most of the talk now in the NFL. Hindsight will be a wonderful thing, but I'd hope the Lions play safest and get a deal done with him. If he walks they will be major plays in FA - but who comes in if he goes will determine how its all viewed. Giants seem to have a hard on for him, I'd hope if he goes there the Lions do everything they can to get JPP to Detroit, beacuse the Giants won't be signing anyone else if they can nab Suh. Lions would also have the money to have a really good go for Revis as well. They'd also be keeping Fairley and Mosley, dunno much about the other DTs in FA, but you'd hope if they lost Suh they go after the next best on offer.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I expect the Cowboys will re-sign Dez. Will cost a fortune, but so be it.

Demarco Murray is the one. I would let him walk rather than give him some sort of market setting contract, as another team surely will. Franchise tag might be a possibility if cap space allows, but I'm not sure that it will, and I might be inclined to spend that $$$ elsewhere even if it does.

Whether the Valley Ranch brain-trust agrees or not will be an interesting litmus test for whether the Cowboys really have changed their spots. The old Jerry would surely have taken this season + Romo's closing window as an invitation to go all in, create a cap-tastrophe for 2 years down the line, and trade half the draft for some perceived magical missing capstone piece on defense. I'm cautiously optimistic that this time will be different.

No other headliners really. Can probably only afford to bring one of Doug Free and Jermey Parnell back but they should be ok either way there. Melton did alright but won't be worth what the option on his contract will pay him. At least one of Carter, Mclain and Durant will go at linebacker. Looks like they're stuck with Carr and Claiborne still, unfortunately.

 

[RavenBish]

Nowt particularly interesting in terms of Bengals FAs. We've got Gresham hitting FA who should rightfully leave the premises and never return but is certainly a candidate to pop up somewhere else @ $2.5m-3m and live up to his potential and not drop or fumble every ball thrown his way and give up 2 false start penalties a game. Pro Bowl TE my arse, what a terrible indictment of the NFL's TEs in recent years. Apart from that we've got Maualuga who I wouldn't be against keeping cos he's a fine run defender but we could probs draft a cheaper upgrade in Round 3, MLBs are hardly difficult to find - especially the prototype 'bad in coverage' ones.

We should thank Geathers and Peko for being 'great dudes' and then fire them to the moon because they both stink quite frankly and are easily the worst starting DE and DT in the entire NFL. Can see Michael Johnson returning if the rumours about TB trying to get rid are true, his mentor ex-Bengal John Thornton has already dropped a hint on local radio that he misses Cincy. We'd also probably bring back Collins who stunk up Tampa something rotten last year - and we'll get compensatory picks for both of them in this draft lol (and people think Marv and Mikey are stoopid).

Boling is a FA and should stay for around 4-5m a year...and thus ends our FAs which is a refreshing change. Plenty of cap room to be aggressive (as if) - Green obvs needs tying up at some point and then I'd like to see them try and capitalise on Marvin Jones and sign him a year early for a discount a bit like they did Dunlap but they probably won't with him just missing a whole year and that and they'll give Sanu an extension, a receiver who once got blanketed up the seam by James Harrison. Triffic. Could extend Iloka too but iono bout that, he's good for sure but not a game-changing safety worth worrying about (cue him getting 10 INTs in his contract year and demanding $11m a year in 12 months time).

#SignSuh

 

[Kim Mitten]

Couple of things happening at the Lions.
Firstly, might have finally found a decent speical teams co-ordinator. Bonamego has somehow got the HC job at Central Michigan, Lions were awful last season on ST, absoultely woeful. But now in comes Joe Marciano, he's old, but he's good. Everywhere he goes he stays - for ruddy years, Saints 9 years, Buccs 6 years and Texans 11 years. So I have high hopes for next season.

Also, Reggie Bush might be in trouble - for those of you who don't know his ex-teammate from the Saints, Darren Sharper is up for numerous rape and sexual assualts in NO, he has a co-defendant (non-NFL involved) who has claimed the man who got the women nice and 'loose' for them was Reggie, who went round spiking drinks and handing out MDMA in clubs. Bush is obviously denying it but might not have heard the last of it.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I'll Paypal 10p to anyone that makes it all the way through this:

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

#NFLFILMS

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

This from 2012. Most prescient video ever made? Fave for yes, Retweet for No.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Set your ESPNs to 11! Jameis may (or may not) be fat for the combine!

 

[Kim Mitten]

Combine currently on, so whats everyones takes on your teams moves in the draft?

Its a good draft for the Lions, regardless of Suh Detroit is going DT or OT and there are plenty to choose from. Lions like to take 'best available' and sometimes pick a surprise - Ebron last year certainly was, but with the DTs this year I'm hoping Malcom Brown of Texas is at 23 because he is a no brainer, plug in and play. OT hopefully 2nd round, and with the deep class could well have another starter right there.
The more Mayhew talks, the more it looks like Reggie Bush is going somewhere else - seemingly they'd rather use his money to re-sign either Fairley or Mosely. In one interview recently he hinted at the Lions drafting a RB - as we all know it doesn't really matter where you draft RBs , so hopefully might take a gem towards the back end of the draft.

 

[RavenBish]

Jesus, I completely forgot about the combine, I've been apathetic about it all this year, barely watched any youtube cut-ups and that. I blame Andy Dalton.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I've become accustomed to the good guys picking in the middle of the 1st round, where it's just about possible to delude oneself into the projecting the 15 picks prior and settling on a couple of man crushes. Doing the same thing at #27 would be a proper fool's errand, so no names (yet).

Positionally though, D-line is the most obvious need (1 or 3-tech, not really any immovables on the current depth chart), but finding a day 1 shop-wrecker at the end of the round is probably a bit hopeful. Safety would be fine also, and corner wouldn't be bananas.

Beyond that, taking a calculated flyer on a mid-round projecty QB makes more and more sense every year as Romo's horizon draws closer. Wouldn't mind another TE but it would entail admitting defeat on Escobar, so not sure how likely that is. Running back very likely if Murray goes, and maybe even if he doesn't since I'm not sure Randle is long for Valley Ranch.

Looking forward to seeing some Longhorns drafted after last year's shit show too. Malcom Brown already mentioned (and I'm definitely hoping for a draft day SNAFU in which someone accidentally takes Longhorn RB Malcolm Brown instead) and Cedric Reed and Jordan Hicks both have intriguingly high betas on their possible draft stock too.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Carel, how about this as a possibility - I don't think Murray is going back to Dallas, but what about his replacement being Reggie Bush? With the Dallas O-Line I think RBs will be queuing up to join the Cowboys, as I said above it seems the more the Lions front office open their mouths the more likely Bush is not a Detroit player next year, he'll certainly be signed somewhere.

 

[Anon]

Draftniks and supposed NFL.com experts keep listing TE as a position of need for us, when there's little chance we're taking a TE high given Rodgers looks talented and Quarless is an able player. I do think we'll draft a TE, but lower down and one that's primarily there to block.

Run-stuffing ILB is the one big gap even if Hawk stays, Matthews shouldn't be used there long-term since Peppers is a year older at OLB.

A NT starter might be needed too if one of Raji and Guion aren't on the roster. I really think we need a younger corner starter opposite Shields too - Williams took a step back in 2014 and I'm not overly keen on House. Hayward is a good player, but more of a slot corner.

 

[Renegade]

Carel, how about this as a possibility - I don't think Murray is going back to Dallas, but what about his replacement being Reggie Bush? With the Dallas O-Line I think RBs will be queuing up to join the Cowboys, as I said above it seems the more the Lions front office open their mouths the more likely Bush is not a Detroit player next year, he'll certainly be signed somewhere.

Can't see the Cowboys bothering with such an injury prone running back after they've dealt with Murray for a few years. If they don't resign him (I think they should, he is an elite player, great offensive line or not), they might as well take a running back in the draft instead of paying decent money to someone like Bush who can't stay on the field. If they were to sign any of the available running backs, I'd go for Mark Ingram.

If they find a good runner in the draft (apparently there are many), they can pay him relative pittance behind an offensive line that will protect him for years. I also think they would be insane if they went after AP instead of just paying Murray, which has been doing the rounds for a few months, if that ever had a chance of happening.

I hope Murray lands somewhere decent if he isn't resigned, he is incredible to watch.

 

[RavenBish]

Signing a FA RB with this draft class would be a dumb-ass move...but a Cowboys move indeed.

Bengals need D-linemen, hopefully both a DT and DE fairly early - apart from that not a whole lot really, an OT to takeover from Whitworth or Smith who are both in contract years I think, some secondary depth cos Newman and Hall are done (Leon ) and a MLB replacement for Maualuga if he walks. There's talk of us being aggressive in Free Agency, but Mike Brown being aggressive is dropping $3m a year on a blocking TE or something .

Oh and a receiver just in case they all die again this year, no-one deserves to see Brandon Tate and Cobi Hamilton (who didn't even make the practice squad after pre-season) starting in a play-off game.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Yeah, entirely speculatory, but not sure Bush would make much sense. If it's not Murray it'll be the draft I think, perhaps some cheapo FA as well if Randle goes and they want a bit of certainty, but even then I think (or hope) they'd be inclined to let Ryan Williams + a cutable no name or 2 battle it out for roster spots. I'm reasonably optimistic they'll be smart enough to figure it out.

The Peterson thing is just media/fan wishcasting based on that Jerry Jones article and all the subsequent travails. IF the Vikings cut him lose, and IF he's willing (or forced) to take some team friendly deal, or IF he hankers deep in his marrow to play back in Texas before he jacks it in... but I don't think all (or even any) of those stars are gonna align.

 

[Kim Mitten]

Can't see the Cowboys bothering with such an injury prone running back after they've dealt with Murray for a few years. If they don't resign him (I think they should, he is an elite player, great offensive line or not), they might as well take a running back in the draft instead of paying decent money to someone like Bush who can't stay on the field. If they were to sign any of the available running backs, I'd go for Mark Ingram.

If they find a good runner in the draft (apparently there are many), they can pay him relative pittance behind an offensive line that will protect him for years. I also think they would be insane if they went after AP instead of just paying Murray, which has been doing the rounds for a few months, if that ever had a chance of happening.

I hope Murray lands somewhere decent if he isn't resigned, he is incredible to watch.

Depends on what Murray thinks he's worth - I agree the Cowboys should re-sign him, but they are in a tough spot trying to work out deals for their FA and most likely Murray is going to be handed a number he doesn't like. It'll be down to whether he wants to make money, or be on a team that should be playoff bound again next season. His realistic landing spots are not teams in the current 'decent' bracket - Jets, Jags, Raiders.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I think it's pretty safe to assume his agent will be looking at those McCoy and Foster deals as a baseline. Ie 5 years, north of $40 million and about half of it guaranteed. There's bound to be someone who'll give him that (at least) on the open market.

And if that's the price I let him walk. I wouldn't wanna be on the hook for that kind of deal for a 27 year old player who is fairly injury prone, fairly fumble prone, had about a billion carries last year, and has a physical running style that suggests short shelf life. Someone else can gamble on him remaining a productive workhorse when he's hitting 30.

I don't think he's fungible, or solely a product of line play or anything like that. And I don't think they'd be able to take any old guy in the 2nd or 3rd round and get the same production. But if the O-line stays in good health they should be able to get most of the same production for a much lower price, even if it's via committee and spread between a couple of guys. This draft class looks deep for RBs, good players at the position are there to be had in the 2nd-4th sort of range nowadays anyway, and they can take that $5+ milly cap saving and spend it somewhere else.

 

[Anon]

Brad Jones released. Gonna have to find a new player to dislike now...

 

[RavenBish]

Vic Beasley is very athletic. I'm glad the NFL calendar takes 4 days to confirm stuff like that.

Lotta good pass rushers in this draft class, Bengals will still manage to fuck up. Just take whoever is there out of Vic, Fowler, Dupree, Gregory, Harold please. Then go DT/OT with the next 2 picks.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

If the Cleveland Browns did not exist it would be necessary to invent them.

http://www.clevelandbrowns.com/team/2015_Logos.html