NFL 2016: Offseason: OTAs / Dead Zone / Gumbie Loves Kickers!

Paleocon wrote:

So, effectively a stake through the heart of a corpse. Even at the league vet minimum, a team would have to sit him four games to roll the dice on him the moment he is signed.

This does happen from time to time, though I agree that the chances anyone does it for Manziel are basically zero.

Oakland actually just did this in April with Aldon Smith, re-signing him to a one-year deal with an additional option year, even though he will be suspended up until November. Basically they'll only pay him for the very end of the season, and then decide if they want to pick up the option to keep him next year.

Of course, Aldon Smith is a devastating player when his idiocy doesn't keep him off the field, whereas JFF has never shown more than the smallest fleeting hint of being capable of playing NFL level quarterback.

*Legion* wrote:
Paleocon wrote:

So, effectively a stake through the heart of a corpse. Even at the league vet minimum, a team would have to sit him four games to roll the dice on him the moment he is signed.

This does happen from time to time, though I agree that the chances anyone does it for Manziel are basically zero.

Oakland actually just did this in April with Aldon Smith, re-signing him to a one-year deal with an additional option year, even though he will be suspended up until November. Basically they'll only pay him for the very end of the season, and then decide if they want to pick up the option to keep him next year.

Of course, Aldon Smith is a devastating player when his idiocy doesn't keep him off the field, whereas JFF has never shown more than the smallest fleeting hint of being capable of playing NFL level quarterback.

Any chance he plays arena or CFL ball?

Paleocon wrote:

Any chance he plays arena or CFL ball?

CFL, no. They have a rule that an NFL player under suspension cannot be signed to a CFL roster. That's why Josh Gordon was unable to go to the CFL a couple years ago when he wanted to try and do that. As long as Manziel's NFL suspension remains unserved, the CFL is completely off the table.

Arena ball has no such rule that I am aware of. I am skeptical of his commitment and whether he would put the work in for a substantially lesser paycheck. I don't know how much of his money he has left, but as long as he can go out and party and have his lifestyle financed by others wanting to hang out with him, I don't see him busting his ass for $19k + 3 meals a day (which is the compensation model of the "new" AFL, post-2010 reset. Pre-2010 salaries were actually a LOT higher.)

What in the hell are you talking about Legion? It's Friday, he's going stone cold sober after today. Duh.

I must have missed the celebratory "I did it!" press conference.

The Browns cut Connor Shaw.

The Saints put a waiver claim on him, and did not keep quiet about it, even announcing a player release to make a roster spot.

The Bears, with one spot better waiver priority than the Saints, jumped in with a claim and got Shaw.

Though I doubt the Bears suddenly decided they wanted Shaw because the Saints did, it's still amusing.

Wow, sobriety worked!

Anyway, Paleo, here's the rest of the answer to your question.

Cian Fahey breaks down Joe Flacco.

tldr? Flacco is all about the business decisions and resulting bad throws.

Rough, rough article if you're a Flacco fan.

At work so I haven't read the article yet, but I watched the GIFs, and my god that footwork. That's the kind of footwork that, if I saw on a college player that's hyped as a 1st round pick, my reaction would be LOL NOPE.

Also was amused at the very last one, where they run four verticals on 4th-and-11 and he throws the 5-yard hook to the fullback. That probably was the primary target on the play, thinking they could clear out the middle of the field with the 4 verts, but the MLB stayed on top of that route the whole time, and the defenders to each side also only dropped to the first down marker, they only slightly trailed the inside receivers up the field. And you could tell the FB was probably the first option by how he he's looking right at him the whole play.

An interview with Calvin Johnson is airing tonight and some pull quotes are already making headlines. They shouldn't shock anyone.

“I guess my first half of my career before they really, you know, before they started looking over the whole industry, or the whole NFL, the doctors, the team doctors and trainers, they were giving them out like candy, you know?”

“If you were hurting, then you could get them. It was nothing,” Johnson added. “I mean, if you needed Vicodin, call out, ‘My ankle hurt,’ you know. ‘I need, I need it. I can’t, I can’t play without it,’ or something like that. It was simple. That’s how easy it was to get them. So if you were dependent on them, they were readily available.”

“If we would’ve been a contender, it would have been harder to let go”

No doubt.

Catch rule updates:

Under the 2016 rule book, a player has caught a pass when he “maintains control of the ball . . . until he has the ball long enough to clearly become a runner. A player has the ball long enough to become a runner when, after his second foot is on the ground, he is capable of avoiding or warding off impending contact of an opponent, tucking the ball away, turning up field, or taking additional steps.” (New language added in italics.)

If only the Browns didn't change to those horrible new jerseys, it could be revised into a Tim Couch jersey.

I'm a day late, but just saw this on my Facebook feed.

IMAGE(https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/13645279_10209856829568123_1795778336330307158_n.jpg?oh=db47fb59933f0d47e8f559103bd2b2b6&oe=57F6B5E9)

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/oCT9vhZ.jpg?1)
The Bills' RB Karlos Williams might not be a great fantasy pick these year as he's show up quite overweight to camp. He's attributing it to his fiance's pregnancy:

“It definitely is a first but I like to eat and then her being pregnant gave me an excuse to eat, so eating anything and everything,” Williams said. “She’d wake up, one or two o’clock, ‘I want a snack.’ Well I’m not going to sit here and watch you eat because I don’t want you to feel bad but it’s back to football. She’s getting back to working out herself so kind of motivating each other, feed off each other’s energy, and we’re getting ready for camp.”

Yeah, snacking in the middle of the night is probably a bad idea, Karlos.

///

Looks like the Browns got out of having to pay a couple million dollars (guaranteed) to Manziel by voiding it:

[T]he Browns had the power to void Manziel’s guaranteed money in various ways: (1) a suspension imposed by the league under any policy; (2) a suspension imposed by the team; (3) failure or refusal to report, practice, or play; or (4) leaving the team without prior written consent.

That idiot gave them all four scenarios. He didn't even put up a fight when they did it.

Moron.

My face right now:
IMAGE(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--il5XPmtg--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/tcg9knkg7tzpcby4jhix.jpg)

It's not NFL, but it's football...

The animation in that football game is just terrible.

We get warping like that in Winnipeg all the time. It's kind of a problem.

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/t...

Tom Brady will have to serve his four-game "Deflategate" suspension -- unless he wants to try to take it to the Supreme Court.

A federal appeals court has rejected the New England Patriots QB's request to have a hearing before the full 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals, thereby upholding the suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Tom Brady will have to serve his four-game "Deflategate" suspension -- unless he wants to try to take it to the Supreme Court.

LOL this is Tom Brady and his massive ego.. of course he is going to try and take it to the Supreme Court.. I mean this is just like Ali's case right??

My gawd, Fox Sports's site design continues to go down the worst path. What a horrendous looking site. I stopped visiting there a couple years ago and that clearly was the right choice.

garion333 wrote:

My gawd, Fox Sports's site design continues to go down the worst path. What a horrendous looking site. I stopped visiting there a couple years ago and that clearly was the right choice.

Still better than ESPN...

LeapingGnome wrote:
garion333 wrote:

My gawd, Fox Sports's site design continues to go down the worst path. What a horrendous looking site. I stopped visiting there a couple years ago and that clearly was the right choice.

Still better than ESPN...

No way do you prefer that over ESPN! I get people not preferring the new look, but at least it is functional. And really, it's pretty easy to find what you want. I really don't know what people hate about it.

Jayhawker wrote:

I really don't know what people hate about it.

They disabled control-clicking on links for some stupid f*cking reason. Useless twitter feed taking up real estate. You have to wait for all of the icons to load on the top score feed to load (which can sometimes take a surprising amount of time) before you can even click on a f*cking box score. The way they sort articles is nonsensical. Need more?

It's been many years since I've looked at Fox's site but on quick glance it seems better than the current iteration of ESPN's. I am surprised that they don't have a football robot dancing in the corner.

Paleocon wrote:

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/t...

Tom Brady will have to serve his four-game "Deflategate" suspension -- unless he wants to try to take it to the Supreme Court.

A federal appeals court has rejected the New England Patriots QB's request to have a hearing before the full 2nd U.S. Court of Appeals, thereby upholding the suspension handed down by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.

Fun fact: the Supreme Court justice in charge of getting what the 2nd sends them is Ruth Bader Ginsberg, who has mutual beef with Tom Brady's good friend Donald Trump.

Since football people are involved, Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe reads off the nominees and winners of Deadspin's worst tweet awards. Can we get him in a booth on Sunday?

Kicker news! Well, "news".

iaintgotnopants wrote:

Kicker news! Well, "news".

Last year, Justin Tucker was 4th in touchbacks, despite being only 19th in kickoff attempts.

In other words, he's a touchback kicker in a brave new mortar kickoff world.