NFL 2018 Offseason Thread

It's up to the NFLPA to make actual player discipline rules (beyond "Goodell makes it up as he goes") a collective bargaining priority.

I wouldn't hold my breath as long as Demaurice Smith is the one bargaining though.

Tavon Austin made more than $1 mil a catch last year.

And he'll probably be on a roster next year because of his return ability.

He didn't do much returning in 2017 though. 12 punt returns for 53 yards and 1 kickoff return for 13. Pharoh Cooper is the team's primary return man.

Rams don't have a burning need to open up cap space, though, and they can only get $3m of Tavon's $8m off the books, as his $5m roster bonus is guaranteed. So, I guess we can look forward to another 25 jet sweeps from the Rams in 2018.

Roger Goodell's job is not to be consistent or clear or liked in any way. He works for 32 people, and his job is to make sure their lives are easier. Everyone criticizes Goodell for arbitrary discipline or not doing enough about concussions it's a whole host of other things, and every time he makes himself more of a lightning rod, he's doing a better and better job of making any of the negative focus on the NFL about him instead of anything else. That's his actual job, and he's is very, very good at it.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Roger Goodell's job is not to be consistent or clear or liked in any way. He works for 32 people, and his job is to make sure their lives are easier. Everyone criticizes Goodell for arbitrary discipline or not doing enough about concussions it's a whole host of other things, and every time he makes himself more of a lightning rod, he's doing a better and better job of making any of the negative focus on the NFL about him instead of anything else. That's his actual job, and he's is very, very good at it.

That's why, if the players want the process to be different, it has to come in collective bargaining. Ownership is clearly content with Goodell making it up as he goes.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Roger Goodell's job is not to be consistent or clear or liked in any way. He works for 32 people, and his job is to make sure their lives are easier. Everyone criticizes Goodell for arbitrary discipline or not doing enough about concussions it's a whole host of other things, and every time he makes himself more of a lightning rod, he's doing a better and better job of making any of the negative focus on the NFL about him instead of anything else. That's his actual job, and he's is very, very good at it.

This +1, said much better than my previous post.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Roger Goodell's job is not to be consistent or clear or liked in any way. He works for 32 people, and his job is to make sure their lives are easier. Everyone criticizes Goodell for arbitrary discipline or not doing enough about concussions it's a whole host of other things, and every time he makes himself more of a lightning rod, he's doing a better and better job of making any of the negative focus on the NFL about him instead of anything else. That's his actual job, and he's is very, very good at it.

When you put it like that... Ok. I had honestly not considered that viewpoint.

The only thing I would counter is Goodell actually growing the league's revenues at their full potential and also his pay to be a glorified figurehead is pretty steep.

Thing is there is sometimes the stereotyping: owns expensive sports franchise = shrewd businessman.

I'd argue the NFL owners are anything but captains of industry. Bunch of rent seeking monopolists who deserve Goodell.

Christian Hackenberg is the first QB in over 35 years to be drafted in the 1st or 2nd round and not throw a single pass attempt in his first 2 seasons.

That he did so on a Jets team that cycled through 4 quarterbacks is especially impressive.

Best of all, they drafted a punter in the 7th round of the same draft that Hackenberg was taken, and he has a pass attempt, which he completed for 31 yards! (To help beat the Jags in overtime )

It's almost like he was meant to be a Brown.

I guess being a Jet is about as close to being a Brown as you can get.

garion333 wrote:

I guess being a Jet is about as close to being a Brown as you can get.

It's pretty much the same thing, except at the end of the day, you go home and you're not in Ohio.

garion333 wrote:

It's almost like he was meant to be a Brown.

I guess being a Jet is about as close to being a Brown as you can get.

When you're a Jet
You're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette
To your last dyin' day

When you're a Jet
If the spit hits the ground
Sure your team sucks
But it's not the Browns

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

When you're a Jet
You're a Jet all the way
From your first cigarette
To your last dyin' day

When you're a Jet
If the spit hits the ground
Sure your team sucks
But it's not the Browns

/slowclap

JFF is back in football.

Nope, not the XFL.

Nope, not the CFL.

He'll be in The Spring League!

garion333 wrote:

It's almost like he was meant to be a Brown.

I guess being a Jet is about as close to being a Brown as you can get.

In all fairness, if he was a Brown, he would have played in 6-8 games regardless of how bad he was, and he would get his name on the Jersey.

Colts owner and GM talk about how they kept overlooking the right girl coach for them, and then they finally noticed her him.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:
garion333 wrote:

It's almost like he was meant to be a Brown.

I guess being a Jet is about as close to being a Brown as you can get.

In all fairness, if he was a Brown, he would have played in 6-8 games regardless of how bad he was, and he would get his name on the Jersey.

You say that, but...

IMAGE(https://predominantlyorange.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/46/files/2015/12/brock.gif)

Kicker news! Sebastian Janikowski won't be back with the Raiders.

Dude is 40. I thought he was ageless, tbh.

(edited to fix link and derp)

Seabass was never a good kicker and would have been cut years ago if not for the fact he was a first-round pick.

Chiefs won't re-sign Derrick Johnson; LB plans to keep playing

"Few players in recent history have meant more to the Chiefs franchise and the Kansas City community than Derrick Johnson," Chiefs owner Clark Hunt said in a statement. "His tireless work ethic and passion for the game made him one of the most productive defensive players to ever wear a Chiefs uniform and one of the most respected players both in our locker room and around the league. Over the last 13 seasons, Derrick represented himself and the Chiefs organization with integrity and class, and he will always be a part of our Chiefs family."
"I've been blessed to be a part of the Kansas City Chiefs organization my entire career," Johnson said in the statement. "I'd like to thank the Hunt family, my coaches, teammates and the staff for the tremendous amount of support I received over the years. I love Kansas City and this fan base, they've always had my back. I'm grateful I had the opportunity to spend 13 years in a place I love. I plan on playing for several more years because I love this game so much, but I look forward to retiring as a member of the Kansas City Chiefs when my career is over. I'll miss my Chiefs teammates -- we made a lot of big plays together over the years -- and I wish them the best in bringing a championship home to the best and loudest fans in the NFL."

Gonna miss Derrick Johnson a ton. He had a rough start start in KC, but he fought through every obstacle like man on a mission. I hope he has many great years left in him.

So the Chiefs continue to clear cap space. Is it going to be enough to reload behind a young QB?

Edit: From the KC Star today:

Four of Derrick Johnson’s biggest hits with the Chiefs

And that first one still pisses me off, the forward progress sack in the playoff loss to the Titans.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Seabass was never a good kicker and would have been cut years ago if not for the fact he was a first-round pick.

I wouldn't say he was never a good kicker, he just was never more than merely "good". He was an adequate starter with strong enough leg to attempt long kicks. He was good enough that he wasn't really worth replacing.

Also, give the guy credit: he had to do a lot of his kicking from that goddamn infield dirt.

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Seabass was never a good kicker and would have been cut years ago if not for the fact he was a first-round pick.

I wouldn't say he was never a good kicker, he just was never more than merely "good". He was an adequate starter with strong enough leg to attempt long kicks. He was good enough that he wasn't really worth replacing.

Also, give the guy credit: he had to do a lot of his kicking from that goddamn infield dirt.

Dude had a monster leg and while he didn't ever seem to join in on the 90%+ revolution we expect from kickers now, he was never terrible. He was better than Morten Anderson...

He was great in FF and years ago that leg was worth something on kickoffs, but no longer necessary!

Jayhawker wrote:

And that first one still pisses me off, the forward progress sack in the playoff loss to the Titans.

Wow. Somehow I missed that when it happened. What kind of bullsh*t is that call?

Abu5217 wrote:
Jayhawker wrote:

And that first one still pisses me off, the forward progress sack in the playoff loss to the Titans.

Wow. Somehow I missed that when it happened. What kind of bullsh*t is that call?

*blink* Horrible call.

-BEP

garion333 wrote:
*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Seabass was never a good kicker and would have been cut years ago if not for the fact he was a first-round pick.

I wouldn't say he was never a good kicker, he just was never more than merely "good". He was an adequate starter with strong enough leg to attempt long kicks. He was good enough that he wasn't really worth replacing.

Also, give the guy credit: he had to do a lot of his kicking from that goddamn infield dirt.

Dude had a monster leg and while he didn't ever seem to join in on the 90%+ revolution we expect from kickers now, he was never terrible. He was better than Morten Anderson...

He was great in FF and years ago that leg was worth something on kickoffs, but no longer necessary!

He wasn't terrible, but he wasn't good. He was basically an average kicker over his career, and it's not like he was extra-accurate on shorter kicks. Compare him to Matt Bryant, who's been in the league two fewer years. Janikowski is allegedly the "big leg" guy, and he's 55/100 on 50+ yard kicks (woooo easy math). Matt Bryant? 34/51. Ryan Longwell's around the same time frame and obviously spent a bunch of time kicking outdoors in winter. He's 24/39.

I don't know where to look for home/away splits for kicking (I'm sure it's there, I just don't care), so can't verify how much that infield caused problems, but my largely anecdotal memories always tend to think of places like Pittsburgh being tough to kick in because the wind swirled and the turf sucked. I don't recall anyone ever really harping about how Oakland was an incredibly difficult place to kick. Janikowski just wasn't very good. My take is the reason people think of him as a good kicker is he's memorable, because:

1. He's fat, and therefore funny.
2. He was a first round pick, so everybody knows who he is.
3. He was the only memorable player on the Raiders for years, when they sucked.
4. Because they sucked, he got comically terrible FG attempts, because why not?
5. He stuck around forever, because he was a first round pick, and "sunk cost" is a difficult concept.

That's about it. I don't think he was terrible. I just don't think he was good. If he was a UDFA, he'd have had competition in camp years ago and would have been replaced. He's the literal example of "we drafted him high, so we should keep him".

Goddamn it I miss the days when I didn't know so much about kicking stats.

You're dinging the guy who had a big leg for attempting a lot of long FGs? Seems an odd way to look at things.

garion333 wrote:

You're dinging the guy who had a big leg for attempting a lot of long FGs? Seems an odd way to look at things.

Seems clear he's comparing 55% to 67% to 62% not the number of attempts.

-BEP

bepnewt wrote:
garion333 wrote:

You're dinging the guy who had a big leg for attempting a lot of long FGs? Seems an odd way to look at things.

Seems clear he's comparing 55% to 67% to 62% not the number of attempts.

-BEP

I get that, but at the same time, the guy with the big leg was given a ton of extra attempts at 50+ FGs.

It's like saying Blake Bortles has missed less 50+ FG kicks than Janikowski.

Edit: Okay, let's run some numbers here. First is overall FG%, second is Field Goal % without 50+ kicks

Janikowski: 80.4% FG; 86.5% FG-50
Bryant: 85.8% FG; 88.4% FG-50
Longwell: 83.2% FG; 85.3% FG-50
Anderson: 79.7% FG; 84% FG-50
Stover: 83.7% FG; 86.3% FG-50
Vinatieri: 84.3% FG; 86.4% FG-50

I think that Vinatieri comparison is a good one for Janikowski. When not kicking 50 yarders, Janikowski was as good as Vinatieri.

Don't get me wrong, Janikowski had some sh*t years and clearly was kept in Oakland because of his draft stock and because he's a legend. For a decade, Janikowski was the team.

Legitimate question (I'm sh*t at looking up stats), how many of those 50+ attempts are 60+? I remember a lot of "f*ck it, lets see what he can do" kicks at the end of the half.

I would be interested in seeing splits on those 50+ numbers. 50-52, 53-55, 56-60, 60+.

There is a huge difference between a 50 yard FG and a 57 yard FG. If Seabass is 30/40 on low 50s and 25/60 on long 56+, that's not bad. Especially if the others are something like 23/34 and 1/5.