NFL 2018 Offseason Thread

*Legion* wrote:

Niners send a 7th to the Browns for Shon Coleman, who clearly did not win the job of Joe Thomas Replacement.

Spoilers! I haven't finished catching up with Hard Knocks yet.

*Legion* wrote:

Niners send a 7th to the Browns for Shon Coleman, who clearly did not win the job of Joe Thomas Replacement.

He's gotta be happy as sh*t.

Looks like RG3 made the cut and Breshad Perriman did not. I didn't see them keeping Perriman after his really awful effort this preseason. He really was just phoning it in.

Corey Coleman was cut by the Bills (aka thinnest receiving corps on the planet).

Anyone have any good sources for full season game by game lines? I'm trying to build an analytics model for a Survivor Pool using lines (as they're a pretty good predictor of wins)

Aguayo was cut. Boo!

Oh boy.

* Raiders trade Khalil Mack to the Bears, who one-up Aaron Donald's contract with an extension.
* Niners lose Jerick McKinnon to an ACL tear in non-contact practice.
* Raiders trade for AJ McCarron, cut Connor Cook and EJ Manuel.
* Raiders cut loose Martavis Bryant after having sent a 3rd round pick to the Steelers for him. Bryant, surprise, facing another drug suspension

Very unhappy about Jet, who was in line to get fed a sh*tload of passes out of the backfield in that offense.

The Raiders are perfect for Las Vegas.

It's hard to believe Jon Gruden, who had a history of shunning players he hadn't drafted and frequently got rid of veterans, is shunning players he hasn't drafted and is getting rid of veterans. Who could have seen this coming?

Good gawd the Bears have up two 1st round picks for Mack. They get a 2nd round pick back but also shipped out a 3rd round pick.

I'll give it to Ryan Pace, he isn't afraid to go after what he wants.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

It's hard to believe Jon Gruden, who had a history of shunning players he hadn't drafted and frequently got rid of veterans, is shunning players he hasn't drafted and is getting rid of veterans. Who could have seen this coming?

Want some more to chew on? Raiders are currently next to last (Colts) in cap money dedicated to defense. 2nd highest in offensive spending, despite not being in the top 5 at any one given position (6th at QB). And they're only beat out for the top offensive spending spot because the Niners so heavily front-loaded the Garoppolo deal, putting damn near all his guaranteed money against this year's cap.

They're also 7th in available cap space, and could have easily fit the cap number Mack has in Chicago under the cap this year.

With all the rules changes, more than a few folks are wondering if spending on defense is worth it at all.

*Legion* wrote:
MilkmanDanimal wrote:

It's hard to believe Jon Gruden, who had a history of shunning players he hadn't drafted and frequently got rid of veterans, is shunning players he hasn't drafted and is getting rid of veterans. Who could have seen this coming?

Want some more to chew on? Raiders are currently next to last (Colts) in cap money dedicated to defense. 2nd highest in offensive spending, despite not being in the top 5 at any one given position (6th at QB). And they're only beat out for the top offensive spending spot because the Niners so heavily front-loaded the Garoppolo deal, putting damn near all his guaranteed money against this year's cap.

They're also 7th in available cap space, and could have easily fit the cap number Mack has in Chicago under the cap this year.

Yeah, I don't get it. Their defense needed him, bad. Where is that money going to go in the next couple of years? Amari Cooper will need to be resigned but I don't see him breaking the bank entirely. He's no OBJ.

Paleocon wrote:

With all the rules changes, more than a few folks are wondering if spending on defense is worth it at all.

Sure, but you can still very much sack the QB. It's probably the most important part now.

garion333 wrote:

Yeah, I don't get it. Their defense needed him, bad. Where is that money going to go in the next couple of years? Amari Cooper will need to be resigned but I don't see him breaking the bank entirely. He's no OBJ.

Agreed, and I was surprised to see their offensive spending is as high as it is, I couldn't figure out why. Carr's deal is a little heavier on the 2018 cap than the rest of its years, but beyond that, where's the money going?

The answer is, to their two $10 million offensive guards, to every Green Bay castoff their can get ($7.3m to Jordy Nelson, $5.7m to Jared Cook), $5.3m for Donald Penn, $4.5m to a 32 year old Marshawn Lynch, $4.5m to Seth Roberts (I'm sorry, what?), $3.3m to a TE named Lee Smith who I've never heard of but apparently has been in the league since 2011 (46 career receptions. $3.3m dollars.)

I've seen a couple of people snipe at Derek Carr's contract after the Raiders made the decision that Mack was too expensive, but they're barking up the wrong tree. The rest of the offense is a head-scratching ledger of spending. Basically, they have no cheap rookies at any spot on their offensive starting lineup. They only have two players starting on offense who are even on rookie deals, and they are both 1st rounders: Amari Cooper, and this year's pick, Kolton Miller.

Sounds like the Raiders being the Raiders. Poppa Al would be proud.

As a Bears fan, I don't know what to think. Having a legit defensive star is great, but that's a lot of money and a lot of pick potential.

Pace is all in on Trubisky, and I just don't believe in a one year starter at a school like UNC. I thought Watson was the clear best pick.

At least I can get a jersey that should hold up better than my orange Cutler jersey *sigh*. At least I didn't feel too bad wearing my Urlacher or Forte ones.

Speaking of jerseys, from now on I'm sticking with only buying ones of guys that have made the HOF. As a Seahawks fan, this also saves me money!

Rat Boy wrote:

The number of racists now claiming they now won’t buy Nike products and the responses are cracking me up.

As if Nike was selling f*cking MAGA shirts. The racists weren't buying anyway.

Darnold will start for the Jets. A move no one saw coming when they traded Teddy.

Top_Shelf wrote:

Speaking of jerseys, from now on I'm sticking with only buying ones of guys that have made the HOF. As a Seahawks fan, this also saves me money!

It won't in a decade.

Today I learned that there is a defensive tackle in the NFL named Brian Price, who is not the same defensive tackle named Brian Price that was a Buccaneers second-round pick from UCLA in 2010.

This *other* Brian Price was an undrafted free agent for the Packers in 2016, was on the Cowboys last year, and was recently claimed by the Raiders after the Cowboys tried to roster shuffle and sneak him through waivers (he missed all preseason with a knee injury).

The first Brian Price, who the Bucs spent a very high 2nd on, never played another down of NFL football after being traded away after his second year on the Bucs. He later played in one game for the Los Angeles Kiss in the Arena league, then disappeared before this *other* Brian Price appeared. Hmm.

kaostheory wrote:

Pace is all in on Trubisky, and I just don't believe in a one year starter at a school like UNC.

But but but Carolina has produced a ton of great quarterbacks! Guys like Bryn Renner and T.J. Yates and Darian Durant and ...

Yeah, I think I see your point.

I'll say this for Trubisky: he hasn't looked terrible.

When I look at Mitch, I don't think I see a bust candidate, but mostly I think I see a guy with a relatively low ceiling. I think he's a guy who is destined to always be about the 17th best starting quarterback in the league.

*Legion* wrote:

Los Angeles Kiss in the Arena league

Sure that's not the Lingerie League?

Speaking of quarterbacks, I think we are in the middle of one of the most interesting explosions of QB talent in a long time.

Obviously, rule changes have helped facilitate this, but the mix of old Hall of Fame caliber QBs hanging on longer than ever before, some interesting draft classes, and a couple project guys getting their chance to be the starters now, makes this one of the most intriguing QB groups in a long time.

You've got the old to older guys, the 33+ crowd: Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, Philip Rivers, Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan. Not much to say on them except that that's already almost 20% of starting QBs right there.

Matt Stafford, Cam Newton, franchise guys with huge arms who would be more exciting if not for the never-ending tenures of the above group.

Andrew Luck returns (?).

Kirk Cousins goes from least respected QB with three straight 4000 yard, 90.0+ QB rating seasons to big money savior in Minnesota.

Jimmy Garoppolo went from a long-term project to now an exciting starter.

Derek Carr and Marcus Mariota, ascending guys that were set back in 2017, but both of whom I think are closer to the player they were before 2017 than the 2017 guy.

Dak Prescott had early success and honestly I think is underrated after the backlash to being overrated because unsustainable level of early success + Cowboys.

And then, these last three draft classes. Jared Goff, Carson Wentz, Mitch Trubisky, Pat Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, and Sam Darnold all starters right now, with Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Josh Rosen, and Lamar Jackson waiting in the wings behind, shall we say, less than permanently entrenched starters. That's 10 starters and probably-soon-to-be starters, nearly 1/3rd of the league.

It's almost easier to list what starting QBs in the league are NOT intriguing.

Eli Manning, Ryan Tannehill, and Andy Dalton are boring.

Alex Smith is still going to be boring on a new team.

Case Keenum is going to be boring right up until he gets out of the way and makes Denver's QB situation the most non-boring one in the league.

Jameis Winston is officially boring now on principle. f*ck that guy.

Blake Bortles, jokes aside, is boring.

Joe Flacco, jokes aside, is boring.

iaintgotnopants wrote:
*Legion* wrote:

Los Angeles Kiss in the Arena league

Sure that's not the Lingerie League?

No they're the Los Angeles Temptation, god don't you know anything?

Just for sh!ts and giggles, I looked up the QBs from 2001, Tom Brady's first full year. In order by QB rating:

Kurt Warner, Rams
Rich Gannon, Raiders
Jeff Garcia, 49ers
Brett Favre, GB
Steve McNair, RIP, Titans
Tom Brady, Pats
Donovan McNabb, Philly
Pumpkinhead Manning, Indy
Chris Chandler, ATL
Mark Brunell, Jax

That's also the season that 19 QBs (including Kordell Stewart, Tim Couch and Elvis Grrrrrrbac) threw for 3,000 yards and No. 20 on the yardage list was Chris Weinke of the 1-5 Carolina Panthers.

I guess my point here is that you take out Warner, Favre, Brady and Manning (four of the most exciting, if not some of the best passers ever) you don't have much in the way of QBs. In terms of excitement, I think I like better this current crop of QBs.

I'm sure some of the new draft class guys will end up boring, but the hit rate of the guys that have played so far (acknowledging small sample size in many cases) has been pretty excellent. Wentz became an MVP candidate, Goff erased The Jeff Fisher Season to now lead a stacked team, and Watson and Mahomes both got their fanbases really excited in their limited showings. Trubisky seems on track to be boring, but we'll see about him and all the new guys.