NFL 2011 Week 6

*Legion* wrote:

I don't envy anyone starting Charlie Johnson at left tackle, though. His struggles were a constant annoyance for Peyton Manning. Lesser QBs would have just been are being devoured.

FTFY.

The bad blood between Harbaugh and Schwartz may extend all the way back to March, according to John Harbaugh.

No fines for either coach and that's a big mistake on the NFL's part.

I am happy they didn't fine them. They go too far trying to control every little behavior.

Matt Moore vs. Mark Sanchez. A BATTLE OF TITANIC TITANIFYING TITANS, NO, NOT THAT TEAM FROM TENNESSEE, THE OTHER KIND OF TITANS!!!!!!!!

This game is going to be horrible, and likely not in the Jets-Ravens "entertainingly horrible" way.

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

This game is going to be horrible, and likely not in the Jets-Ravens "entertainingly horrible" way.

The Revis pick 600 was pretty fun. Other than that, yeah, horrible. Boy, Sanchez seems to be going backwards.

*Legion* wrote:

Blaine Gabbert's going through the same thing in Jacksonville ... It's rough for him too, but you see the development week to week, even when the development is things like, "he stopped fumbling snaps."

Boy, that kid is a phenom. It's Week 6, and he already has stopped fumbling snaps!

When do you raise the bar to "complete more than 50 percent of your passes"? Week 12?

Enix wrote:

When do you raise the bar to "complete more than 50 percent of your passes"?

The first game someone on the team proves able to catch balls that hit them in the hands.

He's thrown a TD in each of the past 4 games (hey, that's already more than your boy Clausen threw in an entire season) and only 2 INTs, none in the past 2 weeks. But completion percentage won't move very far if no one can hold onto a pass.

The offensive line is a miserable wreck and the receivers can't hold onto anything. Yet the rookie QB is poised and not turning the ball over.

Rat Boy wrote:

The bad blood between Harbaugh and Schwartz may extend all the way back to March, according to John Harbaugh.

I like Harbaugh more and more now. He should have told him he was going to bang Schwartz's mother when he gets home, and I would have became a 49ers' fan.

Fresno-born Carson Palmer is now a Raaaaaaaaaaaaaider.

Cincinnati gets Oakland's 1st round pick in 2012 and a conditional 1st rounder in 2013.

Oakland can now skip two entire days of the 2012 NFL draft, having gotten rid of all of their selections through round 4.

Potentially two first-round picks for an aging first-overall-pick-Heisman-winning QB who has shown signs of decline in recent years?

Are we sure Al Davis is dead?

MilkmanDanimal wrote:

Are we sure Al Davis is dead?

He's dead.... dead like Obi-Wan.

IMAGE(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-diJnoQfMFjM/TcHWy1XwePI/AAAAAAAAADw/-UsfkZWk6K4/s1600/obi+wan.png)

One must assume they think they have a team that can win.

That said, two first rounders is insane. Palmer hasn't been that good in years.

*Legion* wrote:

Fresno-born Carson Palmer is now a Raaaaaaaaaaaaaider.

For a first rounder in 12 and 13. Ouch.

My question is, if they liked Carson Palmer so damn much, why did it require an injury to Jason Campbell before they were willing to start throwing first round picks around?

The answer, dear friends, is that the Oakland Raiders are a winning team, and they don't know what to do. They're like that crazy aunt who blows up her life every time something starts working.

Don't worry, Oakland. The lack of incoming talent from giving away all your draft picks will take care of that pesky winning issue.

wow.....

Mind boggling. They let Gradkowski go when he looked half decent replacing Campbell.... who's an injury bag. Which left them going into this season with Kyle Boller as the backup to Campbell... the injury bag. Kudos to Cincy for seemingly move out of the dysfunctional franchise bracket. Dalton and Greene look great as part of the rebuilding project and they might have just turned Palmer who was pretty much a dead asset IMO into two first rounds? 0_o

I cannot even begin to express how stupid this trade is.

I wouldn't have given up a conditional first round pick for Palmer, let alone two.

That said, he'll be coming into a place where there's a good ground game and a bunch of talent at the receiver position. I probably would've preferred to throw to AJ Green over any of the Raiders' receivers, but they've got a good bunch of young receivers.

Here's something I haven't seen mentioned: Hue Jackson was the Bengals' receiver coach from 2004-2006 (ie. a time when Palmer was actually good), so this probably plays a role.

*Legion* wrote:

Fresno-born Carson Palmer is now a Raaaaaaaaaaaaaider.

Cincinnati gets Oakland's 1st round pick in 2012 and a conditional 1st rounder in 2013.

Oakland can now skip two entire days of the 2012 NFL draft, having gotten rid of all of their selections through round 4.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU....

No way I'm rooting for ANYONE from USC.. Nevernevernevernevernever....

New thread, now with funny picture to caption.

I'm trying to grasp how the Bengals managed to create enough demand around a QB that had no leverage and to a situation that thanks to Dalton again had no leverage to TWO! not just one! but TWO first round picks.. then I looked and saw it was the Raiders and it made perfect sense.

Not sure this is Herschel Walker bad.. but anything less than a SuperBowl appearance and it might crawl up into near that.

TheGameguru wrote:

I'm trying to grasp how the Bengals managed to create enough demand around a QB that had no leverage and to a situation that thanks to Dalton again had no leverage to TWO! not just one! but TWO first round picks.. then I looked and saw it was the Raiders and it made perfect sense.

Not sure this is Herschel Walker bad.. but anything less than a SuperBowl appearance and it might crawl up into near that.

For perspective as to how bad this is, we have to acknowledge that the league now has a rookie wage scale, making 1st round picks a WHOLE lot cheaper. The financial strain that they used to represent (particularly in the top 10, but it was creeping into the top 15) is flat out gone. Sam Bradford signed for $40 million guaranteed. One year later, Cam Newton got $22 million guaranteed. That's how sharply the rookie scale changed the cost of rookies, overnight, and the growth rate going forward will be controlled and not repeat the crazy growth pattern of the '00 decade.

High 1st round picks are no longer burdens. They're back to being treasure.

Very true.. completely forgot about that aspect of that... you basically have one and half years between this and the other trades they made of top tier talent infusion gone! vanish! kaput!... with the average productive career of your NFL player being 4.5 years or something like that.. wtg Oakland.

Maybe they can hire Andy Reid away from us.

TheGameguru wrote:

Very true.. completely forgot about that aspect of that... you basically have one and half years between this and the other trades they made of top tier talent infusion gone! vanish! kaput!... with the average productive career of your NFL player being 4.5 years or something like that.. wtg Oakland.

Maybe they can hire Andy Reid away from us.

They would have to offer some picks for compensation, though. Right?

From what I read Oakland is expecting to get a bunch of comp picks in the draft because they lost so many free agents. Not sure how the NFL figures out what round they will be though.

LeapingGnome wrote:

From what I read Oakland is expecting to get a bunch of comp picks in the draft because they lost so many free agents. Not sure how the NFL figures out what round they will be though.

They're primarily based on the new salary of the departing player, though other factors like playing time also get considered.

Compensatory picks go no higher than the 3rd round, and those aren't particularly plentiful - there was only one 3rd round compensatory pick last year.

The majority of compensatory picks are 6th and 7th round selections. Though for the Raiders, Nnamdi Asomugha is a sure fire 3rd round compensatory pick. Zach Miller is probably a 3rd or 4th. Robert Gallery a 4th or 5th.

Lucky for them, the acquiring they've done by trading (Curry, Palmer) won't count against them in compensatory picks the way signed free agents do.

Are ... are you suggesting that the Raiders are gaming the system in a smart way? If so, awesome.

garion333 wrote:

Are ... are you suggesting that the Raiders are gaming the system in a smart way? If so, awesome.

Oh no, I don't think the compensatory picks will make up for what they gave up to get Palmer.

If the Raiders had kept those picks, and not spent their 3rd round pick on Terrelle Pryor in the expansion draft, then they would be sitting a whole lot better. (I'm OK with giving up the 5th for Aaron Curry).