2012 NFL Offseason Thread

Todd Haley has replaced Bruce Arians as Steelers offensive coordinator. I'm sure women's advocate groups everywhere will rejoice knowing that Roethlisberger will probably become more aggressive than he already is as a result.

While Eli may not be a Hall of Famer yet, is there a better 4th quarterback in the NFL right now? I'm inclined to say no, and I've been something of an Eli hater up until last season.

 

Hell - I'll say it, just because the firestorm will be fun:

While he's got a long way to go to even come close to equaling the incredible football mind, Eli is a better quarterback than Peyton in his prime, particularly when it matters. He isn't saddled with the same ego, the same passion to be the one responsible for the win, and as a result he's far better under pressure.

Peyton's intelligence for the game may never be matched, but if I'm in a playoff game, down six on my own 20 with 2 minutes to go, I'll take Eli over Peyton in his prime.

 

He didn't just wear a HOODIE. He wore a PEBBLE BEACH NATIONAL PRO-AM HOODIE. With the sleeves cut off of course. I could not love him more if I tried. I love him more than I love my parents.

RANDY MOSS IS COMING BACK! Its obvious we need him back on the Patriots.

 

College basketball is getting pretty good.

I'd settle for a goddamn defense. There's only so much you can do with the Sterling Moores of the world, even if you're Billy B.

 

Defense has to come in through the draft. We're unfortunately not going to be able to trade for it, because the Patriots only seems to trade for picks and they have quite a few. Maybe BB will actually get someone out the first round since the new CBA, bad rookie picks won't submarine them. *Crosses fingers.*

Hilarious how Chris Carter got on national TV and said "Randy Moss has a lot of quit in him."

 

I actually feel really bad for the guy, and I never even liked him. I mean, as bad as one can ever feel for a successful multi millionaire who's revered as royalty in two entire regions of the country.
Obviously it's not about the money, he never has to want for money for the rest of his life - but the guy is among the best to ever play the position, definitely still had things to prove (and IMprove!), and clearly has a deep love for the game. And he's what? About to turn 36?

And he's desperately trying to rehab his body so that playing another game doesn't directly threaten his life. That's gotta suck.

 

I can't believe I'm saying this...but...

I agree with Ballsack.

 

I don't think Eli Manning is elite and I don't think he belongs in the hall of fame no matter how many more super bowls the giants win. He's a clutch player, but he plays to the level of his team, and both his titles have more to do with the defense stepping up huge in the post season.

He's totally done. I wonder if he'll be able to retire. If he could have stayed healthy he might have broken Favre's records.

 

This is a painful realization. Yeah, others won more super bowls but I really can't argue that he isn't the most talented quarterback to ever take the field. Coming from a New England fan that is saying something.

Here's to the unrealistic hope that he recovers and comes back....

 

Things are going to get interesting in Denver this offseason. Yesterday it came out that Brady Quinn bashed Tim Tebow in GQ and then apologized for his comments. While I don't agree with what Quinn did, his comments were certainly dead on. John Fox has said that he's going to bring in two more quarterbacks but could it now be three? He's an unrestricted free agent, will Denver bring him back?

 

I don't think he was ever coming back. Word locally has been that he wants at least a chance to start somewhere and that's not going to be in Denver. I would like for them to sign say Dennis Dixon and draft Russel Wilson (if he can be had in the 4th/5th round) and just go all in on Tebow for at least another season. But you never really know what Elway and Fox are really doing.

 

Brady Quinn is going to be Clipboard Jesus for the rest of his career, and therefore irrelevant. As far as Tebow goes, he's getting help with his mechanics, but Christ himself couldn't get him to throw a tight spiral. Until he does, he's facing 9 men in the box and will be a grease spot come week 6.

 

Manning rarely came through when it really mattered. Can't be the best with that as part of your legacy.

 

I like that guys like that would at least keep them from being completely screwed if Tebow gets hurt in the middle of a game. That offense might have played well to Tebow's strengths, but Quinn wasn't going to be running the option if he got in, so Denver was one concussion away from either a gutted playbook or plays the first-teamers probably hadn't practiced in months.

Also, I think that the Rockies still have Wilson's baseball rights, which is neat.

 

Denver has to stick with Tebow for now. As much as he sucks, they did finally make the playoffs and there's nothing else to do at this time unless a QB falls to you in the draft that you never thought could go that far. I think we'll probably see Quinn play next season if he stays with Denver, but they can't bench him, or cut him right now. And let's not forget about the fan base who believes he's 'just always going to deliver'.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Finley is a good player, but tight end was not the problem last year. This is probably way too much money.

Speaking about QBs, we all know Luck is going to the colts. Griffin is the next best prospect.

 

I disagree about Finley. They need to keep as many weapons around Rodgers as possible, because their defense was terrible last year, and it likely won't get much better next year. Green Bay's best best is to build defense through the draft, which will take a good two or three years. This will keep their Superbowl window open for years to come if they do it right. Once the offense starts to falter and they start losing a lot of pieces to free agency, injury, or just getting old (I'm looking at you, Donald Driver), hopefully their defense will have come around and will be good again, and they can pick up some of the slack.

Of course, as a Bears fan, I'm actually hoping they take the Colts route and end up dead as a doornail if Rodgers goes out for some reason.

As for Denver, no way they go away from Tebow. I still maintain that Tebow will start the entire season next year, no matter how bad he or the Broncos do. Tebow's fanbase will not allow him to be benched, and they're way to vocal and way to powerful in Denver right now. If the Broncos start to lose, look for the majority of Denver fans to blame absolutely everyone except Tebow. It will be the defense's fault for not being as good as they were in 2011, or it will be John Fox's fault for poor planning and play calling, or it will be because Tebow doesn't have anyone to throw to, or maybe lack of a running game or a bad offensive line, but rest assured, if the Broncos falter next year, it will NOT be Tebow's fault in the eyes of the fanbase.

I honestly think it will take nothing less than two consecutive seasons of losing 10+ games for them to consider pulling Tebow, and even then, it will be more of a "Quarterback Controversy' in training camp than actually taking solid action and yanking Tebow.

Winning with a bad QB is the worst possible thing to happen to a franchise in the long run, because benching a winning QB is almost unheard of, even if he is playing awful. More than that, in the end, shitty QBs only win Superbowls once in a blue moon. Want a good example? Take a look at the Jets. Sanchez is not good. I'd venture to say that most other QBs in the NFL could've led that Jets team to the playoffs, but Sanchez just isn't good enough. They were winning earlier, though, so Sanchez kept his job. Had they improved at the QB position earlier, they might be in a much better position now. Instead, they're stuck with Sanchez for at least another year, and it would not surprise me if Sanchez gets benched before the 2012 season ends. It will have taken them two years to recognize and address their biggest flaw, because it is so hard to bench a winning QB. Tebow is just an example of this taken to the extreme. The biggest difference between Tebow and Sanchez (besides the obvious of having completely different styles) is that Tebow hasn't has the time to develop that Sanchez has had.

Maybe Tebow will turn into an amazing NFL QB, but I highly doubt it, and while the short term was/is fun for them, in the long run, it is going to hurt the Broncos.

 

Of course, as a Bears fan, I'm actually hoping they take the Colts route and end up dead as a doornail if Rodgers goes out for some reason.

Green Bay doesn't need a great tight end, they need help on the defensive line, and they need line backers other than Matthews who can play to the flexibility of a 3-4 and get at the QB. I love Ted Thompson, but this is one of those times I wished he would take a stab at free agency rather than just going to the draft. They were afraid Finley would walk, and Finley is one of those guys who bitches about not getting the ball enough. I just hate the idea of signing him to a short expensive contract when there are more important needs elsewhere. Nelson and Jennings can be our young receiving talent. I don't mind giving having lower options if that's what it takes since Rodgers is really fucking good.

Maybe John Elways wants this. Tebow will run away from a defender he barely saw coming and then throw a terrible pass to a covered receiver. I've seen flies rubbing their wings together in a pile of shit that had more awareness than Tebow.

 

With Jermichael Finley locked up through 2013, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel expects the Packers to use their franchise tag on free agent Matt Flynn.
It would be a highly aggressive and fairly risky maneuver, but the Packers can pull it off by staying $14.5 million under the salary cap. That's the franchise tag number for quarterbacks, and Green Bay must be there by March 13. The idea would be to get compensation for Flynn rather than letting him hit the unrestricted free agent market with nothing in return. GM Ted Thompson would have to feel comfortable that Flynn can generate enough interest to command a draft choice, and attract a team willing to sign him long term.

That sound you heard this morning was Dolphins Fans collectively shitting their pants.

I am not sold on Manning OR Flynn, but I'd like to have at least 1 to pick from. The Dolphins can afford to overpay for Flynn, but not give up a bunch of draft picks. His sample size in the NFl is too small.

The advantage they have over all other teams is that his former OC is now the Fins Head Coach. I am not as interested in Philbin's praise as I am his criticism. Everybody expects the Dolphins to go after Flynn, but if they don't because of Philbin's knowledge, that will speak volumes. Same with Tannehill and Sherman. If either Phiblin or Sherman are iffy on their former QB's, then move on and pick another option.