Official 2015 NFL News and Notes for Offseason Non FA Non Draft

[Freak Out]

I loved watching the Browns then....very good team that always fell short. Oh how we all remember the fumble.

[pbmax]

One of the best games was versus the Bears in the 86 opener I think. First year of Instant Replay, and after the Bears SB win if I remember it correctly. Kosar at this point, not Sipe.

Browns had a respectable year in 85, going 8-8, which was a substantial improvement from the previous year.

Was in college and every Bears fan was ready for a repeat of 85. Browns scored on them like nobody's business. Just for good measure, got the benefit of a very shaky instant replay call (might have been the first one ever) in which the refs called NOTHING on the field, actually ceding the call to the booth.

But somehow the Bears found an Offense that day and the Browns D was left back in Berea. Despite scaring the bejesus out of Bears fans everywhere, Browns lost in Chicago 41-31. Was a good omen for a 12-4 season.

[pbmax]

Bill Arnsparger passed away at 88. But here is one version of how he helped birth the zone blitz in the NFL. Doesn't answer the obvious, who thought of this (or from whom did they steal) at LSU?

Peter King: http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/20/nfl-tr...ng-schedule/5/

1. I think the football world lost a valuable person Friday with the death of Bill Arnsparger at 88. Arnsparger was the defensive mastermind of the unbeaten Dolphins team in 1972, and the father of the Zone Blitz. (Heck of a résumé, even if those are the only two things he ever did. And they’re not.) But I’ve always been fascinated by Arnsparger’s role with the Zone Blitz. In 1984, the Bengals had an imaginative rookie head coach, Sam Wyche, and an imaginative first-year defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau. In those days—and still today, for the most part—the Bengals used their coaches as scouts for the draft. In 1984, the Bengals had three first-round draft picks, and the assistants were beating the bushes to see every prime prospect in America. So LeBeau journeyed to LSU to scout a meager crop of Tigers that spring, and spent an afternoon with LSU defensive boss Arnsparger. At the time, who could blame LeBeau for simply inheriting a good defense—the ’83 Bengals allowed a league-beat 270.4 yards a game, 23 yards fewer than the number two Saints—and being a caretaker. But he didn’t. That day in Baton Rouge, LeBeau looked at lots of things LSU was doing that the NFL wasn’t. Namely, dropping defensive linemen and linebackers into shallow zones, covering mostly backs and tight ends on wheel routes and shallow crosses, while unexpectedly blitzing corners or safeties off the edges. When LeBeau left campus and flew on to his next stop, he took a napkin on his Delta flight and began doodling X’s and O’s, imagining dropping traditional but athletic defensive ends Eddie Edwards and Ross Browner into coverage, while letting his defensive backs apply pressure. A few years ago, talking to LeBeau about it, I recall him telling me, “I owe a lot of credit to Bill Arnsparger. He really taught me a lot about the scheme.” Think of the Zone Blitz’s effect on football, and you’ve got to think of Arnsparger’s last effect too. He’ll be missed.

[pbmax]

Bad Contract Team, 2015

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nfls-all-bad-contracts-team/?ex_cid=story-twitter

Jared Allen lines up at DE.

[MadScientist]

Bad Contract Team, 2015

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-nfls-all-bad-contracts-team/?ex_cid=story-twitter

Jared Allen lines up at DE.

Best thing about that list is that there are no Packers on it. A corollary to this would be the worst contract(s) for each team. Not sure who would be it for the Packers.

[pbmax]

Chancellor and Bennett are threatening to hold out od Seattle's camp if they don't get more money.

http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/07/29/seattle-seahawks-kam-chancellor-contract-training-camp-hold-out

[hoosier]

One of the best games was versus the Bears in the 86 opener I think. First year of Instant Replay, and after the Bears SB win if I remember it correctly. Kosar at this point, not Sipe.

Browns had a respectable year in 85, going 8-8, which was a substantial improvement from the previous year.

Was in college and every Bears fan was ready for a repeat of 85. Browns scored on them like nobody's business. Just for good measure, got the benefit of a very shaky instant replay call (might have been the first one ever) in which the refs called NOTHING on the field, actually ceding the call to the booth.

But somehow the Bears found an Offense that day and the Browns D was left back in Berea. Despite scaring the bejesus out of Bears fans everywhere, Browns lost in Chicago 41-31. Was a good omen for a 12-4 season.

The '85 Browns were dangerous with their two-headed monster in the backfield. They almost beat a 12-4 team (Dolphins) in the divisional round. And of course that gets me thinking about what would happen to them in each of the next two years. And that in turn makes me realize that the Browns lost championship games three times in one decade. Or was the loss to the Raiders a divisional game? It gets a little easier to stomach what happened last January when you think about what Browns fans have gone through....

[pbmax]

It was the best of times, soon to be the worst of times.

[pbmax]

Roger Goodell's NFL Punishment Generator: http://deadspin.com/taste-roger-good...ene-1720846778

[pbmax]

How did I miss this Bears joke?

You might also remember that the Bears OC last season was Aaron Kromer, who was caught anonymously shit-talking Jay Cutler to the NFL Network, and then had to tearfully apologize to the team after the fact. Kyle Shanahan laughs at your inability to leak things discreetly, Kromer. Since being jettisoned, Kromer has been arrested for allegedly punching a boy over the use of lawn chairs. Those are, presumably, the same lawn chairs that Chicago used to protect its quarterbacks last season.

Why Your Team Sucks: Chicago Bears

[pbmax]

QBR gets a remake, and gets much better in the process. ESPN hired the guy (Advanced NFL Stats creator Brian Burke) whose work the original QBR was based on (EPA - expected points added). He has apparently been at work throwing out the clutch factor and the tilt toward the final result since he got there.

Football Perspective @fbgchase 25m25 minutes ago Queens, NY
With three changes, ESPN's QBR has shifted more towards a stat to measure how good a QB is and away from QBQWinz http://www.footballperspective.com/e...ated-for-2015/ …

EDIT: Not sure how much Burke was involved here. ESPN is still using subjective measures to fiddle with QBR, for instance, they are now adjusting for pressure on the QB during the play.

[Bossman641]

Eric Berry returning to practice Wednesday was fantastic. As someone who has seen family members go through chemo, I cannot fathom how he kept working out through the whole thing.

[pbmax]

Field Yates @FieldYates 3h3 hours ago Southington, CT
Have Tweeted before, but worth mentioning w/football back: Browns OT Joe Thomas has played every single snap in his career: 8,196 & counting

IF ONLY WE HAD TRADED FINLEY TO CLEVELAND FOR HIM AND A 3RD ROUND PICK

[pbmax]

ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk 2m2 minutes ago
Broncos' Kyle Williams out for season with torn Achilles http://wp.me/p14QSB-9OBu

Should have had more protein snacks at practice.

[smuggler]

IF ONLY WE HAD TRADED FINLEY TO CLEVELAND FOR HIM AND A 3RD ROUND PICK

Was this an option??