The 2015-16 'OFF SEASON' NFL Happenings Thread

[Guiness]

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 2h2 hours ago
The numbers that matter most on Norman deal: $15M signing bonus alone eclipses the $14M franchise tag. He'll make $20M total in '16. Wow

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 2h2 hours ago
Should amount to a 3-year, $51M deal for Josh Norman, with $36.5M fully guar at signing (by '18 he's over 30). That's Revis cheddar, folks.

Jason La Canfora @JasonLaCanfora 2h2 hours ago
So the Caps have yet again wasted a chance to close out series quickly against inferior opponent. Shocker

If I was a 'skins fan, I'd be pulling my hair out over this deal. Remember DeAngelo Hall's stay in Oakland? Might not be that bad, but it will be in the neighbourhood.

[Patler]

Carolina was smart to let him go. He's not that good.

As recently as 2014 he lost the starting spot due to performance. To be fair to him, it might just be from an inexperienced player learning the game, but there is no proof yet that 2015 is anything more than a career year, never to be repeated. He could be sort of a one year wonder. Couple that with the several reports that his personality grates on a lot of teammates, to the point that he can be a distraction in the locker room, and the Redskin's commitment to him looks like a bad idea.

[esoxx]

Will be interesting to watch him resume his battle with Odell Beckham, now twice a year.

[Upnorth]

Will be interesting to watch him resume his battle with Odell Beckham, now twice a year.

I wonder how many times that will be mentioned the week leading up to there first game against each other

[Guiness]

I wonder how many times that will be mentioned the week leading up to there first game against each other

Considering I've already seen it about 10 time between here and news articles announcing the signing, I'm guessing it will be far, far too many.

Maybe not as often as I heard 'Aaron Rodgers hasn't thrown an interception in Lambeau dating back to x, that's y passes without a pick' but close!

[esoxx]

Ya, I'm not interested in the hype lead up either, just watching the match-up.

The league needs more blood fueds.

[BZnDallas]

The problem I see with these massive trades for a QB in the draft are two fold:

- there is a significant risk the guy fails completely, or is OK but not special. He doesn't carry your team like a Rodgers or Brady can.
- even if he is special, it will be 3 or 4 years generally before he really hits his stride. Any legitimate stars on the team when he was drafted will be starting to reach the second halves of their careers and there are no other 1st, 2nd or 3rd round picks in the most recent years to become the dominant players on their teams. For example, If GB had made a similar trade to get Rodgers, they would not have had the picks used for Collins and Hawk. Would they have won a SB in 2010 without Collins or Hawk? Look what happened when they lost Collins and Hawk declined prematurely. We saw the defense deteriorate significantly. They struggled for three years to replace Collins, and strung along with Hawk. The defense suffered. That shows what not having those picks would have caused even in 2010.

How much more successful might have the Packers been if just Collins career hadn't ended when it did? Might he have made a difference in some of the playoff losses?

Even if you get an elite QB, trading so many other opportunities for decent players almost ensures that the QB's supporting cast will be weak when he hits his prime.

Nick Collins in place of Burnett picks Kapernuts in the flat and takes it to the house if that playoff game with minutes remaining even unfolds the same. NC's speed probably changes a lot about how we lost to SF those years. I would say that was a very underrated loss in the lore of the GBP.

[Patler]

Nick Collins in place of Burnett picks Kapernuts in the flat and takes it to the house if that playoff game with minutes remaining even unfolds the same. NC's speed probably changes a lot about how we lost to SF those years. I would say that was a very underrated loss in the lore of the GBP.

I have to agree. Collins was just being recognized as among the few who were the very best in the league, the small group of safeties that stood out from the other good ones, and he had elite playing speed to boot. He seemed to have another gear he could access when chasing down a player from a distance.

[mraynrand]

Ya, I'm not interested in the hype lead up either, just watching the match-up.

The league needs more blood fueds.

How about a blood Fuad?

[Carolina_Packer]

Why not keep him on the franchise deal for a year and try to trade him for something in season? I guess he could be a locker room cancer on a lame duck deal.

Ish, not that it matters now, but apparently Norman wouldn't sign the tender. Obviously, he was trying to leverage his last seasons performance to a big money deal, which he eventually got after being shown the door. I'm sure that took some stones as a GM. They felt like they had enough in their pipeline, plus if they found one Josh Norman, perhaps they can find another. Personally, I want other NFC teams to commit a lot of cap dollars to one player like this. That ties up their cap and weakens their flexibility. They didn't take the bait, though.

[Carolina_Packer]

The Sam Bradford demanding a trade is an interesting development. I just read an interesting article about that: http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2016/4/2...gles-nfl-draft

I think Bradford and Condon are overplaying their hand. I recently heard a former NFL player say the only year that the team wasn't trying to replace him (or at least create competition to replace him) was the year he was drafted. That's a funny, if not true statement about the NFL. Why would Bradford think it's any different for him, or that he should be entitled to any kind of security when his career to this point has been either riddled with injury or average to below average QB play? Granted, the situations are somewhat different, but Drew Brees seemed to handle the Chargers bringing in Phillip Rivers better than Bradford is handling his current situation with the Eagles. Granted, Brees was entering the last season of his rookie deal, and Bradford is a "middle-aged" QB, but the point is, go out on the field and prove your worth and let the chips fall where they may. Make it hard for them to play the rookie.

Given Bradford's meh career, somewhat due to injuries, somewhat due to his level of play, I think he's in no position to dictate any terms, and if his agent agrees with Sam's approach, then he better have a landing spot for him where they will take on his big money contract.

[George Cumby]

It's so weird. He signs this huge contract and now wants out?

How millennial.

[pbmax]

Its called leverage. The Eagles are drafting his replacement and they aren't going to keep Bradford around at that price to backup.

Even the backstory the Eagles are putting out there gives Bradford one year as the starter. If he waits, he gets dumped and loses much of the current contract.

He pitches a fit now, when there is no clear alternative, he can restructure that deal OR get a new one. Its all about contract certainty and Bradford's contract is now not certain past one year. Its probably not even assured this year. Not many Top 5 QBs end up not starting for the team that drafts them in Year 1.

Its not millennial, its risk management. The third oldest profession.

[Fritz]

Hell, if he's got one year as a starter, then if he makes it a good one he'll clean up the following year when they trade him.

[esoxx]

Diva