NFL 2011

[Elfdart]

Oh and there is serious talk about Farve to the Dolphins.

I call bullshit! The only people discussing that are the dickhead fans who booed Henne at the open practice.

Looks like the 49ers' fire sale is going full throttle. They e-mailed the other 31 teams and said Taylor Mays is available.

On the plus side, they just signed Braylon "Butterfingers" Edwards!

[Havok]

Yeah, I saw that about Mays, hence my comment. It seems weird. Harbaugh may be new but Ballke isn't. I wanna hear something from the 49ers on it before I decide anything.
But hey, if the guy is up for trade, he is up for trade, who cares how everyone finds out.

Well, like I said, at least we know he can put a great season together. Haven't seen anything from Crabtree except snide remarks, injuries and selfishness. I mean c'mon, I want T.O.. That has to tell you something about what we got right now.

[Elfdart]

It could simply be a matter of Harbaugh looking over his roster and deciding that +/- 6-10 was about all he could get from those players and is chopping away the players he believes aren't going to improve -i.e. they've reached their potential but their best just isn't good enough.

[Falkenhayn]

We also just signed Donte Whitiner, who has been solid for Buffalo the last few seasons. Hopefully though that doesn't signal we aren't still trying to retain Goldson. He is just starting to come on and I think is poised for a breakout year.

Donte got a lot of tackles playing the 8th man in a 4-3 team with run defense issues, and a 3-4 team with a non-existant run defence. I've also got many fond memories of Ben Watson drinking up his milkshake the last time we met the Pats on Monday Night. Was your Safety play really bad enough that "Serviceable" is an upgrade?

I mean, his replacement will be George Wilson, who was a WR as of four years ago, and has more interceptions.

[Thanas]

So Tebow is even more of a self-entitled dick than I thought. He whined about Orton being the starter and that the promised job was taken away from him and then he tried to blame the reporter who transcribed his words word for word.

[Falkenhayn]

Doublepost: Yeah, fucked up those tags. I'm talking to Hav rather than Elfy.

That's...interesting from Tebow, given how much hay was made over his modest, country boy christian bearing.

[Thanas]

Here is the original article:

The unremitting, unrelenting smile was, like his life the past week, turned upside down. Tim Tebow's face strained from the rare, uncharacteristic frown.

"My dream, since I was a young boy, of being a starting quarterback in the NFL seemed to be coming true," Tebow told me as we stood outside the Broncos' locker room.

"Then, I felt like it was grabbed back away. . . ." He paused and didn't finish the thought. Instead, he finished his quart of milk.

For the first time in more than a dozen conversations we have had, Tebow revealed edginess, frustration and even anger. Perhaps, now, nine days from his 24th birthday, Tebow is coming to grips with the reality of pro football and manhood. An All-American young
man's life generally, and recently, had been rainbows and unicorns with trophies, championships, millions of dollars, adulation, an autobiography, commercial endorsements, and an idyllic family and home.

Tebow's response

How the heck is that taken out of context?

[Flagg]

Maybe if he prayed harder he would be the starter, whiny self-righteous little bitch.

[Elfdart]

Sorry Thanas, the Ravens won't be getting Malcom Floyd after all.

Malcom Floyd tried. He really did. He conjured up mental images of himself in purple and black, the Raven on his helmet, or maybe a uniform of red or green or different shade of blue.

“It’s so hard picturing yourself on a different team,” said the veteran wide receiver. “You go through it in your head. So many feelings. So many emotions.”

Ultimately, Floyd said, the feelings and emotion that most influenced his decision to re-sign with the Chargers were the ones that simply told him he wanted to stay home, even if it meant passing up more money on an open market that had him considered among the leading free agents available over the past 10 days.

“Why’d I come back?” Floyd said. “San Diego. It’s my team. The system. I’ve been here eight years. My family’s here.”

Floyd was widely believed to be close to signing with the Baltimore Ravens, but Friday he signed a two-year contract that sources assessed at $5 million in base salary and $2 million more in incentives. Though he was dressed out for the annual Fan Fest practice Saturday morning at Qualcomm Stadium and playing catch along the sideline, Floyd was withheld from taking part in plays. He expected to practice fully Sunday.

So he took less money to stay in San Diego.

[Thanas]

*Shrug* Wasn't that big on him anyway.

I am more angry about Ryan once more grabbing up one of the players we wanted back. Goddamnit Mason.

[Havok]

Hey, you guys got a very good backup in Ricky Williams to spell Rice and replace McGahee. Ricky still got some gas left in him too.

And, thankfully, we resigned Goldson. I'm hoping he will learn from Williams and Whittiner and then reclaim his starting spot. He needs to be there. Everything bad about Singletary as a head coach aside, as asst. HC he said he is one of the hardest hitters he has seen at safety. That, you listen to.

[Falkenhayn]

What do you think of Lee Evans, Thanas?

[Thanas]

What do you think of Lee Evans, Thanas?

I just hope he can produce now that he has a good quarterback to work with. He was something of a bust for a first-round pick, but giving up a fourth (who we will most likely get as an additional pick next year as well) would be worth it. In Ozzie I trust...

Anybody else see the Ravens vs Philly game? I was really impressed how well the late-round draft choices performed - Tandon Doss and McPhee especially far better than their 4th and 5th round value. But Tyrod Taylor was the best surprise - he was very, very elusive and outperformed Vince Young in comparison. Some rookie mistakes, but he could be great value. Anthony Allen also performed well.

Other than that, Paul Kruger, Dennis Pitta and Parmele stole the show. Pitta especially with that grab. And Kindle took heavy hits but kept dishing it out....

It was nice to see Torrey Smith beat Nnamdi on that one play.

I was impressed by undrafted signers Berry (HB) and our undrafted guy at center.

STILL: Holy crap. Our goddamned O-Line. Oher needs to be back at RT stat and Cousins....my god, man. If you look like a dumb huge block of fat and muscle you better be as immovable as that. Instead, he got beat by Philly's third and fourth stringers.

O-Line needs to be fixed soon.

And tackling needs to get better. I counted six sacks that were lost due to bad tackling.

[Elfdart]

After last night I'm convinced the new kickoff rules suck. If the NFL wanted to improve safety on kicks, they should restrict kickoff and KO returns to players weighting less than 250#.

[Thanas]

Yeah. Boooooring. And it punishes good kickers.


EDIT: Elfdart, aren't you an Eagles fan? If so, congrats on the win.

And damn, the Patriots look threatening. Hoyer looks ready to start and Mallet....man.

[Falkenhayn]

What do you think of Lee Evans, Thanas?

I just hope he can produce now that he has a good quarterback to work with. He was something of a bust for a first-round pick, but giving up a fourth (who we will most likely get as an additional pick next year as well) would be worth it. In Ozzie I trust...

Check out his production when he was side-by-side with Eric Moulds, rather than the only recieving threat on a team with musical quarterbacks, that hasn't had a passing threat at Tight End since the DEVASTATING JAY REMIERSMA. Even with us he's averaging around 15.5 YPC. I wouldn't be down on the guy.

[Thanas]

Didn't know you were a Bills fan.....well, good luck to you. Fitzpatrick was pretty good against us, so I think he might be a good player to build around. Though I don't really get why your team agreed to the trade. After all, it is not as if you are lacking in money and he wanted to be back....

[Falkenhayn]

Didn't know you were a Bills fan.....well, good luck to you. Fitzpatrick was pretty good against us, so I think he might be a good player to build around.

Fitz is here to help build a system and provide some kind of continuity. Other than that, it's Suck Out to Luck Out next year.

Though I don't really get why your team agreed to the trade. After all, it is not as if you are lacking in money and he wanted to be back....

Ralph Wilson wanted to pocket the $5 million he'd of had to pay Lee.

[Thanas]

But...you already paid him the 1 mil roster bonus and reports suggest he would get 3.5 mil from us over 2 years....not getting it.

But yeah, if your plan is to get Andrew Luck next year....

[Havok]

Pretty much everyone's plan is to get Luck next year. And I mean everyone. The Colts, Patriots, Eagles... hell even the Chargers who have one out of the two best QBs not named Brady or Manning. With the exception of possibly Green Bay, there isn't a team in the league that wouldn't want him to either groom to take over (Pats, Colts, Saints, Eagles,Vikings) to push their current starter (Giants, Chargers, Ravens, Cowboys) or to outright walk into the starting role (Pretty much everyone else)

We'll see how much of Luck was Harbaugh this year though. He is a smart kid though. He knew that the rookie pay scale was going to change and knew he wasn't going to lose any money staying in college. AND with that pay scale, it's going to change how teams evaluate top 10 talent. Even if he has a down, or even bad year, like Locker did, teams will be FAR more willing to spend a very high draft pick on him because he won't get or can even negotiate for 70 million guaranteed.

I watch Stanford games. Them and USC. Sometimes Cal. Luck is the real fucking deal that is for sure. If he gets in with a good offensive coach or coordinator and gets to stick with him like Manning did? As long as your front office isn't full of retards (Like the Broncos before Shannahan and the Dolphins while Marino was there), the kid will get you Superbowls.

[Elfdart]

Yeah. Boooooring. And it punishes good kickers.


EDIT: Elfdart, aren't you an Eagles fan? If so, congrats on the win.

And damn, the Patriots look threatening. Hoyer looks ready to start and Mallet....man.

In order:

1) The reason kickoffs have become so dangerous is the huge size gap between the front line (usually linemen, maybe TEs and LBs on the wings) and the guys trying to cover the kick. Typically you have the first row (5-6 men), the second line (3-4) and one or two returners. So you could end up with 5-6 men with a running charge trying to clear a path. This type of thing was common in plays from scrimmage a hundred years ago and called the Flying Wedge. It was banned because so many serious injuries were caused by a wedge of 5-6 guys with a running charge with ball carrier running behind them. This was back when linemen at most weighed 50-60 pounds more than skill players. Making the return team keep a minimum of seven men on the front row (like in scrimmage plays) would cure much of the problem. Combine this with weight restrictions (there are backup linemen whose specialty is clobbering cover men on special teams, many of whom are DBs just a little over half their size -one guy from the Jets is famous for this sort of thing but I can't remember his name).

2) Nope, Chargers fan. Which only proves that in a previous life I must have been a serial killer who escaped the gallows. But then, you can say the same for Eagles fans too.


3) Amazing what a team where a coach has the leeway to groom his players without worrying about getting fired can do, isn't it?

[Elfdart]

To elaborate, Belichick is pretty much in the same boat as Tom Landry was from the mid-60s to the late 80s, where he more or less has tenure as a head coach. If the new, high-dollar player doesn't perform, he does NOT play, period. If he decides that a player is not performing, or is being disruptive then he's out -no matter how "big" he might be. Most other coaches have to deal with pressure from owners and GMs to play guys who simply aren't ready. Or the front office foists players on coaches who don't want them.

[Havok]

The last coach I can think of that had that kind of leeway was Parcells, and before him maybe Walsh. I don't think even Gibbs had it, but I didn't follow the Redskins closely back then.

[Havok]

Welp... yeah, the Niners look like garbage. Here's hoping more than one week of practice makes everything look better.

I think I can her the Smith haters quieting down after Alex Smith NOW WITH RUNNING ACTION! threw 2 ints and fumbled twice. Smith at least had the excuse of GETTING FUCKING CREAMED REPEATEDLY.

[Falkenhayn]

Well, Chicago still needs an O-line. Back-to-Back sacks are about the most I could hope for from Merriman in the preseason. Very good to see Marcell with sack to his credit too. Chicago's starting O-line played to the half, and gave up 4 sacks.