NFL (2024 Season)

[Ted$8roadFan]

I kind of feel bad for Wentz. He never recovered from his injuries in 2017.

[webny99]

Take it with a grain of salt, but this is kind of interesting: https://nflpa.com/nfl-player-team-report-cards

[epzik8]

Take it with a grain of salt, but this is kind of interesting: https://nflpa.com/nfl-player-team-report-cards

Vikings straight-As of all teams...

[Roadgeekteen]

Commanders in last, to the suprise of no one.

[webny99]

Derek Carr has signed with the Saints! The Saints now have by far the best QB situation in their division, which is ironic considering Derek Carr was considered easily the worst QB in his old division just six months ago (turns out Russ was worse despite being ranked higher entering the season, but you get the idea)

I think Derek Carr is good enough to make a team a contender when surrounded with talent. That seems odd to say considering he had 0 playoff wins in 8 seasons, but you have to remember the Raiders perpetually have one of the worst defenses in the league, and the Saints have had a good to very good defense the past few seasons.

[Roadgeekteen]

Derek Carr has signed with the Saints! The Saints now have by far the best QB situation in their division, which is ironic considering Derek Carr was considered easily the worst QB in his old division just six months ago (turns out Russ was worse despite being ranked higher entering the season, but you get the idea)

I think Derek Carr is good enough to make a team a contender when surrounded with talent. That seems odd to say considering he had 0 playoff wins in 8 seasons, but you have to remember the Raiders perpetually have one of the worst defenses in the league, and the Saints have had a good to very good defense the past few seasons.

The Saints with Derek Carr are in a good place to win a crappy division, but they will not sniff a Super Bowl, especially with his large cap hit.

[thspfc]

Definitely an interesting team. I could imagine them being a decent 11-6 or 10-7, and I could imagine them not improving upon or even regressing from last year. Their defense was hot down the stretch, we'll see if that continues.

[gr8daynegb]

Definitely an interesting team. I could imagine them being a decent 11-6 or 10-7, and I could imagine them not improving upon or even regressing from last year. Their defense was hot down the stretch, we'll see if that continues.

I know he wanted to be by family.  But for football related reasons Devante Adams beyond playing by family he must be thinking now "Why did I leave GB??!?"  He's still on a HOF track as a WR but the differences of HC's and the QB situation he left in GB whether it's Love or Rodgers(plenty of Jets rumors today) as Packers QB are better than whatever is in Vegas. Along with chances to win a Superbowl and become a lock for Canton one day.

As for Rodgers feels like Jets or bust for him.  Just curious in short vs long term how Rodgers offseason act over last few years will be looked at vs Favres offseason act their last years as Packers. 

[Big John]

^^ Favre/Rodgers similarities would increase if Aaron declares retirement.

[thspfc]

Definitely an interesting team. I could imagine them being a decent 11-6 or 10-7, and I could imagine them not improving upon or even regressing from last year. Their defense was hot down the stretch, we'll see if that continues.

I know he wanted to be by family.  But for football related reasons Devante Adams beyond playing by family he must be thinking now "Why did I leave GB??!?"  He's still on a HOF track as a WR but the differences of HC's and the QB situation he left in GB whether it's Love or Rodgers(plenty of Jets rumors today) as Packers QB are better than whatever is in Vegas. Along with chances to win a Superbowl and become a lock for Canton one day.

As for Rodgers feels like Jets or bust for him.  Just curious in short vs long term how Rodgers offseason act over last few years will be looked at vs Favres offseason act their last years as Packers.

I was talking about the Saints, but I guess I do feel similarly about the Packers depending on who plays QB.

Sitting Love for another year would essentially end his career in Green Bay. Unless he does start in 2024 and plays like a top 5-10 QB, he's certainly not getting a second contract if he doesn't start this upcoming season. I thought he looked quite good against the Eagles. Nice throwing motion, accurate, got through reads quickly, tight spiral. Obviously a really small sample size, but he's shown that he's worth a shot.

Rodgers might be a better option when looking solely at 2023, but he's not a top 5 guy anymore and he's not getting that team anywhere close to the Super Bowl. Neither is Love, but seeing what Love's got will be more beneficial for the franchise long-term than keeping Rodgers in order to win a couple extra games this year. And, Rodgers' trade value will never be higher than it is now. If Love isn't it, having two 2024 first round picks would be real nice.

I don't think Love will be a bust, but if he is (or if the Packers hang onto Rodgers for too long and Love flourishes elsewhere), this has to go down as one of the dumbest situations in NFL history. A team on the brink of the Super Bowl in a prospectively weak conference, with a very limited number of years left on its HOF QB, with a major deficiency at WR in a WR-heavy draft, trades up to select a quarterback in the first round. And what do you know: in the playoff losses to the Bucs and 49ers, Davante Adams had twice as many targets and receptions (26, 18) than all their other WRs combined (14, 9). Against the Niners, Lazard had one catch on one target for 6 yards and that was it - no other receiver besides Adams had a single target. They were the 1 seed, dominated the conference in the regular season both years. It's not crazy at all to say that they'd have another championship if they selected a WR in 2020, especially with Tee Higgins and Michael Pittman still on the board at that point. Big mistake for a team that is known for being historically successful.

[Roadgeekteen]

Giants have resigned Daniel Jones to a large contract. Lamar Jackson has been franchised tagged using the non exclusive tag.

[thspfc]

Giants have resigned Daniel Jones to a large contract. Lamar Jackson has been franchised tagged using the non exclusive tag.

I think things could get real ugly for the Giants over the next couple years, but I incessantly ripped on them the whole season and they proved me wrong (kind of? Or were they just a little less fraudulent than the Vikings?)

[Roadgeekteen]

Giants have resigned Daniel Jones to a large contract. Lamar Jackson has been franchised tagged using the non exclusive tag.

I think things could get real ugly for the Giants over the next couple years, but I incessantly ripped on them the whole season and they proved me wrong (kind of? Or were they just a little less fraudulent than the Vikings?)

They do get an easy out after year 2 if things get ugly.

[webny99]

Sitting Love for another year would essentially end his career in Green Bay. Unless he does start in 2024 and plays like a top 5-10 QB, he's certainly not getting a second contract if he doesn't start this upcoming season. I thought he looked quite good against the Eagles. Nice throwing motion, accurate, got through reads quickly, tight spiral. Obviously a really small sample size, but he's shown that he's worth a shot.

Rodgers might be a better option when looking solely at 2023, but he's not a top 5 guy anymore and he's not getting that team anywhere close to the Super Bowl. Neither is Love, but seeing what Love's got will be more beneficial for the franchise long-term than keeping Rodgers in order to win a couple extra games this year. And, Rodgers' trade value will never be higher than it is now. If Love isn't it, having two 2024 first round picks would be real nice.

And that's why I think the Packers are done with Rodgers and will move on with Love as their starter this season. It all makes too much sense. It would be extremely Packers-esque for Love to play great this season and go on to have a HOF career during which they'll win one and only one Super Bowl.

Giants have resigned Daniel Jones to a large contract. Lamar Jackson has been franchised tagged using the non exclusive tag.

I think things could get real ugly for the Giants over the next couple years, but I incessantly ripped on them the whole season and they proved me wrong (kind of? Or were they just a little less fraudulent than the Vikings?)

I was actually correct about the Giants last year, so I'll try again (read: here's my chance to be wrong this year). I also think they could have a worse season this year before improving in future years, similar to the 2018 Bills. It's going to be very difficult to improve on last year, as it would require a championship run or at least being competitive in the divisional round. I think it's more likely that they go 7-10 or 8-9 and miss the playoffs, which isn't the end of the world because last year was a statement of intent from the new coach and GM, and that earns a bit of slack with the media, fans, and probably players too.

And FWIW... Daniel Jones does have more career playoff wins than Derek Carr, although you could argue that both are top five in the NFC at this point

[webny99]

I find the Lamar Jackson situation fascinating. He got the non-exclusive tag which means he can negotiate with other teams and if they offer him a deal, the Ravens have to either match it or allow him to sign with that team in exchange for two first rounders. Yet many teams that could or should be interested in Lamar are saying they aren't, which is weird. The only thing I can figure is that teams respect the Ravens organization wanting to get a deal done and don't want to interfere with that, or are seriously concerned about Lamar's ability to stay healthy.

Either way, it's a smart move by the Ravens to find out if another team is willing to pay Lamar and how much. If they do, you know you're not paying more than market value, and if they don't, you can use it as leverage.

[webny99]

I find the Lamar Jackson situation fascinating. He got the non-exclusive tag which means he can negotiate with other teams and if they offer him a deal, the Ravens have to either match it or allow him to sign with that team in exchange for two first rounders. Yet many teams that could or should be interested in Lamar are saying they aren't, which is weird. The only thing I can figure is that teams respect the Ravens organization wanting to get a deal done and don't want to interfere with that, or are seriously concerned about Lamar's ability to stay healthy.

Very apt comparison by Dan Hanzus on the Around the NFL podcast yesterday comparing the Deshaun Watson deal to the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. It's very messy and head-turning at the time, but you eventually move on from it, only to then realize that it's layered and caused even more underlying problems that didn't occur to anyone at the time: https://www.stitcher.com/show/nfl-around-the-league-podcast/episode/lamar-landing-spots-danny-dimes-deal-rodgers-jets-meeting-300336615


And that's exactly what's happening now in the NFL with players like Lamar Jackson because of the Watson contract. Lamar is beyond all doubt a better player than Deshaun Watson, so there's no reason for him to accept anything less. But owners clearly believe the Browns set an unacceptable precedent, so they're putting a heavy finger on the scale leading to the current impasse.

Another interesting point is that Lamar doesn't have an agent, which could be hurting him here, and not just because an agent could handle the negotiations with the team. An agent could also help control the media narrative and prevent rampant speculation about what he's asking for. But because he doesn't have an agent, there's a lot less information out there, and agents have an incentive to speculate that teams are not interested and negatively influence media coverage to make Lamar look bad for not having an agent.

[Ted$8roadFan]

I find the Lamar Jackson situation fascinating. He got the non-exclusive tag which means he can negotiate with other teams and if they offer him a deal, the Ravens have to either match it or allow him to sign with that team in exchange for two first rounders. Yet many teams that could or should be interested in Lamar are saying they aren't, which is weird. The only thing I can figure is that teams respect the Ravens organization wanting to get a deal done and don't want to interfere with that, or are seriously concerned about Lamar's ability to stay healthy.

Very apt comparison by Dan Hanzus on the Around the NFL podcast yesterday comparing the Deshaun Watson deal to the Exxon-Valdez oil spill. It's very messy and head-turning at the time, but you eventually move on from it, only to then realize that it's layered and caused even more underlying problems that didn't occur to anyone at the time: https://www.stitcher.com/show/nfl-around-the-league-podcast/episode/lamar-landing-spots-danny-dimes-deal-rodgers-jets-meeting-300336615


And that's exactly what's happening now in the NFL with players like Lamar Jackson because of the Watson contract. Lamar is beyond all doubt a better player than Deshaun Watson, so there's no reason for him to accept anything less. But owners clearly believe the Browns set an unacceptable precedent, so they're putting a heavy finger on the scale leading to the current impasse.

Another interesting point is that Lamar doesn't have an agent, which could be hurting him here, and not just because an agent could handle the negotiations with the team. An agent could also help control the media narrative and prevent rampant speculation about what he's asking for. But because he doesn't have an agent, there's a lot less information out there, and agents have an incentive to speculate that teams are not interested and negatively influence media coverage to make Lamar look bad for not having an agent.

Former NFL GM Joe Banner had some good takes on the Lamar Jackson situation on the Rich Eisen show (either yesterday or Tuesday).

[Big John]

Bears trade the #1 draft pick to the Panthers for draft picks and WR D.J. Moore.

[epzik8]

The Texans and perhaps the Panthers are just going to keep on losing with all of these trades.

[webny99]

Bears trade the #1 draft pick to the Panthers for draft picks and WR D.J. Moore.

I like it for both sides. DJ Moore is on a reasonable contract and fills a big need for the Bears.

The draft is getting very interesting, it looks like the top two picks will be QB's, the Colts will likely draft a QB, and several more teams are lurking, such as the Falcons, Lions, and Raiders. The Cardinals are at #3 are in prime position to trade down, so we could definitely see four QB's in the top five picks.

[Henry]

Chances are, the top pick will be a QB, and since the Bears already have Justin Fields, the Panthers could use the pick more than the Bears do. Plus, DJ Moore has a chance to be Fields' top target for next season and beyond.

[NWI_Irish96]

Chances are, the top pick will be a QB, and since the Bears already have Justin Fields, the Panthers could use the pick more than the Bears do. Plus, DJ Moore has a chance to be Fields' top target for next season and beyond.

The biggest thing is that the Bears need quantity. There are multiple holes on the OL, DL and LB. Even with the Bears' huge amount of cap space, they can't fill them all in free agency. They absolutely needed extra picks in this draft. Kinda disappointed that they got the lower of Carolina's two 2nd round picks. I think they could have gotten the higher pick.

[JayhawkCO]

Chances are, the top pick will be a QB, and since the Bears already have Justin Fields, the Panthers could use the pick more than the Bears do. Plus, DJ Moore has a chance to be Fields' top target for next season and beyond.

The biggest thing is that the Bears need quantity. There are multiple holes on the OL, DL and LB. Even with the Bears' huge amount of cap space, they can't fill them all in free agency. They absolutely needed extra picks in this draft. Kinda disappointed that they got the lower of Carolina's two 2nd round picks. I think they could have gotten the higher pick.

I don't think they get the higher pick in the 2nd and then also a 1st next year.

[Roadgeekteen]

Jalen Ramsey traded from the Rams to the Dolphins for a 3rd round pick.

[Big John]

Jalen Ramsey traded from the Bears to the Dolphins for a 3rd round pick.

Actually from the Rams and the Dolphins threw in a backup tight end.