Offseason Thread

[Wolfpack]

Given that majority of the teams followed on this forum are now knocked out, I figured I'd start this thread up. Quite a lot of coaching changes happening around the league right now.

49ers have signed Jim Harbaugh, brother of former Eagles ST Coach & Ravens HC John Harbaugh, to a 5 year/25m deal. I think it'll be a great move for the 49ers, Harbaugh has done great with Stanford & they constantly have top recruiting classes. If coaching talent runs in the family then he'll be a massive upgrade over Mike 'Pants on the ground' Singletary. 49'ers got him for a bargain as well considering that the Fins were apparently willing to give him up to 8m a year  .

Related to that is the rumour that the 49ers are interested in Kevin Kolb (Eagles #2 QB) & have approached the Eagles with an offer. John Harbaugh was very big on Kolb & may have passed his opinion onto Jim. He would be the perfect QB to run their WCO offence though, great short to mid passing game & mobile enough to keep the play alive for long enough if need be. ESPN were reporting that the 49ers offered the Eagles a 1st plus additional compensation, but that seems a bit excessive to me.

Chargers have announced that they're keeping Norv Turner as their HC, can't really believe that one but it's true.

Raiders are without a HC again, as they sacked Tom Cable. I can't see any reason for sacking a coach who made you a respectable football team again, but then I'm not Al Davis.

Vikings are keeping Leslie Frazier as their HC & Josh McDaniels (ex-Broncos HC) is rumoured to be in the running for the open OC spot. If he gets that then Kyle Orton is likely to follow him to Minny or where ever McDaniels finally ends up.

Also, John Elway has been announced as the Broncos new GM (Surely a foolproof plan despite Elway having no experience whatsoever in an NFL FO) & along with posting roughly 248 twitter updates a day he's already said that Tim Tebow isn't a NFL ready QB at the moment. Just because it's true doesn't mean you need to say it in a public forum John.

 

[The Eagle]

Wasnt Kolb meant to be the Eagles Franchise QB before injury?

 

[eagles2win]

Thought the 49er's would go after TSU's defensive coach (great coach IMO alot of players in the NFL owe there career to him).

Now gentlemen thought's on the players going on strike?
NHL, NBA and the MLB would be wishing they could only play 16 matches a year.

 

[The Eagle]

They are a joke to consider striking

 

[Wolfpack]

Wasnt Kolb meant to be the Eagles Franchise QB before injury?

Sure was, but when Vick got his chance he went all MV7P on the league & Kolb was never going to get his starters spot back. Played a few games when Vick got that rib cartiliage injury, 49'ers & Falcons from memory. Was okay against the 49'ers but absolutely lit up the Falcons.

Kolb is a second round pick out of Houston, Reid copped a lot of flak for drafting him but he has turned out to be a great project considering that he'd never taking a snap from under center in his entire college career. Reid & Mornhinweg are probably the best coaches in the league at developing QBs so you know he's a quality product. I'd say he'll be the best available QB going into the offseason.

Only thing you can really fault him on isn't all that great once you start looking at throwing the ball 50+ yards. Had a few issues with turnovers early in his career but that seems to have been coached out of him this year. I'd be happy with him as the Eagles QB to be honest.

I still don't think that the lockout will actually happen, too much money will be lost on both sides if it goes ahead. The only person I've heard publically say that they think it will happen is Jerry Jones & Jerry Jones is a ****.

The league will probably get it's way with an 18 game schedule, but I can see the NFLPA perspective on that one. Look at amount of injuries in the league as is, the players have tremendous wear & tear on their bodies. The average length of an NFL career is something ridiculously low, 3-4 years from memory. Even two extra games a year adds up over time when your putting your body under that much duress.

 

[The Eagle]

Still,i dont see us going very far without a few good drafts in the defensive stocks

And probably a new Defensive Coordinator,perhaps even buy a College coach from either the ducks or the other team...i forgot the name,however they're probably already taken,by the way Wolfpack did you see that game??

It was an absolute belter,im annoyed about the result though,it reminded me of Saints vs Storm GF

 

[ManlyBacker]

I like Kolb and he would be a good addition.

I'm split on Norv staying. He has such a great temperament compared to some other HCs. I generally see the players letting him down rather than the other way round.

 

[The Eagle]

Well,if Kolb is that good and we fix up the mess which is our D we will atleast make it to the playoffs! However in our conference that should be a given,must be the worst one in the league today

 

[Wolfpack]

And probably a new Defensive Coordinator,perhaps even buy a College coach from either the ducks or the other team...i forgot the name,however they're probably already taken,by the way Wolfpack did you see that game??

Yeah, wasn't too happy about the result as I was cheering for Oregon but still a great game irregardless. I think it'll boost Cam Newton's (Auburn's QB) draft stock even more, he doesn't deserve it though. Like Tim Tebow, Newton still has a long way to go before he's NFL ready.

I think that Kolb would be a great acquisition for the 49'ers. I can see a trade being done with Kolb for 49'ers 2011 & 2012 2nd round picks. Reid needs the extra ammo to bolster our O-line & secondary & the Kolb has already said that he wants to be a starter somewhere, they need to move him ASAP.

I agree with you MB when it comes to Norv, I just can't help but think that SD may be better served with him as the OC & bring in a new HC to tie it all together. John Gruden & Bill Cowher are on the open market, though they would probably command a pretty steep price.

 

[lsz]

Lads,

Thanks to 1hd i am back into my NFL

Time for a confession. My team is the browns.....are we going to be the usual laughing stock?

 

[eagles2win]

Lads,

Thanks to 1hd i am back into my NFL

Time for a confession. My team is the browns.....are we going to be the usual laughing stock?

YES!!!

 

[lsz]

Between them and the hammers, Mets and hammers in EPL the only teams i can hang my hat on are Manly and Milan...

 

[Wolfpack]

Lads,

Thanks to 1hd i am back into my NFL

Time for a confession. My team is the browns.....are we going to be the usual laughing stock?

Nope.

Browns actually finished with 5 wins this year (6th last from memory) but they are beginning to put in place the structure to become a successful football club again.

They have Mike Holmgren (Former GB coach) as the club president & just signed Pat Shurmur from the Rams to be their HC. He was the OC at the Rams & before that was Philly's QB coach, McNabb went to the probowl 3 times when he was in that position.

They drafted Colt McCoy in the 2010 draft who has turned out to be a great QB & leader, he should be there for years to come. They still lack weapons for him but they should fix that up in the coming draft.

The Browns also managed to rob the Broncos blind by trading a 7th rnd draft pick for Peyton Hillis who will represent the AFC in the Pro Bowl & is also an absolute beast.

The defence still has a long way to go but they have some nice pieces in there such as CB Joe Haden & SS T.J. Ward.

They aren't going to be world beaters in the next season or so but they have certainly got themselves set back on the right path to become a decent team again which is more than you can say for the past decade of Browns history.

 

[Wolfpack]

Browns now trying to undo all their good work by starting over on defence. I'd hate to be a Browns fan.

It's all old news now but Philly has made some big coaching changes. The DC Sean McDermott has gone as has D-line coach Rory Segrest. Given that those two have stunk up the place for two years I think it's a great move. They have also snagged Tennessee's D-Line coach (Jim Washburn), who is apparently the best in the league at his position. He did get 12.5 sacks out of Jason Babin last year so he's alright by me, lots of excitement around that signing. Jason Babin has already stated that he'd come back to Philly if they make him an offer & Albert Haynesworth has stated similar sentiments. For the record I'd love to have them both in Philly, that would be one disgustingly good D-line.

Philly has approached the Saints' DB coach for the open DC spot & are also apparently very keen on the Packers' D-line coach Mike Trgovac (who previously coached at Philly under Buddy Ryan) for the position. I'd love it if we could get Trgovac, he did a great job at Carolina.

Eagles also are apparently chomping at the bit to get at Nnamdi Asomugha as soon as the FA period begins. If we get him then our secondary is set for sure.

Jim Harbaugh (49'ers new coach) has also announced both of his co-ordinators, both of whom happen to be his co-ordinators when he was at Stanford. I can't agree with that strategy, one coach trying to adjust to the NFL can make things tough, but three?

Also for those who want a laugh, check out this summary of Florida U safety Will Hill's twitter. It's scary that this guy is going to be in the NFL next year...

http://www.everydayshouldbesaturday.com/2011/1/19/1943956/the-happy-football-life-of-will-hill

 

[lsz]

It has never been a good time to be a brown...i mean look at the name of the team

 

[Wolfpack]

Another Viking getting himself into trouble.

Everson Griffen arrested, tasered
Posted by Mike Florio on January 31, 2011, 11:46 PM EST
Derek Anderson, Everson Griffen

Only a few days after the “Days without an Arrest” meter drifted into double digits, it’s time to knock it back to zero.

According to the Daily Trojan, Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was arrested Monday in Los Angeles on charges of felony battery.

Griffen was pulled over at the intersection of 30th and Hoover Streets.  He reportedly became aggressive when he was questioned by officers.  He then fled (always a good idea), and he assaulted one of the pursuing officers (an ever better idea).

The adventure ended with a Taser gun and a felony charge.

A fourth-round pick of the Vikings in the 2010 draft, Griffen appeared in 11 games as a rookie, making 11 tackles.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/01/31/everson-griffen-arrested-tasered/

Can't believe how dumb some of these guys are. Especially when he is a 4th round pick, it's not like he has any leverage with the organisation.

Vikings are actually going to be in a bit of trouble on D-Line next season, with Pat Williams retiring & Ray Edwards looking set to leave via free agency. Their list of needs is growing pretty rapidly as well, seems as if they are going to either franchise tag Sidney Rice or Chad Greenway. Both of those guys are going to demand a lot of cash, so I wouldn't be suprised to see one of them walk (Probably Rice with the way he goes on).

In other news, Troy Polamalu won Defensive Player of the Year so congratulations to him on that. Not sure if he was deserving of it given the games he missed but well earned regardless.

Maurkice Pouncey is going to miss the Super Bowl according to Chris Kemoneatu. Word is his ankle injury is actually a break, not just a high sprain. Aaron Smith is also going to miss the game with torn triceps, tough break for the big guy & the Steelers' D-line.

 

[Wolfpack]

The league & the NFLPA have been in heavy negotiations for the past few days (about time they did away with the lawyers) & it looks like we're finally going to see some progress.

Rumour going around that there is going to be an announcement on the 15th regarding the CBA & if things progress as hoped then all teams will resume training camp on their scheduled dates. That'd be the best case scenario at this point so fingers crossed.

Also, everytime I read another article about Philly looking to sign Plaxico Burress I die a little inside.

 

[eagles2win]

TO having surgery

 

[Wolfpack]

TO having surgery

Yeah apparently he tore his ACL doing some promo thing in the offseason, this being after the Bengirls already put him on IR with a knee injury.

You get the feeling that this just might be it for TO, sad end for a once in a lifetime talent. His career will always be 'what could've been' despite his stats being up there with the best & ensuring him a spot in the HoF.

Imagine if he had seen out his full 7 year deal with Philly. Such a shame the he is a headcase.

 

[Wolfpack]

Speaking of headcase Eagles receivers, it looks like DJax is putting his lockout free time to good use-

http://blacksportsonline.com/home/2...n-spends-25k-at-the-club-twitpic-his-receipt/

Funnily enough the most suprising thing on the receipt is the cost for water. If a club tried to charge me that much for a bottle of water I'm pretty sure I'd just throw it in their face & cheese it, f that s**t.