NFL

Sounds reasonable . . . hard to speculate without any real data to pull from, though.

Very sad news about Seau. I grew up watching him (Fight On!). Amazing to think that he payed 20 years in the league.

Let’s open the thread up for some more off-season discussion.

What do you think about the bounty scandal suspensions. A full year for Payton and Vilma? Harsh.

Is Andrew Luck really good as people say he is? They’re talking about him like he’s the best qb prospect in the history of the game. I tend to think it’s hyperbole, though I haven’t seen him play much. But honestly, every hot new qb prospect is described as the best in a long while or uniquely talented. I think the last truly special and freakish talent that came out as a prospect was Vick. Newton was Vick-lite to me.

Does the Tebow trade mean the end of the Sanchez era? I don’t think I’ve ever seen such hype for a back-up. Kinda makes you believe that he’s not really a back-up. Logic would seem to bear that out, and actions speak louder than words. Sanchez’s leash is probably shorter than a midget.

The NFC East may have cemented its position as the most competitive division in football. It just keeps getting better and better. What a qb line-up. Manning, Vick, Romo, RGIII. Lot of championships in that division too.

The penalties are harsh but I think they’re a direct result of the pending legislation against the NFL from former players regarding injuries and insurance.

Luck—I’ll believe it when I see it. The NFL is a different place than he’s ever played.

I agree with you about Sanchez—the hype is an extension of Tebowmania—if this were a lesser-known qb replacement we wouldn’t even know his name.

And oh, yeah. Bring it on!

I haven’t seen Luck play, but I don’t know if there’s been another QB will more pressure on him. (The same might be true for RGIII.) Basically, if he doesn’t put up good numbers, he might be criticized harshly. That’s a ridiculous amount of pressure. Newton put up really good numbers, but he had a lot of naysayers. If Luck or RGIII put up similar numbers that will impressive. It’ll say not only a lot about their ability, but their ability to handle pressure—which is crucial for a QB.

Does the Tebow trade mean the end of the Sanchez era?

I don’t know, but I feel bad for Sanchez. I’d love it if he responds well to this.

@HoL

Are you happy with the Cowboys’ draft?

Actually, I think the opposite. Peyton was so good that I don’t think anyone will reasonably expect Luck to be just as good. Plus, as a rookie, people will expect him to make mistakes. Even though nowadays rookies are winning big and putting up numbers, they still have a lot of leeway in the eyes of most.

I don’t think RGIII has any pressure at all. No one is expecting Washington to contend for a title. They won’t even be projected to finish beyond last in the division. They have nowhere to go but up.

I don’t feel too sorry for Sanchez. He brought it on himself. Apparently he doesn’t have the personality or fire to grab his team by the throat and lead them. If Tebow can do it (plus win), more power to him.

@Bobby

Actually, I think the opposite. Peyton was so good that I don’t think anyone will reasonably expect Luck to be just as good.

That’s not the sense I get from the comments about him. I hear things like how he’s the most ready and most prepared QB coming into the league; I hear predictions about how he’ll be productive in the first year.

I don’t think RGIII has any pressure at all. No one is expecting Washington to contend for a title. They won’t even be projected to finish beyond last in the division. They have nowhere to go but up.

I don’t think the team record matters as much as his performance—and he has a lot of pressure to perform. The Panthers didn’t do well, but Newton had a really good year. I think RGIII has pressure to have that type of year, at least.

I don’t feel too sorry for Sanchez. He brought it on himself. Apparently he doesn’t have the personality or fire to grab his team by the throat and lead them. If Tebow can do it (plus win), more power to him.

There are two approaches to a young QB: 1) trial by fire—throw ‘em to the wolves, and if he’s tough, he’ll survive and do well; if he doesn’t, he was never cut out to be a QB; 2) gradually bring them into the system—allow them to gain small victories to build their confidence; avoid putting them in situations they can’t handle yet.

I’m lean more towards #2. Now, Sanchez is not young, but I’m not sure if the Jets really did a good job of developing his confidence and abilities. Then again, if the Jets didn’t pick up Tebow, they might not have done a good job of developing Sanchez’s confidence and skills, either, but picking up Tebow really could mess him up—and I still think that he could be a good QB.

Btw, speaking of the Jets this conversation reminds me of Vinnie Testeverde. He had high expectations coming into the league, and he did not do well at all, for many years. But when he got the Jets, with Parcells, he became a very good QB—good enough to win a SB, imo. And with Parcells, I think he had someone who is patient, knows how to not put too much pressure on the QB, (I’d say Parcells uses the #2 approach.), and that’s the reason Testeverde was able to resurrect his career.

Your theory on Sanchez is seriously flawed by the fact that he led them to two conference title games. And if I’m not mistaken, in his first two years as a starter. I think it’s a new day and age in the NFL. This is the 21st century. You throw your rookie QBs to the wolves. They’re doing better and better (Big Ben, Sanchize, Matty Ice, Supercam, etc.). Maybe Tebow would be even better by now if he was handed the reigns to a franchise from the beginning.

But would you say Sanchez is an elite QB—or even a very good QB? See, I can’t say that with much confidence—even though he went to two AFC championship games. Imo, Sanchez is not quite there, yet, although he could be—and part of the problem seems to be a combination of comfort level and confidence. That’s what makes the Tebow pick up so problematic, imo. The Tebow pick up makes sense if a) the Jets believe that Sanchez should handle the challenge with flying colors, otherwise he’s not the QB for them (i.e., the Jets would be willing to move on); b) that they really believe in Tebow’s potential—so much so that they’re willing to change their team to fit him. If not, if they think Sanchez can be a really good QB, given more time and support, then I think this is a bad move.

No, I never tried to argue that Sanchez was elite. He’s not. I do think he’s good and he has a lot of upside. He knows how to win. That’s half the game right there. Though I agree that the Tebow trade was rather stupid for the Jets. As the saying goes, if you have more than one starting qb then you have no starting qb.

Sanchez was adequate in Schottenheimer’s offense. We’ll see how he does in Sporano’s scheme.

Well, we all know Sporano is Mr. Wildcat. So perhaps the writing is on the wall with this one.

I do think he’s good and he has a lot of upside.

He has upside, but that implies he’s still not very good, yet, imo. To me, Sanchez is shaky—he could become really good, or he could plummet. Maybe Tebow challenging Sanchez will be a good thing, but I’m skeptical about that.

No, I think upside implies someone good that has a chance to be great. I repeat, shaky doesn’t get you to the conference title game twice in a row. I don’t care how good their defense was. Sanchez deserves some credit. If I’m Ryan I continue with Sanchez as my starter. I put some goal line packages in for Tebow. That being said, if Sanchez has a horrible season statistically plus the team isn’t winning, I put Tebow in as my starter around the midway point. The have their bye exactly at the midway point, which is perfect for this purpose. Tebow starts week 10 and 11 in winnable road games at Seattle and St Louis. Then a big home contest week 12 against the Pats. Actually, the second half of their season doesn’t have any scary games except for the Pats. They can make a playoff push. One thing for sure, Tebow knows how to spark a team.

Technically, I think David Lee was “Mr. Wildcat”, but remember also that Tony Romo had a pretty solid season without any starting experience with Sporano calling plays for the Cowboys in 2006.

Sanchez deserves some credit.

Oh, I think he deserves credit, but he’s still pretty shaky, imo.

If I’m Ryan I continue with Sanchez as my starter. I put some goal line packages in for Tebow. That being said, if Sanchez has a horrible season statistically plus the team isn’t winning, I put Tebow in as my starter around the midway point. The have their bye exactly at the midway point, which is perfect for this purpose. Tebow starts week 10 and 11 in winnable road games at Seattle and St Louis. Then a big home contest week 12 against the Pats. Actually, the second half of their season doesn’t have any scary games except for the Pats. They can make a playoff push. One thing for sure, Tebow knows how to spark a team.

Sounds like a mess. So many things can go wrong, and a only a few options for this to work well.

The Jets aren’t in as much of a mess as people tend to think. They just set way too high expectations. They have a talented roster with rising stars at QB. The Pats aren’t getting any younger and Miami and Buffalo don’t ever seem to know how to get it together. I’d still buy the Jets long-term. They’re in line to inherit the division when Tom Terrific hangs it up.

I’ll be interested to see what they get from Coples and Stephen Hill. The thing that worries me about Sanchez is can he assert himself as the unquestioned leader of that offense and get Holmes and whoever is the #2 receiver) on the same page with him. You’re not going to compete with the Patriots if you’re throwing checkdowns to your tight end and running backs all the time (especially with NE loading up on WRs this offseason.

I take it for granted that no one in that division can ever compete with the Patriots, so long as Tom is in town! Though believe it or not, Sanchez is the next most viable candidate as a franchise qb in that division. Maybe that’s not saying much but still I think the Jets are closer to where they want to be than far away.

I’ll be curious to see how this Tannehill kid does. I imagine he’s in for a rough rookie season. The Bills will be good for some excitement and noise for about a quarter of the season, but that’s as far as it goes.

Who’s the Dolphins most viable WR at this point . . . Brian Hartline? Davon Bess? I think they’re better off playing Garrard this season.

Though believe it or not, Sanchez is the next most viable candidate as a franchise qb in that division

That’s not hard to believe, though, given that that there are only two other teams that have so-so or weak QBs.

Davon Bess?

Rainbow Warrior, baby!

I can’t believe the Dolphins traded Marshall. He was a playmaker and would be great help for a rookie qb. Oh well. I guess it makes the NFC North that much more interesting to watch. They’ve got a bumper crop of elite receivers in that division, not to mention some great signal callers. Maybe that’s the most talented offensive division.

^Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte.

Is the NFC North the best division in football, or only the most talented (or neither)?

I think the AFC North is still pretty good with Baltimore, Pittsburgh, and Cincy.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. Is Cleveland better than Minnesota? I’m not sure Cincy is better than Detroit.

NFC North won 36 games last year. AFC North won 37. Cincy was not better than Detroit last year . . . but they were better than Chicago. Cleveland was better than Minnesota in the same way that getting shot to death is better than getting strangled. The Vikings probably did enough in free agency so that the inverse is probably true.

Yeah, I forgot that in effect Chicago was the #3 team in the division. Maybe they still are. And Cleveland probably will be a stronger team than Minnesota this year. Is the AFC North the best division in football?

Pre-camp questions…

What will Hard Knocks expose when they train their lens on the Dolphins?

They say Peyton showed zip on his ball during OTAs. Are the Broncos really a contender for the Super Bowl or are we just kidding ourselves? Will Peyton have an above-average season or a below-average one?

Do the Eagles still have the best collection of talent on their roster? More importantly, will they gel?

T.O. was cut by the indoor football league. It’s the end of the road. Is he HOF material?

Are the Broncos really a contender for the Super Bowl or are we just kidding ourselves? Will Peyton have an above-average season or a below-average one?

It depends on his health—which is completely unknown to me. If he is close to the level before he was injured, and he stays healthy, I think the Broncos will be good—to the point of being contenders.

Do the Eagles still have the best collection of talent on their roster? More importantly, will they gel?

I think Andy Reid is a solid coach—good enough that I’d be surprised if they’re not much improved this year (i.e., having a team that can win it all).

Is he HOF material?

Imo, yes. The only thing make me hesitate is his attitude, but that probably wouldn’t stop me—although the guy had to be the worst teammate, ever. If there was a hall of fame for bad teammates, he’d be the top vote getter.

Hope he’s healthy. Would love to see one more great season out of Peyton, especially doing it for the Broncos! It would be so odd to see him struggle.

The Eagles will be better. Like you said, Reid is too good a coach for them not to. I fully expect them to challenge for the division crown.

T.O. should be a first-balloter without the slightest question. It will be an interesting litmus test to see what they do with him. If they don’t let him in, it is truly a meaningless popularity contest.