2010 NFL Offseason Thread - Offseason ends at 6 pm est

[Passacaglia]

I bet Leinart will be starting Week 1. This is probably just sending a mesage.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

I bet Leinart will be starting Week 1. This is probably just sending a mesage.

Yup. The message is "draft every Cardinal 2 rounds later in your fantasy draft than you would have before this preseason."

[DeToxRox]

To the Jets fans here, are you nervous about Sanchez yet? I am not drinking the Stafford koolaid yet but he has looked like a different QB so far this preseason. Sanchez looks just like the same QB as last year.

[Greyroofoo]

I <3 watching Bad Rex.

[Sun Tzu]

The 49ers backups and third stringers are officially better than the Raiders starters.

[bhlloy]

That's a good thing I guess because the starting DB's were shit. Mighty confident for a 4 point preseason win vs one of the worst teams in the NFL aren't we?

Just for lolz, a list of select QB's with worse ratings than Matt Leinart this postseason:

Drew Brees
Philip Rivers
Peyton Manning
Tony Romo
Matt Ryan
Kevin Kolb (who has looked terrible, no offense Philly fans but I'm loving the idea of the global meltdown that will happen if he still looks this bad in week 10 and McNabb has a winning record)
Donovan McNabb
Eli Manning
Derek Anderson
Derek Anderson's best day in the NFL

I'm not saying Leinart is a world beater, but it's a little early to go to Derek Anderson FFS. Up until last year, the kid had been a little above average in what NFL snaps he had got, and in terms of total snaps he's still basically a third year QB. Give him a chance. Mr. Elizabeth Hasselbeck was on ESPN and basically said he didn't agree with it at all and from what he's heard out of Arizona everybody thinks Whisenhunt is making a complete fuckup of the entire situation. Young QB's (which Leinart still is in terms of experience) need stability, not yanking in and out of the lineup after a couple of meh preseason games. That's pretty much how to destroy a young QB 101. Just my two cents. And really, Derek Anderson? Not like this is future HOF'er Kurt Warner vs a young Leinart all over again. If you need to go to Anderson your season is shot anyway. Might as well try building Leinart up and seeing what you have before waving the white flag.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Kevin Kolb (who has looked terrible, no offense Philly fans but I'm loving the idea of the global meltdown that will happen if he still looks this bad in week 10 and McNabb has a winning record)

god i want that team to implode. if nothing else but to bask in the e-tears of the philly blogoshere.

if week ten rolls around and there's talk of 'giving kafka a look' i might schadenfreude in my pants.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

That's a good thing I guess because the starting DB's were shit. Mighty confident for a 4 point preseason win vs one of the worst teams in the NFL aren't we?

Half of the starting DB's were on the sidelines the entire game...??? Reggie Smith (backup who started at CB) and old man Michael Lewis (Taylor Mays is replacing him) blew coverages left and right in the first two drives, hence all of the strong side of the field completions. I'm assuming that's what you're talking about? Otherwise you're talking out of your ass.

The game looked heavily lopsided in the first half despite Gore (2 carries, 58 yards), Westbrook (2 carries, 17 yards), Crabtree (didn't dress), Davis (didn't dress) & Heitmann (didn't dress) all off the field. In other words, it's like if the '08 Cardinals played without Edge, Boldin, Fitz, Hightower, Arrington, Docket, and Rolle, dominated, and then put in scrubs against the other teams starters, and still won.

So, yeah, I feel plenty confident. I'm also very excited about putting even more of a whooping on the once again lowly Cardinals this year, in what is sure to be the second season sweep in a row.

[miami_fan]

It is a no cap year I get it but really? A medical evaluation could not tell the Bengals that he was not going to be able to play?

Antonio Bryant cut by Cincinnati Bengals after struggling in camp; owed $8 million - ESPN

The Cincinnati Bengals released receiver Antonio Bryant, the team announced Sunday.

Bryant was a major disappointment after signing a four-year, $28 million contract this offseason with just under $8 million guaranteed. Bryant and Terrell Owens worked out for the Bengals in March. Cincinnati chose Bryant, who was coming off an injury-marred season. He had surgery to repair cartilage damage in his left knee last year, and caught only 39 passes for Tampa Bay. He struggled in minicamp and training camp and didn't play a game in a Bengals uniform.

The writing was on the wall for Bryant once Cincinnati signed Owens to a one-year deal at the start of camp to replace Bryant in the starting lineup.

Owens quickly developed into the Bengals' top receiver in preseason. Bryant missed all four preseason games because of the knee problem. Bryant said the muscles around the knee weren't strong enough to let him cut at full speed.

Also on Sunday, the Bengals put safety Gibril Wilson on injured reserve with damaged ligaments in his left knee and waived rookie long snapper Mike Windt.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

Charlie Batch lookin' good in preseason!

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Charlie Batch lookin' good in preseason!

You would look good too if you played after Dixon and Leftwich.

[TroyF]

DeAngelo Hall, ladies man.

hxxp://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/08/deangelo_hall_asks_reporter_to.html

What a moron.

[Sun Tzu]

Originally Posted by TroyF

DeAngelo Hall, ladies man.

hxxp://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/08/deangelo_hall_asks_reporter_to.html

What a moron.

"She definitely had to take them heels off for me."

"He demands I do this every time," Johnson pointed out.

"She ain't about to make me look bad," Hall said.

Incredibly, miraculously even, DeAngelo Hall is still single.

[watravaler]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

To the Jets fans here, are you nervous about Sanchez yet? I am not drinking the Stafford koolaid yet but he has looked like a different QB so far this preseason. Sanchez looks just like the same QB as last year.

He's never really deserved the hype he gets from the media. He has a LONG way to go just to get to AVERAGE NFL QB....and I'm not sure he ever makes that leap. He has the GQ looks that marketers dream about, but his game is sorely lacking...imo, the Jets will not win a SuperBowl with Mark Sanchez as their starting QB...still early, and time will tell, but he has never impressed me. Stafford was a tad bit more impressive last season, especially given the circumstances he was thrown into...but both QB's are going to take 4-5 years to develop, which shouldn't surprise anyone.

[jbergey22]

I think the Cardinals are doing the best thing possible if they want to win this year. Anderson can get the ball deep to one of the great WRs in the NFL which is something Leinart has proved incapable of doing. I dont think you can win many games averaging 4 yards per attempt which seems about all Leinart is capable of doing. Swing passes to running backs have a purpose every once in awhile however 20 of them a game will serve quite unsuccessful Im afraid.

[thesloppy]

Originally Posted by jbergey22

Swing passes to running backs have a purpose every once in awhile however 20 of them a game will serve quite unsuccessful Im afraid.

Tell that to Joey Harrington.

No really, he'd probably be happy to hear from somebody.

[JPhillips]

Originally Posted by TroyF

DeAngelo Hall, ladies man.

hxxp://voices.washingtonpost.com/dcsportsbog/2010/08/deangelo_hall_asks_reporter_to.html

What a moron.

What kind of reporter would agree to that shit?

[DaddyTorgo]

Honestly, with all the image problems that the NFL has I was just glad to see that he didn't ask the reporter on camera to suck his dick or something.

[Mustang]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Honestly, with all the image problems that the NFL has I was just glad to see that he didn't ask the reporter on camera to suck his dick or something.

Then he definitely needs to let her keep the heels on. Sluttier that way.

[DeToxRox]

Leigh Bodden put on IR with a torn rotator cuff. Will be trial by fire for McCourty and Butler.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by DeToxRox

Leigh Bodden put on IR with a torn rotator cuff. Will be trial by fire for McCourty and Butler.

Fuck me.

[jeff061]

Christ. The offense better be clicking this year. Because the pass defense is going to be among the worst in the league. Brutally bad.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by jeff061

Christ. The offense better be clicking this year. Because the pass defense is going to be among the worst in the league. Brutally bad.

What's so great is that they have an abysmally bad pass rush too. So it's not even like they can compensate by bringing more pressure.

Fuck me.

[stevew]

Bellichik(sp) has been on his "I'm Keith Hernandez" lately. I can't remember if they were final 8. But as a top grossing team they can afford some good free agents.

[M GO BLUE!!!]

So where does Leinart end up?

The only teams that make sense to me:

Seattle: Due to Pete Carroll (but he could be cut within a month)

Giants: Need a backup... Any backup.

Minnesota: Got to think about next year, if Favre does in fact retire.

Washington: How's McNabb's ankle?

Jacksonville: There are serious questions about Garrard.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Really excited about Chiefs rookies McCluster and Berry. Both of them are very special players and are really going to help this team out.

[JPhillips]

Cincy could also use a backup, but I doubt they bite on Leinart.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Minnesota: Got to think about next year, if Favre does in fact retire.

Also, it makes it funny if you think about Tavaris Jackson like a girl that Minnesota wants to break up with, but they don't want to look like a jerk, so they keep treating her worse and worse until she decides to leave on her own.

Picking up Leinart at this stage would be the equal of posting naked pictures of her sister on facebook.

[RedKingGold]

I wonder if the 49er's might be interested in Leinert. I don't think they're sold on David Carr or Nate Davis at this point.

That would certainly bring it full circle. If he'd come out in 2005, Leinert would've been the 49er's first overall pick over Alex Smith.

[Coffee Warlord]

Bears looking good in preseason. 0-4.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Bears looking good in preseason. 0-4.

If it's any consolation the last time Rod Marinelli was in a head coaching capacity of an NFL team, that team went 4-0 in the preseason and 0-16 in the regular season, so...

[stevew]

How does a team run a righty vs lefty QB battle. Seems like it would fuck too much with the Tackles.

Plus I really gotta dig deep for long term lefties. Young, Brunell, Vick, um?

[stevew]

How does a team run a righty vs lefty QB battle. Seems like it would fuck too much with the Tackles.

Plus I really gotta dig deep for long term lefties. Young, Brunell, Vick, um?

[DaddyTorgo]

having a lefty QB seems like it'd be a good way to capitalize on LT's being overpaid versus RT's...

just saying

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

Originally Posted by stevew

Plus I really gotta dig deep for long term lefties. Young, Brunell, Vick, um?

boomer, scott mitchell, jim zorn. marinovich's dad tied his arm behind his back and made him throw lefty. know idea why but that factoid stuck with me for some reason.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by stevew

How does a team run a righty vs lefty QB battle. Seems like it would fuck too much with the Tackles.

Plus I really gotta dig deep for long term lefties. Young, Brunell, Vick, um?

This one lefty for the Broncos. Tim Tebow.

[NorvTurnerOverdrive]

i always liked the aesthetic of lefties. they always seemed more... fluid? in every sport. strawberry, stacey augmon, toni kukoc. even leinart. i think he's a knucklehead, but i love his throwing motion.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Bears looking good in preseason. 0-4.

On the bright side, they held Colt McCoy to just 13/13 passing, 10.1 Y/A.

[Greyroofoo]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

Bears looking good in preseason. 0-4.

They can join my Colts then. Yay preseason!

[spleen1015]

Originally Posted by Greyroofoo

They can join my Colts then. Yay preseason!

The Colts have lost something like 24 of their last 28 preseason games. Not much to worry about there, I don't think.

[Suburban Rhythm]

Originally Posted by M GO BLUE!!!

Charlie Batch lookin' good in preseason!

You might be on to something...

Leftwich hurt last night, Batch plays 2+ quarters and then this-

Starting season with Batch is only answer

Another twist in QB saga

Until Leftwich's injury, it appeared the Steelers might release Batch and go with two quarterbacks until Roethlisberger returned. Instead, he might start, and that may be why they pulled Dixon so quickly, in order to get Batch some playing time. He threw only six passes in the first three preseason games.
"I think it is in good hands," Batch said of the quarterback position with him and Dixon. "We had three solid guys and now we have two. Either way, I'll be ready to go."
He said he had thought that the game Thursday night "possibly could be" his last with the Steelers. Now, they may turn to him to start the first four games.

[TroyF]

I watched the Broncos game on replay last night and want to give some quick thoughts on the Tebow pre-season. just for the record, I wasn't thrilled with the Tebow pick, I like the fact I can cheer for him, but I really wanted to see what he'd look like in the pre-season before I made any statements. Well, here they are, take them for what they are worth:

The numbers in the three games he played. . . 25-39, 344 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 1 Fumble.

Observations:

His arm is better than I thought. He can make all of the throws as they relate to arm strength. You'll note the 344 yards in 39 attempts is close to 9 yards per attempt.

He is better in the pocket than I thought he'd be. He didn't look to scramble every time there was pressure.

Big shock here. . . he struggles to read the defense now. Picking up blitzers, hot reads, etc. is a problem. He also locks onto receivers. In other news, the sky is blue. Welcome to the NFL rookie.

His accuracy is not good, despite the completion percentage. He threw behind players quite a bit. I think the speed of the NFL game is some of that, but he needs to work on that aspect of his game.

Overall? I think the kid can do this. I'm not going to say he'll be a star, but I think he can easily be a decent QB in the right system and a career backup at worst. I had questions if he should even be in the league. I don't see any concerns there anymore.

[TroyF]

One other quick note: He should be the main backup to Orton now, not Quinn.

[Ksyrup]

He also still can't get seem to get the hang of taking a direct snap, although you'd like to think that will vastly improve over the next year or more.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by TroyF

I watched the Broncos game on replay last night and want to give some quick thoughts on the Tebow pre-season. just for the record, I wasn't thrilled with the Tebow pick, I like the fact I can cheer for him, but I really wanted to see what he'd look like in the pre-season before I made any statements. Well, here they are, take them for what they are worth:

The numbers in the three games he played. . . 25-39, 344 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT, 1 Fumble.

Observations:

His arm is better than I thought. He can make all of the throws as they relate to arm strength. You'll note the 344 yards in 39 attempts is close to 9 yards per attempt.

He is better in the pocket than I thought he'd be. He didn't look to scramble every time there was pressure.

Big shock here. . . he struggles to read the defense now. Picking up blitzers, hot reads, etc. is a problem. He also locks onto receivers. In other news, the sky is blue. Welcome to the NFL rookie.

His accuracy is not good, despite the completion percentage. He threw behind players quite a bit. I think the speed of the NFL game is some of that, but he needs to work on that aspect of his game.

Overall? I think the kid can do this. I'm not going to say he'll be a star, but I think he can easily be a decent QB in the right system and a career backup at worst. I had questions if he should even be in the league. I don't see any concerns there anymore.

Do you know if the Broncos have plans to use him as a goal-line/wildcat QB? It seems to me that if you want this guy this raw to become a legit NFL starter in a few years, you can't waste developmental time trying to turn him into Ronnie Brown or Josh Cribbs.

But, I can see the strong temptation to get the popular first round pick on the field in any way possible.

Do you have a sense of what the Broncos plan to do with him in that regard? Do you have an opinion on what makes the most sense.

[Lathum]

I haven't watched a lick of Tebow with the Broncos, but were his numbers against first teamers or largely second and third teamers?

And IMO wasting a first round pick, one that you probably unnecessarily traded up for, on a guy who will be a career backup at worst is a boneheaded move. That being said I am rooting for him to succeed.

[TroyF]

Yes, he needs work under center. No question.

McDaniels is keeping his Wildcat stuff under wraps. I'd be stunned if we don't see packages for Tebow. Especially in third and short situations where Denver was horrible last year.

Lathum,

Keep in mind, that's MY take on him. The coaching staff thinks he's going to be a star. I'm not ready to go that far without seeing him improve in other areas, but I wouldn't put it past him. At the start of the year, I expected a 3 or 4 year project. After what I saw this preseason, I think he could be starting as early as late this year if Orton gets hurt.

He did most of his damage against 3rd and 4th string d's. That said, he was also playing with 4th stringers for 95% of his snaps. If it weren't for a few drops, his numbers would have been jaw dropping. (a 60 yard TD was dropped on his first drop back)

I agree about the pick at this point, but time will tell. I feel a hell of a lot better about it now than I did two months ago.

[Epi_862]

Tebow has played against slapdicks for the most part, and real NFL CB's will pick him off all the time. All. The. Time. And while i agree there's a point to be made of having a player with a good upside and a great attitude to the game on your team, the trading up part really seems pretty wild.

But hey, at the end of the day, all picks are a crapshoot.

One thing though - a wild cat QB? The dude is big, i'll give you that, but if he tries a goalline dive like that again... He'll be the first player getting killed on the field. His whole game screams college.

Not trying to be an asshole here, but in all kindness i think you should check the tape again, Troy. I especially would like to point out the arm strength thing - most any pro QB can throw when set up, but Tebow looks real shaky on the run so far. THAT, to me, is where we should grade arm strength.

[Ksyrup]

Wow - LenDale White out for the season with a ruptured achilles. it was bad enough having to rely on someone like him, but now even that won't happen.

[TroyF]

Originally Posted by Epi_862

Tebow has played against slapdicks for the most part, and real NFL CB's will pick him off all the time. All. The. Time. And while i agree there's a point to be made of having a player with a good upside and a great attitude to the game on your team, the trading up part really seems pretty wild.

But hey, at the end of the day, all picks are a crapshoot.

One thing though - a wild cat QB? The dude is big, i'll give you that, but if he tries a goalline dive like that again... He'll be the first player getting killed on the field. His whole game screams college.

Not trying to be an asshole here, but in all kindness i think you should check the tape again, Troy. I especially would like to point out the arm strength thing - most any pro QB can throw when set up, but Tebow looks real shaky on the run so far. THAT, to me, is where we should grade arm strength.

I have checked out the tape. If you watch one of the key plays his first game he rolled out to the right (remember he's left handed) and threw a 20 yard strike on the button. I'm not sure where your "he can't throw on the run" is coming from. His two INT's were both in the pocket INT's. He missed 13 passes the entire preseason, 3 of which were dropped. 8 of his 10 other incompletions came in the pocket, not on the run. So where are you getting your info from? Did you watch all 39 pass attempts (actually 42 if you count sacks and fumbles)? Because I did watch all of them.

The funny thing about the run is that the CB got the wind knocked out of him. He's going to run, just like any mobile QB will run. He'll learn to slide and get out of bounds as he gets older. Hell, Elway didn't grasp that until his 7th year in the league.

As far as CB's picking him off all the time? Yeah, he's a rookie. I know this is strange, but it really has nothing to do with Tebow. Rookies get picked off frequently. In the preseason and in the regular season. (20 INT's each for Stafford and Sanchez last year, Sanchez being blessed with one of the top Olines and running games in the league) Coming from the offense he came through, it's really not surprising he made some poor decisions. (I'd have been STUNNED if he hadn't) The thing that shocked me was how few of those poor decisions there was. He got picked off twice and two other throws could have been picked. Out of 42 drop backs? Not horrible.

Understand here, I'm not trying to justify Tebow as a God, a failure or saying what the Broncos gave up for him was right. He's on the team now no matter how we got him. I'm trying to judge him like I would judge any player on the team. Some people were saying at the start of the year he shouldn't even be in the league. He's won the backup QB job in camp without question. Other idiots were saying he'd be a God in his first year and Denver should start him opening day. Wrong. He's not ready to start opening day and may not be ready for another two years. (thought I think it will happen quicker than that based off what I saw)

I'll leave the hype/bashing to other people. I'm just trying to be objective in what I see. Take it for what it's worth.