Finball
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Posts posted by Finball
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I think Pats are going to take this one. I wouldn't count out the Falcons completely though, this shouldn't be a blowout. All BB/Brady SBs have been tight games. Shanahan seems like a genius. Too bad he's just facing even bigger genius, with a better roster.
Some good reads on the game/Falcons/Pats.
http://www.footballperspective.com/new-england-led-the-nfl-in-points-allowed-in-a-unique-way/
https://theringer.com/its-unfair-how-good-matt-ryan-is-on-third-down-188845d4b818#.q8srcppas
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1 hour ago, rockywoj said:
I was actually advocating this at the time. C & G fixed just like that!
I have to admit to not following how Whitehair did in 2016, though. Was he a solid plug and play OG as billed?
Whitehair was a stud fro day one but he played center.
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30 minutes ago, Defjamz26 said:
He's almost as bad as Millen. Millen kept drafting WRs in the first round and it really cost him, but he got 1 right with Calvin Johnson. But equally as bad is having the best QB prospect with in the last 15 years and letting him get absolutely hammered for 5 years to the point that he had a shoulder issue for two seasons. It's really pick your poison tbh. But I do believe Colts fans need to stop trying to protect their reputation by believing he wasn't that bad. All he has to show for 5 drafts is a WR and an OG.
I believe Grigson was bad and I wanted him canned a long time ago. I just don't have him as the worst GM of the century.
I don't really give credit for Millen drafting Megatron. It was a no-brainer. Same with Colts drafting Luck.
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Berry.
If both were equally good at their position relative to the rest of the league, I'd take Poe easily. If Berry was just slighlty better, I'd still take Poe. But I see Berry as about top 5 safety and Poe as maybe top 20 interior defensive lineman. Berry is a great leader too
That's without going into how much they would cost.
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19 minutes ago, jameszeigler834 said:
Grigson is and was the worst GM of this century this guy seems to care about putting this team in the best possible position for success I didn't see at with Grigson.
Gene Smith, Matt Millen, John Izdik..
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3 hours ago, rockywoj said:
I am not so sure, either, but I've been reading that the Chargers are very strapped for cash and that as such, Melvin Ingram might be allowed to test the FA waters. If that's true, then the Colts ought to swoop in and get him. Much the same thing with Eric Berry. Hard to believe he might be available, but if he is, then breaking the bank for him is something I very much advocate.
Chargers don't have loads of cap space (though they could create some via cuts) but basically the only major UFA they have is Ingram. Others will be either cheap or they already have replacements ready.
If they want to keep him, they can do so, fairly easily.
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36 minutes ago, Pacergeek said:
I would expect Ballard to sign a few guys, but no big names. Better to draft well, and then have the money to re-sign our own guys when their Rookie contracts expire. Jerrell Freeman was not retained because we had money tied up in crappy FA's like Trent Cole and Arthur Jones.
I usually despise the idea of using free agency as a big tool to build a team but I think Colts should go after few big names*. We have too many holes that could be filled in a draft or two. Not a lot of players who are going to need big raises in a year or two. Guys drafted this year won't be UFAs until 2021. Smart long-term planning is a must but I wouldn't be worrying about not having enough room to re-sign our own players. Not even advocating spend all of our cap space; we have about 50M in cap space and I'm perfectly fine with rolling over like half of that.
*If Ballard can find impact players on cheap, then sure but most likely he'll need to spend money to get those.
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20 minutes ago, Jason_S said:
The only 2 teams that can still block interviews will be playing in the SB. no other team can now that their offseasons have officially started....so long as the position they'd be interviewing for is a promotion.
Unless their desired DC is still unemployed or in college, it can be blocked since in the NFL all assistant coaches are considered the same, whether it's DC, assistant coach, DB coach, ST coach or whatever. position coach to DC isn't a promotion in a coaching hires from other teams.
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I wouldn't mind it either on an incentive laden deal.
Low risk, medium reward.
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I'd assume Charles is also cut. Barely played the last two seasons, is owed over 6M and releasing him clears all of that.
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I'd assume it's pretty much guaranteed that Roby's 5th year option is picked up. Which would likely mean that earliest he could become free agent is in the 2019 offseason. That's if Broncos opt not to keep him.
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If it's corners under 25 for next season, Peters should be at the top. Eliminates a lot of good corners as it usually demands some experience.
Bradberry, Ramsey, Kevin Johnson, Jalen Collins, Bashaud Breeland, Roby and Darby deserve a mention though. Not sure in which order to rank them. Roby has probably the best track record of all of them but not sure I'd have him even in my top 3 for the future.
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55 minutes ago, 21isSuperman said:
If I recall KC's history correctly, they've been moderately active in free agency. They don't drop $200 mil on contracts in one offseason (a la the Redskins), but they do acquire talent using free agency (unlike teams like the Packers). I think it'll be the same approach here.
Mitchell Schwartz; 5 years, 33M, '16
Jeremy Maclin; 5 years, 55M, '15
Those are the FAs from other teams that Chiefs signed for somewhat big money the past 3 years. Then some cheaper signings for a few million and/or just a year or two, like Nick Foles, Tyvon Branch, Vance Walker, Joe Mays etc.
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57 minutes ago, coltsva said:
So why can't we hire Toub as HC, bring in who he and Ballard want as DC, and keep Chud, Philbin and Schottenheimer on the offensive side?
The guy Toub and Ballard want as a DC may be DC/position coach somewhere in the NFL and the team can simply deny permission for the Colts to speak to him.
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1 hour ago, SaturdayAllDay said:
So you would have traded away our starting guard from last yr (denzelle good) for a guaranteed chance at nothing??
It was a bluff from Collins and his agent. And it worked.
Quote“We can put it on the record now: We were never going back in the draft,” (agent) Smith says of waiting for the 2016 draft. “If someone had drafted him, we would’ve had a long, long discussion about it, but at the end of the day you can’t go back in the draft. He could get injured, gain weight, or 10 great tackles could come out. Too many risks.”
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/15/lael-collins-nfl-draft-dallas-cowboys-murder-investigation
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5 hours ago, MONEYdontLIE said:
The only players on that list that "excite" me at this point in the season are Berry, Poe, and Brandon Williams...
Teams don't let ELITE talent hit free agency unless they simply can't afford them most times... not sure of Baltimores cap situation but I HOPE Berry and or Poe hit free agency...
In my dream "maddenesque" world we get Berry and Williams... build the rest through the draft... none of the other talent screams "overpay for me" in my humble opinion...
Ravens as of now dont have lot of cap space; about 15M. Brandon Williams, Lawrence Guy and Ricky Wagner are notable UFAs, maybe Kyle Juszczyk too. He's FB but valuable in the passing game.
They could create more room by via some cuts (Webb, Dumervil) but that would open some more holes. And they have some big ones right now. They could use another playmaker on offense, upgrade at center or guard, pass rush, ILB and corner. Can't fix all of those of course but they might see those other holes as bigger ones than one created by letting Williams walk. They picked up a potential replacement for Williams last year in UDFA, Michael Pierce who had nice rookie year.
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Also Chiefs spent 64M on offense last year, 67M on defense; pretty balanced though relative to the rest of the league, they were slightly above average on spending when it came to defense and below average when it came to offense.
They also let Sean Smith walk to Oakland; or just couldnt match that deal. Thus they had pretty inexperienced and cheap corners as they didn't get replacements in UFA. They used a 3rd rounder on a corner, Keivarae Russell but he was cut at the preseason or something and picked up by the Chiefs. Looks like their biggest mistake of the past 3 seasons. They spent about 5M on their corners last year; 4th least in the league. They played better than that but guys after Peters didn't seem to do too well. They spent quite a bit on their safeties, though, 4th most in the league. Ron Parker, the safety alongside Berry, was a waiver pickup from the Seahawks.
EDIT. and so was Jaye Howard, waiver pickup from the Seahawks. Spencer Ware was signed to future contract,late 2014 after being waiver earlier in the year by the Seahawks... not sure if that's a coincidence or not. Probably pretty rare to have 3 starters (more or less, J.Howard doesn't play much on passing downs, good run stuffer) as waiver pickups, much less have those waiver pickups come from the same team.
Chiefs spend just about 15M on their oline last year; 4th least in the league too. And much of that to their FA acquisition RT, Mitch Schwartz. Relied on younger players instead,
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Chiefs first picks in the last 3 drafts. ;
Dee Ford
Marcus Peters
Chris Jones
That's 10 sack guy from last year,, 2 time Pro Bowler (and 1st team All Pro this past season) and arguably the best interior lineman of the '16 draft so far (counting Bosa as an edge player). Says a lot to me that Ford is clearly the worst player of that group.
Chris Jones was actually a 2nd rounder too, they traded down last year out of the 1st round. The only other 2nd rounder they've had in past 3 years is Mitch Morse, their starting center who I'd personally rank as an above average center.
They've found depth in the later rounds, like both of their starting Gs, depth CBs, LBs, pro bowl special teamers, Tyreek Hill etc..
They've found some solid players in Spence Ware, Cairos Santos, Albert Wilson, Jaye Howard and Daniel Sorensen as basically street FAs/waiver pickups/UDFAs.
Spend some money in FA and got Jeremy Maclin (played under Reid in Philly), Mitchell Schwartz in UFA.
Reid and Dorsey have probably had more say than Ballard in Chiefs roster decisions but what we know about the Chiefs is that they've tried and have found solid players in almost every possible way; and they've avoided big mistakes. Though Maclin contract isn't particulalry pretty right now, but wouldn't classify that as a bad signing either. Filled a big need for them. Same with Houston if injuries have gotten the better of him.
Also interesting (not sating wrong) decision to retain both Derrick Johnson and Tamba Hali last year, both veterans in their 30s to pretty big money, while being pretty tight witht he cap. Johnson made sense to keep as after he went down this past season, their linebackers were abused in coverage. With Hali, maybe they weren't sold on Ford? He did have relatively slow start to his career. And IIRC, it was known/speculated at the time (so probably known for the Chiefs) that Justin Houston wouldn't be able to start the season in time.
I guess the Chiefs draft mostly BPA, but I find it very convenient that after they lost their starting center to Oakland (Rodney Hudson) they drafted a replacement in the 2nd round that very year.
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18 minutes ago, NewColtsFan said:
Belichick was a successful DC before he was a head coach. His stint as a ST coach was earlier.
And Harbaugh, John, so far, is the exception to the rule. A guy who went from ST to HC. So, I can't imagine Irsay having a great deal of comfort in hiring a first time HC in Toub.
He appears to be looking for people with a proven track record of success this time around.
Harbaugh spent one years as a position coach (defensive backs) before getting HC gig with the Ravens. Didn't jump straight from ST to HC. But as he had been ST coach for almost a decade, and then just one year a positon coach, his work as ST coach mainly got the job for him.
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18 minutes ago, csmopar said:
i missed this, do you have a link to this report?
Doesn't say only but
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7 hours ago, lennymoore24 said:
Obviously, I am no expert, but just by draft history, I don''t see what is so good about what Ballard has been involved with on the Chiefs drafts. They are mediocre in my opinion. Eric Fischer? It reminds me of when Grigson came in, I couldn't figure out where the Eagles had done such a great job of drafting. Will we be duped by Andy Reid making a GM look good again? And many of the Chief players came under Scott Pioli.
Eric Fisher was drafted 2013, Ballard came in after that draft. Relative to their draft position, I think they have drafted pretty damn well.
'14 1st (24th ovr); Dee Ford; 10 sacks last year. Also found starters/backups, though not great ones, at CB, and both G positions in with 3rd, 6th and 6th round picks. No 2nd rounder, part of the Alex Smith trade.
2015 1st round (18th ovr) they got Marcus Peters, who has already made 1st and 2nd team All Pro teams so far in his career. Mitch Morse, 2nd rounder, solid to above average starting center. With their 3rd, compensation 3rd, 4th, and couple of late rounders they found depth/passable starters at WR, CB, ILB, and DT. And even Pro Bowl special teamer.
Last year they picked Chris Jones on their first pick after a trade down. For my money, he's been the best interior Dlineman of the draft (counting Bosa as an edge players), and again seemed to find at least solid depth at in mid/later rounds. Plus Tyreek Hill.
They don't miss on their first 2 picks; all 3 of their 1st rounder the past three years are pretty dman good players. The only year they had 2nd rounder they picked a starting center. They found depth in the later rounds.
They haven't found studs at skill positions outside of Hill and outside of Hill, they haven't found great players later in the draft either. But other than that, if we compare that drafting to other teams who've drafted in the same range with similar amount of picks, I'm pretty sure they Chiefs compare favorably against almost all of them.
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On 27.1.2017 at 3:54 PM, Tmoney said:
If NE has enough money to re sign Logan Ryan, Malcolm butler who you forgot by the way, and donta Hightower I will be shocked. They always get guys to take less money, but someone's ganna offer Logan 12mil/yr and Malcolm 12 mil/yr so like I said I doubt they keep them both
They very well might decide that they don't want to pay all of their guys but the Pats have about 65M in cap space for next season.
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31 minutes ago, Jason_S said:
Aside from harbaugh, did any of the others jump straight from ST to HC? THATS the difference
Harbaugh didn't do that either.
from wiki
QuoteIn 2007, after serving as Eagles' special-teams coach for nine years, he became their defensive-backs coach. This fulfilled his request to head coach Reid and improved his chances of landing a head coaching job, since executives at that time viewed special teams coaches as unqualified to move up to head coach.
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Quote
Ballard is his own man with his own opinions and he has spent the last two seasons working as the director of player personnel for the Chiefs under John Dorsey, whose Packers background includes time working for Ron Wolf and draft-driven Ted Thompson.
Yes, Ballard was the area scout when the Bears drafted running back Cedric Benson No. 4 overall out of Texas in 2005. Two years later, when it was becoming evident Benson wasn't going to work out, he thought the Bears should move up to draft Oklahoma running back Adrian Peterson if they had a chance.
That's a good sign. Ballard has strong enough conviction in what he's doing to admit when he has erred. He's the best salesman in the room with a clear-eyed belief in what he's doing but he also listens well.
Now this is something I like. No GM bats perfectly, there are going to be misses. But this guys seems to be willing to learn from his mistakes, admit that he's made one and fix it.
The whole article is a good read.
WG Dream Offseason
in NFL Draft, Scouting, and Free Agent Talk
Posted
I think the Williams contract is realistic (depending on guaranteed money). Almost as much on AAV as Harrison but he isn't as good player, the cap has gone up, etc. If I had to bet, I'd guess that he goes for less. There are other good NTs in this UFA group too.
Berry seems pretty realistic too. Maybe little high as he isn't as good at FS/playing deep, especially in the middle of the field. Harrison Smith got 10M per with 15M guarantees. Jenkins (more similar to Berry IMO) got 16M guaranteed, with just under 9M AAV.
However, I don't think Z.Brown will get that little. He's the best ILB/4-3 OLB in the market (I'm assuming Hightower gets re-signed or tagged). Quite a few teams need LBs. What else is there after him? Teo, Riley JR.. Pretty weak group IMO.
What is kind of terrifying since he was FA last year and signed 1 year 1.25M deal with the Bills. More or less, no one wanted him and realized what he could do.