2014 NFL Offseason Thread

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Hey Dolph's, does this help any? http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/1...-owner-mark-davis-odds-fate-assistant-coaches

Allen sees the writing on the wall that next year is make or break for him to show improvement and wants to get all of his assistants an extra year of guaranteed money for if they fail next year. hopefully it isn't a huge issue, seems like Mark Davis is being reasonable giving Allen another year with his staff in place, DA needs to get over the fact that they won't have security past next season.

 

[Snowman1]

Shall just reply to this in here:

I could see them throwing a back loaded contract at Monroe as long as it doesn't compromise the future of the team in the terms of salary caps.

With Pierce and Rice...at a certain point in the season, if they ran the ball at all, I expected anything from a negative play, to a gain of 2 yards. Nothing more. Rice seemed to lose his explosiveness this season. I'd attribute that to his hip but it could have also been a lack of confidence in the O-line. The amount of hits Flacco took is UNACCEPTABLE. The penalties were arguably the most frustrating part of watching them play. It seems that I couldn't go 5 minutes without Oher or Shiply getting a False Start call.

The teams you named could pose an issue, but I expect at least 2 of them to eat their fill in FA. (Being optimistic here...) Depending on how the offseason goes, I wouldn't be surprised to see us pick up an O lineman or a Defensive end. Unfortunately, Arthur Jones will probably go looking for greener pastures like Ellerbe and Kruger as they entered their prime.

I have high hopes for next season though, this offeseason gives us a much needed opportunity to revamp out O Line, add more weapons for Flacco, and further solidify our defense.

My one worry however, is what will happen with Dennis Pitta. He will certainly draw hefty offers from teams with weak TE corps and I'm not sure how we could replace him. Dallas Clark and Ed Dickson are on the wire as well. That's certainly something to watch.

Looking at our free agents real quick:
-The first two they should talk to as you say are Dennis Pitta and Eugene Monroe. Gotta keep both of these guys. If Ed Dickson can come back on the cheap for depth and continuity that'll be fine too.
-Looks like the good story of Michael Oher is coming to an end, he's had so many chances and simply isn't a good player. Say goodbye to Mount Cody as well.
-Not sure how much James Ihedigbo and Corey Graham will want in the open market, but would like to see them back. Daryl Smith and Arthur Jones have played their way into not being affordable, and we've groomed their replacements already. On the flipside, bringing back Jacoby Jones should be affordable since he's a 30 year old burner.
-Another FA to keep your eye on may be James Jones. Flacco had a lot of his success with old veteran receivers, and he's the closest thing on the market except Anquan Boldin of course. Would be odd to see him come back though. (Our memories are so much fonder than his play, haha) If we don't take a wideout in FA being 3rd in the pecking order in the draft isn't too much to ask at all.

I'm not sure what the answer is to the issue of "we can't stop bigger running backs". Guys like Bell and Lacy carved up our defense. On top of that, the 4th quarter struggles for the Ravens' D have been well documented. Maybe they have the answer for that, although assume losing Ray's leadership played a big part in that.

They're throwing around too many backloaded contracts already, assuming they're going to throw another at Suggs to relieve some cap space this year. Flacco's due to make 14 mil but will make 28 mil in 2 years (that shit's definitely going to be restructured). Am leaning "offensive line" for the struggles of the running backs. Rice has a ton of carries and had a hip injury, but that doesn't explain why Pierce was barely more effective moving the ball after being so good last year. Losing Birk hurt MUCH more than even Reed and Lewis. Flacco was the second-most sacked QB but he holds onto the ball too long (and usually has to), but still. Dumping Juan Castillo, changing blocking schemes, new players... Any change is better than no change.

Definitely a lot of optimism up in Baltimore for next year as there's a ton of teams who'd LOVE to be in our position. There's still only a few holes to fill on this roster, so lets fill them up and make another playoff run. :win:

Heard they are looking to deal the pick. I'd give the #5 pick and next year's first to get his ass

Absolutely worth it. Don't think the Texans will flip that pick though, but there's a 90% chance the Rams will move down. You can jump up to #2 for Bortles (hoping he pans out but really have no idea) With Carr embarrassing himself in the bowl game and Hundley going back to school don't you have to trade up?

Heard rumors that Chud was fired in Cleveland because Manziel to the Clowns is a lock and he wasn't having it. But you know how draft rumors are though.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

So essentially Houston will go QB at 1, STL wants to trade out, probably to a team wanting Bortles or Clowney and the Browns are locked into John Football at 4. is there any other top 10 QB prospect besides Carr? What happened with Boyd?

if we don't go Q I guess I could live with Clowney or Watkins.

SIgn Jared ALlen and Draft Clowney. pass rush issues eliminated

 

[Snowman1]

Here's a fairly good article about him, lots of the criticisms are mirrored by other draft sites I've seen (inconsistent, some struggles under pressure, height... really, I thought "height" wasn't a thing to scoff at anymore with QB's after RG3 and Wilson)

http://www.dawgsbynature.com/2013/1...etting-to-know-the-2014-draft-class-tajh-boyd

Everywhere I'm seeing is pegging him as a high 2nd rounder, if that holds up the Raiders can take him and his buddy Watkins and be ballin

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Lots of options for sure, we will find out what McKenzie is made out of

 

[Vice]

Ugh, I'll have to see how he develops, but facing Johnny Football 2 times a year for the foreseeable future (should the Browns draft him) isn't exactly grounds for celebration. But it's too early to say. After Geno Smith crashed and burned, it's a toss up for me as to whether he'll do well or not...

 

[DK JAMES]

This thread makes me sad, I still remember the 2013 offseason thread. Went by way too fast.

 

[Varus]

I wouldn't be surprised if the vikings drafted AJ McCaron.

 

[Vice]

I already know who the Texans will select with the first pick.

Never fucking gets old.

 

[pottsy946]

Ok well Bears wise, it's kinda obvious where we need to get bodies back, and strenthen as well, being in the UK ofc we hear shit all about the NFL in reality, so the post season info does take me a wee bit longer to come over, first of all kinda torn on the Cutler contract, I guess it's nice to tie him down, him and Brandon love each other so much they must be fucking tbh, but my issue is as soon as jay came back, Marshall was back in double coverage yet again, always the first look as well, but when he was out it made the Bears O a little less obvious and Alson fucked people over, which then gave marshall some more space, as the Bears became a dual threat team for secondaries

Don't get me wrong Brandon Marshall is fucking immense, but now we have another viable every down option i personally think he is better without Cutler

 

[Danielson]

because most of our teams are already in their offseason, lets discuss what should happen with our teams

to say this is a big ass offseason for Oakland would be a monumental understatement. A huge portion of ignorant fans for years said the Raiders would be better off with Al Davis dead, and so far that's been far from the case. McKenzie has been purging our roster which I suppose had to be done, but now its time to see what he's got. He has a full slate of picks and a bunch of cap space, but also some key free agents of his own. So far we haven't seen much with his limited cap space and draft picks to work with, but he has been more 'miss' than 'hit' in both areas with the chips he has had to play with. He was also a part of enabling Allen to run Pryor's stock into the ground, but that's another thing.

Raiders FAs of note:
LT Jared Veldheer- we can't let him hit the open market. lock his ass up long term
DE Lamarr Houston- had his best season and is our best DL, but probably better to let him walk than overpay to keep him. he isn't a game changer most days
RB Darren McFadden- no chance he is back
S C-Wood- wouldn't mind bringing him back one more year if he doesn't feel like hanging em up quite yet
CB Mike Jenkins- played well enough that I'd give him another 1 year deal and let him compete for playing time next year
WR Jacoby Ford- I can't advocate bringing him back, too fragile. can be a true game changer when healthy though from the slot or returning kicks
RB Rashad Jennings- give him a 1 year deal and draft a RB in the 6th/7th round to compete for carries

FAs the Raiders should target with their abundant cap space:

Jared Allen- we haven't had a decent edge rusher since Derrick Burgess. he is from northern California and is only 31.. I would give him a 3/4 year deal worth big money. I think this can be a huge step in the right direction for our D

Alex Mack- one of the top centers in the league and sticking with the theme of dudes from CA, he went to Berkeley. Signing Mack lets Wiz jr slide back over to LG where he excelled as a rookie. then we just need a RG and the line is set with Big V-Wiz Jr-Mack-FA/Draft-Watson (2nd r pick out of FSU last year)

Michael Vick- Keeping up the theme of having competition at each position I would try to bring in Vick on a 1/2 year deal to compete with a first round rookie. Pryor is going to be traded and McGloin can stick around as third string, which is about the extent of his capability. In my dream world we can trade up to #1 to get Bridgewater, but realistically we take whoever we rate the highest at #5 and have him compete with Vick, ultimately hoping he takes the job obviously. Vick isn't going to stay healthy for 16 games but he is a great backup who can give your team a boost if the starter goes down

WR Hakeem Nicks- Disappointing contract season means we maybe get him cheap if the Giants let him walk. I love his potential, maybe if we pay him like a #1 and treat him like a #1 he will perform like it. I think once Cruz emerged he sort of tuned out when he wasn't being featured in a lot of games.

@Danielson give us that Giants scoop.
@Snowman how do the Ravens get back on track
@pottsy946 whats next for Chicago after dat lulzy Cutler contract?
@Varus who the Lions gonna hire?

tag other users to get more teams. I can't think of any more atm

all of our teams suck lol

Nicks is a good player. He needs a quarterback though that isn't afraid to throw in coverage because he isn't terribly fast, but catches everything thrown his way.

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

Nicks is a good player. He needs a quarterback though that isn't afraid to throw in coverage because he isn't terribly fast, but catches everything thrown his way.

you think he's 100% gone or is there a chance the Giants sign him back?

 

[Danielson]

you think he's 100% gone or is there a chance the Giants sign him back?

I don't think we will mostly because we had to give all that money to cruz already. Also, Cruz got the contract because he never took a play off, and produced. Nicks to me looked like he was trying to avoid injury all year pulling up short on routes, and not trying to break as many tackles. That's just what I seen. Also, I think we will choose to resign tuck over him. I feel like it's between the two.

If it was me i'd sign Nicks, but I think coughlin is done with him.

 

[Vice]

I don't think we will mostly because we had to give all that money to cruz already. Also, Cruz got the contract because he never took a play off, and produced. Nicks to me looked like he was trying to avoid injury all year pulling up short on routes, and not trying to break as many tackles. That's just what I seen. Also, I think we will choose to resign tuck over him. I feel like it's between the two.

If it was me i'd sign Nicks, but I think coughlin is done with him.

Any candidates for where he could end up? I'm sure he still has big plays in the tank.

 

[Danielson]

Any candidates for where he could end up? I'm sure he still has big plays in the tank.

A team with enough payroll to give him #1 money. Jets, Raiders, Or Jags ( they have so much cap room in madden it's unreal)