NFL 2011 Off-Season thread

[PHX]

Idk that team is on the rise and this is mostly because of their defense and he is a big part of it. He shuts down whoever he is on pretty much which is huge in this day and age of high power offenses. Team that just won the superbowl the past few years have been teams that have strong offenses and good WR cores and will be fucked if they couldn't throw the football. So CB's matter and being a Ravens fan I know first hand how much they can matter. Team basically is set in every position but the one that held them back the past few years is CB.

So if the Raiders lose him their defense is gonna be fucked which means that team as a whole is fucked since they rely on the D so much.

 

[No More Sorrow]

And i want too be optimistic but i really don't think he's going to resign with Oakland, i think he'd do great with the Ravens, Giants and Eagles but still hoping he stays in Oakland.

And did the Ravens draft a corner?

 

[PHX]

Forget who exactly but yeah believe they drafted a few corners actually which I' am glad for but they still need to go and get a good vet corner and not depend on rookie corners since they have done that before. Would be okay for settling for Cromartie if he actually knew what tackling was.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

You are looking for a corner, you are doing pretty well if that is what you are concerned with. My team is still stuck on the Quarterback issue.

 

[PHX]

Thankful for that as Baltimore has QB issues for the longest before Flacco came along. Still say Vikings should have moved forward without Favre last year instead of dragging him out of retirement.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Well luckily for the Ravens, they have pretty much all the pieces in place to make a superbowl run. I love John Harbaugh i think he's a great coach and has a good defensive state of mind i still think that defense wins football games, and Ray lewis and Ed Reed are great leaders for that team, i'd like to see them get a little quicker at the wide reciver postion though.

And yeah atleast all the Favre drama is over now, i think. I still think playing last season hurt his legacy. I never really thought about it but if i were the Vikings i'd take a look at Kyle Orton since Denver seems to be leaning towards Tebow to be there starter this season. I think orton is a pretty solid Qb.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Thought i'd throw this out there,according to both ESPN and the NFL network today between 3:30 and 5:30 the NFL owners are voting on the new CBA, at 8 o'clock the NFLPA is holding a press confrence, likely to announce that they have re-certified as a union and that the players have voted on the new CBA as well. So hopefully by the end of tonight, the lockout that has ruined the NFL off season is over.

 

[PHX]

Looks like it's about to be official as the owners approved the new CBA that will be for 10 years. Just waiting for the players to sign,

 

[Ben]

Good stuff, and nice to see that there going to end up not missing any regular season games. Free Agency is going to be crazy though, as soon as guys can start signing.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

I can finally watch SportsCenter again?

 

[PHX]

Not yet as apparently as it's not a sure thing that the players will approve it on their end but should be totally done soon the way they are talking. Supposed to be opening up facilities on Sat. HOF game though is canceled.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Thankfully work only needed me for a few hours, ESPN blew my phone up when this story broke, about 7 texts from them and a few from some of my buddies.

Awesome shit here, the players haven't voted yet but i expect them to later on tonight or tomorrow morning, i belive Roger Godell said they have until Tuesday to sign off on it, i think it'll be done way before then. Hopefully tonight they get it done though, if so free agency starts on Wednesday and it's going to be f'n insane.

Wether they sign it tonight or tomorrow though, i think this lockout is over!

 

[No More Sorrow]

NFL owners and players have tentatively agreed to a plan that would allow for the players' executive committee to vote on Monday to recommend accepting the CBA and recertifying as a union, a source tells ESPN.

Under the plan, players would begin reporting to training camps as early as Wednesday to physically vote on whether to recertify, with the hope that it will be done by Friday at the earliest, the source said.

According to the source, progress in other talks with the owners has put the 11-member NFLPA executive board in position to vote Monday to recommend the 10-year collective bargaining agreement the owners ratified Thursday.

The players' association's plan calls for the NFLPA's executive committee to meet in Washington, D.C., on Monday. If all agreements have been reached by then, the executive committee is expected to vote to recommend the CBA and recommend recertifying as a union, the source said. After that, the 32 player representatives also must recommend the CBA and recertifying.

If the executive committee accepts the new CBA, the source said, players from certain teams would be allowed to report to training camps on Wednesday and players from other teams will be asked to report to camps Friday. The hope from both sides is there are enough votes to recertify the union by as early as Friday.

The NFLPA needs a 50-percent-plus-one-vote majority of the players in order to recertify its union and accept the terms of the CBA.

However, under this plan, a timeline for free agency and other player transactions is still uncertain. The NFL had announced Thursday it would open its doors to players under contract two days after the NFLPA's executive committee accepts the CBA and settlement terms from existing lawsuits and stated that free agency would start the day after the union is recertified.

With that timeline incorporated, it's likely that free agents -- and possibly re-signings -- might not be able to start until July 30 at the earliest. The sides plan to continue sorting out the free agency process over the weekend, according to the source.

It was vital for the NFLPA to have enough time for recertification and have a period of time for the renewed union to work out final details of its benefit plans.

Only a union can negotiate benefits for its members and the NFLPA feared a Tuesday deadline to recertify would not leave enough time to properly negotiate changes in the benefits packages. Under terms of the owners' agreement from Thursday, players would have reverted to the 2010 benefits plan if they didn't make adjustments within a certain time period.

Also Saturday, both sides got closer to settling the $4 billion network television insurance case, according to a source. That case, which is in the court of Judge David Doty in Minneapolis, involved damages suffered by the players after Judge Doty ruled against the owners.

ESPN.Com

So looks like next week IS the week all this shit will end.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Folks, we're really sorry for this. We really are. But it's our duty to keep our Spidey-Senses up for NFL news, and we've caught wind of a … well, we're searching for the right word to describe it … rumor. Howard Eskin of 610 WIP Sports Radio in Philadelphia has it out there that the Eagles are interested in possibly procuring the services of ...

Br…

Bre…

Brett Fa…

The worst part is that though Favre has made no noises about returning to the game after retirement (again), his possible tenure with the Eagles makes all the sense in the world, especially given the time constraints of the (potential) new CBA. If the league year starts next Wednesday, training camps will be limited at best, and we all know how Favre has enjoyed playing his own tune when it comes to that part of the preseason — he was very transparent in his last two retirements, both of which had him with the Minnesota Vikings when those retirements were retracted.

Add in the fact that Favre knows Eagles head coach Andy Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg from his days in Green Bay, and you've got a good scheme fit for Favre's talents. And when the Eagles trade Kevin Kolb(notes) (as they undeniably will), that will put Michael Vick(notes) out there as the absolute starter. Factor in Vick's breakneck style, the injuries it led to in 2010, and the four games he missed, and it's clear the Eagles need a veteran backup familiar with a West Coast Offense that has aerial passing components.

Right now, this is just Eskin's rumor, though he's fairly dialed in. The Eagles can't talk to free agents or draft picks, but there's nothing in the lockout rules we're aware of preventing them from talking to retired players. If Favre is interested in coming back to a team able to challenge for a Super Bowl, in a media hotbed, behind a vulnerable quarterback, which a staff he knows, and talented targets all over the place … well, there would be few better places for him to go.

Then, there's the intangible argument. The lockout has taken the attention of the NFL media through the spring and summer; very few people have made Favre the primary subject of their attention, and we all know how he reacts to that.

It's tempting to ask the owners and players to put some sort of "Anti-Favre" provision in the new CBA before the NFLPA signs off on it, but we suppose we'll have to see how this plays out.

Again. Good Lord, again.

Here's Vick's take on the whole thing; he's pretty clearly setting the terms of such a deal by mentioning Favre as a 'backup.'

I would be honored to have Brett Favre as a backup. That will be amazing learning how to toy with defenses the way he did his whole career

Yahoo! sports

Wow. just wow.

 

[Ben]

Favre needs to just go away, last season proved he was done, backing up or starting he doesn't need to be taking a roster spot on any NFL team.