NFL 2011 Off-Season thread

[No More Sorrow]

When i first read about the James Harrison thing, i pictured him just walking upto Rodger Godell and dropping him, this whole thing between these two is entertaining. I did kind of think that Harrison was targeted last season and that's why he had so many fines. I understand the NFL's view on player protection, but still Harrison was getting fined like every week for hits. He's just an agressive player in my opnion.

And i love Bryant, but he really needs to grow up. He's getting the chance of a liftime playing for the Dallas Cowboys, and he has SO much potential but he's never going to get anywhere in the NFL with his attitude.

 

[PHX]

He got basically used as a scapegoat with them trying to make the game "safer" In reality they only want to protect the offensive players because they are the ones who bring in the most money for the NFL. If they cared so much about player safety then they wouldn't be trying to add this 18 game season they are trying to do. So I can get Harrison and any other players feelings toward all the changes.

 

[Kiffy Lube]

Harrison's reactions are hilarious, but I'm sure the media makes him look like a buffoon. So, Goddell the well mannered business man looks like a million bucks. Too bad he can't hold his own in the humor department.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Can Godell even do anything about this, like i'm sure he's read about it but can he ACTUALLY like suspend Harrison over it? i'm pretty sure he can't, and if he could i don't think he would im just curious if he's going to have a response.

 

[PHX]

Was wondering that as well when I heard it on the Dan Patrick show and I think despite the lockout he still can do some sort of disciplinary act. What exactly idk but apparently he can do something about it still.

 

[No More Sorrow]

At this point i'm sure Harrison doesn't care i mean he wouldn't have said those things if he didn't want Godell to read about it. I still think it's awesome though, and i don't think he's a dirty player, there's worse guys in the league in my opnion.

 

[No More Sorrow]

NEW YORK -- A source with knowledge of the NFL talks told ESPN's Sal Paolantonio on Thursday night that the negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement are headed toward a settlement.

The sides have agreed in principle to a rookie wage system, sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter earlier Thursday evening. Since that is no longer an impediment to a deal, the source told Paolantonio, "both sides are intent on working through each issue line by line to get this deal done."

In the time since the rookie wage system was overcome, the progress has been significant with almost unforeseen momentum, surprising even the participants, another source said.

With the sides working at a frenzied pace, they reached a tentative agreement to make the 2011 salary cap $120 million, a source told ESPN.com NFL senior writer John Clayton.

Since February, the players have been willing to accept a $141 million player cost number -- which includes both salaries and benefits paid to players -- per team, multiple sources told Clayton. By agreeing to a $120 million cap, the players allow $21 million per team to be in benefits. Now that a cap number has been formed, teams need to determine the minimum cash payroll number, or what teams will be required to spend.

The guaranteed spend forces every team to put up more than 90 percent of the salary cap in cash each season. A couple of weeks ago, the owners talked about having the guaranteed spend number at close to 100 percent of the salary cap, according to sources. That number and percentage could still be adjusted.

The 2009 cap was $123 million but was moved by $5 million to $128 million due to a one-time adjustment called a cash adjustment mechanism. The change is an aberrational adjustment, due to the fact that 2009 was the last capped season of the previous CBA.

Last season was an uncapped year.

Because a 2011 salary cap of $120 million could cause problems for teams such as Dallas, Pittsburgh and others that currently spend more than that, one of the provisions being discussed is a one-player cap exemption for each team, according to a source. That exemption would be a $3 million credit in 2011 that would count against benefits paid out, a source said. That exemption, which could drop to $1.5 million next year, could save the jobs of players.

The exemption transition would be similar to the minimum salary benefit that allows teams to sign a veteran player to a one-year contract at a greatly reduced cap number. Full details of that option weren't immediately announced.

The work to be done could still scuttle a deal, but that is unlikely, a source told ESPN. A player source told ESPN's Andrew Brandt that the sudden surge in progress is due to a "sense of urgency" arriving in the talks Thursday.

A player source told ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen that talks were beginning to wrap up for the night around 10 p.m. ET "on a positive note." The source said talks are expected to pick up on the same note at 9 a.m. ET on Friday, and NFLPA lawyer Jeffrey Kessler told ESPN after Thursday's 13-hour session that the sides could stay through the weekend.

Sources told Mortensen that the two sides continued to work on open issues including workman's compensation, right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class, settlement on the television damages and the Brady vs. NFL antitrust case and issues relating to commercial sponsorships.

Additionally, owners want the NFL Players Association to recertify as a union and settle all grievances through arbitration without judicial oversight. To gain advantages on many of the remaining issues, sources say the players may be willing to grant the owners' request for a comprehensive arbitration system without judicial oversight, a thorn in the owners' side since 1993 on grievance cases that have been appealed to U.S. District Judge David Doty.

In exchange for the NFLPA surrendering judicial oversight of the pending agreement, an overhaul of the NFL-NFLPA arbitration system is in the works, sources told Mortensen. It would include a panel of former judges to serve as arbitrators.

Although sources had told Mortensen earlier Thursday that commissioner discipline would be subject to arbitrator appeal, sources said late Thursday night that was unlikely. However, other matters of discipline, including drug suspensions, will still be subject to review under the proposed system, the sources said. Terms are still being negotiated, according to sources.

The players currently are unwilling to grant NFL teams extra right-of-first-refusals on this year's free agent class, because many of those free agents were restricted under last year's uncapped system. Owners have asked that they have the right to designate three free agents whose contracts with other teams they would have the right to match.

It is unclear whether the talks will shift to Minneapolis on Monday. Judge Arthur Boylan, the court-ordered mediator who is on vacation in Ireland, has ordered both sides to meet in Minneapolis on Tuesday, July 19. But if the deal is completed, or close to completion, the negotiators may stay in New York at the Manhattan law firm where the complex work is slowly coming to a close.

The rookie wage system had been a key part of that complex work in recent weeks. Exact language of the rookie wage system is being worked out by both sides' lawyers, sources told Mortensen, but a management negotiator agreed that the rookie system was "done."

According to sources, the terms agreed to on the rookie wage system are, in part, as follows:

- Five-year contracts, with a team option for the fifth year.

- If the team option is exercised, in the fifth year the top 10 picks would receive a salary equal to the average of the top 10 player salaries at their respective positions. That money would be guaranteed if the option is exercised after the third year of the contract.

- If the team option is exercised, in the fifth year picks 11-32 would receive a salary equal to the average of the Nos. 3-25 salaries at their respective positions. That money would be guaranteed if the option is exercised after the third year of the contract.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and eight of the 10 members of the owners' labor committee were present at Thursday's session, including Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys and John Mara of the New York Giants. Two new participants Thursday were Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy and San Diego Chargers owner Dean Spanos.

NFL Players Association chief DeMaurice Smith and a half-dozen current or former players also were there, including Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday, Baltimore Ravens defensive back Domonique Foxworth and Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora. Umenyiora is one of 10 player plaintiffs in a federal antitrust lawsuit against the league.

Sources told ESPN that Atlanta Falcons offensive lineman Tyson Clabo, a pending free agent, also is in attendance.

Despite the progress, Ravens cornerback Domonique Foxworth said as he left Thursday's NFL negotiations: "All the reports that are floating around, there really is no deal until our players approve it."

With deadlines coming up next week to get training camps and the preseason started, one owner told ESPN's Paolantonio on Wednesday that owners are trying to figure out how to get the league operational in time "so that we don't lose a week of preseason and we don't lose $200 million."

The Hall of Fame game that opens the exhibition season is scheduled for Aug. 7 between the St. Louis Rams and Chicago Bears, who hope to be able to start training camp at the end of next week.

Information from ESPN

Great news obviously

 

[PHX]

Yeah meant to post that after hearing it on NFL network. Finally some kind of progress in this thing. Was shocked to hear that, that was the biggest issue during this whole thing when I figured if anything that was something they could agree on first out of all the rest of the matters they have.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah same, i thought that was something they could've dealt with the first week they even started negotiating,but whatever it's all good news i'm feeling a little better about the 2011 season now. Hopefully the 21st they can agree on a new deal and get the league year started the 22nd or something.

 

[PHX]

The 18 game schedule will probably be the last thing that gets settled. Will say if the 18 game season happens there will be less preseason games to make some kind of middle ground. That or the players get a bit more of the 9 billion if they do 18 games.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah i think the same thing, and honestly i have no idea how to feel about an 18 game schedule. If i were in charge i'd make it a 17 game regular season schedule, 2 bye weeks and only 3 pre-season games.

 

[PHX]

That would probably be ideal for me as a viewer. Been thought they should have shortened the pre season as it gets pointless after week 2. Plus sucks when some teams lose a top player via preseason IE: Mike Vick years ago.

I'm interested to see what they do in terms of cap space as I think that will be the next issues that gets settled.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Yeah i agree with you on that the pre-season is pointless, unless your a back up QB looking for a job.

And the article i posted covers that, they agreed to that also it's going to be set at 120 millon per team, but that might end up changing.

 

[No More Sorrow]

Randy Moss went out with a whimper after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans last season, but his agent expects the "old Randy Moss" to return in 2011.

Agent Joel Segal told NFL.com that Moss is in "freakish shape" after "working out, two-a-days, all spring and summer in West Virginia."

Randy Moss' agent says the receiver is ready to be a "difference maker" again in 2011. He was far from that in 2010, a season in which he played for three different teams.

"He is determined, motivated and quite frankly has a huge chip on his shoulder. Whatever team ends up getting Randy, they're going to know they're getting the old Randy Moss," Segal told NFL.com. "He's not just coming in to be on the team, he's going to be Randy Moss -- a difference maker."

Moss, who turned 34 in February, finished 2010 with 28 receptions -- including just six in his eight games with Tennessee -- along with 393 receiving yards and five touchdowns in an up-and-down season in which he split time with the Titans, Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots.

That production was a big drop for the receiver who ranks second only to Jerry Rice for most TD catches, 100-yard receiving games and most games with two TD catches or more.

The seven-time Pro Bowler is tied with the Steelers' Hines Ward for eighth all-time in receptions with 954. He is just one of 10 players to have 950 or more career receptions.

The New York Jets are among the teams reportedly interested in Moss. Three of New York's top four receivers (Santonio Holmes, Braylon Edwards, Brad Smith) likely will be unrestricted free agents when the lockout is lifted.

Moss became a star in college, when he ended up at Marshall after off-field issues caused Notre Dame to rescind a scholarship offer. He had two brilliant seasons with the Thundering Herd, but he fell to the Vikings at No. 21 in the 1998 draft because of concerns about his character.

Moss unleashed all of that pent-up frustration in his first season, scoring 17 touchdowns and averaging more than 19 yards per catch to help the Vikings reach the NFC title game. In his seven seasons with the Vikings, Moss caught 574 passes for 9,142 yards and 90 touchdowns.

But the Vikings eventually grew tired of Moss' occasionally petulant behavior, and shipped him to the Raiders in 2005. A few nagging injuries and Oakland's struggles on the field combined to make his two years there largely unproductive.

However, 2007 -- his first year in New England -- ranks among the best from any receiver in NFL history, with 98 catches for 1,493 yards and a record 23 touchdowns to help the Patriots reach the Super Bowl. He caught 50 touchdowns in 52 games with the Patriots.

Information from The Associated Press

I know the guy didn't have a very good 2010 season, but i've always been a huge fan of his even though it didn't work out in Oakland. His agent is saying the "Old Randy Moss" is back and if so, then great for any team that picks him up.

What team do you guys think he will play for next season? i think the Jets are the most likely and maybe Seattle or St.Louis, but i think he'd want to play for a team that has a good chance of going to the Superbowl. Maybe even the Patriots will re-sign him,seems unlikely but not impossible i'm sure thats his ultimate destination.

 

[Kairi]

Two Bengals arrested within days of each other <!-- / icon and title --><!-- message -->
http://profootballtalk.nbcs ports.com/2011/07/17/bengals-marvin-white-arrested/

Quote:
<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="6" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px inset currentColor;" class="alt2">Bengals’ Marvin White arrested
Posted by Michael David Smith on July 17, 2011, 7:42 AM EDT

APBengals safety Marvin White was arrested on Thursday in Louisiana after an incident at his child’s daycare center.

Whit is charged with one count of simple assault and one count of disturbing the peace by loud and abusive language.

“Marvin White went to a local child care center to pay a bill for his child and he began to be verbally abusive to the management when the manager assumed he was boyfriend of the child’s mother,” St. Landry Parish Sheriff Bobby Guidroz said, per the Daily World. “They asked him to leave. He then made threats in front of the children and other adults there toward the management and made comments to his son’s grandmother, who was there to pick up the child.”

White was a fourth-round draft pick of the Bengals in 2007 and spent two years in Cincinnati. He was cut after training camp in 2009, played for both the Lions and Cowboys that year, and returned to the Bengals in 2010. He is set to be a free agent when the league year starts </td></tr></tbody></table>
Cedric Benson arrested, again | ProFootballTalk

Quote:
<table border="0" cellSpacing="0" cellPadding="6" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td style="border: 1px inset currentColor;" class="alt2">Cedric Benson arrested, again
Posted by Mike Florio on July 17, 2011, 11:56 AM EDT
With one unresolved legal issue possibly affecting his value on the free-agent market, Bengals running back Cedric Benson has a new one with which to contend.

Benson has been arrested and jailed in Travis County, Texas. He’s charged with assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

The arrest, first reported within the hour by Ricky Doyle of Your News Now, occurred early Sunday. According to records available online, Benson was booked at 6:42 a.m. local time.

Benson, who was cut by the Bears in 2007 after completing two thirds of the boating-driving-flying-while-intoxicated Trifecta (allegedly), resurrected his career in Cincinnati during the 2008 season. He rushed for 1,111 yards in 2010 and 1,251 in 2009.

The arrest, if the Bengals are willing to overlook it, makes his return to Cincinnati even more likely, given that there won’t be much of an alternative market for his services.

Meanwhile, Marvin White can take some consolation in the fact that he’s not the most recent member of the team to be arrested. And now Pacman’s arrest from only a week ago suddenly seems like a faded memory.

All (or at least most) kidding aside, three Bengals have been arrested in a week. Three. We realize that owner Mike Brown has a higher tolerance for problem children given that he can get them on the cheap, but at some point he needs to re-evaluate this policy.

In fairness to the Bengals, the organization had been doing a good job lately of keeping guys on the right path, before the lockout prevented the team from interacting with the players in any way. For this franchise in particular, the lockout can’t end quickly enough. </td></tr></tbody></table>