National Football League

[movingtarget]

Re:

Supporting my assertion that the Browns shouldn't look for a QB in the draft, Joe Thomas agreed with me that Cousins should be their number one objective (or another veteran QB). Pretty good interview on Golic & Wingo.

Yeah Browns can't pick their nose as far as QBs in the drafts go. This makes more sense. They get a good QB not a great one and build the rest of the team. Cousins will be well paid of course.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Cousins would be, by far, the biggest FA acquisition by any team in some years. I can't think back actually to this high of a QB on the market like this. So if he's available, and ANY team really needed a franchise QB, I'd shoot for the stars to get the guy. Even college QBs with as much potential as Darnold or Rosen aren't guarantees, and someone could probably do some research and compare how well top 5 QB picks careers measure up against Cousins. I would imagine it's well less than 50%.

Meanwhile, the XFL is back! Woohoo! I actually think what Vince McMahon said yesterday made a lot of sense. He wants to see a more open game, and a faster paced game, with a bit of emphasis on good sportsmanship. He brought up Tim Tebow for example, saying he'd love to see Tim in the XFL. Both Johnny Manzeil (is he a good sportsman?) and Colin Kaepernick's names were tossed out as well. I'll post some thoughts later on what I think the XFL could do to stay afloat, at least more than a year, which is what happened last time.

 

[Merckx index]

Re:

Cousins would be, by far, the biggest FA acquisition by any team in some years. I can't think back actually to this high of a QB on the market like this.

You forget about Peyton Manning?

 

[jmdirt]

I don't know what to think about the XFL. I guess I'll reserve judgment until I see if it actually happens, but based on the previous version I don't have high hopes.

We had an arena team here for a few years and it as pretty entertaining. It seems that CLE is a tough place for football teams because their AFL team is taking a two year break. Maybe the Boise Burn can take their place!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re: Re:

You forget about Peyton Manning?

That's an interesting thought. While I didn't say it, I was implying that Cousins is heading right into his prime. But even that I needed to look into. Here's a more refined answer. Peyton Manning, like when Brett Favre or Joe Montana came onto the market, was thought to be near the end of his career, in fact, it wasn't even known how well he'd even throw the ball again, or if he should be playing, after missing his last season in Indy due to neck surgery. Having said that, he did win a SB in Denver (well, the team did, and he got a ring, after a couple superb years in Denver), and Montana and Favre also won many games, and playoff games, after changing teams somewhat late in their careers. Rich Gannon is another somewhat standout, but in a different way. He never was considered a star QB early in his career, but when he moved to Oakland, he took the team to the Superbowl, and was maybe robbed of another shot the year before, and had he not gotten squished by Tony Saragusa the year before that, was on a tear. He was also MVP in I believe 2002. Kurt Warner also took Arizona to the SB, and darned near won it as a FA acquisition, but he was considered on the downside of his career. One could also argue that technically Drew Brees was a FA when he went from SD to NO, but the Chargers at that time thought Brees wasn't consistent enough, plus he had been injured, so they were fine letting him leave to get Philip Rivers.

Put another way, if I were the Browns and had a chance to get Cousins, then trade away the #1 pick to get more draft picks, I'd seriously consider it, even with the $24m price tag that Kirk will come with. Would I do the same for Alex Smith (presumably at about $20m a year?) I probably would. Bradford? Maybe. Keenum or Bridgewater? Not likely. Foles, not likely. Tyrod Taylor? No. No one else out there worth considering (sans Kaepernick, who won't likely get signed by anyone).

Thoughts on the XFL later.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

You forget about Peyton Manning?

That's an interesting thought. While I didn't say it, I was implying that Cousins is heading right into his prime. But even that I needed to look into. Here's a more refined answer. Peyton Manning, like when Brett Favre or Joe Montana came onto the market, was thought to be near the end of his career, in fact, it wasn't even known how well he'd even throw the ball again, or if he should be playing, after missing his last season in Indy due to neck surgery. Having said that, he did win a SB in Denver (well, the team did, and he got a ring, after a couple superb years in Denver), and Montana and Favre also won many games, and playoff games, after changing teams somewhat late in their careers. Rich Gannon is another somewhat standout, but in a different way. He never was considered a star QB early in his career, but when he moved to Oakland, he took the team to the Superbowl, and was maybe robbed of another shot the year before, and had he not gotten squished by Tony Saragusa the year before that, was on a tear. He was also MVP in I believe 2002. Kurt Warner also took Arizona to the SB, and darned near won it as a FA acquisition, but he was considered on the downside of his career. One could also argue that technically Drew Brees was a FA when he went from SD to NO, but the Chargers at that time thought Brees wasn't consistent enough, plus he had been injured, so they were fine letting him leave to get Philip Rivers.

Put another way, if I were the Browns and had a chance to get Cousins, then trade away the #1 pick to get more draft picks, I'd seriously consider it, even with the $24m price tag that Kirk will come with. Would I do the same for Alex Smith (presumably at about $20m a year?) I probably would. Bradford? Maybe. Keenum or Bridgewater? Not likely. Foles, not likely. Tyrod Taylor? No. No one else out there worth considering (sans Kaepernick, who won't likely get signed by anyone).

Thoughts on the XFL later.

I think that I heard/read that CLE has $115-120 mil in cap space so they can afford to pay a vet QB and still fill other needs.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Thoughts on the XFL, and why it might succeed, at least for a couple seasons.

• First, Vince McMahon and the WWE are now flush with liquid cash, much more than last time around. He's always been wealthy, but his net worth may top $2b by the end of this year.

• The league will operate as a single-entity. That is, the league owns and manages all teams, staff, everything. This is how MLS and the UFC operate, I think the WNBA too. MLS has adapted and from what I can tell, have exceptions that XFL aren't likely to consider, but for the XFL, I think it's a good idea. The WWE is single-entity as well, and obviously very successful, though of course the matches are worked.

• The WWE has a fairly established network, and the idea of streaming future games elsewhere to buyers like Amazon, Google/YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo! etc. has a lot of potential. Last time they relied on NBC (left out of football) to broadcast the games. When ratings dropped, sponsorship did, and that single outlet dried up. This won't be as likely this time.

• The XFL is focusing on what the NFL doesn't in other ways. Vince wants the games faster, down to 2 hours if possible. He also wants nothing to do with all the legal negativity around players. Meaning, you get a DUI, you're cut form the league. He also wants players to stand for the national anthem for example.

• Vince seemed pretty open to being very aggressive and open minded with other rules. Considering the league is a single-entity this is possible, but also runs the risk of being autocratic if he, as chairman, isn't open minded enough. Pro-wrestling professionals have said when it comes to booking the WWE (matchmaking and organizing), Vince is very good at making quick decisions others stumble on, that pan out and lead to success. Can he do that in the XFL?

• He's also going to really focus on safety, while this sounds good, and him being open minded to rules, this will be tough.

• He views the XFL as a full-time job for players. Meaning they'll get a weekly paycheck, with bonuses for teams that win, but not leaving teams that don't completely dry. The idea is to get players involved in their team and the league as a whole, in their communities and such. An interesting tactic.

Last time the XFL was almost a gimmick, with cheerleades, and marketed on hard hitting play, with things like fair catches eliminated. This league will be different in that it will focus on football, with some new wrinkles.

I think if you look at the old XFL, and some recent NFL Pro-Bowl games, specifically the 2016 Pro Bowl, you may see an example of what an XFL game might be like. There were cameras on the field a lot of the time, many players and coaches were mic'd up, kickoffs were eliminated, even the goal posts were moved in. It didn't seem like a gimmick, more like an open minded test.

Here's some thoughts on what I think the XFL could do. Some of these are rules the NFL could adopt.

1. Eliminate the kick-offs. Use Greg Schiavo's idea. After a TD one team gets the ball at the 25 yard line. Or, the team that just scored can get the ball at their own 40, and have it 4th down and 15 yards to go.

2. Eliminate punts inside opposing teams territory. Almost always a fair catch, or touchback, which is, well, boring.

3. Eliminate instant replay. Or, just have someone watching a TV in a booth, and if they see something on TV before the next team snaps the ball, buzz the on-field refs.

4. Eliminate post-scoring commercial breaks.

5. Eliminate the two-minute warning, or have it only in the 2nd half.

6. Cut time-outs to 2, or make 2 of 3 just 40 second time outs, or 3 per game total.

7. Make every player who suffers a concussion sit at least 1 game.

8. Make pass interference a 15 yard penalty and automatic first down, like college.

9. Have the clock start as soon as the ball is set on every play, except with less than 4 minutes to go in the game.

10. Shorten the quarters to 12 minutes, like the NBA.

11. Eliminate halftime, or cut it way down, and don't have the players leave the field.

12. Change the catch rule to the old days. Possession with both hands, both feet down, a catch.

13. Eliminate the fumble-touchback "Derek Carr" rule, and have it just be a loss of down.

14. Make limitations on how many FGs, even kicking extra points, a team can attempt in a game.

15. Start the season on this weekend - the same weekend as the pointless ProBowl. Or, the week right after the Super Bowl.

Good Q&E with Vince on their website http://www.xfl.com.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

Thoughts on the XFL, and why it might succeed, at least for a couple seasons.

• First, Vince McMahon and the WWE are now flush with liquid cash, much more than last time around. He's always been wealthy, but his net worth may top $2b by the end of this year.

• The league will operate as a single-entity. That is, the league owns and manages all teams, staff, everything. This is how MLS and the UFC operate, I think the WNBA too. MLS has adapted and from what I can tell, have exceptions that XFL aren't likely to consider, but for the XFL, I think it's a good idea. The WWE is single-entity as well, and obviously very successful, though of course the matches are worked.

• The WWE has a fairly established network, and the idea of streaming future games elsewhere to buyers like Amazon, Google/YouTube, Facebook, Yahoo! etc. has a lot of potential. Last time they relied on NBC (left out of football) to broadcast the games. When ratings dropped, sponsorship did, and that single outlet dried up. This won't be as likely this time.

• The XFL is focusing on what the NFL doesn't in other ways. Vince wants the games faster, down to 2 hours if possible. He also wants nothing to do with all the legal negativity around players. Meaning, you get a DUI, you're cut form the league. He also wants players to stand for the national anthem for example.

• Vince seemed pretty open to being very aggressive and open minded with other rules. Considering the league is a single-entity this is possible, but also runs the risk of being autocratic if he, as chairman, isn't open minded enough. Pro-wrestling professionals have said when it comes to booking the WWE (matchmaking and organizing), Vince is very good at making quick decisions others stumble on, that pan out and lead to success. Can he do that in the XFL?

• He's also going to really focus on safety, while this sounds good, and him being open minded to rules, this will be tough.

• He views the XFL as a full-time job for players. Meaning they'll get a weekly paycheck, with bonuses for teams that win, but not leaving teams that don't completely dry. The idea is to get players involved in their team and the league as a whole, in their communities and such. An interesting tactic.

Last time the XFL was almost a gimmick, with cheerleades, and marketed on hard hitting play, with things like fair catches eliminated. This league will be different in that it will focus on football, with some new wrinkles.

I think if you look at the old XFL, and some recent NFL Pro-Bowl games, specifically the 2016 Pro Bowl, you may see an example of what an XFL game might be like. There were cameras on the field a lot of the time, many players and coaches were mic'd up, kickoffs were eliminated, even the goal posts were moved in. It didn't seem like a gimmick, more like an open minded test.

Here's some thoughts on what I think the XFL could do. Some of these are rules the NFL could adopt.

1. Eliminate the kick-offs. Use Greg Schiavo's idea. After a TD one team gets the ball at the 25 yard line. Or, the team that just scored can get the ball at their own 40, and have it 4th down and 15 yards to go.

2. Eliminate punts inside opposing teams territory. Almost always a fair catch, or touchback, which is, well, boring.

3. Eliminate instant replay. Or, just have someone watching a TV in a booth, and if they see something on TV before the next team snaps the ball, buzz the on-field refs.

4. Eliminate post-scoring commercial breaks.

5. Eliminate the two-minute warning, or have it only in the 2nd half.

6. Cut time-outs to 2, or make 2 of 3 just 40 second time outs, or 3 per game total.

7. Make every player who suffers a concussion sit at least 1 game.

8. Make pass interference a 15 yard penalty and automatic first down, like college.

9. Have the clock start as soon as the ball is set on every play, except with less than 4 minutes to go in the game.

10. Shorten the quarters to 12 minutes, like the NBA.

11. Eliminate halftime, or cut it way down, and don't have the players leave the field.

12. Change the catch rule to the old days. Possession with both hands, both feet down, a catch.

13. Eliminate the fumble-touchback "Derek Carr" rule, and have it just be a loss of down.

14. Make limitations on how many FGs, even kicking extra points, a team can attempt in a game.

15. Start the season on this weekend - the same weekend as the pointless ProBowl. Or, the week right after the Super Bowl.

Good Q&E with Vince on their website http://www.xfl.com.

Some good ideas there. The advertising when watching a game on TV is a real problem. It takes two hours to watch a men's marathon end to end, most people are happy to only watch the last two hours of a road cycling race that is the real fans, most sports have a running time much quicker than NFL except for cricket and men's tennis when it gets to the five set matches etc.......I am sure many people only watch the NFL highlights package of nine or so minutes without ads or the You Tube replays of two hours or so without ads. It's mindless watching a game end to end on TV and have to sit through so many breaks. Then you have the Super Bowl which promotes the advertising to an even higher level and have a protracted half time of entertainment. Money talks in other words.

The XFL also gives an opportunity to undrafted players and overlooked older players. I think with a shorter running time, tweaking the rules and minimizing the advertising mainly to the longer breaks when a player is injured or at halftime could work well. How many TV viewers they get and fans at the games who knows ? Smaller cities maybe will also have a chance to field a team or cities that formerly had a team and no longer do. The biggest coup for them would be to get Kaep back on the field and maybe some other name players currently without a team. That is the sort of publicity they need.

 

[jmdirt]

Rumor: Smith just signed with the 'skins. If CLE doesn't land Cousins they are insane.

 

[Nomad]

Re:

Rumor: Smith just signed with the 'skins. If CLE doesn't land Cousins they are insane.

No rumor...Smith traded to the Skins:

http://kwese.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22268637/kansas-city-chiefs-trade-quarterback-alex-smith-washington-redskins

Finally the Texas Gunslinger gets the car keys and KC can move on. I'm surprised that Mahomes had to sit a year behind Smith. You don't trade away the house to draft a QB with the 10th OA pick to sit the bench for years behind a non-SB QB.

On Cousins jmdirt: Why in the heck would he want to play for a chumpy team like Cleveland? Supposedly Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville & the Jets are also very interested. My money is on Denver - we've seen how Elway brilliantly pulled this off with Peyton. This is where Elway shines. The Broncos need a QB BADLY. Why would Elway go for the draft again when it worked so well with Lynch. Lol. I say Cousins is the man for Denver if he can be persuaded. But Arizona is also a nice play to play if he wants to stay in the NFC.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

Rumor: Smith just signed with the 'skins. If CLE doesn't land Cousins they are insane.

No rumor...Smith traded to the Skins:

http://kwese.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22268637/kansas-city-chiefs-trade-quarterback-alex-smith-washington-redskins

Finally the Texas Gunslinger gets the car keys and KC can move on. I'm surprised that Mahomes had to sit a year behind Smith. You don't trade away the house to draft a QB with the 10th OA pick to sit the bench for years behind a non-SB QB.

On Cousins jmdirt: Why in the heck would he want to play for a chumpy team like Cleveland? Supposedly Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville & the Jets are also very interested. My money is on Denver - we've seen how Elway brilliantly pulled this off with Peyton. This is where Elway shines. The Broncos need a QB BADLY. Why would Elway go for the draft again when it worked so well with Lynch. Lol. I say Cousins is the man for Denver if he can be persuaded. But Arizona is also a nice play to play if he wants to stay in the NFC.

Should be a bonanza for Cousins wherever he goes. If the Browns offered the most I think he would go as Cousins has made it pretty clear about what he thinks he deserves money wise. Agree that Denver and Cardinals will also be very interested and probably a handful of other teams including both NY teams. Don't think Smith will be too unhappy moving on, he would have known what was going to happen. This will be his last contract probably. Elway hasn't been shining too much lately with his QB choices.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

Rumor: Smith just signed with the 'skins. If CLE doesn't land Cousins they are insane.

No rumor...Smith traded to the Skins:

http://kwese.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22268637/kansas-city-chiefs-trade-quarterback-alex-smith-washington-redskins

Finally the Texas Gunslinger gets the car keys and KC can move on. I'm surprised that Mahomes had to sit a year behind Smith. You don't trade away the house to draft a QB with the 10th OA pick to sit the bench for years behind a non-SB QB.

On Cousins jmdirt: Why in the heck would he want to play for a chumpy team like Cleveland? Supposedly Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville & the Jets are also very interested. My money is on Denver - we've seen how Elway brilliantly pulled this off with Peyton. This is where Elway shines. The Broncos need a QB BADLY. Why would Elway go for the draft again when it worked so well with Lynch. Lol. I say Cousins is the man for Denver if he can be persuaded. But Arizona is also a nice play to play if he wants to stay in the NFC.

Being the QB of a 0-16 team that goes 8-8 makes you a friggin' star...a $25 Mil star. Although, CLE as an organization is poor, so even though I don't think that they are too far away from being competitive, they will never put together solid strings of seasons. I think that AR is more likely than DEN, but both of those would be good landing spots for he and the team.

RE: Mahomes: the kid would have destroyed his potential career as a starter this year that's why he had a learning year.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re: Re:

Rumor: Smith just signed with the 'skins. If CLE doesn't land Cousins they are insane.

No rumor...Smith traded to the Skins:

http://kwese.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22268637/kansas-city-chiefs-trade-quarterback-alex-smith-washington-redskins

Finally the Texas Gunslinger gets the car keys and KC can move on. I'm surprised that Mahomes had to sit a year behind Smith. You don't trade away the house to draft a QB with the 10th OA pick to sit the bench for years behind a non-SB QB.

On Cousins jmdirt: Why in the heck would he want to play for a chumpy team like Cleveland? Supposedly Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, Jacksonville & the Jets are also very interested. My money is on Denver - we've seen how Elway brilliantly pulled this off with Peyton. This is where Elway shines. The Broncos need a QB BADLY. Why would Elway go for the draft again when it worked so well with Lynch. Lol. I say Cousins is the man for Denver if he can be persuaded. But Arizona is also a nice play to play if he wants to stay in the NFC.

Being the QB of a 0-16 team that goes 8-8 makes you a friggin' star...a $25 Mil star. Although, CLE as an organization is poor, so even though I don't think that they are too far away from being competitive, they will never put together solid strings of seasons. I think that AR is more likely than DEN, but both of those would be good landing spots for he and the team.

RE: Mahomes: the kid would have destroyed his potential career as a starter this year that's why he had a learning year.

Good points all. Well, the inevitable happened, right? I did not see Smith staying at KC next season. But the Redskins??? 'Skins have to be the big losers of this trade! I do not see Smith as an upgrade to Cousins, especially considering Smith is much older than Kirk. Who knows how many more years the 33 year-old Smith has left, but probably 10 or 15 years less than Kirk. Though I think Smith will do okay in Wash, so too would have Cousins.

KC is the winner in this trade, if Mahomes lives up to expectations.

Cousins, also a winner as a result of this trade, can thank his lucky stars he won't be part of that lame organization any longer. I agree Cleveland is closer to being competitive than their record shows, and that Denver or Arizona are possible landing spots that look better at the moment than Cleveland, based on current rosters. But Cleveland has a boatload of draft picks. If I'm Cousins, Cleveland looks intriguing. Question is, what does Cleveland want to do? Jax looks like they are sticking with Bortles, but do they see Cousins as an upgrade to Bortles? Do they think Bortles can recover adequately from wrist surgery? Not sure about either question, but have a hunch they will stick with Bortles.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I agree Cousins is the winner here. Smith, somewhat neutral. Mahomes is still an unknown how well he will really perform when pushed to do so, regardless of what KC gave up for him. Time will tell.

The only problem with Cousins going to Denver is that he would likely suck up all the money left in Denver's cap space as is, which stands at just $24m. Now, Denver will dump some guys and free up some money, but there's just not a lot there. And don't think cutting Osweiller will help with that, he was paid by Cleveland all season, and counted as dead money against their cap.

The Cardinals have indicated they aren't really heading for a transition, as much as a rebuild from ground up with a new coach, new QB, new system. Now that they have hired Steve Wilks as HC, maybe he will want Cousins? They do have more wiggle room under the cap than Denver.

Cleveland has so much money, so much cap space, and so many young players and quality draft picks, it makes you wonder if just having the right QB with steady leadership could lead them to at least a decent season? Is Kirk Cousins that guy? Maybe. As I said before, the prize this FA market is Cousins. After that the picks get thin, or sketchy. Bradford may be their best option if they don't think Darnold, Rosen, etc. can start from week 1. Bridgewater, Keenum, Taylor, even Foles, I just don't see them doing much in Cleveland. They would likely go back to being a 5-11 team at best and stuck. AJ McCarren is still a risk to me. He is even keeled, but I just don't see him as a top tier QB, though we haven't seen him really even tested in this regard yet. He could surprise me and be the next Matt Hasselbeck, or Rich Gannon even. But he seems to me to be the next Matt Schaub.

 

[Catwhoorg]

If I were in charge at Cleveland, I'd be getting a quality experienced QB (Cousins fits the bill), and using the draft to fill in round them. Maybe trading away the #1 overall for a bevvy of further high picks. Whilst they have the long bad run of recent history, its actually a team in a good place and with the chance to be in a VERY good place in the next 12-24 months.

Of course, being Cleveland, they will probably mess this up.

 

[jmdirt]

My neighbor said this morning that the CLE front office is probably doing everything they can to trade all of their draft picks and cap money to be sure to get Manziel back! :lol:

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Let me start with this. This is going to be a fun off-season through the draft to watch. And not just with regard to Cleveland. There's the QB situations in Denver, Arizona, NY, Buffalo, Minnesota; the defensive situation in Seattle (as there is talk about breaking up the LOB).

Back to Cleveland, Cousins could be their man, and it might work. But there will likely be multiple bidders for Cousins, meaning his signing price will be much higher than his talent level warrants. That should make Cleveland think twice, since they have the uncontested rights to any one of the highly touted rookie QBs that will be available in this draft, who very well could become future NFL stars. So it's either Cousins (and bokoo $$$ payout) or rookie future star (and reasonable rookie contract). I think I'd be leaning toward the rookie QB, either at #1 overall draft spot or trade down a few spots and still get a QB they want. Bradford is a talented enough option, but his fragile body making him frequently unable to play also makes him a big question mark. As I say Cleveland should go for a rookie QB, there is that fear and apprehension that comes with knowing their QB history. However, nabbing Cousins could just as well add to that long list.

Shifting to NE, I don't think I can recall seeing Belichick smile so much this season, and not just this week. He just does not appear to look like a coach who has had enough and is ready to call it quits, as some pundits have suggested. Watching Sound FX last night, there was a clip of him smiling like a kid (& almost laughing, tho with Bill that's hard to gauge) at one of his players on the sideline, who had come up alongside Bill to scream out celebrations after a great play by NE. The player, realizing he may have just blown out his coach's eardrum, jumped back as if to say 'sorry coach'. Bill, turning his view from the field to his player's jumping back, cracks a huge smile as if to be enjoying his player's excitement. Yeah, I don't believe Belichick is going to retire after this SB. I may not be surprised if he does, but it's a big fat NOT for me.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Re:

My neighbor said this morning that the CLE front office is probably doing everything they can to trade all of their draft picks and cap money to be sure to get Manziel back! :lol:

In keeping with tradition! That's nasty :lol:

 

[jmdirt]

Let me start with this. This is going to be a fun off-season through the draft to watch. And not just with regard to Cleveland. There's the QB situations in Denver, Arizona, NY, Buffalo, Minnesota; the defensive situation in Seattle (as there is talk about breaking up the LOB).

Back to Cleveland, Cousins could be their man, and it might work. But there will likely be multiple bidders for Cousins, meaning his signing price will be much higher than his talent level warrants. That should make Cleveland think twice, since they have the uncontested rights to any one of the highly touted rookie QBs that will be available in this draft, who very well could become future NFL stars. So it's either Cousins (and bokoo $$$ payout) or rookie future star (and reasonable rookie contract). I think I'd be leaning toward the rookie QB, either at #1 overall draft spot or trade down a few spots and still get a QB they want. Bradford is a talented enough option, but his fragile body making him frequently unable to play also makes him a big question mark. As I say Cleveland should go for a rookie QB, there is that fear and apprehension that comes with knowing their QB history. However, nabbing Cousins could just as well add to that long list.

Shifting to NE, I don't think I can recall seeing Belichick smile so much this season, and not just this week. He just does not appear to look like a coach who has had enough and is ready to call it quits, as some pundits have suggested. Watching Sound FX last night, there was a clip of him smiling like a kid (& almost laughing, tho with Bill that's hard to gauge) at one of his players on the sideline, who had come up alongside Bill to scream out celebrations after a great play by NE. The player, realizing he may have just blown out his coach's eardrum, jumped back as if to say 'sorry coach'. Bill, turning his view from the field to his player's jumping back, cracks a huge smile as if to be enjoying his player's excitement. Yeah, I don't believe Belichick is going to retire after this SB. I may not be surprised if he does, but it's a big fat NOT for me.

RE: CLE: Sorry for repeating myself since I have been saying this since December, but CLE needs to have a sure thing behind center, they can't afford to gamble on the draft at QB. IMO Osweiler (or the like) might be a better bet than the the top five QBs in the draft...and since its a bit of a crap shoot, the QB who comes out of the third round might also be better than the top five. They just can't go there. If they can get Cousins for $30 mil, they should take him. Is he worth that in the big scheme of things, no. Is he worth that to them being 8-8, yes. I can't decide if Bridgewater is a solid bet or not, but if MIN let's him go, he might be OK for CLE even though he's not a solid proven vet.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Don't be sorry. No. I get that position. This is what is going to make this off season so interesting. So many options to go with, and finalized by what they actually do, and then ultimately how it all works out down the road. I really do hope Cleveland turns things around in a positive direction.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Re:

Agree that we could see a bidding war for Cousins, like I said, he's going to come out of this the winner, at least financially.

The entire "sure thing" QB is definitely nonsense. The most sure thing QB I have seen in the decade or so was Andrew Luck. How well has his career turned out? He's not bad, he's actually quite good. But he's been hurt a lot, and had a real struggle getting the team over the hump. I certainly wouldn't consider what he's done a sure thing. There were a lot of people who thought RG3 was a sure thing, recall that Cousins was drafted by Washington some 120 picks after him in that same draft. After his sophomore season at USC Matt Barkley was considered on the same level with Luck. Al Davis might have thought Jamarcus Russell was a sure thing.

The thing with Cleveland, they have so much cash, and so many draft picks, they could sign Cousins to something insane like a 5 year $140m contract with $100m of that guaranteed, plus draft a QB in the 2nd round, and still have a heap of high draft picks in this draft, including two in the top 4. And pick up some other free agents. And they can afford this. They're actually in an extremely enviable position right now. Just that they have a long history of screwing so many things up as a franchise...

My neighbor said this morning that the CLE front office is probably doing everything they can to trade all of their draft picks and cap money to be sure to get Manziel back! :lol:

Where do you live? Cincinatti?

 

[Tonton]

All along, the plan was for Mahomes to sit one year, learn from a consummate QB, and one year is less than Aaron Rodgers had to wait. Great pre-season, week 17 against the Broncos' defense was big. Both Von Miller and A. Talib are quoted in the KC Star as in awe. Talib concluding his interview by saying that Alex Smith was done in KC. I really think, and so did Jon Gruden before last year's draft, that Pat Mahomes will turn out to be a great QB. How great? We'll see. In that trade, a 3rd round pick and the skins best back was a steal

Thank you Alex: and good luck. Class-act, underrated, five offensive coordinators in your first five years in SF...not fair. You're tough, you hung in there, KC thanks you for five years of great football. And for mentoring Mahomes. Class-act.

I know Kirk Cousin a little (as in in person), I wish him the best. So please...no Cleveland. Since Marty Schottenheimer left, they have sucked, made stupid personnel decisions, nooooooooooooo !!! Denver is much better: the defense is really good, with him as a free agent, they can build a good O-line through the draft and whatever cap-space they have.

Superbowl: many dumbass Eagles' fans, but many great people and fans there too. The city of Rocky Balboa. What a story, what a win it would be! Underdogs. Go Eagles from a Chiefs' fan.

 

[movingtarget]

Re: Re:

My neighbor said this morning that the CLE front office is probably doing everything they can to trade all of their draft picks and cap money to be sure to get Manziel back! :lol:

In keeping with tradition! That's nasty :lol:

The Browns QB issues have become an ongoing joke. Even Bill B didn't have the nerve or the stomach to offer up Jimmy to the Browns even though they offered more than the 49ers. If it's not Manziel it will probably be Gabbert or maybe Hoyer !

 

[jmdirt]

According to Kurk Cousins, he found out about about the Smith trade via text message from a friend. If that is the case, that sucks. Its a business, I get that, but what ever happened to professional courtesy?! How about just being honest with people: "Hey Kurk, we are looking to trade for a free agent before the draft".

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

According to Kurk Cousins, he found out about about the Smith trade via text message from a friend. If that is the case, that sucks. Its a business, I get that, but what ever happened to professional courtesy?! How about just being honest with people: "Hey Kurk, we are looking to trade for a free agent before the draft".

Also happens a lot in other sports like the NBA. Even players are being told before their coaches when coaches are let go. Or maybe released on Twitter first. Professionally poor. Seems that players and coaches are seen as commodities and nothing else.