NFL, are you having your dream offseason?

[kamandi]

Woohooo!

FA starts with Emery stealing Brandon Marshall from Miami. Draft comes and the Bears pick up a Marshall clone, Alshon Jeffery. They also get a versatile TE in Evan Rodriguez who may project into an Aaron Hernandez type player.

In one offseason, the Bears went from having no #1 (or #2 for that matter) WR, and a short, fast, finesse receiving corps, to a much bigger, more physical receiving corps.

McClellin is a monkey wrench that played all 7 spots on the dline in college, but the Bears will play him at DE opposite Peppers. You have the big, strong, fast Peppers wreaking havoc on one side, and on the other, you have the shorter, quicker, elusive McClellin using his fast first step and slipping blocks.

Other subtle moves were acquiring Michael Bush as insurance if Forte holds out, and to upgrade the RB corps. Jason Campbell for backup QB ... starter caliber game manager as a backup. Some additional special teams guys.

Lots of DBs taken, but I think they'll be special teamers more than anything, and hopefully, one of them develops into a starter.

Right now, the only real weakness the Bears have is OL and DBs ... yeah, big, I know, but this team looks better than last season.

Excellent offseason so far.

Richie, I know you must be happy with the Cowboys surprise pickup of Claiborne.

Are you all having your dream offseason, or the offseason from hell?

[Richie3Jack]

I'm having my offseason from hell.

I think the Claiborne pick wasn't all bad. First, they got him really cheap. Think about what the Skins paid to move up *less* spots and think about what the Cowboys paid to move up *8* spots (a 2nd rounder).

Here's the problem as I see it:

I honestly believe that teams over-value CB's in the league way too much these days.

Yes, you read that correctly.

I think a team that has very average CB's who are good tacklers, with some GOOD safeties, a solid pass rush and 2 Linebackers who can help out in coverage are better off than focusing on 'shutdown' corners.

The problem with shutdown corners is that they often can't tackle. And if they don't shutdown the WR, they WR can take it deep. They also struggled against TE's and screen passes and big plays in general. This is in particular tough for the Cowboys because they will face 2 of the fastest QB's in the league for 1/4 of the year in Vick and RGIII

Corners are also expensive and take away what you can pay for in pass rush and in safety play. Also, IIRC corners are the position that gets injured the most in football. I think if you look at the CB position, it's easy to see why with the possible hamstring, knee, ankle injuries that could happen along with having to tackle RB's with such little padding.

I just think that the league is still very much about not allowing the big play and you need good tackling corners and good overall safeties instead of good cover corners and average safeties. I know everybody loves Revis, but he's one of those few great cover corners who can also tackle well. They are almost extinct.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys look awful on the interior of the O-Line. When you have a 6'2" QB, you need to keep the front of the pocket from being penetrated or he can't see over the linemen. We are still stuck with Phil Costa at center, who was awful. We also have very average safeties at best and we are really relying on Bruce Carter to breakout, in only his 2nd season.

I think it was a typical Jerry Jones draft...we can get talent. Guys like Claiborne, Hanna, Coale, etc. have talent. But i think they once again fell short when it comes to mix-matching talent and once again are hoping too many players will have breakout seasons at key positions.

And I'm really fearful of the Eagles defense against the O-Line. After a while you would think they would want to stop the annual 'get mauled by the Eagles D-Line' nonsense.





3JACK

[cwdlaw223]

The Eagles D now has the right players for the wide 9 system (and press corners). Those guys are going to cause havoc in the NFC East. The only other D that's better in the NFC will be the 49ers. The only way the Eagles win the NFC East is if Vick stays healthy which won't happen. He's an average size human who plays against goliaths.

I think the 49ers are the best in the NFC followed by the Packers. Third is up for grabs.

The shut down corner is rare, thus, they should get paid huge money IMO. it's all about passing to get huge chunks.

Richie -

How long does it take on average for a team to score a touchdown after a kickoff? A punt? Vs. 20 years ago?

I bet the average time is 2:00-4:00 minutes to score now. Probably used to be double.

[kamandi]

I never used to give too much importance to CBs, but lately, I think their value is increasing because the NFL is turning into such a passing league. Another position I used to undervalue was nickel corner, but now, I can see it's value.

I agree on the importance of safeties, though ... they really are the last line of defense, and they're usually the ones who come up with the big play that catches a QB by surprise. Imagine having a Polamalu type player who's great against the run and the pass.

Jerry Jones seems to have a lot of confidence in Rob Ryan, but I think he's a bit overrated.

One reason I like the McClellin pick is for some of the reasons you've mentioned. Although Lovie has said that McClellin will only be a rush DE, he actually has the skills to drop down and cover passes. If he works out, he's regime independent, because he can play DE, OLB, and ILB. He also supposedly has the same instincts in diagnosing a play, like Urlacher.

For your OL, I'm guessing you were hoping to somehow also get the best guard in the draft, DeCastro. I heard he can play all 3 inside positions.

If your draft doesn't work out, maybe Jerry should hire a real GM who has his own strategies on building a team. Cowboys are filled with talent, though.

[kamandi]

Is the Eagles' DC still their former OL coach?

I was scratching my head wondering how he couldn't get the best out of maybe the most talented CB corps in the league. Coaches should play to a player's strengths ... how can Nnamdi look absolutely lethal with the Raiders, and absolutely garbage with the Eagles? That's a coaching thing.

[cwdlaw223]

It's a scheme thing. Namdi and Cromartie are bump and run corners. Samuels is a zone or robber corner who looks at the QB and doesn't play bump and run. The scheme was messed up last year because they didn't have the personnel for the interior of the wide 9 to work. If Namdi doesn't play well this year then he's old and done. Our corners now are physical and will try to re-direct WRs. Huge difference scheme wise. Hodge pose defenses don't work.

[kamandi]

So if Nnamdi doesn't work out with the Eagles, it's automatically because he's too old?

Kidding aside, Andy Reid is an excellent coach, and I hope he's still appreciated in Philadelphia.

[cwdlaw223]

Of course. A true Eagles fan always has an excuse ready to explain our failure!

Philadelphia is a cess pool. No other city is that arrogant with such failure. Of course, I'm still a fan. Philly loves you when you win and hates you when you lose. You have to produce or else they'll murder you in the Press. Bernard Hopkins tried to tell Donovan this reality and Donovan wouldn't listen.

I like Andy Reid and don't want another coach. There isn't a better one out there right now for the Eagles. I'm now sold on the wide 9 scheme. Jimmie Johnson made the D work on his own and nobody else has been able to make it work like he did so we need a change.

Vick is the key to success. If he's injured we're screwed. If not, we have a chance. The 49ers are much more balanced for the playoffs. They scare me the most.

[jamo]

As a Patriots fan, I'm extremely happy with the offseason. They only really had a few significant losses in LT Matt Light, RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis, and DE Mark Anderson (and I'm stretching on that last one). They have an All-Pro RT in Vollmer that they're likely slide to LT, and second-year guy Nate Solder is probably going to take over at RT.

The didn't really need Green-Ellis, with second-year guys Vereen and Ridley, plus Danny Woodhead and new signee Joseph Addai. And they addressed DE through the draft, plus a few veteran FA signees.

They added a big-time WR in Lloyd, who had ~960 yards last year, and >1400 the year before, plus they signed Anthony Gonzalez, Donte' Stallworth, and Jabar Gaffney, they addressed LB and CB somewhat through the draft, and LB Brandon Spikes should be much better (he was probably their best defensive player except Wilfork in the playoffs after missing the entire season) with a full offseason of rehab.

CB and safety remain concerns. McCourtey was great two years ago, but struggled mightily last year until they played him at safety late in the season. He seemed to do much better playing with his body facing the line if scrimmage, but they will probably want him to stay at corner long-term. They do have one good safety in Pat Chung, who was injured most of last year.

[mchepp]

In 49er land our offseason has been quietly very successful. I am very skeptical of the Randy Moss deal but I think Harbaugh got him to distract defenses and they will not throw to him all that much. This will free up Davis a bit more and we also picked up a possession type receiver with Manningham.

Yes we flirted with Manning, and we may have been really good, probably been the #1 contender, but this actually lowers the expectations a bit and means we are not constantly in the spotlight. I still have my doubts about Alex Smith but the Saints playoff game proved to me that he does have some chops.

[woodbury]

For the Raiders... I like the draft they had. I see that OG and OLB being starters by next year. I like the signing of that good OG, as it seems the OL is set and has some depth. They still need depth at DT, RB, LB, S, and that will probably come from next year's draft. They still have a talent/skill problem at WR, CB and TE. Overall, I like the actions of the new Front office so far.

As for the Patriots, I think its time to call Bill Belichick's & Co. drafting skills as overrated. They get A's and B's every year from the media, yet have some serious problems on defense. I actually like their pick of Jon Jones' little brother, so maybe this year their picks will pan out.

[Richie3Jack]

Belichick does one very smart thing, he stockpiles picks every year. I think the problem for him has been consistency of the picks in rounds 1 and 2. They get so many picks that they usually do well with the latter rounds, but those are still later round talents and often wind up being good, but not great players. When he has the chance to get some real talent in the first or 2nd rounds, he's a bit hit or miss.

I watched Chandler Jones play at Syracuse. He's kind of a 'smooth player' that is somewhat athletic for his size and has good technique. Although I don't know if I would call him an elite athlete. He may transition fairly well to the pro game, but I quesiton if he will ever be a dominant player.








3JACK

[cwdlaw223]

I think the stockpiling of picks is going to change now that you can get great value out of the 1st and 2nd round picks. Teams want to draft starters and 1st and 2nd round picks are now more attractive. Just my thoughts for now and I could change. Much easier to get the player you want right now which will help teams fit their players better to their schemes.

Belichick is THAT GOOD! The guy produces playoff caliber teams year after year without breaking the bank like the Skins. I tip my hat to the Patriots.

mchepp -

You are looking good. Don't get down so much on Alex Smith. I would trade my Eagles for the 49ers right now hands down. You have a KILLER defense which the Packers don't. (They have a KILLER QB which most don't).

If the Eagles don't win the only thing I wish for is the Cowboys to lose bad! ;D

[94monarch]

As a steelers fan I feel like we did pretty well. I love, love, love DeCastro and Adams on the O Line around Pouncey. If Gilbert and one of the Scotts come around that problem is solved. Obviously the QB and Wideouts are fine. On to the defense. Good young linebackers Timmons and Woodley and not much else. Clark, Troy and everyone else just need to find a way to stay healthy. If one of the 2 DB's like Allen or Rolle show up that will be a big help. It looks like they are going to have to score more to win than the Steelers of the past but they may just be able to do that. Truthfully, if they go 1-15 Ill be OK as long as the 1 is against the Eagles.

[jamo]

May 7, 2012 14:27:17 GMT -5 Richie3Jack said:

Belichick does one very smart thing, he stockpiles picks every year. I think the problem for him has been consistency of the picks in rounds 1 and 2. They get so many picks that they usually do well with the latter rounds, but those are still later round talents and often wind up being good, but not great players. When he has the chance to get some real talent in the first or 2nd rounds, he's a bit hit or miss.

I watched Chandler Jones play at Syracuse. He's kind of a 'smooth player' that is somewhat athletic for his size and has good technique. Although I don't know if I would call him an elite athlete. He may transition fairly well to the pro game, but I quesiton if he will ever be a dominant player.
3JACK

I agree, he's very hit or miss in the earlier rounds. He almost always has one of the worst 5 or so picks to work with though, so that's something to keep in mind.

He's picked a few guys that started their careers well and then flamed out within a few years (Ben Watson, Daniel Graham, Maroney, Bethel Johnson), and he has, of course, had a few terrible stinkers (Chad Jackson is the most popular example).

He's generally been decent at drafting D-linemen (Wilfork, Warren, Seymour), but he doesn't generally put a lot of stock in taking the big names and paying them a lot of money. I think if there's one area he's great at is picking linebackers, and if there's one area he is terrible at it is picking DBs.