nfl 2020-2021

[rjshae]

6 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

It seems like people are trying very hard to minimize the impact that Brady had in winning the Superbowl, like it was just luck and defense that put him there for the 10th time. That's laughable. He got them a big lead and then the defense held it. It was a pretty simple win for the greatest QB ever.

The club said the biggest impact he had was his leadership; he (and the coaches) instilled a winning attitude in a club that had been perennial also-rans.

[Keyrock]

6 hours ago, Hurlshot said:

It seems like people are trying very hard to minimize the impact that Brady had in winning the Superbowl, like it was just luck and defense that put him there for the 10th time. That's laughable. He got them a big lead and then the defense held it. It was a pretty simple win for the greatest QB ever.

He was already the GoaT before this, now he's virtually unassailable. There's a lot to be said about composure, leadership, and experience on the highest stage and Brady scores 10/10 in all 3 categories. 

Defense was the biggest factor in the SB win, but Tampa never gets anywhere near the SB without Brady, nor do they seal the deal like they did.

[Bartimaeus]

Oddly enough, this was the most dominant performance by a Tom Brady-lead team in a Super Bowl. The only Super Bowl he's won where they won by more than a touchdown was two years ago against the Rams in that awful 13-3 clunker that literally everybody has forgotten already because it was so remarkably unremarkable.

(e): a word

Edited February 10, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[rjshae]

[Gfted1]

Dak Prescott, Cowboys Agree to Reported Record-Setting 4-Year, $160M Contract.

smh 

[Bartimaeus]

Very high (higher than anyone not named Patrick Mahomes*), a lot of guarantees (just about 60% of the entire contract is guaranteed, higher than the percentage of Rodgers' last contract!), and it's of a totally average length which is generally much more beneficial to the player than the team. And this last point is the difference with Patrick Mahomes and the reason I put an asterisk, because Patrick Mahomes' average is higher right now, but will almost definitely balance out when a guy like Dak re-signs in another 4 years, and will be a significant deal for the team by the end of it assuming he stays a top 5 quarterback the entire time. This Dak Prescott deal...you get the worst of all worlds for a guy who just broke his foot.

*That Patrick Mahomes deal is additionally dumb because it has like no guarantees - everyone wow-ed at the half a billion mark, but he was quite generous to his team.

Edited March 9, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Gfted1]

And it includes a no trade clause.

[Bartimaeus]

Something to note with no-trade clauses is that they only matter if the player doesn't want to move; so if the player agrees to a trade, then the no-trade clause is irrelevant. I see Cowboys' situation being pretty similar to the Seahawks once Wilson got paid - unless your team manages to get very lucky and draft great over a couple of years while retaining all the right players and not spending on the wrong ones, you'll be forever doomed to make the playoffs most years, but not ever get much further. A lot of teams these days are going all-in on winning a Super Bowl when they get a good QB on a rookie deal while they can, and the Cowboys did take a crack at it, but for some reason mostly underachieved (probably coaching!).

Edited March 9, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Keyrock]

I'm torn on the Dak deal. Did Jerry overpay? Yes. Did he need to do this? Yes. 

It has long been my opinion that in this 32 team league there are at any given time 15 to 20 legitimate starting QBs, the other 12 to 17 are backup quality QBs starting by necessity. Is Dak a legitimate starter? Absolutely. Is he a franchise QB? No. What are the odds the Cowboys find someone as good or better either in the draft or via trade or free agency? Extremely slim. 

Jerry had to overpay Dak. It's the way of the NFL. The mistake was overpaying Zeke, and I say that as a long time Zeke apologist.

[Gfted1]

Contract breakdown.

[the_dog_days]

RedBird Capital (aka, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia) are talking with the CFL about their opportunities going forward. This smells like a hostile takeover to me and I'm not alone as twitter's running wild with theories about a CFL/XFL merger. As a fan of both leagues (go, Saskatchewan Roughriders) I love this idea. I just hope that if a merger does happen they keep the Canadian rules as I don't see either league having much success grabbing a US market using NFL rules without NFL talent.

[Bartimaeus]

Hope either/both are able to return. The NFL desperately needs a minor league to allow guys who are good athletes but bad at the football opportunities to grow, and while the CFL in of itself hasn't been exactly great for that, it's certainly a lot better than nothing.

Drew Brees retired. Don't think we have any Saints fans here, but still kind of significant news.

(e): Also, in Packers news, we just paid Aaron Jones a boatload of money...after having drafted a RB in the second round last year, who even looked quite impressive in the limited playtime he had behind two good backs. Ugh: I was so ready for him to walk and get overpaid by a different team. Paying RBs just...hasn't work out for basically anyone recently - I'd so much rather have the All-Pro center who was one of the critical component behind our collective RBs' success (as well as our QB's MVP season...), but I guess the Packers' brass feels differently. I guess Jones was only paid about 9 million a year with some additional incentives to earn an additional 3 million...and not a lot of it is guaranteed - compared to Elliot's 15 million a year with a big chunk of it guaranteed from a couple of years ago, I guess it's not the end of the world...but then again, Ezekiel Elliot has been an absolute workhorse every year but this past one, so eh.

Edited March 15, 2021 by Bartimaeus

[Guard Dog]

CFL & XFL are merging

The XFL is like a rubber fire. No matter how much water you pour on it it keeps flaring up again. As for the CFL, the last time they tried exporting the 55 yard line south of the border it was a disaster. Curious to see how this progresses. 

[Keyrock]

8 hours ago, Guard Dog said:

CFL & XFL are merging

The XFL is like herpes. No matter how much you try to get rid of it it keeps flaring up again. 

I made a small adjustment I thought was fitting. 

[rjshae]

[Bartimaeus]

That's what we have 8-8-1 for.

Also, anyone want to take any bets on whether Deshaun Watson, between his seemingly massive legal problems and saying that he won't play for the Texans anyway, will or won't play this upcoming season?

Edited April 4, 2021 by Bartimaeus