nfl 2018-2019

[Gromnir]

with the 2018 nfl scouting combine starting march 1, this is an appropriate time for a new thread? 

 

is two players we see, baring injury, as obvious future all-pros.

 

saquon barkley

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/0ap3000000862809/Saquon-Barkley-highlights

 

quenton nelson

 

 

particular check from 2:07.  ridiculous awareness and athleticism for a guard.

 

march 2 update: both barkley and nelson have been meeting/exceeding expectations in workouts thus far. 29 bench reps for saquon is equalling best for current rbs, and 35 for nelson put him at #2 of ol this year, and significant 'bove average.

 

converse, presumed top 10 pick, ot orlando brown, has been slow and weak. 

 

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-combine/0ap3000000918824/Which-RBs-made-impressions-during-on-field-workouts

 

march 4 update:

 

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000919386/article/nfl-combine-day-3-winnerslosers-shaquem-griffin-shines

 

HA! Good Fun!

 

ps please do not blame us for music attached to highlights.  am recommending mute for both.

Edited March 5, 2018 by Gromnir

[Gromnir]

kinda a bump

 

big day for the browns

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22705144/cleveland-browns-trading-two-draft-picks-miami-dolphins-wide-receiver-jarvis-landry

 

http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22706211/cleveland-browns-get-tyrod-taylor-trade-buffalo-bills

 

get tyrod taylor and jarvis landry, and they still have the number one and number four picks in the first round o' the upcoming draft.

 

HA! Good Fun!

[Bartimaeus]

​They also took our former first round pick CB, Damarious Randall, in exchange for their previously starting QB, Kizer. Apparently, we were really, really close to cutting him last year after he gave up on the team midway through the season, so I guess that's why we were willing to get rid of him so easily.

[the_dog_days]

Jets made a trade to move up three spots in the draft, presumably to pick up a QB. I'm shocked. Not because of the QB-school dropout they picked up in free agency, but because they made a move in the draft . . . at all. For a franchise that has historically been terrible at QB, you'd think they'd have as many picked in the first round as the Browns, but they really don't.

Edited March 17, 2018 by the_dog_days

[Bartimaeus]

All hits with the crown of the helmet are now illegal at all times (15 yard penalty)...both for the defense and offense (although it obviously will apply more to the defense...though RBs trucking guys using their helmet is not a completely uncommon sight). We'll see how it's enforced (the previous rules were already pretty harsh, but not consistently enforced), but I'm relatively happy the change was made. Some will say some rather pejorative remarks about the matter and where the league is going, but hits with the helmet are something that should've never been in football to begin with. Hockey players are taught to always keep their head up to protect their head and spine, even if their instinct is to duck (creating stiffness in their neck and spine that leads to much worse injuries) - players will hopefully adjust their techniques...and maybe learn to freaking tackle properly (I'm looking at you, lameduck Packers secondary! Learn to wrap up instead of going for the decapitation and either missing entirely or injuring your bloody self).

Edited March 28, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[Gromnir]

nick saban comments 'bout reuben foster before the 2017 draft.

 

“One of the things that makes Reuben a very popular guy from a personality standpoint is, in a day and age where everybody is into selfies and ‘what about me,’ he’s a guy that’s pretty interested in the relationships that he has and how he affects other people,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “He actually cares a lot about not just how he does or plays, but he also assumes a leadership role and how he affects other people. That comes to a large degree in how much you care about others. That’s one of the reasons that he is a very popular guy. He’s a got a great personality. I think a lot of people are attracted to him because of that. I also think he’s very caring in terms of what he’s willing to do to help someone else.”

 

fast forward to 2018

 

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/04/12/49ers-star-reuben-foster-charged-in-domestic-violence-and-weapon-case-2-2-2/

 

has been charged, not convicted. much will happen before there is any kinda criminal or nfl resolution.

[Bartimaeus]

​He was pretty widely (IIRC) considered a top ten talent before the draft, but there were rumors about character concerns, and it seems like a lot of teams did (and actually stuck to) their homework.

[Mannock]

I'm hoping to get some help here regarding the draft.

 

According to NFL Network the draft show will begin 8 pm, 26th of April.

 

But do we know at what time the clock will start ticking for the Browns to make their first selection? I've tried searching on the Internet but I have found no info on it. I've never watched the draft show, so I have no experience of what happens when the show starts (if the draft starts immediately or if they have like a talk show thing for and hour, and then the draft starts).

[Mannock]

​They also took our former first round pick CB, Damarious Randall, in exchange for their previously starting QB, Kizer. Apparently, we were really, really close to cutting him last year after he gave up on the team midway through the season, so I guess that's why we were willing to get rid of him so easily.

I thought it was good we parted ways with Randall. He was disruptive in the lockerroom and the veteran's council agreed in dropping him. And he would have been dropped earlier if it wasn't for Ted Thompson.

 

Kizer isn't really a great prospect, but I think we got a few picks in the draft too. So all in all, pretty decent given the poison in the locker room he would have meant if he (Randall) stayed.

[Bartimaeus]

What I searched said that coverage will begin at 7PM EST on April 26th, but the first round actually starts at 8PM EST.

 

I had mixed feelings about the Randall-Kizer trade. We didn't actually get any picks for the trade - we just swapped 4th round picks, IIRC. Randall was also actually our best CB last year, too, in a very CB-bereft team (also, he cost very little to keep, as he was still on his late 1st round rookie contract). Rumors also say that the coaches strongly recommended against drafting Randall to begin with, but our GM stubbornly did it anyways, and not only did it not work out, that entire draft was a bit of a disaster. Wouldn't be terribly shocked if the badness of that draft had a big hand in getting our GM replaced.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[Mannock]

What I searched said that coverage will begin at 7PM EST on April 26th, but the first round actually starts at 8PM EST.

Oh, okay, the 8pm thing I read, I'm not sure what timezone that was. Cause it's in Dallas, which isn't in the EST, right?

 

I live in Sweden so I'm trying to figure how early I need to get up to start following the first round. If it's reasonable to do at all.

 

I had mixed feelings about the Randall-Kizer trade. We didn't actually get any picks for the trade - we just swapped 4th round picks, IIRC. Randall was also actually our best CB last year, too, in a very CB-bereft team (also, he cost very little to keep, as he was still on his late 1st round rookie contract). Rumors also say that the coaches strongly recommended against drafting Randall to begin with, but our GM stubbornly did it anyways, and not only did it not work out, that entire draft was a bit of a disaster. Wouldn't be terribly shocked if the badness of that draft had a big hand in getting our GM replaced.

Sorry about the mix up of the picks.

 

Our secondary sucked last season. Randall might have been best (I thought King was great though) but if he's disruptive in the lockerroom, it's not good to keep him, despite being on a rookie contract.

 

But yeah, I have great fear for next season (about the defense). Signing Tramon Williams and, as it looks like, bringing back Davon House for another year doesn't look good in my book. I really hope they can snag a great CB in the first round (or Minkah Fitzpatrick).

 

Some analysts think we will draft a WR though, and that scares me.

[Bartimaeus]

Yeah, Dallas is in the "central" timezone, or -1 compared to EST. The article I read said 8PM EST, though, which means 7PM CST, which seems about right for the entire country. East coast bias means it'll be pretty early for the West coast, but that's just how it works with a country that spans 3 timezones (...well, more if you count the non-contiguous states and territories).

 

As for Kevin King...I've already had this discussion with other Packers fans who all seem to remember him playing better than I do. I only noticed him making a handful of good plays the entire year, and he ended up being rated very poorly by player analyzers like PFF and NFL1000 as one of the very worst CBs in the league last year (#115 out of 121 qualifying players on PFF - NFL1000 was a little kinder, ranking him 57/76 qualifying CBs). Though they are very obviously not perfect, either being even in the same ballpark means he was pretty terrible. I hope to see better things from our defense this next year.

[Mannock]

Yeah, Dallas is in the "central" timezone, or -1 compared to EST. The article I read said 8PM EST, though, which means 7PM CST, which seems about right for the entire country. East coast bias means it'll be pretty early for the West coast, but that's just how it works with a country that spans 3 timezones (...well, more if you count the non-contiguous states and territories).

 

As for Kevin King...I've already had this discussion with other Packers fans who all seem to remember him playing better than I do. I only noticed him making a handful of good plays the entire year, and he ended up being rated very poorly by player analyzers like PFF and NFL1000 as one of the very worst CBs in the league last year (#115 out of 121 qualifying players on PFF - NFL1000 was a little kinder, ranking him 57/76 qualifying CBs). Though they are very obviously not perfect, either being even in the same ballpark means he was pretty terrible. I hope to see better things from our defense this next year.

I'm definetely no expert. Maybe I'm only remembering his good plays? I don't know. What I do know is that our secondary sucked big time. Clinton-Dix is the only one would say absolutely no to dropping. All others are expendable.

 

And that's why I had hopes for free agency, but not much happened there. Only Williams.

 

So who would you want to draft in the first round?

[Amentep]

East coast bias means it'll be pretty early for the West coast, but that's just how it works with a country that spans 3 timezones (...well, more if you count the non-contiguous states and territories).

 

 

I'm not sure if its a bias so much a product of a practical approach to live events with respect to broadcasting them.

 

If the draft started at 8 PM PST the east coast would largely be going to bed as it started...or already be asleep if using Alaska or Hawaii for a "Prime Time" start.

[Bartimaeus]

I'm not really in enough on college prospects to have any meaningful opinion on whom to draft. I think with Clay Matthews being on the last year of his contract (combined with his age and frequent nagging injuries), a top EDGE/pass rusher probably makes the most sense with our draft position and the way the draft is slated to fall because of all the QB picks that are likely to happen. I personally don't care for drafting CBs, because it seems like 99% of them need a couple of years to develop to be anything less than terrible, and I'm not sure we can afford to wait that long...which is kind of why I'm hoping we sign another mid-level veteran like Breaux or DRC, and punt the CB question another year. We may be waiting to see how the draft goes before deciding on that, though.

 

Amentep: Yeah, I agree. It was sort of a joke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_bias

Edited April 13, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[Amentep]

Ah, that East Coast Bias.

 

I'm not sure I ever really agree with that line of thought - I think the bias is "how large is your media viewer base" bias rather than coast specific.  NY based teams, California teams, Chicago/Illinois teams all get a lot of coverage because they have a lot of viewers.  Smaller markets tend to be less favored - unless they're doing well or playing the local team.

[the_dog_days]

What I searched said that coverage will begin at 7PM EST on April 26th, but the first round actually starts at 8PM EST.

 

I'll be far too busy playing Battletech that day to pay attention to who the Jets waste their top five pick on this year.

[Gfted1]

Dez Bryant released.

[Mannock]

I'm not really in enough on college prospects to have any meaningful opinion on whom to draft. I think with Clay Matthews being on the last year of his contract (combined with his age and frequent nagging injuries), a top EDGE/pass rusher probably makes the most sense with our draft position and the way the draft is slated to fall because of all the QB picks that are likely to happen. I personally don't care for drafting CBs, because it seems like 99% of them need a couple of years to develop to be anything less than terrible, and I'm not sure we can afford to wait that long...which is kind of why I'm hoping we sign another mid-level veteran like Breaux or DRC, and punt the CB question another year. We may be waiting to see how the draft goes before deciding on that, though.

 

Amentep: Yeah, I agree. It was sort of a joke: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Coast_bias

Yeah, it's been stated that CB and OLB are the biggest needs overall. Given how often Matthews and Perry are banged up, they need good support. And I can't really argue against you regarding the CB:s. I just hope they get someone good on defense since I think offense is in a much better overall state.

 

 

Dez Bryant released.

Smart move by Dallas.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Mannock

[Bartimaeus]

Dez and Romo were gold together, but he has had trouble establishing the rapport with his new QB that you'd like to see out of your #1 WR. Definitely not worth the 14 million a year that he was getting when he had very mediocre #1 numbers.

 

@Mannock: Yeah, that seems about right. Don't pay too much attention to "draft analysts" and the such - they aren't too bad at figuring out the needs of a given team, but the draft never, ever works out the way they think it will (and that's not really their fault, it's just that there's a lot of unpredictability with the way players fall and rise and teams have different drafting philosophies in regards to what positions they value most, or whether they want to draft purely for quality of player vs. need, etc.). Especially in regards to the Packers, who have been very difficult to gauge since Ted Thompson became our GM. With a new GM and in a rather unusually QB-heavy draft, it's very difficult to say what will happen.

Edited April 13, 2018 by Bartimaeus

[Mannock]

@Mannock: Yeah, that seems about right. Don't pay too much attention to "draft analysts" and the such - they aren't too bad at figuring out the needs of a given team, but the draft never, ever works out the way they think it will (and that's not really their fault, it's just that there's a lot of unpredictability with the way players fall and rise and teams have different drafting philosophies in regards to what positions they value most, or whether they want to draft purely for quality of player vs. need, etc.). Especially in regards to the Packers, who have been very difficult to gauge since Ted Thompson became our GM. With a new GM and in a rather unusually QB-heavy draft, it's very difficult to say what will happen.

Yeah, thanks for the insightful words. Still, I find the draft very exciting. Question is if I will have the endurance to get up at 4 am (and stay awake) and watch it all unfold.

[Keyrock]

Dez Bryant released.

Hallelujah!

[Bartimaeus]

 

@Mannock: Yeah, that seems about right. Don't pay too much attention to "draft analysts" and the such - they aren't too bad at figuring out the needs of a given team, but the draft never, ever works out the way they think it will (and that's not really their fault, it's just that there's a lot of unpredictability with the way players fall and rise and teams have different drafting philosophies in regards to what positions they value most, or whether they want to draft purely for quality of player vs. need, etc.). Especially in regards to the Packers, who have been very difficult to gauge since Ted Thompson became our GM. With a new GM and in a rather unusually QB-heavy draft, it's very difficult to say what will happen.

Yeah, thanks for the insightful words. Still, I find the draft very exciting. Question is if I will have the endurance to get up at 4 am (and stay awake) and watch it all unfold.

 

As someone who has attempted to watch it a few times before, I would strongly, strongly recommend against it. For me, it usually feels like my time is being very deliberately wasted by the network airing it through the non-stop and mindless chatter of its annoying talking heads. I literally get more excitement from just waiting to see the names pop up as they actually happen on either reddit or some kind of draft news feed. It doesn't help that it's split over several days, and they all take hours. Funner to read the analysis after the fact than wasting your time actually trying to suffer through the actual progamme proper.

[Volourn]

More evidence that teams can't honour contracts because they at evil and how weak the NFLPA is for allowing it to happen. SICK.

[Mannock]

As someone who has attempted to watch it a few times before, I would strongly, strongly recommend against it. For me, it usually feels like my time is being very deliberately wasted by the network airing it through the non-stop and mindless chatter of its annoying talking heads. I literally get more excitement from just waiting to see the names pop up as they actually happen on either reddit or some kind of draft news feed. It doesn't help that it's split over several days, and they all take hours. Funner to read the analysis after the fact than wasting your time actually trying to suffer through the actual progamme proper.

 

Are you trying to kill my excitement?

 

You're probably right though. Might not be worth getting up at 4 am for it.