Irishman Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Since most of our teams are out, I figured it's time to start this off season topic. First up: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39380148/sources-jim-harbaugh-accepts-head-coaching-job-chargers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 So, openings are being filled, but BB is still without a job. I would say the odds are pretty high that he does not land a job at this point. I just think where current openings are, it will take some time to get the program on track. Does he have the time needed? Or even the commitment level to do the job well? Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Nowlin Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Raheem Morris....... oh my 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted January 25 Author Share Posted January 25 19 minutes ago, Coach Nowlin said: Raheem Morris....... oh my That was my first comment too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Riprock Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 (edited) 18 hours ago, Irishman said: So, openings are being filled, but BB is still without a job. I would say the odds are pretty high that he does not land a job at this point. I just think where current openings are, it will take some time to get the program on track. Does he have the time needed? Or even the commitment level to do the job well? Thoughts? Very interesting Irish...I thought the same when the Falcons passed on BB. I also found it interesting that BB is not getting that many interviews with an original fair amount of openings. Given his age, do you think teams may be passing for what they consider are more relatable, flexible coaches? Teams such as the Titans, Raiders, etc. didn't even consider...perhaps they had phone conversations. I believe only the Seahawks and Commanders are left with vacancies unless a team abruptly fires a coach. I was wondering if the Eagles or even the Bills would pull the trigger, but they didn't. Kind of tells me teams are not viewing BB as an upgrade to get them over the hump. Lots of interesting articles about this...below is one. https://sports.yahoo.com/as-falcons-pass-on-bill-belichick-its-clear-what-is-shutting-him-out-of-this-nfl-head-coaching-hiring-cycle-012324964.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADLIj8Wl1jZDu3bWyJ8yhF5cht-C0bYotgu5A4mL-XTMrheq4qo7WIuRJXmfRJrnmZnySgFmbOzZO-ZYxVaueiQJxP66PCmfATaBVPbIEd1z3pT0pd6ccOuIvn7BpFpDu_zs0LBeQFe-QaRHS6qut1-opwZyM1EZaH3KHEyLO1m4 Is anyone surprised that Vrabel isn't landing anywhere? I was surprised the Pats didn't view him as a serious candidate. Edited January 26 by Bash Riprock 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted January 26 Author Share Posted January 26 I agree about Vrabel too; really surprised he has not landed somewhere. I am curious if he is just stepping away for a bit. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Riprock Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 16 hours ago, Irishman said: I agree about Vrabel too; really surprised he has not landed somewhere. I am curious if he is just stepping away for a bit. Initially, I thought Vrabel’s availability gave Ryan Day something to be worried about… 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 4 hours ago, Bash Riprock said: Initially, I thought Vrabel’s availability gave Ryan Day something to be worried about… He’s still got plenty to worry about. But I’m also puzzled that no one has snapped Vrabel up. He’s relatively young, and isn’t going to demand total control, unlike Belichik. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10107309-tom-brady-to-replace-greg-olsen-as-foxs-no-1-game-analyst-for-2024-nfl-season Quote Tom Brady will officially step into the broadcasting booth in 2024, but he will be replacing a fan-favorite. Per Michael McCarthy of Front Office Sports, Brady confirmed he will join Fox as the network's lead NFL game analyst for the 2024 season. Former tight end Greg Olsen, who excelled in the role this season, will drop down to the No. 2 crew. Brady will be working alongside Fox's No. 1 play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt. The expectation is that Olsen will call games with Joe Davis. "I believe I can provide a pretty unique perspective that I think a lot of people will really like. It's going to be a lot of hard work. It's going to be a lot of fun," Brady told McCarthy. "It's always about challenging yourself to grow in different areas. And this is certainly one way that I'm doing it." The legendary quarterback signed a 10-year, $375 million contract with Fox in May 2022, but there was a lack of clarity as to when he would be ready to join the network as its top color commentator. He took a "gap year" after his retirement to prepare for the position. A crappy deal for Mr. Olsen, I kind of like him in the broadcast booth. But a big break for Tom, he was struggling to make ends meet there for a bit. *sarcasm* 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 16 minutes ago, Muda69 said: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10107309-tom-brady-to-replace-greg-olsen-as-foxs-no-1-game-analyst-for-2024-nfl-season A crappy deal for Mr. Olsen, I kind of like him in the broadcast booth. But a big break for Tom, he was struggling to make ends meet there for a bit. *sarcasm* I believe that Olsen has a provision in his contract that allows him to leave Fox for another network, but only if it is to take a No. 1 position. I also understand the difference in compensation between the No. 1 team and the No. 2 is pretty substantial. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 23 hours ago, Bobref said: I also understand the difference in compensation between the No. 1 team and the No. 2 is pretty substantial. Reportedly 7 million dollars: https://deadspin.com/greg-olsen-tom-brady-fox-sports-nfl-1851215797 Quote Greg Olsen joined the Dan Patrick Show yesterday, and he was pretty honest about not feeling great that Tom Brady is going to bump him from the No. 1 slot on Fox broadcasts of the NFL. There’s also the little nugget that slotting down the No. 2 team is going to cost Olsen some $7 million a year. Hard to take lying down. It wouldn’t be surprising if Brady is acceptable or better at the job. On the rare occasions he’s been left to just speak about the ins and outs of the game he’s pretty good at spelling things out clearly. That doesn’t mean he needs to be automatic in the role, or why Fox thinks they need the biggest name possible when their ratings are already through the roof and pay him a ridiculous amount of money to do so when Olsen is already doing the job as well as possible. This has become something of an arms race between the networks, though it’s unclear why. People are going to tune into the NFL if Statler and Waldorf were doing the game (and that’s an experiment worth trying). But once CBS got the recently retired Tony Romo, and everyone seemed to ignore how awful he was at the job, and then ESPN chased down Buck and Aikman, and Amazon had to have Al Michaels, everyone’s gotta have a toy. Olsen is merely good at the job, really good, but that doesn’t move the needle, even if that needle only exists in Fox executives’ heads. Olsen is certainly getting screwed, and he’s far better at the job than Romo and likely to be better than Brady. Like many people, he’s getting beaten out by someone with greater name recognition and that’s it simply for the sake of it. But hey, that’s showbiz. Mr. Romo truly is awful in the broadcast booth. I don't know how a consummate pro like Jim Nantz stands him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Nowlin Posted February 1 Share Posted February 1 the "I think I know what's going to happen guy" is ROMO and is wrong more than right.......he should just stick to his tremendous Amateur golf career 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted March 11 Author Share Posted March 11 I love this day....the first official day of the new season. Has there ever been a free agency period with so many quality RB's in it? Josh Jacobs from Vegas signs with Green Bay Saquon Barkley going from the Giants to the Eagles Tony Pollard from Dallas to Tennessee...Not sure it's an upgrade for TN, but they could not hang on to Henry Derrick Henry from TN to Baltimore. Big upgrade for Baltimore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted March 11 Share Posted March 11 Let's get the QB carousel going: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/russell-wilson-signing-with-steelers-super-bowl-winning-qb-agrees-to-one-year-deal-with-pittsburgh/ Quote Free agency hasn't even started yet and Russell Wilson has already found his new team. The former Denver Broncos quarterback announced Sunday night that he'll be signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. According to ESPN.com, Wilson has agreed to a one-year deal that will pay him somewhere around the league minimum of $1.21 million. Wilson was willing to sign a cheap deal because he'll be making $39 million during the 2024 season no matter what. The Broncos will be paying him nearly $38 million while the Steelers will be on the hook for the rest. https://deadspin.com/agent-congratulates-qb-kirk-cousins-on-4-year-deal-with-1851326108 Quote Quarterback Kirk Cousins agreed to a four-year contract with the Atlanta Falcons, his agent announced on X on Monday afternoon. Cousins joins a third team in his career, leaving the Minnesota Vikings to join Atlanta while recovering from a torn Achilles that ended his 2023 season. Agent Mike McCartney congratulated Cousins for "agreeing to a 4-year deal" with the Falcons. ESPN reported it was a four-year, $180 million deal — $45 million per season — with $100 million guaranteed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39738379/rams-aaron-donald-3-dpoy-retiring-nfl-age-32 Quote LOS ANGELES -- Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald announced his retirement on Friday after 10 dominant seasons. In those 10 seasons, Donald was a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, an eight-time first team All-Pro, a 10-time Pro Bowl selection and the 2014 Defensive Rookie of the Year. He finished his career with 111 sacks, the second-most among primary defensive tackles in a career behind John Randle (137.5) since individual sacks became official in 1982. He holds the Rams' franchise record for career sacks. ... According to ESPN Stats & Information research, Donald is one of two defensive players since the 1970 AFL-NFL merger to earn a Pro Bowl selection in each of their first 10 NFL seasons, alongside Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (10). Donald, 32, and Barry Sanders are the only players in NFL history to play 10 seasons and get selected to the Pro Bowl in each season, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Sanders also played exactly 10 seasons, retiring in 1998. .. First ballot Hall of Famer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 7 minutes ago, Muda69 said: https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39738379/rams-aaron-donald-3-dpoy-retiring-nfl-age-32 First ballot Hall of Famer? No doubt whatsoever. Probably the best player with his hand in the dirt since Reggie White. But — and I heard this on the radio today — please stop with the comparisons to Lawrence Taylor as the greatest defensive player of all time. LT completely revolutionized the way 2 different positions — offensive tackle and outside linebacker — were played. They had to invent a new position (“edge rusher”) to describe what he did. Just read The Blind Side. Or, you can just ask Joe Theismann. 😉 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted March 15 Share Posted March 15 Yet another NFL Franchise tries to hold taxpayers hostage. This time it's the Chiefs: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chiefs-might-explore-option-of-leaving-kansas-city-if-upcoming-sales-tax-vote-doesnt-go-their-way/ Quote The Chiefs have been playing in Kansas City since 1963, but there seems to be at least a small chance that the team could be on the move at some point down the road if an upcoming sales tax vote doesn't go their way. During a recent interview with KSHB 41 in Kansas City, Chiefs president Mark Donovan was asked what the team's plan might be going forward if the sales tax fails, and he said a relocation would certainly be on the table. "I think they would have to include leaving Kansas City," Donovan said of the team's options if the vote fails. On the other hand, Donovan did make it clear that the Chiefs would like to stay in the city where they've spent the past 61 years. "Our goal here is, we want to stay here. And we're willing to accept a deal for the county to actually stay here," Donovan said. The Chiefs recently unveiled plans for an $800 million renovation at Arrowhead Stadium that would upgrade almost everything. Not only would parking and tailgating improve, but the team would also add new video boards and better luxury amenities. The team would also add a 360-degree concourse that would allow fans to finally navigate the entire stadium when sitting in the upper deck. The team is also planning to add some new club areas in the end zone. The Chiefs are planning to foot $300 million of the renovation bill, but the rest would come from the extension of a three-eighth of a cent sales tax that will be voted on in Jackson County on April 2. The sales tax is already in place through 2031 and if voters approve the extension, the tax would stay in place until 2064. If the tax extension gets approved, the Chiefs have said they would sign a 25-year lease at Arrowhead, which would include a team option for three five-year extensions. The current lease expires in 2031, so even if the extension gets voted down, the Chiefs wouldn't be going anywhere for another seven years, but it certainly would create some drama in Kansas City. Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt has already said the team definitely WON'T be signing a new lease if the tax isn't extended. "We would not be willing to sign a lease for another 25 years without the financing to properly renovate and reimagine the stadium," Clark Hunt said in late February. "So the financing puzzle is very important to us to make sure we have enough funds to do everything we've outlined." There are politicians in Missouri who think both the Chiefs and Royals would actually leave if the sales tax isn't extended (The Royals, who have a lease at their stadium that runs through 2030, would use the sales tax extension to help pay for a new stadium). "I think we're in grave danger of losing one or both teams," Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca said recently, via KansasCity.com. The Chiefs are coming off their third Super Bowl win in five years, so they've built up plenty of goodwill with fans that could help get the extension voted through, but voters have also shown that they're tired of footing the bill for stadiums in situations like this, so it will be interesting to see what happens in Jackson County on April 2. How cheap can the Chief's ownership be? Surely the Hunt family is rolling in dough, what with three Super Bowl wins in five years and from the merchandising coming from having two the of most popular players in the league (Mahomes and Kelse). But one you get used to sucking on that public money teat it can be hard to be weaned off of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 The Least Credible Threat to Move a Sports Team in History: https://slate.com/culture/2024/03/kansas-city-chiefs-news-rumors-stadium-move-hunt.html Quote The Kansas City Chiefs would appear to be a poor candidate to participate in the stadium financing extortion scheme that characterizes so much of American pro sports. The franchise has been in Kansas City since 1963, shortly after it helped to found the American Football League.* In the more than 60 years since then, the Chiefs have turned a huge swath of the lower Midwest into Chiefs Kingdom (their term) and cultivated fan passion that’s extreme even by the NFL’s standards. They sold out every game from 1990 to 2009, including in a bunch of years when the team was bad. After winning three Super Bowls in the past five seasons, the team is now a legitimate dynasty, and Arrowhead Stadium is not just packed every week but is universally regarded as one of the most raucous stadiums in football. The Chiefs are always in the league’s top 10 in attendance, and that was the case even before Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce, and Andy Reid started winning championships. However, none of this has stopped the team from threatening recently to abandon the city for elsewhere if voters don’t give the team half a billion dollars. The Chiefs are hoping, it seems, that voters are either very dumb or very scared. The franchise wants to facilitate $800 million in upgrades to Arrowhead Stadium, which would help the Hunt family that owns the team make more money. The Hunts, who are worth at least several billion dollars, say they’ll kick in $300 million. That leaves taxpayers to cover the other $500 million, before any cost overruns. The Chiefs hope that voters will OK a 40-year extension of a three-eighths-of-a-cent sales tax in Jackson County, one that costs a resident 38 cents per every $100 they spend in the county. According to the Kansas City Star, taxpayers are still paying back hundreds of millions of dollars from the last time Kansas City’s football and baseball stadiums were renovated. Major League Baseball’s Kansas City Royals are also helping to get a new ballpark out of the tax extension. Chiefs president Mark Donovan told the city’s NBC affiliate last week that if voters didn’t extend the tax, the Chiefs “would just have to look at all our options.” A reporter asked if that meant leaving the city the team has always called home, and Donovan said, “I think they would have to include leaving Kansas City.” He then said the team would be “willing to accept a deal” to stick around its home city. There is one region in the world where the Chiefs can maximize their business: the one they play in now. They will never, ever—ever, in a zillion years—leave the Kansas City area. They are not the other Missouri franchise, the Rams, that stopped over in St. Louis for 20 years before migrating back to a bigger market, Los Angeles, where it had previously spent half a century. And with the Rams and Chargers both taking up residence in Southern California again and the Raiders in Las Vegas, there just aren’t other American cities that lack an NFL team and would give the Chiefs the level of support they enjoy now. Chiefs owner Clark Hunt is a third-generation oil scion who inherited the team. He may or may not have any personal business acumen. But he is smart enough to know he isn’t going anywhere. The Chiefs are making one of the least credible attempts in the history of stadium strong-arming. Not only are they are not going to leave the Kansas City area; they are unlikely even to leave the site of Arrowhead Stadium, a certainly profitable venue that is already one of the envies of the football world. Jackson County voters should tell the football team to pound sand and pay for the upgrades themselves. The Chiefs have been so successful in their hometown that they will make perfect guinea pigs for a necessary American experiment: Can taxpayers win a game of chicken against a sports team owner who is clearly bluffing? The bluff’s flaws begin with the fact that there is nowhere in the United States for the Chiefs to go, at least nowhere distant. At most, the franchise could try to find a sugar funding deal a few miles across the border in Kansas, still within KC’s metro area. Other NFL owners are voracious about protecting their territories, and there is not a single swath of American land that does not already have a team (or two) with an entrenched foothold. Other major pro leagues have put successful teams in non-NFL cities like Portland, Salt Lake City, Orlando, Oklahoma City, and San Antonio. But the NBA teams in those cities don’t dominate regional fandom the way, for instance, the Dallas Cowboys do in Texas. And even stepping into another NFL team’s extended turf would be hugely expensive. The Raiders agreed to pay their fellow NFL owners a nearly $400 million relocation fee to go from Oakland to Vegas. The L.A. teams agreed to pay $645 million. The amount Hunt wants from Jackson County taxpayers is $500 million, and the relocation fee alone would be in that neighborhood. All to move to a less lucrative home for the Chiefs, where he doesn’t have decades of proof that the locals will spend money supporting the team? Hunt does not have a winning hand. His best hope is that fans who love the Chiefs get scared of an implausible outcome and vote to give him more of their money. Maybe that’s a paradox because less successful franchises than the Chiefs are trying similar moves and have more leverage. Ted Leonsis is angling to move his Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards from D.C. to its Virginia suburbs. Leonsis has run into trouble in the Virginia Legislature, where some powerful lawmakers wonder why the commonwealth’s full faith and credit should go into a bond issuance that benefits one billionaire before anyone else. But Leonsis is likely to succeed in getting a sack of government cash from either D.C. (which is desperate to avoid losing a big downtown attraction amid a post-pandemic malaise) or Virginia (whose governor wants to build Leonsis an arena as a legacy project). John Fisher is trying to move his Oakland Athletics to Vegas, following the Raiders. Fisher has his own funding problems, but he has a significant advantage in Vegas’ current lack of a big-league baseball team and Nevada’s desire to build Vegas into a global sports capital. Some big American cities don’t have MLB teams and could support them at levels acceptable to the league. So Fisher, even as he presides over a dumpster fire of a tanking team, has a good chance of getting the A’s out of the Bay Area. But the Chiefs have none of these advantages, even as Mahomes and Kelce get ready to try for a fourth Super Bowl win in six years. The organization was too successful at building a fanbase in Kansas City, and other franchises were too good at taking over other regions. No move makes realistic sense for the Chiefs unless Hunt would like to be the man who moves his team to London, Berlin, or Mexico City, where the sport’s audience is growing. But even access to international markets is the subject of intense bargaining among NFL owners. So where would the Chiefs go? Not far. The only plausible move would be across the border to nearby Kansas, but even interested lawmakers there acknowledge that landing the team is a long shot. Both the Chiefs’ and Royals’ stadiums are in an ocean of parking spaces a few miles outside of downtown. If the teams left, it would not be the same death blow to a cityscape that it might be if Leonsis succeeded in getting his teams out of D.C., so it’s worth less as leverage. And as popular as the Chiefs are, their fans may respond poorly to a move out of an iconic, longtime home to a glitzy but sterile new venue in the same area. Not to mention that building such a stadium would cost its own money and time; it would be much less convenient than renovating the existing building. And if the Chiefs do leave? The team’s Missourian fans might feel any number of ways, but it may well be a better deal to drive a short way across the border for games than to be made to buy a rich guy a stadium renovation over 40 more years. Even if the Chiefs “leave Kansas City,” there’s zero chance they go far. Stadium funding is often a race to the bottom between local governments eager to give out the most generous tax and bond packages to corporate titans who do not need them. Congress could try to stop that race by passing national restrictions on stadium largesse, but the legislature has shown only glancing interest in the past. That gives Chiefs fans and Jackson County voters a unique opportunity to light the way for the rest of us. Their team is great and has no incentive to ever go anywhere else. No group of football fans has ever had a better chance to respond to fearmongering by pointing and laughing at it. All true. KC is going nowhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 A proposal for changes to kickoffs has been published. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irishman Posted March 22 Author Share Posted March 22 hmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted March 25 Share Posted March 25 The NFL Competition Committee has voted to ban the “hip drop” tackle. Can’t wait to hear all the meatheads. “Just make it flag football!” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 19 hours ago, Bobref said: The NFL Competition Committee has voted to ban the “hip drop” tackle. Can’t wait to hear all the meatheads. “Just make it flag football!” It is inevitable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bash Riprock Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 20 hours ago, Bobref said: The NFL Competition Committee has voted to ban the “hip drop” tackle. Can’t wait to hear all the meatheads. “Just make it flag football!” or...perhaps other reasons to have concern. I don't consider Dungy a "meathead"....darn good resume for NFL defense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobref Posted March 26 Share Posted March 26 49 minutes ago, Bash Riprock said: or...perhaps other reasons to have concern. I don't consider Dungy a "meathead"....darn good resume for NFL defense. It’s like anything else. Players will adjust. Nobody has a problem anymore with horse collar tackles. Same thing here. Move along. Nothing to see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.