The 2014 NFL discussion thread

[MYSTERIOUS TRAVELLER]

Perhaps with free agency starting, now is the time for the 2014 edition...

[NogbadTheBad]

Go Seahawks!

[Yves]

First day of the new season!

[Scott Bails]

Any Ravens get arrested yet?

[NogbadTheBad]

The over under on the season is 25 not counting repeat offenses.

[Scott Bails]

DeMarcus Ware released by the Cowboys.

[Just Eric]

Raiders have dipped into their $65M war chest according to this headline: Raiders inexplicably give Roger Saffold five-year, $42.5M deal - CBS News.

[Ribo]

I'm still having nightmares about the Broncos' Super Bowl meltdown. I may just spend the 2014 season hiding under the covers.

[progeezer]

Ted Thompson should finally get off his ass (even though, besides Woodson, he's NEVER done it) and talk to Ware's people. It would at least give them some leverage in their current talks with Raji's people after his underwhelming 2013 season. Ware might even be a step up from BJ.

Yeah, he's done a great job drafting and also signing undrafted free agents, but the cheese have a shitload of $ to spend if they want to.

[NeonKnight]

Giants out of the box with some solid free agents:

Geoff Schwartz (huge starting guard from KC)
O'Brien Schofield (don't know much about this 2nd string LB from Seattle except his swat fumble recovery in the SB )

Sounds like Rashad Jennings will sign with them too... (more then solid, this guy is great)

[Facelift]

Giants out of the box with some solid free agents:

Geoff Schwartz (huge starting guard from KC)
O'Brien Schofield (don't know much about this 2nd string LB from Seattle except his swat fumble recovery in the SB )

Sounds like Rashad Jennings will sign with them too... (more then solid, this guy is great)

Rashad Jennings is their best signing, IMO. Pretty much all that guy needed to be one of the best backs in football last year was more carries. He rushed for about 740 yards at 4.5 per carry, when their starter was hurt. He also had about 240 yards receiving. 4.5 yards per carry with an offense with no downfield passing game? That's quite good.

Geoff Schwartz was an intermittent starter last year. His best asset is that he can fill in for several positions (guard and tackle). The Giants probably aim to make him a starter somewhere since the line was so bad last year. Lots of work yet to be done for this team, but they got off to a solid start.

[NeonKnight]

On the downside, the Giants lost Linval Joseph to the Vikings. That stings...

Will be interesting to see where Ware lands.

[Shadow]

Ravens retained the services of Eugene Monroe at left tackle. They lost Jones to the Colts. Hope they can resign Smith at linebacker.

[Hobo Chang Ba]

Saints a big coup with Byrd, but could be equally inane if they do in fact trade or release Sproles!


Love the free agency frenzy.

[progeezer]

O'Brien Schofield (don't know much about this 2nd string LB from Seattle except his swat fumble recovery in the SB )

He's very fast for a LB, and plays the pass great and the run just ok (was a Badger).

[Facelift]

Pats lose Talib to Broncos. They'll go hard after Revis now, and apparently they're his first choice.

[Brian Griffin]

Raiders have dipped into their $65M war chest according to this headline: Raiders inexplicably give Roger Saffold five-year, $42.5M deal - CBS News.

They let Veldheer walk to overpay for a non-position OL, yet they find the jack to re-sign the injury factory that is Run DMC

I'd feel like I was paying dearly for all the fun and bravado my first 40 something years following them if I still gave a shit - these fuckers are making it impossible

BG

[Yves]

I'm not too concerned with the re-signing of Run DMC because it's only a one-year deal at 4-mil. He gives them a full, productive season or he's gone. I am questioning about OLs they signed: Saffold, and more recently Howard. That's A LOT of money for 2 players that really haven't had impact careers. We'll see how the rest of free agency goes. If I knew Watkins would still be available at #5 I wouldn't mind seeing them sign Vick at QB and then drafting the big WR.

[Brian Griffin]

I'm not too concerned with the re-signing of Run DMC because it's only a one-year deal at 4-mil. He gives them a full, productive season or he's gone.

More importantly, my jerseys of his are "good" for another year if I must find a sliver, (and black) linning

I get that there is still a ton of $ available and there will be bargains after the initial feeding frenzy, but this wasn't a good start IMO

BG

[Klonk]

I like that the Giants signed Hillis. Solid in his limited role. And I'm glad that Brandon Meyers signed elsewhere. What a bust that dude turned out to be. OFFENSIVE LINE! This should be their #1 concern. They gave up on the all too often injured Baas. I like that they got that Schwartz guy from KC.

The one guy I really hope they hold on to is Beeson. I really liked what he brought.

[Facelift]

Looks like the Giants really screwed up. I still like the Jennings signing, but agree that the Hillis signing makes no sense. Barnwell really does make solid points.

From ESPN:

1. The Giants do (almost) everything wrong: Sigh. Let me get the good news out of the way: The Giants will reportedly sign Geoff Schwartz away from Kansas City, and he should be a much-needed boost to the interior of their offensive line, either directly by suiting up at guard or by playing tackle and pushing Will Beatty or Justin Pugh inside. Re-signing Trumaine McBride should leave the Giants with a perfectly decent third or fourth cornerback. No problems there.

Elsewhere, though, the Giants made decisions that really bring their scouting department into question. They signed a number of players they weren’t interested in for free 12 months ago to deals with real money involved. Take pass-rusher O’Brien Schofield. The Cardinals waived Schofield in July, which would have allowed the Giants to acquire him for $900,000. They passed, and the Seahawks claimed Schofield instead. He proceeded to play 144 defensive snaps as a backup end and linebacker, recording one sack and eight tackles amid a stacked front seven. Those snaps were enough, apparently, for the Giants to offer Schofield a two-year, $8 million deal on the opening day of free agency. If Schofield was really worth $4 million per year, why didn’t the Giants grab him for less than a million bucks when they had the opportunity in July? Could they really have been swayed that much by what he did in 144 snaps on the league’s best defense?

Make one move like that and it’s a scouting quirk. Make a handful and it’s a problem. The Giants also signed running back Rashad Jennings away from the Raiders on Tuesday. Terms aren’t yet disclosed, but Jennings noted that the Giants outbid the Raiders, who signed Jennings for $630,000 in the middle of April last year. Jennings was quietly impressive last year, but that came after four middling seasons with the Jaguars. Peyton Hillis was re-signed on a two-year deal for $1.8 million, because God knows you can’t find another running back who can average 3.4 yards per carry in the market for the league minimum or win a Super Bowl without Hillis’s presence in the locker room.

Part of being a smart organization is recognizing where your talent comes from and how those talent sources build your roster. Given that the Giants didn’t think most of these guys were worth signing when they were available for a fraction of what they just paid, what does it say about New York’s talent evaluation skills when it’s suddenly interested in them now? Well-run teams realize there’s probably another Rashad Jennings or O’Brien Schofield waiting in the market for the minimum and go after them as opposed to chasing a career year or a few good snaps on tape. It’s entirely possible these moves could all work out, but the process that’s going into them reveals a huge lapse in logic for Jerry Reese and his scouting department.

[Scott Bails]

I like that the Giants signed Hillis. Solid in his limited role.

As an Eagles fan, I like that the Giants signed Hillis, too.

[Facelift]

As an Eagles fan, I like that the Giants signed Hillis, too.

Agreed. The Giants only signed Hillis because so many people got injured last year that they needed to sign anybody available who had NFL experience playing the position. In that regard, Hillis was a good signing. Retaining him after the emergency is passed make much less sense.

[Yves]

More importantly, my jerseys of his are "good" for another year if I must find a sliver, (and black) linning

I get that there is still a ton of $ available and there will be bargains after the initial feeding frenzy, but this wasn't a good start IMO

BG

It's a bit of a head scratcher... You'd think a team would start with their biggest name signing and work their way down. Please don't tell me that means that Saffold is the Raiders biggest free agency acquisition! They'd better spend the rest of that $$$ on bringing in a ton of bodies!

I think one problem they may have is a stigma surrounding the franchise for the last decade. They may not be able to attract A-list free agents even if they show them the money. Just look at the names swirling around the Broncos by comparison. The Broncos are seen a legit heirs to the AFC again next year so they're attracting a lot of guys looking for a ring in the next couple of years. The Raiders are years away from just being a .500 team.

[Klonk]

Hillis is an excellent pass blocker and picks up blitzes well...something David Wilson couldn't do to save his life. He wasn't signed for his yards per carry. Not a blockbuster signing by any means, but I'm fine with it.