NFL 2009

Two words mang, Salary Cap.
I don't disagree with what you are saying at all in principle. In a perfect world, you could resign every player for all the money they think they deserve. But unlike other sports, the NFL has a hard salary cap that prevents you from doing so, and forces one to make some tough business decisions.

Simply put.
Salary Cap.
Salary Cap.
Salary Cap.
Therein lies the success or failure of NFL teams.
The NFL succeeds as a whole because it has leveled the disparity between small and large market teams, they share revenue and have a hard salary cap. It's why NFL is #1. Look at baseball winding down as half the non-playoff teams in the league are having firesales selling off any player worth anything to big spending contenders. It's disgusting, how'd you like to be a Mets or Pirates season ticketholder right now?

You quite simply cannot pay all your free agents from one year to the next. You have to let people go, especially the ones who's self-perceived value is no longer commensurate to their (expected) performance.

This is completely not what I'm talking about.
Okay, let's put it like this: rookie gets signed to a shitty contract,
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First of all signing is not a passive process, it implicitly involves the consent of the signee. Crabtree doesn't seem too impressed with the '9ers offers, so he won't sign. I've seen this kid play in college, he was like a giant among boys, he deserves more than Joe 1st rounder, and it's his right to hold out for it (within reason).

And if you're John Elway or Eli Manning you can even pout and cry to get shipped to the team of your choice!

Rookie turns out to be a huge player. Team tells rookie: fuck you you have a contract. Rookie tells Pats: fuck you I'm worth way more than this. Rookie forces trade. Pats are fucked.
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This happens all the time. If he's worth it, you renegotiate, if you feel he's not you deal him.
The problem is, everyone thinks they're worth way more than they are, and their scumbag agents exacerbate this. Just take one of the examples I gave - Deion Branch. A solid #2 receiver at best, had the game of his life in the SB and gets the MVP. Now he wants his payday - he wants Reggie Wayne money. Problem is, he's not that good, he's not worth it at all, he couldn't hold Reggie Wayne's jock. The Seahawks do however fall for the hype. Another 1st rounder for Deion Branch. Pray tell how many millions does he get and for how many catches in a 'hawks uni?

How's the ROI for Deion Branch - ask a Seattle fan.

I really don't like the door you're trying to open here, at what point would brats like Brandon Marshall use this as an excuse to cause more disruption? Like he needs an excuse already?
The inmates don't run the asylum in the NFL, again this is what distinguishes it from crap like the NBA.

You really think that everything they do is essential to their success and impeccable?
God, you're such a homer.
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Are you such a hater to believe they succeed despite it? It's hard to argue against trades like this and Deion Branch when you're getting 1st rounders in return. They are getting likely a top 3 draft pick for a guy who was himself a 1st rounder, only they got the best years out of him already. It's like turning in a used car for a new one - it's beautiful!

Seriously, a top 3 pick for an aged, beaten up Richard Seymour, who best years are behind him and hasn't played a full season in that last 3. I guess I am to much of a homer, you tell me what detrimental effect this will have on the team going forward.

This is a team by the way that has aged free agents taking major pay cuts just for the privilege of playing for them, so I don't see this poison pill that you do.

Ehm, I can't do both?
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Of course you can, but I don't see you.
And again, I don't want to bash the Raiders, a strong Raiders team is good for the NFL. That situation now is just...so dysnfuctional with no hope in sight.

[/quote]
he really is. have you seen the way he tucks his shirt in?[/quote]
Jesus, you sound like my wife. She said she doesn't want to be seen with me in public when I do that.
 
Cimmerian Nights said:
She said she doesn't want to be seen with me in public when I do that.
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:lol: bwahahah!


also, speaking of salary cap...word is, next year it's gone. is this going to be the end of the NFL as we know it and the beginning of the Jerry Jones Robots of Doom vs The Underfed Planteaters?

seriously. what the fuck are we looking at here, and why the fuck is this happening?
 
My first reaction to that was that there's plenty of time and they'll hammer out an agreement. Yet still nothing's happened. I don't like the idea of an uncapped year, I like the hard salary cap (and the salary floor). It keeps things relatively balanced and competitive. An uncapped year could lead to some stacked teams, but I don't really think this is best thing for the league overall. I can't stand teams like the Yankees who just spend stupid money, driving up the price of undeserving free agents because that's all that's out there. Look at the disparity in MLB payrolls, it's a joke. I would hate for this to happen to the NFL, it will be an oligarchy like in the old days where the same 5-6 teams pass the trophy around and the rest of the league and push overs. I like the parity/salary cap era.
 
Hi guys.Was passing through the forums when i came across this topic,so i hope you don't mind if i add a couple comments on some of the things covered.

Salary Cap:I agree the NFL really needs it for the continued popularity of the sport.I wasn't a fan of the parity concept at first but it helps to keep each season exciting.

Doing away with a preseason game and adding a regular season one:I'm not so hep on this concept.Better to get rid of a preseason game and start the regular season a week earlier or the preseason a week later.Teams that have poor pass protection or like to run the ball alot will probably see the most wear and tear from an extra game on its starters.

Really though i don't have a problem with it as is.To me its more a time to work the rust off the starters and to evalute talent under game conditions.Though i do think people take the results a little to seriously.Success or failure in it does not automatically translate into the regular season.

Hating the Patriots:I admit it i'm one of those people.Though not because of Belicheck or their success,i hate them because they have consistently won the majority of the games over the last decade against my team(the Steelers).

Though we've had our moments.No matter how much i dislike the Patriots,though,i always look foward to when the Steelers play them.I put that matchup,when it occurs,on par with the two we play against the Ravens each year.

Speaking of which i can't wait for the series this year against them.There is nothing like watching two teams that absolutely dislike each other beat the hell out of one another for 60 minutes.
 
I have a lot of respect for the Steelers, tough team from a tough division. Have to respect their consistency of vision over the decades - power running behind a massive O-line, smash-mouth D led by ravenous LBs - they definately know what they are doing, and they're good at it. They get overlooked a lot, especially Roethlisberger, he's a tough hombre. I like Tomlin too, he's brings the intensity.

I'd love a Steelers/Pats AFC Championship game, that's some football there. Just, please stop beating up on Wes Welker, he's a little dude, he can't take getting knocked out of games all the time.
 
Cimmerian Nights said:
You forget the best part: it's a Raiders 1st rounder - that's a top 3 pick dude! Pats haven't had a top 20 pick since when?
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Mayo. :wink:

Losing the salary cap will make football like baseball, which will be terrible. I stopped following baseball when the Brewers and Twins became farm-teams for the big markets.
 
Good call, I guess I meant to say their own draft pick.

And yeah, I don't watch baseball either but whenever I catch highlights of these small market teams, and the stadiums...I bet there's more players/officials then there are spectators in the stands. And then the way they just give up when they realize there's no playoff hopes and start dismantling the teams halfway through the season. It's great if you live in a bigmarket, free spending city like NYC, but the disparity is out of control in MLB, it's bad for the game.
One hopes that cooler heads prevail and they can put this CBA bullshit to rest.

Anyway, I'm stoked for this season to start. Nice opener coming up too.
 
Cimmerian Nights said:
And yeah, I don't watch baseball either but whenever I catch highlights of these small market teams, and the stadiums...I bet there's more players/officials then there are spectators in the stands.
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If you take the Twins as an example you can see how bad things are. In general the Twins are a really well-run organization with a very knowledgable fan base and lots of tradition. Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Rod Carew, Kirby Puckett...they've won the World Series several times.

The Twins payroll is literally about one fifth of the Yankees payroll.

Every year they spend the season trying to figure out who they can afford to sign and who they have to let go. They always have to let someone go - Torii Hunter, Johan Santana, etc. Meanwhile the Yankees add two or three blue chip free agents to their bloated roster every off-season. They never have to let anyone go. It completely ruins the game in my opinion, but I guess I'm in the minority since baseball is as successful as it's ever been financially.
 
Cool Beans Steelers take revengance upon the Titans 13-10 in OT to kick off the NFL season.

Lost Polamalu though for at the minimum 4 weeks..Max?

The O-Line though needs to work on their opening up holes for the run game.Its been pretty bad for pass protection for a few years,but in the last couple its been failing in the run game too.You can't win consistently in the NFL without at least the threat of a run game.I bet alot of fans still wish we had Faneca.

Good to see Kerry Collins of the Titans getting some love from last season.I remember when he used to play for Penn State and he was a pretty good QB for them.His stock really dropped though after playing in the NFL for a few seasons and its back on the rise.

Anybody catch that Brett Favre Best Buy commercial?

It was hilarious.I hate him for turning the last few offseasons into the Brett Favre soap opera,but i can forgive him a little after watching that. :lol:
 
Nice opener, unless you're a gambling man. Another Steelers game were they fail to cover the spread due to a freaky play at the end.

Steelers run game looks ineffective again this year, suprising. Defense looks sharp, too bad about Polamalu, he was looking like a madman that first half, pity not to be able to watch a talent like him. Hope the knee is OK, seeing a load like Algee Crumpler fall on it like that is not encouraging. Big Ben is such a tough SOB, I know he's big, durable, and will stand against any pressure. But sometimes discretion is the better part of valor dude, you're worth more to your team standing up.

Got to say I really like Collinsworth in the booth. He's not Madden, but of all the national guys, nobody shines the light on the NFL's cockroaches like him. Where everyone else is so protective and reverent of everything NFL, CC is not afraid to call people out for doing stupid shit, without just being a crabby contrarian for it's own sake. But WTF do I know, I liked Dennis Miller on MNF too.
 
man. Polamalu. 3-6 weeks, confirmed. jaysus that sucks for Pitts fans. shit, it sucks for everybody who likes watching good football. that replay of the injury looked fuckin' nasty; thanks high def sports. right after i get done cheering about the guy being a total fucking freak (one handed interceptionwtf??) he's out for a quarter of the season or more. sucks. crossing my fingers that my fuckin' Pack stay healthy this year.

also, Cinnabuns...i like CC too. i was just thinking about that last night. his drawl is somehow soothing, in part because i remember him as just being a stand-up guy as a player. like a Stever Largent with more swagger or sth.
 
Don't feel too bad.The steelers have gotten through before where he had to sit out multiple games because of injury.What it does though is takes away a guy who can almost single handidly affect the outcome of a game.

Who i feel sorry for this year is Stafford in Detroit.

That kids career is going to be over before it even starts.If he isn't physically destroyed playing behind that line than i expect him to be mentally destroyed.I could be wrong.

Thats why i dont like how the number one pick always goes to the worst team.

One player is not going to rebuild a team.

The team,or fans,is going to put too much hope or expect too much from that player.The player will then be crucified when he doesn't single handidly turn around a franchise given their #1 pick salary.

I know the teams can trade the picks but drowning men will often grasp at anything they think can save them.Also most teams wouldn't be in those posistions if they had any common sense.For what their paying that one player they can easily upgrade several posistions.Maybe start at the basics and rebuild the line then try to put a blue chip player behind it.
 
Cimmerian Nights said:
Nice opener, unless you're a gambling man. Another Steelers game were they fail to cover the spread due to a freaky play at the end.

Steelers run game looks ineffective again this year, suprising. Defense looks sharp, too bad about Polamalu, he was looking like a madman that first half, pity not to be able to watch a talent like him. Hope the knee is OK, seeing a load like Algee Crumpler fall on it like that is not encouraging.
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That looked pretty nasty.
Also, Madden Curse! Countdown till Fitzgerald gets injured?
 
Big Feet said:
Who i feel sorry for this year is Stafford in Detroit.

That kids career is going to be over before it even starts.If he isn't physically destroyed playing behind that line than i expect him to be mentally destroyed.I could be wrong.
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People always want to cite Payton Manning & Troy Aikman because they started as rookies, had horrendous seasons, but the baptism by fire was the beginning of their NFL education.
The other side of this coin is the guys like David Carr who get thrown to the wolves and get devoured to the point that they are damaged good forever after. Not only do they never develop properly, but they are lucky to escape healthy and are probably gun shy forever from getting the shit kicked out of them all the time.
Yeah I think this is going to be a painful, ugly experience from Stafford and I question what he'll gain. At least let Culpepper start the first couple games, fans will be clamoring for Stafford, he can come in and be the hero a la Eli Manning. Lions - what do you have to lose?
 
The only thing I hated about that game was watching the Titans crappy vanilla nickel zone get eaten alive in the fourth quarter. Why do teams do that? It never works.
 
UniversalWolf said:
The only thing I hated about that game was watching the Titans crappy vanilla nickel zone get eaten alive in the fourth quarter. Why do teams do that? It never works.
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Playing not to lose, which is not the way you play the defending champs, in the opener, at home. The nickle brings with it that 4 man rush which gave Ben way too much time, he looked like Joe Montana in the 2nd half, nary an incompletion. It seemed like the Steelers had neg. yardage in the 1st half, why did the Titans bail on that indeed?


*Breaking News*

Al Davis has traded the Raiders' 2010 2nd round draft pick to the New England Patriots for a box of Depends.
 
Cimmerian Nights said:
Al Davis has traded the Raiders' 2010 2nd round draft pick to the New England Patriots for a box of Depends.
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After that last trade I wonder how many teams are thinking about whether or not they can exploit Al's mental deficit. :D

I was listening to the Vikings radio call-in show after they won today and all I heard was whining about the refs. "Joe Thomas was holding Jared Allen - whaaa!" Unbelieveable.

Interesting tengential story: my old high school football team beat Joe Thomas's high school team for the Wisconsin state championship about eight years ago when he was a senior. I was in Madison at the time and I got to watch the game at Camp Randall Stadium. Thomas was a defensive end then and he was completely unstoppable even though they double-teamed him the whole game.

Edit: Post-Sunday night showdown at Lambeau:

Brett who? :lol:

Before the ending that game was looking suspiciously like last year. Packers dominate turnover ratio, both the safeties and one of the d-linemen get hurt, they lose the game by a hair because Crosby missed a FG.

Luckily this is this year.
 
OK gentleman, time for football to resume for real after that silly little Brady-less season last year. It's kind of like when Jordan left for a year to play AAA baseball, except Brady was getting his knob polished by a Victoria's Secret model on a Carribbean island instead. What a fucking tragedy.

Seriously though, I'm all set for Tom's return, a nice bottle of wine, some scented candles, the bottle of lotion and tissues.

Time for the NFL to return to normal, that being Bill Belichik's pissing grounds. You know that grumpy fucker has been stewing and festering for the last couple years waiting for his next great "fuck you" moment to the rest of the league.

Oh and Adalius Thomas and is back too, watch out for that motherfucker. Expect Maroney to put in a limited appearance too before his annual trip to pussytown.

UniversalWolf said:
I was listening to the Vikings radio call-in show after they won today and all I heard was whining about the refs. "Joe Thomas was holding Jared Allen - whaaa!" Unbelieveable.
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Local post-game call in shows are about as knee-jerk homer reaction as you can get. There were a lot of people here proposing that Brady should be traded away after Cassell had a few good starts. :freak:


Random week 1 thoughts:

Jets had to be the most impressive team in week 1 given expectations. Rex Ryan is definately a chip off the old block. And Sanchez looks poised, confident and in control. Remove the yoke of the overbearing Mangina and the team flourishes. Great to see Leon Washington get the push he deserves. Great running and strong D, the Jets could be a dangerous team late in the year.

Urlacher done for the year, bummer. He gave Rodgers a nice shot to the solar plexus yesterday, probably should've been flagged.

Santana Moss is a punk-ass wankster.

Rev Phelps says : God Hates Bengals.

Delhomme - 11 turnovers in his last 2 games. Did you see the contract they just signed him to? :shock:

Drew Brees - would that TDs against the Lions were playoff victories...

Cutler - What a bitch. After last night I think I need to rethink how hard I'd been on Rex Grossman all these years. So you force a trade out of Denver to a cold weather running team with no receivers. Smooth move dude.

Giants pass rush looks sick as usual. Fuck this "blueprint to beat the Pats" shit, you need the rushers up front to execute it. The Giants have them.

Jason Campbell - I'm only still a starting QB because my team couldn't secure Cutler, Cassell or Sanchez.

Mike Singletary - I love ill-tempered, demonstrative coaches. Reminds me of me in traffic.

What's this Super Bowl hangover shit with the Cards? They only won 9 games last year in the worst division in football. They were never that good to begin with.

Cowboys - start out strong the first month, then slowly fizzle out and completely choke your way out of the post-season. This has become so predicatable.
 
UniversalWolf said:
The only thing I hated about that game was watching the Titans crappy vanilla nickel zone get eaten alive in the fourth quarter. Why do teams do that? It never works.
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I forget who said it but "The only thing a prevent defense does is prevents you from winning".

Maybe Madden?

If so it was the smartest thing he has uttered in the last 20 years and this was back in the 90's.

No matter what though the titans played a tough game in a hostile enviroment.I wouldn't take the loss too hard.

At least they had the cajones to play a season opening primetime game against the champs unlike the whiny Ravens.

"Oh we're so tired of playing Pittsburgh at home during nighttime games because we lose to them..so we're not going to do it".

Deal with it.

The majority of regular season games that we've played,and lost,against the Pats the last 10 years have been in Foxboro.


Anyway,

After last nights game i'm begining to wonder if Grossman and Orton were the problem with Chicagos passing game.They had some good plays in the passing game but there were too many times the recievers gave up on their routes.

At one point Cutler almost had two passes in a row picked off because of them during a set of downs..then actually had the third attempt intercepted.
 
A few people mentioned the Steelers O-Line not being up to snuff.

Wake up. The ground game was inneffective because A) the Titans have an awesome defense and B) they were stacking 8 in the box and FORCING Ben to throw the ball.

The Steelers have a VERY good O-line that get bad press becuase they give up a lot of sacks. Most of those sacks are Ben's fault - he holds the ball forever. Also, I don't care who you are - if your facing a good defensive team and they are determined to take the run away from you by stacking 8 guys in the box, you will have trouble running the ball even if you have the best blockers in the business up front. However if you have a good O Coordinator, you should be able to exploit that defensive scheme be creative play calling.
 
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