2009-10 NFL off season thread

[BBTV]

Incidentally, is the Eagles getting rid of McNabb thing just BBtV hoping that happens or is there more solid evidence that it could happen?

It could very well happen. It is unlikely that he would play without an extension, and giving him an extension would mean that they will lose their qb of the future. It has been reported that many of the younger players endorse Kolb as the starting QB, and the veterans are fed up with McNabb's eccentricities. So it's not just my wish... it's a definite possibility.

Seems to me that if you have a veteran QB who you know works for your offense, why risk changing that? Even if you wanna push Kolb through, why not hang onto McNabb as a back up that you know can do a job?

That's insane. He would never stand for that, and it would be a huge distraction. It wouldn't be fair to Kolb to have McNabb sitting right there breathing down his neck, and having to look over his shoulder every time he throws a pick.

Plus, I would argue that we he's a qb that "you know can do a job". We know he can't do a job. All we know is that he can throw up in crucial situations, and throw the ball at people's feet during crunch time. We know he can't win here. Turn it over so someone that we don't know can't win. We don't know that Kolb can win, but we know that McNabb can't.

Seems odd to me that a fan of a team should be so keen to be rid of a QB who has lead his team to a place in the Superbowl, and a period of success in one of the most competitive divisions in the League?

Seems odd to me that you, or anyone else wouldn't understand the frustrations of fans of a team that has been so close, but seems to be derailed every year by a qb who simply can't get it done when it counts. Sure, it's nice to be 11-5 every year, but at some point, you have to demand more. I'd sure rather be a Steelers fan, and sit through some crappy seasons but at least know that when my team is in the playoffs, there's a legit chance we could win it. With McNabb, there is no chance of anything other than him sulking, complaining, throwing at people's feet, throwing crucial picks, fumbling, or throwing up.

[Saintsfan]

BBTV I think most teams in the NFL would be quite jealous of the success the Eagles have had with McNabb under center. And the Philly Enquirer, quoting McNabb and Reid Doesn't make it sound likely that he will be going anywhere.

[BBTV]

BBTV I think most teams in the NFL would be quite jealous of the success the Eagles have had with McNabb under center. And the Philly Enquirer, quoting McNabb and Reid Doesn't make it sound likely that he will be going anywhere.

But they didn't win, and can't win. All teams / fans want their team to win. As long as the team is good, and they feel like it has a chance to win, then everyone's happy. Once you face the facts that as constructed, it can't win, then the 11-win seasons become meaningless. That's how anyone anywhere would feel. Winning is great when you have a shot at reaching your ultimate goal, but once you realize that you've hit the ceiling, it's time to go in a different direction.

Also, quoting Reid or McNabb is meaningless - WTF do you expect them to say? Do you expect Reid to say publically that they're going to trade him, and destroy his trade value? Do you expect McNabb to say he expects to be gone, and then have him hated even more if in fact he stays (which I agree is a possibility)?

You're not here. You don't read the articles every day, or hear the reports every day, or hear the hatred for this insecure clown of a quarterback every day. Quote whatever you want. It doesn't matter.

[Saintsfan]

Here is what I don't get about anyone thinking of trading for McNabb. Why trade for him now, when he is a free agent next year? (If he and the Eagles want that.) From Arizona's point of view, Warner retires this year, why not give Leinart a shot for a year, if it doesn't work out then maybe make a move for McNabb? But why throw draft picks or players away at just getting the guy a year early?

And BBTV, the Philly Inquirer article was just one of a number of sources that basically said McNabb isn't going anywhere.

And yes I am sure Eagles fans are frustrated at stalling close to winning it all, but never quite doing it. But I would imagine that all but a handful of NFL teams' fans would swap the last 10 years that the Eagles have had for their team's performances. I am not saying there isn't sense about thinking of a future with McNabb, but it seems difficult to imagine that the Eagles would trade away McNabb, and it seems almost impossible to imagine that teams would consider trading for him, with only one year on his contract.

[BBTV]

He WILL NOT be a free agent after next year. He will either stay, WITH AN EXTENSION, or be gone. There is a 99.999999% chance that he will not play without an extension, and I wouldn't blame him.

It's too easy to say that other teams would trade to be in the Eagles spot. Maybe for a couple of years, but then any rational person would feel the same way. Einstein said that insanity is doing the same thing over again but expecting a different result. Sticking with McNabb and Reid would be INSANE. Reid is locked up, so......

[Saintsfan]

Why would McNabb not play without an extension? I mean he is at an age where he might be considering retirement. What happens when the Eagles realise his trade value is not great, given the short contract and his age. If McNabb sees value in one last big money contract, why would he not try free agency?

Honestly, I'm not picking a fight, I just don't see any advantage in trading for McNabb or for McNabb in wanting to go. The Eagles organisation seems to be happy for McNabb to stay. I honestly think the trade talk is wishful thinking from a few sports writers wanting the scoop and a few frustrated Eagles fans.

[rams80]

Well.....ummmmm.......

I'm going to sound like STLFanatic for a moment, so bear with me. I don't really buy these charges. Maybe its because this is reportedly heavily out of character for Jackson. (Apparently he's like the Anti-Lawrence Phillips) Maybe its because it took Jackson's ex- 10 months to file charges. Maybe its because these charged surfaced now, when Jackson is in a heated and bitter custody battle with the ex-. Maybe I'm just a huge frickin' homer in this case. Who knows. Innocent until proven guilty however.

/Please oh please let St. Louis' apathy cause this to go away come the 2010 season.

[floydnimrod]

I'd love to see McNabb in a Cardinals uniform, I think he could do some damage with one of the best WR corps in the league.

Also, BBTV, what are Eagles fans view on Brian Westbrook? Do you guys want him back or do you feel he's more of a backup now?

[chuckymack]

Well.....ummmmm.......

I'm going to sound like STLFanatic for a moment, so bear with me. I don't really buy these charges. Maybe its because this is reportedly heavily out of character for Jackson. (Apparently he's like the Anti-Lawrence Phillips) Maybe its because it took Jackson's ex- 10 months to file charges. Maybe its because these charged surfaced now, when Jackson is in a heated and bitter custody battle with the ex-. Maybe I'm just a huge frickin' homer in this case. Who knows. Innocent until proven guilty however.

/Please oh please let St. Louis' apathy cause this to go away come the 2010 season.

Twenty bucks says Jackson is innocent. Exes tend to drag each other's names through the mud when the poo hits the fan. I've been divorced for almost three years, and my ex-wife still isn't finished talking smack.

[DarkJourney]

God Philadelphia must be one hell of a mother!@#$%^& depressing place.

[FiddySicks]

I wonder how different the view of Donovan McNabb would be had Philly found a way to sneak past New England in 39. Overall, I think that most people would trade their franchises recent history for the Eagles, but in BBTV's defense there is one thing that makes me agree with him at least in some senses. The Buccaneers have been flat out awful for most of their existence and are horrible now. But despite that, there's always a Super Bowl trophy to look at when times are really bad. Philly doesn't have that. EVER. So for that I can at least understand the frustration. But despite the Eagles always flaming out in the post season at least they consistently give themselves the opportunity to flame out late in the year. That at least shows me that for the most part the Eagles are an extremely well put together organization, and I'm of the opinion that McNabb has a lot more to do with them being there then he's given credit for. If anything, it shows that there's something wrong with the mindset of how they approach post season games. Now sure McNabb folding like a lawn chair doesn't help so he's not entirely innocent, but if I were an owner I'd much rather dump Andy Reid than a quarterback who has the resume McNabb has. And the reason I feel this way, again, leads back to my own team. Tony Dungy is no doubt the best coach in Buccaneers history, but even he had to go. Gruden may not have had the long term success that Dungy had but he did get them over the hump. Sometimes teams need new leadership in order to really bring out their full potential. I just can't see Philadelphia going away from the core of guys who have been so successful without at least giving them every shot possible to win it all, even if that means giving them different leadership. Andy Reid has always seemed stale, maybe shaking things up on the coaching front without tearing apart your core is a better idea, even if for just one season.

Of course, that's not gonna happen. What's more likely is that McNabb will be booted out of the door and Philly better pray he doesn't land on a team that they play every season. McNabb may never be a Super Bowl winning quarterback, but I guarantee you whenever he plays the Eagles he'll do his best to flat out embarrass them. He's got a ton of talent and (from what I've heard) an ego to match, wherever he lands up he'll be out for blood whenever he plays the Eagles. If I were an Eagles fan I wouldn't be so excited to kick him out of the front door.

[dfwabel]

This could be really great for the NFL, but the will have to decide on where it may lay in the next CBA:

RedZone May move mobile

The National Football League is planning to make its RedZone Channel available to cellphone users next season, a move that has its broadcast partners questioning whether they will still get the same bang for their buck on their multibillion-dollar television deals.

The move, which would free fans from their living rooms on Sunday afternoons, is a significant shift in media strategy for the country's most popular sports league, whose focus has long been to protect the value of its lucrative television deals.

The RedZone cable-TV channel provides coverage of games all day on Sundays, cutting to the action any time a team is within 20 yards of a touchdown. It acts as a viewer's "remote control," switching between scoring plays, key ball turnovers and other plays of interest.

Sprint is their supplier, but can they really survive much longer?

[Saintsfan]

I think that redzone article is interesting in how it suggests that the rate for TV contracts, which after all is a pretty big part of financing modern sport, is most likely to drop at some point in the next 10-15 years. As modern media has grown, it seems to me to be becoming unsustainable for leagues to run themselves off mainly TV contracts.

Now the interesting thing then is what happens, and how succesful those ways of broadcasting games will be. Will internet coverage of the game expand? Will it become the norm to watch sports via streaming? Will TV continue to play a role? Will some other form of technology become important?

My last word on McNabb, for now at least . I can see that its good for the Eagles to try and trade him, so they have more control over where he goes, and get something back for him. But he isn't a guarantee for the team who trade for him, and anyone thinking of trading for McNabb would surely be more sensible holding off and signing him as a free agent after his contract expires. Maybe Arizona will make a move for a trade. But if I were the Eagles, I would be loathed to trade him to a fellow NFC team. And not many AFC teams seem in the hunt for a new QB, certainly not many teams with the finanace to land McNabb's contract. And do the Eagles really want to go into a season in the NFC East division risking putting Kolb out there. Kolb has done some good work, but still has more interceptions than TDs, indeed hadn't thrown a TD before this season. Seems like a guy with good potential, and at some point he is gonna have to be thrown in there. But maybe one more year behind McNabb would be a smart thing.

[BBTV]

I'd love to see McNabb in a Cardinals uniform, I think he could do some damage with one of the best WR corps in the league.

Also, BBTV, what are Eagles fans view on Brian Westbrook? Do you guys want him back or do you feel he's more of a backup now?

Don't get me wrong here - Westbrook is one of the all-timers for this franchise, but he is constantly hurt and can't be depended on, and now with his concussion and knee issues, it's probably better for him to retire. The team didn't pick up his option, and they don't seem to have interest in bringing back a guy who is only good for (at most) 12 games a year, and would likely be a backup right now. That doesn't mean that the fans don't love the guy for all he did earlier in his career. It's a shame that he was just so fragile. If he does decide to continue playing, and gets a shot somewhere else, I really hope that he puts together one more great season.

EDIT: the Eagles pass-to-run ratio is ridiculous. There's been games where they've run it 10 times. Reid has a blind faith in McNabb's ability to throw (though it usually ends up behind people or at their feet) and loves the screen to Westbrook (which is very effective, but not when they run it 10 times per game.)

With Kolb at QB, the run/pass ratio was more balanced, and with McCoy and Weaver (assuming he re-signs), there's two guys that have different skill sets than Westbrook, so that should also help the ratio. Westbrook was perfect in the Reid version of "west coast", but that offense clearly wasn't good enough against the tough defenses. You have to be able to run the ball.

[NJTank]

The redzone channel is the greatest invention since the remote control. Its amazing how you get a sense what is going o in the whole league just by how it jumps around. Its especially great when the game in your market sucks.

[rams80]

Evidently Lovie Smith did not learn his lesson after the Pisa Tinoisamoa and Orlando Pace debacles.

I'm sure this Mike Martz experiment will end well.

[The_Admiral]

Lovie Smith picked Mike Martz, then Jerry Angelo vetoed the move, then Lovie Smith overrode the veto and signed him anyway. This has all the ill-advised procedural machinations of a 7th grade student council; just substitute Angelo for class president, Lovie for class representative with the rich dad, and Mike Martz for a field trip to Wisconsin Dells. Everyone thinks they're smarter than they really are, they want to show they can make important decisions, and when all is said and done some poor kid (Jay Cutler) is coming home on the school (team) bus with a broken collar bone (hey-chicks-watch-me-jump-out-the-water-slide = seven-step drop behind the world's worst offensive line).

It is going to end well, because he's going to be such a monumental disaster that by December they'll drop a neutron bomb on Lake Forest: the building will be there but everyone inside will be dead.

[The_Admiral]

Oh man, it just set in at this moment that the Bears are so screwed. Like I made my silly little post about how the Bears are dumb, but I didn't really start visualizing it until now. Oh, no.

[Cujo]

The NFL has announced their all decade team for the 00s. Here you have it:

OFFENSE

Quarterback - Tom Brady, Peyton Manning.

Running Backs - Shaun Alexander, Jamal Lewis, Edgerrin James, LaDainian Tomlinson.

Fullback - Lorenzo Neal.

Wide Receivers - Marvin Harrison, Torry Holt, Randy Moss, Terrell Owens.

Tight Ends - Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez.

Offensive Tackles - Walter Jones, Jonathan Ogden, Orlando Pace, William Roaf.

Guards - Larry Allen, Alan Faneca, Steve Hutchinson, Will Shields.

Centers - Olin Kreutz, Kevin Mawae.

DEFENSE

Tackles - La'Roi Glover, Warren Sapp, Richard Seymour, Kevin Williams.

Ends - Dwight Freeney, Julius Peppers, Michael Strahan, Jason Taylor.

Linebackers - Derrick Brooks, Ray Lewis, Joey Porter, Zach Thomas, Brian Urlacher, DeMarcus Ware.

Cornerbacks - Ronde Barber, Champ Bailey, Ty Law, Charles Woodson.

Safeties - Brian Dawkins, Troy Polamalu, Ed Reed, Darren Sharper.

SPECIALISTS

Kickers - David Akers, Adam Vinatieri.

Punters - Shane Lechler, Brian Moorman.

Kick Returners - Joshua Cribbs, Dante Hall.

Punt Returners - Dante Hall, Devin Hester.

Head Coaches - Bill Belichick, Tony Dungy.

Not sure why an all-decade team needs TWO head coaches and special teamers each. Aside from that, I've got no real issue with the list aside from Shaun Alexander making the roster.

[CJworks]

I think it's only right for Belicheck and Dungy to be the coaches of the decade. Their teams have dominated the NFL, with the Colts and Pats combined playing in 5 of the 10 Super Bowls from '00-'10.