2012 NFL Offseason Thread

[pmoehrin]

@AdamSchefter

Now official: Oakland Raiders are hiring former Broncos defensive coordinator Dennis Allen as head coach. Deal done.

And this guy is an upgrade from Hue Jackson HOW?

Only in Oakland.

So much for the Raiders doing things differently from now on. Same old Raiders!

I guess the AFC Worst is now between the Chiefs and Broncos, as we all know Spanos, Norv, and AJ are too clueless to seize the opportunity of another weak division.

More like same old Broncos.

Next season will be the 7th consecutive year DEN will have a new defensive coordinator.

This is a team that historically hasn't had alot of success with developing talent on that side of the ball and that probably has alot to do with it.

They had a good stretch with Wade Phillips, Charlie Waters, Greg Robinson, Ray Rhodes and Larry Coyer. Sometimes good on defense, rarely dominant, but almost never bad. '94 and '90 are the only two years in that stretch where you could say the Broncos were truly bad on that side of the bad. After that though its just been a rotating door and outside of '09 and this year where they were decent, they've just been flat out awful on that side of the ball every other year since Larry Coyer left.

[CS85]

Interesting talking point came up recently:

Basically this toradol painkiller is the universal magic potion for NFL players. Like anything else it has numerous side effects, most notably the potential for kidney failure. Here's what I've been reading:

"...players use Toradol to decrease inflammation (thus reducing pain), that Urlacher had been using it since his third season in the NFL, that its use might be fairly common among many NFL players around the league (being administered by the medical/training staff as they see fit), and that it is at the center of a lawsuit against the league by former NFL players who believe its use had increased their risk of concussions and the consequences from those concussions.

Its effectiveness at allowing players to stay competitive through pain that might normally sideline them seems to be well accepted. ?Former NFL center Jeremy Newberry? supports this likelihood as he was quoted saying it ??makes you feel like Superman for three hours,?? in Dan Pompei?s recent article on Urlacher in the Chicago Tribune.

Problem is, Newberry is now suffering from one of the possible, major side effects of Toradol use, kidney failure. That, along with gastrointestinal bleeding, appears to be high on the list of negative consequences in the overuse of this pain-killing drug."

http://www.chicagonow.com/the-athletes-sports-experience-making-a-difference/2012/01/bears-middle-linebacker-brian-urlacher%E2%80%99s-painkiller-use-depicts-bigger-problem-in-sports/

Urlacher compared it to getting a flu shot, but Kremer's report pointed out there can be serious consequences from taking the drug, including kidney failure and gastrointestinal bleeding. Urlacher said he had been unaware of the possible consequences, but when he was told about them, he said he would still take the drug.

"First of all we love football," Urlacher said. "We want to be on the field as much as we can be. If we can be out there, it may be stupid, it may be dumb, call me dumb and stupid then because I want to be on the football field."

Urlacher also said he would not admit to team medical personnel if he thought he had suffered a concussion.

"If I have a concussion these days, I'm going to say something happened to my toe or knee just to get my bearings for a few plays," he said. "I'm not going to sit in there and say I got a concussion, I can't go in there the rest of the game."

Toradol is legal and nonaddictive and administered by team doctors in the NFL. Developed as a post-surgical drug, it is not a narcotic and is used to reduce inflammation and pain. It does not mask pain.

..."I think they're playing Russian roulette basically," Pierce Scranton, former Seahawks team doctor, told Kremer. "You are describing a patient population of football players who on a chronic basis are using Toradal just to play, and that's outside of the FDA guideline. In essence that would be construed as off label and not used for what its intended use was."

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-23/sports/ct-spt-0124-bears-urlacher--20120124_1_bears-urlacher-kidney-failure-toradol

Listening around the horn, people in the medical field compare toradol to liquid potent ibuprofen. *shrug* If any of you want to chime in and elaborate, I'm definitely interested.

Minor side issue so far is if Brian Urlacher is bull ing about the Bears medical staff not informing him of the potential side effects. Hmm.

[Billy B]

Urlacher comes off as the ultimate dumb Jock. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him develop serious brain problems down the road.

[CS85]

Urlacher comes off as the ultimate dumb Jock. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him develop serious brain problems down the road.

Urlacher's a moron. Tremendous athlete, great football player. Off the field he's a total cro-magnon, disrespectful and spiteful to any and every member of the media. He doesn't give a damn about anything he's ever said to a reporter, factual or not.

[TheOldRoman]

Urlacher comes off as the ultimate dumb Jock. Unfortunately I wouldn't be surprised at all to see him develop serious brain problems down the road.

I don't think Urlacher comes off as a dumb jock, he was just dumb enough to say what others wouldn't. I guarantee the majority of players feel the same way about concussions. I have heard several reports cite anonymous players saying they wouldn't let the team know if they had a concussion because they want to play. Also, these guys feel like they owe it to their teammates to play. It is ultimately dumb, but we praise football players for toughness, and this is what it gets us. I mean, we are 12 months removed from blowhard fans and moron players calling out Jay Cutler for not playing with no lateral movement and a freaking torn ligament, and we expect Urlacher or another tough guy defensive player to take himself out of a game when he is physically fine from the neck down?

I just wish he would have kept it to himself. It's not a good message to send to kids and high-schoolers playing football - yeah, it might kill me, but whatever.

[The Fixer]

Interesting talking point came up recently:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-23/sports/ct-spt-0124-bears-urlacher--20120124_1_bears-urlacher-kidney-failure-toradol

Listening around the horn, people in the medical field compare toradol to liquid potent ibuprofen. *shrug* If any of you want to chime in and elaborate, I'm definitely interested.

Minor side issue so far is if Brian Urlacher is bull ing about the Bears medical staff not informing him of the potential side effects. Hmm.

I'm sure 99% of the players that take it will still take it. They will think it's worth the later side effects. I know you think you wouldn't but you have to be in that position to truly say that you won't. I dislocated my shoulder this year. I'm a pretty logical person but i tried a few more plays after I hurt it (thought it was pain as opposed to an injury) and tried to come back way before I could. The concussion stuff that Urlacher said was dead on. I had numerous friends on my team this year get concussions. They refused to tell our trainer because they would take em out. got to the point where she started taking their helmets away from them and hiding them so they wouldn't try to play.

[CS85]

Interesting talking point came up recently:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-01-23/sports/ct-spt-0124-bears-urlacher--20120124_1_bears-urlacher-kidney-failure-toradol

Listening around the horn, people in the medical field compare toradol to liquid potent ibuprofen. *shrug* If any of you want to chime in and elaborate, I'm definitely interested.

Minor side issue so far is if Brian Urlacher is bull ing about the Bears medical staff not informing him of the potential side effects. Hmm.

I'm sure 99% of the players that take it will still take it. They will think it's worth the later side effects. I know you think you wouldn't but you have to be in that position to truly say that you won't. I dislocated my shoulder this year. I'm a pretty logical person but i tried a few more plays after I hurt it (thought it was pain as opposed to an injury) and tried to come back way before I could. The concussion stuff that Urlacher said was dead on. I had numerous friends on my team this year get concussions. They refused to tell our trainer because they would take em out. got to the point where she started taking their helmets away from them and hiding them so they wouldn't try to play.

The underlying issue is that the NFL will treat this like concussions: distanced indifference, that is until a class-action lawsuit is filed. If ever.

[CS85]

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2012/1/25/2733055/chuck-pagano-indianapolis-colts-head-coach-baltimore-ravens

Colts hire...Chuck Pagano?

[pmoehrin]

No matter how good you are the second you become injury prone, that's the second you become expendable. Just see what's happening with Peyton Manning for more info.

Were also talking about guys that would have anything to make it to the NFL. They'll do anything to stay. Its just that simple.

People just don't want to admit the NFL has an epidemic when it comes to PED's and other questionable drugs, even though they have been worse then the other three major sports leagues combined.

Say what you want about Urlacher, but his mentality is the majority view not the minority in the NFL community. They'll say all the right things in front of the camera, but end of the day you do whatever it is you have to do in order play and if you have the ability to, play at a high level.

[CS85]

Say what you want about Urlacher, but his mentality is the majority view not the minority in the NFL community. They'll say all the right things in front of the camera, but end of the day you do whatever it is you have to do in order play and if you have the ability to, play at a high level.

Absolutely. But I stand by my opinion that Urlacher is a dim-witted blowhard when he's not on the NFL gridiron.

[Saintsfan]

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2012/1/25/2733055/chuck-pagano-indianapolis-colts-head-coach-baltimore-ravens

Colts hire...Chuck Pagano?

Interesting appointment. Who the Colts have coaching the offensive side of the ball is going to be important, with Luck coming in and most likely Manning leaving.

[The_Admiral]

I just wish he would have kept it to himself. It's not a good message to send to kids and high-schoolers playing football - yeah, it might kill me, but whatever.

On the contrary, I think it's good to get it out in the open that you have to abuse drugs to play football at a competitive level. Make sure everyone knows going in.

As for Urlacher, he's a big dumb idiot, but at least he's a big dumb idiot in a mostly benign way. Compare him to Olin Kreutz, who was a malicious, bullying piece of garbage. Leave it to the Bears to make a big shooter out of a center.

[BlueSky]

If Peyton Manning ends up playing somewhere other than Indy, the Players in the Wrong Uniforms thread will get the mother of all posts.

[Gary]

Wait Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is expected to become the new Tampa Bay coach? Kind of scratching my head here.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Wait Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is expected to become the new Tampa Bay coach? Kind of scratching my head here.

are the bucs just pulling coaches names out of their asses and hoping they will stick?

[NJTank]

Wait Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is expected to become the new Tampa Bay coach? Kind of scratching my head here.

are the bucs just pulling coaches names out of their asses and hoping they will stick?

[Cujo]

Chuck Pagano... Dennis Allen... Greg Schiano... These hires suck! How are any of these coaches better than out-of-work "re-treads" like Marty Schottenheimer or Brad Childress?

Sometimes, just sometimes, giving head coaches a second chance results in actual WINNING. Just ask this year's Super Bowl teams. (Bill Belichick CLE & Tom Couglin JAX)

[FiddySicks]

Wait Rutgers coach Greg Schiano is expected to become the new Tampa Bay coach? Kind of scratching my head here.

Wow. you, Malcolm Glazer.

[Saintsfan]

Chuck Pagano... Dennis Allen... Greg Schiano... These hires suck! How are any of these coaches better than out-of-work "re-treads" like Marty Schottenheimer or Brad Childress?

Sometimes, just sometimes, giving head coaches a second chance results in actual WINNING. Just ask this year's Super Bowl teams. (Bill Belichick CLE & Tom Couglin JAX)

Part of the deal there is whether or not guys like Schottenheimer would want to coach in places like Tampa Bay or Oakland.

Also Bellichick and Coughlin did ok in their first stops, better than ok given the circumstances, some would say. Schottenheimer has had more than enough chances, and fallen just short, Childress could be accused of creating his own problems and wouldn't seem like a long term choice.

I think Oakland and Indy have made good hires in the circumstances. There weren't a lot of obvious strong candidates, and they seem to have found a couple of stand up guys, same for the Dolphins, though personally I would doubt the wisdom of hiring a guy so soon after his son has died, but you'd imagine that had come up in the process.

[dfwabel]

Chuck Pagano... Dennis Allen... Greg Schiano... These hires suck!

In 2007, would you have made the same statement about Mike Tomlin?