2013 NFL Off-Season Thread

[BBTV]

Word on the street is that the Eagles are looking to switch to a 3-4 and bring in Ed Donetell (sp?) from the 49ers, who was the Packers DC when the Eagles converted 4th and 26 in the playoffs.

I realize that in the modern NFL, a lot of defenses are kind of like hybrid 4-3 3-4 and they play tons of nickle etc, but in my lifetime I've never seen the Eagles use a 3-4 as their base. Definitely going to require some roster shaking up.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Word on the street is that the Eagles are looking to switch to a 3-4 and bring in Ed Donetell (sp?) from the 49ers, who was the Packers DC when the Eagles converted 4th and 26 in the playoffs.

I realize that in the modern NFL, a lot of defenses are kind of like hybrid 4-3 3-4 and they play tons of nickle etc, but in my lifetime I've never seen the Eagles use a 3-4 as their base. Definitely going to require some roster shaking up.

Same with Dallas's defense. Their current crop of talent isn't built for the Tampa 2 system. So alot of shaking up will need to happen to them as well to get them ready for the Tampa 2.

[pmoehrin]

Word on the street is that the Eagles are looking to switch to a 3-4 and bring in Ed Donetell (sp?) from the 49ers, who was the Packers DC when the Eagles converted 4th and 26 in the playoffs.

I realize that in the modern NFL, a lot of defenses are kind of like hybrid 4-3 3-4 and they play tons of nickle etc, but in my lifetime I've never seen the Eagles use a 3-4 as their base. Definitely going to require some roster shaking up.

Same with Dallas's defense. Their current crop of talent isn't built for the Tampa 2 system. So alot of shaking up will need to happen to them as well to get them ready for the Tampa 2.

I wouldn't shock if within ten years virtually nobody is using the 4-3 as their base defense.

The main reason behind it was to stop the power run game. How many teams have power backs today, or better yet how many teams have fullbacks that aren't pure blockers? Compared to even 15 years ago, very short list.

I'm surprised as many teams still run the 4-3 defense as their primary formation as there are. Its never going to be eliminated, but the direction the game is moving in is not 4-3 friendly.

[BlueSky]

The Saints fired Spagnuolo because they want to switch to 3-4

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Kumbayah your way out of this one Steve.

Oh, and Rob Ryan is officially a Ram. Adios Cerberus Kinght! Your play calls were confusing.

Glad you're not bitter...

Spags is a good guy. His scheme didn't fit the Saints' personnel very well and it was tough to follow Gregg Williams, who for all his faults was popular among the players. They felt Williams trusted them and turned them loose and they seemed to feel constrained by Spagnuolo's system.

In any case, fair or not because of the Bountygate circumstances, the Saints are going to a 3-4 and decided to make the change. Here's to Dome Patrol II!

Would the Saints bring back Gregg Williams

No. Sean Payton shot that down immediately and I think he's bitter towards Williams because Payton trusted him not to do things that were against the rules and see what it got Payton. We can all debate whether Payton could've/should've/had to know about what was going on the defensive meetings but the short answer to your question is no.

There's a report now in fact saying Williams will join the Titans' staff in some capacity if he's reinstated. Oddly, the league apparently told him to find a job and then they'd think about reinstatement. That would be an awkward employment search, wouldn't it?

[Gothamite]

Not to get too far off topic, but Payton was suspended because he knew about the bounties and lied to the league about knowing before being confronted with his own emails about them.

But no, I can't believe that he'd be thrilled to have the reminder on his sideline.

[CS85]

whoops, wrong thread.

[CS85]

Los Angeles is apparently interested in...the Atlanta Falcons?

Could just be a Falcons ploy for a new stadium.

Also it appears that former 49ers tackle Kwame Harris is gay. Not sure if it even really matters since he's out of the league.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Los Angeles is apparently interested in...the Atlanta Falcons?

Could just be a Falcons ploy for a new stadium.

Also it appears that former 49ers tackle Kwame Harris is gay. Not sure if it even really matters since he's out of the league.

@Kwame Harris - I don't care about his sexual preference. That's his business.

@Atlanta Falcons - it's one thing to move the Thrashers because very few people care about the Thrashers. But potentially moving the falcons would cause bloody hell with Falcon fans.

[NJTank]

Los Angeles is apparently interested in...the Atlanta Falcons?

Could just be a Falcons ploy for a new stadium.

Also it appears that former 49ers tackle Kwame Harris is gay. Not sure if it even really matters since he's out of the league.

@Kwame Harris - I don't care about his sexual preference. That's his business.

@Atlanta Falcons - it's one thing to move the Thrashers because very few people care about the Thrashers. But potentially moving the falcons would cause bloody hell with Falcon fans.

But beating up your boyfriend is not good, no matter who you are.

[Coast2CoastAM2006]

Los Angeles is apparently interested in...the Atlanta Falcons?

Could just be a Falcons ploy for a new stadium.

Also it appears that former 49ers tackle Kwame Harris is gay. Not sure if it even really matters since he's out of the league.

@Kwame Harris - I don't care about his sexual preference. That's his business.

@Atlanta Falcons - it's one thing to move the Thrashers because very few people care about the Thrashers. But potentially moving the falcons would cause bloody hell with Falcon fans.

But beating up your boyfriend is not good, no matter who you are.

[pmoehrin]

I don't really know what the big deal is other then its JaMarcus Russell.

I don't think there's anything wrong with just talking to the guy and he's not signing for anything more then the league minimum, if he's offered a contract by anyone at all. I think he'll get an invite to training camp from somebody just based on the fact that he's a former number one draft pick and somebody out there is going to think they can get something out of him. But I don't think any NFL team out there is looking at him as anything more then a potential backup, key word being potential. Nobody is giving him any kind of money until they see how he acts and performs in a training camp.

[Jigga]

Oh, and Rob Ryan is officially a Ram.

Little longer than "five minutes", but still pretty good.

Yeeeaaaahhhh, uhhhh, about that...

Fisher: Rams won't hire Rob Ryan

30,000 minutes and counting.

[rams80]

Oh, and Rob Ryan is officially a Ram.

Little longer than "five minutes", but still pretty good.

Yeeeaaaahhhh, uhhhh, about that...

Fisher: Rams won't hire Rob Ryan

30,000 minutes and counting.

Really hellbent on running that 3-4 wasn't he. Unfortunately for him, the team has a little too much invested in the defensive line to make the switch.

Oh well, 's on fire, all's right with the world.

[NJTank]

Oh Deer

Ray Lewis’ final season and Baltimore’s run through the AFC to the Super Bowl has been described as destiny or a fateful miracle, but it appears as though Lewis’ recovery from a torn triceps was aided by the use of a banned substance.

Sports Illustrated reported that among Lewis’ many treatments for his torn triceps, suffered Oct. 14, was a deer-antler spray, which is banned by the NFL. Philly.com published quotes from the SI article from phone conversations between Lewis and Mitch Ross, the owner of “Sports with Alternatives to Steroids” (S.W.A.T.S.).

According to the quotes, Lewis told Ross to “just pile me up and just send me everything you got, because I got to get back on this this week.”

The recovery regimen included 10 deer-antler pills per day and an under-the-tongue deer-antler spray every two hours.

The deer-antler products are described as containing IGF-1, which is banned by the NFL. The report explains that IGF-1 is what human growth hormone is converted into when it reaches the liver.

“We have deer that we harvest out of New Zealand. Their antlers are the fastest-growing substance on planet Earth … because of the high concentration of IGF-1,” a member of S.W.A.T.S. was quoted as telling the Alabama football team. “We’ve been able to freeze dry that out, extract it, put it in a sublingual spray that you shake for 20 seconds and then spray three [times] under your tongue. … This stuff has been around for almost 1,000 years, this is stuff from the Chinese.”

The Baltimore Sun also noted that the article described “undergarments — black with Lewis’s name and number in -purple — drenched in pungent menthol liquid that [Christopher] Key and Ross exposed to radio waves. All Ross wanted in return, he told Lewis, is for the future Hall of Famer to tell the truth — that he used S.W.A.T.S. products — when he returned to the field.”

The article said that Lewis “walked away without comment” after the reporters asked him about the deer-antler spray and pills. Lewis did admit to having some contact with S.W.A.T.S., including the use of their holographic stickers for healing.

Lewis rejoined the Ravens to begin the playoffs, recording 44 tackles in three games. He’s led the Ravens in total tackles in all three games leading up to the Super Bowl. He had 14 tackles in the AFC Championship Game against the Patriots.

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/01/29/report-ray-lewis-used-banned-substance-to-recover-from-torn-triceps/

[tBBP]

Not sure which is worse—the possibility that Ray-Ray doped up to return from injury, or the fact that anything meant for human ingestion was harvested from deer antlers...

[rams80]

the fact that anything meant for human ingestion was harvested from deer antlers...

It's cool man, it's completely natural.

[BlueSky]

the fact that anything meant for human ingestion was harvested from deer antlers...

It's cool man, it's completely natural.

Our dogs love to chew them and they last a long, long time.

Something tells me Ray wasn't chewing his.

[NJTank]

Well there goes the Puppy Bowl

[Saint Zephyr III]

...Huh. Deer-antler. I'm more impressed than disappointed that someone thought "man, using a spray made from deer antler is AWESOME for recovering from injuries!!!".

[CS85]

49ers CB Chris Culliver says that gay players aren't welcome on the team. "I don't do the gay guys, man." A real intellectual.