2013 NFL Off-Season Thread

[Dalcowboyfan92]

tearing the achilles is not a season ending injury like it was before, Suggs returned last year, after tearing it earlier in the year.

Not wanting to sound like a douche here, but if he would have suffered the injury at any time, now was probably the best time. Sure he'll miss the first few weeks, but it's better it happened now then a few months later when he would've ended up missing the entire regular season.

[illwauk]

I would say that it looks like the NFL equivalent of Wrigley Field, in terms of spectators outside the facility watching the action, but then I remember that the Bears played at Wrigley for 50 years, including the overlapping time period when the Niners played at Kezar.

In fact, I think they both left Wrigley and Kezar after the 1970 season.

Patients at the VA hospital near County Stadium used to go to the hospital's roof to watch the Packers and Brewers before the grandstands were extended and obscured the view.

I know a lot of people don't like that the Niners are moving out of the city, but it's not that different from having the Cowboys in Irving or Arlington. Personally, I think they should work out a deal with the Raiders and share Levi's Stadium. I know a lot of people will hate that idea, but with the condition of the Oakland Coliseum and Candlestick Park, combined with the economic issues California is facing, there's really no reason to even consider two new football stadiums in the Bay Area.

Levi's Stadium will actually be closer to Oakland than San Francisco (only by 2.5 miles, but still...)

[zpqmaowl]

Schedule wallpapers for all 32 teams and models of iPhones.

[CS85]

After 6 seasons, former Giant now Buc Steve Smith retires from the NFL.

[BigEd76]

-- Quentin Jammer jumps from SD to Denver

-- Gronk needs back surgery too and will not be ready for training camp

[pmoehrin]

-- Gronk needs back surgery too and will not be ready for training camp

The arm is bad enough, but back injuries can end careers.

Its very possible the best years of Rob Gronkowski are already behind him. I got a feeling he'll be lucky to be able to play a game this year.

[dfwabel]

Cowboys draft board seen again, yet they still go against it.

[Kramerica Industries]

Deacon Jones, all-time great defensive end for the Los Angeles Rams and the Master of the Sack before the Sack, has died at 74.

[BigEd76]

Trent Richardson out until August with a lower leg strain that could develop into a stress fracture

The source cited Kevin Ware, the basketball player from Louisville whose leg snapped on a seemingly routine play, as the worst case scenario that this injury could develop into.

[pmoehrin]

JaMarcus Russell is getting a tryout for the Bears this Friday.

http://tracking.si.c...day/?xid=si_nfl

We'll see happens. I think Josh McCown is a perfectly capable backup and obviously Jay Cutler isn't going anywhere as the starter, so its a little surprising to see Chicago taking a chance on him, but in Jamarcus' situation you just take whatever is given to you.

I'm sure at least a few NFL will be putting feelers out there to get an idea of what he looked like in the tryout and even if he doesn't make the Bears, he may still play well enough to get another tryout with a different team.

I'm kinda pulling for the guy. For someone that threw away as much talent as he did, he looks like he's finally starting to get it and might be able to salvage something of an NFL career yet.

[CS85]

I think this is mostly a pull for camp bodies and giving a charity exhibition for Russell.

[FiddySicks]

I was actually at the game where Jamarcus Russell made his debut. His first pass was overthrown to Mike Williams. What a combination of wasted talent and failed expectations that was.

[CS85]

Verizon is close to taking the lid off a four-year, $1B extension of its NFL rights. The deal, which will allow Verizon to stream every NFL regular-season and playoff game to mobile phones, should forever obliterate the distinction between sponsor and media-rights deals. Its previous deal gave Verizon subscribers access to live games schedules from ESPN, NBC and NFL Network. But this new deal adds in the CBS and Fox Sunday afternoon schedules plus the playoffs. It comes just two weeks after the league signed a five-year, $400M deal with Microsoft.

Pointedly, the massive Verizon deal does not include the rights to stream NFL games to tablets – only “mobile phones,” which is certain to lead to fights over what is considered a phone. The league likely will have to resolve the difference between dedicated tablets, like iPads, and hybrid devices, like Samsung’s popular Galaxy.

NFL Exec VP/Media Steve Bornstein and NFL Media COO Brian Rolapp handled negotiations for the league. Verizon’s NFL agency Wasserman Media Group handled negotiations for the carrier. The deal was completed long enough ago that senior club officials were briefed on it at NFL meetings at the end of May.

The deal will make Verizon one of the NFL’s biggest business partners outside of its media-rights holders. Verizon has committed to paying $1B over the four-year term, starting with a $210M payment in the deal’s first year, sources said. The deal marks a significant increase over Verizon’s previous deal. An NFL sponsor since '10, Verizon was paying around $50M annually for its NFL rights, including rights fees, team spend commitments and media spending on NFL media partners.

http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Morning-Buzz/2013/06/04/Verizon.aspx

[DG_YouKnowWhatThatMeans]

I read on the Verge that the NFL/Verizon deal is for phones only, requires a cellular connection at least to start streaming, and will not allow HDMI out. And the kicker, of course, that it's only certain phones. It'll be hilarious when the just-release Galaxy 4 is somehow not up-to-snuff come September when the Galaxy 4.2 is conveniently released to coincide with kick-off.

American cell service is the absolute worst, and deals like this make a bad thing even more terrible.

[dfwabel]

The hidden kicker is going to be the overage charges for those do not have a data plan large enough for streaming the hours of programming they want.

From WSJ:

The cost of those plans, however, could leave subscribers cautious about watching too much video for fear of going over their allotments. Streaming NFL games run about 2.1 megabytes a minute, or about 375 megabytes per three-hour game. That means watching five games in a month using the cellular network would use 1.9 gigabytes of data, according to Verizon Wireless's website. Under one of the carrier's plans, that would cost $60.

Lee Berke, a media consultant who has worked with Verizon Wireless on past sports deals, said the carrier could benefit from the NFL agreement given fast growth in media consumption on mobile devices. According to CBS, about three million viewers watched its online stream of the 2013 Super Bowl, up from 2.1 million in 2012.

"I can see viewers for NFL games on mobile continuing to double for the foreseeable future," Mr. Berke said. "At this point, nobody knows where the upper limit is, and that's why these deals are being done. In the 1970s people predicted cable would reach an inflection point at 30% penetration, but now we're at 80-90% with pay television."

Subscribers pay $5 a month to watch NFL games on their Verizon phones. Verizon Wireless doesn't disclose the number of people who have downloaded its NFL mobile app. but the Google Play app store said it has received more than 10 million installations.

The NFL and Verizon also are creating a new NFL mobile application that will be available to all fans, regardless of their carrier, though Verizon customers will have access to a premium version that will include enhanced highlights and statistics.

[Gothamite]

What a terrible idea.

I can stream MLB TV, the NHL and NBA on my Apple TV. I'd gladly pay for the NFL, but they don't want our money.

[rams80]

So if you work for the NSA does this mean you get to watch every NFL game for free?

[Gothamite]

For the last seven years.

[BigEd76]

The Bears traded their 2011 1st-rd pick Gabe Carimi to the Buccaneers for a 6th-rd pick

[CS85]

The Bears traded their 2011 1st-rd pick Gabe Carimi to the Buccaneers for a 6th-rd pick

Let's ask Jerry Angelo what he has to say about this. Take it away, Jerry!