NFL Offseason Thread

[Vince]

Well after last night's Jets preseason game much as I hate to admit it Sanchez has the edge over Clemens at QB.  Rex Ryan continues to turn the Jets into last year's version of the Ravens with a rookie QB, 3-headed beast at RB and improved defense. 

[CountDeMoney]

Rex Ryan continues to turn the Jets into last year's version of the Ravens with a rookie QB, 3-headed beast at RB and improved defense.

There's only one difference: bad Jets mojo.  J-E-S-T JEST JEST JEST

[Neil]

Mind you, playing the Rams is a little different from playing a team that isn't horrible.

[Strix]

Mind you, playing the Rams is a little different from playing a team that isn't horrible.

So, it wasn't that much difference from scrimmaging themselves? 

[Neil]

Mind you, playing the Rams is a little different from playing a team that isn't horrible.

So, it wasn't that much difference from scrimmaging themselves? 

Ouch.  I dunno, it seems to me that the Jets are part of that middle ground of teams that are going to win a respectable number of games, but aren't going to the playoffs.  They should be able to secure third place in their division.

[Strix]

Ouch.  I dunno, it seems to me that the Jets are part of that middle ground of teams that are going to win a respectable number of games, but aren't going to the playoffs.  They should be able to secure third place in their division.

It will be an interesting battle for 2nd to last in that Division. Thomas Jones is coming off his best season as a Pro but he is turning 31 in a week or so. Will we see the 3.6 or 4.5 yards per carry guy? And with Washington holding out does that mean Thomas gets ground down even more with carries? And even if Washington signs soon will he even be effective as most hold out RB's seem to have a lot of injuries as a result of missing the preseason workouts. Throw a rookie QB without any outstanding wideouts in to the mix and you have a recipe for potentially something horrific. Oh, did I forget to mention a rookie Coach as well?

On the upside, I think the Jets will have a much better defense.  I think Ryan will bring toughness and a nasty character to the team with the help of the key defections from the Ravens.

Buffalo is of course the wild card in the equation. Their defense should be good. The major issue is Lynch getting suspended. It might help or hurt the team. It could help them by letting Owens be more of the offense at the beginning which could also backfire once Lynch returns. I think Rhodes and Jackson can replace Lynch well until his return especially with Buffalo switching to a no huddle style offense. Jauron is under pressure to win. If he along with his coaches can stop losing their usual 2-3 games a season because of their handling of the game than Buffalo should be a cold stone lock to finish at least 3rd in the Division.

On the downside (or upside if you aren't a Buffalo fan), the over/under is game 7 for Owens to throw Edwards and the coaching staff under the bus than back up over Jauron's still twitching corpse.

[MadBurgerMaker]

  Well #83 won't be making the Lions roster.  Stafford hit him in the hands twice on that drive (including his first NFL pass, a deep-ish throw) and both times he dropped the pass. 

E:  Hey he finally caught one!  E2: Aaaannd....another drop.

[sbr]

Owens is always good his first year on a new team, and with a one year contract I don't see him throwing anyone under the bus this year at all.  The Bills should be pretty good if Edwards can do anything.  I see them porbably finishing second in that division, which should put them in the playoffs.  The Jets will probably give them a run but I can't see them doing it this year.  I see a freefall for the 'Phins this year.

EDIT: This is all without looking at the teams' schedules, just my "feelings" about the quality of the teams.

[CountDeMoney]

I expect to see the Bills lose plenty of games with the score 38-35.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Ugh...the weather is supposedly pretty shitty in Kansas City.

[MadBurgerMaker]

   Bad Rex spotted.

"Fuck it I'm going deep" *throws to no one*
*fumbles for no reason on the next play*

Ahaha the punter fucked it all up, but just picked up the ball and ran for a first down.  And the Rex Grossman experiment seems to already be over.

[sbr]

  Bad Rex spotted.

"Fuck it I'm going deep" *throws to no one*
*fumbles for no reason on the next play*

Ahaha the punter fucked it all up, but just picked up the ball and ran for a first down.  And the Rex Grossman experiment seems to already be over.

Who is Sexy Rex playing for?  I didn't know anyone signed him.

[MadBurgerMaker]

Who is Sexy Rex playing for?  I didn't know anyone signed him.

The Texans picked him up to be their third string guy, but he really stunk the place up in this first preseason game.  Three snaps and Kubiak benched him.

[Neil]

Ouch.  I dunno, it seems to me that the Jets are part of that middle ground of teams that are going to win a respectable number of games, but aren't going to the playoffs.  They should be able to secure third place in their division.

It will be an interesting battle for 2nd to last in that Division. Thomas Jones is coming off his best season as a Pro but he is turning 31 in a week or so. Will we see the 3.6 or 4.5 yards per carry guy? And with Washington holding out does that mean Thomas gets ground down even more with carries? And even if Washington signs soon will he even be effective as most hold out RB's seem to have a lot of injuries as a result of missing the preseason workouts. Throw a rookie QB without any outstanding wideouts in to the mix and you have a recipe for potentially something horrific. Oh, did I forget to mention a rookie Coach as well?

On the upside, I think the Jets will have a much better defense.  I think Ryan will bring toughness and a nasty character to the team with the help of the key defections from the Ravens.

Buffalo is of course the wild card in the equation. Their defense should be good. The major issue is Lynch getting suspended. It might help or hurt the team. It could help them by letting Owens be more of the offense at the beginning which could also backfire once Lynch returns. I think Rhodes and Jackson can replace Lynch well until his return especially with Buffalo switching to a no huddle style offense. Jauron is under pressure to win. If he along with his coaches can stop losing their usual 2-3 games a season because of their handling of the game than Buffalo should be a cold stone lock to finish at least 3rd in the Division.

On the downside (or upside if you aren't a Buffalo fan), the over/under is game 7 for Owens to throw Edwards and the coaching staff under the bus than back up over Jauron's still twitching corpse.

Jauron is an idiot.  Miami and the Faggotriots will fight it out for first, the Jets will be third and Buffalo will be in the basement.  Buffalo has an alright defence, a good RB, a passable QB and a good WR tandem, but they have the second-worst coach in the NFL right now (Wade Phillips is total shit).  And that's why they'll continue to lose those 2-3 games a year.  It's not like Jauron has never been under pressure to win before.  It's just that he can't win.  He makes Rich Kotite look like John fucking Madden.

The real wildcard is Chad Pennington.  If he stays healthy and plays within himself like last year, Miami is a force to be reckoned with in that division.

[Vince]

Buddy Ryan would be proud. 

http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/08/17/sources-raiders-coach-tom-cable-punched-assistant-during-alterc/#cont

Oakland Raiders head coach Tom Cable punched defensive assistant Randy Hanson in the jaw during an Aug. 5 altercation at the team's training camp headquarters at the Napa Valley Marriott, two sources told FanHouse.

National Football Post first reported Monday that Hanson, a third-year assistant who is in his first season with the team under the title "assistant coach-defense," had been hit by another member of the coaching staff, but did not specify the attacker.

Two NFL sources have told FanHouse that the assailant was Cable and "that Hanson never saw it coming."

Neither Hanson nor the coach who threw the punch were identified in a Napa, Calif., police report taken Aug. 6 at Queen of the Valley Hospital. But one well-placed NFL source told FanHouse of the attacker: "It's a well-known coach. Very well-known."

Pressed to confirm the identity of the attacker, the source said, "It was Cable who hit him."

Cable said after the Raiders' Monday afternoon practice in Napa: "It's an internal issue. I'm not going to comment on that." Bay Area reporters sent out Tweets saying follow up questions were cut off by a Raiders official.

Earlier, as players took the practice field, they were heard chanting "Cable Bumaye!" (Cable Kill Him) -- a reference to the infamous chant made famous by boxing fans in Zaire when Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the 8th round during the Rumble in the Jungle fight in 1974.

According to Napa Police Lt. Brian McGovern, police followed procedure in responding to the downtown Napa hospital when Hanson arrived to receive treatment for what was described as an injured jaw. X-rays were taken. The results are not known, although one NFL source told FanHouse Hanson sustained a fractured jaw as a result of the punch.

Hanson told police the alleged assault took place at the Raiders' training camp site the day before, but he refused to name the attacker, which is hindering a police investigation into whether misdemeanor or even felony assault charges may be filed. A jaw fracture could warrant felony charges, but the fact the victim is unwilling to pursue the matter criminally is not surprising, given the cloistered nature of the tight-knit NFL coaching fraternity.

The police report is not public record, McGovern said, because of concern for privacy rights of the alleged victim.

"The victim didn't even want any police action taken," McGovern told FanHouse, "but we were following hospital policy that authorities be contacted in cases where there may have been an assault."

McGovern said Napa Police consider the matter closed at this point, "unless we are re-contacted by the victim, and the victim changes their mind that they want us to follow through and pursue an investigation. At this point we're not doing anything else with it."

Another NFL source told FanHouse that Hanson was in the middle of a conversation with defensive coordinator John Marshall when the alleged attack occurred.

Hanson previously served under former Raiders coach Lane Kiffin as an assistant defensive backs coach. The two clashed famously in Sept. 2008 when Hanson was suspended by Kiffin after the defensive assistant openly questioned the Raiders' game plan following a 41-14 season-opening loss to the then-Mike Shanahan-coached Denver Broncos.

"It's a good thing that Shanahan didn't have our players," Hanson reportedly blurted out in the presence of other coaches, "or else he would have beaten us 1,000-0."

Kiffin suspended Hanson for five days, causing a rift among a divided Raiders coaching staff that caused owner Al Davis to intervene. By that time, Kiffin and former defensive coordinator Rob Ryan were openly battling over defensive philosophy. By Week 1 of the '08 season, Davis already was compiling a dossier to document reasons to dismiss Kiffin. The Hanson incident was one more page for the report.

Asked about the Hanson outburst, Kiffin said last September, "Randy had some personal issues going on. Randy still did some work for us, but he spent some time at home to get some things straight in his personal life."

Raiders senior executive John Herrera told the National Football Post that Cable would address the latest Hanson controversy following the team's practice on Sunday, but that did not happen.

The Raiders have a single 3:30 p.m. PT practice Monday, after which Cable is expected to answer questions about the alleged assault.