Recent content by Otto

  1. Otto

    Looking for simple basketball plays (esp. to get big man an open look)

    I will preface my response by saying that most of my guys (7th grade and 12-13 y/o) have been playing together for at least 2 years - and this will be the 5th year together for a few of them. And 90% of the time, I'm not having them run plays. We have different sets we use, depending on what...
  2. Otto

    Looking for simple basketball plays (esp. to get big man an open look)

    What do you play against more: zone defense or man to man?
  3. Otto

    NFL Free Agency Game Thread: Rumors! News! Uneducated Guesses!

    I'm glad to be relevant once or twice a year ... I can't type a full explanation in the time I have right now, but I think this is a problem for different reasons than those being reported. I think not having an agent makes everything a complete wildcard for teams. Teams know how to find him...
  4. Otto

    The Michael McCorkle "Mac" Jones Thread

    Correct. There are lots of reasons why all 32 teams send scouts to pro days all over the country (or even head coaches, coordinators, and GMs) and their entire coaching staff and personnel department to the NFL combine every year - and one of those reasons is that they can watch players go...
  5. Otto

    Pats Draft: UDFA Thread

    There are lots of different takes on this. I always start with: (1) who called (scouting assistant, director of college scouting, position coach, etc.); and (2) what did he say (about competition, number of guys at the position, what vets are they hoping to replace, etc.)? Those two things...
  6. Otto

    Pats QB Options

    Sort of. A vested veteran who is on the 53 man roster for the first game of the season and is cut at some point after that is eligible to make a claim for termination pay (equal to the rest of the season salary). It is not the same as a guarantee because a player can collect termination pay...
  7. Otto

    Sexual assault lawsuit filed against QB DeShaun Watson

    For whatever this is worth, every established NFL veteran works out at a specialized training facility in the offseason - some spend more of their offseason doing that than others, of course. Those places have position coaches, speed coaches, strength coaches, chiropractors, athletic trainers...
  8. Otto

    Pats sign WR Nelson Agholor

    Yes, and the players are willing to do it (in theory) because the non-guaranteed/increased base in year 2 comes at a time that the cap will go up and teams will be spending more - so that isn't just a dummy year if the player could easily replace it in the market. Caveat: I haven't seen...
  9. Otto

    Building a new mid-level gaming PC

    Thanks to everyone who responded to my dumb questions. I really appreciate it!
  10. Otto

    Building a new mid-level gaming PC

    As a fellow non-techie, I'd say its basically a hybrid of laptop and desktop - Dell calls it an all-in-one, because it sits on a desk but doesn't have a separate box on the floor. Which now that I type that, makes me think that upgrading is not going to be possible.
  11. Otto

    Building a new mid-level gaming PC

    At the risk of asking some really stupid questions, here goes: I'm not a gamer and never have been. Even with basic computing needs (i.e., for work), I don't really know what I'm talking about. I have a home office (that I use even more than usual during COVID) with what is probably a...
  12. Otto

    AB Watch II: Quarantonio Brown

    They settle and account for cap hits on smaller things - like injury grievances or daily fines for guys who don't report. Those are comparatively boring and don't get much attention, so this will be viewed differently, but the concept exists. I've negotiated lots of them.
  13. Otto

    [LOCKED] 2019 AB Watch: Non-legal Views Only

    Just to add on to PKB's post above: every agent can get every team's updated "available cap space report" with a few clicks on the NFLPA's website.
  14. Otto

    2019 Pats: General Training Camp Thread

    This isn't universal, but I would say most rookies and other first year players have a different perspective than that. Most of those guys who weren't round 1-4 draft picks are still there at the end because there is someone on the staff - a position coach - who is in their corner. The guy we...
  15. Otto

    2019 Pats: General Training Camp Thread

    For final cut down day, most teams are pretty much the same. The veterans get called in to the facility first. They get the message ahead of time, usually through a courtesy call to the agent, then they turn in their stuff and get a quick meeting with the decision makers. The rookies and...