2020 NFL: Offseason News and Notes

steveluck7

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May 10, 2007
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If they want to have more competitive games at the end of the regular season, why not go all in and add 2 teams to the playoffs (8total per conference)with the top 2 still getting byes?
youd still only be adding 2 playoff games and more teams would be in the hunt in week 18
 

Hoya81

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Feb 3, 2010
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Under this scenario, the 2008 team would have been the 7 seed, but the 2002 still would have missed the playoffs as the Broncos had a better conference record.
 

mcpickl

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Jul 23, 2007
4,546
If they want to have more competitive games at the end of the regular season, why not go all in and add 2 teams to the playoffs (8total per conference)with the top 2 still getting byes?
youd still only be adding 2 playoff games and more teams would be in the hunt in week 18
Because you'd have 5 teams in round two?
 

edoug

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Jul 15, 2005
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This is A LOT of weed man. What a fall from grace for a former #2 pick in the draft.

View: https://twitter.com/mikejbabcock/status/1230295033204494338
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/greg-robinson-arrested-for-allegedly-possessing-157-pounds-of-marijuana-could-face-up-to-20-years-in-prison/
"According to the federal criminal complaint, on Monday evening, the defendants approached the Sierra Blanca Checkpoint Station, where a U.S. Border Patrol canine unit alerted on their vehicle. "

 

johnmd20

mad dog
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Dec 30, 2003
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I could see the early games getting cannibalized as most normal people make life choices (like interacting with spouses, kids,), running errands, feeling the sun, etc. before glueing themselves on the couch for the two later games.
More NFL has never cannibalized itself. And you're talking about the first weekend in January, not the first weekend in July. It's the ideal day to just sit and watch football.
 

RedOctober3829

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Jul 19, 2005
55,298
deep inside Guido territory
A new CBA done by the new league year will be huge for the Patriots as the 30% rule and other quirky cap stuff affected by the “ last league year”. I believe now restructures can be more drastic than they otherwise could’ve been.
 

DJnVa

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Dec 16, 2010
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I'm glad in tweet 2 he clarified his "not unanimous" by saying "not every owner voted for it."
 

BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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Love how the owners throw it it there that they voted for it and telling everyone it is now up to the NFLPA but then add that "out of respect" for the NFLPA they'll have no further comment.
 

Cotillion

New Member
Jun 11, 2019
4,926
That's extremely gross.
Yet it’ll be the players fault when the owners regretfully have to lock them out as the players were just so greedy and didn’t accept the owners magnanimous offer.

and there will be plenty of fans taking the owners side.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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Hingham, MA
Yet it’ll be the players fault when the owners regretfully have to lock them out as the players were just so greedy and didn’t accept the owners magnanimous offer.

and there will be plenty of fans taking the owners side.
I think it’s important to note though that they currently play 4 preseason games for which they aren’t paid. That will reduce to 3. Also means less opportunity for preseason injuries. Of course players play more snaps in the regular season so that gets more than offset.
 

Average Game James

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Apr 28, 2016
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That's extremely gross.
In 2019, there were 270 players with a base salary north of $4 million that will be negatively affected by this. Presumably will be a slightly higher number come 2021, so it could be upwards of 20% of players... enough to sink the deal, potentially?

Edit: Not nearly as gross as playoff pay though. Wild Card round games are basically paid at a league minimum level ($31k). It’s insane to me that the players in the most lucrative games, and the most consequential ones where guys are more likely to be playing through injury, are getting paid relative peanuts.
 

cornwalls@6

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Apr 23, 2010
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from the wilds of western ma
As details of the potential agreement continue to leak, will be interesting to see how many other ancillary concessions like the below are part of it. Backing off of severe penalties for weed, for example? Improvements in long term health benefits for the players? Not sure any of them individually or collectively are worth the cost to the players of putting their bodies through another game, but getting Goodell out of final discipline decisions can only be a good thing, and long overdue.

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/02/20/cba-would-hand-most-discipline-decisions-to-neutral-decision-maker/
 

cshea

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Nov 15, 2006
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The devil is in the details. This feels like Roger taking a page out of Gary Bettman’s NHL’s playbook. Leak a proposal out, highlight a few “concessions” and try to get the general public on the owners side early and make the players look bad for rejecting the offer.
 

j-man

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Dec 19, 2012
3,646
Arkansas
J J Watt does not like the deal

read that on pft

the end game is 18 games 2 preseason games SB on prez day weekend games every week in London mexico city
 

vadertime

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Jul 31, 2006
1,600
Rhode Island
J J Watt does not like the deal

read that on pft

the end game is 18 games 2 preseason games SB on prez day weekend games every week in London mexico city
Well, if they add a 17th game, every team playing a neutral site game in London makes sense, and is an easy to do it. But it shouldn't be every week, only do it in weeks 6-12.
 

Bowhemian

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Nov 10, 2015
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J J Watt does not like the deal

read that on pft

the end game is 18 games 2 preseason games SB on prez day weekend games every week in London mexico city
Well to be fair, JJ Watt only plays a handful of games every season, so not sure why he cares about the extra game.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
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Apparently Burrow's hands measured only at 9". That's not a very good sign for success.
It’s not ideal but 9” is a lot of teams minimums. Wouldn’t overthink it honestly. Then again you might be being sarcastic.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
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Jul 15, 2005
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Hingham, MA
It’s not ideal but 9” is a lot of teams minimums. Wouldn’t overthink it honestly. Then again you might be being sarcastic.
Not sarcastic. Per ESPN article

Over the past 10 years, a mere three quarterbacks with 9-inch hands have attempted more than 300 passes -- Goff, Tannehill and Chad Henne. During that span, none of them has a Total QBR above 55.
 

joe dokes

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Jul 18, 2005
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Not sarcastic. Per ESPN article

Over the past 10 years, a mere three quarterbacks with 9-inch hands have attempted more than 300 passes -- Goff, Tannehill and Chad Henne. During that span, none of them has a Total QBR above 55.
The 9-inch thing may actually be something, but until I know if that's 3 out of alot of sub-9" QBs that existed in the NFL or that the number is so small because the NFL is hidebound and nearly none get a chance, it's hard to know if it's something. The extreme and ridiculous example would be "and that's why James Harris wont succeed. None have before." Less extreme and ridiculous is QB's under a certain height. Are they not drafted because they dont succeed, or vice versa?
 

Marciano490

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Nov 4, 2007
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I thought the hand size thing was mostly an afterthought until Russell Wilson. I imagine most QBs have large hands because they’re tall, but how many are 9” or under?
 

tmracht

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Aug 19, 2009
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I thought the hand size thing was mostly an afterthought until Russell Wilson. I imagine most QBs have large hands because they’re tall, but how many are 9” or under?
I can't imagine there are too many QBs sub 9" that are given a fair shake. I'm already told my hands were small compared to the rest of my frame and especially when compared to my clown feet. I'm guessing there is a lot of internal bias in the teams/front office/interviewers if I'm getting you have small hand comments and I was never near the elite athletic stratosphere. I heard going back to my freshman football days playing lineman and when I'd go for pitching camps. Maybe some of that is my fingers versus my palms I'm not sure. But the comments were pretty intimidating at age 15.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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Jul 20, 2009
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To me what I would want to do now is to look at all of Burrow's bad and cold weather games and see what happened to the football. Fromm for example has 8 and 7/8 inch hands and we did see the ball come out poorly in poor weather games. I don't recall having similar concerns with Burrow. I'm not a big QB guy this early in the process. I tend to do my QB evals last because they take the most time and I have to cross check a zillion different things.
Edit: Also QB evals are the hardest without all 22. Same with a lot of FS tape. QB evals are the hardest even with perfect information for a non NFL team employee even if you had all the tape in your lap that you wanted as well as knew what the offensive and defensive play calls are (which obviously you don't). Sorry, not to digress.
 

normstalls

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Mar 15, 2004
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djbayko

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Jul 18, 2005
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Papelbon's Poutine

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Same here, Google gave me a bunch of different answers, but most I saw were 1" circumference difference. It's a total aside, I think the kid will be fine either way, I just was always under the impression the college ball was slightly smaller. I feel like we just went through this last year with Kyler Murray and the year before with Darnold.
 

Bowhemian

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Nov 10, 2015
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Bow, NH
Same here, Google gave me a bunch of different answers, but most I saw were 1" circumference difference. It's a total aside, I think the kid will be fine either way, I just was always under the impression the college ball was slightly smaller. I feel like we just went through this last year with Kyler Murray and the year before with Darnold.
I just measured my hands, and I am rocking a little more than 7". And I can throw an NFL ball somewhat well. OK, maybe when I was much younger I could.
I could never grip it the way some of those guys do though.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
22,673
Same here, Google gave me a bunch of different answers, but most I saw were 1" circumference difference. It's a total aside, I think the kid will be fine either way, I just was always under the impression the college ball was slightly smaller. I feel like we just went through this last year with Kyler Murray and the year before with Darnold.
Mahomes' hands measured at 9 and 1/4 inches, which tells you all you need to know about that.
 

The Gray Eagle

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Aug 1, 2001
16,725
If the NFL ball is a little bigger, he could just have his equipment guys use less air pressure in it. You can inflate the ball anywhere from 12.5 to 13.5 psi.
 

DanoooME

above replacement level
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Mar 16, 2008
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This is potentially huge news for the Patriots. The Falcons are letting Austin Hooper get to free agency.

View: https://twitter.com/AtlantaFalcons/status/1232336008802447363
Trade for Hurst, sign Hooper, and suddenly the Pats have one of the best TE tandems in the league.
Are the Pats willing to give Hooper a Kelce-type contract? Because there will be plenty of demand for his services and my guess is the bidding gets up to that level.