2020 NFL: Offseason News and Notes

SemperFidelisSox

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May 25, 2008
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A lot of coaches and teams really non committal to their QB positions at the combine. The game of musical chairs with the QB market is going to be crazy.
 

Marciano490

Urological Expert
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Nov 4, 2007
62,312
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.
I’m the opposite. I remember measuring last time this came up and was just under or just over 10”, but can’t grip or throw a ball for shit because it’s all palm with short fingers.

Like most combine measurements, it seems fairly useless.
 

Harry Hooper

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Jan 4, 2002
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Players may be voting on the CBA today, per PFT:

The final draft of the CBA was finished at 2 a.m. after long hours of work among lawyers for the union and lawyers for the owners. Now the players can see the full CBA and decide whether to accept or reject it.

Voting is conducted electronically, and requires a simple majority of voters for ratification.
 

Kliq

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Mar 31, 2013
22,673
Not sure where to put this: ESPN is allegedly trying to trade for Al Michaels, so they can pair him with Peyton Manning for MNF.

I'm not quite sure how Michaels and Peyton are a "dream team" when Peyton has to my knowledge, never done CC a day in his life. I still like Al but he is 75 and clearly on the downside of his career. I really like Tirico and would be happy to see him do more NFL games, though.

Michaels of course, once did MNF for ABC, but when MNF moved to ESPN and SNF came to NBC, Madden jumped from ABC to NBC and basically turned SNF into the A show. Michaels ended up going with him, and so Michaels was traded to NBC for a cartoon character that Walt Disney had developed, but had lost the rights to Universal in 1928.
 

Super Nomario

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Nov 5, 2000
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Redskins will finally let Williams seek a trade.

If Brady is back, NE should be all over this. https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/28845477/washington-redskins-let-trent-williams-seek-trade
Make the deal, let Thuney go (not because I don't like him, but he's gonna command big $$), move Wynn to LG where he's a beast.
I don't get it. Arguably the best thing the Patriots have going for them offensively is (at least) a decent LT on a cheap rookie contract. I'm not sure why we'd throw draft assets to get a lot older and more expensive there. Save the bullets (both draft capital and cap space) to add the weapons they desperately need or re-sign/replace one of four free agent defensive starters.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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I don't get it. Arguably the best thing the Patriots have going for them offensively is (at least) a decent LT on a cheap rookie contract. I'm not sure why we'd throw draft assets to get a lot older and more expensive there. Save the bullets (both draft capital and cap space) to add the weapons they desperately need or re-sign/replace one of four free agent defensive starters.
My thought process is simply this: Thuney will most likely be gone. So they will have a massive hole on the left side of the line. Wynn is a superlative G that probably can end up being a really good tackle. But he could be a dominant G. Williams is already a dominant LT. So instead of Wynn at LT and a filler at LG, you end up with Wynn at LG (his better position) and Williams at LT. That's a dominant left side of the OL.

Of course if they re-sign Thuney, their OL is solid. But he's gonna be super expensive.

But...they'd need to extend him, and he's 31, so there are issues.
 

Super Nomario

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My thought process is simply this: Thuney will most likely be gone. So they will have a massive hole on the left side of the line. Wynn is a superlative G that probably can end up being a really good tackle. But he could be a dominant G. Williams is already a dominant LT. So instead of Wynn at LT and a filler at LG, you end up with Wynn at LG (his better position) and Williams at LT. That's a dominant left side of the OL.
Not disputing that, but I'm not sure what good a dominant OL does if you still have the worst group of WR/TE in the league, and adding Williams makes it really difficult to fix the pass-catching group and reinforce the defense.

You can find IOL. They got Thuney in the third, Mason in the fourth, Andrews was undrafted, so were guys like Ryan Wendell and Dan Connolly. They used a fourth on Froholdt last year, and there were those who thought Cajuste might wind up at G. They can add a cheap IOL FA and another mid-round pick and have a bunch of options at LG. It'll be a downgrade from Thuney, but it'll be fine.

Of course if they re-sign Thuney, their OL is solid. But he's gonna be super expensive.

But...they'd need to extend him, and he's 31, so there are issues.
Yeah, I don't think Williams is ultimately going to be any cheaper than Thuney. And he's definitely older, and has an extensive injury history, and hasn't played in a year. If they're going to spend 8 figures on an OL I'd rather go with the devil we know.
 

SMU_Sox

queer eye for the next pats guy
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I think the expectations of the media and for some w/r/t free agency is warped. They have a ton of holes, not enough guys on rookie contracts who contribute, and, if they sign Brady, not a ton of cap space to do it.

You can't trade for AJ Green because him + Brady is your whole cap and you need a FS, OLB, Off-Ball LB, DL, OL (can be for cheap), WR, TE, and... yeah. Too many holes to fill and not enough cap space to do it.

Williams is in the same boat. Too expensive.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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That's all fine, but then they're counting on a rookie (who they draft) or a guy who's just had a redshirt year in Cajuste or Froholdt or some cheap veteran (and cheap probably means...not that good or else he wouldn't be cheap). Which is maybe exactly what they'll do.
 

Super Nomario

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That's all fine, but then they're counting on a rookie (who they draft) or a guy who's just had a redshirt year in Cajuste or Froholdt or some cheap veteran (and cheap probably means...not that good or else he wouldn't be cheap). Which is maybe exactly what they'll do.
They need to do that somewhere. If you add Williams, they are probably doing that at several defensive spots and WR / TE.
 

RedOctober3829

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deep inside Guido territory
That's all fine, but then they're counting on a rookie (who they draft) or a guy who's just had a redshirt year in Cajuste or Froholdt or some cheap veteran (and cheap probably means...not that good or else he wouldn't be cheap). Which is maybe exactly what they'll do.
The easiest positions to find plug and play players is in the interior offensive line. I am confident enough that they will find somebody to replace Thuney adequately. They need to save their trades/big splash signings for the offensive skill players they really need.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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They need to do that somewhere. If you add Williams, they are probably doing that at several defensive spots and WR / TE.
Maybe. But at least at WR they have a first-round pick in Harry who, by virtue of being a first-round pick, ought to have star-level talent. But who the hell knows.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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Yeah, the fascination with turning Wynn into a guard is weird. He played fine in the limited amount he was out there this year. If he stays healthy, he's going to be there for a long time.
It's not really a "fascination". He was primarily a guard in college. A *great* guard in college. And there's a stud LT available for trade, so the question is whether the OL would be better with Wynn at his natural position at G and a pro-bowler at LT, or if it would be better for Wynn to be at LT and find someone to fill in at LG.

I think the first option makes for a better offensive line, though of course it comes with issues, like cost (both in terms of what it takes to acquire Williams, then what you'd have to pay him). So it's not an idea without its problems. But I can't imagine BB isn't at least considering it.
 

Super Nomario

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It's not really a "fascination". He was primarily a guard in college. A *great* guard in college.
He was a great T in college, too. He did only play one year there, but it was his last year. I'm sure he'd be great at G, but having a competent LT on a rookie contract is one of the best team-building advantages you can have aside from having a QB on a rookie contract.

To me Wynn at G is an option if it gets the best 5 OL on the field, but it's not something to seek out.
 

BigJimEd

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Maybe. But at least at WR they have a first-round pick in Harry who, by virtue of being a first-round pick, ought to have star-level talent. But who the hell knows.
I would disagree with the bolded. I don't think many 32nd picks are star level.


I would agree with those stating Pats would be better off re-signing Thuney in that scenario. Upgrade doesn't seem to be worth the cost of giving up assets to get ther right to pay Williams.
 

Time to Mo Vaughn

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CFB_Rules

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It is slightly smaller, less than 1/2" circumference, which won't make much of a difference.
A google search gave me a few different answers on the precise size, so I can't really quote my source.
Missed these posts earlier, but the exact ball size is specified by rule:

NCAA:
Long axis: 10 7/8 in to 11 7/16 in
Long Circumference: 27 3/4 in to 28 1/2 in
Short Circumference: 20 3/4 in to 21 1/4 in

NFL:
Long axis: 11 in to 11 1/4 in
Long Circumference: 28 in to 28 1/2 in
Short Circumference: 21 in to 21 1/4 in

Both codes the ball must be inflated between 12.5 to 13.5 pounds and must weight between 14 to 15 ounces. So the balls are effectively the exact same size, except the NCAA has a little more wriggle room on the bottom end for the circumferences, and the NFL "long axis" requirements are tighter.
 

Van Everyman

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Apr 30, 2009
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Newton
I don't really understand this. This is the offseason. There are no workouts for a while. No large public gatherings. Players are talking with teams about signing contracts. Why can't this continue as scheduled?
I think the optics of players signing multimillion dollar free agent contracts while the worldwide economy teeters on the brink of a recession is not optimal.
 

BaseballJones

ivanvamp
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Oct 1, 2015
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I think the optics of players signing multimillion dollar free agent contracts while the worldwide economy teeters on the brink of a recession is not optimal.
Well the economic issue is gonna be here for a while. When should they fire up free agency?