NFL: News and transactions

DanoooME

above replacement level
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Mar 16, 2008
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The new rule only impacts those in the air kicks short of the end zone. As with kicks one yard deep, now a kick that comes down the 1 will allow the returner to decide if he wants to take a fair catch to take it to the 25 or try to run it back.
I do wonder if we will see more long squib kicks, ones that bounce around the 15-20.
This will definitely punish teams that value kick coverage and do it well. Instead of banging every kick into the end zone, they could strategically kick balls inside the 5 and limit the return to before the 25. Now there's zero incentive to do it because the other team just takes a fair catch and get it at the 25. There's no point to even having kickoffs any more. Just put the ball at the 25 after the extra point.
 

cornwalls@6

Less observant than others
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Apr 23, 2010
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The NFL has become a TV product. While attending an NFL game is fun, that is not what they are looking for now and like people have said here, those seats will get sold anyways.

As a matter of fact, most of the seats bough by fans who make travel plans late in the season come from a secondary market seller such as Stubhub or Vivid Seats, which means that the seat has already been sold even if no one shows up.

They will market and design their product for TV (and streaming soon).
This is absolutely true. And I will concede that they can’t go too far in disregarding/not caring about the in person fans, because a full house is, IMO, integral to having the best tv product as well. I thought the Covid games were a rough watch. Just don’t think flexing games is going to make a meaningful difference to most fans who go to games, and most tv/streaming viewers would always prefer to have the best national game possible
 

johnmd20

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To be fair, that article said the NFL spokesman said it would be his last contract, but Goodell himself was more circumspect. May have been wishful thinking by Jerry Jones.
Goodell makes 70 million dollars a year. Why would he leave this job unless he was literally pushed out the door?
 

BaseballJones

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Oct 1, 2015
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It's got to be weird for Robert Kraft. Like him or not, Goodell does a great job for the owners and the league. He takes the abuse that probably should be heaped on the owners. He is the lightning rod - not the owners - for the things that ail the NFL. And while I think a monkey could make $$ for the NFL, the fact remains that under Goodell, the league has prospered like never before. So his presence benefits Robert Kraft.

Yet at the same time, he's a guy that has personally tried to undermine the Patriots.
 

Mystic Merlin

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Sep 21, 2007
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It's got to be weird for Robert Kraft. Like him or not, Goodell does a great job for the owners and the league. He takes the abuse that probably should be heaped on the owners. He is the lightning rod - not the owners - for the things that ail the NFL. And while I think a monkey could make $$ for the NFL, the fact remains that under Goodell, the league has prospered like never before. So his presence benefits Robert Kraft.

Yet at the same time, he's a guy that has personally tried to undermine the Patriots.
I don’t think Kraft really cares about Goodell’s ‘gates at this point. During Deflategate? Sure, he was angry and defensive, but that was almost 8.5 years ago.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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It's got to be weird for Robert Kraft. Like him or not, Goodell does a great job for the owners and the league. He takes the abuse that probably should be heaped on the owners. He is the lightning rod - not the owners - for the things that ail the NFL. And while I think a monkey could make $$ for the NFL, the fact remains that under Goodell, the league has prospered like never before. So his presence benefits Robert Kraft.

Yet at the same time, he's a guy that has personally tried to undermine the Patriots.
He's also the guy who didn't punish him for getting arrested on a solicitation charge so...
 

Groovenstein

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It's got to be weird for Robert Kraft. Like him or not, Goodell does a great job for the owners and the league. He takes the abuse that probably should be heaped on the owners. He is the lightning rod - not the owners - for the things that ail the NFL. And while I think a monkey could make $$ for the NFL, the fact remains that under Goodell, the league has prospered like never before. So his presence benefits Robert Kraft.

Yet at the same time, he's a guy that has personally tried to undermine the Patriots.
Something about money and strange bedfellows
 

Salva135

Cassandra
Oct 19, 2008
1,568
Boston
It's got to be weird for Robert Kraft. Like him or not, Goodell does a great job for the owners and the league. He takes the abuse that probably should be heaped on the owners. He is the lightning rod - not the owners - for the things that ail the NFL. And while I think a monkey could make $$ for the NFL, the fact remains that under Goodell, the league has prospered like never before. So his presence benefits Robert Kraft.

Yet at the same time, he's a guy that has personally tried to undermine the Patriots.
Are we still doing this?

Goodell doesn't personally undermine anyone. He is the face of the league, no more, no less. He takes the hits when the league faces scandal, he gets the praise when the league expands to geographic and technological realms it hadn't previously. He delivers greater value to his only bosses, the owners, year after year after year. That's why. he makes obscene money and he's up for a new contract where's he's going to make obscene money again.

He doesn't try to undermine the Pats. Lots of owners, congressmen, and the like have tried to influence him in attacking the Pats and question the way they do they business, but Goodell doesn't give a single shit.

Kraft supports him 100% and none of the deflategate, spygate stuff matters at all to Kraft in these negotiations.

And they shouldn't. Goodell has delivered value to Kraft's investment so many times over it's hard to imagine Kraft wanting anyone else.

Goodell has been here since 2006. Wrap your head around that.

The NFL has been through a million scandals since 2006 and yet it's the biggest game in town, and bigger than ever. Goodell is very, very good at what he is supposed to be. Begrudgingly.
 
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Salva135

Cassandra
Oct 19, 2008
1,568
Boston
Kicking team willing to risk getting better defensive field position are going to be doing a lot more line drive kicks or trying to squib with authority so it bounced inside the 20s. Force other teams to have more people catch the ball and dare them to run it out

Hopefully we get some more impactful hits in that smaller area of play! Just kidding.

Hate everything that they’ve done to kickoffs the last couple years from a game point of view. the onside kick chance has never been recovered I know safety safety but …. Just annoying

Honestly, if they really want to limit the kick offs, they should just tell teams that any touch back with start the ball at the 15 yard line. The great majority of kicks would be out of the end zone once teams adjust. Going to be hard to control the kicking team incentives here.

Hate to imagine how that last minute of SB LI goes if Atlanta got to start the ball at their 25 after that perfect kick by Gostkowski . Huge advantage to teams that get tied up in last 2 minutes as it weakens bad starting field position drama
Pats were one of a few teams to vote against this rule and I imagine BB is already deciding if it's worth trying to abuse this rule.

Maybe BB will call Ernie on the Gronk Phone.- we're gonna Pink Stripes the hell outta this shit.
 
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Ralphwiggum

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Jun 27, 2012
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Are we still doing this?

Goodell doesn't personally undermine anyone. He is the face of the league, no more, no less. He takes the hits when the league faces scandal, he gets the praise when the league expands to geographic and technological realms it hadn't previously. He delivers greater value to his only bosses, the owners, year after year after year. That's why. he makes obscene money and he's up for a new contract where's he's going to make obscene money again.

He doesn't try to undermine the Pats. Lots of owners, congressmen, and the like have tried to influence him in attacking the Pats and question the way they do they business, but Goodell doesn't give a single shit.

Kraft supports him 100% and none of the deflategate, spygate stuff matters at all to Kraft in these negotiations.

And they shouldn't. Goodell has delivered value to Kraft's investment so many times over it's hard to imagine Kraft wanting anyone else.

Goodell has been here since 2006. Wrap your head around that.

The NFL has been through a million scandals since 2006 and yet it's the biggest game in town, and bigger than ever. Goodell is very, very good at what he is supposed to be. Begrudgingly.
I think this is exactly right. Kraft only cares that Goodell has grown league revenue, made him a ton of money, and increased the value of his investment. Fans are the only ones who still even think about Deflategate, never mind the videotaping stuff which is now 16 years old. I doubt Kraft ever thinks about it, particularly since they won three fucking Super Bowls since the deflated ball bullshit.
 

Salva135

Cassandra
Oct 19, 2008
1,568
Boston
I think this is exactly right. Kraft only cares that Goodell has grown league revenue, made him a ton of money, and increased the value of his investment. Fans are the only ones who still even think about Deflategate, never mind the videotaping stuff which is now 16 years old. I doubt Kraft ever thinks about it, particularly since they won three fucking Super Bowls since the deflated ball bullshit.
I would argue that only Patriots fans still think about Deflategate. Attention spans and what not.
 

BigJimEd

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Jan 4, 2002
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Jameson Williams unaware of the NFL gambling policy that he violated.

Detroit Lions receiver Jameson Williams, suspended for the first six games of the season, said he was unaware of the NFL gambling policy that he violated.
....
“It hit me out the blue,” Williams told reporters Thursday. “And, it hit a couple other players around the league and on my team out the blue.”
Coupled with reports that the NFL is investigating a second wave of gambling violations and sounds like the league and PA may not have not done the best job of communicating these rules and what they cover.
 

Phil Plantier

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Mar 7, 2002
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Jameson Williams unaware of the NFL gambling policy that he violated.



Coupled with reports that the NFL is investigating a second wave of gambling violations and sounds like the league and PA may not have not done the best job of communicating these rules and what they cover.
Here's what I don't understand: the easiest way to ensure compliance is for the teams to block access to the gambling sites. Obviously easy to work around, but would at least take care of ostensible mistakes.
 

changer591

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Jul 19, 2005
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Here's what I don't understand: the easiest way to ensure compliance is for the teams to block access to the gambling sites. Obviously easy to work around, but would at least take care of ostensible mistakes.
How is that the "easiest" way? How do you propose one blocks access to specific sites in this day and age of smart phones?
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Jul 15, 2005
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Here's what I don't understand: the easiest way to ensure compliance is for the teams to block access to the gambling sites. Obviously easy to work around, but would at least take care of ostensible mistakes.
Which would absolutely have to be turned off on game days (I would hope the players aren't making bets at half time). I've been to 20 something Celtics games this weekend and it's crazy to me how many people are on draftkings or whatever, monitoring their bets all game and hoping that Mobley gets 12 rebounds. I think that if you take away the ability of the degenerates to hedge during the game it would be received poorly.
 

Phil Plantier

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Which would absolutely have to be turned off on game days (I would hope the players aren't making bets at half time). I've been to 20 something Celtics games this weekend and it's crazy to me how many people are on draftkings or whatever, monitoring their bets all game and hoping that Mobley gets 12 rebounds. I think that if you take away the ability of the degenerates to hedge during the game it would be received poorly.
The practice facilities, not the stadia. I'm assuming the players are joining the WiFi network - are paranoid coaches allowing cellular signals in their buildings?
 

dcdrew10

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Dec 8, 2005
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How is that the "easiest" way? How do you propose one blocks access to specific sites in this day and age of smart phones?
If guys are using the in building WiFi for their phones it's very easy to block specific sites/IP addresses. Using cellphone data for the apps doesn't solve this problem, but WiFi is really easy to control this, which as a parent of teenagers, is great.

Also, I am sure the players are on a completely different wireless network than fans in the stadium, so gameday changes to access shouldn't be a problem, but even then it would not be an issue with the more modern systems, which allow day/time changes to access.
 

Cellar-Door

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Aug 1, 2006
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I think it's still pretty tough, remember we don't know what facilities means in terms of these violations.. at practice? At the hotel on a road trip? On the plane? On the bus, at any time or place while on a road game trip?

It's an unbelievably stupid rule, and beyond that..... it is part of a rule that I am 100% is never enforced which is the rule against playing cards/dice for stakes. Every pro-team ever in every sport they guys play card for money on the plane, every one.
 

Bunt4aTriple

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Costs nothing but money now.

I really hope the Pats offer something.
This is why, I'm guessing:
“Kyler is a quarterback who loves the game, but he’s injured. Right now, I’m playing with Colt McCoy – who I love – but who knows? Right now I don’t currently have a Pro Bowl quarterback.”
We can offer a lot of things, but not a pro-bowl qb.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
47,090
Wow, pretty surprising. Feel like there's no chance now. Dude can go anywhere and will link up with a much better QB situation/team.
 

Mooch

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Jul 15, 2005
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I could easily see him on the Ravens. That would be a hell of an addition for Jackson.
 

Eck'sSneakyCheese

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As much as I hate it to my core, Mahomes to Hopkins would be fun to watch. I thought Baltimore at first but hard to find targets there between who they have already. Odell, Andrews, Flowers, Bateman, (insert RB here). Lamar isn’t tossing it 35+ times a game consistently. KC makes the most sense.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

Found no thrill on Blueberry Hill
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Sep 9, 2008
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The timing of the Hopkins cut is interesting. If they had waited 5 days, they could have spread the $23 million cap hit over 2 seasons. Clearly they have decided that 2023 is a lost year, and so taking the full cap hit now is fine with them, but why wouldn't you give yourself the flexibility? I could see if it was April, but they are 5 days away.

It doesn't make sense. Unless this is some kind of discipline move? Like they are forcing themselves to take the whole hit now and making sure they don't have any temptation to break into the piggy bank? Or maybe it's a PR move. When fans who spent money on season tickets ask why the team is not getting better they can pretend they didn't have the cap space when really that's of their own making.

The whole thing is weird. As between taking a $23 million hit in 2023 and taking an 11.5 million hit in each of 2023 and 2024, I cannot see any conceivable reason why a team would choose the former. It just makes no sense.

As for what Hopkins will do, I'm skeptical that he's really going to give a discount to the Bills or the Chiefs in order to play one year. He might if that's the best he can do. But he's 31. This may be his last chance for a big multi-year deal. Maybe he's made enough money and is willing to bet on himself but I really am skeptical at the end of the day this is what happens. If those teams make a highly competitive offer, it might break a tie but the guy isn't going to leave eight figures on the table to play with them.
 

BigSoxFan

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May 31, 2007
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The timing of the Hopkins cut is interesting. If they had waited 5 days, they could have spread the $23 million cap hit over 2 seasons. Clearly they have decided that 2023 is a lost year, and so taking the full cap hit now is fine with them, but why wouldn't you give yourself the flexibility? I could see if it was April, but they are 5 days away.

It doesn't make sense. Unless this is some kind of discipline move? Like they are forcing themselves to take the whole hit now and making sure they don't have any temptation to break into the piggy bank? Or maybe it's a PR move. When fans who spent money on season tickets ask why the team is not getting better they can pretend they didn't have the cap space when really that's of their own making.

The whole thing is weird. As between taking a $23 million hit in 2023 and taking an 11.5 million hit in each of 2023 and 2024, I cannot see any conceivable reason why a team would choose the former. It just makes no sense.

As for what Hopkins will do, I'm skeptical that he's really going to give a discount to the Bills or the Chiefs in order to play one year. He might if that's the best he can do. But he's 31. This may be his last chance for a big multi-year deal. Maybe he's made enough money and is willing to bet on himself but I really am skeptical at the end of the day this is what happens. If those teams make a highly competitive offer, it might break a tie but the guy isn't going to leave eight figures on the table to play with them.
Why wouldn’t you want to take the full cap hit in a year where you know your team will suck? I’d rather do that and have more flexibility for 2024. Next year, they’ll have their own pick and Houston’s pick. They could be staring at 2 top 5 picks along with more cap space in 2024.

If they land Caleb Williams, Murray is a goner and they’d need a ton of cap space to trade him given the contract extension and resulting dead cap hit, no? And if you don’t get Caleb, you have more cap space to add around Murray.

I doubt the average fan has any clue about the pre-June 1 cut implications.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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Why wouldn’t you want to take the full cap hit in a year where you know your team will suck? I’d rather do that and have more flexibility for 2024. Next year, they’ll have their own pick and Houston’s pick. They could be staring at 2 top 5 picks along with more cap space in 2024.

If they land Caleb Williams, Murray is a goner and they’d need a ton of cap space to trade him given the contract extension and resulting dead cap hit, no? And if you don’t get Caleb, you have more cap space to add around Murray.

I doubt the average fan has any clue about the pre-June 1 cut implications.
It doesn't change the cap space they have next year. It's six of one and half a dozen of the other. It's an illusion. Cap space carries over. If they have an extra $11.5 million in cap space this year, it carries over to next year and offsets the $11.5 million next year.

There is no downside to splitting it. The only possible downside is if you think you have zero discipline so you end up spending the $11.5 million this year. Which they are not going to do. The upside of splitting it is that you just don't know what the future will bring. Maybe you find lightning in a bottle. Maybe you get a chance at signing. Having cap space never hurts. Even if you're almost certain you're going to carry it over.

The more I think about it, the more I think it's all PR. They want to give the appearance that they are out of money this year so that they don't get shit for sucking and not doing anything about it.