2007 NFL Offseason Stuff Thread

[MDS]

I was thinking about calling him Joe DeadBabyGuy, but thought it was over the line. Kudos for crossing it.

[The BIGSTUD]

I like the NFL OT format too.

I don't get the whole "both teams need a chance" shtein. Want a chance? Play defense and special teams and get the goddamn ball for your offense.

What needs to be fixed is the pass interference penalties. Like in the Dallas game at The Linc this year where Mike Lewis had that 57yd penalty...thats how games are lost late. Chuck it up there and see what happens..FLAG...FG..game over.

Make NFL PI like NCAA PI...15yd.

I look at it differently. Forget being fair. OT with both teams getting a possession is a lot more fun to watch. It is so lame watching a competitive game end on a FG if the time isn't expiring. The exciting part is watching a team score in OT and see if they can hold the lead. The win is better earned that way, and the game is more fun to watch. Everyone wins.

[rjs246]

OT with both teams getting possession isn't more fun to watch. It's farging retarded. Defense is an important part of football, but the college version of OT requires that the defense actually knock the opposing team BACK 5 yards in order to keep them from scoring. It's farging idiotic for the professional game. It's fine for college. They're just kids and any entertainment that we get out of watching offense dominate is fun for everyone. The professional game should require that both sides of the ball carry their weight equally. The current OT system requires exactly that.

[The BIGSTUD]

I'm not talking about using the college format. What I mean is this:

OT: There is a coin flip. Team A gets the kickoff. They drive down and score a FG. Team B gets the kickoff and if they tie it with a FG it continues(until OT ends). If they drive down for a TD they win. It is just basically a continuation of regulation. I'm not talking about using the college format exactly. It is basically the same as college, just teams do kickoffs, instead of starting right on the field on possession changes.

Also if team A scored a FG and on the kickoff they got an onsides kick then they'd get the win too.

Having two possessions also opens up options. If the team that gets it first goes down and hits a field goal, then the other team in a certain circumstance will have to decide whether to go for the FG or go for it on 4th down if there are special weather conditions or even field position.

Having the opening possession team go down and drive half a field to kick the FG = boring.

[phattymatty]

I look at it differently. Forget being fair. OT with both teams getting a possession is a lot more fun to watch. It is so lame watching a competitive game end on a FG if the time isn't expiring. The exciting part is watching a team score in OT and see if they can hold the lead. The win is better earned that way, and the game is more fun to watch. Everyone wins.

i completely agree with this.

[Father Demon]

Good God.  I just read all the opinions on the OT format, and everyone is wrong except King Cole and IGY.

I feel dirty and violated.

[rjs246]

Everyone wants to make a video game out of professional sports. Offense offense offense. Boring.

[Geowhizzer]

Just play the whole damn quarter, the way it's supposed to be played.

[Father Demon]

That beats the hell out of a FG with 12:11 remaining.

[troyhstewart]

I read somewhere that statisically it is that while most teams that win the coin toss do win the game (i think it's 2/3's or so) it's actually a fairly low number on OT games decided on the first possession.

Even in regulation, you cannot gaurantee a possession to anyone, you can onside and recover all game if you want. IF you write in the rules that each team is guaranteed 1 possession, then your changing the game in OT...

Even if I am wrong, i like OT as it is. I hate the college format.

The % is 62 or 65 I think.  Maybe rather than changing all these gay rules, the NFL can stop creating or "interpreting" rules to help the offense.

I like the OT format as it is.

[SD_Eagle5]

Carr chooses Carolina over Seattle

By Len Pasquarelli
ESPN.com

The Carolina Panthers won the battle for free agent quarterback David Carr early Friday morning, reaching agreement in principle with the former Houston Texans star on a two-year contract, the financial details of which were not immediately available.

Carr, was released by the Texans after Houston acquired Matt Schaub in a trade with Atlanta. The first player selected overall in the 2002 draft, Carr will serve as the backup to Panthers starter Jake Delhomme, who is coming off an uneven 2006 season.

Carolina coach John Fox reiterated during the Panthers' courtship of Carr that Delhomme is the unchallenged starter, but the addition of Carr certainly provides an interesting alternative if the incumbent struggles as he did a year ago.

Carr, 27, chose the opportunity with the Panthers over one in Seattle. He visited with Carolina coaches and team officials on Monday and Tuesday, then made a two-day trip to meet with the Seahawks, where he would have also been a backup. After returning from the Seattle visit, Carr counseled with his wife and opted for the deal with Carolina.

The Cleveland Browns also indicated interest in Carr in recent days and the Miami Dolphins considered him as well. The only visits he made, however, were to Carolina and Seattle.

Obviously, the deal with Carolina represents a step back for Carr in his career, but most NFL experts believe the former Fresno State star still possesses immense talent and sorely needed a change of scenery.

In five seasons with the Texans, he completed 1,243 of 2,070 passes for 13,391 yards, with 59 touchdown passes and 65 interceptions, and a passer rating of 75.3. But Carr was the most-sacked quarterback in the league during his tenure with the Texans. Playing behind one of the league's most porous offensive lines, he was sacked a remarkable 249 times.

Carr started 75 games but recorded just a 22-53 record. Between bonuses and base salaries, the Texans paid Carr more than $35 million in five seasons. When they acquired Schaub, whom they immediately named the starter, they initially hoped to be able to trade Carr, but instead released him rather than prolong his time with the franchise.

[Father Demon]

Grant Winstron retires

Grant Wistrom, a free agent defensive end who didn't have many suitors this off-season, has decided retire, according to NFL Network. Wistrom played the first six years of his career with the Rams and the last three with the Seahawks, notching 53 sacks in his career.

Wistrom is 30 years old and never had more than four sacks in any of his three seasons in Seattle, so it's not like he would have signed a huge contract, but there's no doubt he could have found some team willing to sign him as its third defensive end and give him a salary in the $1 million to $2 million a year range. I don't know the details of Wistrom's decision-making, but I have a feeling he decided that he had made enough money, and that what he could earn in another few years wasn't worth the toll that another few years would take on his body.

There are a whole lot of ex-NFL players in their 40s and 50s who wish they had made that very decision. Wistrom has never been a superstar, but he was a good, solid player, and by walking away while he can, he's showing that he's a smart player as well.

[Sgt PSN]

Smart guy, can't fault him for calling it quits. 

[QB Eagles]

The AP displaying its fact-checking prowess:

NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has established a six-member council of veteran players to advise him on a variety of issues, including player conduct.

Most of the players named to the council, which includes players union president Troy Vincent, met this week with Goodell on the same day the commissioner heard from Adam "Pacman" Jones of Tennessee and Chris Henry of Cincinnati to discuss their off-field problems. He is expected to announce disciplinary action next year.

...

The group includes Vincent, currently a free agent, along with safety Donovin Darius of Jacksonville; fullback Tony Richards of Minnesota; center Jeff Saturday of Indianapolis; linebacker Takeo Spikes of Cincinnati and wide receiver James Thrash of Washington.

At least they didn't give the Birds Vincent and Thrash back.

[methdeez]

The AP displaying its fact-checking prowess:

NEW YORK -- NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has established a six-member council of veteran players to advise him on a variety of issues, including player conduct.

Most of the players named to the council, which includes players union president Troy Vincent, met this week with Goodell on the same day the commissioner heard from Adam "Pacman" Jones of Tennessee and Chris Henry of Cincinnati to discuss their off-field problems. He is expected to announce disciplinary action next year.

...

The group includes Vincent, currently a free agent, along with safety Donovin Darius of Jacksonville; fullback Tony Richards of Minnesota; center Jeff Saturday of Indianapolis; linebacker Takeo Spikes of Cincinnati and wide receiver James Thrash of Washington.

At least they didn't give the Birds Vincent and Thrash back.

Nice.
Two teams removed even