Sports

[teganslaw]

I have never heard of a player being hit with the franchise tag and then traded.  If Cousins is going to another team, why tag him? That would only cause problems. I thought that Alex Smith was going to be Washington's QB, and if they end up having to pay Cousins along with Smith, that would be a huge hit to the salary cap. 

Who needs soap operas: there is enough entertainment in the NFL lately.

[gardenman]

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The Colts forums are exploding with the news about McDaniels backing out. To say that people are upset is an understatement. Someone mentioned that the situation  should be called  #coachgate. Why did the Colts announce his hiring if he didn't sign anything? The team made it sound like it was done deal. They already hired assistant coaches, and now McDaniels backs out. Colts fans don't like the Patriots anyway, and this just adds to the distrust. I think that both sides are to blame; Indy's future is on the line, and they can't even do this right? 

Is it true that Belichick is planning to reiire? That maybe McDaniels will be the head coach of NE soon. and that's why he turned down Indy. 

I didn't need to start the day hearing about this. Hopefully, they will find a good candidate for HC.

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@teganslaw

The way the Colts got jolted that was just awful, and now the Colts are stuck with assistants that McDaniels hired.....The Patriots have struck again with what I think was rather a devious and conniving thing to do...Why didnt Kraft and the Patriots try to retain McDaniels BEFORE McDaniels had hired assistants..and to me those contracts of the assistants should have been able to be voided if McDaniels backed out!!!!!......

Now the Colts are left in a bind....most of the good HC candidates have been signed and the Combine is quickly coming up and the Colts dont have a HC....and who would want to work with Assistants they didnt have a say in hiring????  It just adds fuel to the fire why ALL NFL fans HATE the Patriots!!!!  

So sorry Colt fans.......Those in the NFC thouht Jerry Jones was conniving, but he looks like a saint compared to Kraft and the Patriots..........

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I feel sorriest for the assistants. They left good jobs to join McDaniels with the Colts, but now he's not coming, the new coach may not want them, and they're in limbo. They've uprooted their families, moved, are just getting settled, and now they're in big trouble.

[Spurt]

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In a quirky bit of news out of DC, the Redskins may still put the franchise tag on Kirk Cousins, and then try to trade him. Yeah, sure. That'll go over well with the players. The Redskins could then control his rights until they decided to cut him loose. There is one tiny little hiccup to that plan. Cousins could sign the tag and be guaranteed the $34 million from the Redskins. He could hurt them rather badly by doing that if he chose to do so. The Redskins thinking is, "He's got value and we can get something for him by tagging him and trading him! If no one trades for him, we can just rescind the tag." But if Cousins signs the tag, then the Redskins are on the hook for the $ 34 million and once signed, the tag can't be rescinded. If they end up with both Cousins and Alex Smith on the roster, those two QB's would eat a third (or so) of their salary cap. That's not good.

Someone needs to go into that Redskins' front office and shake things up. They're largely cornering the market in bone-headed moves and tagging Cousins yet again might just be their biggest goof.

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@gardenman @teganslaw

John Keim squished this rumor long ago.......it would be too risky and Kirk certainly wouldnt sign that franchise tag.........Comments he made about not re-signing with team as long as Bruce was the GM was telling.......And Graziano confirms it: 

 But I, and the sources I've spoken to on this matter, consider a third Cousins franchise tag (which would cost Washington about $34.5 million) a totally unrealistic outcome.

Why? Well, any team willing to trade anything of significance for Cousins would want to know that they can sign him long term, and for how much. Washington is likely to end up with a third-round compensatory pick if it lets Cousins walk, which means a team probably would need to offer a second-rounder or more in order to get him, and why would a team do that if all it is guaranteed is one year at $34.5 million?

In theory, Cousins could make it easy on Washington by negotiating with potential trade partners on a long-term deal before a trade is finalized, but there's no reason to believe Cousins is or will be interested in doing his current team any favors. If Washington did decide to franchise Cousins, the more likely reason would be that it got cold feet on the Smith deal and decided to back out before it became official. As of Tuesday night, we can call this "Pulling a McDaniels." 
( @teganslaw -- McDaniels changing his mind has now become a tag line) Not saying this will happen, but if Tuesday taught us nothing else, it's that nothing is final until it's final.

[Spurt]

Everyone is talking about a local guy here that is getting rave reviews from NFL teams and all the analysts....

Marcus Davenport is a local kid who played high school ball at Stevens High School in San Antonio and he played college ball at UTSA. He really stood out at the Senior Bowl.  Keep you eye on him in the draft...most project him to be taken in the first round in the top 15 picks and he has been invited to the Combine......

[gardenman]

"Pulling a McDaniels" is not something you want to be known for. It does make it even easier for people to root against the Patriots though. Putting the pressure on McDaniels to stay after he's agreed to leave is a bit tacky for an organization. You should just wish the guy well and let him go. Not the Patriots.

[Spurt]

@gardenman Yep, your right!

The Patriots of their own choosing are backing themselves into a corner....what team would want to deal with them...make a trade etc..and Kraft has to be the most hated owner in the NFL.....

[yellowBeetle]

I have a hunch that sore loser, pouting Tom Brady put enormous pressure on Belichick and Kraft after Sunday night to keep Josh McDaniels in NE. Tom does not handle defeat gracefully. He did not even have the courtesy to find Nick Foles in the crowd after the game for a congratulatory handshake. Instead within 30 seconds after the ending, Tom trotted off the field. From many reports, he also never shook Eli's hand after those two losses. And look how he pouts like a little boy after getting sacked...sits there on the ground for what seems like an eternity.

So possibly poor Tommy was just so upset after losing the Super Bowl that the thought of also losing Josh was just too much for him to take...and he could have pressured Belichick and Kraft to do something...anything...to keep Josh from leaving. Spoiled Tom usually gets what he wants.

As you can tell, I am no fan of Mr. Brady. 

[Spurt]

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I have a hunch that sore loser, pouting Tom Brady put enormous pressure on Belichick and Kraft after Sunday night to keep Josh McDaniels in NE. Tom does not handle defeat gracefully. He did not even have the courtesy to find Nick Foles in the crowd after the game for a congratulatory handshake. Instead within 30 seconds after the ending, Tom trotted off the field. From many reports, he also never shook Eli's hand after those two losses. And look how he pouts like a little boy after getting sacked...sits there on the ground for what seems like an eternity.

So possibly poor Tommy was just so upset after losing the Super Bowl that the thought of also losing Josh was just too much for him to take...and he could have pressured Belichick and Kraft to do something...anything...to keep Josh from leaving. Spoiled Tom usually gets what he wants.

As you can tell, I am no fan of Mr. Brady. 

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@yellowBeetle

I bet your right on perhaps Tom was involved, he probably threatened to retire because he didnt want to start over with a new OC....The timing for McDaniels to renig on his deal was just too odd putting together his staff and then WHAM!!!.......And the poor Colts get left holding the bag.........

Yes poor sportsmanship on Tom's part when you dont even congratulate the players on the winning team..........

[gardenman]

I suspect the Colts dodged a bullet in not getting McDaniels. That Belichick coaching tree doesn't generally bear fruit.

It now turns out the Broncos were interested in getting Alex Smith, but the Chiefs execs said no. Now the Broncos are said to be looking at Kirk Cousins. I'm not sure they can outbid the Jets. That could leave them still looking for a QB before the draft, and Nick Foles might just start looking really good to them. I keep thinking the Eagles get that fifth pick from the Broncos for Foles and use it on Saquon Barkley. That's probably wishful thinking on my part, but if Howie Roseman could pull that off, wow! Add Saquon Barkley to that Eagles offense and defensive coordinators around the league would lose a lot of sleep.

[teganslaw]

Chris Ballard gave a press conference; he was very classy about the situation, although one could tell that he was upset. He ended with the words "The rivalry is on." Take that to mean whatever you want.  I heard that McDaniels agent left him, but then I read that his agent was the one who told McDaniels that going to Indy was a bad idea. 

The Colts have asked permission to interview Eagles' OC Frank Reich and QB coach John DeFillippo.Gardenman, do you think there is a chance that either Reich or DeFilippo would leave the Eagles' organization for a HC job? Nothing is certain, and I don't know how dedicated either of them are to the team. Maybe for the right amount of maoney or benefits....It's probably a long shot, but I want to get an idea of what is going on. 

Other candidates include, Dan Campbell, assistant in NO, and Leslie Frazier.