Sports

[teganslaw]

If I could turn invisible and listen to the converstation between Rooney and AB.... 

Why pick on Buffalo? Josh Allen doesn't deserve to work with someone like Brown. He's talented, but his attitude leaves something to be desired. Send AB to Oakland so Jon Gruden can deal with him, make Gruden work for his high salary. 

Arizona has been named as a landing place for him. I don't where he eventually wants to go, just as long as it's out of Pittsburgh. 

[gardenman]

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@teganslaw wrote:

If I could turn invisible and listen to the converstation between Rooney and AB.... 

Why pick on Buffalo? Josh Allen doesn't deserve to work with someone like Brown. He's talented, but his attitude leaves something to be desired. Send AB to Oakland so Jon Gruden can deal with him, make Gruden work for his high salary. 

Arizona has been named as a landing place for him. I don't where he eventually wants to go, just as long as it's out of Pittsburgh. 

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It would be a fun conversation to eavesdrop on. Art Rooney is a Steeler through and through. He considers it an honor for players to play for the Steelers. Somehow I don't think Antonio Brown views it the same way. I suspect AB will emerge as a former Steeler and be gone in the very near future.

[Spurt]

This is interesting, there's speculation that if Colin K got a big enough settlement his agreement, different from Reid's, may include a permanent separation clause....let's all say a prayer this is true and that Colin K goes away FOR GOOD!......

Not only is Antonio Brown a jerk, but he's also immature ..... Antonio is using his Twitter burner account to send snarky comments to Big Ben and bringing up Ben's past problem issues....Steeler fans hope Ben ignores these so it doesn't escalate further.....they say AB's burner account is the worst kept secret on Twitter.....other than Kevin Durant's burner account where he attacks local media....

Speaking of Twitter, @teganslaw  Colts owner Jim Irsay took a bit of a shot at the Patriots on Twitter when he defined what would make an NFL Team the G.O.A.T.---Jim defined it as a team winning 3 SuperBowls in a row---(Although the patriots have won 6 they were not subsequent--2002, 2004, 2015, 2017, 2019)... 

“The G.O.A.T. Standard for NFL Teams is simple and I’ve discussed the seemingly impossible goal with many in NFL circles over the last half of Century,” Irsay tweeted on Saturday. 3 World Championships in a row...NO ONE’S DONE IT! Colt’s [sic] Fans Dream Boldly.” (Irsay, in a subsequent tweet, clarified his claim to mean three straight championships in the Super Bowl era, because the three NFL titles in a row thing has been done, by the Packers, twice in the Pre-Super Bowl era.)

[Spurt]

Interesting stuff regarding Foles, and the Eagles would NOT trade him to Redskins or Giants....

The Eagles seem to be intent on applying the franchise tag to quarterback  Foles not to keep him but to trade him. Specifically, to trade him to a team other than the Giants or the Redskins. 

Given the decision of the Denver Broncos to trade for  Flacco in lieu of pursuing Foles, an important question needs to be considered: Will there be a significant market for the Super Bowl LII MVP?

The teams looking for a potential starting quarterback include the Dolphins, the Jaguars, the Giants (maybe), and the Redskins. Would these teams invest $25 million or more per year in Foles, or would they wait for the draft, where a quarterback would be available at a total value of less than $25 million over four full years?

If the Eagles intend to tag and trade Foles, and with the Broncos officially out of the mix, the non-NFC East options may be the Dolphins and Jaguars — and only the Dolphins and Jaguars. And if the Dolphins decide to pursue a rookie quarterback of their own (the Jets and Bills got their first-rounders in 2018), it leaves the Jaguars as the only viable player for Foles.

So what would the Jaguars give the Eagles to get Foles? More importantly, what would they pay Foles?

If Foles is tagged, he’ll be looking at roughly $25 million fully guaranteed for 2019. It wouldn’t make sense for him to accept a long-term deal worth less than that per year. So would the Jaguars send a mid-round pick to Philly and pay Foles $25 million per year or more?

Maybe. Maybe not. The point is that the Eagles and Foles may not have many options, which gives the Jaguars real leverage. So much leverage that the Jaguars could say to the Eagles, “We’re not paying him $25 million per year.” Which means that, unless someone else will, the Eagles could tag Foles and be stuck with a backup making more than 25 times what the starter will earn in 2019.

Foles’ camp has been conspicuously quiet in recent weeks, at a time when they could be balking about the team’s plan to tag him simply to trade him — a plan that would violate the CBA. Perhaps Foles and his agents are doing nothing to push back against the prospect of being tagged because they’ve made enough calls around the league (sure, it’s tampering; sure, it happens) to know that, for 2019, his best outcome is to get tagged, and to pounce on it.

[gardenman]

I think enough teams have questions about Foles that his market will be limited. I'm leaning towards the Eagles letting him test free agency, but leaving the door open for him to resign in Philly. I like the idea of the Eagles signing him to a multiyear $5 million a year deal with $1 million a game playing bonus and a $500,000 per win bonus. It makes Nick affordable to the Eagles, but could still pay him $25+ million if he plays a lot and wins. It also makes him very tradeable in the future should a team lose a starter.

The free agent signings at QB last year were very expensive, but not very effective. A team could have traded for Nick last year, but no one stepped up. I just don't know that there's a market for him. Nick's a good QB, but he's inconsistent. I don't think the Eagles will tag him. The risk/reward is way out of whack doing that.

[teganslaw]

One analyst wrote that Irsay was being petty by saying that. I guess Irsay just doesn't like NE. There is a long thread on the Colts forum about whether Brady is the G.O.A.T. I didn't join the conversation; I really don't know who I'd consider the G.O.A.T. It depends on how you view it. 

I don't see how it would help the Eagles to franchise Foles. He'll end up with another team, anyway., most likely the Jaguars. Just let him become a free agent. 

[gardenman]

I'm watching the early AAF game and Trent Richardson looks pretty fit and trim these days.

[sunshine45]

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@JaneMarple wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

Interesting. Kaepernick, Reid and the NFL have settled their case, but no word on how it was settled. I'm guessing the plaintiffs' lawyers didn't find a smoking gun in discovery and opted to encourage a settlement rather than go to trial. Both sides have a confidentiality agreement, so no word on what really happened.

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Or it could be the opposite and the NFL didn't want their dirty laundry aired.

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@JaneMarple 

i have no doubt about that!.....even before i read this article today.

https://www.businessinsider.com/colin-kaepernick-nfl-embarrassing-evidence-collusion-settlement-2019...

[sunshine45]

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@Spurt wrote:

@sunshine45

I know your crying over Flacco....but what do you think of Steelers imploding....first Bell and his contract, rumors of criticism and Tomlin losing the team, Big Ben's criticism of team mates, and now Antonio Brown wanting a trade....

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@Spurt 

there are some people here that are already wanting to buy a flacco broncos jersey!

anytime there seems to be trouble in the steelers organization is a good day for baltimore fans. LOL we will see what happens. it is never good when there is so much trouble off of the field. luckily it is happening during the off season. lots of time for repairs.  of course, we never count out anyone in our division......well, the browns for a number of years.......but now, there may be a tough year ahead for everyone in our division.

there was some talk that the ravens might be interested in bell.....definitely heard some positive feedback about that. who knows though? it would definitely make for some interesting games.

[gardenman]

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@sunshine45 wrote:

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@JaneMarple wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

Interesting. Kaepernick, Reid and the NFL have settled their case, but no word on how it was settled. I'm guessing the plaintiffs' lawyers didn't find a smoking gun in discovery and opted to encourage a settlement rather than go to trial. Both sides have a confidentiality agreement, so no word on what really happened.

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Or it could be the opposite and the NFL didn't want their dirty laundry aired.

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@JaneMarple 

i have no doubt about that!.....even before i read this article today.

https://www.businessinsider.com/colin-kaepernick-nfl-embarrassing-evidence-collusion-settlement-2019...

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You may notice that they refer to "embarrassing evidence" not evidence of collusion. What could be embarrassing evidence? Payments to mistresses. Payments for support of out of wedlock children. Nude photographs sent or received. Emails expressing their love to one or more mistresses. Support for unpopular political candidates. No one is claiming they found evidence of collusion against Kaepernick or Reid, but once the courts allowed discovery through the owners' correspondence, "embarrassing" evidence was uncovered. Is it worth a couple million per team to keep such information hidden? Probably. And there's your settlement. If you read all of the stories and reports you will notice the evidence found is never said to be of collusion against Kaepernick or Reid, but is embarrassing. If the lawyers had found evidence of collusion, they'd be screaming about it from the mountaintops. Instead they found "embarrassing evidence" that the owners prefer to keep out of the public's eye. The lawyers used what they had to more or less blackmail the owners and force a settlement. It happens. Everyone's more or less happy and comes out ahead.