Sports

[gardenman]

Ezekiel Elliott is really pushing his luck. He was already under investigation for the earlier incidents, then a couple of months ago he pulls a girl's top down at an event and now an incident in a bar. The league had gotten a bit lenient lately with one or two game suspensions, but he may be getting more.

[Spurt]

@teganslaw

Well somewhere, something doesnt make sense with the stories coming out about the Cousins fiasco..........

Team President, Bruce Allen is saying on Twitter, 

Cousins was offered a contract on May 2 that included $53 million in guaranteed money at signing and $72 million guaranteed for injury in a deal that “would have made him at least the second highest-paid player by average per year in NFL history.” He then said there was no return from Cousins’ side of the table.

And thats what I read Cousin wanted was big guaranteed money---!!!!  So why didnt his agent counter?????????????  Sounds like Cousins and his agent are GREEDY and rumor has it that they wouldve even declined a Derek Carr type offer......

Allen also said, despite the Redskins repeated attempts, we have not received any offer from Kirk’s agents this year,” Allen wrote. “Kirk has made it clear that he prefers to play on a year-to-year basis. While we would have liked to work out a long-term contract before this season, we accept his decision.”

ESPN is reporting: 

In the 2016 offseason, the Redskins' best offer -- made early in the offseason -- was for $16 million per year, with $24 million guaranteed. That, coming after an initial offer of around $12.5 million per year, did not sit well with Cousins, multiple sources said. Cousins had finished the previous season strong, throwing 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the final 10 games. But the Redskins made it clear that they wanted to see more from Cousins -- a common refrain in the building was that he only played "nine good games". 

SO WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!!??????????????? 

Im going to order one of those FED UP t-shirts (a take off on Fed Ex Stadium but this slogan says more bluntly what Redskin fans think of this franchise!!!)....................

And speaking of truth...........I think I would rather have Johnny Manziel over Colin Kapernick.......  And I think the Colts fans were right to put a thumbs down on an idea to bring Colin K to the Colts...........his play and his attitude on and off the field are just a big NO for me too!!!

........

At least my NBA team, the SPURS, got Rudy G. who took less money to play with the Spurs because he wanted to win a Championship............My kind of player!

[gardenman]

@Spurt

Bearing in mind that Bruce Allen kept using the name Curt while talking about Kirk, I'm more inclined to believe Kirk's side. The $53 million in guaranteed money may have been spread out over ten years or so making it look less impressive to Kirk.

I just don't see their divide mending. I think the Redskins will move Cousins in the next few days, but likely before the start of camp. I don't see an upside to them keeping him. If he has a good year, he'll cost them even more next year and they likely won't be able to sign him next year anyway. If he has a bad year, they'll have wasted a development year for Sudfeld, and still get nothing for Cousins.

[gardenman]

The Panthers have surprised people by letting go of their GM Dave Gettleman just a few days before camp opens. That's odd timing. The GM is a pretty important guy this time of year, keeping an eye on the waiver wire and cuts from around the league to make your team as strong as possible. The Panthers have been pruning front office staff quite a bit this offseason. The team president resigned in February. The assistant GM left for the Bills. Now the GM is gone.

So, who's running the show in Carolina? Team owner Jerry Richardson? Coach Ron Rivera? Cam Newton? That cute blonde cheerleader? 

The NFC South is looking to be pretty competitive this year with the Falcons, Bucs, Panthers and Saints all having a shot. Handicapping your team a week before camp starts by firing one of your top executives is a tad odd. By and large the Panthers seemed to have had a good draft. Did those players fail to impress in the mincamps and OTA's? Is this still fallout from the botched Josh Norman episode last year?

I think the Panthers just became a bit less likely to be successful this year.

[gardenman]

---

@Spurt wrote:

@teganslaw

Well somewhere, something doesnt make sense with the stories coming out about the Cousins fiasco..........

Team President, Bruce Allen is saying on Twitter, 

Cousins was offered a contract on May 2 that included $53 million in guaranteed money at signing and $72 million guaranteed for injury in a deal that “would have made him at least the second highest-paid player by average per year in NFL history.” He then said there was no return from Cousins’ side of the table.

And thats what I read Cousin wanted was big guaranteed money---!!!!  So why didnt his agent counter?????????????  Sounds like Cousins and his agent are GREEDY and rumor has it that they wouldve even declined a Derek Carr type offer......

Allen also said, despite the Redskins repeated attempts, we have not received any offer from Kirk’s agents this year,” Allen wrote. “Kirk has made it clear that he prefers to play on a year-to-year basis. While we would have liked to work out a long-term contract before this season, we accept his decision.”

ESPN is reporting: 

In the 2016 offseason, the Redskins' best offer -- made early in the offseason -- was for $16 million per year, with $24 million guaranteed. That, coming after an initial offer of around $12.5 million per year, did not sit well with Cousins, multiple sources said. Cousins had finished the previous season strong, throwing 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions in the final 10 games. But the Redskins made it clear that they wanted to see more from Cousins -- a common refrain in the building was that he only played "nine good games". 

SO WHO IS TELLING THE TRUTH!!!!!??????????????? 

Im going to order one of those FED UP t-shirts (a take off on Fed Ex Stadium but this slogan says more bluntly what Redskin fans think of this franchise!!!)....................

And speaking of truth...........I think I would rather have Johnny Manziel over Colin Kapernick.......  And I think the Colts fans were right to put a thumbs down on an idea to bring Colin K to the Colts...........his play and his attitude on and off the field are just a big NO for me too!!!

........

At least my NBA team, the SPURS, got Rudy G. who took less money to play with the Spurs because he wanted to win a Championship............My kind of player!

---

@Spurt

The Redskins' spin on the contract they offered is a bit ludicrous. Their contract offer reportedly included the $23.9 million that was already fully guaranteed under the franchise tag meaning they were only guaranteeing him about $29 million and guaranteeing him one year's security while locking him into the Redskins through 2022 at an average salary of around $22+ million. (That's well below what the rest of the top QB's in the league will be making through 2022.) Tom Pelissero breaks it all down on NFL.com. 

They're trying to paint Cousins as being greedy when in fact they were trying to get him for a bargain price. (Well, bargain price for a starting QB anyway when the going rate is $25 million a year.) The Redskins started out at $12.5 million, then inched up to $16 million a year, which was still their offer earlier in 2017, before finally upping it to $22 million a year near the deadline. Why sign a deal for $22 million a year when you're already guaranteed $23.9 million this year and at least $28.5 million next?

Cousins and his agent may be many things, but stupid isn't one of them. This PR campaign of "We really wanted to pay him a lot of money" is likely the Redskins way of paving the way for a trade. As unhappy as Kirk was with the Redskins before all of this, he's probably less happy with them after the Bruce Allen presser yesterday. When the team execs start throwing around the dollar signs and going public with figures, it's a sign that the team is ready to move on. They're spinning it as "Cousins is greedy and not a team player," so they can move on from him.

These next few days/weeks will be pretty interesting. I don't see the Redskins taking him to camp if they can get anything of value for him. If he tears an ACL in camp, they're out $23.9 million and get nothing. They've been playing up Colt McCoy and Nate Sudfeld. My gut says they'll move on from Kirk as soon as possible. Their initial asking price will likely be high (multiple first round picks) but quickly drop when they find no takers at that price. I would expect the final price to be a first round pick and maybe another later pick or picks. I just don't see this season starting with Kirk Cousins as the starting QB of the Redskins. If they know he's gone after this year, get something of value for him while you can. Heck, even a third round pick is better than the compensatory pick they'd get.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

The Panthers have surprised people by letting go of their GM Dave Gettleman just a few days before camp opens. That's odd timing. The GM is a pretty important guy this time of year, keeping an eye on the waiver wire and cuts from around the league to make your team as strong as possible. The Panthers have been pruning front office staff quite a bit this offseason. The team president resigned in February. The assistant GM left for the Bills. Now the GM is gone.

So, who's running the show in Carolina? Team owner Jerry Richardson? Coach Ron Rivera? Cam Newton? That cute blonde cheerleader? 

The NFC South is looking to be pretty competitive this year with the Falcons, Bucs, Panthers and Saints all having a shot. Handicapping your team a week before camp starts by firing one of your top executives is a tad odd. By and large the Panthers seemed to have had a good draft. Did those players fail to impress in the mincamps and OTA's? Is this still fallout from the botched Josh Norman episode last year?

I think the Panthers just became a bit less likely to be successful this year.

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@gardenman

My money on who is running the Panther is your "cute blonde cheerleader" that is always alongside Richardson whispering sweet nothings in his ear!!!! 

I think the league should watch out for the Bucs...........................

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

@gardenman

I think the Redskins should follow the Panthers lead and FIRE Bruce Allen! 

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[gardenman]

@Spurt

Yeah, the Bucs look dangerous this year. They could be impressive if they stay healthy.

Bruce Allen's fate largely depends on Kirk Cousins and how he performs this year. If he has a bad year (either in Washington or elsewhere) Allen may look a lot smarter and keep his job. If Cousins has a great year Allen could be in big trouble.

[gardenman]

Who will win the Super Bowl this year? The smart money has to be on the Patriots. It's hard to find a single loss on their schedule. Gronk coming back, Brady still playing at a high level, and the new additions they've made, makes them look pretty much unbeatable.

That Texans defense with Clowney and Watt both healthy could challenge the Pats, but will there be an offense for the Texans? The Raiders should be impressive also.

In the NFC you can make a case for at least half the teams, maybe more. In the NFC East any of the four teams could ride a hot QB deep into the playoffs. In the NFC Central you can rule out the Bears, but that's about all. The NFC South is loaded with good teams. The NFC West has a likely clunker in the Forty-Niners, but the other three all have some chance.

The least likely Super Bowl matchup would be the Niners versus the Jets. Bet on that and get it right and you could retire wealthy.

[yellowBeetle]

@gardenman

Love predicting early who will win the Super Bowl! Have never been right but it is still fun!

I know as an Eagles fan I should not make this prediction but my hunch is that it will be the ....

Cowboys vs. Raiders, with the Cowboys winning!

But as you so rightly said, there are lots of really good prospects this year. I just hope the Patriots are not in it yet again. Have nothing against them personally, but just think it is more fun to have some "new" faces!! Of course the Cowboys have won it five times but not for awhile!