Sports

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

The Redskins probably have the best pair of running backs in Guice and Love, but they need to get and stay healthy. That's been their big issue. Bryce Love was a beast at Stanford before tearing his knee up.

You don't find a lot of difference makers at linebacker these days. The old days of dominant linebackers seem to be largely gone. Most are Jags (just a guy) these days. You just want a guy who knows his role and fills the right gap. Reuben Foster should be able to do that if he's healthy. The days of a Lawrence Taylor, Ray Lewis, ****** Butkus, or Mike Singletary are long past. Even Luke Kuechley is now gone. I'm not sure there is a dominant linebacker in the league these days that you have to plan around. No one really comes to mind. There are guys who are good, but no one really scares me these days.

Teams are getting back into their facilities just in time for the late June-mid July vacation time. That's about the only real downtime in the NFL schedule where nothing happens. (Other than the league suspending guys for failed drug tests.)

The NFC East will be interesting to watch with three new head coaches and staffs. Rivera and McCarthy have a past, for better (Rivera) or worse (McCarthy) that their new players will have been looking at and creating expectations. Joe Judge will be a bit of a mystery for Giants' players. I don't remember hearing much negative about Rivera, and you didn't hear much positive about McCarthy. Randall Cobb, a former player under McCarthy who left Dallas in free agency, has likely been quizzed to death about McCarthy by his former Cowboy teammates. I'm guessing he wasn't especially positive given how things ended in Green Bay.

Joe Judge is the latest guy from the Belichick coaching tree, but that's a tree that hasn't really borne fruit. Jason Garrett as the OC and interim head coach in waiting adds a bit more pressure on Judge. Garrett was reportedly the guy the Giants wanted, but the Cowboys took their time moving on and the Giants signed Judge. Having the guy the team really wanted as the head coach behind you as the OC isn't the most comfortable spot for a head coach. Judge will need to start out strong and rally the players around him quickly. Former Belichick coaches don't typically rally players around them. Garrett could be the head coach of the Giants by this time next year.

It'll be an interesting year. 

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@gardenman 

Good analysis....

Yep, Guice and Love need to stay healthy....Im wondering if the change in trainers and doctors will help that issue.....

Joe Judge is a mystery for sure....but thats the Giants and their strange ways....Beli's coaching tree hasnt been successful at all.....And McCarthy didnt get rave reviews from his players either let's see how he likes Jerry peeking over his shoulder.....should be interesting....

[gardenman]

Cornerback Ronald Darby will be an interesting guy to watch with the Redskins. He's entering his sixth year and the Redskins will be his third team in those six years. He started out in Buffalo for two years, then the Eagles traded for him and in three years as an Eagle he only managed to start in 28 games with his best year being 11 games. He's got talent and ability, but as they say, the best ability is availability and he truly hasn't been available averaging 9.3 games per year as an Eagle. That means he missed an average of 6.7 games a year. (Five games in his best year and seven and eight games in the other two years.) Even in Buffalo he missed one game as a rookie and two in his second year. He's just not an especially durable guy. 

Darby has the talent to play at a high level in the league, but he's pretty much one more injury away from teams deciding they need someone more durable and reliable regardless of the talent. Cornerback isn't one of the more physical positions in the NFL which makes the injury situation look even worse for him. He needs a really healthy year to build value. I'm just not sure he's capable of having one. He'll earn a starting job if healthy, but you need a starting caliber backup behind him given his history. If that backup is more durable, Darby could find himself out of the job and potentially out of the league.level

That Redskins roster has quite a few guys with lots of talent (Darby, Guice, Love, etc.) who need to prove they're healthy and can stay healthy. If they can, the Redskins could win quite a few games. If they can't, the Redskins will have big roster holes to fill. That's one of the challenges of being a rebuilding team. You see a talented player who could be a star if they stay healthy, or stay out of trouble. You take a chance on them and hope for the best, but it's a gamble you seldom win.

The Eagles went into this offseason wanting to get younger, faster, and healthier. We went from the third oldest roster to the ninth youngest. We have six players who could legitimately run in the 4.2-4.3 range and a few more just a tick slower. We revamped the whole medical staff and got rid of frequently injured guys like Darby. Will it all work? We'll find out starting in September and have a final answer in January/February.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

When half your roster is on IR something is WRONG....so the Redskins will have to figure it out...over training or not doing enough to prevent injury....we'll see.....

Oh, here's a fun comment about Dak from the one and only Michael Irvin...

“Dak has been not great, but perfect. Not necessarily in wins and losses, of course. But I’m talking about just the person that he’s been. The kind of investment you want to make, the kind of guy you say ‘yeah, we hit it with this guy. We got him in the fourth round.’ You stole four years, so whatever he gets he deserves because you still owe him back pay.” Irvin said, via the Dallas Morning News.

Well it looks like maybe Michael has been "smoking" again....Dak doesnt get the wins but he's
"perfect" and deserves back pay....yah, right....🙄

[gardenman]

As strange as this may sound. Michael Irvin's right about one thing. Dak was underpaid. On his four-year rookie deal he averaged a bit over $680,000 a year. The guys drafted ahead of him made a lot more. Wentz and Goff nearly broke the bank, but Paxton Lynch made $2.369 million per year on average. Christian Hackenberg made an average of $1.165 million a year. Jacoby Brissett on his rookie deal made over $852 thousand a year and now is making $15 million. Cody Kessler made $847+ thousand a year on his rookie deal and Connor Cook made $739+ thousand a year on his rookie deal. Dak's $680+ thousand a year was a bargain for the Cowboys and now Dak wants to be compensated fairly for both his past labors and his future labor.

I don't really blame him. The Cowboys should have torn up his old contract at the earliest possible time (like the Eagles and Rams did and the Chiefs and Texans are doing) and started paying him what he was worth. They didn't. Now Dak wants not just a fair price for what he'll do, but also compensation for what he's done. He's certainly outperformed everyone drafted ahead of him except for Wentz and Goff. There's a decent argument to be made he's outperformed Goff and has been comparable to Wentz.

Goff made an average of $6.9+ million on his rookie deal compared to Dak's $680+ thousand. Is Goff ten times better than Dak? Has he outperformed Dak by a factor of ten? No. Why has he made ten times as much money?

The Cowboy management so totally screwed this up that Dak is now in the driver's seat and can demand pretty much anything he wants. As soon as his contract was eligible to be redone, they should have jumped in and gotten the deal done. That's what smart teams do. Now Dak can make them pay for not doing so. 

Is Dak perfect? Oh, heck no. Is he a top ten QB in the league? Eh, borderline. I'd definitely put him in the top fifteen but the top ten gets trickier. You've got Brady, Brees, Rodgers, Roethlisberger (if healthy), the young guns in Mahomes, Watson and Lamar Jackson. Wentz is up there. Goff? Maybe. Jimmy G? Maybe. Where do Matt Ryan and Matthew Stafford slot in? I kind of put Dak in their category. Top ten might be pushing it a bit, but he'd be in the top fifteen.

The Cowboys have to bite the bullet and get a deal done or let Dak go and pray Andy Dalton has some life left in him. There's no other real option for them. They can't keep tagging him forever. With Mahomes and Watson about to reset the market yet again, his asking price will only get higher. If th4ey tag him again next year, they'll be paying him around $40 million give or take a bit. The longer they wait the more expensive it gets and the more they potentially hurt the relationship.

[gardenman]

Dalvin Cook of the Vikings is trying to force the Vikings to pay him now, rather than later. He's the 45th highest paid RB in 2020 and wants a new deal. He's promising to sit out until he gets paid. I don't really blame him. He's due to be a free agent in 2021, so this gives the Vikings the opportunity to commit to him now. If they don't, he'll sit out until the deadline for the year to count then show up and play. It's smarter for everyone to get a deal done now.

Carson Wentz lives in Houston during the offseason and has gathered together some of the kids to work out with him there. Jalen Reagor, and Marquise Goodwin are at least two of those working with him. It's going to be fun to watch our speedsters racing one another in camp. Our DBs are stretching out their hamstrings in an effort to avoid shredding them trying to keep up. The speed on this team is scary.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

Why would Wentz live in H-Town?????, I think its the most hated city among us Texas residents....

[Spurt]

@gardenman  @teganslaw 

Well Todd Gurley passed his physical and is offically a Falcon....But fellow feline fanciers, the thing I have against Gurley is how he lied about his cat.....  Too bad because the cat shows nice form ......Here's the tail...errr....tale...

When Gurley announced he became a "cat dad" in August, people thought he actually got a cat. But the dream of Todd Purrley didn't last long. A few days later it was revealed the kitty was not actually his. The cat's name is actually "Mr. Hulu Has Live Sports"

[teganslaw]

The cat is so cute! I don't know why Todd Gurley lied about the cat, but he seems to like them. Mr. Hulu caught a nice pass, he would make a good player. 

@Spurt, I saw a T shirt which stated: "I may live in Indiana, but on gameday my heart and soul belong to Redskins. " That sounds like your type of shirt, except that you don't live in Indiana. 

Also, why do Texans dislike the city of Houston? I lived there for several years and liked it. That was awhile ago, so maybe things have changed. 

Good luck to Dalvin Cook. Maybe him sitting out the season will work or it could backfire. 

[Spurt]

I like the sentiment of that t-shirt. I'll have to look around here to see if they have similar Redskin t-shirt..(some of the stores at the mall are still closed or only open a couple days a week)....

People hate Houston for many reasons---

1. The humidity is the WORST in the State since its close to the Gulf...there's also the threat of hurricanes....

2.  The traffic is UNBEARABLE more so than even Dallas or Austin (which are known for their traffic congestion)....And they have all these

car pool/toll lanes that are wasted that no one seems to use because of the cost....Our problem here is road construction (but at least we are planning for population growth, so some day it will be nice)...and we said NO to toll roads....

3. Houston is known to be pretty boring----go to downtown Austin, San Antonio, and parts of the Metroplex around Dallas and there is something going on.....In Houston their downtown is just smelly fountains (because the homeless use the fountains as a restroom)....and skyscrapers....

They televise these Tourism ads here to entice people to go to Houston for vacation (since its only 3 hours away)....and for excitement their ad promotes their opera/symphony (really????), international cuisine (ho hum we have that here), musueums, the zoo (got it here), the Galleria mall is outdated (all cities have malls)....And then there's this----I kid you not, listed on most popular attractions for visitors in Houston--

Houston Museum of Science Death by Natural Causes Exhibit

• Explore the weird and wonderful world of "Death by Natural Causes"
• Audio guides, accessible on your cell phone, are included
• Enjoy access to all four floors of the permanent museum exhibit with this ticket
• This exhibit will delight parents and children alike

Come see  Death by Natural Causes, and explore so many more of the deadliest aspects of this world we share—you’ll be truly surprised at the danger that lies waiting behind every corner. 

Now doesnt that speak VOLUMES......

Yes, they do have MLB, thats if the cheating Astros and the league ever decide to play this year (to me baseball is a BORE)

And re-live the glory years of NASA---now the rest of the Texas cities dont have that, so that is something interesting and the recent space flight may re-generate interest.....

People say Houston is a dirty city too, and their people are rude....Our city is known for its friendlieness as is Austin (unless your an OU fan)...

The one bright spot is J.J. Watt!!!! And the NFL Texans, but without Hopkins will they be a team worth watching????....

Now I will admit that groups of us have gone to Houston to attend NFL games, or a conference, or concert or craft show and had a good time, the traffic has gotten worse, BUT we've had a much better time in Houston than in the Dallas Metroplex area....

Ask @Kachina624  to see what she thinks of Houston....

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman 

Why would Wentz live in H-Town?????, I think its the most hated city among us Texas residents....

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Wentz reportedly bought a house in Houston because of hunting and fishing in the area. He was born and grew up in North Dakota, but now lives in Houston in the offseason. I never really thought of Houston as a hunting paradise, but hog and deer hunting are reportedly very common pursuits there, and there are hunting ranches in the area also.