Sports

[gardenman]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@gardenman wrote:

The trouble with OTA's is that you never know what you're really seeing. If the defense looks great is that because the defense is great, or the offense is a mess. Likewise if the offense is moving the ball easily, does it mean you have a good offense, or a lousy defense? It's not until teams start testing their abilities against other teams that we really know what's happening.

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@gardenman  And to use the old cliche...."that's wy they play the games"---ROFLPersonally I think my team is somewhere in the middle on defense....but nice to see that Capt Kirk hasn't REGRESSED which I can't say for a certain former Redskin QB   

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I think Kirk Cousins will do very well this year just to put the Redskins in a bigger bind. He's getting almost twenty million this year and if they tag him again next year the tag will be around $25 million. They could have likely signed him midway through last season to a five year deal for between twelve and fifteen million per year. By letting him go to free agency and be tagged they ended up paying him nearly twenty million and he's got them by the throat if he plays well again this year. There is no real incentive for him to sign a contract that pays him much less than twenty five million each year. He's largely forcing the Redskins to pay him like he's Andrew Luck. He's got them right where he wants them and there's not much they can do about it.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

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I think Kirk Cousins will do very well this year just to put the Redskins in a bigger bind. He's getting almost twenty million this year and if they tag him again next year the tag will be around $25 million. They could have likely signed him midway through last season to a five year deal for between twelve and fifteen million per year. By letting him go to free agency and be tagged they ended up paying him nearly twenty million and he's got them by the throat if he plays well again this year. There is no real incentive for him to sign a contract that pays him much less than twenty five million each year. He's largely forcing the Redskins to pay him like he's Andrew Luck. He's got them right where he wants them and there's not much they can do about it.

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@gardenman  Unfortunately the Redskins were between a rock and a hard place....Cousins was the most viable option at QB for the Redskins....but they aren't even sure if his performance was based on playing weaker teams and worried if perhaps he would revert to an earlier version where he threw more interceptions than TDs....but what else was out there....the college talent available in the draft was not very deep, and did they really want to sign an UNSUCESSFUL QB RETREAD....look at who the Super Bowl Champs had to settle for....and Texans took a chance on untested Osweiler....And are the Jets really getting a good deal if they don't re-sign Fitzpatrick and have to go back to Geno Smith?????..Teams are desperate with the emphasis on the passing game and QBs are getting overpaid---it's what the market bears unfortunately....so the Redskins put the Frachise Tag on him to keep Cousins ....it might cost them more in the long run, but I think his agent knew they had the upper hand in negotiations...However, the team is still talking to Kirk and his agent and they might still be able to get a good deal for both parties if they can get a long term deal  done before the July deadline....or perhaps the team will decide to "let it ride"....and see how Cousins performs....they are rolling the dice because if he does a good job it could end up costing them more $$$$, or Cousins could perform badly and although it cost them $25 mill....they can cut their losses and move on....TOUGH DILEMMA for NFL teams at QB position....

[gardenman]

It's a great situation for Kirk Cousins. He's in total control and there's not much McCloughan and company can do about it other than pay him whatever he asks for. The Redskins might be smarter to let him play out this season then give him the tag that lets him shop for the best deal while they retain the right to match the offer.

Even if Cousins has a great year, no other team would be likely to offer him $25 million a year, so the Redskins might then be able to sign him for less. Last year they could have signed him  for around $15 million a year. Now, he's looking at something between $20 and $25 million a year. Letting him test the market could be risky if a team with lots of cap space decided to make a play for him. If Eli or Romo flamed out and the Giants or Cowboys needed a new long term answer at QB, Cousins could find a big offer on the table. For those teams it could be viewed as a win win. They'd either get Cousins, or force the Redskins to over pay to keep him.

Cousins and his agent are in a great spot. They are pretty much in total control and there's nothing the Redskins can do about it.

[JillyMarie]

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@Spurt wrote:

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@JillyMarie wrote:

I would add LeGarrette Blount to that list.  Whiney, cry baby, trouble maker and last but not least traitor to his team.

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@JillyMarie  Hi JILLY--- I had to look him up ----- so a RB went from the Steelers to the cheaters...errr....Patriots....yep that is pretty bad going to a rival!   And whiney crybaby and troublemaker just adds to the list........

Sadly former Redskin Alfred Morris went to our arch rival, the Cowboys---although it was because team felt he was spent and had little left....he was NOT a whiney cry baby nor was he a troublemaker....he wished the Redskin fans well and thanked the fans for their support---SNIFF SNIFF!

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Not just that he went to the Patriots, but the way he and Belicheat did it.  The Patriots signed him two days after he was cut by the Steelers Nov. 18 for leaving the field before the game was finished against Tennessee the night before.  He thew a hissy fit because Bell was seeing all the action.   Now, it just so happened that NE needed a RB due to an injury and coincidently Blount played for NE prior to signing wih the Steelers.  I'm sure it was just a co-inky-dink. 

edited because I forgot the @Spurt

[Spurt]

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@JillyMarie wrote:

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@Spurt wrote:

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@JillyMarie wrote:

I would add LeGarrette Blount to that list.  Whiney, cry baby, trouble maker and last but not least traitor to his team.

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@JillyMarie  Hi JILLY--- I had to look him up ----- so a RB went from the Steelers to the cheaters...errr....Patriots....yep that is pretty bad going to a rival!   And whiney crybaby and troublemaker just adds to the list........

Sadly former Redskin Alfred Morris went to our arch rival, the Cowboys---although it was because team felt he was spent and had little left....he was NOT a whiney cry baby nor was he a troublemaker....he wished the Redskin fans well and thanked the fans for their support---SNIFF SNIFF!

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Not just that he went to the Patriots, but the way he and Belicheat did it.  The Patriots signed him two days after he was cut by the Steelers Nov. 18 for leaving the field before the game was finished against Tennessee the night before.  He thew a hissy fit because Bell was seeing all the action.   Now, it just so happened that NE needed a RB due to an injury and coincidently Blount played for NE prior to signing wih the Steelers.  I'm sure it was just a co-inky-dink. 

edited because I forgot the @Spurt

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@JillyMarie  Well he better not get too comfortable in NE....Belicheat may just be using him and will cut him after he learns some of the Steelers "inside stuff".....then who will be laughing then....It could be a new way that the Pat's have found to "spy" on another team... But Blount sounds like a REAL JERK and your right he should've definitely made the list!

And my beef with Belicheat and the Pats is the year that Joe Gibbs came back to the Redskins to briefly coach, the owner BEGGED him to put the team back on the right track.....the Redskins were AWFUL and when they played the Pats, Belicheat went for it on FOURTH DOWN just to run up the score....I think it gave him a bit of a thrill to stomp a Hall Of Fame Coach or sometthing....Joe Gibbs didn't even shake his hand after the game he was so mad.....

[gardenman]

The OTA's start winding down this week and then we'll be in the real doldrums of the NFL year. For the following five to six weeks, players and coaches will take their real vacations, even the front office staff will scatter. There are no players to scout, recruit, coach, or prep. Everything football related finally stops until training camp starts. It's the only true down time in the NFL year.

The smart rookies will gather together and get the playbook digested during this period. After the OTA's most of them have their heads swimming a bit with all of the new information. Taking these five to six weeks to memorize that playbook can give them an edge when camp starts. A lot of kids with talent will just take off and not worry about the playbook and they'll pay the price for that when camp starts.

Veteran players who'd hoped the off season would let their knees bounce back may now decide it's a good time to get them scoped and cleaned out. In four to six weeks they can resume their normal activities, so now's a good time for a tune-up.

Over the next five to six weeks you kind of want to hear nothing about your team. If you hear something in this stretch, it's usually bad news like suspensions, or a player getting into legal trouble. Reporters assigned to teams typically take their vacations now too, so things get very quiet for a while.

[Spurt]

@gardenman  But the media will always find a way to make a mountain out of a mole hill during the doldrum days of the NFL........Case in point Dan Snyder took out an ad in a local magazine congratulating Kirk Cousins....rumors immediately started that Cousins and the Redskins had perhaps come to a long term deal.....twitter and blogs were all atwitter with the "news".....come to find out Mr. Snyder's ad was congratulating Kirk on being chosen FAVORITE LOCAL SPORTS ATHLETE OF THE YEAR .... if the media had just flipped through the magazine they would have found the article about the award.....  This is the kind of stuff we will have to put up with until training camp begins in July...

Oh and Kirk Cousins had no update on the contract, but did give an update on his dog's weight loss progress....

[gardenman]

I don't see Kirk Cousins signing a contract unless the Redskins knock his socks off. He's making almost $20 million this year guaranteed. If they tag him again next year he'll make around around $25 million. He's got the Skins by the throat and he knows it. I would guess it would take something like a five year, hundred million with sixty million guaranteed contract to get him to even think about signing. The longer he waits the higher his value goes. He knows they're willing to pay him $20 million a year, so that's the floor. If they pay him $25 million next year, that'll be the new floor.

The Redskins had an opening to sign him last year to a deal at twelve to fifteen million per year. They wanted to wait and see how he performed. He did well and now they're over paying him and there's no easy way out for them. Kirk's got them right where he wants them. He's their only real option at quarterback and he can play hardball with them.

Andrew Luck has the Colts in a similar bind. Neither team can let their quarterback go, but they can barely afford to keep them. Both quarterbacks are holding a gun to the heads of their teams and there's nothing the teams can do about it. They've pretty much just got to nod and give the quarterbacks whatever they ask for.