Sports

[Spurt]

@teganslaw 

Congratulations to Andrew and his wife!  I dont know about how it will impact Andrew but it impacted one of our young Spur players...Davis Bertans was a 3 point specialist and a good defender...but after his son was born his game went to hell....He was one of my sister's favorite players and she joked that the baby was keeping him up at night so his game was suffering....The Spurs ended up trading him this off season and my sister wasn't happy at all...

Poor Alex Smith .....Joe Theismann said Alex's injury was just like his. 

Theismann and Smith have had conversations about the injury, the rehab and the future.

“The problem is going to be the healing process,” Theismann said,  “My advice to him would be: Let’s see how you feel one year from now. he wants to play again; I know it; but I’d say it’s going be a long road.” He came very, very close to losing his leg. Fortunately, he still has it,” Theismann said.

Smith’s future remains uncertain, but Theismann is rooting for Smith to realize his dream of playing again.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

 Carson Wentz took a bunch of receivers to Houston to work with them on timing and routes....OH NO!!! NOT "H TOWN"!!!! So many places to get in trouble....and the city is known for its traffic congestion, so ROAD RAGE is a possibility!!!😏

The only bad thing I heard about Clowney is injury history.....

[gardenman]

I think Alex Smith will end up retiring. I'm about eighteen months into my broken femur recovery, oh ******, nineteen months, and it's not "right" yet. My break is different from his, but given his age and the number of kids entering the league each year, it's hard to see him landing a new starting job. The Redskins have Haskins, McCoy and Keenum. They won't have a spot for him, especially at his price point. Losing the external fixator simply means the leg is "okay" structurally, but probably not fully healed. I was walking on my leg five months post-op, but it was only about twenty percent healed. He won't be able to play until it's one hundred percent. That may be a long, long time if it ever gets there.

Carson and the guys are already back from Houston with no issues behind them. (Whew!)

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

LOL....Glad Carson and company made it safely out of H Town without incident...😆

Yep, I think Alex will end up retiring, what a shame he seems like a real nice guy.

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Yeah, Alex Smith's contract puts the Redskins in a bit of a bind unless he retires. If they cut him loose, they take a big cap hit. I don't really see him starting for them again. He'd be too high-priced as a backup. No other team would likely trade for him unless it was a salary dump move like the Texans and Browns did with Brock Osweiller. Would the Redskins give up a high draft pick to save the $20+ million in cap space? (The Texans gave up a second and sixth round pick if I recall correctly.) Maybe, but it's not done often in the NFL.

There are teams with a lot of cap space available though but I'm not sure any has the cap space necessary even for that to be an option. The Colts have like $23+ million available and the Texans aren't far behind them, but what kind of a pick would the Redskins have to add in to make it worthwhile for them to assume Smith's cap number? (Assuming he doesn't have a no-trade clause which may be assuming a lot.) A first round pick? Bear in mind the Redskins are likely to be drafting in the upper half of the draft given their QB situation. If things go badly they could be in the top five in the draft. Do you pass on possibly drafting a guy like Tua just to unload Smith's salary? Can you afford to keep Smith's salary on the books though?

The Eagles, so far anyway, fingers-crossed, have had a very, very good offseason. They got their targeted free agents. Kept the guys they wanted to keep. Added some guys they wanted in trades. Had a good draft (apparently but it's too early to say for sure.) Came through OTA's and minicamps without major injuries. The young kids drafted in recent years seem to have taken a step up based on media reports from the OTA's. Now it's on to training camp with no one suspended, injured, and no gaping roster holes where we need someone, anyone to step up and assume a job. I'm almost afraid to jinx things by posting this, but it's been a nearly perfect offseason for the Birds. We just don't get stuff like that too often.

[Spurt]

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@gardenman wrote:

@Spurt 

Yeah, Alex Smith's contract puts the Redskins in a bit of a bind unless he retires. If they cut him loose, they take a big cap hit. I don't really see him starting for them again. He'd be too high-priced as a backup. No other team would likely trade for him unless it was a salary dump move like the Texans and Browns did with Brock Osweiller. Would the Redskins give up a high draft pick to save the $20+ million in cap space? (The Texans gave up a second and sixth round pick if I recall correctly.) Maybe, but it's not done often in the NFL.

There are teams with a lot of cap space available though but I'm not sure any has the cap space necessary even for that to be an option. The Colts have like $23+ million available and the Texans aren't far behind them, but what kind of a pick would the Redskins have to add in to make it worthwhile for them to assume Smith's cap number? (Assuming he doesn't have a no-trade clause which may be assuming a lot.) A first round pick? Bear in mind the Redskins are likely to be drafting in the upper half of the draft given their QB situation. If things go badly they could be in the top five in the draft. Do you pass on possibly drafting a guy like Tua just to unload Smith's salary? Can you afford to keep Smith's salary on the books though?

The Eagles, so far anyway, fingers-crossed, have had a very, very good offseason. They got their targeted free agents. Kept the guys they wanted to keep. Added some guys they wanted in trades. Had a good draft (apparently but it's too early to say for sure.) Came through OTA's and minicamps without major injuries. The young kids drafted in recent years seem to have taken a step up based on media reports from the OTA's. Now it's on to training camp with no one suspended, injured, and no gaping roster holes where we need someone, anyone to step up and assume a job. I'm almost afraid to jinx things by posting this, but it's been a nearly perfect offseason for the Birds. We just don't get stuff like that too often.

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@gardenman 

When Joey T said "Alex's injury is just like mine"....to me that says RETIREMENT for Alex....He was lucky he didn't lose his leg...

[gardenman]

It's a bad situation for Alex Smith. He's older, has a broken leg, has a big contract and may not ever be fit enough to play again..

[wakefield64]

Patriots training camp begins next week...I can’t wait. Football and Fall...my favorite time!

[teganslaw]

The NFL won't suspend Tyreek Hill. They have been following the investigation, but much of the information has been sealed by the court, and isn't shared with the NFL. Based on what the NFL does know, there isn't enough evidence to show that Hill violated their terms of conduct.

SPURT, it's funny the way you refer to Houston as H####town. I lived in Houston about 25 years ago and liked it. We moved back to the Midwest to be closer to family. Maybe Houston has gotten worse,, but it was a nice place to live back then. The cost of living was lower, also. Haven't been back since I  moved away, though. 

We got rid of our cable because of the cost. So no NFL Network or ESPN. I can get the games on my local channels and can watch videos online so it's not too much of a loss. I quit watching GMF anyway because I don't care about the analysts on that show. 

[gardenman]

Darren Sproles is back with the Eagles on a new one year deal. He's going to have to prove he can stay healthy to make the roster, but he's back for now. He had the broken arm and torn ACL in 2017, then a bad hamstring much of last year. He's still a very dynamic player, but he needs to stay healthy.

Still one roster spot open and Connor Barwin has been openly campaigning for it. We'll have to see if he gets a shot. He could add extra depth to the d-line, but he wasn't productive the last two years in a different defense. He's technically more of a 3-4 outside linebacker than a 4-3 defensive end, but there's not that much of a difference in those roles these days.

Sproles adds a level of complexity for defensive coordinators. If the Eagles go two tight ends with DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery outside with Ertz and Goedert as tight ends, then the Eagles have potentially seven blockers on the line (five linemen, two tight ends) and Sproles should be able to find a hole unless the defense cheats up a safety. Cheat up a safety though and you risk Alshon or Jackson beating you deep. If the Eagles send Alshon and Jackson deep, then that opens up the middle of the field for Ertz and Goedert. If they somehow manage to cover all of that, you've got Sproles coming out of the backfield as a shifty receiving back who's tough to cover. If you cover all five receivers (Sproles in the flat, Alshon and DeSean deep, Ertz and Goedert over the middle) then there's pretty much no one to spy on Wentz who can pull the ball down and take off. This Eagles offense will score a lot of points this year.