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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!


@redwingsgal wrote:

@dmod nj, leave it to Jon to bring you to the NFL thread!!!  XOXOXOXO


@redwingsgal  leave it to MY Jon................... Heart  LOL 

You can take the girl out of Jersey, but you can't take Jersey out of the girl. Jersey Girl living in CNY.
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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

@gardenman

 

McNabbs skills had started to decline he was pretty much done when the Eagles and Redskins made that trade...he was 33.  He threw more INTS than TDs, and was replaced by Rex Grossman.

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!


@Spurt wrote:

@gardenman

 

McNabbs skills had started to decline he was pretty much done when the Eagles and Redskins made that trade...he was 33.  He threw more INTS than TDs, and was replaced by Rex Grossman.


Next year this time you may be saying the same thing about Foles. In the right system, with the right pieces around him, he's a very good quarterback much of the time. But, and this is a big but, everything around him needs to be right. If you saw him in the preseason, or the first two games this season, you'd be surprised he played as well as he did down the stretch. He's been described as a high variance quarterback,who can look great one week and horrible the next. When he's on a roll, he's really good and can stand toe-to-toe with the best in the game. When he's not, well, he's not nearly as good.

 

He's a great guy to have on a roster as an "In case of fire" quarterback, but as an everyday starter for sixteen games, he tends to come up a bit short. He really, really needs to be in the right system. A guy like Baker Mayfield is the opposite. He's a baller. He doesn't care who the coach is, what the system is, who's around him, he's going to go out and ball and do whatever it takes to win. Nick needs everything right around him to win. He needs a solid offensive line. He needs a good running game. He needs a coach who understands his strengths and weaknesses and plays to his strengths. Given all of that, he's really good.

 

Nick's specialty is throwing the ball up high down the field and letting his receivers run under it. He started doing that under Chip Kelly with Riley Cooper as his favorite receiver. Riley had experience as a center fielder in baseball and he was basically fieldling long fly balls from Nick. We saw that last year and this with Alshon Jeffery. Nick has a feel for throwing those high deep balls that his big, fast receivers can run under and grab. If you don't have a big, fast receiver who can run under those balls and make the catch, a good part of Nick's game goes bye-bye.

 

Nick will be a boom or bust free agent QB. If he ends up in the right place with the right pieces, he can take a team to the playoffs and deep into the playoffs. In the wrong situation he could be a 3-13 quarterback. He's a great guy and tries to perform at his best at all times, but he really needs to be in the right situation. He's not a guy who can carry a bad team to the playoffs, like a Mayfield, Favre, Rodgers, or Brady. But, in the right situation with the right pieces around him, he can go toe-to-toe with those guys. If you're an NFL GM you have to understand what you're getting with Nick. He's a superb gentleman and a fine football player. He's a great team leader, but he needs a solid team around him. Give him the right support and he'll take you far. If you're missing any of the pieces, he's not going to be able to compensate over the long term.

 

It now looks like Eagles' defensive end Brandon Graham will be testing free agency. I suspect a team will overpay for his services. He's not a bad player, but he's not exceptional. You can make a pretty good case that he's the third best defensive end on the Eagles d-line. Michael Bennett and Chris Long were all performing at a higher level. Derek Barnett (when he was healthy) was putting up better numbers also. Graham is another good team guy. High energy, plays hard, wants to win. But, he had Fletcher Cox eating up double teams leaving him one on one with the offensive tackles most of the time and while he often comes close to the QB, close doesn't really count for much in the NFL. He's a 'name guy' after his strip sack of Brady in last year's Super Bowl which will raise his value, but he's more of a middle tier defensive end. Some team is likely to pay him a lot more than that however. He won't be a flop, as he's a high energy guy who plays hard, but he won't come close to setting sack records either. He'll likely be a six or seven sack guy a year wherever he ends up. If he's the primary pass rusher on a team and gets double-teamed, those numbers could be cut in half. He's a good player, but he's not special.

 

I'm not sure how active the market will be for defensive linemen this year in free agency. The general consensus is that the draft is full of quality NFL caliber starters at both defensive end and defensive tackle. Do you tie up 5%-10% of your cap money on a single free agent defensive lineman, or do you draft a kid and have him for five years on a rookie contract? It'll be interesting to see how that plays out. We could see defensive linemen in the same spot safeties were in recently where top tier guys sat on the market for months and ultimately signed for much less than in previous years. The NFL is a fickle marketplace.

 

The two positions that might get very hot in free agency are QB and running back, as the general consensus is that's where the draft is weakest this year. If you need a QB or running back, you pretty much have to grab one in free agency or risk missing out on one of the more draftable guys.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

[ Edited ]

NFL Fans....Im telling you, forget those dull, unfunny sitcoms on TV today ...... if you want a good laugh..... tune in to a Jerry Jones press conference....Our local sports guy here,Don Harris,  said he wonders if Jerry Jones is losing it....

 

Here's the Jones interview:.

The owner who has a very specific affinity (some call it a fetish) for shoes has no love for the footwear his players wore on Saturday night.

“I’ve had the benefit of the tape, looking at the tape, the evaluation by both scouts as well as the coaches,” Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, via USA Today. “We frankly had never gotten traction. And I mean that literally. That was a slippery field. If I had to do it over again, we would be really scrutinizing our footwear. Our cleats. We had trouble digging in so to speak."

 

Sounds like an excuse, especially since there were no indications during the game that the Cowboys in L.A. were slip sliding away.  And the Rams didn't have any trouble on the same field.

 

“Well you say, ‘That’s an excuse,'” Jones said. “It is not because not only physically but we had trouble digging in with just the effectiveness of our defense. And we did not stop them, and we did not stop the run.”

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

JJ's got to have an excuse. Before the Eagles game in Chicago (which is arguably one of the worst fields in the NFL) the Eagles had Golden Tate (and possibly others, but Golden Tate was the player whose photo was tweeted out pregame) on the field trying out different shoe/cleat combinations with the coaching staff and equipment personnel to find the optimum ones for the game. This was several hours pregame. Most teams do that. It's not like you don't see the field before the game starts. Players are typically out there warming up several hours before kickoff and testing the field.

 

It had been raining in LA and the tarp had been on the field, but it was removed several hours pregame (as tweeted by at least one reporter covering the game) and players warmed up on the field. It's an excuse. The Rams simply took away the Cowboy's running game forcing Dak Prescott to win the game. He couldn't. JJ is invested in Dak so the blame goes to the shoes instead of Dak.

 

The Cowboys defense was bad against the Ram's running game, but that could have had a lot to do with the Rams making blocks and the Cowboys not getting off the blocks.

 

The Cowboys could be looking at losing their best defensive lineman in Demarcus Lawrence this year also as he's a free agent. He'll likely be looking for a six year $120+ million deal (give or take a bit.) If they tag him again they'll be paying him around $20 million for 2019 and a whole lot more if they keep tagging him. Cole Beasley is looking for a new deal and won't be franchise tagged. (He's kind of a Patriots type slot guy.) They're going to have holes in their roster and no first round pick to fill them. They'll be wanting/needing to resign Dak Prescott as his contract ends at the end of the 2019 season. He'll want top tier QB money ($30+ million a year fully guaranteed.) Then next year they've got to work out a deal with Ezekiel Elliott who will want a fortune. (If he hasn't earned a long suspension between now and then.) 

 

The Cowboys have lots and lots of issues facing them. This is going to be a very interesting next few years for them. JJ is all in on Dak Prescott and will likely overpay him. He'll have to overpay Ezekiel Elliott next year or face a Le'Veon Bell type situation. He'll be overpaying Demarcus Lawrence whether they tag him or not. The offensive line is overpaid. Amari Cooper's contract is up at the end of the 2019 season and he'll want a big deal this offseason. (He's making $13+ million in 2019, so he'll want a bump up from that. Figure $15 million plus on average.)

 

With the salary cap there are times you have to make tough decisions and let some guys go to make the team better, but JJ falls in love with "his guys" and won't make those moves. It's good for the rest of the NFC East, but tough on Cowboy fans. Right now JJ is in love with Dak, Elliott, Demarcus and Amari. Those guys will get paid. Others won't get paid and will leave, leaving holes behind. Filling those holes will be a challenge for the Cowboys.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

Jerry Jones is the gift that keeps on giving. He has to like Cooper since the team gave up first round draft picks to acquire him. 

 

In a poll taken by NFL defensive players, Alex Smith is among the most underrated quarterbacks , third behind Cam Newton and Phillip Rivers.  Most overrated is Kirk Cousins. He has a couple years to prove he's worth the high price tag. 

 

Some articles have listed Washington as the top option for Joe Flacco, It all depends on the status of Alex Smith. SPURT, what are  your thoughts? Go with Flacco or take a quarterback through the draft in case Smith isn't ready to come back? 

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

[ Edited ]

@teganslaw wrote:

Jerry Jones is the gift that keeps on giving. He has to like Cooper since the team gave up first round draft picks to acquire him. 

 

In a poll taken by NFL defensive players, Alex Smith is among the most underrated quarterbacks , third behind Cam Newton and Phillip Rivers.  Most overrated is Kirk Cousins. He has a couple years to prove he's worth the high price tag. 

 

Some articles have listed Washington as the top option for Joe Flacco, It all depends on the status of Alex Smith. SPURT, what are  your thoughts? Go with Flacco or take a quarterback through the draft in case Smith isn't ready to come back? 


@teganslaw

 

Flacco is not the answer.....he's an Alex Smith in waiting ....as in waiting for him to have another injury...he's 34 has had back and hip injuries.....I say hope Colt McCoy is ready...This draft class only has few QB candidates....several mocks have Skins taking Drew Lock....dont know too much about him....and its starting from scratch...But Flacco sounds like an Allen move for sure!!!  Basically we are in trouble

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

Lol A slippery field in LA

 

 

I have heard a couple people mention the colts might not of had the right cleats in KC. But I could see that happening with the weather.

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

Alex Smith underrated? That's kind of interesting to debate. He was beat out in San Fran by Kaepernick and traded to KC. He was okay to good in KC, but find me a quarterback who's not good in Andy Reid's system. He never really excelled in KC. KC then gave up on him and moved him to Washington to clear a path for Mahomes, who not surprisingly, is playing very well in Andy's system. Alex Smith started out hot in Washington then cooled off before getting injured. I wouldn't call him a top ten quarterback in the league. Top twenty? I'd probably put him somewhere between fifteen and twenty-five based on what I've seen of him. Probably closer to fifteen than twenty-five.

 

Bear in mind he's been traded away twice now. Really good quarterbacks tend to stick with one team. Do teams make mistakes? Sure. But Andy Reid is generally dead on with quarterbacks. When he lets a guy go, the guy he lets go always drops off in play. I guess you could say he's underrated as no one really talks about him much, but is that because he's underrated or kind of middle of the pack?

 

That Cowboy offense is going to be very, very expensive. Dak will be making around $30 million a year. Amari Cooper will be making around $15-$20 million a year. Zeke will be making God only knows how much, but he'll be the top paid running back in 2020 in all likelihood. Figure another $15-$20 million a year, maybe more. Zack Martin will be making ten million this year and more in later years. JJ better remember he has to pay the defense too!

 

I'm not SPURT, but in regards to Flacco or a kid, the kid options are very, very limited this year. The Redskins have a huge hole at QB right now. Alex Smith is likely out until October or November (at best.) Colt McCoy likely won't be ready for the OTA's, but maybe for training camp. I think this might be a year where you pick up whatever serviceable quarterback you can find (a Mark Sanchez type, but not Mark Sanchez) and hope to get a Trevor Lawrence or someone like that in 2020 or 2021 for the future. I'm not saying tank in 2019, but I'm not sure they have much of a choice. Flacco lost his job in Baltimore and he's on the downhill slide now. He'd cost quite a bit and likely under-deliver. It's hard to imagine a scenario where the Redskins are truly competitive next season. They've got some big issues to overcome. I'm not sure going into the tank for a season or two, get every draft pick you can, and then grab a top rated young QB in 2020 or 2021 and hope he's really good, isn't the best bet for the franchise. It's kind of tough to sell seats doing that, and even tougher to get your new stadium, but it might be their best overall option.

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Re: Week Three of the 2019 NFL Playoffs!!!

Yep @gardenman Alex Smith is a one system QB.....Gruden complained he wasn't getting the ball out fast enough. Now not all his fault injuries to O-Line, WRs, TE didnt help

 
2018 SEASON STATS
YDS 2,180 31st
TD 10 Tied-32nd
INT 5 tied-2nd
QBR 49.5

 

“Sometimes he hangs on too long and gives guys too much of a chance when he needs to get off of them and get to the next guy,” Gruden said. He needs to speed up his progressions. A common criticism of Smith has been that he is too much of a game manager, worrying more about not having his passes intercepted than pushing for touchdowns. 

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