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Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Now we're down to the final four teams. For those teams wondering who to draft in the draft this year, look at the final four teams and see what they have in common. Hint: It's the quarterback! These final four teams have quarterbacks who are arguably among the best in the league.

 

We start out this week with Green Bay at Atlanta. (Here's hoping they didn't start dismantling the Georgia Dome after that last game. Fans have kind of a history of wandering off with parts of the old stadiums as souvenirs after the last game at a stadium and last week's game was supposed to be the last game in the Georgia Dome, so the stadium may have a few pieces missing.)  Expect this to be a high scoring game with the ball flying everywhere.

 

Matt Ryan has the better receiver in Julio Jones, but Julio is a bit dinged with a bad foot and a bad foot is a bad thing for a receiver. They need their feet to be perfect to make their cuts. A bad foot requires a receiver to not make cuts they'd normally make which lets the DB cheat a bit and get away with it. 

 

Aaron Rodgers is just playing at an insane level these days. The Packers have to travel though and have less time to prepare. I think this will be a very close game and whoever has the ball last will likely win. I guess I'll stick with Aaron Rodgers until someone beats him. I said this back in November when the Packers played the Eagles and Rodgers turned up his game, but when he's playing at that level, no one can beat him.

 

Pittsburgh goes to New England in the second game on Sunday. The Patriots didn't look right last week. The Steelers kind of forgot where the endzone was and relied on their field goal kicker to beat KC. I'm pretty sure neither team is especially happy with their play last week. Will they wake up this week and play better? If both teams play up to their potential this could be another great game. If one team stays mired in whatever they were mired in last week, this could be a blowout for the other team. If both teams stay mired in the muck it will also be a close game. I'm giving a slight edge to Brady and Belichick in this one. They don't tend to have two bad games in a row very often.

 

I suspect every GM in the league is looking at this week's teams and realizing the importance of a great QB. The Eagles realized it last year and made the moves necessary to get their guy in Wentz. I'm thinking the teams at the top of the draft this year may find a lot of teams calling and asking what it'll take to move up to get the top QB in this draft. I'm not sure any of the QB's in the draft are worth the first overall pick, but if you don't have a great QB and you aspire to reach the Super Bowl, their value likely goes up in your eyes.

 

In news around the league, the Jaguars are interviewing Chip Kelly as a possible offensive coordinator. That's a smart move on their part. Chip's offense gets guys open all over the field. Tom Coughlin tried to hire Chip years ago as an assistant on the Giants so he values Chip and Doug Marrone likes Chip. We could see something happen there pretty quickly.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 18,778
Registered: ‎03-13-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Go Steelers (!!!!)

♥Surface of the Sun♥
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Registered: ‎06-15-2013

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Cowboys need to draft defense (and possibly a new head coach)

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Kyle Shanahan seems to be the top candidate for the Niners now. Josh McDaniels has taken his name out of consideration. 

 

As to the Cowboys, they need help on defense and oddly enough a good young backup QB is not a bad idea either. Romo is likely gone. Mark Sanchez is inadequate. If they could get a mid to late round kid who had potential it would be smart to snatch him up. Their big priority right now has to be in getting rid of Romo. That cap hit of his this year ($24 million) will kill them otherwise. Once they find him a new home (Texans?) they can then worry about their other priorities. Trade Romo for Osweiler? That would solve problems for both teams. Osweiler has a big cap hit, but not as big as Romo's. He doesn't fit in with the Texans but would be a competent backup for the Cowboys and be cheaper than Romo. A young wide receiver to grow with Prescott isn't a bad idea either.

 

A Romo for Osweiler trade would be kind of interesting. Romo's contract calls for him to make $24 million each year for the next two years, while Osweiler makes $19 million next year and $21 million in 2018. The Cowboys would gain cap space and get a backup who has some potential. The Texans would get a great, though fragile quarterback, with JJ Watt coming back healthy next year, Clowney entering his prime, and lots of quality players at other positions. That could be interesting.

 

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Trusted Contributor
Posts: 1,943
Registered: ‎08-12-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!


@leighagemini wrote:

Cowboys need to draft defense (and possibly a new head coach)


Defense, yes.  New head coach, no way.

Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!


@soonersis wrote:

@leighagemini wrote:

Cowboys need to draft defense (and possibly a new head coach)


Defense, yes.  New head coach, no way.


The Cowboys definitely need defensive help, especially a pass rushing defensive end or two, but I suspect they'll also need some help on offense. I suspect at least one of their veteran runningbacks (Alfred Morris or Darren McFadden) will be let go. They're kind of expensive to keep around as seldom used backups. 

 

The Cowboys have a lot of free agents (eighteen at last count) and they're already over the cap now. Eighteen free agents on a 53 man roster is more than a third of the roster that could be leaving. Unless the Cowboys can free up a lot of cap space, they'll lose at least a few of those guys and likely more than a few. They'll need fresh bodies to replace the guys they lose and they can't afford to get them through free agency without cap space. The Cowboys will be drafting for need and hoping the kids they draft can play.

 

There's a decent amount of roster turnover each year in the NFL, but a third of the team being unrestricted free agents, and many of them starters, is a dangerous situation for a team that's already over the cap. (The Eagles have just seven free agents and only two of them are starters, and neither is an irreplaceable starter. Plus the Eagles have nine million in cap space now and will likely get more through a few cuts and contract renegotiations.) 

 

It's going to be a very interesting off season down in Dallas. They've got a good young nucleus, but they'll be losing depth this offseason. They've got to find a lot of cheap, young guys to replace the free agents they'll be losing and that may not be so easy. Out of 32 teams they're ranked dead last in cap space, so they won't be outbidding anyone for a player.

 

Jerry Jones engineered his cap space to win now and not for the future. At this moment he's looking at losing a third of his roster and still having to cut guys to get under the cap. The Cowboys are $1.6 million over the cap for 2017 now, without signing any of those 18 free agents. They'll need around $7 million in cap space to sign their draft picks, so that's about nine million dollars they've got to prune off the current cap just to break even. 

 

Jerry Jones will have to work some magic to get that team under the cap, resign their core free agents, free up enough money to sign their draft picks, and field a competitive team next year. He's got some good star players, but he's also got some really big roster issues that won't go away. Replacing a third of the team (including five or six starters) with untested rookies is generally not a sound way to build a football team.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Honored Contributor
Posts: 24,105
Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

It sounds like Kyle Shanahan will be the new Niners' coach. That could complicate life for the Redskins. Shanahan is a big supporter of Kirk Cousins and with the Niners having a ton of cap space the Redskins can't really afford to let Cousins explore free agency this year and if they don't find a long-term deal, they'll be in even more trouble next year. The Redskins have backed themselves into an interesting corner. They pretty much have to give Kirk a blank check, or move on and find another QB.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Esteemed Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-05-2011

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

let's go steelers!!!!!!!  Woooooooot!

Honored Contributor
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Registered: ‎03-09-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Andrew Luck had shoulder surgery. That helps explain some of his issues this past year. They expect him to be fully recovered for training camp.

 

The Raiders have now officially filed the paperwork to move to Vegas. That could be interesting. I'm guessing visiting coaches will have nightmares about their players getting in trouble while in Vegas. A road trip to Green Bay doesn't really give a player many opportunities to get into trouble. Las Vegas on the other hand gives players all kinds of ways to get into trouble.

Fly!!! Eagles!!! Fly!!!
Contributor
Posts: 41
Registered: ‎08-22-2010

Re: Week Three of the NFL Playoffs!!!

Don't kid yourself about visiting players getting in trouble in Green Bay.  It happens all the time but the public doesn't hear about it.