NFL Offseason Thread

[Jaguar]

The Schaub trade went from being very good for the Falcons to OK. It was still monumentally stupid on the part of the Texans.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by Jaguar
The Schaub trade went from being very good for the Falcons to OK. It was still monumentally stupid on the part of the Texans.

I agree with this. It filled 3 huge holes (the first three picks will all step into starting roles), but now there is gaping one at QB.

[Zopperoni]

It's the Joey Harrington Curse!

[snoopy369]

lol didn't realize they had him... that'll be fun to watch if he gets to play the season as the starter

Actually may not be much worse than schaub, at least he's started a few games...

[Jaguar]

Has any quarterback ever started for so long and played as badly as Joey Harrington?

Harrington threw 429 passes in 2002, and on those 429 pass attempts, he averaged 5.3 yards per attempt. How bad is that? No quarterback has ever thrown that many passes and averaged lower than that. Except for one.

The exception is Joey Harrington from 2003, who averaged 5.25 yards per attempt on 554 attempts. It is mindboggling that Harrington might be entering his sixth straight year as a starter.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Btw, seems like the Falcons may have an entire year in order to figure out what to do with potential life after Vick, and Harrington's starting chances are diminished. According to John Clayton of ESPN:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=clayton_john&id=2940188

The problem facing Vick and the Falcons now is the case, which could consume most of the season, and could bring down the team. Blank must presume Vick is innocent and let the legal process take its course. Commissioner Roger Goodell must do the same. Vick must be treated as a first-time offender in the league's new conduct policy, so he must be found guilty or admit guilt before the commissioner can suspend him.

It appears Goodell was dealing with folks (Jones, Henry, etc.) who were repeat offenders and convicted. They'll have to wait until Vick's trial ends, which may be a looong while, before they can suspend him.

So some breathing room to decide what to do the year after next (if Vick is found guilty).

[DanS]

No, they're hosed more than ever. This is a PR nightmare more than a legal nightmare. They have to play Vick this year if he's on the team, even though he's radioactive. The Falcons star enjoys killing Old Yeller.

If I were the Falcons, I would suggest that he take a year off in order to prepare his defense to clear his name.

[SlowwHand]

That's an extremely good idea.

[-Jrabbit]

Hm, Pacman's never been convicted of anything. So basically, it seems that Vick gets to skate because the cops backed off on the wacky water bottle incident.

Still, I'll be surprised if Vick is the starting QB come September. This is a federal grand jury indictment.

[Imran Siddiqui]

Pacman agreed to probation to have some charges in Tennessee against him dropped. Under the conduct policy that is akin to a conviction:

http://www.nflpa.org/RulesAndRegs/ConductPolicy.aspx

Any Covered Person convicted of or admitting to a criminal violation (including a plea to a lesser included offense; a plea of nob contendere or no contest; or the acceptance of a diversionary program, deferred adjudication, disposition of supervision, or similar arrangement) will be subject to discipline as determined by the Commissioner.

Furthermore, I think Pacman was suspended under the old conduct policy, not the new one which distinguishes among first time offenders and repeat ones.

[Lord Avalon]

Didn't Pacman also lie about not having been arrested?

[-Jrabbit]

According to two accounts I read, the indictment is quite specific, including allegations of Vick's direct involvement in both training and fighting dogs, going back to his rookie season. Some of the acts detailed in the indictment are pretty gruesome, and it appears that at least two witnesses gave grand jury testimony detailing direct involvement by Vick.

Imran, I think the league's new conduct policy will have virtually nothing to do with whether Michael Vick plays this season. You can bet that Goodell, Blank, Vick's reps and the NFLPA are already meeting behind the scenes to find a way to sweep this disaster out of the spotlight.

And the only way to do that is to keep Vick out of camera range.

Here's a pretty good summary:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/football/nfl/07/17/dohrmann.vick/?bcnn=yes

[Imran Siddiqui]

Originally posted by -Jrabbit
Imran, I think the league's new conduct policy will have virtually nothing to do with whether Michael Vick plays this season. You can bet that Goodell, Blank, Vick's reps and the NFLPA are already meeting behind the scenes to find a way to sweep this disaster out of the spotlight.

That's probably true. Apparently the informant said about 30 NFL players were involved in that particular ring and I speculate the Goodell may not want Vick to name names and really blow this thing up.

[Lord Avalon]

On the other hand if Goodell really wants to clean up the NFL, then I think he would want to know who the other players are.

While bad publicity is detrimental, I think a cover up is worse.

[Imran Siddiqui]

That may depend on who the players are.