NFL Football - 2012 Season Thread

[Al B. Sure!]

I just checked the Giants' selection on that mock draft... DE. Another one.

Yeah it's been two years since the Giants last took a DE in the first round... it's about time for yet another


Just checked the Giants' top picks the past 7 drafts... 2 DE's, 4 DB's, and 1 WR. Goes to show you you can build a great offense in the latter rounds.

[SlowwHand]

Pick No. 19
Quinton Coples DE North Carolina
On pure talent, he'd be a lock top-10 selection. The Bears may have designs on an offensive tackle, but if this pass rusher is available, Julius Peppers will call in the pick for his fellow Tar Heel.

http://www.nfl.com/draft/2012/mock-d...module=HP11_cp

Al, you're not paying attention again. Sometimes, other people also say things that are as relevant as things that you say.
For instance, this was just the beginning. Jr and Ming both made observations.

[Al B. Sure!]

I'm just saying it's funny that the mock draft had the Giants taking another DE to go along with Tuck, Osi, JPP, and sometime-Kiwanuka. It's funny how the Giants stockpile defensive ends.

Like I said, the first 6 picks of that mock are very very plausible.

Here's something else I saw on NFL.com:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d8281b796/article/quarterback-rankings-eli-manning-tops-list-heading-into-2012?module=HP11_cp

This guy has Eli Manning as the #1 QB with Tony Romo at #13

1) Eli Manning, New York Giants: A 30-touchdown/4,000-yard passer with two Super Bowls in the past five years. Both won with last-minute drives -- and both over Tom Brady. Give me a better recent résumé. You can't.

13) Tony Romo, Dallas Cowboys: He's better than anyone gives him credit for. The Cowboys' inability to win bigger isn't 100 percent Romo's fault. It's only 100 percent in the final two minutes of a game.

Opinions are opinions.

[-Jrabbit]

Jabar Gaffney, off the deep end on Twitter...

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1143354-jabar-gaffney-twitter-reacts-to-redskins-wrs-rant-against-the-world

Apparently his impending divorce is not going smoothly, and his cousin Lito Shepherd is somehow involved. (This would be funnier if Gaffney didn't have two children...)

[SlowwHand]

I missed that Forte is playing hardball. I'm on his side.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1141428-nfl-rumors-matt-forte-justified-in-refusing-to-sign-bears-franchise-tender

[-Jrabbit]

The Bears gave a nice extension to Lance Briggs yesterday. This suggests that:

1. Forte is not the priority the Bears claim he is (Briggs was under contract through 2013).
2. Sometimes whining pays off.

I wonder how much of that cap space is left...

[Ming]

Or maybe it's a simple matter of Forte asking for more than he's worth. Sure, he deserves a contract, but not a AP/CJ type contract.

And at this point in his career, can he really afford to sit out a year. If he does, he loses any money he could earn in one of his prime years, and will he really get a super contract from anybody if he does miss the year?

[Al B. Sure!]

It's only April. He can sit out until mid-way through training camp and today's fuss will long be in the past.

[ColdWizard]

2012 Franchise Tag numbers

QB 	$14,436,000
DE 	$10,605,000
CB 	$10,281,000
WR 	$9,515,000
OL 	$9,383,000
LB 	$8,856,000
DT 	$7,960,000
RB 	$7,742,000
S 	$6,212,000
TE 	$5,446,000
K/P 	$2,654,000

Expected Career Length

RB 	4.35
WR 	4.54
DT 	4.71
TE 	4.98
CB 	5.13
DE 	5.39
LB 	5.5
S 	5.88
OL 	5.95
QB 	6.96
K/P 	8.33

Tough ****, Forte, your useful career is almost over. You should have taken the contract offer last off-season and gotten a contract (6/36/14) like the one Lance Briggs got after he threw a temper tantrum in 2008 (6/36/13). Or taken the "strong offer" from this off-season.

Incidentally, one of these is worth AP money (2011, 7/96/36), one is worth CJ money (2011, 6/55/30), one is worth Devin Hester money (2008, 4/41/15), one is Ray Rice, and one plays behind the Bears offensive line:

APYD/G	TD/G	FMB/G
116.3	.92	.30
112.5	.67	.16
103.6	.48	.20
111.0	.48	.10
95.0	.34	.30

Anyway, the lesson here is not to be an NFL running back. You're going to get hit all the time, have a short career, not going to get paid, and some of the fans are going to ***** that you don't want to play for peanuts when all the other players are getting $$.

[SlowwHand]

At this point in his career? At this point in his career is exactly when he needs to make demands. He's what, 26? He's a Top 5 RB. You're going to miss him when he's gone.

[-Jrabbit]

Agreed: This is the end of his rookie contract; it's when players are supposed to cash.

Nothing will happen on this until July, when the tender has to be signed. Until then, Forte is just intelligently avoiding further injury risk. And I'm sure the Bears are fine with that.

I'm hoping Baltimore will come to an agreement with Rice. That would set the market, as the two have very similar careers, skills, and roles.

[SlowwHand]

Ray Rice is a pretty good comparison for market value.

[Al B. Sure!]

I wanted to correct something Jrabbit said earlier regarding the Eagles and Tannehill. Vince Young does not have a contract with the Eagles. He had a 1-year deal with them. The Eagles currently have 3 QB's rostered: Mike Vick, Mike Kafka, and Trent Edwards, who was added in February.

That doesn't mean they want Tannehill but VY is a free agent.

[Al B. Sure!]

And Ray Rice is better than Matt Forte. He outperforms him in every way. He may or may not be on a better team, though. Rice is also a year younger.

Forte is a lot bigger, though. Ray Rice is surprisingly small at 5-9 195lbs listed.

[Imran Siddiqui]

That (Ray Rice's size) is why he ended up at Rutgers (well originally he signed with Syracuse, but then they fired Pasquoloni). Bigger colleges didn't want to take a chance because they thought he'd be a big injury risk.