2015 NFL Offseason Thread

[OILFAN #81]

NFL's top 100 players as voted by the players themselves have slowly been announced. They unveiled up to 11-20. Only 10 players remain. In no particular order (order will be revealed Wednesday), these are the top 10 players in the NFL for 2015 as voted by the players:

JJ Watt
Aaron Rodgers
Andrew Luck
Tom Brady
Peyton Manning
Marshawn Lynch
Antonio Brown
Calvin Johnson
Rob Gronkowski
DeMarco Murray

[OILFAN #81]

Jason Pierre-Paul burned his hands severely setting off fireworks over the weekend and as a result the Giants withdrew their 60 M contract extension on him. Yikes.

[OILFAN #81]

What is it with Florida State QB's recently and criminal acts? Florida State QB D'Andre Johnson had an warrant issued for his arrest and turned himself in after he punched a female in the face with a hard right hand at a bar in Tennessee. There is video of it all over the internet. What a loser, hope he never makes it to the NFL.

[Senator Clay Davis]

So I'm a bit behind on the Russell Wilson contract stuff, but I wonder if the Seahawks even thought about trading him to Tampa or Tennessee and getting the #1 or #2 pick and drafting Mariota instead. Mariota is a lot like Wilson in terms of what he does (better throwing on the move, best when the throws are short and quick, not a great deep ball, lethal runner), but would be locked in at $5 million per year for the next 4 years which allows for them to keep the team in tact.

In no way is Wilson actually worth $25 million a year, but obviously Joe Flacco changed the game when he got $20 million a year despite being somewhere in the 13-18 range of best QBs in the league. Wilson likely falls in that range and is younger so whether he's worth $20-25 million a year to us, market says he is. Outta be interesting to see how the Seahawks go about this.

[transplant99]

Some sad news out of Oakland as team legend and super bowl winner Ken Stabler has passed away at age 69.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13...arterback-dies

It was funny back in the day as the Raiders were the "villains" of the league to many if not most. It was hard to dislike "the snake" however, dude was one tough hombre and a great QB.

"I was head coach of the Raiders the entire time Kenny was there and he led us to a whole bunch of victories including one in Super Bowl XI," former Raiders coach John Madden said in the team release. "I've often said, If I had one drive to win a game to this day, and I had a quarterback to pick, I would pick Kenny. Snake was a lot cooler than I was. He was a perfect quarterback and a perfect Raider. When you think about the Raiders you think about Ken Stabler. Kenny loved life. It is a sad day for all Raiders."

[rubecube]

Wow, any lingering doubts about why the Eagles released this guy should be gone now.

http://www.nj.com/eagles/index.ssf/2...g_nothing.html

The first episode of the show starts off with a bang, as Jackson is shown producing a rap album, yelling at the police, smoking a cigar and drinking in a club.

"You know what the downfall of every great athlete is?," Gayle Jackson, DeSean's mother, asks during a dinner. "Alcohol, money and women."

Right on cue, the show cuts to shots of Jackson smoking and drinking surrounded by women in a bar. In the prior scene, Jackson is seen shouting at police as they drive by outside.

"Haters!," Jackson yells. "Bye, bye!"

Then comes the second episode.

Jackson is asked by his sister, A'Dreea, about his financial situation and a recent charge on a credit card.

"What could you have spent $5,000 on in one night in the club?," A'Dreea Jackson asks, before finding another charge for $25,000.

"Alcohol," Jackson responds.

A constant theme of the show is Jackson's mother and sister having to control DeSean. In one scene, his sister (who admits she has to follow DeSean around to make sure he is following the rules) sits him down to discuss him and his friends jumping off of a roof into the pool.

"Does nobody have common sense in the group?" A'Dreea says. "You take enough risks in your every day-to-day life.

"There are definitely some people around I question," A'Dreea says of DeSean's friends. "Their life is just like a big party."

[rubecube]

And the NFL blows it again.

@AdamSchefter 8m8 minutes ago
NFL reduces Greg Hardy suspension to 4 games. Drew Rosenhaus said he will confer with Hardy, NFLPA and his lawyers to discuss next move.

[Flabbibulin]

Brady's suspension will have to be reduced now. They will look like clowns if both end up with 4 games... even the most ardent Pats hater would have to concur.

[rubecube]

Remember though, the NFL cares about women.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Huge for Hardy mostly for his pocketbook. Most of his contract was structured around games played so that's a big help. I mean you gotta hope they don't reduce Brady's suspension just to see the reaction right? (No offense Pats fans)

[rubecube]

Cowboys and Broncos accused of collusion on the Dez and Demariyus contracts.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13...mas-dez-bryant

[Displaced Flames fan]

Looks like 5 years and $70 million for Dez with $40M guaranteed.

I would imagine Demaryius signs a deal for slightly more in the next half hour.

Nice play by the NFLPA with the collusion accusation. Got both their players more money than they probably should have.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

Nice play by the NFLPA with the collusion accusation. Got both their players more money than they probably should have.

I don't know how you can say that when players like Mike Wallace and Jeremy Maclin are getting around $13M. $14M for Bryant and Thomas is about right.

[rubecube]

Thomas gets $1.5M less guaranteed than Dez.

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 10m10 minutes ago
Denver and Demaryius Thomas reach agreement on matching 5-year, $70 million deal that includes $43.5M GTD, per source

[Displaced Flames fan]

They are an interesting pair of players. Drafted in the same class, fairly close to each other.

I'd take Thomas over Dez every day of the week but I am admittedly biased. I think he has everything that Dez does on the field but doesn't have the volatility that Dez has off of it.

They will likely be compared their entire careers and beyond.

[rubecube]

Originally Posted by Displaced Flames fan

They are an interesting pair of players. Drafted in the same class, fairly close to each other.

I'd take Thomas over Dez every day of the week but I am admittedly biased. I think he has everything that Dez does on the field but doesn't have the volatility that Dez has off of it.

They will likely be compared their entire careers and beyond.

I've watched Dez quite a bit and I would also take Thomas. I find that when you limit Dez's big-plays that you can take him out of the game, whereas Thomas seems to be a factor all over the field. I also think Thomas has been the more consistent of the two.

EDIT: Pretty comparable career numbers but then you have to consider the fact that Thomas played with Orton and Tebow for the first two years of his career.

[troutman]

NFLPA says they will take NFL to Federal Court if Brady appeal is denied.

[Faust]

Mike Klis ‏@MikeKlis9m9 minutes ago
Broncos statement-"The suggestion our club may have colluded with another team about a negotiation is completely false and without merit."

[Faust]

NFL Network ‏@nflnetwork2h2 hours ago
Most Receiving Touchdowns, since 2011: Dez Bryant, 50 Jimmy Graham, 46 Rob Gronkowski, 44 Jordy Nelson, 43 Calvin Johnson, 41

[PostandIn]

Originally Posted by troutman

NFLPA says they will take NFL to Federal Court if Brady appeal is denied.

I support the PA on most issues but not on this one. If the PA and Brady actually believe that he will be exonerated in open court they are delusional. Brady (and possibly the Patriots) would already be in contempt of court for refusing to turn over evidence. Can they honestly believe that the NFL's investigation is that biased that it will be shredded in court? Or is there something procedural that the PA is contesting that is designed to preserve Brady's sterling reputation on a technicality of some kind? Brady should just admit what's obvious to everyone else except Patriot fans: he cheated and got caught. Otherwise, if he is innocent as he claims, he should have cooperated instead of defaulting to the typical Patriots soft-shoe of denial and deflection. If this were Teddy Bridgewater or Drew Stanton the PA wouldn't even return their calls.