2015 NFL Offseason
Players are beginning to get released. Franchise tags have been slapped on some, but not others. Free agency begins next week and the draft is not far off.
My beloved Eagles have released G Todd Herremans and CB Cary Williams. No real surprises there and BTW good riddance to Williams.
They have picked up LB Brad Jones, who was released by GB.
Here is a free agent tracker link.
http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents
I wonder what team is gonna pony up a wad of cash for Suh?????
Calico696 I guarantee it won't be the Steelers spending for Suh...
Just looking at who has the cap space and the propensity for looking past the fact that a guy is a scumbag... my guess is that he'll be an Oakland Raider next season, lol.
ianimal Did the Cowpokes tag Dez Bryant yet?
He may be overestimating the market for prima donna wide receivers.
Andy Loigu They did... for $12,823,000.00. The Broncos also tagged Demaryius Thomas for the same number.
Eagles trade Shady to Buffalo for LB Kiko Alonso. If that's the full extent of the trade, the Eagles got ripped off. I have to assume they're getting Buffalo's first round pick too, in an attempt to move up in the draft and get Mariota. If not, it makes no sense at all to me.
Alonso is an Oregon Duck who played for Kelly, so I guess he really wanted him. If there is nothing else to the trade, I agree, it's a poor trade for Philly.
Even if they get Mariota, he would have needed Shady's talents to make that offense work.
Eeeek! Shady gone, Trent Cole gone. Kiko Alonso an Eagle. Philly is going to turn into Oregon East.
emaxxman Don't despair ... the old timer speaks here ... I was covering the Eagles for a newspaper in the 70s and they were awful ... Dick Vermeil took over and turned it into UCLA East ... they beat the Cowboys in the NFC championship game and got to the Super Bowl.
Doesn't guarantee Kelly will do it, but it HAS worked for old college coaches before. Vermeil was very astute at finding the right people.
Well, Kelly's first draft didn't go so well so I can see why Philly fans may be nervous.
With that said, I do think it's easier to find a good RB than it is to get a LB with Alonso's play making ability. They still have Sproles and dare I say it? Ray Rice is out there and would probably look at Philly as legit contenders.
In the landscape of today's salary capped NFL, do you spend $12 mil on a running back, no matter how good he is?
The Eagles may invite Ray Rice to camp, but I don't think they'd give him major bucks ... that ship has sailed for Ray Ray.
Running back is a position you can build from the draft ... guys who have been running and taking those hits for five or more years have a lot of wear and tear. The last year Rice played for the Ravens was nothing like the previous ones.
This may turn out to work OK for the Eagles, even though, understandably, the fan base cannot be happy about trading a well-known superstar.
The Eagles are getting their Ducks in a row ... QUACK QUACK
DeMarco Murray and/or Adrian Peterson may be available as well. Their estimated cap space is in the neighborhood of $45M.
Jacoby Jones is available, cut loose by the Ravens.
His stock as a receiver dropped a lot last year, but he can still make an impact on special teams, I'd like to think.
I'll miss his end zone dances, and Baltimore will always remember him for his great playoff and Super Bowl performances.
"The Eagles may invite Ray Rice to camp, but I don't think they'd give him major bucks ... that ship has sailed for Ray Ray."
That's my point. They can get Ray Rice cheap (assuming he wants to play for them) so why pay $12M for Shady.
I don't think Philly is willing to pay Murray his asking price given what they just got rid of with Shady. I think if Murray's offers are in the 6M-8M a year from other teams, he ends up back at Dallas.
AP is going to Dallas if he leaves Minnesota. Same with Murray, I don't see AP taking a discount for anyone other than Dallas and Philly won't pay him his asking price.
Then again, who knows. I sure don't. It's the Chip Show.
Good points, emaxxman... plus, it's a pretty deep draft from a RB standpoint. Chip might think he can find someone to plug and play right in there.
I don't think Ray Rice is that guy, though. Between carries and receptions, he's got close to 2,000 touches and 10,000 yards on the tires as a pro already. I'm thinking Kelly is looking for a lot lower mileage and will have a fairly quick turnover at that position, similar to college... use up a guy for 3-4 years and then move on.
He'll let the chips fall where they may.
If he wins a Super Bowl, he'll sing like Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis ...
"I did it MY WAY."
In today's NFL perhaps the only guys who can make the really big payday are quarterbacks who have won a Super Bowl (or two, three, four...) they are the ones considered irreplaceable.
It will be interesting to see what Big Ben gets when his contract time comes ... considering what he's done and is still capable of doing ... he's a bargain by today's standards.
Call me crazy, but I don't think Chip Kelly will ever win a Super Bowl. I think he will fail the next couple seasons and then head back to college.
Well, he's currently coaching the Eagles, so it's a sure bet that he's not going to win a SB until he gets fired and signs with a different team at the very least (-;
Well, I saw Dick Vermeil take a crappy team and turn it into a Super Bowl team in five seasons, making the birds better in each of his first five years.
But Vermeil wasn't the guy throwing three interceptions in the Super Bowl game.
It all started coming apart the next two years.
Kelly had a better foundation to start with, but I'm willing to give him three more years. He has an unwavering faith in 'the system' and wants guys who will work within it.
Oh, and Vermeil DID win a Super Bowl, two decades later with a different franchise (-;
Andy - As an Eagles fan, and someone who grew up in the 70's, I know all about Dick Vermeil and his Eagles teams. A Super Bowl contending team and Super Bowl winning team are two different things. Agree? If not, ask some Bills fans.
I woudn't be shocked if Mariota ended up being a big NFL bust.
Considering that Mariota is predicted to go to the Jets at number 6... that's a pretty safe bet, Calico (-;
Jameis Winston with TB doesn't look all that promising either, lol.
Yeah, winning that Super Bowl game is tough.
Jaws completed a lot of passes, to the wrong team.
You'd have to ask Trent Dilfer and Joe Flacco about how to clear that final hurdle.
John Mackey said, in a funny quote after the Baltimore Colts won the Super Bowl. "This was the worst team I've ever played on, but it won." ... the year after Shula left.
"Considering that Mariota is predicted to go to the Jets at number 6... that's a pretty safe bet, Calico (-;"
So true. LOL
Calico, I posted a song to honor you and all the longsuffering Eagles fans, onto the Favorite Songs from the 70s thread.
All in good humor, of course.
Don't you love having friends with such empathy?
Who needs enemies, right?
After parting ways with DeSean Jackson, Todd Herremans, Trent Cole and McCoy, the Eagles now have $46 mil of cap room.
You can fill a lot of holes, build for the future, with that kind of scratch. What Chip Kelly does now will be crucial to the team's destiny.
Rumor also has it that the Eagles and Jets have an agreement in place for the Eagles to move up should Mariota still be available at number 6. I guess the Jets are hitching their wagon to Geno Smith, for better or worse.
Maybe not ianimal. They (Jest) might want Foles along with draft picks for the 6 spot.
Certainly plausible, Calico. But that would actually be a smart move on their part, which makes it highly unlikely (-;
So far the Eagles' moves have left me sick to my stomach and given me a headache. I don't even feel like having a beer. :'(
Yes, moves such as those call for something much stronger. Might I suggest Everclear?
I'm trying to figure out what good Frank Gore would have done for the Eagles. He's got more miles on the tires than Ray Rice and he was only carrying the ball 16 times a game last season for what was essentially a ball-control offense. He likely wouldn't have had the legs to run the no huddle where he was getting the ball three or four times in a 90-second stretch.
He's probably better off in Indy, where they NEVER run the ball... he might last 6 or 7 more years there as long as he can pick up the blitz (-;
This one takes the cake!
Eagles close to trading Nick Foles to STL for Sam Bradford.
*&^%$#@! Where's the Everclear????
Chip Kelly THINKS he's the smartest guy in the room. As Eagles REMAIN the only NFC East team WITHOUT a Superbowl Championship.
Come to think of it, he didn't win anything at Oregon either.
Clyde Potts Clyde, he's in the Eagles organization. Being the smartest guy in the room isn't setting the bar all that high (-;
Saints trade Jimmy Graham to Seahawks for Max Unger and draft picks.
Looks like hubby won't be happy tonight either.
Clyde - If you look as my posts over the past two seasons, you will see that I never thought that Chip Kelly was the answer for my beloved Eagles. It's really starting to look like I was right. Boy, I wish I was 100% wrong. WAHHHHHHH!
Maybe the Jets want Bradford instead of Foles?
Bradford is a glass doll; he won't last long with the Eagles... he's had his left ACL reconstructed twice already and has missed 31 out of 80 starts in his first 5 seasons. It's GOTTA be the Jets who want him, lol.
From a Deadspin commenter on the Eagles off-season moves, "I feel like Chip Kelly is about to drop a bomb and say that that Santa Claus that was assaulted so many years ago by Philly fans, was actually his father, and this is his sweet, sweet revenge."
Go home Chip, you're drunk! Sigh....
Wifey's nephew Jonathan Casillas to the Giants for a 3 year deal.....maybe he'll get his 3rd ring in NJ ., Lolll...
Dam 
Old Gent Dwayne Harris will be a good special teamer for NY. Dallas will miss his energy. As a #3 WR, I think the Giants are better off with Randle. Harris had 33 receptions over 4 years. Hardly a playmaker.
Yup....he picked up his 2nd ring with the Patriots last month,they picked him up about half way through the season from Tampa.He went from last place to a ring in like 3 months ! Talk about being lucky...
Yes but Cruz is subject injury and he can be use full. We have been looking for a return man the last few years.
If the Eagles don't get the Rams' first draft pick to complete that trade ...
that's the dumbest trade ever.
Right now I feel almost as bad as I did when the Eagles signed Michael Vick. Not quite, but close.
I didn't sleep for two nights when they signed that Dog Killer!
I was at an IronPigs game that night ... everybody in the press box was like ...
huh?
The Eagles did WHAT?
Chip looks like he is going to be flowing in the footsteps of Greg Schiano at this rate.
kb2755 Interesting speculation about the Foles for Bradford trade, which is along the lines of what I was thinking, albeit with different teams involved...
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2392749-is-chip-kelly-planning-to-trade-for-marcus-mariota
Eagles sign Ryan Matthews, former San Diego RB. He's another guy who seems to be injured an awful lot...
The Eagles are making a deal for Walter Thurmond.
Of course they are. He's from Oregon too. How many Ducks does that make now? 10? 11? Too bad there isn't a team called the Geese. They could get one of them and play duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck.....goose!
Chip better have something great up his sleeve or he is going to go down and the dumbest Eagles coach ever.
That's going to be tough, Calico... names like Richie Kotite and Marion Campbell come to mind and will be tough to beat.
number10 
You sure? Looks like it's a done deal... 5 years $42M, $21M guaranteed.
It might also mean that Ryan Matthews doesn't sign now. That would be a distinct "bonus" as opposed to the "bone us"-es that Chip Kelly seems to have been providing the last few days.
Maybe people told Chip that Bradford and Murray were both from OU and he thought they meant Oregon?
I would've rather kept Shady. He's a little more durable IMO.
We should put out some odds on which new acquistion hits IR first. Sigh...
Ravens must lead the world in stockpiled compensatory draft picks. Hope Ozzie is working on those boards as we speak.
A trivia question...
when and where has Chip Kelly ever had a losing season?
Yeah, but you have to remember that you got a good young LB in the deal, too. I don't think he's done a great job this offseason, but I don't think it's as bad as Eagles fans are making it out to be. At least he got rid of Foles; he was terrible.
We won't really know what these teams will look like until mid-May, they all still are works in progress.
If Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson shows up in Dallas I'll be LMAO ...
after all the lectures I got from Cowboys fans that they are pure as the driven snow and the Ravens are a bunch of thugs.
It wasn't that long ago that a popular joke going around was ...
How do you get a Dallas Cowboy to stand up?
You yell out, "Will the defendant please rise."
Not Ray Rice... I think last year's *other* disgraced RB will be the one toting the rock for Dallas next year.
I'm curious if that happens, will Jerry be forced to pay the Zig-man for "tampering" for the phone conversations with Peterson?
You know who is quietly doing a nice job of reconstructing their team?
The Giants.
All the G-men need to do is let the injured guys heal and they'll be a contender in the NFC Least. Last year, they had 20 guys on IR, resulting in 91 man-games lost to injury by their starting lineup. Every team has that "next guy up" mentality, but it's hard to actually pull off.
He was also Defensive Rookie of the Year the year before that. So, I think the chances are good that he'll make an impact right off the bat.
If he can stay healthy, he is a good pick up. I just don't trust athletes coming off of those types of injuries. Most are never the same.
Mc Coy been bad in the locker room to much$$$ its a salary cap issue, been in the league 8 years beat up Murray had a ton of carrys last year 2 or 3 back offence will help
Daddof1 "If Ray Rice or Adrian Peterson shows up in Dallas I'll be LMAO ...
after all the lectures I got from Cowboys fans that they are pure as the driven snow and the Ravens are a bunch of thugs."
No one said Dallas was pure as snow. It was you who started with calling Dez a diva while calling thugs like Terrel Suggs a leader. You then started defending Ray Rice by asking those of us who criticized him , "didn't we ever make mistakes?" Knocking out a defenseless human being still isn't a mistake...it's an intentional act. I'm sure you can dig up some sports anecdote to help yourself understand that.
Regarding Murray, I had accepted the fact that he wasn't going to be a Cowboy next year. What sucks now is that he's an Eagle. I really thought he would go to a more RB hungry team.
Personally, if given the choice, I'd take McCoy over Murray. McCoy just seems to be more elusive to me. Either way, it's done. Dallas needs to draft a RB. AP may be OK for 1 or 2 years if they somehow work a miracle in getting him but they still need a longer term option.
What a depressing thread.
Made me look up Redskins to learn like last in NFC East last 7oo8 years and lst 8oo11 years. Coach publically humiliated Q-back who deserved humiliation but not in public. Appears relationship is not one of bonding. Now looking at rookie Q-back, yeah that will work and great for current relationship. Even if you aren't a Q-back, must be fun place to work and play........
Would say it can't get any worse but appears Skins are giving 110% to the effort. Just hope they don't start videotaping the chant sessions.
Only good news is ACLU agrees: Skins name legal, but stupid. We got that going for us...........still.
So yeah, made me depressed.
mistergoogle Mike and Mike were talking about how the Cowboys would have the best offense in football if they get Peterson ... nothing about his alleged past transgressions.
That's football, if the league allows you to play, and you still can play at a top level, you're going to play and earn top dollar doing it. If Dallas wins a Super Bowl and AP is a big part of it, all will be joy in Jerry World.
All those years in the 80s and 90s when Washington was getting to Super Bowls and winning most of them, we all called them the Redskins and never thought twice about it ... actually, we called them The Hogs more often than we used the traditional name. I remember when the big guys were The Hogs and the little quick guys were The Smurfs. Those teams were fun to watch.
But, the world changes and sometimes we need to change along with it.
Oh, I think we thought it was an admirable, fierce and strong --- like a warrior. I mean who picks a team name to demean a minority. But now that we know, the time has come to pick a new name. Matter of fact, no better time to bury the team, I mean team name.
If I remember, two of the three Superbowl wins were in strike years with the legendary GM Bobby Beathard masterminding the pick up teams comprising of "the replacements." Beathard may have been gone on the second, but had put together most of the team.
Oh those were the days.
Have no fear, emaxxman... Jerr-ah replaced DeMarco Murray with Darren McFadden. They have the same initials; everything will be ok (-;
Yes, 82 and 87 were strike years.
There is a precedent for changing a team name in Washington. The Bullets of the NBA became the Wizards.
The explanation was that the name Bullets made people think of street crime, a sensitive topic in DC, a city with a high incidence of violent crime.
The Bullets name came from the franchise's Baltimore days and besides being alliterative, I've read that the name was meant to honor Baltimore's role during WWII as a major producer of munitions for the war effort.
I used to like the name of the Rangers' AHL team that played in Baltimore when I started following the sport they play on ice skates ... the Baltimore Clippers, with a nautical theme for the logo. That was great hockey, back when the NHL only had six teams.
OK, back to football ...
ian - LOL. I read an article that talked about how the McFadden acquisition was a good thing. They talked about how he has less wear due to his lower snap count. Uh...yeah..it's because he was constantly hurt and missed games!
I think McFadden is a safety net for the backup spot in case Joseph "No Need to Pay for My Underwear" Randall gets suspended or cut. They need to draft someone in the 2nd at a minimum. Lots of first day starters in this draft from my understanding.
Steelers sign DeAngelo Williams and restructure Big Ben's contract and sign him to a 5-year extension.
No Mention of Philly or the Giants.
http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/nfl/colts/2015/03/13/colts-new-favorites-to-win-super-bowl-50/70268582/
On paper, I think the Colts have improved but I don't see how they could be seen as better than Seattle or GB. Given that these odds were made after the recent free agency moves, I don't see how Dallas is a favorite either (given that they have no starting RB.)
Pre-draft, I don't see how you can go ranking these teams ... they're all still a work in progress.
Lots of veterans get traded on draft day, as teams try to move up in the picking order.
Oh please sign him!!!!
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2389474-tim-tebow-latest-news-rumors-and-speculation-surrounding-free-agent-qb?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=programming3
Updated article. Thank goodness they aren't signing him!
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12494694/tim-tebow-works-philadelphia-eagles
Dallas is rumored to be negotiating with Greg Hardy. Stud player but seemingly a terrible person.
Time to sign Ray Rice and AP and make it the all domestic violence team.
Winning will fix all. LOL.
Chris Borland announces retirement. Wow! Had to be a tough decision for sure.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/12496480/san-francisco-49ers-linebacker-chris-borland-retires-head-injury-concerns
If I were on the 49ers, I'd retire too... like a rat jumping from a sinking ship, lol
There will be at least 10 players with lots of potential, eager to replace him.
I'm concerned about the long-term health of NFL fans.
The Eagles are like nicotine, a noxious semi-hallucinogenic substance that gives great pleasure at certain points of time, but that will ultimately destroy you.
"...like nicotine, a noxious semi-hallucinogenic substance that gives great pleasure at certain points of time, but that will ultimately destroy you."
I think if you watch a team long enough, every team will take years off of your life. Seahawks and Patriots fans may have it good now but they suffered for a long time.
Oh yes, did they ever!
And, throwing baseball into it, for so many years New England had the "double curse" of the Patriots and Red Sox.
I covered the Eagles (just home games, didn't travel) for a few years for a South Jersey paper that no longer exists, and saw the team gradually improve from hideous to quite good ... raising the expectations of an already wild and crazy fan base.
Since then, they've been an impending tragedy, the last place I'd turn for any joy or solace. I guess only the Jets are worse (and can't forget the Browns and Lions).
I've been to a few Jets games ... those are some angry people at those games!
And they don't even have a stadium they can call their own, makes it that much worse.
They say the Jets, Nets, and Mets are "the hat trick of horrors."
I'll always remember the reaction I got from a "long suffering" Eagles' fan who I went to school with and have chattered with about sports for decades ... when I was celebrating the Ravens winning the Super Bowl.
He says, "Baltimore may have won the Super Bowl, but it doesn't change the city. It's still a dump."
Well, if it made him feel better to say that, OK.
"And, throwing baseball into it, for so many years New England had the "double curse" of the Patriots and Red Sox."
The Bruins also had 40-odd years of ineptitude from the early '70s to the 2010-11 season. The Celtics were single-handedly keeping the entire city of Boston from throwing themselves into the Charles during the '70s and '80s (-;
"They say the Jets, Nets, and Mets are "the hat trick of horrors.""
I don't cheer for any baseball or basketball teams. I think if I started, I would be a total bandwagon fan and pick the current dominant team. No need to expose myself to any more sports-related heartache.
I'm old enough to remember Bobby Orr ... what a player he was! He was GOD up in Boston.
Saw the Flyers beat the Bruins in the 74 finals. Suddenly Philadelphia was a hockey town and you saw kids playing street hockey wherever you went in South Jersey.
Now it is four decades later and the Flyers are in a long Cup drought (couldn't happen to a nicer franchise, he said dripping with sarcasm)
Back to football, the talk shows are treating the Borland retirement like it's the beginning of the end for the league ... where they play ... for pay.
Since we brought overall Boston sports bad luck into the thread, 1986 (the Bill Buckner play) was particularly bad, even for the Celtics.
Len Bias, at Maryland, was the best college hoops player I ever saw in person, and I saw Bird (in a game that Rutgers, yes, Rutgers won). The Celtics had the second pick in the draft and selected him. They were positive he could not miss ... all of Auerbach's trusted contacts said he was pure as the driven snow and just to be sure, they gave him a pre-draft physical and he passed a drug test.
I talked with Auerbach (sorry to drop names) a couple of months later when he was in NJ and he said he saw him as the bridge to the next Celtics dynasty.
Lenny probably never did drugs in his life, until the day he was drafted and he partied with his "friends" to celebrate becoming a Celtic. He collapsed and died of cocaine intoxication.
The Celtics didn't win another NBA championship for over 20 years.
Well, we haven't had an NBA thread here, so sorry if anyone considers this a digression and no negative comments please.
The Ravens are apparently having an identity crisis... from the sheer number of people getting arrested, it seems that they think they're the Bengals, lol.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12506361/bernard-pierce-baltimore-ravens-arrested-dui
A Temple guy.
Two of my best friends went to Temple. Lots of journalists in the small part of the world I've lived in, went to Temple. Next time we go to a game, I'm saying,...
I'M DRIVING.
Greg Hardy signed by Dallas to a one year deal. I have very mixed feelings about this. I was starting to respect what Garrett was doing by signing guys with decent character.
I won't criticize the move, emaxx, it would be hypocritical of me to do so as a Ravens fan.
A lot of people the Bible writes about did some unspeakably horrible things, but they turned their lives over to God and were redeemed.
OK, enough of the pious stuff.
RIP Concrete Charlie. One of, if not the best, Philadelphia Eagles ever.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12529781/chuck-bednarik-philadelphia-eagles-hall-famer-dies-age-89
The Eagles are likely to sign Miles Austin. Great, another player that has a history of injuries.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000482459/article/miles-austin-expected-to-sigh-with-philadelphia-eagles
Draft Day should be mighty interesting this year.
Heard a report that Cleveland has offered the Eagles their first pick for Sam Bradford.
Guess Johnny Football wasn't the answer.
First permanent female official to be hired by the NFL! You go girl!
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-football/25134056/report-nfl-to-hire-sarah-thomas-as-first-female-game-official
Troy Polamalu announces his retirement. Thanks for the memories, Troy... see you in Canton in five years.
He might just play on special teams.
Speaking of Heisman Trophy winners, here's a trivia question Ian may know.
Who were the four Phillipsburg High players who had a Heisman winner as a teammate in either college or pro ball?
Off the top of my head, I would say Jim Ringo (Paul Hornung-Green Bay Packers), Bob Stem (Ernie Davis-Syracuse) and Ned Bolcar (Tim Brown-Notre Dame). Those are the Pburg legends and are pretty easy. The fourth is not as easy. I would guess Jim Clymer, but I'm pretty sure that Elway didn't win the Heisman at Stanford. I have to admit I'm stumped, Andy.
I can't even stand it anymore. It's getting so close for that bonfire to actually happen.
Andy, was the last one Bill Walsh, who may have played with Leon Hart at Notre Dame the year before Hart won it in 1949? It was bugging me... so I cheated (-;
Ringo with Hornung, Stem with Davis, Bolcar with Brown and Walsh with Hart.
You got 'em, you know your Pburg football (-;
Calico, the Eagles have improved their defense and Chip Kelly has gone 10-6 twice with guys like Foles and Sanchez at quarterback. Don't give up on them yet.
It's not Kelly's fault the Eagles were not smart enough to draft Joe Flacco out of Delaware (he played high school and college ball right in their backyard).
Yep, it always comes back to Baltimore with me (-;
Somebody on ESPN, today, said the Eagles will make a trade with Tennessee and get Mariota. It was his prediction as he made his first round draft predictions. Does he have some sort of insider info?
Can't imagine somebody being dumb enough to do that and give the Eagles that pick, but I do remember the Cowboys, who were right up there every year in the 70s, managing to get Tony Dorsett.
The Cowboys traded the 24th pick, and three other picks, to Seattle to get him.
Small wonder the Seahawks went a long time without winning anything.
That one just blew me away. Nothing shocks me anymore.
2015 NFL schedule announced... Steelers open at New England on the opening Thursday.
The Giants got 4 out of the first 6 games in prime time. The NFL wants to sell the ODEL show.
Someone said that based on last year's records, the Steelers got the toughest schedule.
But in the NFL it usually isn't who you play, it is when you catch them, and how your own team is playing at the time.
NFC East will be a tight race again. You have to believe the Giants will be better and compete with Dallas and Philly for the division title. I can see the top 3 having a 9+ win season as the NFC East has a relatively easy schedule this year. I don't think Washington breaks 8 wins though.
It makes sense, Andy... the Steelers had two 10-game winners in their own division that they play twice, plus they play the Patriots and Colts because they won their division, and they play the AFC and NFC West divisions who only had two teams with losing records combined.
I don't imagine the Ravens and Bengals have it much easier. They play essentially the same schedule but trade the Patriots/Colts for the Dolphins/Chargers and Bills/Chiefs, respectively.
Last year, I don't think the Steelers played a game outside the eastern time zone. This year they have two trips to the west coast... San Diego and Seattle. Luckily, both are on extended rest... the Chargers game follows a Thursday night game versus the Ravens and the Seahawks game follows a bye.
With losing Le'Veon for the first three games, the question marks on defense - a new DC and the retirement of half the starting defensive backfield (which may actually turn out to be a benefit, because Troy and Ike were becoming liabilities back there) - and the brutal schedule, I think they'll be lucky to go 10-6 and get into the playoffs. What I like about the tough schedule is that the team becomes battle tested by the time the postseason rolls around. They might just make some noise.
Old Gent is absolutely right though... injuries are the great equalizer.
You never know about injuries and you never wish them on anybody, but they happen and you still have to finish your schedule.
RU Hope he gets into the Hall of Fame posthumously.
In this day and age of analytics and Fantasy Football, fans go crazy over numbers.
Kenny was simply a winner. His teammates knew, if they could keep the game close, he'd figure out a way to win it.
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