SydLexia.com - The Forums :: View topic - (Extremely) Early NFL 2012

Posted: Mar 21 2012 03:57 pm

I know, draft day hasn't even hit yet but A LOT of moves have been made so far. Let's recap:

Probably the two most talked about trades have been Peyton Manning to Denver and Tim Tebow to the NYJ. Reports say Manning still has a little rust to knock off (neck injuries will do that) and now it's Sanchez and Tebow fighting for the 1st string spot. Personally I don't believe Manning will provide the Broncos with anything that'll put them over the top, because most of Denver's success was in Tebow's erratic playmaking.

Don't get me wrong, I still don't think Tebow is a great QB. I would go so far as to say he doesn't quite have what it takes to beat Sanchez out either.. but he does add the running game that may give Sanchez competition.

A lesser discussed trade, but still very important is Mario Williams from Houston to Buffalo. That move looks a little more dire for both teams, as Buffalo seemed to be a threat not too long ago, and Houston also lost a MLB to Philadelphia in Ryans. According to a couple of the Texans players, Ryans was pretty integral in their success, he was the heart of their defense. Texans look to be headed south (possibly rebuilding, yet again) while Buffalo and Philly look to be on the rise.

Patriots have been luring DT Laws from Philadelphia. The guy doesn't have much playing time, but I can tell you he's solid every game I've seen him in. He definitely wouldn't be a bad acquisition, but he's untested as far as an entire schedule goes. He plays hard and rarely makes mistakes. It'd be a good deal for them.

Niners signed Alex Smith for three more years. People say a lot about the guy, but honestly he's a good QB. He has the stats and has proven he can hang in with the big boys. They could be scary (scarier) this year.

Bengals picked up Green-Ellis from the Pats. They need a lot more than a RB to fix their issues, but it's as good a place to start as any. Haven't really paid attention to NE's cap or how close they are, but they may need to do some rebuilding of their backfield soon..

RGIII is pretty much guaranteed to go to the Redskins. I feel bad for the guy, but I won't when the season starts. He'll learn quickly what the NFC BEast is about. Indy said from the get-go that they want Luck. Both teams desperately need a new QB, but they also need a lot more to become contenders. Indy also let go a lot of their offense so as they get picked up I'll update more, I guess. Redskins have been a disaster for many years.

Not getting into the political aspect of the Saints and bounties, Drew Brees is unhappy with a franchise tag. Let's put it this way: Yes, he's top 5. Yes, he deserves money. No, publicly displaying your anger over it is not the way to get paid. With everything going on, he may be looking for a new team very soon.

If I find more stuff to add, I will. If you have stuff you want to add, feel free. This has been a very busy offseason for a lot of teams, and I don't expect it to slow down anytime soon. I'm sure I missed a couple of big moves by big teams, add 'em if you got 'em!

Posted: Mar 21 2012 04:50 pm

I think the Broncos might have a shot at a playoff berth if Manning can get back to being pretty much healthy, I doubt he'll ever fully recover from those surgeries though. They were lucky to get to the playoffs with Tebow and probably wouldn't have repeated that success this year because the others teams would be more prepared for him.

Sanchez may not be that great but I don't really see Tebow getting the starting spot over him unless the Jets want to change their whole offense this offseason. He'll most likely come in on option and trick plays while serving as backup if Sanchez gets hurt. Then again the Jets have a majorly dysfunctional locker room right now so anything could happen.

The Saints just got their head coach suspended for a year so they are going to be hurting from that most likely. Still they are a heck of a team and are entirely capable of getting to the playoffs anyway.

I'm pretty happy that the Bucs actually did some work this free agency period, grabbing Vincent Jackson and the Saints' guard Nicks. Think they snagged a CB too which will really help if Ronde Barber decides to retire, plus they are expected to grab Morris Claiborne in the draft if he falls to them at number 5 so the shaky situation at CB (thanks to Aqib Talib's legal problems) is looking much improved. Hopefully they'll play like they did in 2010 instead of like they did last year. With a new coaching staff and actually being active in free agency they might actually do something this year. The NFC South is going to be even tougher to win in this year now that Carolina is actually getting good with Cam Newton at the helm.

Posted: Mar 21 2012 04:57 pm

Thanks man, I'm always a little slow with the NFC South. Great insight and the Bucs looked really good early on last season. I wouldn't be surprised if they went to the playoffs, even with Atlanta and NO in the division.

Edit: Ronde Barber is a damn relic. He punished the Eagles so many times, but definitely losing a step here and there. I hope whoever replaces him is half as smart/quick, at least.

Posted: Mar 21 2012 05:07 pm

Yeah Ronde is all that is left from the Super Bowl team I believe. Still one hell of a defender though because there is nothing he hasn't seen a million times. He's definitely slowed down though and seems to play run defense a lot more often and sticks to covering the slower receivers and letting the younger guys get the explosive ones.

Edit: They just announced on the Bucs Facebook page that Ronde will be back for his 16th season. Guy just isn't ready to quit yet. Probably didn't want that dreadful season last year, where he was pretty much the only one playing, to be his last.

Title: The Self-Titler Joined: Aug 14 2010 Posts: 598

There is no question Tebow will be the wildcat guy, come on. I kind of hoped the trade would fall through so the Rams could get in on it. Worst red zone offense last year, and guess where Tebow might come in handy?

By the way, the Rams lost their D coordinator to this Saints nonsense. Jeff Fisher doesn't give a fuck: "We're moving on. We have to win games."

Posted: Mar 22 2012 12:07 pm

Hmm.. I think the Rams need more than just a red zone QB. I think Bradford's pretty damn good, not quite top tier but definitely in the upper 16. Fisher has the right approach but I don't exactly see him doing much more than he did in Tennessee Razz

Bears picked up RB Bush from Oakland. With Forte and Bell already on deck, could we see another 3 headed monster, this time in Chicago? All I know is I'm glad the Eagles don't play them again for about the 4th season in a row.

Posted: Mar 22 2012 12:44 pm

Sarge wrote:

By the way, the Rams lost their D coordinator to this Saints nonsense. Jeff Fisher doesn't give a fuck: "We're moving on. We have to win games."

True, but at least he didn't get to be there a whole year and start up a similar system. Could have been worse. I haven't seen much out of the Rams so far this year, or at least my Dad hasn't said much about them. Other than that extremely expensive draft pick trade they did with the Redskins that is, they better hope that RGIII is worth all the crap they gave the Rams for him.

Posted: Mar 23 2012 03:04 pm

Scratch what I said about the Bears, Marion Barber is retiring.

Title: Alexz Aficionado Joined: May 21 2008 Posts: 2889

I'll get it out in the open. Sean Peyton suspended.

Tebow with... the Jets?

Peyton Manning with the Broncos.

Andrew Luck with the Colts.

Where was Robert Griffin III going? Question

Posted: Mar 24 2012 02:50 am

Ghandi wrote:

Where was Robert Griffin III going? Question

Redskins. They traded the Rams to get the draft pick to get him. Spent way too much on a guy who may not cut it in the NFL in my opinion. Without him they have Grossman though, so they are desperate for a QB.

Title: The Self-Titler Joined: Aug 14 2010 Posts: 598

Rams take.... Matt Kalil with the 6th pick. I can dream. Really they'll pick up whoever is left after Blackmon, Richardson, and Claiborne. Probably Blackmon. Who's your team and who they gonna pick? Get predictions in now if you wanna feel like a badass when you're right.

Posted: Apr 26 2012 03:08 pm

It is going to come down to Richardson or Claiborne for the Bucs. I'm hoping for Claiborne, because Richardson isn't absolutely needed like shoring up a shaky secondary is. Plus the Browns are going to take Richardson anyway unless the Bucs trade up. With the cheap ass GM they have it will never happen though so that's probably a good thing for once.

Posted: Apr 26 2012 03:20 pm

Sorry, I can't hear any of you over how awesome the Cowboys are, and how much Romo won't be fucking us over by choking in a clutch (again) this year! Razz

Posted: Apr 26 2012 03:25 pm

So they are trading Romo then? Razz

2011 SNES Champ Joined: Dec 04 2006 Posts: 1929

SoldierHawk wrote:

Sorry, I can't hear any of you over how awesome the Cowboys are, and how much Romo won't be fucking us over by choking in a clutch (again) this year! Razz

I hope the Cowboys do well too, it's so much more satisfying when they eventually get eliminated then Very Happy

Posted: Apr 26 2012 04:09 pm

SoldierHawk wrote:

Sorry, I can't hear any of you over how awesome the Cowboys are, and how much Romo won't be fucking us over by choking in a clutch (again) this year! Razz

3rd place, NFC East. LOL

Posted: Apr 26 2012 09:01 pm

Wow you are all wrong. It's only pick 10 but I'm hoping the Texans can get Hill or McNutt.

Posted: Apr 26 2012 09:10 pm

Yeah it is a crazy draft. Tons of trades in the first round but I'm pretty happy with Barron. Certainly a better pick than getting Richardson would have been for the Bucs. They'll pick up a CB or a LB in the second most likely.

Posted: Apr 26 2012 09:11 pm

Douche McCallister wrote:

Wow you are all wrong. It's only pick 10 but I'm hoping the Texans can get Hill or McNutt.

Texans lost a ton of people on defense. They're rebuilding this season.

Title: The Self-Titler Joined: Aug 14 2010 Posts: 598

So many trades... goddammit. The Rams have first pick of 2nd round, and two others in 2nd round. Here's hoping for Alshon Jeffery, along with a decent G and OLB.

Posted: Apr 26 2012 11:19 pm

Sarge wrote:

So many trades... goddammit. The Rams have first pick of 2nd round, and two others in 2nd round. Here's hoping for Alshon Jeffery, along with a decent G and OLB.

Yeah not sure what they were doing with the trade to the Cowboys there. I kind of figured with how many holes they have to fill they'd have taken at least Floyd there to get someone who will make a difference right away and give Bradford someone to throw to. I guess they thought having a ton of later picks would help them get more players to fill all the holes but that trade seemed to be a big mistake, in my opinion.

Posted: May 05 2012 09:04 am

justdrop wrote:

Douche McCallister wrote:

Wow you are all wrong. It's only pick 10 but I'm hoping the Texans can get Hill or McNutt.

Texans lost a ton of people on defense. They're rebuilding this season.

We lost DeMeco Ryans and Mario Williams, Williams was injured pretty much the whole year, and Ryans didn't even play half the snaps. Apparently they don't think there was much difference between Hill and Posey. Oh well, still excited for September...

Posted: May 17 2012 04:25 am

Can't wait to see RGIII this summer!

Posted: Aug 09 2012 09:05 pm

Watched the first series with Manning in the Broncos-Bears preseason game. Every pass he threw looked wobbly, like he had no power behind them. Maybe he is just taking it easy in preseason but it still makes you wonder if he is going to be able to clean that up before the actual season starts.