2016-2017 NFL Thread

[Dick Allen]

Pace said Alshon did a good job taking care of his body this year. Yeah, he had 4 weeks rest.

And they also said injuries weren't an excuse, then mentioned injuries 19 times. These things are a team produced scripted sound bite. Make sure you take the blame, then lay it off a bit.

 

If you look at the transcript from last year, the quotes are virually the same. In training camp, Pace said he expected to compete.

Edited January 5, 2017 by Dick Allen

[bmags]

I don't see any reason to go after Taylor. We know what he is. I'm all for Romo and letting him bridge the gap. If you think Josh Allen or someone else that you can get in a later round is the guy, but needs time, you can bridge things that way. I'd rather have Hoyer then Taylor, to be honest. But you can't ignore QB, it is just such an important position. I suppose I could see some logic for Taylor, but I figure he's going to get too much guaranteed money.

 

My push for Taylor is if you want to be competitive next year you can be competitive with a Taylor and not lose financial flexibility. You aren't signing a brock osweiler to market prices in other words.

 

I"m not saying drafting a qb is bad, I'm saying that just because we have the 3rd overall pick we don't need to draft a bad qb. What if the QBs go 1-2, should we draft the 3rd best QB on board just because?

[Kyyle23]

To me, the press conference is irrelevant. If they come out and hang their heads and dont say much, they are crucified. If they come out and beat their chests and say they expect to win and compete, they are crucified. if they come out and talk openly about their deficiencies and what they expect to do, they are crucified. The only thing they didnt do is hang their heads and refuse to talk. THey talked about addressing needs openly, DB, QB, health, skill players, it was all addressed.

 

The only thing that will make these end of season press conferences palatable is winning. There isnt much to say anymore, we all know the drill. We are heading to year three(year 5, post Lovie), this is a big year for the front office and coaching staff.

[bmags]

To me, the press conference is irrelevant. If they come out and hang their heads and dont say much, they are crucified. If they come out and beat their chests and say they expect to win and compete, they are crucified. if they come out and talk openly about their deficiencies and what they expect to do, they are crucified. The only thing they didnt do is hang their heads and refuse to talk. THey talked about addressing needs openly, DB, QB, health, skill players, it was all addressed.

 

The only thing that will make these end of season press conferences palatable is winning. There isnt much to say anymore, we all know the drill. We are heading to year three(year 5, post Lovie), this is a big year for the front office and coaching staff.

 

I agree but I do feel need to say I find their obfuscating on injury reports infuriating as a fan and I hope it stops. They've gained no competitive advantage, but have made it look like they don't have a good medical staff.

[Kyyle23]

I agree but I do feel need to say I find their obfuscating on injury reports infuriating as a fan and I hope it stops. They've gained no competitive advantage, but have made it look like they don't have a good medical staff.

 

come on man, this is the NFL. they all do that s***

[bmags]

come on man, this is the NFL. they all do that s***

 

No, that is clearly what Fox thinks, but local media, national media, fans, their handling of so many injury situations has been bulls***.

[Chisoxfn]

To me, the press conference is irrelevant. If they come out and hang their heads and dont say much, they are crucified. If they come out and beat their chests and say they expect to win and compete, they are crucified. if they come out and talk openly about their deficiencies and what they expect to do, they are crucified. The only thing they didnt do is hang their heads and refuse to talk. THey talked about addressing needs openly, DB, QB, health, skill players, it was all addressed.

 

The only thing that will make these end of season press conferences palatable is winning. There isnt much to say anymore, we all know the drill. We are heading to year three(year 5, post Lovie), this is a big year for the front office and coaching staff.

I thought McCaskey's press conference was the best. He basically said, Fox & Pace are 100% on the same page and aligned and that while he doesn't want to be patient, Pace had told him from the get go he needed him to be patient and trust the process. I haven't seen any reason to stop. Think about what would have happened with the Raiders if they didn't trust the process with Reggie McKenzie (or whatever their GM's name is). Early on, the Raiders still looked like the Raiders, but they stayed with the course and despite Carr's injury, look like they are just scratching the surface of their potential.

[Chisoxfn]

come on man, this is the NFL. they all do that s***

Just look at the Pats.

[Chisoxfn]

No, that is clearly what Fox thinks, but local media, national media, fans, their handling of so many injury situations has been bulls***.

Correction, the media doesn't like it, so they make a big deal of it and it gets picked up by the fans. National media doesn't really play it up much at all, but local media hasn't liked Fox from day one because they didn't get the "access" they were used to so they always gripe and complain and thus the fans hear it enough they think it is a big deal. In reality, it means nothing, just another thing for the media to whine about (which has no real impact on the actual club performance).

[Chisoxfn]

My push for Taylor is if you want to be competitive next year you can be competitive with a Taylor and not lose financial flexibility. You aren't signing a brock osweiler to market prices in other words.

 

I"m not saying drafting a qb is bad, I'm saying that just because we have the 3rd overall pick we don't need to draft a bad qb. What if the QBs go 1-2, should we draft the 3rd best QB on board just because?

I guess I don't see how Hoyer is much different (and at least he has a year in the system and is probably more willing to work to groom another player then someone like Taylor).

[bmags]

Just look at the Pats.

 

Yeah, well you can get away with it when you win 4 super bowls, you can't when you say a player with a broken leg is day to day, and multiple players found to be out for season are day to day. It is stupid, they gain nothing, and it hurts the fan experience not even knowing who is going to play. this isn't putting 20 players on questionable when you know all will play, it's putting players on questionable when they are all out for season.

[Dick Allen]

John Fox has never been a media darling, and Pace was unavailable to the media all season except for the team orchestrated interview with Jeff Joniak the last day of the season.

 

Either loosen Fox up, and tell him to be at least a little more straight with the media, or have Pace available. The media didn't like Lovie either because they thought they were being talked down to. It is understandable. Most people want to be treated with at least a little respect. The media has a job to do. Even if they are a pain, without it, there probably are a few less zeroes on their bank account balances.

[southsider2k5]

come on man, this is the NFL. they all do that s***

 

There is literally no incentive for teams to tell the truth, and there is no penalty to not.

[Balta1701]

I guess I don't see how Hoyer is much different (and at least he has a year in the system and is probably more willing to work to groom another player then someone like Taylor).

Hoyer's numbers this year are better than I remembered, but you can't be surprised if a QB who is turning 32 next year gets hurt during the year compared to 27 year old Tyrod Taylor, so basically what is your goal next year - to add a QB to win games or to mentor someone else?

 

You also mentioned Romo a post or two ago, which makes me think your goal next year is to win games, not to get better for 2018.

[Chisoxfn]

Hoyer's numbers this year are better than I remembered, but you can't be surprised if a QB who is turning 32 next year gets hurt during the year compared to 27 year old Tyrod Taylor, so basically what is your goal next year - to add a QB to win games or to mentor someone else?

 

You also mentioned Romo a post or two ago, which makes me think your goal next year is to win games, not to get better for 2018.

I think there are a couple directions you go. I think if your goal is to win games, you go with Romo and spend a ton on defensive free agents (probably targeting Eric Berry plus another FA corner) and then wait on QB (drafting someone in the 2nd or 3rd round...say a Josh Allen or the Texas QB or even a Watson if he falls). Part of the Romo situation probably is more tied to the fact that you don't see any QB's worth taking in the 1st round / being difference makers (and don't believe in Jimmy G / AJ McCarron). I think Romo is still a well above average QB (if you can protect him) and he can give you 2 years time to find someone else.

 

If you think Kizer or one of the picks is the guy, then I think Hoyer makes a lot more sense as a bridge (probably doesn't change your free agent plans a ton, as I still think the Bears probably look at an Eric Berry / CB signing as those are major needs regardless) as you can still compete (in the sense that you don't want things to be a dumpster fire, especially if your defense comes around faster...although likelihood of it being totally dominant is less because you are no longer using the #3 pick on a guy you hope would be a high impact defender right away) before giving at least half a season to your young QB with a bigger eye on the following year (and most realistically, you are probably two years away if you got it right with your QB, because the reality is, it still takes time for the young QB, if he is the guy, to pan out).

 

I presume we will end up taking a QB @ 3 overall and spend our FA money on DB's (potentially using our 2nd round pick on a DB as well or a tackle). To me, whether you go after Romo, hinges on how much you like the QB's that are available (long-term). If you think a guy in the pack is a franchise QB, you need to take them. If you don't, then I think Romo buys you time to do other things (better then say a Tyrod Taylor). Hoyer seems like the perfect groom guy.

[Y2Jimmy0]

I think there are a couple directions you go. I think if your goal is to win games, you go with Romo and spend a ton on defensive free agents (probably targeting Eric Berry plus another FA corner) and then wait on QB (drafting someone in the 2nd or 3rd round...say a Josh Allen or the Texas QB or even a Watson if he falls). Part of the Romo situation probably is more tied to the fact that you don't see any QB's worth taking in the 1st round / being difference makers (and don't believe in Jimmy G / AJ McCarron). I think Romo is still a well above average QB (if you can protect him) and he can give you 2 years time to find someone else.

 

If you think Kizer or one of the picks is the guy, then I think Hoyer makes a lot more sense as a bridge (probably doesn't change your free agent plans a ton, as I still think the Bears probably look at an Eric Berry / CB signing as those are major needs regardless) as you can still compete (in the sense that you don't want things to be a dumpster fire, especially if your defense comes around faster...although likelihood of it being totally dominant is less because you are no longer using the #3 pick on a guy you hope would be a high impact defender right away) before giving at least half a season to your young QB with a bigger eye on the following year (and most realistically, you are probably two years away if you got it right with your QB, because the reality is, it still takes time for the young QB, if he is the guy, to pan out).

 

I presume we will end up taking a QB @ 3 overall and spend our FA money on DB's (potentially using our 2nd round pick on a DB as well or a tackle). To me, whether you go after Romo, hinges on how much you like the QB's that are available (long-term). If you think a guy in the pack is a franchise QB, you need to take them. If you don't, then I think Romo buys you time to do other things (better then say a Tyrod Taylor). Hoyer seems like the perfect groom guy.

 

 

I agree with this. I'm in the minority on this board but I'd absolutely take DeShone Kizer at 3. His Texas game was better than any QB in this class. He has obvious flaws but he has a big time arm, ran pro style stuff, makes ridiculous throws, stands in the pocket, can move around, and is said to be incredibly intelligent and will impress in workouts and on the whiteboard. His games against Texas and Virginia this year were great. I watched his game against Clemson from 2015 and there were a ton of dropped balls. He would be my guy.

[Dick Allen]

If he's in the game, of the draft picks and available QBs, Romo is probably the best bet to get the offense humming next year, but also the worst bet to be able to answer the bell a reasonable amount of times.

[Kyyle23]

Yeah, well you can get away with it when you win 4 super bowls, you can't when you say a player with a broken leg is day to day, and multiple players found to be out for season are day to day. It is stupid, they gain nothing, and it hurts the fan experience not even knowing who is going to play. this isn't putting 20 players on questionable when you know all will play, it's putting players on questionable when they are all out for season.

 

So, when your team is good, you are ok with the coach speak bulls***. But when your team sucks, its not ok because you should be totally truthful? So when your team stops sucking(hopefully), then all the sudden you start coach speak and stop telling the truth?

 

 

 

it sucks, its all a shell game and when it is obvious what is under the shell you want to smack them, but it is what it is. They all do it. It doesnt hurt the fan experience, it hurts the gambling experience. To that, i give zero f***s.

[bmags]

If we do it well we could be in the same shape as the cards with their Palmer resurgence while we find a new QB.

 

I probably watched less college football than any year of my life. So I can't claim to have a strong opinion, maybe I'll learn more, but it was just my impression there was not a can't miss prospect this year but it was deep. So that's why I've been fine with a stopgap qb plus a later round vs going after Jimmy G.

[Chisoxfn]

I agree with this. I'm in the minority on this board but I'd absolutely take DeShone Kizer at 3. His Texas game was better than any QB in this class. He has obvious flaws but he has a big time arm, ran pro style stuff, makes ridiculous throws, stands in the pocket, can move around, and is said to be incredibly intelligent and will impress in workouts and on the whiteboard. His games against Texas and Virginia this year were great. I watched his game against Clemson from 2015 and there were a ton of dropped balls. He would be my guy.

I agree with you, at his best Kizer, had moments where he looked like a #1 overall pick / franchise player. The thing is, I still don't see the Niners & Browns passing on a franchise QB, so if Kizer does all those things, I don't know if we will get our shot at him. Trubinsky is next on my list, but there are a lot more suspect things about him vs. Kizer, imo. I think Kizer is a safer pick. None of them are the safe pick, but outside of the every 4 or 5 year generational QB that is there, none of them are ever "that" safe. All I know is, last year it was a weak class and then next thing we know, there is a flurry of activity and Wentz/Goff go 1/2. I presume we'll see that happen this year, question is which QB's make the big move.

 

I wonder if Josh Allen is going to go pro?

[Chisoxfn]

If we do it well we could be in the same shape as the cards with their Palmer resurgence while we find a new QB.

 

I probably watched less college football than any year of my life. So I can't claim to have a strong opinion, maybe I'll learn more, but it was just my impression there was not a can't miss prospect this year but it was deep. So that's why I've been fine with a stopgap qb plus a later round vs going after Jimmy G.

One thing to remember is, Palmer was the #1 overall pick in the draft, so it isn't like he didn't have a lot of talent. He has always been turnover prone though, but the Cardinals certainly benefited from having an elite defense (for a while).

[bmags]

One thing to remember is, Palmer was the #1 overall pick in the draft, so it isn't like he didn't have a lot of talent. He has always been turnover prone though, but the Cardinals certainly benefited from having an elite defense (for a while).

 

They had an elite offense with him for the second half of 14 and all of 2015. Hell, you could even go back to Warner. Cards have had a few good rolls of the dice with end of career QBs providing suddenly competitive windows.

[shipps]

They had an elite offense with him for the second half of 14 and all of 2015. Hell, you could even go back to Warner. Cards have had a few good rolls of the dice with end of career QBs providing suddenly competitive windows.

 

Which is why Romo coming to the Bears makes a ton of sense for them. Not that I think they can emulate the Cards but I think they believe they can.

[Chisoxfn]

They had an elite offense with him for the second half of 14 and all of 2015. Hell, you could even go back to Warner. Cards have had a few good rolls of the dice with end of career QBs providing suddenly competitive windows.

I view the whole Warner thing, somewhat akin to the attempt of Romo (or also the Bronco's attempt at Peyton Manning). Not saying Romo is as good as either of them, but you are still talking about a guy that is a probowl QB when healthy.

[bmags]

Which is why Romo coming to the Bears makes a ton of sense for them. Not that I think they can emulate the Cards but I think they believe they can.

 

Competition for Romo could be steep. Would definitely be a Houston/Denver bidding for his services as well, and I'm sure Romo would rather go to a competitive team.