The Weird, Wacky and Awesome World of the NFL - General Banter thread V3

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118788808#Comment_118788808

No doubt the TV heads will have a few Giants/Washington games on SNF for the TV markets

https://twitter.com/NFL/status/1503775191603765251

CB: Marlon Humphrey

CB: Marcus Peters

S: Marcus Williams

S: Chuck Clark

Nawtee.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118788799#Comment_118788799

Absolutely love Jones since the day he was drafted (clip of him dunking at his weight sold me) and sad to see him go but that is a lot to pay a guy who has only been a 2 down player at his best and has a questionable run of injuries.

Nearly everyone is an overpay in FA so hoping he can continue to develop with more opportunity.

Xavi6

Looks like Baker Mayfield is on his way out of Cleveland, Indi is his preferred destination.

letowski

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118791868#Comment_118791868

I wouldn't mind the Colts signing Baker. Would probably be the best option out there for the franchise. I think the Colts right now are waiting for the Deshaun Watson domino to fall before the QB market opens up.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118792321#Comment_118792321

Sounds like the Watson domino is due to fall this week (possibly today), so we should have clarity on the rest of the process then.

Colts, Seahawks, Panthers, Saints are the ones I think are shopping in FA. (Lions, Giants, Texans, Steelers may take one in the draft but unlikely in FA). I'm don't buy the Falcons idea. If Baker goes to Colts then replace Colts on the list above with Browns.

Who we got left to fill those 4 spots, Deshaun obviously, then Jimmy G probably the next most desirable, after that it's a bit of a crapshoot, are Mariota or Dalton any upgrade on the incumbents at Seahawks, Panthers, Saints? Am I forgetting anybody?

49ers probably doing the right thing in waiting for Watson to move, then Jimmy G gets a price boost between the remaining 3 teams.

Shedite27

If I'm reading this right, this is bad for us European NFL fans right? From October next year, the early Sunday window will start at 7pm, late window at 10pm, and superbowl at 00:30

https://www.rte.ie/news/newslens/2022/0315/1286683-daylight-savings/

boccy23

I was wondering the same this morning. There has been a lot of talk here of ditching the hour in Autumn as well. Now we really need this!

ArmaniJeanss

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118792644#Comment_118792644

Is it not opposite, i.e., good news. If we move the clock back in October and they don't, then the gap between Dublin and Eastern Time will be 4 hours. So games that kick-off 1PM Eastern (most of them) will be 5pm kick-off Dublin.

It's basically akin to that week in November where kick-off is an hour earlier because we've moved the clock back the last Saturday of October but they've waited until the first Saturday of November. Except now it would be that situation for the remainder of the season.

edit : yeah I'm happy I'm correct and RTE have phrased it wrong. Rubio plan is to make the March to November situation permanent, and abandon the November-March change of an hour. So we will be 5 hours ahead up to October and just 4 hours ahead for the rest of the winter. Result.

Rubio’s Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent Passes Senate - Press Releases - U.S. Senator for Florida, Marco Rubio

eagle eye

Replacing Carson Wentz with Baker Mayfield is not an improvement, it's at best staying at the same level of QB.

The_Honeybadger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118793176#Comment_118793176

Nice, the later round of games will be wrapped up before 12 in that case . Ideal

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118791868#Comment_118791868

If Watson goes to the Browns I would expect that Mayfield would end up with the Texans (unless they go for a rare 3 way trade). He is an asset that Cleveland would be happy to get rid of instead of another one of their star players and from the Texans perspective he is attractive as they could have him for 2 years on his rookie deal to see if he can improve on what we've seen at the Browns.

If Watson goes elsewhere then the Browns are a bit stuck with the situation they've ended up in, probably their best bet to win now would be to go for Jimmy given how he has worked well in a similar scheme. The other guys in FA aren't better and would take time to adjust.

This morning the 49ers restructured a few contracts so they are under the cap to keep Jimmy on the roster to see how things play out. If Jimmy's team delayed his surgery to try to get him cut and select his new team it really blew up in their faces. Looks like if necessary the team will hold him right up to when salaries are guaranteed before cutting him. Jimmy was never the most attractive QB for a team to trade for but basically everything that could go wrong for them to trade for a decent return him has (his surgery, Brady return, Watson toxicity level reducing so some scummy team will trade for him, Wilson surprise trade, Wentz being able to be moved)

boccy23

Are the Browns not in a terrible position now. They have given Watson a huge upper hand for someone who a few weeks ago had no bargaining position. With Mayfield disenfranchised, they have to get a deal done with Watson or else the team could fall a part. Bad negotiating by them IMO.

eagle eye

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118793458#Comment_118793458

I don't think the Texans want a QB. I think they are happy to roll with Davis Mills who looked decent last year.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118793849#Comment_118793849

In addition to thos I think they have a lot of building to do before they are concerned about qb

Xavi6

Von Miller to the Bills for 6 years and $120 million, not bad for someone who's about to turn 33.

Itssoeasy

The browns have made a mess of the whole QB situation. They aren’t the favourites to land watson and by doing so publicly, they’ve made their franchise QB release a statement that despite what he says at the start means he’s pissed off and if as is very likely that Watson doesn’t go to Cleveland, do they think baker is just going to forget what has happened ? I will say that baker didn’t help himself by releasing a statement because yes he’s entitled to feel pissed off and could’ve said what he said in public but in private. It didn’t help is my point and it felt premature.

Also, why are the niners making moves to possibly keep jimmy G ? Surely it’s Trey Lance’s team now and jimmy G can move on and leave the stage open so to speak. I’d be pissed off if I was a niners fan if after nearly a year the QB they drafted in Lance isn’t ready to start.

The_Honeybadger

Very interesting situation in Cleveland with Mayfield. Make no mistake he has been completely undermined and must be fuming. The social media stunt was an attempt to take the high ground.

If they have to move on is there a market for Mayfield? He is guaranteed $18m, not sure who else would want him at that price tbh.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118796527#Comment_118796527

Hard to pinpoint what has been impacting the Jimmy deal given how tight the team are with leaks but little to nothing points to it being due to Lance not being ready for next season. If they weren't happy with him they wouldn't have been showing Jimmy the door in all discussions post season, they'd leave a tangible out that he'd be in discussions to be the starter (not just potentially be on the roster for leverage). They had to make moves to get under the cap number yesterday otherwise they would needed to cut him and then would at least initially get less cap savings and no draft capital. Much more likely reasons to be causing the delay would be:

• The QBs not retiring (Brady, Rodgers), coming available (Watson), and moving from teams that are unlikely trade partners (Wilson) cooled Jimmy's market
• Jimmy is one or multiple teams' back-up option so nothing will happen until the Watson decision
• 49ers are looking for too much for him and are refusing to budge and would rather hold on to him right up until contract become guaranteed in case there is a QB injury during the offseason
• Jimmy's late decision to get shoulder surgery has scared teams off or they want to wait until his shoulder is showing more progress in healing before trading
• 49ers have repeatedly said they wanted to 'do right by Jimmy' and may have refused to trade him to Washington - the team with probably the worst reputation in their building. Only two teams have traded for QBs at this stage
• Teams just don't like Jimmy as an option

One or more of those make much more sense to be delaying a deal than it being due to Lance. Like practically all 49ers fans, I want them to get some additional draft capital but balancing that feeling with loving them to get it done sooner rather than later so we use some of that ~$25m to make a few more FA moves to bolster the roster. Having gotten our corner I am not too upset with missing out on some of those big splashy signings, it is more the next week or so when you can get some low end starters/rotational pieces

Itssoeasy

Remember when we assumed that the Cleveland browns were turning a corner and would no longer be a dumpster fire of an organisation ? Well due to their Watson moves, baker mayfield has requested a trade, and the browns have refused to accommodate him. Never change Cleveland, never change.

letowski

Lol this is a bit of a mess

https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1504541691558211588?s=21

https://twitter.com/jake_trotter/status/1504543085077872643?s=21

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118799203#Comment_118799203

Unsurprisingly childishness from Baker. Plenty of QBs live under that kind of pressure and he melted down after a day of it - 49ers drafted a rookie a year after Jimmy led them to a Super Bowl appearance and Tua had the Watson stuff hang over him for a whole season and not a peep from either. If I was a potential team looking to trade for him I'd be worried about a QB that is so mentally brittle, alongside his other red flags

Christy42

Sounds like they are out of the running for Watson. Likely why they have refused the trade request so they are in trouble now.

Baker went with his message quickly but everyone was on about OBJ being the problem in Cleveland and a head case. He went on to be a key player in the Rams SB win.

The common theme is the Browns. They hit upon something decent for a bit seem to be returning to type.

Oat23

Adams traded to Da Raidahs

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1504601053790195714?t=XFvC6hTdbLpAz-CTr936DA&s=19

Xavi6

Just put all the AFC West games on prime time 😂

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118799347#Comment_118799347

I understand Baker comes off as a jerk but I don’t judge him too badly on this one. It was the Browns messed up making the Watson interest, should have kept that quiet but owners wanted some good PR with the fans.

Ohmeha

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118800165#Comment_118800165

That division is going to be a brilliant bloodbath, 4 teams stacked who cannot fail, can't wait to see these games

eagle eye

I'm not a huge fan of Deshsun Watson. He clearly has talent but he makes too many bad decisions I think.

I'd rather take a chance on Kenny Pickett or Matt Corral in the draft tbh.

When you know the first four teams aren't in the market for a QB you might get a fair price to move up.

I think Pickett will be very good in the NFL. I'm not so sure about Corral but I'd liken him to Watson coming out of college. Corral had 3349 yards at a 66.7% clip with 20 TDs and 5 ints and then 614 rushing yards with 11 rushing TDs. Watson obviously had a lot more passing yards on a much stronger team but had a similar completion percentage and similar rushing yardage.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118800690#Comment_118800690

Disagree - no way serious interest in Watson is staying quiet right now, even if the Browns didn't leak it is incredibly likely Texans or Watson's camp would let it slip out (or some reporter or fan watch where the team/owner's private jet was going and connect the dots).

I completely understand where Baker is coming from but he hasn't earned the right for the Browns to not be looking for a potential upgrade on him. His reaction only reemphasizes the immaturity he has shown previously and probably vindicated the Browns' original decision to check out other options. He could have proved them wrong in his reaction but he just told them they were right.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118802236#Comment_118802236

Loos like Deshaun Watson to the Browns is back on.

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803296#Comment_118803296

Huge new guaranteed deal for him too. Browns always seemed to be an organization that was desperate enough to win to climb into the gutter and they just proved it with this trade and giving Watson more money.

From a sporting perspective, glad he ended up in the AFC and not to one of the NFC teams - which just keeps adding on more quality.

Itssoeasy

https://twitter.com/adamschefter/status/1504911016139841538?s=21

So he’s guaranteed every single dollar. Jesus just when you think the browns are out they got back in the game. Now comes the PR spin from the browns to try and keep fans and sponsors on board given that while Deshaun Watson won’t be found criminal liable, he may be civilly liable.

paulie21

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1504912778938695688?t=eaeBuSp34iqdCjdcXTdFwA&s=19

Itssoeasy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803401#Comment_118803401

Utter insanity.

Jolly Red Giant

The Browns have been promoting their image as ‘inclusive’ and promoters of civil rights and women’s rights - then they go and throw hundreds of millions at someone who has all the hallmarks of a sexual predator.

I feel sorry for Browns fans that their team is run by such a dysfunctional organisation.

Jolly Red Giant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118800144#Comment_118800144

Typical McDisaster - wasting two premium picks on a WR.

Things are going to go **** up for the Raiders

Is there a more entertaining team in sport than the Browns?

Foxtrol

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803716#Comment_118803716

They've even designed the contract so Watson loses the minimum possible money if he gets suspended next season. The whole thing gets worse the closer you look at it. Also disgusting how the big media companies with NFL rights are glossing over it, it is mostly those connected to other organizations that are highlighting how bad it it.

dakar

I posted in the ‘why do you support a crap team’ thread a while ago that I bought into the Browns as an underdog and l liked Baker especially after the ‘I feel dangerous’ interview.

I enjoyed the rollercoaster. I mean Baker had sass and potential in about equal measure, and brought the Browns to a a first playoff win (against the frickin Steelers, in Heinz frickin Field), but really he wasn’t that amazing. Odell’s Da’s video was pretty damning.

Which brings us to an analytics driven front office doing analytics and figuring out that the sh*t storm of hiring Watson is worth it.

I’m personally not that emotionally invested in the Browns, but I feel the pain of those that are. Time to go back to being a team agnostic, I think.

Oat23

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118803816#Comment_118803816

To be fair, Skip Bayless on Fox has been regularly calling it what it is. Sadly he's the only one not brushing off dozens of sexual assult lawsuits as "off the field issues".

There are several teams here who look like complete c**ts. The Falcons alienated a legend to court a sexual predator and the Saints, one of the few franchises owned by a woman, were also clamouring for him to join. It's disgraceful how this scumbag has been treated similarly to Lebron when he was leaving the Cavs.

I wish Watson and the Browns nothing but pain and misery.

Shedite27

Yeah I threw on NFL network for a half hour last night to hear the reaction, not one mention of the allegations.

I suspect this will follow like the Big Ben allegations or Ray Lewis double murder plea deal, it’ll get plenty of airtime on Twitter, and not one mention on TV if Watson is winning Super Bowl MVP in two years time

el Fenomeno

I thought he had ruled out the Browns earlier in the week.

Looks like Cleveland wouldn't take no for an answer. Disturbingly appropriate for all involved.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118805673#Comment_118805673

He did, then they were adamant they wanted their QB and made a higher bid. Not sure how to take it really, the optimist in me thinks Watson sees it as a sign of how much they liked him and what a great gesture. The pessimist in me sees him as a money-grabbing c*.

to be fair, they’re a team setup to win. So it makes sense for footballing reasons anyway. It’s not like he’s taking millions to go play in Qatar

VillaMad

Been a Browns fan for a number of years who has followed them through the 1-31 run and then the Baker Mayfield adventure and it has been a very up and down time but ultimately a fun ride albeit that the end of the Baker Mayfield era was nigh.

The past week has been interesting to say the least and I wasn't surprised that the Browns were interested in Watson as it was quite clear at the end of the last season, they wouldn't be moving forward with Mayfield. When it was reported that the Browns were out on Watson, truthfully I was relieved as I found the whole thing very troubling with Watson.

Last night's shocking twist, honestly made me quite sad. By giving a guy who has a gigantic heap of sexual misconduct cases against him an even bigger contract despite not having even played in 2 years was wrong on so many levels. It feels in some ways like making a deal with the devil to try to win a Super Bowl. The best case scenario for the Browns of course like any team is a Super Bowl, but the thoughts of him holding the Lombardi Trophy on a Browns open top bus through Cleveland makes me feel a bit sick at the moment. Maybe with time, and who knows what will happen in the future that that feeling may change, but at the moment, I'm just really disappointed in the Browns.

Good to see the adverse reaction. In football, so many fans seem to go with the patent nonsense of "Casilla/Suarez/Terry was not charged/convicted, so this means the incident did not happen"

eagle eye

That suggests there's not many that want him.

Whether that's because they're afraid of fan reaction or just not that impressed with his body of work is the question.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

As is the case with a lot of these things, unless something happens in the immediate aftermath of the incident - when the outrage is at its most intense - it's unlikely the Browns will face any major repercussions. I don't really know what the repercussions would be, but I'd imagine a significant portion of their season-ticket holders would want to be doing something - and I haven't heard anything on that front.

It's as egregious a signing as the Tyreek Hill one (if not for different reasons), but sure like most things in the NFL, if it didn't happen on camera, it may as well not have happened.

Shedite27

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118804078#Comment_118804078

Yeah Browns were one of the teams that most fans would ahve liked to see have their Benglas-style rags to riches story at some point. This will definitely take someof the charm for neutrals off it.

And for whatever outrage we feel about Browns going through with this, dont forget Falcons, Panthers and Saints were also hoping to sign him. The outrage at Browns actions should extend to those teams

Itssoeasy

interesting that the HOF speeches will be moved back to during the day from this year.

Christy42

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118809365#Comment_118809365

??? Watson had his pick of several teams. The Browns just offered him everything he wanted, even protection against a possible suspension (his base salary next season is 1 million, so any any suspended games will come out of that) which seems to be why he changed his mind. Possibly they felt pushed to up their offer when Mayfield was asking for a trade. Given the haul of picks the Browns gave for Watson I imagine that the other teams were offering similar as they each got the Texans go ahead before it came down to which team to go with. I would wonder how many more teams were interested in Watson for a slightly cheaper price in terms of picks as well.

Honestly the market seems like it was pretty healthy for Watson, unfortunately so. Many fans will forget about it unfortunately and the NFL will go on. It would be brilliant to see half empty stadiums for the Browns next season but I doubt it.