NFL 2009 Off Season Thread
 

Yeah, let's get this baby started.

So what's in the news...

Patriots put the franchise tag on Matt Cassel, so they must not be confident Brady will be ready for the start of the season. I highly doubt anyone will be willing to give up two 1st rounders to sign Cassel so this boy is going to get paaaaaaaaaaaaaaid. Probably around $15 million

If the Patriots do sign Cassel under the franchise tag rule, he would make more than Brady next season.

Colts should get Haynesworth for shits and giggles

The Ravens could potentially be in trouble. Ray Lewis, Terrell Suggs, and Bart Scott are all unrestricted free agents.

Also the Giants have both Jacobs and Ward as unrestricted free agents. Jacobs has been very vocal about returning and Ward will most likely get a ton of money elsewhere to start.

I wish they could both stay but Ward will probably leave. I really don't think he can carry the load by himself though. The Giants have Bradshaw waiting in the wings for a more active role so they will probably go with that.

Marshawn Lynch arrested for possession of a concealed weapon.

Probably fucked himself now after that hit and run.

Motherfucking Marshawn Lynch. What The Fuck.

Latest word is that Lynch's gun was legal and registered, and in the Trunk of the car.

My thought is that the gun was loaded, which would be what he was charged with.

Well my dysfunctional Bengals are on the verge of losing TJ to free agency, and Chad will be gone (Thank GOD). Julius Peppers want's out of Carolina, so it will be interesting to see where he lands. Fucking Patirots, Peppers wants to play in a 3-4 or so he says.

WHAT? YOU'RE A BENGALS FAN? WHAAAAAAAAT?

also yeah read today that Chad and TJ are both on the way out

dunno how they'll handle TJ because franchising him and then trading him seems like a good move but who knows nowadays what you'll get for an aging wideout

TJ said he wants to play for a winner. Harrison might be leaving Indy. Indy could use a slot receiver. Seems about as perfect a match as you'll find. Hell TJ wouldn't even have to buy a new house.

Yeah, TJ says he wants to go to Philly! That is crazy. Yes I'm a Bengals fan, and I actually know another! We need a running back! and a good DE. It would be sweet to see Ray Ray do marvin lewis a favor and head to cincy... We've got enough receivers, but they're young. We can save money by dumping TJ and chad.

Can't tag Houz, they really needed a kicker. Pretty smart use of the franchise, Bungles

I would welcome TJ to NY. If the Giants keep Plaxico I'm going to be a little annoyed.

Houz, had already stated that he'd go Ocho Cinco if the front office tagged him. We have a bevy of young receivers, and trust me, TJ stays nicked up. CHad may have lost a step. Fuck them. Let Carson hit a bunch of random young guns. It worked for Brady!

He's got to stay healthy, as well.

And Simpson is still three years off, and Holt and Purify weren't drafted for a reason.

Yeah, I thought Carson was headed for Tommy John surgery. His career woulda been over. He did the right thing to sit out the year. I would Run a Lap around Atlanta if we could get Brian Oragkpo in the draft.

Some rumors I've been hearing is that Ray Lewis is interested in coming to play for Washington.

And if Chad's leaving the Bungles, he may be heading to DC as well. He apperently wants to play for Snyder.

I don't see it, I think that cat out of Baylor is the likely choice, but if they really want him, he'll be available.

And Ray Ray isn't going anywhere, and Snyder can't afford 85 at this point. They're still like 7 million over cap

The deal was on the table for the Bengals to take TWO NUMBER 1's from Snyder. unless that's still on the table forget it. Chad's still under contract. TJ wants to go to Philly, and he's started lighting the bridges at Paul Brown Stadium. Ray Ray is 35, and he's most likely headed to Dallas, to stabilize that locker room

Bart Scott isn't going to be resigned, and Suggs has already said he'll take a pay cut (he'll be franchised so it won't much matter). Ray is going to retire as a Raven, no chance he's moving.

Snyder could offer two number one's when he wasn't going to pick up the check until 2009. Now, he's fucked. Just to get under cap, he's going to have to release Taylor and Washington. It's likely he'll release Springs, and with cap numbers, Andre Carter may have to go. While Randel El restructured, Moss is still getting paid entirely too much for the two games he produces a season. Portis could get released to free up the necessary cap room (and wouldn't be as terrible an idea as some people may think), but it won't happen from a marketing standpoint. Collins is another huge cap anchor, as is Samuels, and Griffen, but releasing them will actually cost them more then keeping them.

Snyder is fucked! At least he's trying to win. The Bengals (Brown Family) are consistently the top 5 in the NFL as far as profit. But we lose every year!

I'm interested in seeing what the Packers do this offseason. Ted Thompson's been notorious for sitting on piles of cash every offseason and preferring to build through the draft, but this offseason isn't one where you want to be frugal. They desperately need some help defensively, considering they could've been a playoff team last year if their defense could have held their fourth quarter leads.

Hiring Dom Capers and switching to the 3-4 is going to require an overhaul of the defense. I'd love to get Julius Peppers, but that's probably a pipe dream. Maybe they could look at someone like Bart Scott, who's a 3-4 vet, to fill one of the OLB positions. Right now it's looking like they'll be moving Aaron Kampman to OLB and pushing Hawk back inside, ending up with a corps of Poppinga/Chillar-Barnett-Hawk-Kampman. My biggest worry is that they don't really have that prototypical run-stuffing DT that you need in a 3-4. Haynesworth would be nice, but I'd be surprised if he'd even consider Green Bay.

While some of that may be true, the actual problem with the Packers is the lack of a run game. Their defense was a top 10 two years ago with largely the same crew, and it's still one of the youngest teams in the NFL. The major difference was Ryan Grant's lack of production. Boosting the offensive line may be the way to go keeping pressure off of Rogers, and allowing running holes for Grant.

That said, pretty much everyone has you taking Raji or Everett

The bengals really screwed themselves by going on that winning streak to end the year. They could've had the #2 pick and their choice of O lineman. Now they have to wait to see which of the big 3 will be left if any. Not too worried though because all 3 look like studs.

Saints cut Deuce McAllister.

Head for the hills, Krispy is probably fuming.

I had even heard that Tennessee was a possible option for TJ.

I'm wondering how he would be as WR here.

In all honestly I think TJ would be a good/great fit on any team as long as they're good. He's not the kind of guy to bitch about touches or any of the other diva crap. He just wants to win and he wants to get paid. It's a shame that he's had to waste his prime on such a shitty team but he'll be a force for whoever he winds up with next year.

And Mike Nolan begins the changes.

Word is 'Dre Bly is gonna get released from the Broncos.

Eh on that. Bly could be good at times, but just got shit on WAY too many times

Where did you see this? I haven't been able to find anything that states this.

The bengals honestly don't need an oline, as much as we need a running back. our line is solid, and was one of the best just two years ago. the lack of a D line, and a running back is where we fall short.

It was on NFL Network.com, let me see if I can find the article...

There it is

http://www.nfl.com/news/story?id=090...o&confirm=true

Not a great year to need a back.

Free Agents are older this year, and the draft is shallow.

Maybe Deuce can patch the hole....Or Taylor, and they can nab a complimentary rookie.

I don't know what games you were watching but the Bengals gave up 51 sacks last year. Yeah they were good a couple years ago. Now Steinbach is gone, Willie is gone, Braham is gone, and Levi is a mess. 80% of this solid O-Line is not there.

They gave up 51 sacks due to Ryan Fitzpatrick not being NFL ready. He held the ball too long, we have no running game, what would most defenses do? blitz the rookie QB. Bobby Williams, Andrew Wentworth, are solid Guards, we can add a year to some of our younger linemen and I believe we have our starting 5, with Levi returning to form. The best thing our line could use is a running game to take pressure off of Carson. we shouldn't have gotten rid of steinbach, but anderson and braham were on the decline. A good run offense is what's needed. If we could just kiss Wards ass enough to get him to Cincy...

Blunts were found in the Lynch car.

Oh dear.