Boards

The league would definitely be worse off without him. There's not really much chance in the Colts bringing in Luck and keeping Peyton as the cap hit of having both of them would be huge. Hopefully they'll cut him and lower the risk of Miami having to risk a lot on him, could definitely see him linking up well with Brandon Marshall

Its one of these ridiculously complicated Restricted Free Agent things where he's still technically under contract with the Steelers but if another team matches or improves his tender he can sign with them in return for their 1st round picks (which he's obviously worth). Pittsburgh can't afford to offer him a new deal without cutting a lot of other players and can't really afford to Franchise Tag him either so in theory a rival like Baltimore or N.E could come in a take him from us, both of whom are in dire need or a stretch the field wideout like Wallace

I'm afraid, very afraid

He looks an absolute beast and LT is a huge need.

Luck ran a 4.59(?) 40 yesterday, that's as fast as Cam Newton. For a guy who's supposed to be the best pocket-passer prospect since Peyton. Unreal.

The Colts have got a hell of a job to do, and look at them making exactly the same mistake by waiting out on Luck for the draft, again placing all their hope that one guy will drag the team out of mediocrity.
Even when Brady was crocked and Cassell had to step in for the Pats. they managed to turn the situation round after a while, the Colts just seem to give up, it's embarrasing.

Inevitable, but still a shock.

Meanwhile, just as last season I pin my allegiances firmly to the Saints (bought a Jimmy Graham jersey and everything), they get caught in a hugh shit-storm of paying defenders to injure opponents. The league will come down hard, and whilst I think we'll be alright next season, the future doesnt look great.

Drew Brees reportedly rejected HUGE money to stay with us. Although he won't be going anywhere even if a contract isn't sorted, thanks to the good ole' franchise tag, the fact he seems to be demanding huge money and denting the salry cap destroys the 'team player' reputation he earned for himself.

Colston will most likely be moving on in free-agency, and with the league set to take away draft picks for a couple of years to come it will be hard to replace him with a young talent. Makes winning the big-one in the Superdome next year even more pivotal- could be the last trophy in a while.

Hopefully we'll sort ourselves out, as the club is run by sound owners and has a great set-up, but thinks aren't looking as rosy as before.

Gregg Williams seems like an absolute c**t. Never mind all of this bounty crap, he also refers *TO HIMSELF* as 'Dr. Heat'. Cock. Glad we're rid of him.

COMBINE NEWS!

- RG3 proves he's more than just a great pair of socks, but is infact one the coolest people alive, and can run seriously fast.

-Nose tackle Dontari Poe (who?) bench presses about 600 times his own weight 600 times, and will surely jump up a round and dissapoint someone next year when they realise he isnt actually Haloti Ngata.

-Alshon Jeffrey decides he doesn't want to stake his claim as the second-best WR in this years draft, so doesnt do any combine tests. Great decision making pal. Michael Floyd's stock rises.

-Vontaze Burfict (this fella: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvcsffTQojI ) suprises nobody and proves he's a massive arsehole. Will almost certainly end up with the Ravens, or given current developments- anywhere with Gregg Williams.

WHY CAN'T THE SEASON START SOONER????

He supposedly impressed in his trial at New Orleans; everyone's saying he's 'Old Randy' although this could be taken two ways.

I think the Saints may be stringing him a long a bit just to show Colston that they have other options if they do try to re-sign him. I kind of hope he ends up back in New England; he's obviously a good fit there and it might make Belichick leave Mike Wallace alone (the only thing I really care about this off-season)

Where's he going? Miami or Tennessee for me.

Any sleeper people in the draft you think we should be looking out for?

I watched a fair bit last year as I had ESPN for the first time ever, but I only ever really focused on RG3, Luck, Blackmon, Richardson and the obvious guys.

Who do you want your team to draft? Saints don't have a first round pick this year, and I don't know enough about the second round prospects to say, although we'll probably lose that pick anyway after Bountygate.

Shit went down last night.

Redskins paid an absolute ransom to move up the the 2nd overall pick, meaning they're gonna take RGIII. Their first round picks for the next three years, and this year's second rounder. Boy, you gotta hope they've got it right here, or Mike Shanahan isn't going to be able to afford the bills for his sunbed before the year's out. Not sure how many draft picks they now have left, but they apparently have around $50million of cap space and with Daniel Snyder calling the shots, expect them to be the market makers in free agency.

The Rams are sitting pretty, but the move down to 6 suggests they maybe aren't so hot on WR Justin Blackmon, reckon he'll be going to Cleveland now.

In other news, the New York Jets, in a move which has completely baffled me, have extended Mark Sanchez's contract for 5 years. S'probably to free up cap space and make him look less of a lame duck to the rest of the team, but he's now earning more than Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers even if he doesn't meet the incentives. Mike Tannenbaum is increasingly looking like an idiot. We need to ship RT Wayne Hunter asap, but he got extended too and no-one wants him because he is terrible. And then there's the whole Bart Scott fiasco. The whole Sanchez deal is just absolutely baffling, the contract is mostly up front cash and the incentives aren't huge, judging by reports. Seriously damages our possibility of getting a good back up in to challenge him. However, if this is the kick up the arse/show of faith he needs to perform next year then I'll happily eat my words come next february.

Elsewhere, Peyton Manning is going to Denver to back up Tebow, just as soon as John Fox can assess how much of the option offense he remembers from college 20 years ago. (In all seriousness, Peyton is Miami's to lose. Kansas City and Tennessee are also in the hunt I reckon. Don't buy him going to Arizona or Seattle)

I'm betting that Manning isn't coming to Miami. Ireland is about as classy and charming as a 6ft tall sewer rat. He's the man who asked Dez Bryant if his mother was a prostitute. In the past few years, we've missed out on coaches (Jim Harbaugh, Jeff Fisher) and players (frankly too many to name) and it's because of his mismanagement of the team. Manning will go elsewhere and we'll get another season of Matt Moore, I feel it in my bones.

As for Washington, they've made some bad trades of late but I like this one actually. Griffin is a franchise QB and they've got a lot of other skill positions sorted. It was time to go big and get the QB they need.

The fallout from Gregg Williams is interesting. The Saints certainly don't look like the Nation's Team now they paid their players to dislocate opponent's shoulders.

Incredible scenes :D

Brandon Marshall traded to Da Bearz!

"Oh might as well check out NFL.com and see what the news is on Peyton...which Marshall would go to Chicago?......

....

http://tinyurl.com/7fl7jzl";

Scene.

We're turning into the laughing stocks of the league. Manning is going to either Tennessee or Denver now and we have absolutely zilch to show for a top 5 receiver. Two THIRD ROUND draft picks. Holy Dan Marino we're fucked.

odd move, can only imagine they threw everything but the kitchen sink at him.

Jets, can we sign a GOOD right tackle, stat? Otherwise he's going to eat Sanchez for breakfast

http://blogs.nfl.com/2012/03/14/trading-cards-give-glimpse-of-peyton-mannings-future/?module=HP11_hot_topics

Sorry, powerfulmellow and other Dolphins fans, but I just have to laugh at this....

You trade away the best receiver in the division, you go all in for Peyton and miss, and now you even miss on Flynn. Gotta hope there's a plan somewhere in there.

On the plus side, since the 49ers got linked with Peyton (scary scary shit for the rest of the league), Alex Smith visited you today, so it won't all be bad, hey? Oh, right. Yeah, it will.

Looking very likely that Manning is going to SF now, and he'll have Manningham from the Giants and a returning Randy Moss to throw to. Along with Frank Gore and Vernon Davis, they have to be the Superbowl favourites now.

Because of that, Alex Smith has come out to Miami for an interview. All things considered - those "things" being Jeff Ireland being as charming and persuasive as a punch in the stomach - he wouldn't be so bad for Miami. He and Moore could battle it out for the starter's position. What we need is to pick up some wide threat

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/19/manning-to-quarterback-broncos-barring-unexpected-snag/related/

so, let's just kick this off right now, Tebow's going back to Florida ain't he?

Ireland: http://ow.ly/i/w8uR/original

Ross: http://oi40.tinypic.com/205xqgp.jpg

:DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

A man that the Jacksonville Jaguars cut last year because he was out of shape. That's the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cut him. The Jaguars.

Can we please just go with Matt Moore and forget this whole offseason ever happened?

I think Jacksonville aren't interested - they just signed Miami's last bust Chad Henne as competition for Gabbert and, for some reason, think that's enough for them. He's gonna REALLY struggle now Tebow. He should look for a good team looking for a 3rd string QB who can come in on Wildcat formations. He's simply not gonna get the situation he had in Denver next season.

As for Miami, I think the plan will be now to draft a rookie QB in the draft. I'm not sure we'd take Tannehill, because our 1st round pick is going on a O-lineman I think. In that case we have a young, medium and old QB in the depth chart and some semblance of normality.

The problem we have is based in the front-office and the management team. Firstly, coach Philbin. I think, honestly, players are worried joining a team where the head coach is understandably still grieving. I think it says a lot that Matt Flynn, a player Philbin brought up through his first years in pro football, felt that he wasn't comfortable at Miami. If I had the choice of Pete Carroll or Philbin right now, I'd go with the former because he's a recognised "players' coach" and one who could have success at Seattle. As for the players we already have, I'm sure Philbin can gather them together for the cause. I think it's in attracting new players where he's something of an obstacle.

He pales in comparison, though, to Jeff Ireland. As a GM he's awful. I think what he asked Dez Bryant about his mother was racially tinged and has affected his standing in the league. There's few black players who would want to play for a man who asked another black player if his mother was a prostitute. It was insensitive and idiotic, and I think, again absolutely understandably, it has made players not want to come here and play for him. Why Garrard came is because no one else was asking him. Last year, he turned down our offer to go to Oakland, but an injury made them withdraw their interest.

Our owner is the last problem, but he has the power to fire Ireland. He won't, because apparently they're good friends, and his overall management of the team has been appalling. He's competing with the Heat for South Florida's sports market, and he's trying to combat Lebron's appeal with bringing on Miami celebrities to own the team. It's a cheap showbiz-like trick and it makes us look more like the Harlem Globetrotters than a professional team.

All in all, we're screwed until Ireland goes.

Sean Payton suspended for the whole of the 2012 season. Rams looking for a new DC after Gregg Williams suspended indefinitely. That's a huge punishment, I don't know what the Saints will do. I agree with the decision though, it'll be the last time that any team goes out on the field trying to end careers. The knock-on effect is that Brees may look to move elsewhere if he doesn't have his coach there all year.

Oh yeah and Tim Tebow's gone to the Jets.

Not good for the Saints :(

Brees hasn't signed his tender yet, Peyton out for a year, no draft picks in the first two rounds this year and the NFL haven't even announced the player punishments yet. Bad bad bad times ahead.

Tebow at the Jets is pretty funny. The Jet's receivers now have Tebow and Sanchez throwing to them. They can't be too happy can they?

Philly swap 3rd round picks and give a 4th to maybe solve their LB problem.

Alex Smith re-signs with the Niners, financial terms have not been disclosed but seeing as they offered him 3 years for $24 million a coiuple of weeks ago it would interesting to see if that number went up after they tried to sign Peyton.

Miami fans are wearing grocery bags before the season even starts as they protest Jeff Ireland generally being a belm: http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2012/03/20/dolphins-fans-stage-protest-after-not-landing-manning/

I can only assume that's why we're signing him.

Possibly.

Apparently Jets front office didn't read the contract properly and are kicking up a stink about a clause which means they owe Denver $5m. Can our management do ANYTHING right? We're worse than the Redskins and Miami judging by the poor decisions they made last offseason and now seem determined to make again...

something has to break :D

he's being disrespected to the tune of $7.74 million, it's a disgrace

http://blogs.baltimoreravens.com/2012/03/23/reports-ravens-land-special-teams-ace-graham/

Don't really know him, but the stats sound great

Peyton is probably crying his eyes out right now

Wish I could retire at 28 as a millionnarie, don't see it happening in the next 3 years though

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/293760_216378708469931_213911638716638_387870_1312062441_n.jpg

disturbing

Hopefully we actually get to see them used now.

Also turnovers automatically get reviewed in the booth now so the challenge flag will get used a lot less.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/article-2095710/Saracens-forward-Hayden-Smith-targets-NFL-deal.html

Adding to his greatest bust of all time legacy

I doubt they'll change much on the Steelers jersey but I'm pretty excited about it anyway.

I reckon we'll see new designs for a few teams; Seattle, Miami, Carolina, Buffalo and probably most of all: Cinci I think will look a bit different next season.

what a waste of time that was!

:'D

http://bleacherreport.com/tb/bfJnd?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=nfl-draft

As a placekicker I imagine, not a RL fan.

Genuinely disgusting. Guy shouldn't be allowed anywhere near a football field for the rest of his life.

I wrote something for this blog (which is new and pretty good) about the Saints (feel they've been a bit neglected in the press recently...). I've never really written for anything before, and nobody I know will read it ever as none of my friends like NFL, so here you go DiS:

http://secondcityfanatics.com/2012/04/11/the-impossible-job-how-steve-spagnuolo-can-turn-the-saints-defence-around/

http://www.nfl.com/schedules/2012/REG1

some match-ups on opening weekend - 49ers v packers, steelers v broncos playing primetime to herald mannings first start in denver, bengals v ravens

fairly pleased with the scheduling for the ravens season - despite our tough opposition it all seems evenly spread across the 17 weeks, although the bengals-eagles-pats triple header to start with is quite daunting

Thursday night football is every week now?!

http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2012/04/17/nike-ups-its-alternate-uniform-count-to-2-introduces-new-steelers-throwback-uniforms/

Definitely not getting this

They say $100 until you click on them when it changes to £100. I'm getting pretty tired of Roger Goodell robbing me blind

If he slips to #24 I'd be very surprised, bloody love to have him in the 'burgh though; perfect replacement for Casey Hampton who'll no doubt turn up to camp over 400lbs again.

So, how does everyone think their team will do this season now that the schedule is out?
I have the Panthers down for 7-9 or 8-8.

The whipping boys this season will be the Dolphins, they just don't seem to have made much advance during this off-season. I see it as another kick in the teeth for Matt Moore, he seems a fairly good QB, but keeps getting put in bad situations so that he would lose.
Also, how does everyone think the Saints will do? I see them doing not very well this season. Brees doesn't seem happy and from what might come around, half their defence might miss games. Possibly, getting 6 or 7 wins.

He comes across really well. Eloquent. Plus read this bit:

"Now I find myself in music chat rooms arguing the validity of Frank Zappa versus the Mars Volta. (If the others only knew Walkingpnumonia was the screen name for a former All-Pro football player and not some Oberlin College student trying to find his place in the world.)"

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/sports/football/jets-trevor-pryce-is-retired-and-getting-tired-of-it.html?_r=3&ref=sports

real shame, I've always been a big fan of his; future Hall of Famer for sure

whos excited? what needs do you want your team to address on thursday? top 10 predictions? whos gonna trade up or down?

here's my projected top 10, based more on team needs than the players themselves as my knowledge of college football is fairly limited:

1. Colts - Andrew Luck - no explanation needed

2. Redskins - RG3 - ditto

3. Vikings - Morris Claiborne - i don't think Matt Kalil is a lock at no. 3 like most people think. Ponder desperately needs some protection, but i don't even think a pro bowl LT would vastly improve his game. Kalil would help, but not significantly enough to warrant the 3rd pick (hence why they could trade down). Being in a division with three elite quarterbacks (if you class cutler as elite) necessitates strong pass coverage, so claiborne makes perfect sense for me. I'd love to see him battling against megatron and brandon marshall next season.

4. Browns - Trent Richardson - easy pick here. they could pick Tannehill, but would he really do much better than Colt McCoy, with the limited firepower at his disposal? doubt it. grinding it down the field with Richardson in the AFC North could win them a few close games, and the Browns defense was ranked surprisingly high last year (around 10th!). Richardson could be the playmaker they need to keep building.

5. Buccaneers - Stephen Gilmore - with Claiborne off the board, the Bucs should go to the next best corner in the draft (allegedly). they play in a quarterback driven division as well, and with talib possibly facing jail and ronde barber not getting any younger, cornerback is a big need. but they could fill any spot on the defense really.

6. Rams - Justin Blackmon - it seems to be between him and michael floyd, so for arguments sake i'll pick blackmon for the rams. they need a target for bradford to pass to. simple

7. Jaguars - Michael Floyd - the jags really need to help out gabbert, and spread the offensive threat to take the heat off MJD, or they could pick kalil.

8. Dolphins - Ryan Tannehill - miami have many needs, but none more so than at quarterback. i don't think anyone sees matt moore as a franchise QB, so nows the chance to go for tannehill, even though many think hes not worthy of a 1st round pick.

9. Panthers -pass rush is an obvious need, and this year seems pretty deep at this position. maybe quinton coples or dontari poe?

10. Bills - Luke Kuechly - he seems like the strongest linebacker prospect, and if he is as good as purported to be then the bills front seven could be something scary this year. watch out brady.

as for my ravens, i'd be happy with strong selections at WR, OL, LB and pass rush.the question is what do we prioritize?more protection for flacco? another weapon for flacco? a potential successor to ray lewis? more depth in the secondary? another pass rusher to ease the burden off suggs? names banded around for our first pick include center peter konz, LB dont'a hightower and tackle cordy glenn. on the whole we draft well so i have faith in the team.

Brees yet to sign, so we're starting workouts with no head coach or star QB. Fantastic. I figured it's at least be close to sorted now. We've freed some cap-room by restructuring deals and don't have a big first-round college guy to sign this year, so why won't we just pay the fucking guy.

Mickey Loomis the General Manager has now been accused of listening in on opposing team's gameplans using some kind of Darth Vader-esque intercepting device. Admittedly the offence occured from 2002-2004, when we were still hopelessly shit, but either way, what the fuck. Fucking idiots in charge.

I can't even properly look forward to the draft as we don't have a pick until the 3rd round (is that the second day?). This is tempered slightly by the fact that our best picks in recent years have come in later rounds (Colston, Graham for example) and we've always drafted well late on.

Schedule is also pretty tough this year. Joy.

Defensive players will likely get bans next week too, so we'll probably enter the season with about 3 active linebackers and no safeties. Hi-ho.

Kalil should be a slam dunk here. As much as Claiborne is obviously talented, he has his issues and I wouldn't feel comfortable taking him at 3. LT is a bigger need anyway and it's difficult to imagine a more perfect LT prospect than Kalil. Blackmon is overrated because he's obviously the best WR in the draft, he shouldn't go in the top 5. Julio Jones was far better coming out.

has offered $1 million to any woman who can prove she had sex with Tim Tebow. Personally I don't think there's any way in hell Tebow's still a virgin; women (cheerleaders probably) will have been throwing themselves at him since college and he's only human.

http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2012/04/24/ashley-madison-site-uses-disgusting-promotion-to-try-and-deface-tim-tebow/

is there anywhere to watch the draft in the uk? espn america doesn't seem to be showing it

I pay for ESPN pretty much just for NFL stuff, but apparently they are only showing it on ESPN America in mainland Europe, and won't show it on SKY as they haven't yet signed a deal for this season.

Given the apparent US commitment to building the game in the UK, it's a poor effort.

I'm aware it's streamed free online, but I'm certain the astonishing incompetence of Usain Bolt Media's internet service will stop me enjoying that privilege.

This definitely reads like an angry Daily Mail reader's letter, but yeah, pretty pissed about it.

They want to make sure they get Richardson, I'd say.

do people do to these events just to troll cunts?

can I just suggest there's a good (american) espn stream on firstrowsports[dot]eu. Ray Lewis currently being inspirational in a promo

looking at trading up for blackmon

Hope this works out for the skins

Vikes were gonna pick Kalil anyway and then Browns were next?!

New York fans :')

Will be 29 by his first NFL snap. 29. #22 pick.

I'm actually good with it though. Suddenly teams have to think how to defend against us a bit. We now have a top RB but teams can't just load the box like last season because we have a QB with a big arm. WR and OL in the next few rounds and I'm happy.

This is a boom or bust project. I'm nervous.

Fuck man why didn't we just take Chandler Jones!

although this is the first draft in years where I haven't been hoping we'd take a G or T in the first round, i would've rather seen an inside lineback or nose tackle.

No team drafts as consistently well as the Steelers so I'm sure we'll find value in the later rounds

Harrison Smith, eh. Looks a decent cover-2 safety and fills a big need. Hopefully he'll be better than Tyrell Johnson.

that is all

I actually think Moore/Garrard/Tannehill doesn't look so bad now. I mean I still think we'll be .500 but there's a basis there to progress.

Had never even heard of the guy the Seahawks took at 15, although he's meant to be a very good pass rusher.

49ers pick was also suprising, but I liked it. And how fucking well did the Patriots draft? Can't stand Bellichek but he is incredible come draft day.

Courtney Upshaw is still there. Watched him a bit last year and he's a fantastic player, I'd maybe rate him as Bama's second bext defensive guy after Barron. I guess his versatility counted against him in first round. Could end up a Raven? Who knows.

Meant to be good, but when the fuck does that ever happen? Who was watching the Canadian College leagues?

Also, the Jaguars drafted a punter in the 3rd round .... :D

Coples and Hill are probably the two biggest boom or bust guys in the draft. And we take some unknown linebacker with Bobby Massie (RT) still on the board?

Upshaw looks like an absolute steal for a second rounder, can't believe he passed the first. filled other needs as well - offensive line, wideouts, secondary, although I really wanted us to nab a strong, potential no. 2 receiver, but we'll see how streeter fares. would have also liked to see newsome take a punt on vontaze burfict

Aside from not taking a DB til the 7th round we've filled every need as well as getting 2 Offensive Linemen who'll probably start from week one. Hopefully keeping Big Ben upright will make our offense pretty scary.

And from what I've read about our later picks we've got a couple of real steals in Alameda Ta'amu (the next Casey Hampton) and Chris Rainey (the next Darren Sproles apparently).

If we could've just found a great CB I'd be a lot more excited about our chances this year.

He won't stay on the field on 3rd down though. Big run-stuffer.

If it comes off, this'll be a hell of a draft. More worryingly, if it doesn't it's a complete waste.

If Coples brings it and if he can stay motivated and the coaches get the best out of him he's a steal. I'm not so sure he will. New York is a big exciting city...

Hill I feel better about. The guy is a freak of nature, and he plays hard. Like the fact he's a blocking WR as well. Toughness is always a good quality. But he is RAW. He caught so few balls last season working out of an option offense.

The linebacker we picked up (Demario Davis) is one fast sonofabitch. Can see him coming on in blitz packages, maybe he's even a cover guy with a bit of coaching? He's apparently a tough special teamer as well, will play as a gunner or a jammer.

Know absolutely nothing about the FS we picked (Josh Bush) but he's a former corner, he's got speed and he's super smart apparently, both on field and off it. His stat line is pretty nice too. Wake Forest is a private college which has strict academic requirements. Good feeling about that pick.

Couple of odd later round selections, I get picking up the OTHER Robert Griffin from Baylor (G, 340pounds) as he'll be a nasty mean brawler in the o-line eventually, but why did we take Ganaway the RB? He's basically got a Shonn Greene like skillset, would have been nice to add a complementary third down type back with pass catching/protection ability. We already have a big back up bruiser on the roster in Bilal Powell who got taken 4th round last year.

Couple of 7th round picks could work out interestingly. Allen is a strong safety but he played a hybrid linebacker position in College, so he's big, fast, tough and a hard hitter but a bit suspect in coverage. Backup for Laron Landry/special teamer. The WR Jordan White is supposed to be very NFL ready and a good route runner. Suspect he's been added as a backup/special teams guy though.

From a college point of view, on where my Ducks have landed:
LaMichael James (RB) to the 49ers: Jim Harbaugh is a smart guy, got to see LMJ up close when he was still coaching Stanford (and watched him obliterate their defence with 250+ yards and three touchdowns), and knows that his speed, trickiness and all round talent is far too much to pass up on just because he might be a little small.
Mark Asper (G) should be a nice versatile guy for the Bills, I know nothing of their depth on the o-line, but Asper could fill in at a couple of spots easily, hopefully make his way to starting pretty quickly.
Josh Kaddu (LB) picked up by Miami, really good speedy, athletic guy.
Already mentioned David Paulson (TE) up thread, can't speak highly enough of him.
Gutted that Darron Thomas (QB) didn't get drafted having taken the huge risk of leaving early, really hope someone'll pick him up soon as a free agent. Really pleased for Lavasier Tuinei (WR) and Darrion Weems (OT) finding teams already, there wasn't really much talk about either having much of a prospect for the NFL, so I'm glad they've got their chances.
Eagles have signed CB Cliff Harris, projected as a first round guy a couple of years back before his disciplinary issues. What happened wit him last year at Oregon, with his bans and disappointing performances when he did play before being dismissed, it was so frustrating, the season before he was incredible. If he can stop making bone-headed decisions and get focused he'll have a great chance, 2010 showed he could be a top-class corner and excellent returner too. Maybe being away from the west coast will help him straighten up, it'll be such a waste if he doesn't.

Away from Oregon: it baffles me that Brosweiler can get drafted in the second round but no one picks up Kellen Moore until post-draft. Osweiler is a no-brain meathead with nothing to really back up his cannon of an arm, while Moore has probably the best football brain of any of this years QBs in the draft and isn't as deficient in his physical capabilities as he's being made out to be. I guess that' why I love college ball but can't get that into the NFL, I much prefer what's valued by the former.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d828c996b/article/chinese-kicker-long-ding-will-try-out-for-jaguars

http://img.ibtimes.com/www/data/images/full/2012/04/27/268185-lauren-tannehill-with-her-husband-after-he-was-drafted-by-the-dolphins.jpg

He says he feels bad that their Superbowl victories are now tainted; they should be tainted! The Patriots cheated to get an unfair advantage, considering they've lost two Superbowls since the scandal by the narrowest of margins who knows how the three games they did win would've turned out if they hadn't been videotaping their opponents practices.

Saints are also gonna miss Will Smith for the first 4 games. Scott Fujita and Anthony Hargove also out for 3 and 8 games respectively. Harsh but probably fair (especially in Vilmas case)

Shot supposedly

suggs out for the SEASON with a torn achilles.

fuck fuck fuck.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/05/08/matt-light-reveals-battle-with-crohns-disease/

Seriously, how does someone manage to be a Pro Bowl left tackle with Crohn's disease? Awesome in the literal sense of the word.

Would be great if he wins

Would be great if he retires

Potential #1 fantasy draft pick?

http://www.nflgridirongab.com/2012/05/20/the-wife-of-jets-cb-antonio-cromartie-fakes-suicide-attempt/

Not the most exciting story (we are into the darkest part of the off-season now) but it did lead me to read that he's expecting twins so by November he'll have 12 kids with 8 women in 6 states; he's 28 years old. Clearly he's not a fan of birth control but even still he must be one fertile motherfucker

but i've still had the words *peyton manning's sunshine tanning* stuck in my head all morning.

just renewed mine for £99, about £60 less than last year. Its still expensive but was I was really impressed with it, if they just added the Sky games it would be perfect.

I'm getting emails every fucking day now. Seems a bit/far to early though.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a82421/article/ray-lewis-delivers-trademark-pep-talk-to-london-team

Dres Brees just got PAID.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a96d65/article/ray-rice-baltimore-ravens-agree-to-fiveyear-35m-deal?module=HP11_headline_stack

about bloody time. and worth every penny at that

A quick ready reckoner of this month's arrests in the NFL - a who's who of players who really need the season to start to give them something to do.

Marshawn Lynch - DUI
Elvis Dumervil - aggravated assault with a firearm
Dez Bryant - domestic assault. Also in the body of the article it says 'There was also an incident at a Dallas mall over low-hanging jeans. Bryant later apologized.' Basically wandering about with his arse out by the sounds of it.
Adrian Peterson - arrested for resisting arrest. Not sure how this works.
Justin Blackmon - DUI
Dion Lewis - misdemeanor reckless endangerment of property. Banged on a door a lot, basically.

A special mention to the Lions, currently leading the league in off-season arrests with 6 so far. http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a22c89/article/detroit-lions-used-to-apologizing-for-offseason-arrests

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d82a9c736/article/dez-bryant-cowboys-wr-allegedly-assaulted-mother?module=HP11_headline_stack

http://drownedinsound.com/community/boards/social/4359719

Well excited.

if any of you on this forum are on the NFL UK forums, and suggest that if you're not then you may be interested to check them out
http://forum.nfluk.com/

Is not actually that exciting. It never is.

Peyton Hillis looked good though, I think the Chiefs will be a very good team this year. Ball control offense, tough defense with an excellent secondary and some really good linebackers. They're this year's 49ers. Or they would be if the 49ers weren't still this year's 49ers.

For my very own Jets, the worries are starting to set in even if it's only pre-season. The Bengals front four collapsed the pocket on every single dropback it seemed. How have we gone from having one of the best o-lines, to one of the absolute worst? Surely not just Wayne Hunter's doing... And everyone in the AFC East has loaded up on pass-rushers. It's gonna be a bloodbath out there.

"We'll see how excited he is when he gets smacked by a safety. If somebody like that hits him, we'll see if that changes anything."

:D love Rex

:D oh boy.

What a guy.

http://www.vumee.com/members/video/2014/779

Hopefully they'll work out a proper deal for him so I can buy a Nike jersey with his name on the back.

Maurice Jones-Drew's holdout continues, rumors he's available for a trade. I usually support most player holdouts but I think MJD is being a bit greedy here, its one thing when you've got a year left on a rookie deal you've outplayed but he's got 2 years left on his second contract. Granted he's basically their entire offense but another solid season like he's capable of and he'd get a massive deal next year. He's still gonna make $4.5 million this season

Can't imagine anyone is too happy about this, the Jags are one of the most underrepresented teams at those games

Presumably someone is but I can't find any up to date information.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/14573/revis-questions-front-office

I'll always love you, Rev :(

Just saw the Seahawks highlights.

Am I allowed to support Seattle this year? I don't want to support the Jets. It's too painful.