Official NFL thread 2023-2024

[jazzpiano88]

I like Hargrave, the ‘gravedigger’. 

[GovernorSilver]

Patriots waived Bailey Zappe, who took over for injured Mac Jones last year and thus started a bit of a QB controversy.

 

Colts didn't get any trade offers they liked for Jonathan Taylor.  He stays on their PUP list.

 

Bills' Hamlin made the roster - not that I thought there would be any doubt.

 

 

[jazzpiano88]

The Texans Released LB Christian Kirksey and CB Desmond King.

[bill5]

4 hours ago, GovernorSilver said:

Patriots waived Bailey Zappe, who took over for injured Mac Jones last year and thus started a bit of a QB controversy.

 

Wow that is surprising.

[bill5]

More mildly surprising or interesting cuts I see:

MIA: 
RB Gaskin - IMO this guy is at least serviceable as a backup but they have a crowded backfield. Someone like the Cards or Colts you'd think would be interested

 

NE:  
RB Montgomery - again IMO worth a look as a backup 
OL Bill Murray - the Cinderella boy, outta nowhere

 

BAL:
RB Gordon - if he was smart he'd retire 

 

CIN:
QB Simeieieieiein - once the starting QB for DEN

 

IND:
WRs Strachan and Rodgers - ? IIRC Colts are thin at WR so this seemed dumb to me 

 

LV:
RB D Williams - former part-timer for KC, appears to be done
WR Dorsett - former #1 pick by the Colts which most thought was a bad move at the time IIRC, clearly they were right

 

SD:
LB Nathan East - but he still can fall back on his career as a bassist

 

NYG:
WR Crowder, Beasley - also appear to be done (I mean cmon if you can't make a WR on the Giants...)

 

PHI:
RB Sermon - hard runner who I'm surprised can't make a roster

 

WAS:
QB Fromm - former Georgia standout, would have thought he'd at least be a backup in the NFL

 

CHI:
OL Leatherwood - former #1 Raiders' pick that was a reach and all but doomed Mayock's career as a GM 

 

ATL:
WR Arcega-Whiteside - former high pick for PHI who never panned out

 

NO:
TE James - the former promising Steeler TE has done a fast fade

 

[bill5]

Nothing to do with the upcoming season, but thought this might have some trivia interest: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/25650/whats-nickname-origins-all-32-nfl-team-names

[GovernorSilver]

As expected, Chargers sign Max Duggan and preseason fan favorites such as WR Keelan Doss, T Zach Bailey, TE Kampoyer, and CJ Okoye... to the practice squad.

 

They also claimed ex-Steeler LB Tanner Muse off of waivers.  They have already have 2 starter LBs and promising rookie Daiyan Henley so I guess Muse was signed primarily for special teams.    They cut the one fullback on the team to make room for him.   Should have cut McKitty instead but oh well.

 

 

[bill5]

Yeah and the Pats re-signed their two backup QBs to the practice squad too. Surprised no one made a move on Zappe.

[bill5]

It looks like most of the cuts teams made were re-signed to the practice squad. What a load of bureaucratic BS. 

[kpl1228]

Cleveland got rid of Cade York, and so the annual decades-long search for a kicker for my Browns continues.

You would think most teams, when they get a solid kicker, would treasure them like their top QB, based on the points they get and the games they win for their team. Instead most NFL teams treat them as an afterthought, like an old truck that hauls logs really well when needed twice a year, or a utility infielder that happens to be a good bunter. Makes me shake my head.

 

[GovernorSilver]

4 hours ago, kpl1228 said:

Cleveland got rid of Cade York, and so the annual decades-long search for a kicker for my Browns continues.

 

 

 

Chargers traded kicker Dustin Hopkins to the Browns for a 7th round pick like 5 min. ago.   Browns got rid of Hopkins already?

[GovernorSilver]

The practice squad system is funny.  We think of them as places for our teams to stash players we want to keep around but can't count on the 53-man rosters.

 

But any team is free to steal from any other team's practice squad.   A team can also pick off a waived player before he even lands on the practice squad.

 

That's what the Eagles did to the Chargers, grabbing CB Tiawan Mullen for their own practice squad.   Mullen is not Sauce Gardner or anything but had a good preseason.

 

Bengals ended up getting Will Grier instead of the Chargers.

[ProfD]

The practice squad must be some kind of consolation/insurance since the NFL won't allow teams to carry a 65-man roster.🤣

 

Hard to believe the regular season starts next week. I'm usually more ready for football. 

 

No worries...I'll be tuned in on 9/7 at 8:20 pm for the Lions/Chief Thursday night matchup.😁😎

 

 

[jazzpiano88]

Teams can't poach players off of another's Practice Squad unless they place them on their 53-man roster.

 

It looks like Mullen was grabbed after (a) He was waived by SD. (b) SD didn't want him on their practice squad.    Signing to a Practice requires a rookie to clear waivers across the entire league.   Mullen never made it to SD's practice squad.    

 

Not sure what the detailed rules are for a player who (a) is waived and (b) isn't signed to any other 53 man roster.   In this scenario, who gets first rights if there is more than one team wanting them for their practice squad?   Is it up to the player?

[GovernorSilver]

Yes, a team can poach off another team's practice squad, but then the poached player must be signed to the 53-man roster.   And there are other rules...

 

The Chargers' Transactions page shows which player was signed to the active roster from which other team's practice squad for example.

 

The Chiefs' Transactions page shows which players were signed off the Chiefs practice squad to which teams.

 

Something about these two Transactions pages make me shake my head and chuckle at the same time.

 

Draft Kings' attempt to explain:

https://dknetwork.draftkings.com/nfl/23851497/nfl-practice-squad-rules-eligibility-salary-size-roster-cuts-covid-19-coronavirus-nflpa-nfl-cba

 

Another explanation:

https://www.thestadiumsguide.com/nfl/nfl-practice-squads/

[bill5]

phblblblblt to the NFL tbh. I follow it but don't watch nearly as much as I used to. College ball is far more fun IMO

[jazzpiano88]

Apparently the language on the practice squad rules is so complex that you need a law degree to interpret all of it, and an accounting degree to keep track of it.  

Word is that all of the GMs defer to and trust the League office to keep track of everything and render a decision on any transaction.  Especially involving numbers of games played by who, when, where and if it triggers any of the multitude of playing time and season accrual rules.  

[jazzpiano88]

11 hours ago, bill5 said:

phblblblblt to the NFL tbh. I follow it but don't watch nearly as much as I used to. College ball is far more fun IMO

Yeah, in some ways.   In other ways it’s not nearly as fun, watching mostly ungraceful athletes running around spastically playing like the equivalent of 7 year old soccer.  
 

[bill5]

1 hour ago, JazzPiano88 said:

Yeah, in some ways.   In other ways it’s not nearly as fun, watching mostly ungraceful athletes running around spastically playing like the equivalent of 7 year old soccer.  
 

You must be watching different colleges than me.

[jazzpiano88]

4 hours ago, bill5 said:

You must be watching different colleges than me.

The article sums it up more eloquently than I:

https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/26/college-football-is-trash/

“To compare it to the exquisite beauty of the NFL is like comparing your kid’s dance recital to the Bolshoi. Oh, look, that kid tripped and fumbled the ball, we win!”

[Geoff Grace]

So what are your expectations and hopes for your favorite team(s) during the season ahead? I understand that we all hope for a Super Bowl victory; but realistically, what goal(s) do they need to surpass to deem this a successful season?

 

For my #1 Packers, I don’t expect much during the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. When the Packers replaced Brett Favre with Rodgers, they went from 13-3 to 6-10. That’s seven fewer wins than the year before. If they were to continue that pattern this time, they would follow last year’s 8-9 season with a 1-16 record this year. Now, I don’t expect them to be that bad; but if they have six wins, as they did in Rodgers’s first year, then I’ll be satisfied (for now at least). Any record better than that will make me happy.

 

As for my #2 Rams and #3 Broncos, any record better than last year’s would be satisfactory. That means that both teams would have to finish 6-11 or better.

So in short, I’m hoping that all three of my favorite teams will finish with six or more wins. Of the three, I like the Packers’ chances the best, even though they’re the only team transitioning at quarterback. They have a strong running game, a strong defense, and I think they face a weaker division than the NFC West and AFC West. If Love is any good (and I think he will be at least "any good"), then that should be enough to cover six wins.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

  

20 minutes ago, JazzPiano88 said:

The article sums it up more eloquently than I:

https://thefederalist.com/2019/08/26/college-football-is-trash/

“To compare it to the exquisite beauty of the NFL is like comparing your kid’s dance recital to the Bolshoi. Oh, look, that kid tripped and fumbled the ball, we win!”

 

Yeah that's where I go for football insight, The Federalist. I don't have to even read it to know it's either poking fun for whatever reason or written by someone clueless about the sport. But hey if he prefers to watch millionaire thugs with all their circus clown antics, to each their own.

[jazzpiano88]

Well if you can’t refute the argument (that’s 2 for 2)…….  Back to NFL…..

[bill5]

There's nothing to refute as there's no argument. He's entitled to his opinion, which is all it is. And a laughable one at that.

[bill5]

14 minutes ago, Geoff Grace said:

So what are your expectations and hopes for your favorite team(s) during the season ahead? I understand that we all hope for a Super Bowl victory; but realistically, what goal(s) do they need to surpass to deem this a successful season?

 

For my #1 Packers, I don’t expect much during the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. When the Packers replaced Brett Favre with Rodgers, they went from 13-3 to 6-10. That’s seven fewer wins than the year before. If they were to continue that pattern this time, they would follow last year’s 8-9 season with a 1-16 record this year. Now, I don’t expect them to be that bad; but if they have six wins, as they did in Rodgers’s first year, then I’ll be satisfied (for now at least). Any record better than that will make me happy.

 

As for my #2 Rams and #3 Broncos, any record better than last year’s would be satisfactory. That means that both teams would have to finish 6-11 or better.

So in short, I’m hoping that all three of my favorite teams will finish with six or more wins. Of the three, I like the Packers’ chances the best, even though they’re the only team transitioning at quarterback. They have a strong running game, a strong defense, and I think they face a weaker division than the NFC West and AFC West. If Love is any good (and I think he will be at least "any good"), then that should be enough to cover six wins.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

I'm already sick of the KC bandwagoners so anyone not named KC is acceptable to win the SB. Cincy has gotten so close so many times that it'd be nice to see them win it.

 

The Pack I am guessing will be .500 ish as Love has his ups and downs. The Rams and Broncos I expect little from tbh - Payton is a good coach but I doubt he works miracles. The Rams are paying the price for all the draft picks they traded away. They have too many holes all over the place. 

[jazzpiano88]

31 minutes ago, Geoff Grace said:

So what are your expectations and hopes for your favorite team(s) during the season ahead? I understand that we all hope for a Super Bowl victory; but realistically, what goal(s) do they need to surpass to deem this a successful season?

 

For my #1 Packers, I don’t expect much during the transition from Aaron Rodgers to Jordan Love. When the Packers replaced Brett Favre with Rodgers, they went from 13-3 to 6-10. That’s seven fewer wins than the year before. If they were to continue that pattern this time, they would follow last year’s 8-9 season with a 1-16 record this year. Now, I don’t expect them to be that bad; but if they have six wins, as they did in Rodgers’s first year, then I’ll be satisfied (for now at least). Any record better than that will make me happy.

 

As for my #2 Rams and #3 Broncos, any record better than last year’s would be satisfactory. That means that both teams would have to finish 6-11 or better.

So in short, I’m hoping that all three of my favorite teams will finish with six or more wins. Of the three, I like the Packers’ chances the best, even though they’re the only team transitioning at quarterback. They have a strong running game, a strong defense, and I think they face a weaker division than the NFC West and AFC West. If Love is any good (and I think he will be at least "any good"), then that should be enough to cover six wins.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

I’m going tribal. #1 49ers.   Roger Craig is from my hometown and now Purdy is from my Alma Mater (‘85, ‘87, ‘90).  Plus I lived there for 22 years.  

 

Other than that I stay tribal with my geographically closest teams (that I also grew up with and have grand traditions).  #2 Chiefs and #3 Packers.  

I don’t know where the St Louis Cardinals are playing these days.  

[GovernorSilver]

42 minutes ago, Geoff Grace said:

So what are your expectations and hopes for your favorite team(s) during the season ahead? I understand that we all hope for a Super Bowl victory; but realistically, what goal(s) do they need to surpass to deem this a successful season?

 

Chargers cutting down on Chargering and winning at least one playoff game.  I'd consider that successful.

[surfergirl]

I expect the Cargers to go 5-1 and tie the Chiefs for the best record in the division. The other 11 games will decide the tie breaker. If they win the division I think they have a good chance to go to the Super bowl. 

[Geoff Grace]

6 hours ago, bill5 said:

The Pack I am guessing will be .500 ish as Love has his ups and downs. The Rams and Broncos I expect little from tbh - Payton is a good coach but I doubt he works miracles. The Rams are paying the price for all the draft picks they traded away. They have too many holes all over the place. 

 

No doubt the Rams are paying a price for their all-in year. As a fan who rooted for them since the Fearsome Foursome days, I'm just happy that the LA Rams finally won a Super Bowl. (The victory while they were in St. Louis was more bitter than sweet for me.) Even if they're as bad as most people think, it was worth it, as far as I'm concerned.

 

I'm not sure just how bad they are, however. They were plagued by injuries last year. If they have better luck in that regard this year, I wouldn't be shocked to see them finish in second place; but I expect them to finish in third. As it seems that the Cardinals' office is trying to tank, I expect Arizona to finish last. I wouldn't be surprised to see the 49ers go to the Super Bowl. The only wiggle room seems to be who will finish second and who will finish third, with Seattle being the favorite to finish second.

 

I don't expect miracles from Sean Payton either, but I do like his experience in designing an offense around a "height challenged" quarterback. I expect Russell Wilson to have a better year than last, but I have no idea whether he still has any elite abilities. That said, I only expect marginal improvement from the team as a whole. I don't think the Broncos will finish better than third place and wouldn't be shocked if they finished last.

 

Getting back to the Packers, I wouldn't be stunned to see them finish in first or last; but that's because none of the teams in the NFC North are reliably good or bad. The Packers were reliably good in the Favre/Rodgers era, finishing in first place 15 of 30 years; but it's too early in the Love era to pin them as reliably good or bad going forward.

 

Best,

 

Geoff

[bill5]

The Rams could stay healthy and still suck. Again there are too many holes...in the OL, the WRs, the RBs, I could go on. If they make the playoffs I will be surprised and trust me it will be an early exit.

 

Re the NFC "Norris" the Lions are easily the most talented team....but it's the Lions.  If anyone finds a way to screw it up, it will be them.