Wow, Dumervil cut by the Broncos? That is surprising. He’s a great player.
SI is of the opinion that Denver will probably lose Dumervil. It’s amazing that this happened because of (apparently) a malfunctioning fax machine.
Greg Jennings leaves the Packers for the Vikings, signing a 5 year, 47.5 million dollar deal with 18.5 guaranteed. He didn’t get Mike Wallace money, but he’ll be making more than Welker or Amendola, and will be well compensated. He’s a Pro Bowl WR and is 29 years old, so he should have some more years left in him.
The Vikes were desperate for a legitimate #1 WR and now they have one. He’s talented, professional, and a good guy. Best of luck to him and the Vikes. Except when they play the Packers.
Gotta say I would not be sad if Dumervil landed with the Pats, though I think it very unlikely.
This makes me happy. The deal makes the Packers worse and it probably does little to improve the Vikings. I think Jennings is overrated and I expect him to be pretty unimpressive as a #1 without Rodgers, the Vikings tie up a bunch of cash and the Ponder to Jennings combo is not even slightly scary. The Packers still have Nelson, Cobb and Jones so it’s not that big of a hit, but I don’t mind them being one productive WR fewer.
Part of me was wondering if there’s any way the Bears could pay Dumervil $8M/year instead of Peppers $19M. It’s a downgrade, but you can get a lot of help for $11M. Never happen, but it was a fun thought.
Not happy to see Jennings leave GB, but I can’t blame him for that money. As much time as he’s been injured the past few years, there was no way GB pays him that money. Shame.
I don’t think Jennings is overrated, just injury prone at this point.
I am a tad bit surprised that no team has gone after Sebastian Vollmer harder. I loved him coming out in the draft, and he’s still young. He’s talented, has great upside, and could be a franchise LT (or at the least a solid RT). I’m a bit shocked that Bushrod got signed so quickly, because Vollmer is a much better player to my mind.
Browns are negotiating with Brent Grimes. I didn’t even know he was a free agent, I haven’t seen any chatter about him or see him on any free agent lists. No idea why. That’d be an awesome signing. I’d feel pretty good about FA.
I spend the last 30 minutes or so watching Tavon Austin highlights, here’s the best, and reading scouting reports and I have some reactions. This will be a bit of a stream of consciousness so bear with me.
[ul]
[li]Austin is crazy fast and an absolute ankle breaker. Rare combo of speed and wiggle. It doesn’t take a genius to see this stuff, but it’s important to note that he truly plays up to his Combine numbers. Never saw him get run down from behind and he gets to speed so fast, even after making 2 cuts in the backfield. [/li][li]Obviously he’s small, not just undersized but flat out small. Some undersized guys play big, Austin does not, he’s not Ray Rice or MJD. I really worry about is ability to survive in the NFL. [/li][li]Austin avoids contact like the plague, this might not be the worst thing due to the point above but I don’t love seeing him quit on plays and running out of bounds so often. Pragmatically it might be better to have him leave those last couple yards on the field after big plays if it means he’s on the field for 16 games, but still it’s a little bit of a red flag. [/li][li]He doesn’t break tackles, he’s shifty and his short area quickness keeps him away from tacklers even in a tight space, but he goes down on first contact. In the NFL this means it’s big plays or nothing. [/li][li]His highlight reels show tons of critical chunk plays. That’s great, and it’s difference making, but what does he do on 3rd and 6? Can he get you 7 yards on a dig like Welker or is he going to dance and get stopped for 4? [/li][li]Love his work out of the backfield and the way he sets up his blockers and gets into the creases. That change of direction really helps, but in college he’s clean in the backfield he won’t be in the NFL. Does that mean there’ll be a ton of 4 yard losses? [/li][li]I don’t know if I’d want him as my KR/PR or not, too much risk for injury and he’s always going to try and get the edge. PR maybe, not KR. [/li][li]Scouting reports say he has small hands and drops balls, HATE guys that drop balls. [/li][li]In college he was often wide wide open. That won’t happen in the NFL by scheme the way it does in the college spread. Most of the time it doesn’t appear that it’s Austin’s routes that got him wide open but instead the creative way he’s positioned on the field. In a traditional NFL system will that work? Can he get off a press and make enough space? [/li][li]I never once saw him need to compete for a ball, mostly that’s because he was wide open on the big plays but in the NFL there’s going to be times where he will have to fight with a DB for a ball. Can he do that? [/li][li]Surprisingly nice effort on run blocks, not sure I’d call it effective though. [/li][li]Seems like he has amazing vision, which both helps him find the holes and avoid the big hits. [/li][li]No idea how good a route runner he is, you need to be an excellent on in the west coast system the Bears will probably run. [/li][li]I love the idea of Austin and Forte on the field at the same time, defenses will be unprepared when they line Austin up in the backfield and split Forte out. [/li][li]Starting to think that Austin will be gone before the Bears pick at #20, but based on the potential weaknesses I highlighted it possible he slips. Could be interesting. [/li][li]Who does he compare to? Lots of people have called him Wes Welker, but that’s silly. They both are slot guys but Welker is slower and more physical. Some have compared him to Percy Harvin and Randall Cobb but those guys are bigger, more physical and slower. Dexter McCluster is the same size, but he’s slower and far less skilled as a WR. Based on college game tape, I’d say that DeSean Jackson is the most similar in weight, speed and skills, but Jackson is a couple inches taller and lined up on the outside more as a true #1. Austin is kind of unique. [/li][/ul]
Saints getting CB help with Lewis is nice, but we lost Bushrod at LT, Chase Daniel as a decent backup QB, and Casillas at LB.
We’re desperate for some pass rush, and switching to a 3-4 this year, so something needs to happen there.
Also got problems in the O-line now. I think we needed to replace Zack Strief at RT, as he just wasn’t getting it done last year. Now we have to find a LT too.
The 49ers plugged a hole at Safety with Dahl, formerly of the Rams. That, along with Boldin and Dorsey, allows them to pick whomever tthey like in the draft, and not just pick purely for need.
I’ve read that one source predicts the team to make shake-em-up draft moves galore, but what that means is unclear. I would love to see two or more trade-ups into the first for elite players. I have my wishlist, but Baalke rarely listens to me.
[quote=“Omniscient, post:171, topic:651293”]
[li]Who does he compare to?[/li][/quote]
Let’s see. Fast, smaller, weak, doesn’t compete for the ball, can’t break tackles, questionable route running, and shifty in the open field? Haven’t the Bears already tried Devin Hester at WR?
Tell me about Bushrod. The guys over at Pro Football Focus grade him as barely better than J’Marcus Webb, but Bushrod has made two Pro Bowls (of course the so-bad-he-got-benched Jeff Saturday was voted to this years’ Pro Bowl, so it’s not worth all that much). I don’t watch much of him. What do you think of him?
I think he’s lost a step against a fast outside rusher. The Saints O-line struggled to protect Brees last year, especially early in the year, but part of that was they really had no running game. That said, I think he’s at least a decent upgrade for the Bears.
Not sure how PFF does their metrics, but I don’t think it’s an apples to apples comparison. Webb was in a slow conservative offense with a lot of play action and got constant shifts and TE help on his side. Bushrod was in a deep passing offense that threw the ball more than just about anyone else, was 1-on-1 all the time with no TE help and played on turf where speed rush DEs have an advantage. Plus the Saints were totally upended by the suspensions and changes at HC.
Bushrod may not be perfect, but I don’t think he’s comparable to Webb. That said, Webb was somewhat better than his reputation last year so if Webb is average on the right side it could be a solid combo for the WC passing game they’ll run.
How much of that issue was a result of the lack of Payton’s playcalling and the fact they were always playing from behind?
A good bit of it, in my opinion. I won’t say the sanctions were undeserved, but the Saints paid a heavy price for their transgressions. That said, even Payton takes a pass first approach to offense more often than I’d like. Even in the glorious Super Bowl run, the Saints generally didn’t run the ball until the second half, playing with a lead.
God damn it. Jake Long just signed with the Rams for 5 years $34-36M, slightly less than what the Bears paid Bushrod, the Giants paid Beatty, and equal to what the Colts paid Cherilus. I’d have much rather had Long than Bushrod and it looks like the Rams got themselves a steal. I know Long isn’t the same guy he was in his first couple seasons, but he’s still the best guy out of that group.
Glad they didn’t have to go through these soap opera, but I wonder if the Bears even negotiated with him to see what the numbers would look like.
The Miami Dolphins are still learning the hard way the Third, lesser known Classic Blunder “Never get in a bidding war with St. Louis when Free Agents are on the line!”