# Official 2011 NFL Football Thread - Preseason Edition **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 21, 2011, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920 "2011-07-21T23:58:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 31
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/602 "2011-09-04T04:01:32Z")
I would have kept Macho Harris on the Steelers, just based on his name. Glad Heyward made the cut, but Cromartie-Smith didn’t? Wasn’t there all kinds of buzz about him? And poor Hills, I know we kept giving him chances, I’m just softhearted. Crezdon is also a surprise. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/603 "2011-09-04T04:25:43Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > The Pats don’t just cut players like that either. You’ve gotta think there’s a big problem with him. Someone like the Bengals or the Raiders will pick him up and get buned. He’s got some legal issues, but he had 12 picks over the last three seasons. I can’t believe he wasn’t worth at least a fifth-rounder to someone. The league has instituted a new rule where teams get fined when their players’ rack up a specific number of fines for particular infractions. Maybe the Pats are worried his habit of helmet-to-helmet hits will cost them. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2011, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/604 "2011-09-04T22:07:33Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > And my pet from the combine, Joe Lefeged, whom I thought looked as bad as you possibly could without literally shitting yourself on the field went to the Colts. Can’t wait for him to get cut after the first practice. Just a follow up here - your pet made the final [roster](http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/indianapolis-colts/roster). I recommend that you read [this article](http://www.northjersey.com/sports/022811_Sullivan_Rutgers_Joe_Lefeged_finding_his_passion_for_football_post-LeGrand.html), so that you might have a better understanding of why he underperformed at the combine. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/605 "2011-09-05T04:17:15Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Just a follow up here - your pet made the final [roster](http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/teams/indianapolis-colts/roster). Yeah, but from what I understand he made the team as a special teams player (a returner, in particular). I saw him completely botch a DB drill, so that doesn’t surprise me nor offend me. > [@](#): > > I recommend that you read [this article](http://www.northjersey.com/sports/022811_Sullivan_Rutgers_Joe_Lefeged_finding_his_passion_for_football_post-LeGrand.html), so that you might have a better understanding of why he underperformed at the combine. I’ll just say I don’t buy this fluffy bullshit for a moment and leave it at that. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/606 "2011-09-05T15:20:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He’s got some legal issues, but he had 12 picks over the last three seasons. I can’t believe he wasn’t worth at least a fifth-rounder to someone. Bears just signed him to a one year deal. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/607 "2011-09-05T16:00:29Z")
Meriweather wasn’t ever a bona fide Pro-Bowler, anyway. He had some stats, but he was an alternate selection for both his appearances. He doesn’t work hard enough. That’s always been the knock on him. Maybe the change in venue will give his attitude a kick in the pants. He always had the talent, but that’s rarely enough in the NFL. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/608 "2011-09-05T18:58:10Z")
> [@Jules\_Andre](#): > > Yeah, but from what I understand he made the team as a special teams player (a returner, in particular). I saw him completely botch a DB drill, so that doesn’t surprise me nor offend me. > > I’ll just say I don’t buy this fluffy bullshit for a moment and leave it at that. Fair enough. But how could you not be surprised after you predicted that he’d be among the very first cuts? ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/609 "2011-09-05T20:07:44Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](#): > > Fair enough. But how could you not be surprised after you predicted that he’d be among the very first cuts? He’s a safety. He’s being kept primarily as a kick returner. I saw him completely fail at a DB drill. Now if he was the starting safety this year, I would be completely shocked and ridiculing that decision. I think this outcome was outside the realm of my prediction. If you hand me a coin to flip and predict it’ll land tails, it doesn’t say anything about your prediction when I keep the coin and walk away. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/610 "2011-09-05T20:17:21Z")
The Rams had five cut players picked up almost immeadiatly. Not sure if that says good things about our depth or bad things about our cuts. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/611 "2011-09-05T21:27:09Z")
The Rams also picked up other teams’ waivers. Tony Wragge is a capable interior line backup, for example. Don’t worry too much about it, it’s an evening-up of positional depth. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/612 "2011-09-06T00:47:40Z")
Going from 90 to 53 was bound to leave a lot of gaps in some rosters and abundances in others. ---
**Author:** ![MOIDALIZE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e274bd/32.png) [@MOIDALIZE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MOIDALIZE)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/613 "2011-09-06T19:54:10Z")
Jaguars cut David Garrard. Why would they start him all preseason, only to cut him days before the regular season? Whats the over/under for games before Jack Del Rio gets canned? ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/614 "2011-09-06T20:12:50Z")
> [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > Meriweather wasn’t ever a bona fide Pro-Bowler, anyway. He had some stats, but he was an alternate selection for both his appearances. > > He doesn’t work hard enough. That’s always been the knock on him. > > Maybe the change in venue will give his attitude a kick in the pants. He always had the talent, but that’s rarely enough in the NFL. The talk is that Merriweather will be a better fit for the Bears’ zone heavy schemes over the predominantly man-to-man the the Pats are going to shift to. Merriwether has speed to burn, good hands and likes to free lance. When the Bears run a Cover 1 or Cover 2 he’d probably be an asset, and should give Major Wright more time to season. He’s a potential head case, so there’s that, but the speed, durability and athleticism will be a improvement. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/615 "2011-09-06T20:38:54Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Jaguars cut David Garrard. > > Why would they start him all preseason, only to cut him days before the regular season? Whats the over/under for games before Jack Del Rio gets canned? WTF? I have Jones-Drew in my fantasy league and now the Jags are going to start a rookie?? FUCK. :mad: ETA: Now I see that Luke McCown will be starting. Better than Gabbert, I suppose… ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/616 "2011-09-06T20:50:43Z")
One possible motivation would be they cut him because they would have owed him his whole salary if he was on the roster week 1. This way, they can bring him in later and pay him per week. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/617 "2011-09-06T21:05:22Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > One possible motivation would be they cut him because they would have owed him his whole salary if he was on the roster week 1. This way, they can bring him in later and pay him per week. Yeah, he was due to make $10M. Craziness. For a team in rebuilding mode it’s pretty defensible, but you can’t deny that you’re in rebuilding mode which could be an issue for ticket sales in Jax. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/618 "2011-09-06T21:13:19Z")
> [@ShadowFacts](#): > > WTF? I have Jones-Drew in my fantasy league and now the Jags are going to start a rookie?? FUCK. :mad: > > ETA: Now I see that Luke McCown will be starting. Better than Gabbert, I suppose… McCown has not started a game since 2007, has only 4 NFL starts in a 7 year career and has only 23 total passes in games since then. So, he is not better by much. He did manage almost 50% of his passes and a TD against the mighty juggernaut of the St. Louis Rams defense, though! Which was better then Gararrd testing how many times the Rams’ DEs could knock a QB on his ass. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/619 "2011-09-07T02:44:14Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > The Pats don’t just cut players like that either. You’ve gotta think there’s a big problem with him. Someone like the Bengals or the Raiders will pick him up and get buned. I don’t think it’s anything we don’t already know … he’s not assignment-sound and likes to freelance, and Bill Belichick despises that, even when it does sometimes work out. > [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Jaguars cut David Garrard. > > Why would they start him all preseason, only to cut him days before the regular season? 'Cause Jack Del Rio is a dick. > [@Omniscient](#): > > Yeah, he was due to make $10M. Craziness. For a team in rebuilding mode it’s pretty defensible, but you can’t deny that you’re in rebuilding mode which could be an issue for ticket sales in Jax. Not sure about that at all. Garrard is not a fan favorite in Jacksonville, and there’s a sense that the team was treading water; I’d not be surprised if they sell **more** tickets. No Garrard means Gabbert sooner rather than later. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/620 "2011-09-07T04:23:11Z")
> [@MOIDALIZE](#): > > Jaguars cut David Garrard. > > Why would they start him all preseason, only to cut him days before the regular season? Whats the over/under for games before Jack Del Rio gets canned? They did the same thing with Byron Leftwich a few years back - unironically, Leftwich was canned because they were giving Garrard a starting job. I’m pretty sure Del Rio would have been fired long ago if not for his fabulous hair. > [@Omniscient](#): > > Yeah, he was due to make $10M. Craziness. For a team in rebuilding mode it’s pretty defensible, but you can’t deny that you’re in rebuilding mode which could be an issue for ticket sales in Jax. That “team in rebuilding mode” was 10 points from winning the division last year. All they had to do was beat the struggling Colts in Week 15, and historically they’ve done better against them than almost anyone. ---
**Author:** ![Jules\_Andre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jules_andre/32/9334_2.png) [@Jules\_Andre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jules_Andre)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2011, 9:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920/621 "2011-09-07T09:17:43Z")
The Eagles made some pretty important cuts. Chief among them was Joselio Hanson, whom Football Outsiders had as the best nickel corner in the league last season. Upon Nnamdi and DRC coming to town, Aaron Schatz joked that Hanson would be the greatest dime back in the history of the NFL. Sorta joked, because it might be true. Alas we’ll never see it. He made too much and there were too many really good prospects behind the Eagles’ enhanced DNA secondary. He’ll get signed somewhere, for much less, and be a really good starter if he can stay inside. If he has to play RCB or LCB, he’ll struggle and some team will have overpaid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920.md?page=30) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/official-2011-nfl-football-thread-preseason-edition/589920.md?page=32)