NFL - Discussion Thread

Just how good is Chase Young then? Every expert in the US who know anything about pro football have stated he is far more athletically gifted than both the Bosa brothers and the angle of his outside rush to get to the quarterback is from another planet. I think the Redskins or whatever they are called will have salary cap problems in four years time keeping Young on the team.

Young is a different type of player. He's not as strong as either Bosa and he doesn't have the hands of those two (Epenesa was more like those two from this draft), but, obviously, he's a better athlete in terms of speed and other measurables. I think he'll have a great career, but I think he's a notch under Myles Garrett (whom he is more in line with in terms of body and skills). When Garrett first entered the league, he was supposed to be a poor man's Clowney. However, Garrett has surpassed Clowney in just two years due to injuries and motivation. When all is said and done, I think Young will be better than Clowney but not as great as Garrett. He could be better than both, especially since no one will be able to double team his for the immediate future, but that will all fall on how great he wants to be. He has all the tools.

Oh, and they are the Redskins and will forever be the Redskins. End of story.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jul 29th 2020 »

WR Marquise Goodwin (Philly)
OT Nate Soldier (NY Giants) (has a reason)
WR Devin Funchess (Green Bay)
LB Dont'a Hightower (New England)
OT Marcus Cannon (New England) (has a reason)
S Patrick Chung (New England)
RB Damien Williams (Kansas City) (has a reason)
DT Michael Pierce (Minnesota)

These are the players I would say are significant or slightly significant losses. I'd expect this list to grow, but if it stays shorter than 30 players, it'll be fine.

To be honest, any teams who aren't in playoff contention or who desperately need a QB, should encourage their key players to sit out the season. It is obvious tanking, but they couldn't be penalised because coronavirus would be seen as the reasoning.


« Last edited by Matt77 on Jul 31st 2020 »

Philly didn't have Goodwin last year. He's also injury prone. No impact whatsoever, especially when factoring in that they draft a WR in the 1st Round.

Soldier was going to be moved to RT after the Giants drafted Thomas #4 Overall. An impact, but they can easily find a RT in Free Agency right now (Corey Glenn being one example).

Funchess is a third string WR at best due to his laziness. No impact lost.

Hightower is a bit of a loss, but he's incredibly lazy. Plus, the Pats might be glad to lose him if they are trying to lose for Lawrence. They still have the toughest schedule, and they might have only signed Newton to be a punching bag for opposing teams (in order to preserve Stidham in case they don't lose enough for Lawrence or Fields).

Cannon is also a loss, but, again, the Pats might be looking to lose.

Chung is old and isn't much of a loss. The Pats are loaded at Safety.

Williams isn't making a wise decision. His career is likely over now. It was going to be hard for him to start this year after the Cheifs drafting that RB in the 1st, but now it's a guarantee. Not a loss if the rookie does as many believe he will in this specific offense.

Pierce is a bit of a loss just because the Vikings are thin at D-Line. But it's not like the Vikings were going to win the Super Bowl this year, so it doesn't really matter.

None of the real contenders have lost anyone of significant value, and I doubt any of them will. Good Players WANT to play. Most aren't pussies.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jul 30th 2020 »

It depends on whether the list grows. I expect it to, but not by much.

Maybe New England are following my advice (excluding Cannon) . But it kind of contradicts what they did when they got Newton. He's going to lead NE to a minimum of 8 wins, with a likely divisional title. So probably not.

Teams are going to find out which players aren't committed this season. I understand a player sitting out if they or family have pre-existing conditions, but I agree with you that the others are being lazy. To be honest, playing in the NFL will be safer than not playing. There will be strict quarantining measures which will protect the players, and if a player(s) gets infected, the team will have some of the best doctors in the country to ensure that they make a full and quick recovery.
EDIT - Damien Williams' mother has recently been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, so that explains his decision.

In other news, Washington have revealed their phone wallpapers: (look at them at your own risk)
Spoiler:

« Last edited by Matt77 on Jul 31st 2020 »

I can't help but notice that there are three Patriots players on that list, I take it they are planning to throw the season big time to guarantee a top draft position so they can negotiate for the number one or two pick in the draft and get either Lawrence or Fields in the draft. I don't think they willl be able to go 1-15 without the NFL commission accusing them of tanking but a higher draft pick will help their cause.

With Newton as the starter, tanking is impossible.

Cam isn't going to make them suddenly have weapons for him to throw to...

Having Cam won't change them having the toughest schedule either...

It also doesn't mean Cam won't get reinjured...

Or even if Cam beats Stidham for the job at all...

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Jul 31st 2020 »

Considering a half-washed Brady lead NE to what should've been the #2 seed, Cam won't have to do too much to have success.

I just can't see why NE would've signed Cam if the plan all along was to Lose for Lawrence. Belichick obviously thinks that his roster has one last (long) shot at a SB and that Cam is the best option on the market. If that wasn't the case, NE would've started Stidham and either unearthed a franchise QB, or finished with a top 5 pick.

I will be very surprised if NE don't make the playoffs.

Do you recall how many players the Pats lost in Free Agency? Couple that with all the Pats players that are opting out of playing, and you have a very different roster compared to last year. Cam has barely any weapons. Cam has had issues with injuries. Cam doesn't necessarily fit the system. The Pats have lost many, many players. The Pats have the toughest schedule.

There's a chance they could bottom out this year. The Colts had a 14-2 Roster year in and year out with Peyton, but the one year he was gone they suddenly couldn't win a game. Anything is possbile; it wouldn't surprise me if the Pats fail miserably and cash in on Lawrence or Fields.

« Last edited by Warrior13 on Aug 1st 2020 »

Most of the people that left or are sitting out are defensive players. That doesn't affect Cam at all.

This is New England. I will never rest easy and will always be extremely pessimistic when it comes to them, until they miss the playoffs. They still have Belichick, who likely had a trick or two up his sleeve.

At this stage they are the favourite to win the AFC East in my eyes. Hopefully that will chance after the first few weeks. But I'm not underestimating them yet.

I'm not saying they are going to bottom out; all I'm saying is that it could easily happen. The Pats only went 12-4 last year because of their Defense. They lost so many defensive players in Free Agency, and now they're losing even more to opt outs. Their Secondary is stacked, but now they have holes in their defensive interior and linebackers. Teams are going to be able to run all over them. Not to mention, teams will pick them apart in the passing game over the short middle and by throwing to the receive not covered by Gilmore.

Then you turn to the offense which had trouble when Brady was at the helm. Cam isn't suddenly going to fix that, especially when he doesn't compare to Brady in terms of accuracy. If Michel doesn't bounce back this year, the Pats offense will be seriously one dimensional, and that forte won't even be all that good since they are lacking at WR & TE. It could easily be as bad as Dennis and I imagine it could be.

Sure, the NFL Top 100 doesn't mean all that much since it's voted by the players, especially when they are dumb enough not to have Mahomes #1, but... ZERO Miami Dolphins Players were elected into the Top 100. To think our team had no Top 100 Player, not even one, and yet we were only the fifth worst team. How in the world wasn't Flores the Coach of the Year?

We were 5-4 in our last 9 games, with arguably the worst roster in NFL history. And we beat two playoff teams. Coach of the Year is nearly always given to the coach of a team who did well, which isn't necessarily an indicator that the coach is good. If the team's W-L record wasn't the main factor, Flores would've and should've been one of the leading names, if not the winner.

Simply put, we both know who the true Coach of the Year was. And he's hopefully coaching our team for the next 5 years.

I'd imagine the offense will be more run-focused this season for NE, to complement Cam's game. NE still have an above average o-line which should help with that. Michel had a disappointing season, but there's still time for him to improve again.
RBs - Sony Michel & Rex Burkhead
WRs - Julian Edelman, N'Keal Harry & Mohamed Sanu

NY Jets LB C.J. Mosely has opted out. It says he made 4/5 Pro Bowls at Baltimore, but was injured all of last season basically for NY Jets. Is this a significant loss for them?

I don't see Mosely being a huge loss. Like you said, he's only played like one game since signing that mega deal with the Jets (ha ha ha). Plus, they have the second most difficult schedule, so it's not like they were going to be doing much this year.

Stafford was placed on the Coivd List. If any QB was to sit out this year, you would think it would be him. Back issues last year, wife has had issues with brain cancer (I believe), and now he has been in contact with Covid. He's a baller so I know he'll end up playing, but if any QB was going to sit out, you'd have to imagine it would be him.

With that said, I wonder if any Starting QB will sit out this year.

Stafford is on the list temporarily and should be off it in a few weeks or sooner. He can't afford to sit out this season, otherwise it's possibly the end of his career. He's already getting older and injury prone, and to miss basically 2 whole seasons would be a killer.

I'd imagine a starting QB would only sit out if they or their family are at risk of the virus doing serious harm.

The biggest factor in my opinion regarding how well New England do this season is how much their confidence is hit by suddenly losing their talisman in Brady. Brady is like Peyton Manning and Joe Montana, when those guys were calling the shots the players knew good things were going to happen. Now the team are playing with unproven New Engalnd players in Newton and Stidman, the transition is not going to be seamless regardless of which guy starts. I don't for a second think Stidman will start, the NFL will start making enquiries if he does and they lose games while there is a healthy Cam Newton on the bench.

Matt: Or A QB that's extremely lazy. XD

Dennis: I can see it happening. The question is: Will it?

If a starting QB sat out for the entire season without a valid excuse, they'd lose respect from their teammates and coaches. It would be a team-killer.

Some reporter had the nerve to ask Carr if he considered opting out since he isn?t the future of the Raiders. I wonder if someone will ask the same of Rodgers? lol