The Official 2013-2014 NFL Thread

[bodiddley]

I don't think the Niners will be as good next year.

First of all, Bowman tore up his knee and probably won't be ready for week 1. And when he does come back, he won't be the same player for at least a few months, if he ever gets back to form.

Secondly, Justin Smith, their star DT is gonna be 35 come September. That's pretty old for any position other than QB. How effective do you really think he'll be?

Thirdly, Boldin will be 34 himself. He'll be lucky to put up a similar season as this year so late in his career. And...they might not even resign him anyway since he's due 6MM next year.

Lastly, Frank Gore is also long in the tooth at 30 years old and we've already seen him lose some quickness this year. Next year he might not even make the cut. That big 3-0 is a huge wall for RBs.

If anything, I see the Rams getting better next year and the Niners getting worse.

Niners have 13 draft pics in April, including 2 2nd rounders and 2 3rd rounders. RB Marcus Lattimore should be ready to get some carries next year and Boldin is the type of WR who ages quite nicely (big & physical, doesn't need to be open). As long as they draft for the D-line to help keep Justin Smith fresh they should be okay. Safety Eric Reed was a rookie stud last year and should only get better.

The key question is Kaepernick. If they can get him to pull his head out of his ass and make him a smarter QB (and get him to put some loft on his throws), the Niners should be slightly better than the Seahawks next year. SF has a significant advantage at O-line, which is the most important unit in football IMO.

 

[clear]

they called "running into the kicker" when it should've been roughing, which would have given SF a first down.

The refs also called two completely bogus personal foul penalties against the SF defense in the 1st half, one of which was on a 3rd and long incompletion.

You add up the (at least) two calls which directly affected SF and SEA drives and the game arguably could have gone either way. SF likely would have only needed a field goal to tie the game at the end of regulation and send it into overtime.

That being said, SF would've had a tougher time against DEN with both Bowman and Mike Iupati out.

Niners fan. :laughing-smiley-007

There was a lot of stuff NOT called against SF that should have been. Cry me a river.

 

[Fiver]

Niners have 13 draft pics in April, including 2 2nd rounders and 2 3rd rounders.

How the fuck did they get the extra picks in the 2nd and 3rd?

 

[mpbiz]

 

[Rusky]

I'm impressed with the Seahawk organization. They practically bottom feed.

This super bowl was won pennies on the dollar. After next season that roster will become very expensive. They better make the best of it next year.

 

[bodiddley]

Niners fan. :laughing-smiley-007

There was a lot of stuff NOT called against SF that should have been. Cry me a river.

I imagine there was a lot of stuff NOT called against SEA when the Steelers won the '06 Superbowl. Lol can't have it both ways buddy

Let me know when you get your 5th ring

Btw how are those Mariners and Sonics (err. Thunder) doing? Lolz

 

[bodiddley]

How the fuck did they get the extra picks in the 2nd and 3rd?

The extra 2nd round pic is from the Alex Smith trade and the extra 3rd rounder is from a draft-day trade with the Titans last year (which they used to select DE Tank Carradine in the 2nd, who was injured all of last year and will be making his debut next season).

 

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*

Crazy that the top paid Offensive player is the TE!

I imagine there was a lot of stuff NOT called against SEA when the Steelers won the '06 Superbowl. Lol can't have it both ways buddy

Let me know when you get your 5th ring

Btw how are those Mariners and Sonics (err. Thunder) doing? Lolz

I am not a seahawks fan... Just stating the fact that the 9ers get by with a lot, never said that other teams do not.

 

[bodiddley]

Crazy that the top paid Offensive player is the TE!



I am not a seahawks fan... Just stating the fact that the 9ers get by with a lot, never said that other teams do not.

Fair enough, though it'd have been nice if they let the players play in that game, the way they did in the superbowl and in the NBA playoffs.

 

[Fiver]

Crazy that the top paid Offensive player is the TE!

Zach Miller will either take a pay cut or he'll be wearing new colors next year. They don't even use him much anymore and he's making an ungodly amount of money. Give that money to Golden and Bennett instead.

They'll be able to resign these guys this year but I'm worried about next year. I'm not sure how they'll have the money for both Earl Thomas and Sherman. Thomas is guaranteed his money because the Cover 3 they play is built around his speed. And yet how can you let Sherman go? He is practically the face of that D now, especially after this year and all that happened.

Golden Tate said he'd give the Hawks a hometown discount. Maybe Sherman will do the same??

 

[bodiddley]

Zach Miller will either take a pay cut or he'll be wearing new colors next year. They don't even use him much anymore and he's making an ungodly amount of money. Give that money to Golden and Bennett instead.

They'll be able to resign these guys this year but I'm worried about next year. I'm not sure how they'll have the money for both Earl Thomas and Sherman. Thomas is guaranteed his money because the Cover 3 they play is built around his speed. And yet how can you let Sherman go? He is practically the face of that D now, especially after this year and all that happened.

Golden Tate said he'd give the Hawks a hometown discount. Maybe Sherman will do the same??

I think you'll see guys from both the Niners and Seahawks giving discounts come contract time. Both are great times with coaches the players like playing for; the Hawks have the rabid fan base and the Niners have the new stadium opening up.

What the NFL needs to do is let top wildcards have home-field against mediocre division winners, but that's another topic altogether.

 

[Fiver]

I think you'll see guys from both the Niners and Seahawks giving discounts come contract time. Both are great times with coaches the players like playing for; the Hawks have the rabid fan base and the Niners have the new stadium opening up.

Well, I hope this turns out to be true if only to preserve the rivalry we already have. It would be a shame if that burned out in 3-4 years simply because the teams couldn't keep their best players and the Rams or Zona took over the division.

Free agency has made it near to impossible to establish a dynasty in this day and age. Frankly, I'd like to see player contracts reeled in somehow to let organizations build a winning team and still retain most of their players, especially the players that are the face of the team, like these defenses are to S.F. and Seattle.

If those defenses get watered down in the next few years because of free agency, this growing legacy of two great defenses going head to head will soon end.

 

[clear]

Free agency has made it near to impossible to establish a dynasty in this day and age. Frankly, I'd like to see player contracts reeled in somehow to let organizations build a winning team and still retain most of their players, especially the players that are the face of the team, like these defenses are to S.F. and Seattle.

This makes me think government, free market vs regulation.
I agree, sports teams should be able to pay whatever they want to a player. Buying all the best players does not mean you will win. Look at what the Yankees did.

 

[LBorbit]

I'm impressed with the Seahawk organization. They practically bottom feed.

This super bowl was won pennies on the dollar. After next season that roster will become very expensive. They better make the best of it next year.

We're actually in a pretty decent situation cap wise, our GM has done an incredible job. We will undoubtedly lose some players but it can be done in a way where we maintain our core and a lot of other pieces.

If I had to guess:

Sidney Rice will be cut this offseason. Chris Clemons will be cut. Zach Miller will be cut or restructured. We will keep either Mebane or Red Bryant, and let the other one walk. We will keep either Clinton McDonald or Tony McDaniel and let the other one walk. Bennett will be re-signed.

Browner of course won't be resigned. Sherman and Thomas will get extensions, Walter Thurmond will walk unless the market is weak due to his suspensions.

We will try to resign Golden Tate, but may not be able to afford him depending on what he is looking for. Baldwin is an RFA and would require a 2nd round tender so he isn't going anywhere.

Anyway, we will probably be able to move forward without losing any of our key pieces, and the guys we do lose won't be a huge deal because a lot of them are being let go because of redundancies.

And oh yeah, with Rice, Clemons, Miller, Mebane or Bryant, and McDonald or McDaniel off the books, we will be able to comfortably offer Wilson a contract at the end of the season.

We'll lose some guys but if our drafting continues to be anywhere near as strong as it has been, we should be good.

 

[LBorbit]

This makes me think government, free market vs regulation.
I agree, sports teams should be able to pay whatever they want to a player. Buying all the best players does not mean you will win. Look at what the Yankees did.

Win 27 rings in less than century?

 

[bodiddley]

Well, I hope this turns out to be true if only to preserve the rivalry we already have. It would be a shame if that burned out in 3-4 years simply because the teams couldn't keep their best players and the Rams or Zona took over the division.

Free agency has made it near to impossible to establish a dynasty in this day and age. Frankly, I'd like to see player contracts reeled in somehow to let organizations build a winning team and still retain most of their players, especially the players that are the face of the team, like these defenses are to S.F. and Seattle.

If those defenses get watered down in the next few years because of free agency, this growing legacy of two great defenses going head to head will soon end.

It would be cool if they let hometown teams bid more a la the nba for retaining their free agents.

I was thinking though of the Patriots and how they've been boss for 13 years straight. You get a great coach, great qb and establish a winning culture - free agents will want to take discounts anyway. It'd be nice to see Kap and Wilson reach Brady's level to preserve the allure and cement the rivalry.

Granted, this would be more likely to happen if the NFL didn't shaft division runners-up by forcing them to play all their playoff games on the road.

 

[Grindstone]

As long as Baalke and Schneider continue to dominate on draft day like they have for the past few season, both 49ers and Hawks will be the cream of the NFL for a long time. They've basically been lapping the field, Niners by moving back in early rounds to acquire multiple 2nd/3rd/4th round picks (and then using them well), Hawks by destroying the middle rounds and stocking up on 5th round picks, which Schneider apparently has some voodoo deathlock on finding value in those rounds.

Drafting well is the key to sustaining excellence in the free agency era. It's what kept the Patriots at the top for so long and also you saw some cracks in their veneer this year as Bill didn't draft so well the last 2-3 seasons (compared to previousl years at least, plenty of hits still but more misses than normal.).

 

[LBorbit]

I hate it when people say that the Seahawks drafting ability is due to Carroll's college recruiting experience. Yea, he probably had some familiarity with players that he attempted to recruit/knew from his time at USC but a vast majority of our draft success is just good old talent evaluation, and not some insider knowledge. If that were the case, why wouldn't other high profile college coaches have similar successes?

 

[Fiver]

We're actually in a pretty decent situation cap wise, our GM has done an incredible job. We will undoubtedly lose some players but it can be done in a way where we maintain our core and a lot of other pieces.

If I had to guess:

Sidney Rice will be cut this offseason. Chris Clemons will be cut. Zach Miller will be cut or restructured. We will keep either Mebane or Red Bryant, and let the other one walk. We will keep either Clinton McDonald or Tony McDaniel and let the other one walk. Bennett will be re-signed.

Browner of course won't be resigned. Sherman and Thomas will get extensions, Walter Thurmond will walk unless the market is weak due to his suspensions.

We will try to resign Golden Tate, but may not be able to afford him depending on what he is looking for. Baldwin is an RFA and would require a 2nd round tender so he isn't going anywhere.

Anyway, we will probably be able to move forward without losing any of our key pieces, and the guys we do lose won't be a huge deal because a lot of them are being let go because of redundancies.

And oh yeah, with Rice, Clemons, Miller, Mebane or Bryant, and McDonald or McDaniel off the books, we will be able to comfortably offer Wilson a contract at the end of the season.

We'll lose some guys but if our drafting continues to be anywhere near as strong as it has been, we should be good.

This sounds spot on.

I like the idea of jettisoning Red Bryant and his 7.6MM salary. He's making too much money for being a space eater. That kind of coin should go towards retaining #25 and the rest of the LOB.

 

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Win 27 rings in less than century?

Last 10 years, they have won 1 championship but has had the highest salary of any team. They did have a great run in the 90's till 2000 tho.

2012 MLB Salaries by Team - USATODAY.com