NFL off-season 2018

Let us know what's going on with your team this off-season, if you find yourself inclined to do so.

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MY New Orleans Saints had a pretty damned good year this past year, which was a slightly overdue recognition for the way the team's been structured and slowly but steadily improving as a team over the last several years even though it wasn't showing the in the team's W/L column for a few years there.

The biggest off-season issue for the Saints is the fact that Face-Of-The-Franchise starting QB Drew Brees needs a new contract or he'll be headed into free agency. Well, technically he's a free agent already, but he's publically expressed that he wants to stay with the Saints and is willing to take less money to stay in NO than he could potentially make in the FA market. The Vikings have reached out to him, and supposedly he spoke with somebody in Minnesota. Neither party is saying anything about it publicly yet. Personally i expect him to wind up with 3-5 yrs and an incentive heavy contract worth between $16.5M and $21M per year.

The Saints are looking to upgrade their defense a little too. Probably the most significant factor in why the Saints' D played better last season than they had in the few previous years was the solid play of the rookies. So the Saints don't necessarily to make a splashy defensive addition to continue to improve in the coming season. Nevertheless they hosted Muhammed Wilkerson and will be hosting Ndamukong Suh, and several mock drafts see them drafting at least one or two defensive players who could be immediate impact players.

Broncos losing some key players to the Rams....Zaphod not happy.

So, the draft is happening now.  It's weird, I'm not usually paying much attention to it, but last night I was flipping between the Red Sox (yay), Celtics (ugh, a game 7 now?), and the fricking NFL draft.  

I can NOT believe this thing was on ESPN and FOX "proper".  Like, not on FoxOne, or Fox Sports Local, or anything, in displaced things like American Idol and Gotham, or whatever nonsense they would normally have on Thursday nights.  For the draft.  I mean,... WHY?

I like the Pats picks.  They didn't blow me away (they never do) but they filled needs.  I was watching closely because of all the nonsensical rumors being thrown around the team.  Yeah.  We need to draft a QB, but I'm glad they didn't move up to get one of these other guys.  I'd rather have a raw mid-rounder (like Jimmy G) that can learn from Brady for a couple of years.  It's one thing to have the luxury of learning from a legend (think Farve/Rodgers), but quite another when the QB is raw enough that they HAVE to learn from a legend (Bledsoe/Brady/Jimmy G).  I'm actually looking forward to Day 2.

AFC EAST THOUGHTS

I think Buffalo screwed up their QB pick.  It's like they didn't think Rosen would be available, so they just went with what they thought would be left.

Nothing the Dolphins do ever scares me anymore.  As long as they are counting on Tannehill to do something for them, they will be awful.  I don't care about the coaching staff, they're just bad.  Poor Amendola.

The Jets just keep on doing Jets stuff, but at least they have 5 QB's to pick from now.  I'm sure that's going to be fine.

OTHER

How long until we all agree than Cleveland has ruined the potential of another first round pick, never mind two?  I give them until week 6 before the wheels fall off... again.

Lamar Jackson to Baltimore was a GREAT pick for the Ravens, but how long until Flacco and his contract are making Peyton Face on the sidelines?  Week 7.

Giants are going to roll with Eli, Barkley, and not much else.  I hope Barkley sucks.  I love to watch them lose.  I'm bitter, so what?

Rosen is PISSED he dropped to the Cardinals.  If I were him, I'd thank my lucky stars.  Use that chip on your shoulder, bruh.  The Cardinals have always been preseason sweethearts, and that was when they had a QB made of glass throwing the ball.  Stay healthy, the Cardinals will rise again.

Mapinguari wrote:

I like the Pats picks. They didn't blow me away (they never do) but they filled needs.

Georgia's Isaiah Wynn is actually a very solid pick for us, Map. He is a versatile pass protector, and with Solder moving on we need that kind of authority on the offensive line. The rest are the usual "who knows" picks, but we needed OL upgrade, and Wynn (along with the Trent Brown trade) gives us that.

The Bills taking Josh Allen was certainly a puzzler. Thought sure they'd select Rosen when they moved up. Getting Edmunds by moving into the 16 slot was a good decision though. Having filled the two glaring holes on their team, if these picks pan out, Brandon Beane and company will look like geniuses. Otherwise, just more of the same shit in Buffalo.

Personality is critical for the Bills. Say what we will about their win/loss, their four consecutive AFC Championships, and how pitiful they are; they are a rare franchise that sees greater values than W/L columns and still does a good job of putting competitive talent on the field. They continue to field a decent NFL team in a very difficult market and I would not have thought for a second that Rosen would have made a good fit there. If they had a nice trade lined up i wouldn't have been surprised but w/o that, i'm not surprised they passed on him.

Meanwhile Canton OH is being overrun by uberfans which is fine. I listened to some of the alleged game on the radio while returning from MI. Well, it's early yet. For this area it's practically the Super Bowl although I don't share in the enthusiasm. Traffic is obnoxious. Road construction couldn't hurry to be finished until closer to the festivities. There's all sorts of regular and then sordid behind the scenes politics and financing. There was a special reference by one of the announcers of the assisted living center for elderly/disabled players. Yes, it may be a good thing for some former players, but I said the moment that this aspect of the HOF was announced eons ago: What are they going to do? Wheel out players for the fans? Can a player say no? Part of my statement was meant to be humorous, but still. Here's multi-concussed player X! In the end what the HOF gurus want is another leg for families who also go to Cedar Point in Sandusky. I just hope the non-football fans who are dragged along because they won't go anywhere on their own do venture to shops that have nothing to do with football. Also it would be nice if the Browns could win a game.

Looks like Peterman is gonna be our guy.