Topic: 🏈🏈 The American Football Discussion Thread 🏈🏈 - page 172. (Read 48640 times)

Some news for the upcoming debut-season of the European League of Football.
The last few days there have been many announcements via social media. Many commitments and announcements of teams that already existed at the time of NFL Europe.

These are the eight teams for the first season that have been official announced:
Frankfurt Galaxy
Hamburg Sea Devils
Stuttgart Scorpions
Barcelona Dragons
Wroclaw Panthers
Berlin Thunder
Cologne Centurions

The Hamburg Sea Devils, for example, have signed Kasim Edebali, one of the few German NFL players who has unfortunately been out of action for the last two years.
The new head coach could also prove himself in the NFL: Ted Daisher, Ex-Special Teams Coordinator for the Eagles, Browns and Raiders.

I think we can expect some interesting announcements in the next few days. If the interest exists I can gladly keep you up to date 
Most of the info I could find is unfortunately only on german social media channels, but it looks like the official website is already under construction. You can find it here: europeanleague.football

Will Bill Belicheck’s new players improve the team if Cam Newton is the quarterback? I am skeptical.

Also, who would trade for Deshaun Watson with 14 lawsuits? He is trapped with the Texans and he will be very thankful for playing for the Texans. He might also retire a Texan hehehehe.


The numbers keep increasing for Deshaun Watson, as his camp remains silent.

Lawyer Tony Buzbee told FOX 26 in Houston on Monday night that the total number of assault lawsuits against the Texans quarterback has reached 14, with 24 total claims now under consideration by Buzbee’s firm.

Source https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2021/03/23/deshaun-watson-lawsuits-up-to-14-with-24-accusers/

The skeptical me is thinking that there is a conspiracy against Deshaun Watson to pressure him and force him to stay with the Texans hehe.

I predict the lawsuits will be dropped then Watson announces that he is very happy to stay with the Texans.

The Deshaun Watson situation has gotten a lot more complex, he is being accused in two civil lawsuits of civil assault and emotional distress and two more cases are coming, in a nutshell he is accused of behaving inappropriately when receiving massages by two different woman on events that allegedly happened on March 2020 and August 2020.

News Sources :
https://www.nfl.com/news/texans-deshaun-watson-accused-of-indecent-conduct-in-civil-lawsuit-qb-denies-wro
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/texas-sports-nation/texans/article/massage-therapist-deshaun-watson-lawsuit-buzbee-16032560.php

Lawsuits Sources :
https://www.scribd.com/document/499181353/Deshaun-Watson-lawsuit
https://www.scribd.com/document/499204637/Georgia-woman-s-lawsuit-vs-Deshaun-Watson

In addition to all of the Patriots' new signings, they also have one big departure to report. OLiner Joe Thuney moves to the Kansas City Chiefs and signs a 5 year contract.
Really exciting because both starting tackles were recently released and Thuney showed in the past, that he can also play as center or right guard in emergency situations.

And Gronk has signed a new 1-year contract. It really seems like the Bucs are doing everything they can to keep their SB team. As a Brady fanboy I like to see that.

Sources:
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31071220/kansas-city-chiefs-agree-5-year-deal-joe-thuney
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31071981/rob-gronkowski-returning-tampa-bay-buccaneers-says-agent

He better does, Cam is not going to be a solution for the long term, however assuming he can remain healthy he should play better after having a full year to learn the offence, but still it seems like the best option long term for Belichick is to draft a QB.

And in some other news, Drew Brees has finally retired, for a moment some speculated he could play for another year but now it is definitive, taking into account the salary cap issues of NO it seems they are about to enter a rebuild mode so this seems like the best moment for Brees to retire.

Source: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/drew-brees-retirement-breaking-down-the-saints-possible-replacements-for-legendary-qb/

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Cam only had one good season, when you see the rest he is average at best, he had several injuries on his throwing shoulder and tried to change his trowing mechanics but that is always hard to do so late on your career, but at that price he is not a bad sign.

Garoppolo fits NE system better since he already knows the offence very well so there will be no problems in that front, but as we know the biggest problem for NE last year was their skill position players, they had no talent there and it is something Belichick is addressing right now.

Agreed, he overachieved.

That is possible but it will be hard, the Bills and Dolphins improved last year and if they improve this year as well then even a wildcard spot will be difficult to achieve.

Jonnu Smit is a great addition, a top notch TE was glaringly missing from the Pats offense last year.  Matt Judon is another great addition, and with the rest of the defense back in action, they're going to be a force.  Agholor and Bourne are both decent receivers, but I think Belichick still needs a stand-out at the position.  Galladay is still unsigned, but I expect the Lions to franchise-tag him if they can't come to a long-term agreement.

I'm hoping the Niners can sign Trent Williams to long term deal, otherwise I expect they'll use their tag on him.

source: https://twitter.com/AnnieAgar/status/1371537476364406786

"Signed
- Jonnu Smith 4yr/$50M
- Davon Godchaux 2yr/$16M
- Matt Judon 4yr/$56M
- Jalen Mills 4yr/$24M
- Nelson Agholor 2yr/$26M
- Kendrick Bourne 3yr/$22.5M"
source: https://twitter.com/KeaganStiefel/status/1371598437498621955

Belichick is not playing around, Jonnu Smith is an amazing addition imo, outside of Kelce and Kittle he is probably the best TE out there, close to 500 yards last season and 8 TD catches.
The odds for Patriots winning the AFC East look great at 5.14 (dropped a little throughout the day and will likely go down further).

I think the Patriots' fans are clinging to the past, wishing for Garoppolo's return out of nostalgia.  When he stepped in it was as if TB12 never stepped out.  They saw the future of the franchise's most valuable position under development.  They want that back.

It's not all misplaced, Garoppolo has been good when healthy, and the Pats have a great track record for keeping their QB healthy.  But the Patriots' woes go far beyond the QB position.  Belichick knows that, which why he signed Cam to another season.  I've never been a fan of Cam Newton, but I don't think that was a bad idea anyway.  There's nothing in the contract granting Cam the starting job, and it pays like a backup QB with incentives to earn the starting job.  There's also the possibility of trading him before the deadline in September.  It's an insurance policy, and a relatively cheap one.

As for the Patriots making it to the SB this year, I wouldn't count them out.  I think Belichick would love nothing more than to prove he can win a super bowl with an aging QB who's mostly built his career on his ability to run, but is now losing that edge.  I do think he would take advantage of a better option, if one becomes available.  Nonetheless, it's a tit-for-tat. Tom Brady proved he can win a super bowl with another coach, now Belichick needs to prove he can win a super bowl with another QB.

I'm not a Patriots fan but I can imagine that the last Super Bowl might have something to do with the dislike for Belichick's decisions. Granted it would all be forgiven if they beat Tampa Bay in the next SB but I kinda doubt that will happen.

Why does NE fans hate or disapprove so much of Cam being re-signed? Is Garoppolo the answer to everything? I mean he is not the second coming of Jesus, he will not magically bring you back to SB, at that price you are better off with Newton and a bunch of cap space left to work with, just my opinion.

Patriots finished last season with 7-9 record, not that bad considering everything that happened to them.
Cam in a new system coming off a significant injury with no weapons on offense, and basically their entire defense not reporting because of covid, they had like 8-9 opt-outs.

I could see Patriots make the playoffs with their defense back this season and maybe a few additions at key positions.

@South Park. However, it was also mentioned by other news articles that Bill Belichick still is looking for a quarterback despite extending Cam Newton for another year. Jimmy Garoppolo was also mentioned to be wanted by the Patriots.

This is disappointing. I was speculating that Cam would transfer to the Redskins to be with Ron Rivera again and Garoppolo to be with Belichick again.

After 2 years of drama, or was it 3 years I do not remember anymore, Dak and Dallas have finally come to an agreement, 160 millions for four years and 126 millions in guaranteed money which makes him the second best paid player only behind Mahomes, for those which dislike the Cowboys this should be good news as there is no way they can remain competitive by overpaying their QB, they weren’t competitive but you know what I mean, this is basically the same scenario the Vikings are experimenting with Kirk Cousins and I expect the same results.


Sources: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-free-agency-2021-dak-prescott-cowboys-agree-to-terms-on-contract-extension-with-record-126m-guaranteed/
https://overthecap.com/dak-prescott-and-cowboys-agree-to-160-million-contract/

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Pretty accurate if you ask me, I laughed and then I was like that is pretty much what it is happening anyway.

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Edit: The NE Patriots have resigned Cam Newton for a one year deal 5 million base salary with 9 million on incentives, not happy but it is what it is.

Both Brady and Mahomes have restructured their contracts to save cap space, 19 and 17 millions respectively, and Brady got a one year extension.

And the most interesting of all is what the Chiefs are doing with their OL, they cut both of their tackles and they are letting their Center to go on FA, while both tackles were injured and did not play on the SB this is interesting as it takes time for the OL to develop the needed chemistry, so it is definitely a risk and most likely the Chiefs will have to draft an OL at 31st.

Sources: https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/cam-newton-re-signing-with-patriots-quarterback-to-return-on-a-one-year-deal-per-report/
https://www.nfl.com/news/tom-brady-buccaneers-agree-to-terms-on-one-year-extension
https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31052482/sources-kansas-city-chiefs-restructure-qb-patrick-mahomes-contract-save-17m-salary-cap
https://kckingdom.com/2021/03/12/kc-chiefs-offensive-line-completely-different-2021/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Wmh0RWCANo

Shanahan and Lynch are not dumb, even if they would like to get an upgrade at the QB position they are not going to let go of Jimmy until they get their QB upgrade, also Belichick has always been the kind of GM that likes to take bargains, blockbuster trades are not his specialty so I doubt he is making any kind of offer that could appeal SF to send Jimmy back to NE, like always Belichick will wait and will get some veterans below market value as the reduction of the cap will suppress salaries all around the league.


I have also seen reports the Bears are pushing the hardest to try to get Deshaun Watson out of Houston, if true then this means the Bears are really doing everything they can to finally get themselves a QB but I do not know how possible the idea really is, because even if we know you need a QB to become a contender the Bears do not really have the draft capital, the players or even the cap space as they are 7 millions over the cap.

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Also the window to use the franchise tag and the transition tag is closing on March 9th and some teams are about to lose some of their most valuable players, a notable case are the Cowboys which do not have the cap space to tag Dak, so unless they make one or two big cuts the Cowboys will have to let go of Dak.

@DireWolfM14. That rumor might be very true. Belichick was preparing Jimmy to be his replacement for Tom Brady already before maybe an unplanned decision to extend Tom Brady with the Patriots? I do not know the story hehe.

I speculate Deshaun Watson will go to San Francsico as a replacement.

The official NFL year 2021 starts on March 17th, 10 days away.  As has happened every year prior, the rumor mill is getting up to full steam.

Here's a Yahoo Sports article suggesting that the Patriots top priority this off season is to lure Garoppolo from the 9ers.

The 49ers's John Lynch and Coach Shanahan, have been adamant that Garoppolo is their guy.  There can be a lot of talk this time of year to prop up a guy to enhance his trade value but realistically, I believe them.  Who else do they have to work with?  Neither Mullins nor Beathard have been able to win as consistently as a healthy Garoppolo.  The only way I can see it happening is if the 9ers can swing a high draft pick and a veteran QB.  I think the value of keeping Garoppolo is higher than anything another team would offer in trade.

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This one seems far more plausible; a CBS Sports article claiming Khalil Mack gets traded for Russell Wilson.  As much as I would like to see Russell Wilson out of the NFC West, I'm afraid this might be one of those "be careful what you wish for" moments.

Good question and I honestly do not know, Alex Smith could decide to retire since he already proved what he wanted to prove with his return to the league, if we wants to continue his durability will be an issue but I think the next months could help him to recover even further and have a chance of playing a full season.


Not very happy about this either, while I think Belichick overachieved with that roster and I think we cannot blame Cam for everything that went wrong with the offence, as the skill position players of NE were the worst around the league, NE needs a long term solution at QB and Cam does not seem to be the right person for the job, I wonder if Belichick is waiting until the beginning of the new year to make any big movements as there are still 9 teams over the cap which need to go below it, which means they will need to cut some good players and maybe he is trying to get them for cheap.

According to different rumors and recent reports I think they will sign Newton again for a short-term deal. Looks like Belichik is a bigger fan of Newton than expected.
Dont know what do think of it and not very happy if this scenario will happen but Cam got atleast a full offseason to prove that he still has his skills he had in Carolina.
Also expecting a QB drafted in the first round.

@ South Park. Bringing in Alex Smith while looking for a longterm replacement might be a worse decision than letting Cam Newton continue. The Patriots also have an excuse for his low passing performance. Covid hehehe. He had it beginning of the season. You might be right.