Now we just have to wait and see if Jason Mendoza stays faithful to his beloved Jaguars or he jumps ship and becomes a Rams fan. Jason
It used to be, maybe 10+ years ago, you could always count on the Bengals or the Cowboys to be the team(s) that would pick up a reprobate like Burfict. Now it's (at least) the Raiders that will. That's one of the things that gives me the "dysfunctional" vibe I was talking about. That, and the regular high draft picks that never pan out and end up cut or traded. Same with the Browns on this one. I mean, my Bears only just seem to have figured things out, and the McCaskey's really should sell the team to anyone capable on understanding how to run a team in the 21st century. I consider them clueless most of the time, but not dysfunctional.
Where were you when the debate was raging? Anyway at least you know enough to know that the Raiders, who used to be a haven for NFL misfits, gave up that title years ago to teams like the Cowboys. Jerry Jones used to be a great admirer of Al Davis and picked up some of his habits. As I previously wrote, Gruden was great when it came to picking free agents, but not as noteworthy in the draft. So we'll see how his FA signings turn out this coming season.
They also have to fix the culture. Even with good picks and good FA signings, if they don't have a good culture/atmosphere, guys don't gel as a team and those great pickups never play to their potential. That's assuming those players really were great and not overhyped. Plenty of those types league-wide, but again, some teams just gravitate to them year after year. I'm definitely looking at the Browns here.
Rob Gronkowski has retired from football. The greatest tight end of all time and a handy marker for distinguishing this second era of Pats’ dominance.
Tony Gonzalez would like to have a word... Gronkowski has been a lot of fun to watch, and he’s really smart in my book for getting out now.
As would Mike Ditka and Ozzie Newsome. I wonder what kind of stats those guys would've put up with the modern rules receivers play under?
Yep, probably good for him to walk away while he can still walk under his own power. Absolutely amazing player, and towards the top of any TE list no matter how you want to judge them. He could block, catch anything thrown into his zip code, usually took 2-3 guys minimum to take down, and was just an absolute beast. And despite the 'college bro' personality, was a smart football player. All while making it look fun, and helping it be fun to watch him no matter what. Unfortunately, injuries just piled up, and started with back issues to begin with, so the spirit was willing but the flesh was weak, so to speak. Again, despite acting like a dufus, he was smart with his money, so he can afford to walk away and not grind himself into the dirt to get a paycheck. Claims he's lived entirely off of endorsements and has never spent a paycheck; so should be well positioned for his future. He'll be missed; just a monster of a player, exciting, and always fun to watch. Window for Brady just got a little smaller...
Well no not exactly. The difference is that back then the Raiders looked for and kind of coveted misfits who were still good players. That was part of the franchise's brand. That is no longer the case. So these days, the Raiders don't look for misfits and with maybe one or two (at the most), exceptions, don't currently have any on their roster -- especially the type they used to recruit. Talking about the guys with drug and alcohol problems, etc. The change began when Stacey Toran killed himself while driving under the influence back in the L.A. days.
Greg Schiano steps down as Patriots defensive coordinator. https://www.profootballrumors.com/2019/03/patriots-dc-greg-schiano-steps-down#comments
Even though Johnny Football was already out with a concussion (I know, how can you tell?), the AAF is suspending operations in it's 1st season. Story
Not a good sign. Though anyone with half-a-brain knew this didn't have much of a chance to begin with.
Yeah, trying to sell it as an instructional league for the NFL was a far cry from getting the NFL to buy into it and give them money.