2014 NFL off-season thread

Seattle won because of their ridiculous depth. Once you overpay Wilson you better keep dominating the draft the way they have. I love Wilson and Sherman but they aren't winning the Super Bowl with a cap hit of 20 to 30 million between the two of them this year.

 

Exactly. I'm guessing Seattle is hoping it doesn't take Flacco money to keep Wilson. Sherman is going to get huge money when he becomes a FA after next season assuming Seattle doesn't work out a deal with him sooner than that.

The Niners have the same problem with Kaepernick, just a year sooner than Wilson. The Niners do have several players who are on their last legs, several of whom have been overachieving. I read something on ESPN that said the Niners don't think they're going to be able to keep Iupati after the 2014 season.

 

The Patriots believe players at some positions are fungible commodities (running back, wide receiver, defensive backs) and some are not. When offensive lineman Logan Mankins went to the mattresses for more dough by a protracted holdout, he eventually got it. If Talib gets a big contract, he ought to send a case of Krug to Welker and Manning, because him getting hurt in the AFC championship game and the subsequent disappearance of New England's pass defense is his primary bargaining chip.

 

Which is what Carroll did at USC. They rotated and rotated and rotated and never fatigued and killed teams in the 3rd and 4th quarters because they were always fresh.

 

Regarding Seattle, there's also the question of how much money the Seahawks will want to put into certain positions.

In 2014, not only will Richard Sherman be up for an extension, but so will Earl Thomas, who is arguably a top five safety in the NFL. If you put a lot of money into your defensive backfield to keep two players who are arguably elite, what do you do about other positions at which you may need help?

Regarding Thomas, a lot will depend on what deals Jarius Byrd and T.J. Ward get.

 

"LOL."

--Vince Young

 

"LOL."

--Vacated Title

 

M. Gee, Talib is a guy to build a defense around.
I have no idea why he was such a dud in Tampa.
Conduct issues since settled in playing for a stable organization.
But they cut a producing Ty Law, so maybe BB doesn't have a thing for corners.

 

They let Asante Samuel go, too. They have, rightly or wrongly, a set figure in their minds for each position, and don't much deviate from it. Talib was a hoss of the first magnitude for the Pats when he was on the field in 2013.

 

I can't argue with the methodology.
Their model works.
But I have sensed a growing impatience among their fans in building a team on the cheap the last few years, especially on defense.

 

If Belichick had paid Richard Seymour instead of taking the Raiders' draft bounty, the Pats probably go to a couple more Super Bowls.

 

Jason LaCanfora:

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/24455137/jim-harbaughs-relationship-with-49ers-brass-is-getting-worse

INDIANAPOLIS -- Things are not getting better behind the scenes for the San Francisco 49ers. There was a persistent rumble throughout the combine about the extent of the rift between coach Jim Harbaugh and the team's front office. It doesn't seem like it will go away, and there is increasing buzz that the team might have to decide between Harbaugh or GM Trent Baalke.

The men are barely speaking, I'm told, and almost all communication is through email. Harbaugh also has a strained relationship with team president Paraag Marathe, sources said, and he has clashed with many within the organization. It could prove untenable. If anything, the impression I got this week was that the situation there is actually much worse than how it has been portrayed in the media, and helps explain the delay in giving a new deal to the coach, who has two years left on a contract he has outperformed.