NFL offseason thread

With Mike Tice and now Trestman in Chicago it's made it hard for me to want to see the Bears be the Doomed Bears the last few years.

If Te'o somehow lands in Green Bay I think that's something we all can celebrate.

 

I think Te'o's chances to go in the first round are probably limited to Minnesota or Baltimore.

I won't be surprised at all if he's not taken until the second round.

 

Kiper and McShay both changed in the last 36 hours from Ogletree to Te'o to the Bears at No. 20.

I call bullshit.

 

They don't really need one as a priority, but Te'o certainly fits the Patriots' linebacker mold.

 

If Belichick drafts him, he'll probably become another Bruschi...

 

The difference between Belichick and most other coaches/general managers is that he always starts with the question "what can this player do?" rather than "what can't he do?"

 

It says a lot about a coach when he creates the kind of environment where a player who has been a failure or been difficult on another team comes in and produces and doesn't create any problems. That's been what has impressed me the most about Belichick. Granted, it doesn't hurt when a team has consistently won for the better part of a decade and players are willing to take pay cuts to go there to redeem themselves.

Belichick has done that. I think both Harbaughs are trying to do that with a decent level of success. Obviously, I'm talking more about veteran NFL players and not Te'o...

If Minnesota or Chicago take Te'o, people will see it as a team "taking a chance" on him. If Belichick or John Harbaugh drafts him, it will be because they "obviously have a lot of confidence" in him.

 

I hope he falls to 20, at best, that means the Giants don't take him at 19.

we need a draft thread, but I'm not clever enough to come up with a good thread title.

 

There already is a draft thread: http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/93959/

 

Exactly. I thought Gabbert was a reach at the time. A lot of recent QB selections were.

But you have to be committed. Don't spend valuable first-round picks on someone you don't believe in. Trade down or pick someone at a different position. Once you draft a guy and pay him more money than most of us working stiffs will see in an entire lifetime, it's incumbent on your coaching staff to try to get the most out him that you can. Then, yes, if ALL of that fails, cut your losses and move on. But give him every chance to succeed.

We see quite a number of current starters who were not high picks, so there's something to be said for player development, too.

 

So how many of the guys you listed would you want as your No. 1 starter entering a season? I'd say maybe Batch and Campbell are the best of the bunch, but none are going to be HOFers. They're not even Michael Vick level. Backups that MIGHT win you a game here or there, but that's about it.

Yes, a whole lot of white QBs in that mode, too.

 

When did Charlie Batch's son get drafted? You can't be talking about the old man.