NFL - NEWS & NOTES

Prescott has a 67/25 touchdown to INT ratio for his career. After falling off a little bit in 2017 he had a pretty damn good year in 2018. The one big negative is the fact he was sacked 56 times and that definitely isn't all him. His completion percentage was up...yards were up.

I wouldn't seek to make him the highest paid guy around but I were able to ink him and keep him in a Cowboys uniform I'd do it.

 

Prescott has played well enough to earn more cash and more opportunity as the Cowboys starter, but where does the line get drawn between current production and projected production?

I believed that he had a chance to be a solid NFL starter pre-draft, so my opinion of him will likely remained skewed until I see definitive evidence that I had it wrong. As it stands, I see an opportunity for the Cowboys to get him on a deal slightly less that Wentz's, with more years, front loaded with cash creating space for the team to make a broader decision about his future in the middle of his deal. I'd go no less than 5 years and structure it with as close to zero for a cap hit as possible in years 4 and 5.

Get him a solid portion of his deal guaranteed and create wiggle room for the team if needed down the road.

But if I were to put a little coin on it, I would bet that Dak plays out the majority of that contract before getting resigned for a 7 year deal that sees him as a Cowboy late into his career.

 

I think this would be an ideal answer for both player and team, and it would be how I'd seek to handle it, if I were the Cowboys. I think the Cowboys will need another 2-3 years before they really know what they have in Dak. What I don't want to see them do is overcommit to him, and be stuck in a mediocre position down the line.

I loved Dak in college, and I was not at all surprised to see him come out and have immediate success at the NFL level. I'm not necessarily knocking him - if he were the Bears QB this past year, I think they win a Super Bowl. That said, if the Cowboys determine he's not a $30+ million a year quarterback, I don't want to see them tied to him for 5+ years, and mire in mediocrity while they try and plan for the next QB and winning window. I do think his ceiling is that of an average QB, though I'd love to be wrong - I'm rooting for the guy.

 

It doesn’t matter how good or bad a QB is or isn’t. If they are your starter and not on a rookie contract they seem to get paid pretty good. There has to be a better way to write contracts so that players earn what they produce.

 

Players will never earn what they produce.

They will earn what their agents can demand and negotiate.

I'd be in favor of players earning what they produce if the same were said for owners.

 

I sure don't have a problem with players getting what they can get, because the owners are loaded and doing exactly that themselves. Its a billion dollar industry and I dont mind seeing some of the players cashing in... QB's especially as they still are the field generals.

My opinion on Wentz... its a gamble but also a necessity and had to be done. Every time he takes a hit, there going to be plenty of collective wincing from observers, lol. I cant say that I blame them and on the other hand, all the Rich & famous QB's are a gamble especially at those prices... some more than others tho.

 

$30 mil/per is getting to be what starting QBs in the league make. We have 9 QBs who are making between $25 - $35 million right now, including Derek Carr, Jimmy Garoppalo, and Matt Stafford - guys who haven't won a playoff game.

While, as Tim intimated, it's tough to tell what his projected production will be, I don't see Dallas being "mired in mediocrity" by hitching their wagon to Prescott. I recognize that they haven't been to a conference championship, let alone in Super Bowl, in the three years Prescott's been the starter. But they've won 2/3 of their games and have two division titles. Dak's also acquitted himself pretty well in the playoffs, with a 300-yard, 3-TD game in a comeback that just fell short against Green Bay, and he was pretty much the lone bright spot in last year's division round loss to the Rams.

 

I didn't mean to make you think I was calling the Cowboys mediocre, or attacking them at all. My apologies for the poor explanation.
I just mean that the very guys you highlighted - Carr, Garoppalo, Stafford - are all among either guys who have proven that they're not the difference makers, or who still have to prove that they are. And while I'm sure the Lions are glad that Stafford isn't a bad QB, they recognize that he's a pretty average one. The Raiders could've paid Mack if they didn't have Carr on the payroll, and instead had decided on a rookie-deal QB. Garoppalo, if he's not a franchise QB, will keep SF from capitalizing on the rebuild they're working on.

As far as I'm concerned, you either have a top-tier QB or you're determining whether your young guy can be that. If you're in the middle - with a QB who has yet to live up to promise despite time, a guy who's just average, etc - you're both delaying a rebuild, and you're incapable of taking the next step forward. I just don't want to see Dallas in that position, if Dak can't be the man.

Sorry, these are poorly crafted thoughts - trying to jam them out while at work. Essentially, I'm just not certain that Dak can be the guy, and if I'm Dallas, I'm making sure that his contract is reflective of that caution, even if it means I have to pay him more down the line.

 

No, I got it - I didn't think you were attacking.

Dak is probably tougher to gauge than a lot of other QBs - since Dallas is clearly a run-first team in a league that's overwhelmingly pass-first, he's not going to put up eye-popping numbers.

 

Texans fire G.M. Brian Gaine...

The Texans made a major and unexpected change to the organization on Friday.

The team announced that they have fired General Manager Brian Gaine.

“After a thorough evaluation of our football operations, we have decided to relieve Brian Gaine of his duties as General Manager,” Texans chairman and CEO Cal McNair said in a statement. “Brian is a man of high character and we appreciate his contributions to our organization. We will begin an immediate search for a new G.M. In the interim, football operations will be led by senior vice president of football administration Chris Olsen. While the timing may be unusual, this decision was made in the best interest of our organization in our quest to build a championship team for the city of Houston.”

Gaine was hired in January 2018 when former G.M. Rick Smith took a leave of absence to be with his wife as she battled cancer.

The move leaves the Texans and the Jets both in need of a General Manager as their offseason programs come to an end. The Jets have interviewed several candidates who could conceivably also wind up in the mix in Houston. Eagles exec Joe Douglas has been considered the favorite for the Jets opening and the Texans requested (and were denied) an interview with him before hiring Gaine.

 

Jets hire Joe Douglas as General Manager...

Only hours after the Texans announced they have fired Brian Gaine as General Manager, the Jets hired Joe Douglas as their G.M.

The team announced the agreement with Douglas on Friday night.


Douglas was on the Texans’ list of candidates last year when they hired Gaine, but the Eagles had denied Houston permission to interview Douglas.

Because of his close relationship with Jets coach Adam Gase, Douglas was the favorite to land the Jets’ job as soon as they fired Mike Maccagnan. Douglas initially interviewed with the Jets on Sunday.

Douglas spent the past three seasons with the Eagles after spending one year with the Bears in 2015 when Gase was in Chicago.

Douglas worked for the Ravens for 16 years before making the move to Chicago. He was the team’s national scout when they drafted linebacker C.J. Mosley in the first round of the 2014 draft. Mosley made the move to the Jets as a free agent this offseason.

The Jets also interviewed Seahawks co-director of player personnel Scott Fitterer, Saints director of pro scouting Terry Fontenot and Bears assistant director of player personnel Champ Kelly. - PFT

 

I agree. I LOVE Tim’s approach to trying to lock him up, and, for me, what it ultimately comes down to is I think Dak is a QB Dallas can win with.

Some other metrics: he’s been in the top 10 in completion percentage twice; he’s been in the top 5 in INT% twice, and he’s been in the top 5 in game-winning drives each of his 3 seasons. So, essentially, this far you have a QB who can get the ball in his receivers’ hands (while maintaining a respectable ypa), who limits turnovers, and can be counted on in late game situations.

He might not be Drew Brees or Russell Wilson or Aaron Rodgers, but...i’m Okay with that and with what he offers.

 

The Packers are the only team that reports income and not all teams make the same amount but they made a whopping 38.6M last year. Aaron Rodgers got a 57M signing bonus the same year.

The notion that NFL teams are rolling in dough is fiction. Yes, their income is significant but so too is their overhead. These owners could sell their franchises, invest their money in a hedge fund and receive a far greater ROI than they receive as NFL owners.

 

Overall, there are a total 24 teams that are worth $2 billion or more this year, a huge jump from 2015, when only nine teams were worth $2 billion or more.

You can see the complete rankings below.


NFL's Most Valuable Teams (Worth)
(Rankings via Forbes)

Multibillion-dollar club

1. Dallas Cowboys ($4.2 billion)

2. New England Patriots ($3.4 billion)

3. New York Giants ($3.1 billion) (2015 rank: No. 4)

4. San Francisco 49ers ($3.0 billion)

5. Washington Redskins ($2.95 billion)

6. Los Angeles Rams (2.9 billion) (2015 rank: No. 28)

7. New York Jets ($2.75 billion)

8. Chicago Bears ($2.7 billion)


9. Houston Texans ($2.6 billion)

10. Philadelphia Eagles ($2.5 billion)

11. Denver Broncos ($2.4 billion)

12. Miami Dolphins ($2.38 billion) (2015 rank: No. 16)


13. Green Bay Packers ($2.35 billion) (2015 rank: No. 10)

14. Baltimore Ravens ($2.3 billion)

15. Pittsburgh Steelers ($2.25 billion)

16. Seattle Seahawks ($2.23 billion)


17. Minnesota Vikings ($2.2 billion)

18. Indianapolis Colts ($2.18 billion)

19. Atlanta Falcons ($2.13 billion)

20. Oakland Raiders ($2.1 billion) (2015 rank: No. 31)


21. San Diego Chargers (2.08 billion)

22. Carolina Panthers ($2.075 billion)

23. Arizona Cardinals ($2.03 billion)

24. Tennessee Titans ($2.0 billion)


Billion-dollar club

25. Jacksonville Jaguars ($1.95 billion)

26. Kansas City Chiefs ($1.88 billion) (2015 rank: No. 21)

27. Cleveland Browns ($1.85 billion)


28. Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($1.8 billion)

29. New Orleans Saints ($1.75 billion) (2015 rank: No. 23)

30. Cincinnati Bengals ($1.68 billion)

31. Detroit Lions ($1.65 billion)

32. Buffalo Bills ($1.5 billion)

 

I agree there is huge overhead due to high contracts, but the Billion Dollar Boys who own these teams are happy with their multi-million dollar profits or they would sell.

 

Coaches leaning against red-flag challenges for late-game PI calls and non-calls...

The Competition Committee spent two days this week taking the pulse of coaches regarding potential changes to the rule that currently makes pass interference subject to replay review under the same rules that apply generally to replay review. Per a source with knowledge of the situation, a sense emerged that coaches don’t want replay review for pass interference to be relegated to challenge flags in the final two minutes of the first half or the game.

The coaches want the league office to handle replay review for pass interference during the same circumstances where replay review is automatically available. That approach, however, could result in a spike in automatic reviews, given the receiver/defensive back contact that often happens on passing plays that result in a call or a no-call of pass interference.

The rules require clear and obvious evidence of an officiating error to overturn a ruling on the field. To avoid automatic review, the replay official must see clear and obvious evidence that the ruling on the field was correct. That leaves a wide gulf of plays that should be reviewed but that won’t be overturned; the challenge for the NFL will be to come up with a strategy for limiting the number of times the game is bogged down by a replay review that results in a decision to uphold the ruling on the field.

Regardless, for now it appears that the Competition Committee won’t be using the blank check it finagled last month from the league’s 32 teams to wipe out automatic review of offensive and defensive pass interference calls and non-calls. The coaches simply don’t seem to want it. - PFT

 

I didn’t mean total dollars.

Gid said players should earn what they produce. Meaning if you play well you get paid well.

I said the same should go for owners. If you consistently put a crappy team on the field like some owners have done...then you shouldn’t make anything.

 

I think that's a poor assumption.

 

I don't know about making nothing but there's no doubt a consistently poor product costs them money. Even a team like the Ravens, who had been almost always competitive saw attendance drop significantly after a few poor seasons in a row.