NFL (since 2016)

[crystal falace]

"Free agency started last night and was pretty crazy some huge money being spent. Osweiler getting £18m a year for the Texans, leaving the Broncos without a QB, Giants have spent a fortune on good but not great players, Oliver Vernon has more guaranteed money than JJ Watt. lots more deals but cant be bothered to list them all."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Yeah, I'd generally go along with that, Scorch. I'd say it's the AFC North and either the NFC North or NFC West. AFC East had a strong moment when the Jets and Fish very briefly grew to threaten the Patsies. But it was fleeting and we too quickly reverted to type!"

[El Scorchio]

"I'd say AFC North. One or the other or both of Baltimore/Pittsburgh has been championship calibre or thereabouts for the last 15-20 years, so that division has always produced at least one really good team, if not two. Others have usually had one perennial contender (and some shit) or a revolving door of contenders, or fours constantly shit teams. NFC North I think is the other strongest division. The rest have been really up and down."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Here's a Q for you - and honest answers, please, rather than heavily biased ones (albeit all answers will contain some bias). Was chatting to a friend of mine about the upcoming Superbowl over the weekend. He's British but a huge Giants (spit!) fan as he married a lovely, kick-ass producer from New York who's family were all from the blue side of the divide. We got talking about the old NFC East in the 1980s and how ridiculously competitive it was. Basically, it was the old line about 'if you're in the sort of shape to win the NFC East, then you're in good shape to win a Superbowl'. Which was certainly true for the decade from the mid-80s to the mid-1990s. Not been like that for a while, with the exception of the Phillies a few seasons ago. But which division - either AFC or NFC - has been consistently the most competitive of late? Lots of talk about the NFC West and, sure enough, the Seahawks (particularly), Rams, 49ers and Cards have all had their moments in the past decade. But which is the dominant division nowadays? Even as a Jets fan, I can't make a case for the AFC East, which is not great now that the Patsies are in decline (!). The Bills have been a pleasant surprise for some, but are not in that league. And us and the Fish stink to high heaven! Personally, I like the dynamic in the AFC North now that Cleveland have gatecrashed the party that the Ravens and Steelers were dominating. You've got three fiercely competitve sides there now, and the Bengals' record until recently was surprisingly strong under Marv Lewis. So which division has bragging rights right now? Is there a modern equivalent of the old NFC East? If so, why? Discuss."

[Nutsin]

"Burnsie you slaaaaaaag! Looks like your Mickey Mouse outfit finally figured out Goff is gash. Stafford is a good QB, big upgrade, Rams just got a whole lot better congrats. Although they are 30 mill over the cap so will be losing some talent this year. Still, the Niners will sweep you again next year no doubt."

[southbankbornnbred]

"They've overpaid, again, but the Rams have got themselves a good QB. Big upgrade on Goff. I thought he'd go elsewhere, but that's a good signing for them."

[Holstebro Hammer]

"Crazy trade, The Rams still only have the 3rd best QB in the division. Stafford is good but not the answer ."

[Hermit Road]

Takashi Miike 8:29 Sat Jan 30 Absolute hot mess. Doesn't inspire any confidence and looks like a deer in the headlights. Be lucky if he sees out 12 months.

[Mr. Burns]

We don't need first round picks.

[crystal falace]

"Unless they acquire another pick from somewhere the rams will now go 7 years without making a first round pick, since drafting........Jared Goff"

[crystal falace]

"Huge deal! Rams are trading jared Goff, two 1sts and a 3rd for Matthew Stafford!! Watson is going to be worth at least 4 1sts based on this"

[Takashi Miike]

"the new eagles head coach's press conference was interesting, hopefully he calms down before training camp :.)"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Not heard Saleh's view of Sam Darnold yet, but at this stage of the Jets' thinking, I'd say we're more likely to stick with Darnold and take Sewell at #2. That would leave Wilson, Fields and Lance etc to others. It will be a risk to pass on Wilson, but I think that Douglas will give Darnold one more season to prove himself. Besides, if we bomb again next year and need to move on from our current QB, the 2022 draft looks almost as tidy for play-callers."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Trundle - cheers. Bucky Brooks must be the worst judge of anything on the NFL website. He's just happy to be there. I can't see the Jets taking Wilson at #2, although you never know. And there is little chance that Penei Sewell - the most immediate NFL starter in this year's draft (even above Lawrence) - will drop as far down as #8. I doubt that seven teams will pass on him. That said, there is very little logic applied to the NFL, and draft, these days. So who the hell knows..?!"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Looks like the Texans' new leadership have come out on the offensive, and diplomatically, over Deshaun Watson. Declared their full intention to keep him and not trade him. Of course, they would say that - wouldn't they? But they are saying all the right things about rebuilding the relationship with him and have effectively called his bluff by saying that they expect to have candid discussions with him this coming 'spring' - meaning they are in no mood to talk trades until at least then (which would be too late for some franchises). It's a clever move. Said the right things, took the sting out of the immediate situation and indicated that they will work to accommodate him. So he now has to kick-up an almighty fuss to get a trade. And he'll need to do that long before the spring. We'll find out soon enough. If he goes on a hold-out, he'd face much sterner sanctions under the NFL's stricter new rules on not playing. Best way to placate their superstar? Have him take part in the scouting/assessment process that the Texans need to undertake for their big off-season target: a free agency wide receiver. The Texans have no first or second round draft pick this year (because of the 2019 Tunsil deal with Miami), so they have to go to free agency to replace Hopkins at WR. If you want to convince your five-star QB to stay, you'd ask him to be part of the process that brings his first-choice receiver into the franchise. Then he has no excuses. How many QBs get to cherry-pick their primary target?"

[Lee Trundle]

The NFL channel have done their mock draft for the first round: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOBhfunolwo&ab_channel=NFL

[crystal falace]

For the sake of the patrios SB i really hope the jets and fins brass agree with you

[southbankbornnbred]

I'd start removing high-round draft picks (as well as impose the standard financial sanctions) from teams operating beyond the cap. It should be a more direct forfeiture system. Watch how quickly each team falls into line then.

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM, it's a really good question. The league has been far too soft on some teams operating beyond the cap space. Don't even get me started on how many of them incentivise players (financially) in other ways. My take on it is that the NFL is now such a political body that it is worried about coming down hard on the Saints once again (after BountyGate) while it's under the same leadership, and while goldenballs Brees is still in play. Beyond the obvious, low-level sanctions, few sides have been walloped for operating beyond the cap - when that was the purpose of introducing it. Don't get me wrong, it has generally worked to level the playing field, but there are always ways around it if any franchise is prepared to play fast and loose with a few rules. The league needs to clamp down harder. But it won't - not under Goodell."

[Takashi Miike]

"SB, I'm sure I read the saints were in the bottom two in regards to cap room and were working against a deficit of about $90m. when goodell & the nfl are supposedly running a process that's supposed to even out the parity between teams, how can some franchises be so over the top in terms of outlay, surely it shouldn't be allowed?"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Away from the potential Watson trade, the market for Matt Stafford is heating up. Many well-informed NFL pundits (rather than most of the glib idiots on the daily shows) were indicating that Belichick liked the look of a Stafford deal and would move quickly. But there seems to be some indication that two issues have arisen which might work against the Patsies. a) Satfford is due a $10m roster bonus in March, in addition to $31m in salary cap space for 2021. That might be a stumbling block for some teams, who might instead seek to make the Lions take part of the salary hit. b) An issue that's beginning to develop now...Stafford is indicating that he would prefer to go to a dome (indoor) team. He's spent his professional career playing mostly in domes. He wants to hit the ground running at his new franchise and feels that adjusting to outdoor venues/wind/mud again would slow that down. So his preference is an indoor home venue. It's a minor issue, because he would have had to play at Green Bay and Soldier Field every year, but apparently this is part of his thinking. That puts the likes of the Colts and Saints (if Brees goes) back into play. I could see him going to the Colts if he doesn't fancy the snow up in Patsie-land. They've got a half-decent offense, crying out for a good quarterback after Rivers' retirement."

[southbankbornnbred]

"This kid is going to be a good NFL receiver - and looks like he might be available in the draft somewhere between #16 and #32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8WR9ngPT40 Forget Watson, I'm scouting from here on in..! Sewell at #2 and Marshall at #23 for us, thanks..!"

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM, totally agree mate. When all is said and done, the price is just too high - even though I would have loved for the Jets to have a talent like Watson at QB. I like Darnold and think there is still some real talent in him. He just needs the right OC and a HC who understands how to take pressure off him. Saleh and LaFleur are a promising pairing in that respect. Draft-wise, I like the look of Penei Sewell (OL) and Terence Marshall Jnr (WR at LSU). I'd rather we spent our two first-rounders this year on those guys: one a nailed-on starter to protect Darnold on the other side of the line from Becton, the other a very fine receiver to give Darnold a proper #1 target alongside the fast-improving Denzel Mims (and Crowder)."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Talent-wise, Watson is the best QB to hit the market ""in his prime"" since the salary cap was introduced (some better veterans have been traded, of course, but this kid is still just 25). So it will be interesting to see what happens to any NFL franchise if they go all-in for him. It's unprecedented, because he is a fecking good QB."

[Takashi Miike]

*Your mob*

[Takashi Miike]

"SB, totally agree. Your job should build the roster organically and use the picks you have. Darnold's more than capable, but if Saleh fancies another passer you're o directly positioned to draft one of the best available and then get extra picks for Darnold. I'd rather trade for someone like Darnold than give up my immediate future for Watson, even though he is top level talent. It will be interesting to see what happens in Washington and whether Ron does have full control, because a trade for Watson is typical of what Snyder pulls. he'd be happy to mortgage the short term on one player at the risk of losing other players to fulfil his ego"