Don't be too impressed by that video. Most NFL backups could do the same.

@squintz said:

I for one love the way Goodell is handling this whole thing and think De Smith is a tool.

Just look at other sports where they let the players union run the league and you get 4-5 teams that run the league. We all know baseball ruined itself by giving in to the union. Sure, it's a strong union, but so was the auto-workers union. And what happened there?

In basketball they have a salary cap but have a commish that is a pussy who only cares about the few elite players in his league. They can do no wrong. That's why 5 teams have won 87% of the NBA championships over the last 30 (yes, THIRTY) years (Lakers[9] Bulls[6] Spurs[4] Celtics[4] Pistons[3]. It's ridiculously unbalanced and uncontrolled. They let players collude and choose how to finagle the system to play with their home-boyz. I won't watch a minute of it again until something is fixed. I mean, 26 out of 30 from only FIVE teams? And only three other teams won the other four (Rockets [2] Heat [1] 76ers [1]).

I like that Goodell has an iron fist. I like that he throws out suspensions that are tough. I like that he manages the league like a manager should, as a boss, not a buddy. He doesn't kiss the ass of the players. He understands his role - and he does it well. There is a great article on him in last weeks SI - good reading.

IMO, De Smith and the NFLPA are kidding themselves if they think they have a chance. Should the NFL give more for healthcare to retired players? Definitely to players retired before 1990, but hell, nowadays the money these guys make should dictate their pension. If a guy like Peyton Manning needs a pension then he severely f'd up his financial situation. I think it's too complicated to look at black and white. And if the players are so concerned for ex-players and the old-school guys, why don't they step to the plate as a union and pitch in themselves for the players that laid the ground work for them to become multi-millionaires?

I could ramble forever, but you get my point.

Your point about the NBA is wrong to me. The Spurs certainly didn't win 4 championships because they were favored by the elite, or possessed elite players that the league wanted to protect.

Real fans never root for rivals. Seriously.

Did Michigan fans root for OSU in '06 or '07? Did Texas fans root for Oklahoma in '08? Did Oklahoma fans root for Texas in '09? Did Alabama fans root for Auburn in '10?

@nw220 said:

Yeah id pass on Hankerson until maybe late round 2 he has tons of potential dont get me wrong but i dont like the fact that he drops easy complitions something you need with a young QB, someone who has sure hands and will move the chains

I think pretty much every QB needs receivers with sure hands to move the chains.

@clevelandmilidh said:

Since they became the Titans in '99 they've had 2 8-8 seasons, both with VY at the helm. Fisher's won atleast 10 games 50% of that time. Thats 6, atleast 10 win seasons in 12 years, finishing below .500 4 times, 1 with VY and twice with an injured washed up McNair. I'll take that anyday

You're omitting the fact that VY brought the team to 8-8 from 0-6, when he replaced Kerry Collins. And Fisher didn't even want to make that change. Bud Adams, the owner who's apparently been hindering Fisher by shoving terrible players down his throat, had to pull rank and force him to start Vince.

VY has hurt himself by acting like a complete tool when he should have kept his composure. But don't act like Fisher won games in spite of Vince Young; Vince saved his job that 8-8 year.

@clevelandmilidh said:

Since they became the Titans in '99 they've had 2 8-8 seasons, both with VY at the helm. Fisher's won atleast 10 games 50% of that time. Thats 6, atleast 10 win seasons in 12 years, finishing below .500 4 times, 1 with VY and twice with an injured washed up McNair. I'll take that anyday

You're omitting the fact that VY brought the team to 8-8 from 0-6, when he replaced Kerry Collins. And Fisher didn't even want to make that change. Bud Adams, the owner who's apparently been hindering Fisher by shoving terrible players down his throat, had to pull rank and force him to start Vince.

VY has hurt himself by acting like a complete tool when he should have kept his composure. But don't act like Fisher won games in spite of Vince Young; Vince saved his job that 8-8 year.

@clevelandmilidh said:

Fisher had 5 losing seasons in 16 years, thats with Neil O'donnell, Steve McNair, Billy Volek, Kerry Collins and Vince Young at stating QB. With the only good QB (McNair) he went 13-3, 13-3, 11-5 and 12-4 in 4 out of the first 5 years as the Tennessee Titans franchise.

Fisher's win percentage with Vince starting at QB is higher than his career win percentage.

I don't see how someone can claim Fisher is an elite coach who has been held back by being forced to start a bad QB (Vince Young).

Also, you're ignoring how many 8 win seasons he has. It's not a losing season, but it's not a winning one, either. Not saying Fisher is a bad coach, just that he's very much an average one.

Fischer has won fewer than 8 games a season as often as he's won more than 8 games a season. Six winning seasons in 16 years is not enough for me to consider him the kind of elite coach that the talking heads on ESPN do. His postseason record is atrocious except for one SB appearance.

His on the field product has usually been mediocre.

@miktoxic said:

there are valid points on both sides of the argument.

it's been interesting to me to see all the bobble head analyists and players who were 'tweeting' or 'twitting' (sounds very gay to me) about what a puss he was etc, are now doing some serious back-peddling. gotta be careful about opening your mouth about something before you really know what's going on.

i do agree with zombo though. if i were a bear's fan i would be pissed. like he said you want a tough guy leading your team.

BUT. you also gotta look at it this way: i think i'd be even more pissed to learn that this guy that we gave up a lot for and have paid millions to, went back in, further injured the knee to a point of a career ending injury. it would be like "we've finally found our QB. the dude's great. look he's going back in the game! ...........oops wait a minute. oh shit". then we'd be crucifying the medical staff for not pulling him and calling for the trainers/coaches heads.

If you decide to pull a QB for the second half, either keep them downstairs with the doctors or put a headset on him and have him working with the backup QB. There should be no doubt. It doesn't matter if he could have/should have gotten back into the game. Besides, if Cutler had a better reputation, he'd have gotten the benefit of the doubt. This is another reason why you want your franchise QB to have a good rep.

@slurp-and-burp said:

He DEFINITELY faked the injury. They showed him on TV walking out of the tunnel after halftime, AND HE WAS USING HIS "INJURED" ARM TO SCRATCH HIS FACE, but then we he was on the sideline he acted as if he couldn't even move his arm, and then he said in the post-game interview that his arm was "dead".

They did an X-ray and could not find anything so they just diagnosed it as a "sprain". He said he couldn't feel his arm and it was numb with no pain.

When was the last QB in the NFL diagnosed with a " dead arm?" It was all about the money and getting hurt in the BCS game just wasn't worth it to his family. They cashed in but the guy sold out on the BCS stage in order to be drafted a millionaire.

What he said was that his arm wasn't hurt, but it was numb and he had no strength in it. Couldn't throw the football. He never claimed that the arm was flaccid, lifeless, or dead. You are accusing him of something he never claimed. You are completely ignorant.

If his bones can handle the beating, he can do it.

Ricky Williams has extended his longevity with yoga, calisthenics, and probably most of all splitting carries. I bet Walker could last 200 carries.

Zombo said:

McCoy played on a high ankle sprain in the regular season. Cutler sat on a sprained mcl in the championship. Those are facts. See? ... no personal attacks.

Zombo

--Faggot

Indeed, Colt scrambled for like 20 yards running out to the sideline on his busted ankle.

And to the folks who need some clearing up regarding his NC injury. Although there have been rumors that his dad did at some point mumble something about protecting his arm for his future in the NFL, Colt's explained the scenario from his perspective and he claims he could not throw the ball even seven yards.

If you don't want to believe him, that's fine, but let's be honest; if the kid wanted in to the NFL, he could have come out after his junior year. He came back to play in a national championship. The guy started 53 games and he's got a proven track record for having big time guts. That's why you give the kid the benefit of the doubt if you know anything.

Of course none of these NFL QBs have the kind of guts that internet tough guys possess...

It goes both ways. Notice how black QBs get treated by some people. See Big Ben vs. Vince Young. Imagine if Vince had done the things Ben did, and Big Ben did all the things Vince did.

Vick is really lucky he's got the media behind him, if you ask me. Sort of an anomaly. There's a presumption made by a lot of people about any black QB that they're great runners and athletes but terrible passers, or they don't "get" the game, etc.

Obviously many people are beyond all this, but it's there. QB is a "white" position and RB/WR are "black" positions. I applaud anyone who successfully breaks the stereotype, and Hillis is a great example. Donovan McNabb hasn't been a perfect QB, but he's been very, very good and probably would have been given more respect by some people had he been white.

@nw220 said:

Yeah basically the CBs could also play both ways now adays as previously stated and also look for it in smaller QBs Colt McCoy and Drew Brees, Troy Smith etc...

You're talking about passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Some facts to clear it up:

1.Really tall QBs like Mallett will have possibly the biggest problem with tipped balls, because they have to throw the ball with a "downward" trajectory with a big wind up to hit the underneath routes. This is thanks to their really high release point and long arms.

2. I've heard that offensive lineman have the responsibility to keep defensive lineman from being able to get a hand up on the ball.

3. QBs with quick releases are less prone to it since defenders don't have the same reaction time.

Really, how many of Colt's throws were batted at the LOS? Not a lot, actually.

I would personally go with Patrick Peterson if he's available and doesn't show any major character issues during the draft process.

When your secondary is almost elite, and front seven is just "adequate," I'd rather make the pick that will give you an elite secondary and an adequate front seven than an almost elite secondary and a slightly above adequate font seven.

It's easier to generate pressure on the QB with lock down corners than with an elite pass rusher and a mismatch in the secondary.

qqqjj said:

No offense Browns fans, but McCoy makes McNabb look like a genius....

McCoy is a starting quarterback in the NFL. Come on, tell us what you've accomplished in your lifetime that would even earn you the privilege of sniffing his jock.

Hillis-iz-Boss said:

No Stuckie is slow and can't separate well against DB's so he is better suited for shorter quick routes like slants crosses and curls. It doesn't mean he is perfect for the system it means it is the system that he is going to do better in. Even if we go WCO I only see him maybe having 100 more yards that he had this season and he sure as shit isn't going to fix any of his problems which always seem to xxxx us.

From what I've seen, Stuckie can't shed a tackler when he catches a perfect pass in stride with the angle to run 2-3 yards for the first down. A good slot receiver must be able to do that. If you're going to throw behind the first down marker on a third and 5+, he'd better be able to pick up that first down if he catches it.

Guys like Tony Grossi make their living getting people to read their stuff. People don't read sunshine and roses, they read controversy. Hence, he writes controversy.

@ballpeen said:

The fact is Colt didn't look all that hot the last couple of games, and his good games weren't that good.

I am not knocking the guy, but talking QB is a legitimate topic.

How much you want to bet the brain trust in Berea has talked, and will talk again, and again, and again about our QB??

You think guys that can play better than Colt grow on trees? Sure, you can find a guy who can sling the ball further or with more zip. But Colt will do other things better. There are very few guys like Peyton Manning that can do everything Colt does and do them better. And we also don't know if Colt can't at least marginally improve his deep ball with some solid coaching.

There are tradeoffs with every decision. Get a guy with a stronger arm he might not be as accurate. Or he might wet himself when the pass rush comes. Or he might not have the football IQ that Colt has. Or he might not dedicate the time in the film room studying his opponents. Or he might have off the field issues. Or he might not be able to throw "catchable" balls. Or he might have a tendency to force stuff instead of checking down. Or he might wilt after throwing an interception and check down too much.

Seriously, you can build an offense around this kid. The devil you know... some of you only see the weaknesses of the QB who's wearing the Browns jersey and you only see the strengths of the guys you imagine could replace him.

@shepwrite said:

BTW, Grossi is saying that McCoy's arm strength and bad weather struggles ARE an issue Holmgren and others will discuss. If the Browns go WCO, as expected, it's less of an issue because it focuses on the considerable talents McCoy DOES have (accuracy, intelligence, anticipation, mobility, etc.).

But if the Browns were to hire Mike Mularkey, for instance, Mularkey might want to go after Ryan Mallett, who seems like the prototypical AFC North QB, the love child of Flacco and Roethlisberger. The Browns would still need to upgrade at WR, but maybe it's Steve Breaston and a speedster in round 3 (assuming defense in round 2).

Interesting to watch. If the Browns hire Mularkey, and he's seen as one of the "gets," then I'm not as positive about McCoy being a lock.

If they go with a different quarterback, they need to get maximum value out of McCoy when they trade him. He's worth too much to be shoved into a #2 role, but the last two games might have reduced his value somewhat. I wonder if they'd spend a year developing him as a #1 guy and look for another QB next year to trade him as a franchise QB for a team that doesn't play many cold weather games.