Archive for the ‘Hearsay and speculation’ Category

John Harbaugh wanted Ed Reed back “as much as he wanted a root canal”

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Ed Reed, Hearsay and speculation on Apr 02, 2013

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I hesitated greatly while deciding whether or not to give the item below from Mike Preston too much legitimacy, just as I did yesterday with Nolan Nawrocki’s amateur Geno Smith psychology before evidently becoming one of the few football writers who show up on your computer daily to take the proper route, and ignore his baiting, holding back from writing an oozing takedown and feeding the beast.

Making an evaluation of a player that goes against the mainstream is more than fine, it’s encouraged, as it creates discourse. But a prospect’s personality and character can’t be judged by what you see on tape. To do that you have to, you know, meet and talk to the guy. Just as he did two years ago with Cam Newton when the eventual offensive rookie of the year was accused of having a fake smile, Nawrocki lobbed his personal assaults from a distant, digging into Smith’s character without having built a relationship with him. He was called lazy, and accused of needing to be coddled, yet so very many others who have met Smith are saying directly the opposite.

Sigh. See what you did, Nolan? My anger, it has risen with the mere mention of your name, leading to yet another tangent, and the troll has won. I’ve become what I was proudly avoiding. I have failed.

This morning, though, we have some possible baiting of a different variety. And thus we return to one Mr. Preston

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Revis says playing in San Francisco would be “awesome”

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Darrelle Revis, Hearsay and speculation on Mar 05, 2013

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We’re a little Jets heavy this morning. Bills gotta be paid, guys, and the Jets are putting my unborn children through college.

By now you’re abundantly aware of the ongoing Revis debacle in New York, which is different from the Tebow debacle, which is entirely separate from the Revis vs. Richard Sherman debacle. To review, Revis — who’s ahead of schedule but is still recovering from ACL surgery — wants and needs a new lucrative contract, with a middling $6 million left on his four-year band-aid deal signed two years ago. The Jets are spiraling down a rebuilding phase and likely heading towards a few years of sucking, and they’re unsure if sinking a substantial sum into a cornerback is the wisest course of action, especially one who just tore his ACL.

That’s why there’s been flirtation with a trade, with the most obvious partner being the 49ers due to their gluttony of picks in April’s draft following the Alex Smith trade (15). And it’s why the Jets are indeed dangling Revis in trade talks, according to Rich Cimini.

So hey Darrelle, what say you?

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Alex Smith has inflated the value of backup quarterbacks

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Hearsay and speculation on Feb 28, 2013

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Perhaps a steak dinner is in order. Hey Alex, do you like Kelsey’s? Backup QB eating is what it is, man.

No one could have imagined that Alex Smith would fetch two draft picks from the Chiefs, and especially not likely two second-round picks. But here we are today still processing that information, and realizing the realities of a thin quarterback market.

A year ago there was no expectation that the price of quarterbacks would inflate quickly on the trade market, because there was plenty of available high-end options waiting in April. Teams drafting at the top half of the first round had Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, and Ryan Tannehill, and then further down there was Brandon Weeden, Russell Wilson, and Nick Foles.

This year, the confidence isn’t nearly as high in Geno Smith and Matt Barkley, unless your name is Lane Kiffin. Sure, they’ll go in the first round, or at least Smith will (maybe, probably…who the hell really knows), but there’s no RG3 franchise changer here.

That’s why the Chiefs overpaid for Smith, because waiting for a franchise QB can be an eternal game. And it’s why teams like the Cardinals and Bills may be legitimately contemplating paying way too much for Ryan Mallett or Matt Flynn.

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Now the Cardinals are doing the required Alex Smith tire kicking

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Alex Smith, Hearsay and speculation on Feb 26, 2013

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“I have no tattoos, Colin, and therefore I am a CEO”

Alex Smith will be traded, and he’ll be playing football somewhere that isn’t San Francisco next year. This much we can say with confidence. Maybe.

Over the weekend there was just as much confidence percolating about a deal which was “effectively done” even though said deal may never be done. The smokescreen fire still burns strong.

Now to the surprise of absolutely no one, people in Arizona who know things about the Cardinals are saying that football team is doing the required Smith tiring kicking. Wheee.

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Let the Revis tap dancing begin

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Hearsay and speculation, New York Jets on Feb 21, 2013

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When John Idzik became the new Jets general manager, pissing off his best player was surely his top priority. Bravo then, sir.

Whether the Darrelle Revis trade rumors leaked from inside the organization or not is irrelevant. What’s important is that when Revis appeared on NFL Network earlier this week he asked for answers regarding those rumors of his demise in New York, and he was frustrated by a lack of communication. The Jets aren’t a team that can have such a problem with one of the few sources of talent on their roster. Yet there was Revis last month, having to hear about his possible trade through the media instead of from his new general manager.

One way to fix the public perception of a problem is to put Rex Ryan behind a microphone and have him say a lot of things loudly. Or maybe that just makes it worse. So much worse.

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Ryan Mallett will be the Browns’ starting quarterback in a few hours, right?

Posted by Sean Tomlinson under Cleveland Browns, Hearsay and speculation on Jan 18, 2013

Earlier this morning, Mike Lombardi was officially named the new vice president of player personnel for the Cleveland Browns. Then shortly after that, some dot connecting began.

I’m generally a big fan of that game, but only if the dots being used eventually create a spaceship or a friendly dinosaur. That way at least we can all feel as though we’ve accomplished something. Taking one player evaluation dot and connecting it to nothing is still a fun game only because it generates often baseless chatter, but the connecting line fades into oblivion.

This is the time in the NFL calendar with ye old speculation machine begins to wind up, with the seeds planted for mid April when the knob is ripped right off. That’s why Lombardi’s hiring led to this…

As Rotoworld’s Evan Silva notes, Lombardi was a pretty big Mallett pom pom waver in the spring of 2011, a far away time when along with the rest of us briefly, he believed the Patriots backup and former Razorback would be not only be a first-round pick, but also a top-20 pick. But Lombardi did more than just join the rest of us in our worship of the speculation gods and goddesses. He was convinced Mallett would be a first rounder.

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