NFL 2017 Championship: The Whiff Six

[Maithanet]

 

So the Redskins just traded their best young defensive player and a 3rd round pick for a guy who is both worse than their current QB and five years older?  That's great.  

Cousins had some bad games, but he established that he was at least a pretty good quarterback.  Our offense didn't have much talent last year, the O line was walking wounded, we had like 6 different running backs, Jordan Reed was hurt most of the year, and the wideouts were below average.  Cousins looked worse in 2017 than he did in 2015 or 2016.  But he was still adequate, 4,000 yards, 7.7 y/a, 27 tds, 13 ints.  For an offense that was falling apart around him, that's pretty good. 

But we've replaced him with Alex Smith.  A guy who lacks arm strength, and will be 34 next year.  And who, in a much more talented offense in KC, had fewer yards, fewer touchdowns, and fewer ints.  Well, Alex, we don't have Kareem Hunt, or anybody close to it.  Jordan Reed is as good as Kelce, but he's injured at least half the time.  You're ok with that right?  Your performance in the Wild Card game didn't exactly instill confidence that once your Tight End gets hurt you can still make the offense work. 

And I want to reiterate that trading CB Kendall Fuller is NOT OK.  The guy was a stud this year, and he's still on his rookie contract.  That's the kind of player you never trade.  Ugh.  First we have this godawful Super Bowl and now this garbage.  I hate football. 

[dbunting]

9 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

 

So the Redskins just traded their best young defensive player and a 3rd round pick for a guy who is both worse than their current QB and five years older?  That's great.  

Cousins had some bad games, but he established that he was at least a pretty good quarterback.  Our offense didn't have much talent last year, the O line was walking wounded, we had like 6 different running backs, Jordan Reed was hurt most of the year, and the wideouts were below average.  Cousins looked worse in 2017 than he did in 2015 or 2016.  But he was still adequate, 4,000 yards, 7.7 y/a, 27 tds, 13 ints.  For an offense that was falling apart around him, that's pretty good. 

But we've replaced him with Alex Smith.  A guy who lacks arm strength, and will be 34 next year.  And who, in a much more talented offense in KC, had fewer yards, fewer touchdowns, and fewer ints.  Well, Alex, we don't have Kareem Hunt, or anybody close to it.  Jordan Reed is as good as Kelce, but he's injured at least half the time.  You're ok with that right?  Your performance in the Wild Card game didn't exactly instill confidence that once your Tight End gets hurt you can still make the offense work. 

And I want to reiterate that trading CB Kendall Fuller is NOT OK.  The guy was a stud this year, and he's still on his rookie contract.  That's the kind of player you never trade.  Ugh.  First we have this godawful Super Bowl and now this garbage.  I hate football. 

Losing the CB was the part that really didn't make sense to me. Especially since your other CB is a FA right?

If I am Cousins I am jumping for joy. He is what all the QB's entering the draft are not, a proven legit starting NFL QB. I am sure there are plenty of Washington fans who are glad to see Cousins go, but be careful of getting what you asked for....

[DanteGabriel]

That is a hefty price for Washington to pay just because they spent two years alienating (yet at the same time overpaying) Cousins.

This strikes me as the kind of deal Danny and Brucey would have put together after three scotches and a few lines. How hard was it for Andy Reid to keep from snickering on the phone?

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

I’m genuinely surprised at your guys takes here on this trade. Cousins is an average QB. Smith is slightly better than average, and through a third of the season he was the MVP of the league. And they were going to have to make Cousins the highest paid player in the league. The basically got a slight improvement for $10m less per year.

The Racial Slurs honestly didn’t give up that much for Smith, considering some of the other QB trades that we’ve heard about over the last three years. Hell, the Browns wanted to trade a second and a third for AJ Mccarron. AJ Mccarron!!!

[Maithanet]

5 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I’m genuinely surprised at your guys takes here on this trade. Cousins is an average QB. Smith is slightly better than average, and through a third of the season he was the MVP of the league. And they were going to have to make Cousins the highest paid player in the league. The basically got a slight improvement for $10m less per year.

The Racial Slurs honestly didn’t give up that much for Smith, considering some of the other QB trades that we’ve heard about over the last three years. Hell, the Browns wanted to trade a second and a third for AJ Mccarron. AJ Mccarron!!!

Cousins is better than Alex Smith.  Yes, Smith looked great early this season because Hunt and Hill were taking 5 yard passes for 60+ yard scores.  But he'll really struggle in Washington without those playmakers around him.  And he's 5 years older than Cousins.  This is NOT an upgrade.

[DanteGabriel]

13 minutes ago, Tywin et al. said:

I’m genuinely surprised at your guys takes here on this trade. Cousins is an average QB. Smith is slightly better than average, and through a third of the season he was the MVP of the league. And they were going to have to make Cousins the highest paid player in the league. The basically got a slight improvement for $10m less per year.

The Racial Slurs honestly didn’t give up that much for Smith, considering some of the other QB trades that we’ve heard about over the last three years. Hell, the Browns wanted to trade a second and a third for AJ Mccarron. AJ Mccarron!!!

I'm certainly one of the people who bought the Smith for MVP hype early in the season. I like Alex Smith, but he's not a big upgrade over Cousins, he's older, and they're paying him a lot. He hasn't got Hunt, Hill, and Kelce to maximize his noodle arm any more, either.

Sure, it's not a lot to give up for a starting QB. But if they hadn't fucked around Cousins two years ago, they wouldn't have had to do this. All they have now is enough of a quarterback to be competitive in the division while they try and draft and develop the next franchise guy. But given the Washington braintrust's mismanagement of their last couple of franchise guys, it doesn't bode well. This honestly doesn't seem that different from Detroit dealing for Blake Griffin: they've given a big contract to a player who's already peaked and makes them, at best, a team that occupies the upper tiers of mediocrity.

[James Arryn]

I think non-coaches put a lot less emphasis on not fucking up than coaches do, in terms of what the want from a quarterback. Especially if they have faith in their system. Not even saying the coaches are right, either, just that in my experience unforced errors are pretty much the bane of a coache’s universe. Take those out and it’s more of a positional chess match where the coaches feels, rightly or wrongly, that it comes down to them and their decisions a lot more. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

38 minutes ago, Maithanet said:

Cousins is better than Alex Smith.  Yes, Smith looked great early this season because Hunt and Hill were taking 5 yard passes for 60+ yard scores.  But he'll really struggle in Washington without those playmakers around him.  And he's 5 years older than Cousins.  This is NOT an upgrade.

 

30 minutes ago, DanteGabriel said:

I'm certainly one of the people who bought the Smith for MVP hype early in the season. I like Alex Smith, but he's not a big upgrade over Cousins, he's older, and they're paying him a lot. He hasn't got Hunt, Hill, and Kelce to maximize his noodle arm any more, either.

Kirk Cousins and Alex Smith are the same kind of QBs. They’re mirrors. What’s around them reflects what they can do. When they’re surround by talent, they look good. On an Average team, they are average. And on a bad team they look very unimpressive. The only differences between the two is that Smith has a weaker arm and makes less mistakes. Give me Smith over Cousins going into 2018 (but probably not 2020). Plus Smith is cheaper.

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Sure, it's not a lot to give up for a starting QB. But if they hadn't fucked around Cousins two years ago, they wouldn't have had to do this. 

But they did that because they never believed in him, and didn’t want to make him the highest paid QB in the sport, which was smart. To win in the NFL, you don’t just need talent, but talent at value, and Cousins isn’t that.

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All they have now is enough of a quarterback to be competitive in the division while they try and draft and develop the next franchise guy. But given the Washington braintrust's mismanagement of their last couple of franchise guys, it doesn't bode well

It’s crazy to think that a number one overall pick’s legacy will be a three time place holder for a younger QB being groomed to take his job.

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This honestly doesn't seem that different from Detroit dealing for Blake Griffin: they've given a big contract to a player who's already peaked and makes them, at best, a team that occupies the upper tiers of mediocrity.

Is that not true of Cousins too? I’ve heard several reports that he wants to be the highest paid guy in the NFL. The Racial Slurs are smart to pass on that, though I can understand why their fans are not happy about the Smith deal.

[Jaime L]

1 hour ago, Maithanet said:

So the Redskins just traded their best young defensive player and a 3rd round pick for a guy who is both worse than their current QB and five years older?  That's great.  

Pretty much. And why give anything of value for Alex Smith? The Chiefs weren't going to keep him. It was the worst kept secret in the league.  If you thought some other team was interested, throw in like a 5th rounder. And then Kendall Fuller on top of it? How the fuck did that even enter the trade negotiation? Reminds me of when they threw in a second rounder even though they were already giving up future HoFer Champ Bailey for Clinton Portis. And the pattern has repeated every couple years since then. 

It's the Redskins special - it's not enough to lose the deal, you also kick in a sweetener to make clear your desperation and how easily the other party smelled it on you. Not the first time for Andy Reid either (both smelling Redskin desperation and trading them a 33 year old QB he was done with). This is a team that's never been able to walk away when they have their sights set on a guy and so they're an easy mark.

Lot of dumb teams in the NFL, but no-one hits the sweet spot between dumb and malignant quite like the Skins.

[Maithanet]

9 minutes ago, Jaime L said:

It's the Redskins special - it's not enough to lose the deal, you also kick in a sweetener to make clear your desperation and how easily the other party smelled it on you. Not the first time for Andy Reid either (both smelling Redskin desperation and trading them a 33 year old QB he was done with). This is a team that's never been able to walk away when they have their sights set on a guy and so they're an easy mark.

Why was Alex Smith the guy we had our sights on anyway?  We have had Cousins for 3 years, and have gone a combined 24-24-1 with him.  How could the solution possibly be to trade away two valuable commodities to get a guy who is similar, older and probably worse?  What about Alex Smith seems like "this is what we need to get over the top".  It's not like we even have the excuse from a couple of years ago where the division was really weak.  Alex Smith helps us...get third in the division?  Great thinking, I can see why we couldn't let that opportunity pass us by.

[Bronn Stone]

Four year contract for Smith, $71M guaranteed.    All for an older guy whose arm seems to get noodlier every year.

Alex is Middle Ramen on his best day and they paid way beyond the price for Top. 

It was a noodle thing.  It made sense in my head.  Shut up!

[Jace, Extat]

WEFFL MEDIA INSIDER JACE

Breaking news is hard. But I do it for the little people. The ones whose lives are too chaotic and filled with activities to endlessly hover over the news feed.

It's for these poor souls that I do the job. It's not the money or the power. It's knowing that when I hit the post button, some sad sack of Washington fan is getting the unadulterated shit that would stop an addicts heart sure as a bullet to the hernia.

That's why I do it. So don't let me thank you. Let me let you thank me.

[sperry]

This is the best QB draft in years, with 6 guys who would be first rounders in most drafts. There are plenty of capable QBs that will be available as FA's this year. Why in the fuck is anyone trading real assets for Alex Smith?

[Maithanet]

1 minute ago, sperry said:

This is the best QB draft in years, with 6 guys who would be first rounders in most drafts. There are plenty of capable QBs that will be available as FA's this year. Why in the fuck is anyone trading real assets for Alex Smith?

Well, in fairness, it's not just any team, it's the Redskins.  The corpse of a franchise I've shackled myself to the past 25 years. 

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

14 minutes ago, sperry said:

This is the best QB draft in years, with 6 guys who would be first rounders in most drafts. There are plenty of capable QBs that will be available as FA's this year. Why in the fuck is anyone trading real assets for Alex Smith?

Setting aside your Baker fandom, what makes you so bullish on this draft class? I’d get it if we were in September, but none of these guys have look like superstars to me over the course of the college season.

[Jaime L]

1 hour ago, Maithanet said:

Why was Alex Smith the guy we had our sights on anyway?  We have had Cousins for 3 years, and have gone a combined 24-24-1 with him.  How could the solution possibly be to trade away two valuable commodities to get a guy who is similar, older and probably worse?  What about Alex Smith seems like "this is what we need to get over the top".  It's not like we even have the excuse from a couple of years ago where the division was really weak.  Alex Smith helps us...get third in the division?  Great thinking, I can see why we couldn't let that opportunity pass us by.

I assume the Danny watched the first half of Chiefs-Titans (after previously watching the first half of Chiefs-Colts) and was convinced Alex Smith was the greatest playoff QB of all time. 

[sperry]

1 hour ago, Tywin et al. said:

Setting aside your Baker fandom, what makes you so bullish on this draft class? I’d get it if we were in September, but none of these guys have look like superstars to me over the course of the college season.

 

Rosen and Darnold are both elite physical talents that produced in college. Baker Mayfield is statistically the best QB in the history of college football. Mason Rudolph is another guy with all the physical tools who produced the numbers to back it up. Lamar Jackson is the best athlete to play the position since Michael Vick. I would not have the balls to pull the trigger on Josh Allen, but he's got the best physical tools of any of these guys.

 

Nothing is a guarantee. But the alternative is Alex Smith, a guy who has pretty firmly established that he is about the 16th best QB in football, and is also 33 years old.

[Jace, Extat]

Breaking news:

Josh McDaniels is trading Andrew Luck to the Browns in exchange for the #33 pick and signing Kirk Cousins.

[Week]

10 minutes ago, Pony Queen Jace said:

Breaking news:

Josh McDaniels is trading Andrew Luck to the Browns in exchange for the #33 pick and signing Kirk Cousins.

Wishful thinking, pessimistic thinking, or real?

[Jace, Extat]

2 minutes ago, Week said:

Wishful thinking, pessimistic thinking, or real?

NONE OF THE ABOVE ASSFACE!?!

LEARN TO ANTICIPATE MY ANTICS!