NFL Offseason Thread 2

[Kalbear]

The thing is that you can win championships with defense, it's much harder to do so. Primarily because you have to rely on so many moving parts in order for it to work just so. Critical injuries become much more common simply because you have 11 guys (or more) that you need to rely on, so the chances that one of them gets injured is greater.

Whereas with going on offense, many of the parts are fairly fungible and you've often only got one place where a critical injury ends you.

[Bronn Stone]

One ray of hope (IMO) for Denver fans should be their 7th round pick. Syd'Quan Thompson was the best defensive back I've ever seen at Cal. He's a bit small for the NFL (5'8" and change), but the guy can cover just about any slot receiver-type out there. No question he was better than Alualu over the course of his career (four-year starter - went out day one as a true frosh). I was really hoping he'd go to a team that I like. He's a 'character' guy.

Read one draft preview that said if he was 6'1", he'd be a top ten pick overall. But I think he fell far to much. He won't be a guy you want on the other team's WR1, but he can cover just about anyone else.

[Darkostar]

Whereas with going on offense, many of the parts are fairly fungible and you've often only got one place where a critical injury ends you.

Which, for the Vikings, is not Quarterback. It's Running Back.

[Kalbear]

Which, for the Vikings, is not Quarterback. It's Running Back

Not at all. Point of fact, AP was one of the reasons that they didn't go to the superbowl; in a couple situations he was an outright liability and a player that could have held on to the ball would have been much, much better. Both in the Chicago game and in the playoff game.

The only RB that could change a game like that that I remember was Faulk. AP is no Faulk. He's not remotely close.

[Rockroi]

Finally!

Jesus if this lingered any longer without resolution it would have been Terri Schiavo...

... too soon?

[Darkostar]

Not at all. Point of fact, AP was one of the reasons that they didn't go to the superbowl; in a couple situations he was an outright liability and a player that could have held on to the ball would have been much, much better. Both in the Chicago game and in the playoff game.

The only RB that could change a game like that that I remember was Faulk. AP is no Faulk. He's not remotely close.

Oh, I know. I've been bitching about his hands since he entered the league. I think he's probably about 2 years behind how good everyone thought he was. BUT, he's still a game breaker. If you can get a QB who makes defenses think twice when they start to stack the box (You're going to think I'm crazy, but T-Jax can do this, he demonstrated that in the last few games of his rookie year), that gives AP the breathing room he needs.

Plus, Gerhart around does something VERY important for the Vikings: it gives them an excuse to turn AP's game into a finesse game. He's certainly CAPABLE of being a finesse back, but since we had Taylor as our back-up, he was the power option by default. Gerhart runs with just as much intensity as AP (it absolutely befuddled me how hard the little white kid ran when I watched Stanford), so that allows the Vikings to have him work on his legwork a little more, maybe prolong his career instead of shortening it drastically like we've seen with Marion Barber, a similar type of runner.

Look, I'm not saying that QBs aren't important. They're just not AS important to certain teams. You can get by with a Rex Grossman and at least make it TO the Super Bowl, after all. Who's to say you can't win with a Tarvaris Jackson, so long as the rest of the team is solid?

[Bronn Stone]

Anyone who thinks Tarvaris Jackson can lead a team to a Super Bowl championship is deluded. I don't care if you took the 1985 Bears defense and added Darrelle Revis and Ronnie Lott.

[Jaxom 1974]

Anyone who thinks Tarvaris Jackson can lead a team to a Super Bowl championship is deluded. I don't care if you took the 1985 Bears defense and added Darrelle Revis and Ronnie Lott.

What if he had a road map, a charter bus and a handful of tickets he's bought off of Stub Hub...?

[Kalbear]

What if he had a road map, a charter bus and a handful of tickets he's bought off of Stub Hub...?

He'd impregnate a farm animal while heading to Canada and making it to the Canadian Football champounship. Or something.

The charter bus would also end up having an STD.

AP isn't a gamebreaker except against teams that fail. He's good. But he's not even the best running back currently playing, or that played last year. If he had a decent QB behind him, you know what would happen? I do. 2007 would happen, and the Vikings wouldn't do all that much in the playoffs.

[Lord O' Bones]

What's the over/under on Kal saying "fungible" in this thread?

[Kalbear]

What can I say? I like mushrooms.

[Trebla]

What if he had a road map, a charter bus and a handful of tickets he's bought off of Stub Hub...?

Who is driving the bus?

Is it DITKA??????? :D

[Week]

According to a league source with knowledge of the situation in Oakland, the hefty quarterback has beefed up to 300 pounds.

I don't think I need to add anything to that to make a joke.

[Darkostar]

Anyone who thinks Tarvaris Jackson can lead a team to a Super Bowl championship is deluded. I don't care if you took the 1985 Bears defense and added Darrelle Revis and Ronnie Lott.

It's about as delusional as thinking Brett Favre can lead you to a Championship, considering the last 3 Championship games he's been in have been ended by poorly thrown interceptions.

[Lightning Lord]

It's about as delusional as thinking Brett Favre can lead you to a Championship, considering the last 3 Championship games he's been in have been ended by poorly thrown interceptions.

Why isn't Rosenfels in this conversation more often? We know Tavaris Jackson isn't The Man, so why not see if Sage can help out a bit? His time with the Texans wasn't stellar, but neither were the players around him. Vikings have a bit more to "protect" him.

[Centrist Simon Steele]

Did anyone see Tim Tebow's quote about meeting Josh McDaniels first meeting with him?

""I was jacked leaving that room. I didn't even want to visit another room. It was not enough time," Tebow said. "We were excited, we were enthusiastic. There was passion. It was just intense, and it was ball, and it was juice. The juice level in that room was high, and it was awesome!"

Awesome ball juice level jacked up in that room, it was awesome. Ball juice everywhere. Dripping from their faces, everywhere.

[Jaime L]

Awesome ball juice level jacked up in that room, it was awesome. Ball juice everywhere. Dripping from their faces, everywhere.

Continuing this theme:

Coach Jim Schwartz told Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports back in January that the Lions coveted Best as answer to their backfield problems. So he likes Best. We mean really likes Best.

"Some people watch adult videos on their computer," Schwartz said. "I go to YouTube and watch Jahvid Best highlight clips. That's what gets me aroused."

I'm already uncomfortable about the prospect of watching Lions games now.

[Darkostar]

Considering I was at the game where Best ran over Minnesota for FIVE scores, I can't blame him. Jesus.

[Trebla]

Another quote coming out of the draft:

So...is your mother a prostitute??? :lol:

[Space Bandito]

Another quote coming out of the draft:

So...is your mother a prostitute??? :lol:

Rough question, but I am not surprised. They are investing a lot of resources into these players I can see its purpose. Either to gauge his reaction or to find out the truth. There were a of rumors about his mother's age and drug use. Obviously role models and who he surrounds himself with would be looked at as well.