2020-21 NFL Season

[jficke13]

So the college numbering system.  I'm cool with that.

I dislike it but I've got bigger fish to fry than NFL jersey numbering.

Though I did enjoy hassling my friends who insisted on watching minor league football when a dude wearing like number 8 would drop back in coverage on a TE and get burned, allowing me to ask him why a punter was covering the flat.

[MU82]

"Our findings suggest homicidal violence among NFL players is rare, as NFL players have substantially lower rates of dying and being arrested as a consequence of homicidal violence compared to the general US population."

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6490588/

They announced today that they will test Adams' brain for CTE.

[Pakuni]

They announced today that they will test Adams' brain for CTE.

And I'm sure they'll find it, just as they do with the vast majority of former athletes in contact sports.
But that doesn't mean CTE made him a killer. As the study proves, there's no link between having played professional football and homicidal tendencies. Instead, it shows that a former NFL player is less likely to be involved in a homicide than the general public.
I get that the NFL deserves every bit of criticism it gets for having turned a blind eye to brain trauma for so long, but let's not blame the sport every time a current or former player commits a crime. NFL players are like anyone else. Some suffer mental illnesses unrelated to football. And some are sh*tty people who do sh*tty things.

[Jockey]

But we know the availability of guns had nothing to do with it.

[MU82]

And I'm sure they'll find it, just as they do with the vast majority of former athletes in contact sports.
But that doesn't mean CTE made him a killer. As the study proves, there's no link between having played professional football and homicidal tendencies. Instead, it shows that a former NFL player is less likely to be involved in a homicide than the general public.
I get that the NFL deserves every bit of criticism it gets for having turned a blind eye to brain trauma for so long, but let's not blame the sport every time a current or former player commits a crime. NFL players are like anyone else. Some suffer mental illnesses unrelated to football. And some are sh*tty people who do sh*tty things.

I neither said nor suggested otherwise, Pak, but OK.

[MU82]

I read an interesting take on The Athletic about the Panthers probably being able to recover most if not all of the draft picks they dealt for Darnold.

The theory is that because now they are no long QB shopping, they can trade back in the first round if they want to (and/or second round, too). Plus, the writer seems to think they'll be able to get a draft pick for Bridgewater, but I'm skeptical of that.

Or they can just stay where they are in the draft and use the pick on either a stud LT or a generational talent at TE (assuming one or the other is available at 8). So rather than spending a bunch of draft picks for the next 3 years to move up a few spots and get a QB who might never be a star, they end up with both their QB (who is only 23) and with a LT (or TE) who can be a foundational piece for a decade.

Of course, it all only works if Darnold is not broken beyond repair.

[Herman Cain]

Brady making progress.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/31286010/tampa-bay-buccaneers-qb-tom-brady-says-knee-recovering-well-surgery

[Herman Cain]

Antonio Brown settles legal case. This may clear the way for him to re-sign with Bucs ( or anyone else)
https://nypost.com/2021/04/21/antonio-brown-settles-civil-dispute-with-rape-accuser-britney-taylor/

[Dish]

Tough news on Steve McMichael and his battle with ALS. He's always been a great personality, both during his career and post career, a larger than life guy.

If you have access to the Chicago Tribune, the story on his battle is worth reading (and a difficult read).

[HutchwasClutch]

Tough news on Steve McMichael and his battle with ALS. He's always been a great personality, both during his career and post career, a larger than life guy.

If you have access to the Chicago Tribune, the story on his battle is worth reading (and a difficult read).

Love Mongo! I didn't know he had this. Will check out the story and pray for him.

I'm very glad he finished with the Packers so he wasn't on an arch rival his whole career.  He was a really good, underrated player too. 

Thanks for the mention Dish.

[RJax55]

Tough news on Steve McMichael and his battle with ALS. He's always been a great personality, both during his career and post career, a larger than life guy.

If you have access to the Chicago Tribune, the story on his battle is worth reading (and a difficult read).

Mongo is one of the most underrated players in Bears history. Perhaps, the most. A consistent durable performer who played at a high level for a decade. He was a hell of a find for the Bears. Cut from Patriots after his first season, he went on and started over 150 games for the Bears.

To me, he's the perfect example of why I both love and loathe the '85 Bears too. On one hand, I'm not sure anyone lived more in the past and embraced everything '85 than McMichael (perhaps Otis Wilson). Then again, he really was a unique and fan-friendly character that made it easy as a Bears fan to want to relive that season.

[ZiggysFryBoy]

ALS sucks.

[Herman Cain]

Gronk sets new world record catches a football dropped 600 feet in the air

https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1385988544611639296

[MU82]

Gronk sets new world record catches a football dropped 600 feet in the air

https://mobile.twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/1385988544611639296

Damn, I thought my 599-yard airdrop catch record woulda lasted a little longer!

[Herman Cain]

Bucs re-sign Antonio Brown. They have a very formidable set of receivers.

https://247sports.com/Article/Antonio-Brown-signs-one-year-contract-with-Tampa-Bay-Buccaneers-NFL-free-agency-2021-164752963/

[MU82]

Panthers trade Bridgewater to Broncos for 6th-round draft pick, save money against cap

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nfl/carolina-panthers/article250460581.html?

The Carolina Panthers are officially moving on from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.

The team has traded Bridgewater to the Denver Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick. The Panthers now have pick No. 191 in this year's draft and eight total selections. The team is scheduled to pick three times in the sixth round.

Bridgewater, 28, spent just one season with the Panthers after signing a three-year, $63 million deal last offseason that allowed for the team to get out of the contract easily before Year 3.

The deal required a restructuring of Bridgewater's contract. The Panthers will be paying Bridgewater $7 million this year, with the Broncos paying him the remaining $3 million. Trading Bridgewater saves the Panthers $6 million in cap space this year and $26 million next year. He will account for $17 million in dead cap in 2021 and none in 2022.

A necessary move, though it certainly doesn't reflect wonderfully on management's decision to give so much to sign Bridgewater last year. They got back the 6th-round pick they traded for Sam Darnold, meaning that deal essentially cost them next year's 2nd- and 4th-round picks. We'll see soon enough if that was too much. It also gives them some salary-cap relief this year as well as next year, when the cap is expected to move considerably higher if COVID-19 is not an issue.

Bridgewater is limited but he's not a "bad" QB, and he might help the Broncos. At the very least, he is a quality backup.

Based on what I'm reading in The Athletic and elsewhere from people who follow all this stuff, the Panthers still could draft Fields if he falls to them at No. 8. If Sewell, Chase or Pitts happen to be there, I would think they'd take him. But if those guys are gone (as expected), I think they will trade back 1-10 spots and choose either an OT or CB.

[MU82]

Amidst the draft hype and the Bridgewater trade, the Panthers all but sneaked out the news that they were changing the surface of their stadium from grass to Field Turf. Players aren't happy.

[jficke13]

Amidst the draft hype and the Bridgewater trade, the Panthers all but sneaked out the news that they were changing the surface of their stadium from grass to Field Turf. Players aren't happy.

NGL, maybe I'm just showing my age, but I don't like fieldturf. I guess it's better than astroturf, but that's not really saying much. A natural surface seems superior in almost all ways and everywhere from pro stadiums down to my old hs have fieldturf now. Something about those little black pebbles weirds me out.

[JWags85]

Field turf makes sense for football stadiums above the Mason Dixon line.  Grass goes to hell in those colder months and you get terrible surfaces.  A place like Charlotte it doesn't.  It's easier to maintain obviously, probably a cost savings in the long run, but I get why players are pissed

[MU82]

The Panthers are saying that because they're adding an MLS team in 2022, and they also want more concerts and events, it would be too difficult to maintain a high-quality grass field. Not sure I'm buying it, but that's what they're saying.

[bananahammock]

Rodgers requesting out of GB

[wadesworld]

Trade him to Jacksonville for 1 overall.  Start Love until the offensive line gets healthy/good.

[Hards Alumni]

Rodgers requesting out of GB

Fine, trade him.  If he wants out, you don't force him to play for you.

It really unnatural carnal knowledge;ng sucks to be a Packer fan right now.

[The Sultan]

Fine, trade him.  If he wants out, you don't force him to play for you.

It really unnatural carnal knowledge;ng sucks to be a Packer fan right now.

It never sucks to be a Packer fan.

[Hards Alumni]

It never sucks to be a Packer fan.

HOF QB asking out?  We're still not the Bears, but its the worst day in franchise history probably since the early 90s.