NFL Free Agency: Quick Thoughts & Insights

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Posted by Diesel | Posted on 05-03-2010

Category : Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Miami Dolphins

Chicago Bears Sign Peppers

$91.5 million contract with $42 million in guarantees is a big price to pay to upgrade an already strong defense. The Chicago Bears don’t have a 1st or 2nd round pick in this years draft, so new additions have to be made through free agency. The Pepper’s signing will put a smile on any Chicago Bears fan’s face, but was the need for a defensive end such a high priority?  The Bears will have high expectations for this pro-bowl player and defensive unit.

Bears Add RB Taylor Into The Mix

While the signing of Julius Peppers is the headline of every site today, the addition of RB Chester Taylor in my opinion is just as big of an upgrade for the Bears. The Bears lost Brian Urlacher last year, which resulted in trouble stopping the run, but the defense was still above average. The biggest struggle for Chicago was running the ball; the Bears were ranked 29th in the league last year and couldn’t crack a 100 yards per game average.

Ravens Trade For Boldin

Out of nowhere the Ravens pulled off a trade for Anquan Boldin. The addition of Boldin gives the Ravens a true No. 1 receiver after letting Derrick Mason walk. Fantasy Football owners might not be happy as the Ravens are not exactly a passing juggernaut like the Cardinals.

Dolphins Sign Dansby

Karlos Dansby and the Dolphins agreed to terms on a five-year contract that will make the free agent the highest-paid linebacker in the NFL. Dansby has been a starter since his rookie season, and he has played both inside and outside linebacker. He should be a perfect fit in Miami.

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Top 5 Trade Destinations for Brandon Marshall

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Posted by LFI | Posted on 25-02-2010

Category : Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Seattle Seahawks, St. Louis Rams, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins

Top 5 Trade Destinations for Brandon Marshall

The Denver Broncos have most likely already received trade inquiries about star wide receiver Brandon Marshall, many see this star player a lost cause in the Denver areas and expect him to be released any day. In all likelihood the Broncos would want to bring back their top pass catcher for the 2010 season but know that cutting the ties with Marshall is a smarter move, instead of trying reconcile any outstanding issues in hopes of a long term contract and dealing with weekly headaches through the media.  If however the Broncos do decide the best case scenario would be to unload Marshall, as they did with Cutler, then they would be looking for certain criteria from trade partners.

First off the Broncos would be reluctant to trade Marshall within the AFC and extremely reluctant to trade him within their own division.  Therefore, this first criterion would eliminate half of the NFL teams.   Second, and most importantly, Denver would try and get as much as they can for a player who can dominate on any given Sunday.   There are not many NFC teams with a possible need at WR and the desire to pull off a trade for Marshall.

Below is a listing of the top five NFC teams that could make a run at acquiring Brandon Marshall.  The analysis of each team includes the teams current offensive situation along with the teams picks within the first four rounds of the upcoming 2010 draft.

5)  St Louis Rams – The Rams are arguably the worst team in the NFL, but imagine what their skilled positions would look like if they were to pull off a trade for Marshall?  With Marshall on board defenses would have to respect Marshalls abilities and this in turn would open up the running game for Steven Jackson.  In all likelihood the Rams will use a draft pick on a

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Mike Martz Wrestles Bears Offense

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Posted by LFI | Posted on 11-02-2010

Category : Chicago Bears, Fantasy Football Strategies

Mike Martz Wrestles Bears Offense

There are some pros and cons associated with Mike Martz taking over the Offensive Coordinator position in Chicago.  Most notably are the pros that Martz himself will benefit from by turning around an offense that did not live up to its high expectations last year.  Martz may be in a similar position as another Mike, Mike Nolan, who was in Denver last year.  Turn around an underperforming unit and then move on to another organization that may be a better fit for you.  Or in Martz’s case, take over the Head Coaching position for the Chicago Bears if and when Lovie Smith is let go.

Martz is a great coach and has done some wonderful things statistically for different organization.  He even made Jon Kitna look like a Hall of Famer in the time he spent as the offensive coordinator of the Detroit Lions.   Martz will no doubt implement a high flying offense that will greatly improve the statistics of most of the offensive skill players.  However, there will be a large learning curve for this new complex offense and most notably the Bears will have to greatly improve their offensive line play if they intend to keep Cutler upright for the majority of the season.

The concern for most Bears fans will be how will this new hire translate to more points on the board and overall contribute to more wins for the team in 2010.  However, to the majority of NFL fans, the big question is how will the hiring of Mike Martz as the Bears new  Offensive Coordinator  affect the value individuals from a fantasy football viewpoint.

Lets start the fantasy analysis be starting with the position that will greatly benefit from the Martz hiring, the quarterback position.  Last year Jay Cutler had a terrible year.  He threw too many interceptions (26) and was unable to keep his team in a position to win.  Most importantly has fantasy numbers were not where owners expected them to be.  With Martz calling the plays I expect Cutler to rebound nicely in 2010 and become an every week starter for a fantasy team.  I would expect someone to take a shot on Cutler somewhere in the 7th to 8th round

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2010 NFL HOF Ballot

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Posted by WAG | Posted on 06-02-2010

Category : Around the League, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers

My 2010 HOF Ballot

First of all, I’m not a fan of “big” Hall of Fame classes. I’d honestly like to see no more than five guys inducted a year. I think smaller classes shine the spotlight on each player receiving the greatest individual achievement in their sport.  I also think that when the big-name players are enshrined, the classes should be smaller, like three players max. Point in case: we’re already forgetting that David Robinson and John Stockton were part of the Michael Jordan NBA HOF Class of 2009.  Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan and Rutgers women’s basketball coach Vivian Stringer were also part of that class, but no one will remember that in five years. It’s a shame.

That being said, the problem with the NFL Hall of Fame is that the voters continue to overlook a lot of well qualified individuals, thus creating a backlog of players who should be enshrined in Canton, OH. (Cough, cough…RAY GUY!!!)

So, I pared my list down to seven individuals. That’s more than the five I’d like to see. But, as you’ll see, there are some old-schoolers on this list

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Jay Cutler Interviewing Offensive Coordinators?

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Posted by Mike Rodriguez | Posted on 15-01-2010

Category : Around the League, Chicago Bears

Chicago Bears QB Jay Cutler is meeting with offensive coordinator candidates-unbelievable. That would be like your dog interviewing your girlfriend, sure he knows what he likes….but who cares. Jay Cutler in my opinion has now just become an official diva.

Some may see this as a very smart move by general manager Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith, making sure that a perfect fit will translate on the field with their newest quarterback. After a disgusting 26 interceptions and sacked 35 times, the off-season goal to fix the passing game is obviously the top project, but to go to the extent of having Cutler involved in the interview process is ridiculous.

Cutler is not involved to the point of suggesting candidates, but he provides input when he can. His first choice would have been Jeremy Bates, his position coach during his final season in Denver. But Bates is expected to be part of Pete Carroll’s new Seattle Seahawks staff.

“I think he was disappointed,” Angelo said of Cutler, “because of the relationship had had with him. But he’s very optimistic we’ll get the right guy.”

Suck it up and play.

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Upset In Chi City: Cutler Shows His Worth

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Posted by Mike Rodriguez | Posted on 28-12-2009

Category : Around the League, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings

Before recapping probably one of the most exciting Monday Night Football games of the season, Gridiron Experts would like to give themselves a one handed high five for picking this huge Bears upset, and for an excellent week that won more than a few bar bets.

  • Gridiron Experts week 15 picks:  13-3 straight up and 12-4 against the spread, nailing the Jets and the Bears as upsets.

The Chicago Bears had nothing to play for on Monday Night except for pride, the head coaches job, and respect from the die-hard Bears fans. That may not translate into a big deal for you, but it definitely showed at home on a very cold December night. After surprising many with a 16-0 half time lead, the Bears established excellent field position through their kick return game to take an even larger lead in the 3rd quarter, 23-6. The Minnesota 6 was not two field goals, it was in fact a touchdown and a blocked extra point that would later come back to haunt the Vikings.

Jay Cutler played a great game against a team that got hungrier as the night went on, and after a typical Brett Favre late 4th quarter rally, the Vikings found themselves down by 7 on the Bears 6 yard line. With the game on the line and after dueling timeouts to get a peek at the formation on 4th down, Brett Favre threw a beautiful touchdown pass to Sidney Rice that should send the kid to the Pro Bowl.

Overtime was set. Bears win the coin toss.

After what seemed like only a few seconds from a couple quick plays, Robbie Gould was lining up for a game winning field goal to shock the Vikings and win the game (yet again)…but he missed.

Fans were pulling their hair out, and I’m not just talking about the Bears fans in the stands. This game had so many implications, most importantly the Philadelphia Eagles who could get an opportunity at a first round bye with the Vikings loss.

After trading 3 and outs, the Vikings got good field position for what looked like the final drive of the game. The stage was set for Brett Favre to win it in overtime and add yet another late game-winning comeback into a filing cabinet of amazing highlight reel throws and broken records during his hall of famer career.

Only the Bears had a different ending to the story. An Adrian Peterson ten yard pitch to the outside that looked to kill all hope for the Bears chances was destroyed by a near perfect forced fumble by linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer.

Not wanting to risk another missed field goal, and with the Vikings expecting a run on first down, Jay Cutler dropped back and bombed a deep pass into the endzone to WR Devin Aromashodu for the game winning score, and Cutlers’ 4th touchdown pass of the night. The Bears won 36-30!

We dubbed the Eagles 45-38 win as the best Sunday Night game of the year, and now we’re dubbing this late season upset the best Monday Night game of the year….your opinion?

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Storm Changes NFL Game Times

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Posted by Mike Rodriguez | Posted on 19-12-2009

Category : Around the League, Baltimore Ravens, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers

The East Coast is being hit by a huge storm that is predicted to drop upwards of 12 to 20 inches of snow, and has caused some changes throughout the NFL’s weekend schedule.

The 49er’s and Eagles game has been pushed back to a 1 pm kickoff (ET) in anticipation of the storm. As a public-safety concern, the changes were made to accommodate fans and allow more time for city and stadium personnel to clear streets and walkways in and around the stadium. The game between the Baltimore Ravens and Chicago Bears has also been moved back to a 1:15 p.m (ET) start. Both games will still be televised on FOX.

Mother nature is going to definitely make things difficult this weekend with snow affecting these games. For those sitting at home who have fantasy pools or players, a sinking feeling just hit you and now you might have to change your fantasy football game plan.

The ground game for the Eagles might be used a lot more than expected, making DeSean Jackson, Donovan McNabb and Brett Celek’s fantasy value decrease. Meanwhile players like Frank Gore and believe it or not Leonard Weaver, who might be sitting on your fantasy bench for better options, will see a boost in value in our eyes for carries. The Bears-Ravens game shouldn’t affect fantasy points or players as much as you think, most of the top starters already involve the running backs. But what about the betting community? Are the Eagles really 9 point favorites now? Or the Ravens 10.5 over the Bears?

We’ll keep you posted.

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Fantasy Football Coin Flip

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Posted by Kevin Roberts | Posted on 11-12-2009

Category : Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, Fantasy Football Strategies, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles

Tags:

Fantasy_coin_flip

Fantasy playoffs are starting up in leagues all over the globe, and even if they aren’t, you still have a game or two with serious repercussions attached to them. You can either hit up the waiver wire, cross your fingers that your injured stars are healthy and ready to go, or go to your last resort: pick the right guy on your roster to stick into your starting line-up.

We’ve been doing it all season, showing you solid match-ups between two quality players, and giving you the best option to use each week.

The only difference this week is this article has a “Lesser of Two Evils” theme. Struggling to pick between two guys that have weak match-ups or haven’t been playing up to par? Allow us to shed some light on who might emerge from Week 14 with some solid production, even if it’s against all odds:

kevin_smithKevin Smith, RB, Detroit Lions (@ BAL) VS. Matt Forte, RB, Chicago Bears (vs. GB)

There’s a good chance you haven’t heard Smith and Forte’s names being promoted too much in the past few weeks. Aside from a nice match-up last week against the Rams for Forte, both backs have been relatively quiet, and have endured turnovers from their franchise quarterbacks.

It won’t get any easier this week. Both the Ravens and Packers stop the run very well, and are almost guaranteed to hold both backs below 100 yards rushing. This means your only real chance at fantasy success this week is picking the guy that will either sneak his way to a touchdown, gain some yards on screen passes, or if you’re lucky, both.

Both backs have been doing some solid damage on screens over the past few weeks, but it’s an easy call as to who has the edge in the red-zone.

Verdict: Smith is a touchdown hawk if his offense can get him close enough, and considering we like Stafford’s chances a bit better to move the ball against a weak Baltimore secondary, rather than

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Vick Did Something?

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Posted by mattythebulldog | Posted on 23-11-2009

Category : Around the League, Chicago Bears, Philadelphia Eagles

It took Mike Vick until week 11 to make a play. While I’m sure more big plays like this one may cause true Eagles fans to worry about the media creating controversy, it could be (if used correctly) the Eagles answer to their short yardage game.

Other thoughts: The Bears and Eagles both played tough last night, but it was the balanced play calling from the Eagles that made the difference, especially the ability to pick up 3rd and longs. McNabb looked sharp and seemed to be making more audibles at the line, something that we saw a little of against the Chargers. Cutler bounced back but misfired on more than one opportunity that probably cost them the game.

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