2010 NFL Offseason Thread

I like to think that of all places, the New York media wouldn't succumb to the stupid "LT!!!!!" nickname.

 

That 'nickname' should never have caught fire anywhere, if for no other reason than being very trite.

It was unoriginal 25 years ago in New York.

 

Eagles cut Westbrook, who was due $7.25 million next season:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4939019

 

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10054/1037957-66.stm

The Steelers are planning to put the franchise tag on nose tackle Casey Hampton if they can't sign him to a long-term deal. Hampton was one of the few Steelers on defense who was better in 2009 than he was in '08 and they have no replacement, so this makes some sense despite his conditioning issues. I wonder if it means anything that they are keeping Hampton even though Mike Tomlin supposedly wanted to let him go.

 

Everybody who plays the nose in a 3-4 --- or the "zero" technique in a 4-3 --- has "conditioning issues." That's precisely what makes them valuable: they're fat lops of shit who are impossible to move off the line with just one blocker.

It's about money. If the Steelers let Hampton go, they'd just draft Terrence Cody to replace him.

 

There are degrees of conditioning issues even with nose tackles. Hampton was so out of shape at the start of training camp in '08 that he couldn't do his job. His conditioning was better this past season and it showed on the field.

I don't see the Steelers spending a high draft pick on a 3-4 nose tackle. I'm guessing that once Dick LeBeau retires, Tomlin starts reshaping the defense to play a 4-3.

 

Thank god. Someone needed to put him out of his misery.

Now let's just hope he doesn't hit his head cleaning out his locker.

 

But that is where they drafted Hampton, and he has two rings. That is also where they drafted a kid named Joe who collected four rings.

Their problem is where they are at now is too high for Cody. I would think they resign Hampton and hope a top defensive player or an OT falls to them.

 

First of all, Greene wasn't a 3-4 nose tackle. That is a different matter entirely. I could definitely see them going for somebody who could be a playmaker in a 4-3 in the next year or two.

And you are missing the point. I'm not saying they shouldn't draft a 3-4 nose tackle in the first round. They did well by taking Hampton that high and before that, Joel Steed was a third-rounder. If you are going to play that defensive system, you need that big guy in the middle.

I'm just thinking that they won't take one now because I still think Tomlin might eventually switch the defense to a 4-3.

 

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10056/1038588-66.stm

And it's a moot point, now. The Steelers signed Hampton to a 3-year, $21.3 million dollar deal today and put the franchise tag on Jeff Reed. The deadline to franchise players is 4 p.m. today. According to the story, theyw ould have put the tag on Hampton if they hadn't gotten the deal done.

I have to agree with both choices. They have too many holes on defense to be letting Hampton go while he is still effective and Reed is still tremendous on field goals.

 

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Aq6zHw8JxPn1EuWK3lGpZ1U5nYcB?slug=ap-chargers-sproles&prov=ap&type=lgns

Now the Chargers may be letting Sproles go, too.

 

Letting Michael Turner fly away a couple of years ago isn't looking too good. Tomlinson hadn't been firing on all cylinders, granted, but then watching Turner fly away, cutting Tomlinson loose and letting Sproles test the free-agent market?

Is Philip Rivers going to have more pass attempts than Tom Brady now?