The Cavs have their backs to the wall which I don't like but overall the West and East have both come through with good games so far.

I think the Rockets winning on the road will tilt that series in their favor but it'll probably go 7 games because the Warriors have so much firepower. But since the Rockets got that game back and home court I think they take the series.

The Celtics are really good and unless LeBron pulls yet another rabbit out of his hat they will go to the Finals. I think they will give Houston a fight but will come up short. It's possible that James pulls the Cavs into the Finals, and I wouldn't personally bet against him, but he looked worn down last night, tired to the point of exhaustion actually.

I wonder if he's going to stay or go. Tough call.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/news/pro-best-cornerbacks-in-the-nfl

Who is the top cornerback in the NFL?
BY SAM MONSON

When Darrelle Revis was in his prime, there was no discussion – Revis was the best cover corner in the NFL. His shutdown prowess was good enough to earn him the nickname ‘Revis Island’ – the place that receivers became stranded on game day only to resurface once the action was finished.

With Revis gone, and a host of young and talented cornerbacks entering the league over the past few seasons, the battle for the throne of the game’s best cornerback has suddenly intensified.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE CONTENDERS FOR THE THRONE:

Casey Hayward
He won’t be the first name on most people’s lips, but Casey Hayward may have the best case of any corner to be known as the top cornerback in the game. Last season, his overall PFF grade wasn’t just the highest in the league, it was the second-highest overall grade we have ever seen from a corner, trailing only that otherworldly Revis season of 2009.



Our advanced charting data for last season shows Hayward with the highest percentage of tight-window throws on targets, meaning even when the ball came his way he was in tighter coverage than other corners. He also did this despite running a gauntlet of top quality receivers including a rejuvenated Josh Gordon in Week 13.

Hayward had four picks and 15 pass breakups on the season, allowing just 42.7 percent of passes thrown his way to be caught, the best mark in the league among starters, despite tracking No. 1 receivers.

Chris Harris Jr.
It’s impressive how underrated Chris Harris Jr. remains despite years of top quality play. He may not be the best cornerback in the game, but he’s not far off and likely is the best slot corner. Harris starts outside for Denver in base defense, but then kicks inside to man the slot in sub packages, ranking in the top three in coverage snaps per reception in each of the last three seasons. He has been a quality run defender and coverage man and has a knack for coming up with big plays at key times for the Broncos.

A.J. Bouye
A surprise star in 2016, A.J. Bouye parlayed that season into a big contract from the Jacksonville Jaguars last offseason and then backed that up with an even better one, reinforcing his credentials as one of the best in the game. Bouye allowed a passer rating of just 31.6 last season when targeted – the best in the NFL – and didn’t allow a touchdown all year. With Jalen Ramsey in partnership, the Jaguars had the game’s best cornerback duo last year and hope to for seasons to come.



Aqib Talib
Aqib Talib has always flashed talent, but it wasn’t until 2016 that he put it all together and had a dominant season without lapses. He was able to back it up in 2017 despite a change in scheme and a pivot to more zone coverage.

Talib gave up just 250 receiving yards all season. In the last two seasons combined, he hasn’t allowed a catch longer than 32 yards and now he returns to the scheme that allowed him a career year in 2016, reuniting with Wade Phillips in Los Angeles on a dominant looking Rams defense.

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Jalen Ramsey
Jalen Ramsey was good right off the bat, as he finished his rookie season on fire, notching nine pass breakups in his final five games of the season. In Year 2, he proved to be one of the best corners in football with an overall PFF grade of 91.8.

Ramsey had five interceptions and 10 pass breakups over the year, and had eight games in which he surrendered 25 or fewer receiving yards. Ramsey is still just two years into his NFL career and could get even better in Year 3, especially surrounded by one of the game’s best defenses.



Marcus Peters
I don’t know that Marcus Peters really belongs in the conversation of the best cornerback in football, but he does have the talent to get there. Peters has been a boom or bust player thus far in his career, with an absurd 21 interceptions and 34 pass breakups over his first three seasons, but with 15 touchdowns to offset some of those big plays.

Peters is a corner always looking to make plays, showing up on the field in areas that he has no business being from the play call on the chalk board. If he can iron out the bad plays in his game, he could easily be a contender for this crown but until then, he is too high-variance to overhaul some of these other players.

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Tre’Davious White
Tre’Davious White had the highest PFF coverage grade of any of the draft prospects in his last year of college and picked up in the NFL exactly where he left off, notching an overall grade of 92.0, trailing only Hayward and winning PFF’s Rookie of the Year.

Marshon Lattimore
The impact Marshon Lattimore had on the New Orleans defense was dramatic and he was the single biggest driver of that unit’s transformation in 2017. He didn’t surrender a touchdown all season long and allowed a passer rating of only 51.3 when targeted, including the playoffs.

Lattimore was so good that he drew 1-on-1 assignments against Julio Jones twice during the season, and while Jones did get the better of him at times, it was a back and forth battle in which the rookie did not look out of his depth. When covering receivers not named Julio Jones, the passer rating he allowed was just 42.9, only marginally higher than if the quarterback had just thrown the ball away every play instead.



William Jackson III
If you combine half a dozen advanced cornerback coverage metrics you could make the case that William Jackson III had the greatest statistical season PFF has seen over the past 12 seasons.

Missing his entire rookie season due to injury, Jackson’s first NFL action came in 2017, and for some reason the Bengals didn’t employ him as a full-time player despite clear evidence he was the best coverage player in their secondary.

He allowed just 34.9 percent of passes thrown his way to be caught (the best mark in the league), a passer rating of 36.1 (the second-best), just 0.4 yards per coverage snap (by far the best) and went 26.4 snaps in coverage for every catch he surrendered – five more than any other corner.

What really seals the case for Jackson though is his performance against Antonio Brown. Across two games, Jackson covered Brown extensively, and on seven targets did not allow Brown to catch the ball, breaking up four of those targets.



THE OLD GUARD

Richard Sherman
After Revis, there was Richard Sherman in his prime, and while Sherman is just 30 years old right now, he is coming off an Achilles injury and now plying his trade in a new city, albeit running a similar defensive scheme.

After Sherman’s rookie season, he was either first or second for five straight years in coverage snaps per reception allowed before that Achilles injury that ended his 2017 campaign. Simply put, there was no cornerback harder to complete a pass on than Sherman and that, after all is the primary function of the position. Sherman has also always been an aggressive and physical run defender and has shown the ball skills to punish quarterbacks that do decide to test him in coverage.

At his best, he definitely belongs in this conversation, and may be the only player on this list that has actually sat on that throne, but heading into the 2018 season the question is what player are we going to see post injury?

Patrick Peterson
Patrick Peterson may have the hardest assignment in football when it comes to the cornerback position. He draws the Revis role of shadowing No. 1 receivers and has tracked them into the slot, something few corners have ever been asked to do – even ones that track receivers across the field.

Peterson is good enough, and the difference between him and the rest of the Arizona secondary has usually been significant enough, so much so that he has ranked among the four least-targeted corners in the game four out of the past five years.

Only Jackson allowed a reception less often than Peterson in 2017 and Jackson wasn’t starting, let alone tracking No. 1 receivers the way Peterson was. At his best, Peterson definitely has the quality to be the best corner in the game, but he surrendered four touchdowns in 2017 and can be beaten more than his supporters like to admit.



NOT SO FAST

Xavier Rhodes
The most obvious name that people will expect to see in this debate that won’t feature for PFF beyond explaining why he isn’t in the discussion is Minnesota’s Xavier Rhodes. There is no doubt that Rhodes is a good corner, and he has begun to track No. 1 receivers now, but he is just beaten too often for a player who doesn’t offset that with as many big plays in coverage as some others.

Rhodes surrendered 553 yards in coverage last season, three touchdowns, and had significant yardage hidden in the form of penalties, with his nine penalties ranking inside the top 10 among corners, eight more than somebody like Hayward.

Josh Norman
A couple of seasons ago, Josh Norman had a strong case, but his time in Washington has not helped his status as an elite cover guy. In 2017, Norman surrendered three touchdowns, and thanks to notching zero interceptions on the season, he gave up a passer rating of 114.1 when targeted. The last great year we have seen from Norman was back in 2015, in a different defensive scheme, which is looking more and more like it may be a career outlier and not an indication of his true ability.

Darius Slay
Another player who is very good, but perhaps not quite great enough to be seen as the best cornerback in the game, Darius Slay led the league in interceptions last season with eight (tied with Kevin Byard), and had 13 pass breakups, but he also surrendered three touchdowns and over 700 yards to receivers over the course of the season.

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I think this is going to make the kickoff more important than it has ever been.

I know some people don't like it and think that the NFL is trying to get rid of this part of the game. IMO they just did the opposite because without running starts and wedges returners are going to have more space and lanes to run in.

They got two things done. They made it "safer", a little bit anyway, and more exciting. Now kickoffs won't be the most boring play of the game. Imagine what PCooper is going to do to coverage teams now that they don't have a jump on him..........

I'g glad to see this myself and won't be hitting the fridge during kickoffs.

I'd like to get a discussion started about our opening opponent. I think the soon to be Las Vegas Raiders are a formidable opponent.

The offense is looking good on paper. I think Jordy Nelson still has something left in the tank and will give Carr experience on the outside. Amari Cooper is still a beast. He gave Peters a run for his money last year. Jared Cook can be a threat down the seam but we all know about his work ethic. They traded for Martavius Bryant. He's a major deep threat and can beat anyone off the line. Probably my biggest fear when we play them.

The defense is a different story. They struggled pretty bad last year and haven't added much. Khalil Mack is obviously awesome. Whitworth and Havenstein will need to be on top of their game to handle him. Other then that I think we can burn that secondary all night long.

Last but not least, Chucky is back in town. Its been a long time since he coached but I'm sure he will want to hand his protege an L. Overall I think it will be a battle and a high scoring game.

My early prediction: Rams 38-24

Thoughts?

I've been asked by my signifigant other to start this thread. Her hope is that other ROD members will post their own stories of "A Random act of kindness."

Every couple of weeks we go out in the RV and find a homeless person, the dirtier and gungier, the better, and bring them into the RV, give them a shower and cook them a decent meal. (Not a good idea to bring them to the house) She follows in the car and takes their clothes home and washes them, or goes the Goodwill and trashes the old stuff.

I have to admit it was her idea at first, but I am whole heatedly into it now and have been doing it for a couple of years now. Some of the stories of how these folks became homeless are tragic. Some are mentaly ill and just not abler to care for themselves.

With so much "bad" in the world, a "Random Act of Kindness" goes a long way, both to whoever you give it to and yourself.

Lets hear yours.

http://thesportsdrop.com/new-uniform-designs-for-all-32-nfl-teams/4/

I SO HOPE this is not so!

bad bad bad horms
train

Just testing some free sites for photo sharing since I had to rely on George last season and his Photobucket account.

A parking violation.

Parking violation. Keep that in mind..........this is a parking violation.

5 or so cops in a parking lot. For a parking violation.

The Chief of Police apologized in a presser. The cops got suspended.

But that doesn't change the fact that this HAPPENED.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23586406/video-shows-arrest-tasing-sterling-brown-milwaukee-bucks

And some of you wonder why players take a knee to draw attention???

If this had been me, I'm white and in my 50's, they would have escorted me to my car. I wouldn't have been hit with a tazer and taken to the ground.

What the fuck is wrong here..........

Goff Displaying Growth, Leadership During Offseason Program

As reporters peppered him with questions on Monday after the Rams’ first OTA practice of 2018, “comfortable” was the word the 23-year-old kept using to describe how he’s feeling about being Los Angeles’ starting quarterback.

“It just continues to get more comfortable. Comfortable is the best word,” Goff said. “Stuff begins to slow down a bit more. It seems like it does every year all the way through high school, through college and now into the NFL.

“It’s every year you kind of start seeing more,” Goff continued. “You’re not seeing it moving so fast, but you’re more actually comprehending what’s going on and seeing the defenses better.”

Those factors may sound a bit abstract, but head coach Sean McVay said he’s noticed plenty of growth from the young quarterback in those areas, too.

“I think he’s confident. I think he truly is becoming that extension of the coaching staff that you hear us refer to commonly. I think the game is slowing down a little bit for him — it certainly is,” McVay said on Monday.

“We know there is going to be a lot of great challenges ahead, but I think in terms of the command and really taking a great grasp of the offensive system, while kind of understanding everything that we’re trying to get done, I’ve been really pleased with Jared.”

Goff is coming off a season in which he completed 62.1 percent of his passes for 3,804 yards with 28 touchdowns and just seven interceptions. He finished No. 1 in the league with 12.9 yards per completion, leading the Rams to an 11-4 record — and an NFC West division title — in the 15 games he started in 2017.

As a quarterback going into his third year, Goff is also beginning to take more of a leadership role within the club. In many ways, that’s expected from a team’s signal-caller, especially one drafted at No. 1 overall. But having a year as successful as 2017 makes the process a bit smoother.

“I think anytime you can be in the same offense for more than one year, you know what you’re talking about and so you can kind of be confident and have an opinion in being able to correct things,” Goff said. “You have confidence in that because you know what you’re talking about in that to extent, being in it for one year.”

Goff’s teammates have noticed the quarterback’s growth with his demeanor both on and off the field.

“Definitely, you watch him grow everyday at just being our leader and commanding us, taking control of the offense — you see that grow and grow every day,” right guard Jamon Brown said.

“The more confident he is, the more confident we are in him. I think that allows everybody around him to be confident. But definitely, you see those leaps and bounds everyday.”

“I think last year having been able to play all the way through, having the year that he did has really helped him,” wide receiver Cooper Kupp said. “[H]e took full responsibility for whatever it was that happened the first year.

I know I wasn’t here, but whatever it was, he took full responsibility for whatever that was. And then to be able to go out and work in the offseason, come back and have the year he did, and just moving into this year he’s just elevated it that much more.

“He didn’t take any steps back, didn’t get comfortable at all, and just continued to grow as a person, as a football player, as a leader on this team,” Kupp continued. “Excited about the way he’s kind of pulled guys together and organized guys.

In the offseason he was big on getting guys together, working on things, so that growth hopefully will just continue to grow as we move into the season.”

Given all the progress he’s made, Goff now has more leeway to take ownership of the offense in partnership with McVay.

“I think as time goes on that will continue to build. Through last year and this offseason, it has already,” Goff said, adding the practice on Monday “was a good example of that, kind of us bouncing stuff off each other — me asking him questions, him asking me questions and continuing to grow together.”

As the offseason program continues through the second full week of June, Goff said he’s looking to improve every aspect of his game.

“A million things. Like always, just trying to get better, trying to improve,” Goff said. “I want to continue to learn as much as I can about the defense and that side of the ball, and at the same time continue to master our system.

Just become the best teammate and leader I can be.”
http://www.therams.com/

https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2018/05/23/the-2019-nfl-draft-will-be-in-nashville/

The 2019 NFL draft will be in Nashville
Posted by Michael David Smith on May 23, 2018

The NFL draft is heading to Nashville.

The league’s owners officially voted this morning to put the 2019 NFL draft in Nashville, after a strong bid by the Music City was bolstered by a huge turnout for a party to show off the Titans’ new uniforms.

The NFL is seeking to make the draft a major event in every city that hosts it, and Nashville going all-out for the uniform release event was a big point in its favor. The Nashville event will surely have a music component outside the draft, and the large number of both college and pro football fans in Tennessee make it a good fit for the draft.

The draft was long held in New York but has moved in recent years from Chicago to Philadelphia to Dallas. Nashville will host next year, and in 2020 a joint bid between Cleveland and Canton, Ohio, is expected to get strong consideration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the NFL at the site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A future draft in Las Vegas is considered very likely as well.

Greetings fellow Rams fans.

I thought some of you might find this of interest.

I work for one of Prince Charles's charities and I was invited to attend a Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday 22nd May. This also happened to be Harry and Meghan's first official Royal function.

Whilst at the Garden Party I took the opportunity to rep our Rams - see photo, apologies for the dour looking English look

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...e-earlier-this-offseason?campaign=Twitter_atn

Eagles declined Nick Foles-Browns trade earlier this offseason
By Michael Silver


ESPN.com

Shortly before the start of the league year, the Philadelphia Eagles turned down a potential trade that would have sent Super Bowl LII MVP Nick Foles to the Cleveland Browns for the 35th overall pick in the 2018 draft, according to three sources familiar with the talks.

Before rejecting the deal, two sources said, the Eagles ran the scenario by Foles, who said he preferred to remain in Philadelphia. In April, the Eagles and Foles agreed to a re-worked contract that gave him a $2 million bonus for 2018 and allowed him to earn up to $14 million in incentives, while creating a "mutual option" for him to remain with the team in 2019. (Basically, Foles is free to leave if he pays back the $2 million.)

The Browns, meanwhile, turned their attention to former Buffalo Bills starter Tyrod Taylor, who they acquired for a third-round pick on March 10. Cleveland later selected former Oklahoma star Baker Mayfield with the first overall pick of the draft, though coach Hue Jackson has declared that Taylor will be his unequivocal starter for 2018. With the 35th pick -- the second of their two second-rounders -- the Browns selected Georgia running back Nick Chubb.

The decision not to trade Foles reflected the Eagles' immense regard for his abilities, which were showcased during the team's NFC championship game blowout of the Minnesota Vikings and again in the epic Super Bowl triumphover the Patriots.

It was also based on the uncertainty regarding the status of third-year franchise quarterback Carson Wentz, who tore his ACL in a December victory over the Los Angeles Rams and theoretically might not be ready for the team's Sept. 6 regular season opener against the Atlanta Falcons at Lincoln Financial Field -- though the team is optimistic that Wentz will be able to meet that timeline.

It's also possible that Foles could still be sent elsewhere before the start of the 2018 season, or at any point up to the Tuesday, Oct. 30 trade deadline.

Two Septembers ago, five days after Vikings starting quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a severe knee injury in practice, the Eagles dealt starter Sam Bradford to Minnesota for first- and fourth-round picks -- a move that allowed Wentz, then a rookie, to ascend to the top of the depth chart just before the start of the regular season.

If a similar scenario were to present itself this summer, the Eagles could possibly be open to parting with Foles, especially if they were offered a first-round pick in return.

It's also possible that Foles could be dealt shortly before the trade deadline, especially if Wentz has established that he is fully healthy. Last Oct. 30, the Patriots sent promising backup Jimmy Garoppolo to the 49ers for a second-round pick.

In the meantime, Foles remains the NFL's highest-profile backup quarterback -- a role with which he is clearly comfortable, given his preference that the Eagles reject the Browns' overtures.

The next guy that complains AD needs to be at OTA's remember this injury.

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https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.c...hackenberg-to-raiders-for-seventh-round-pick/

Jets trade Christian Hackenberg to Raiders for seventh-round pick
Posted by Michael David Smith on May 22, 2018


Getty Images

The Christian Hackenberg era has come to an end for the Jets, after zero games played.

Hackenberg has been traded to the Raiders for a conditional seventh-round draft pick.

The Jets took Hackenberg in the second round of the 2016 NFL draft, so to settle for a seventh-round pick for him now is a major disappointment. But realistically, it was never going to work for Hackenberg with the Jets: He looked bad in preseason action and the practices that were open to the public, and with Sam Darnold now in town, there was zero chance of Hackenberg ever emerging as the Jets’ starter.

Can he do anything in Oakland? Raiders coach Jon Gruden was a fan of Hackenberg’s coming out of Penn State, saying before the 2016 draft that Hackenberg should be a first-round pick. So Gruden may think Hackenberg has a chance.

In Oakland, Hackenberg will be competing for a backup spot behind Derek Carr. Perhaps Gruden can help him develop into a starter some day. That day is likely a long way away, but at least he has a coach who likes his potential now that he’s a Raider. With the Jets, the Hackenberg experiment was doomed to failure.

Rotoworld referred to him as a 2 down thumper which I believe we could use.

Interest?

http://www.rotoworld.com/headlines/...-lb-mychal-kendricks?ls=roto:NFL:topheadlines

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/mo...-shocking-late-hit/ar-AAxD6h8?ocid=spartandhp

If the defensive lineman's apology is true, then his coaches need to suffer the consequences of ordering a hit that was worse than Gregg Williams Bountygate hits. Either way, the defensive lineman in question should be banned for life for that disgusting hit.

https://www.theringer.com/2018/5/22/17378482/how-nfl-teams-spend-salary-cap-team-building

What the Salary Cap Tells Us About the NFL’s Most Extreme Teams
For some squads, salary cap allocation can provide a peek at their team-building philosophy
By Danny Kelly


Getty Images/Ringer illustration

It might sound strange, but the salary cap is one of the biggest reasons I love—and am endlessly fascinated by—the NFL. For starters, the cap fosters parity; sure, it’s risen substantially over the past few years to create a league-wide surplus in spending power, but unlike teams in, say, Major League Baseball, a given franchise’s market size (or the depth of its owners’ pockets) has little bearing on the amount of cash it can shell out to retain its best players or land premier free agents.

That level monetary playing field gives long-suffering fans of bad teams legitimate reason to believe that even their franchise can quickly put together a winner. (Hello, Jacksonville.) But more than that, the cap makes roster-building a complex chess match of resource allocation.

Decision-makers must weigh short- and long-term factors in deciding how and when to best wield their regulated allotment of cap space each year. The strategies therein vary wildly and constantly evolve.

The starting point for every team is at quarterback—and the amount of cap space each club has tied up in that position affects how they approach every other spot. A good quarterback who’s still on his cheap rookie contract is perhaps the most valuable thing in sports, and that player affords his team the ability to spend big to fill out the roster around him.

But elite rookie-contract signal-callers are rare, and the teams that can’t lean on that enormous advantage must decide: How much is a top-tier veteran quarterback worth? Is it true that defense wins championships? Is the ability to score points all that really matters? Or is balance between the two sides of the ball the only true way to win consistently?

With free agency and the draft in the books, the bulk of team rosters are more or less set for the season. How each club has chosen to distribute its available cap space for this year reveals plenty about organizational philosophies and desired schematic identities; the cap numbers help us glean where some teams are strongest, where they’re weakest, and on which positions they place the most value.

By reading between the lines of Spotrac’s roster spending charts, here’s what current active roster salary cap numbers tell us about what a few teams are thinking.

(Note: All numbers reflect the cap hits for each full 90-man roster. As teams cut down to 53 players in September, some highly paid players could get cut, which would affect these rankings.)

The Rams: It Is About This Year
Los Angeles seems to realize that its best bet for a Super Bowl is to take advantage of the quickly closing championship window that Jared Goff’s cheap rookie contract affords it. The team has gone all in on this season, trading for Brandin Cooks, Marcus Peters, and Aqib Talib while signing Ndamukong Suh. Essentially, the Rams are saying “We’re just going to worry about the future at a later date, thank you,” to the rest of the league.

Suh is set to count $14 million toward the cap in 2018; Talib, $11 million; Cooks, $8.5 million; and recently re-signed center John Sullivan, $6.3 million. Add in a franchise tag for safety Lamarcus Joyner ($11.3 million) and L.A. is projected to have just over $4.7 million in cap space going into this year, fifth-lowest in the league—and that’s before adding in a potential monster deal the team may (read: should) give Aaron Donald over the next couple of months.

The team’s current nucleus of stars is set to be a short-term swing for the fences, and then the franchise will have some choices to make. In addition to Donald, new contracts will be due to Joyner, Cooks, Suh, Peters, Talib, Goff, and Todd Gurley over the next two years.

L.A. should have plenty of cap flexibility in 2019 (with a projected $60 million-plus in space) to pick and choose which high-impact players to try to retain. But right now, they’re not in a slow, deliberate build-for-the-future mode like San Francisco; they’re in it to win it all in 2018.

The 49ers: It’s Not About This Year
With newly inked franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo under center, an intriguing draft class set to hit the field, plus a handful of key free-agency additions (cornerback Richard Sherman, running back Jerick McKinnon, center Weston Richburg) now in the fold, the 49ers look like a challenger in the NFC West.

But the way in which the team has constructed its most recent contracts and utilized the approximately $100 million in cap space it started the offseason with says, more or less, that what happens this year doesn’t matter. At least, it doesn’t matter as much as the flexibility and potential spending power they’re going to gain in 2019, 2020, and beyond.

GM John Lynch called San Francisco’s strategy “aggressively prudent” after the team signed Garoppolo to a massive five-year, $137.5 million contract. That contract front-loaded a huge portion of the signal-caller’s signing bonus to 2018, giving Garoppolo an NFL-high $37 million cap hit this year. (That’s over $10 million more than second-ranked Matt Stafford’s $26.5 million cap hit this season, by the way.)

The 49ers did the same type of front-loading in McKinnon’s deal—he’ll count $10.5 million against the cap this year and then just $4.5 million in 2019—and then abstained from spending the $37 million and change in cap space the team had left over after all that free-agency action. Instead, they’ll roll that excess cap money into the 2019 offseason.

In other words, the 49ers brass doesn’t likely see the team as a legitimate Super Bowl contender in 2018. That might be obvious, but it’s important nonetheless: Instead of spending major free-agency dollars on a handful more big-name free agents with the goal of putting the team over the proverbial top—which San Francisco had the money to do—the 49ers decided instead to play the long game.

By eating a big chunk of Garoppolo’s signing bonus in Year 1, they sacrifice some of their championship potential in 2018 but give themselves a better chance to field a competitive team around him in the long term, at least in theory.

The Raiders: Experience Matters
Thanks to Garoppolo’s aforementioned front-loaded contract, the 49ers are set to field the most expensive offense (by cap dollars) in the league next year. Coming in a close second, though, are the rapidly aging Oakland Raiders with an offensive unit that currently accounts for $113.3 million of the team’s 90-man salary cap—dwarfing the $71.7 million its defense is eating up.

For GM Reggie McKenzie and head coach Jon Gruden, there’s apparently no substitute for experience, and the team is paying for its shortage of first-contract contributors on that side of the ball. Quarterback Derek Carr’s cap hit is $25 million in 2018, third-most among all players, and the team has invested a pretty penny in protecting him, too:

Oakland is projected to field the third-most-expensive OL in the NFL next year, a unit led by guards Gabe Jackson and Kelechi Osemele (both with $10.5 million cap hits), tackle Donald Penn ($8.4 million), and center Rodney Hudson ($2.8 million).

Add in sizable veteran deals for 32-year-old receiver Jordy Nelson ($7.4 million), 32-year-old running back Marshawn Lynch ($4.5 million), 31-year-old tight end Jared Cook ($5.8 million)—plus depth players like tackle Breno Giacomini ($3.5 million), tight ends Lee Smith ($3.3 million) and Derek Carrier ($2.0 million), and running back Doug Martin ($1.5 million)—and what you get is a very expensive offense that, outside of Martavis Bryant and Amari Cooper, is not getting much help from its cost-controlled first-contract players.

The Falcons: We’re Going to Score More Points Than You
The Falcons have some exciting young players on their defense, but judging by the way the team spends its money, they know that their best bet for a championship comes through Matt Ryan’s arm. As it currently stands, Atlanta has $111.1 million in cap dollars dedicated to its offense (third-most), and with just $61.5 million of its cap committed to its defense (31st), has the second-largest disparity of any team in the league (behind only the Colts) between offensive and defensive spending ($49.5 million).

It’s not just that the Falcons recently gave the 33-year-old signal-caller a record five-year, $150 million contract extension. (Because of the way the Falcons structured it, Ryan comes into 2018 with an extremely reasonable $17.7 million cap hit, 16th among all quarterbacks.) But elsewhere, Atlanta’s dedicated significant cap space to giving its quarterback as much support as possible:

He’s got the NFL’s second-most-expensive offensive line (by cap), with tackles Jake Matthews ($12.5 million) and Ryan Schraeder ($6.5 million), center Alex Mack ($11.1 million), and guard Andy Levitre ($5.7 million)—plus some combination of Brandon Fusco ($3 million), Ben Garland ($2.9 million), and Wes Schweitzer ($663,095). Ryan will be throwing to pass catchers Julio Jones ($12.9 million) and Mohamed Sanu ($7.5 million) and handing off to running back Devonta Freeman ($5 million).

In 2016, Atlanta led the league in scoring, averaging 33.8 points per game, and Ryan won MVP honors. Both Ryan and the rest of the offense fell back to earth under new offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian last year, and the team finished 15th in points per game (22.1)—but if you follow the money, the Falcons are banking on their offense returning to something resembling that 2016 squad.

The Jaguars: Defense Does Win Championships
The Jags clearly subscribe to the belief that a dominant defense can overpower even the best offense, and they’ve gone about using years of rolled-over salary cap space to put together the most expensive defense ever. As it stands now, Jacksonville’s defense accounts for $119.6 million against the cap—which is about $41.4 million more than they’ve got dedicated to their offense, for those of you keeping track at home.

Three players on that unit are set to count north of $15 million in 2018 (DE Calais Campbell, CB A.J. Bouye, and DT Malik Jackson), and DT Marcell Dareus accounts for another $10.2 million. Add in DE Dante Fowler ($7.4 million), safety Tashaun Gipson ($7.1 million), corner Jalen Ramsey ($6.3 million), LB Telvin Smith ($5.8 million) safety Barry Church ($5.0 million), and corner D.J. Hayden ($3.9 million), and this is a highly paid, very talented squad. After finishing first in defensive DVOA in 2017 and guiding the Jags to the AFC championship game, it’s a group that somehow looks primed to get even better.

The Seahawks: Balance Is Key
From 2013 through 2015, the Seahawks were incredibly efficient on both sides of the ball. The team’s offense under Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch could beat you both through the air and on the ground—and its defense was regularly among the league’s most complete. That balance has escaped Seattle: The Seahawks have been awful in the run game in each of the past two seasons, and the defense took a step back last year.

The result? Head coach Pete Carroll fired almost the entire staff over the offseason and enacted what looks like an attempt to regain that missing equilibrium. On defense, they’ve gotten younger, and hopefully for Carroll, faster. On offense, the team’s moves in free agency (signing tight end Ed Dickson and guard D.J. Fluker) and the draft (taking running back Rashaad Penny in the first round) reflect a desire to get better in the run game.

Perhaps unsurprising, then, is the fact that as it stands now, Seattle features the most evenly distributed salary cap in the NFL. Just $301,760 separates the offensive and defensive cap numbers, with both units hovering right around $79 million. The Seahawks’ current spending clearly illustrates Carroll’s offseason goal of recapturing the Seahawks’ fading identity as a beat-you-in-every-facet type of team.

The Ravens: Special Teamers Are Football Players, Too
The Ravens value the third, and oft-overlooked phase of football: special teams. Baltimore has $10.7 million currently dedicated to that group—all-world kicker Justin Tucker is set to take up $5 million, with former Pro Bowl punter Sam Koch another $3.5 million.

Longtime long-snapper Morgan Cox even breaks the seven-figure mark, set to count $1.14 million against the cap. Somehow I doubt you’re going to hear former special teams coach John Harbaugh complain about any of the salaries of his top-tier special-teamers.

Team insider Myles Simmons shares 10 of his top observations from the first Rams OTA of 2018.

1) The offense looked really sharp. Quarterback Jared Goff was accurate with his passes early and often, hitting receivers in stride on regular drops and off play-action. Goff said himself after practice that he felt sharp and comfortable on the field, and it showed. Overall, it didn’t look like a team playing an offense for the first time. And that should be the case, considering the club is in its second year under head coach Sean McVay.

2) Speaking of McVay, he was just as active as ever on the field — running around from drill to drill. If you’ve ever had a coach tell you, “If you’re walking, you’re wrong,” that is the essence of the Rams’ head coach. He’s never stationary and never walking. And he often encourages the players to jog from drill to drill, as well as on and off the sideline.

3) Even in the early, individual stages of practice, it was easy to see why Los Angeles wanted to add wide receiver Brandin Cooks. He has a very strong ability to snatch the ball out of the air and bring it to his body. There was a pass from a coach in warmups moderately off-target to Cooks and he nevertheless reeled it in. That was before he even put his gloves on during the group sessions. It’s not much, but it’s an indication of his considerable talent.

4) When the offense was going through routes against air, Goff connected with wide receiver Mike Thomas on a deep pass on the left side of the field. Thomas looked like he ran a solid route and Goff hit him in stride as Thomas ran into the end zone.

5) During team drills, Goff faked a handoff on the left, rolled to his right, threw on the run and hit wideout Josh Reynolds in stride on an intermediate pass toward the right sideline. It was a play that displayed Goff’s chemistry and timing with his receivers, even in this stage of the offseason program.

6) As it did during much of last season, the offense varied its tempo throughout much of the practice. That’s not necessarily a surprise, considering how the unit went about its business in 2017. However, doing it during the first OTA is an example of Los Angeles getting more comfortable in the scheme and mastering the system — rather than just learning it.

7) Cornerback Aqib Talib called McVay’s offense “crazy” because of the movement that goes into it. Cornerback Marcus Peters called the scheme “crazy unique” with the way the unit varies tempos. Both said they feel like going against the offense will end up making the defense better in the long run.

8) There are plenty of candidates, but Goff’s best pass of the day was probably a deep ball to Cooks during 7-on-7 drills. Cooks darted down the left side off the line of scrimmage, Goff fired the pass and hit the speedy Oregon State product in stride at about the five-yard line, allowing Cooks to easily make it into the end zone. Aside from Goff’s arm strength and Cooks’ speed, the pass illustrated Goff and Cooks have already established some chemistry.

9) On one play during 11-on-11 drills, cornerback Marcus Peters, cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman, and safety Lamarcus Joyner all converged on a deep ball in the corner of the end zone. The trio pulled up in order to avoid contact and potential injury, but there’s clearly already some chemistry getting established in the secondary.

10) A pair of young defenders made impact plays during 11-on-11 drills. Rookie defensive lineman Justin Lawler — selected No. 244 overall in the 2018 draft — broke up a pass down the field on a seam route. And college free agent signee Curtis Mikell picked off a pass on the defense’s right, jumping a route to get his hands on the football.

[www.therams.com]

This list is the most bizarre one yet. Case Keenum comes in at 51 :eek:

Josh Reynolds has been rehabbing a torn labrum he suffered in the playoffs

May 21, 2018 | By:Jake Ellenbogen

According to Joe Curley, Rams second-year wideout Josh Reynolds has been rehabbing an injury he suffered in the Rams last game of the 2017-18 season that came in the playoffs against the Atlanta Falcons.

Josh Reynolds was stuck as the team's number four wideout last season due to the team having rookie star Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods and trade acquisition Sammy Watkins. This year he looks at the same scenario with a new trade acquisition in star WR Brandin Cooks. This injury is a shame as it came at the end of the fourth quarter in the Rams playoff loss but like Reynolds said to Joe, he has had the opportunity to start the grind and get focused on football earlier than most players in the league. Reynolds is expected to be a key contributing role player on special teams and in the Rams offense.

The team drafted Reynolds in the fourth round of the 2017 NFL Draft and while he looks at just the fourth spot on the roster, it does not mean he will get starved in an offense that was one of the best last year and likely only improved this offseason. The Reynolds rehabbing does open the door for third-year WR Mike Thomas to finally come into his own, Pro Bowl PR/KR Pharoh Cooper who has been used sparingly on offense but a ton as a special teamer and other receivers such as UDFA's LaQuvionte Gonzalez, Steven Mitchell, Ricky Jeune among others.

With this injury, it's a serious thing and will be something to keep an eye on and monitor not just this season but with Reynolds moving forward as he already he tore the opposite shoulder's labrum during his time at Texas A&M.

Rams ILB Mark Barron recovering from undisclosed injuries, will return for training camp

May 21, 2018 | By:Jake Ellenbogen

With the recent news of Aaron Donald not joining the team at OTAs due to his contract status and Ogbonnia Okoronkwo breaking his foot, it doesn't end there. Mark Barron "had a couple of things in this offseason where he's recovering." according to Joe Curley.
This also now opens the door for an inside backer to step up in Barron's absence. We talked about how big of an opportunity the Okoronkwo injury leaves but you have a legitimate starting inside linebacker that is going to be out all of OTAs. That is going to be huge for players like fifth-round pick Micah Kiser, recent FA signing Ramik Wilson, priority UDFA Tegray Scales and last year's rotational/situational starters Cory Littleton and Bryce Hager.


The bigger news could be the fact that the status and possibility of releasing Mark Barron to save over $5 million was pitched during the year and rumored during the offseason. If Barron does not return from this and struggles to find his ground, the Rams do have depth in the backend of the room that could make a play for his spot. I personally see Tegray Scales as the one to watch in the inside backer group outside of Cory Littleton who I would pencil in to start.

Just heard McVay talk about this during his presser. Said he should be back for training camp but foot injuries are never good IMO.

Hopefully it's minor and doesn't linger, and he doesn't fall too far behind due to lack of reps.

Ooooooohhhh these are funny as hell.

Rank your top 3.

Mine.

Fat Albert NOT EVEN BOTHERING to get up after his 6 burger pregame meal. The Guard just stands there not sure about what he should do LOL.

Cam Newton with the clear path to the ball and a recovery of his own fumble IN THE SB and deep in his own territory jumps BACKWARDS to avoid it.

Cliff Lee not running towards first base and actually WAVING IT OFF after two steps.

My honorable mention goes to James Harden's defense LOL.

Let's hear yours.

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