NFL In-season News and Transactions

BigSoxFan

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Bell catching short passes would seem to provide exactly what the Chiefs need vs. Patriots-style defenses.
Yeah, I’m choosing KC if I’m him. Their skill position guys are so good that he’ll have the most room to operate there. Miami seems like the worst fit other than PT because their RBs suck. Really comes down to what he wants.
 

kelpapa

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I said this in the Jets thread, but I think Bell can still be productive because of the style of running back he is.

Miami also currently starting Myles Gaskin and scratched the corpse of Jordan Howard.
Has Jordan Howard really been that bad? How is he a corpse at 26?
 

BigSoxFan

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He has 18 rushes for 14 yards albeit having 3 TDs. But yeah, he hasn't been good.
Those slow plodders seem to lose it quick. Reminds me of pre-injury Jeremy Hill. He’s purely a goal line back at this point, which isn’t a great use of a roster spot.
 

tims4wins

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Those slow plodders seem to lose it quick. Reminds me of pre-injury Jeremy Hill. He’s purely a goal line back at this point, which isn’t a great use of a roster spot.
Funny you mention Hill, I was just thinking about him the other day. I remember him looking fantastic for the Pats in week 1 2018 before he got hurt.
 

sodenj5

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Has Jordan Howard really been that bad? How is he a corpse at 26?
Hard to tell if he just hasn’t fit Miami’s scheme at all or if he’s completely spent, but every time he’s touched the ball it feels like he’s lost yards with the exception of a few goal line plunges.

He was a healthy scratch last week and hasn’t seen the ball much at all. Been mostly Gaskin and Breida getting the touches.
 

PedroKsBambino

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If you're Bell your play is to leak teams you don't really want to get Chiefs to up the offer, right?

I do think Pats will try, and if he were smart he'd have them no lower than second on his list. because they will make him successful. But I think he's an ego guy who will want to feel like he's "the man" not a piece of a committee
 

sodenj5

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Yeah, I’m choosing KC if I’m him. Their skill position guys are so good that he’ll have the most room to operate there. Miami seems like the worst fit other than PT because their RBs suck. Really comes down to what he wants.
Agreed with this. I think KC is his best fit, but he will likely be RB2/Third Down RB behind CEH.

Question is if he wants that or not.
 

nolasoxfan

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Didn’t Bell camp out somewhere in Florida during his one-year sabbatical...errr...holdout? My best guess is that he is seeking warmer climates to enjoy as he fades into obscurity, collecting checks that most of us can only dream of. Hard pass on this guy.
 

Saints Rest

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If you're Bell your play is to leak teams you don't really want to get Chiefs to up the offer, right?

I do think Pats will try, and if he were smart he'd have them no lower than second on his list. because they will make him successful. But I think he's an ego guy who will want to feel like he's "the man" not a piece of a committee
THere's no $ negotiating in play here. Bell will make $7M this year, regardless of who pays him, unless someone is dumb enough to offer him more than $7M. Basically, ny team who signs Bell will, in essence, be paying the Jets.

Bell should strictly be looking at teams with two potential goals in mind (and they are not a zero-sum):
  1. Ability to offer him a situation where he can win a championship.
  2. Ability to offer him a situation where he can reestablish his value for a contract to be signed in this off-season.
 

johnmd20

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He has 18 rushes for 14 yards albeit having 3 TDs. But yeah, he hasn't been good.
It is amazing when you look at his rookie year and now you look at him now. He's 25 years old(!!!) and he went off the cliff. He is awful now and he hasn't been particularly good in the last few years.
 

joe dokes

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It is amazing when you look at his rookie year and now you look at him now. He's 25 years old(!!!) and he went off the cliff. He is awful now and he hasn't been particularly good in the last few years.
John Brockington and Larry Brown were my introductions to the idea that very very few run-first RB's remain "particularly good" for more than 4 years.

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrowLa01.htmhttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BrocJo00.htm
 

DourDoerr

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I guess talent is talent. You upgrade wherever you can whenever you can. The Pats have 4 RB's active right now. Michel's reported to be not seriously injured, so he should be back in 2 weeks. Who goes then? Taylor's the most obvious.

Much like the Yankees seem to value and pursue ex-Red Sox a bit more than other team's players, it seems the Pats highly value the Steelers' ex-stars. Brown, Harrison, and now potentially Bell. Too bad we couldn't get one of their receivers while he's still in his prime.
 

PedroKsBambino

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THere's no $ negotiating in play here. Bell will make $7M this year, regardless of who pays him, unless someone is dumb enough to offer him more than $7M. Basically, ny team who signs Bell will, in essence, be paying the Jets.

Bell should strictly be looking at teams with two potential goals in mind (and they are not a zero-sum):
  1. Ability to offer him a situation where he can win a championship.
  2. Ability to offer him a situation where he can reestablish his value for a contract to be signed in this off-season.
Ahh--I didn't realize he had the right offset language to create that. I saw $6 mil as the number, but yes---doesn't matter, he isn't getting more than that.
 

SMU_Sox

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Fins make a lot of sense. Run inside zone quite a bit, have good run blockers, they have a roster that should be competitive for at least a wild card spot and he could be the primary back.
 

nolasoxfan

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Fins make a lot of sense. Run inside zone quite a bit, have good run blockers, they have a roster that should be competitive for at least a wild card spot and he could be the primary back.
Apologies for the cynicism, but I see Lev Bell heading to Miami for lifestyle reasons, not football. Signing Bell for this year only isn’t likely to get Miami into the playoffs, and if I were a ‘fins fan I wouldn’t want the team to sign him long term. I suppose it’s fine if the Jets are paying him for the rest of the year, but I wouldn’t want him anywhere near my locker room on a long-term contract.
 

DJnVa

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If getting a shutout is a laudable goal for a defense, then avoiding one is as well.
 

nolasoxfan

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Well, we shot our shot.

Honestly, probably his best choice. Andy Reid knows exactly how to maximize a RB like Bell’s skill set. He gets to chase a ring and showcase his skills to show he can still be a do everything back.
Send flowers to Reid. He saved Miami cash and headaches.
 

RIrooter09

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Yeah not sure what the appeal was for Miami. Bell wasn’t turning them into a contender himself.
 

pappymojo

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I would say that the Dolphins are definitely a team on the rise. I imagine that they were considering him as an upgrade within their skills positions for both this year and next. If they can make an improvement to their team it definitely narrows the gap between them and the Bills and Patriots.
 

DourDoerr

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+1. Getting Bell in now is exactly what a team like the Phins should be doing. Low cost and the chance of a huge upside. One would hope Flores believes enough in himself that he can unlock Bell if there's any talent left. Might as well get a first hand look - it's not like it will cost you that appearance in the AFC Championship Game. Good for Flores that he took the shot.
 

DourDoerr

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He went to Cal, for God’s sake. More confirmation of Jaylen Brown’s rarity.
 
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johnmd20

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I was just looking at the standings. The NFC East has Dallas in first, at 2-4. The season is 6 weeks old.

In the 7 other divisions, 6 of them have three teams with at least two wins.

This has to be the worst division record after 6 weeks (5-18-1) in history.
 

DanoooME

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I was just looking at the standings. The NFC East has Dallas in first, at 2-4. The season is 6 weeks old.

In the 7 other divisions, 6 of them have three teams with at least two wins.

This has to be the worst division record after 6 weeks (5-18-1) in history.
It's even worse if you throw out the 3 intra-divisional games (2-15-1) .139
 

cshea

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...and one of the 2 non-divisional wins was the Cowboys miracle 1-point comeback victory against the hapless Atlanta Falcons.

They are a tire fire, but I think Dallas still probably wins the division at 7-9 or 8-8. The Giants and Football Team are truly horrible. with little to no talent. The Eagles have the best QB left (not saying much) and the best coaching but they're got a first place schedule working against them..
 

johnmd20

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...and one of the 2 non-divisional wins was the Cowboys miracle 1-point comeback victory against the hapless Atlanta Falcons.

They are a tire fire, but I think Dallas still probably wins the division at 7-9 or 8-8. The Giants and Football Team are truly horrible. with little to no talent. The Eagles have the best QB left (not saying much) and the best coaching but they're got a first place schedule working against them..
Not just the schedule for the Eagles, but their injuries too. It's going to be hard for them.

Dallas probably does pull it out but they are not good. And they are decidedly worse with Dalton. I loved the takes this week about Dalton. "Maybe he'll be better than Dak."

Ok.
 

BigSoxFan

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And the cherry on the shit sundae for the Cowboys is that Mike McCarthy is a bad coach who is ill-suited to deal with a situation such as this. This Cowboys team has tons of talent on offense and some intriguing pieces on defenses...but none of it meshes.

They effectively got shut out of the end zone last night despite having a top 5 RB, probably the best WR core in football, and a serviceable TE. You had Zeke’s fumbles, Gallup’s drop, Dalton’s poor throws, etc.

On defense, the Cardinals gashed them on the ground but the pass defense actually held up well except for the Kirk bomb and Hopkins broken play.

Their schedule is actually not that bad so if they take care of business in the division, they’ll win it.
 

Oil Can Dan

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Not just the schedule for the Eagles, but their injuries too. It's going to be hard for them.

Dallas probably does pull it out but they are not good. And they are decidedly worse with Dalton. I loved the takes this week about Dalton. "Maybe he'll be better than Dak."

Ok.
All teams have injuries and I get that, but the Eagles are really taking it to a whole new level. They've lost:

Six out of Seven top OL
Top three WRs
Top two TEs
Top RB

Yet they still put up 29 vs Pitt and 28 vs Balt over the last two weeks (granted that was with Ertz & Miles Sanders for most of those games).

I think they can go 8-7-1 and probably then win the division. Then anything can happen in the playoffs, especially if they get healthier.
 

joe dokes

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I'm hoping for a historic 5-11 division-winning season (dare I hope for an Eagles 4-11-1?).
OK, because you wanted to know, here it is: the worst record an NFC East team can accrue and still win its division outright, without resorting to tiebreakers, is—vomit bags at the ready, coil your necks and, on our signal, GO!—4-11-1, by the Philadelphia Eagles. And who doesn’t want that?
https://defector.com/how-bad-can-the-nfc-east-get/
 

johnmd20

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Further stats about the NFC Least. Year to date, the division has a point differential of negative 182.(!!!) Not a single team is better than -34.(Philly)

The NFC West, on the other hand, doesn't have a team with a negative differential. Cumulative plus 144. Which is impressive.

The West's gain has been the East's loss. They are feasting. And if Atlanta didn't completely blow that game, those numbers would be even worse. Relegate the East.
 

Mooch

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Rumblings here in Atlanta that Blank is ordering a complete tear-down of the roster to hit reset/Tank for Trevor.

If Julio Jones became available, he would be a game-changing acquisition for any team.
 

BigJimEd

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The Falcons have 3 million in cap space. Trading him would count 60 million towards the Falcons' cap this year. There is no scenario where they can get out of this contract in the next two years.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/atlanta-falcons/julio-jones-7721/
I don't think that is accurate. 60M would be if he was cut as much of his salary is guaranteed. He's got about 23M in bonus money that would hit the cap in a trade but they would save on the rest of this year's salary so looks to be about 16M cap hit to me. Still a large amount to eat.
 

DanoooME

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Old friend Antonio Brown eligible to return in 2 weeks. Seahawks may be interested:

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/30162920/sources-seattle-seahawks-one-teams-looking-antonio-brown
Imagine having to defend DK, Lockett, and AB in 3 WR sets. Yikes.
Even though Wilson and Brown are friends, I think Brown would hate it there. WR targets other than DK and Lockett:

David Moore - 14
Freddie Swain - 8

That's it. Does anyone think Antonio Brown would be happy with 4 targets a game? TE/RB targets are 30/32 over 5 games and most of the RB targets are check-downs. And 3 TEs are splitting their targets, although most have gone to Olson. There's just not enough balls to go around to keep Brown happy in Seattle. He'd really have to want to hang out with Russell and/or want a ring badly. And Josh Gordon is in the fold and waiting for his suspension to be lifted.