Commence, fans of teams not named Packers and Steelers.

2010 Falcons Funeral Party Post. Sigh.

Never has a team with 9 pro bowlers felt so thin and lacking of talent.

I have a ridiculously huge Rams boner these days. Josh McDaniels, Sam Bradford, easy division...

worried the CBA situation will wipe out any free agency period. the Rams need to sign a #1 WR like a Vincent Jackson, but it looks like they will have to go into the draft praying that Julio Jones falls to #14

I really want the 2011 season to be here already

since the eagles D was so terrible this year they've almost cleaned out all of the D coaches. however, they still have a defense full of undersized players, so im not sure what new coaches are gonna do unless they give the players roids.

other than the o line, the offense is in great shape.

I have no hope for my team, unless they find an average QB and younger LB's. I want an impact defensive player at #5 in the draft. Bowers or Peterson could possibly still be available at that spot. I honestly think we will be rebuilding for another year or two but can still be competitive in the west.

you know whos Ive heard AZ might turn to? Marc Bulger

hey, ex-Rams QB plan worked for you before

this thread is disrespectful. i expect more of you, nick.

LOL @thinking there will be a season next year.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if New England trades Wes Welker.

Why?

because he dared to be witty and showed personality

the whole idea that he felt the need to apologize (*coughpatsmadehimdoitcough*) is a joke

Edelman and Hernandez need bigger roles. Having all three makes the receiving corps a bit dysfunctional/redundant. Edelman and Welker are pure slot guys, and Hernandez can probably fill a similar role. Moving Edelman around this year to get him on the field didn't allow him to do what he does best. He had an uneven 2010, and his frustration was pretty evident towards the end of the season.

It would be easy (and certainly more popular) to just trade Edelman for a low round pick, let WW play it out next year and resign him to another four year deal. With a smaller cap coming, Edelman being young and cheap (and with similar upside), trading an older WW with a year left on his deal for a pick in 2012 makes some sense. Increasing Edelman's and Hernandez's roles while opening up a game day slot for another true outside receiver - who may or may not already be on the roster - is something I wouldn't be surprised to see. I think a big part of the equation will be the team's early off-season evaluations of Edelman, Tate, Price and Hernandez. Hernandez is the clear slam dunk in the group but all have shown something.

This is all out the window if a CBA doesn't get hammered out, as trades can't be consummated without one.

That's funny because Kurt Warner said in an interview that the one guy who could come in and run the offense perfectly would be Bulger. Whisenhunt wated to sign him last season but management said they already had too much money tied up in quarterbacks with Anderson and Leinart. I would actually be ok with the move as a stop-gap for a couple of years.

While that might be the Belichick/value play, do you think that Brady has the clout to call BB up and tell him in no uncertain terms that Welker is his guy and nothing they get in return is worth Welker, etc, etc and actually get Belichick to listen to him and go the other way?

The Ochocinco to New England rumors continue:

http://www.boston.com/sports/blogs/theb ... orts_links

Given his recently stated desire on Twitter to play for the Patriots, we conspiracy theorists here at The Buzz can't help but wonder:

Is Chad Johnson's Ochocinco's Johnson's latest name change part of his plan to hopefully change teams?

The Bengals receiver told host Trey Wingo on ESPN's "NFL Live" last night that he plans on changing his name back to Johnson, three years after he legally changed his surname to Ochocinco in 2008 so he could wear his self-awarded nickname above the No. 85 on his jersey.

(This is the part where our four years of C-plus grades in high school Spanish requires us to note that 85 in Spanish is actually ochenta y cinco. We're pretty sure Johnson couldn't care less, since Ochocinco does sound much cooler.)

Johnson/Ochocinco told Wingo that the name change isn't official yet and he hasn't filed the paper work, but he plans to follow through on it.

"I've done enough with the Ocho thing," he said.

So how does this have anything to do with the Patriots? Simple. The receiver has expressed a desire to play for the Patriots and Bill Belichick a couple of times this offseason, most recently when he sent a message on Twitter to the Herald's Ian Rapoport saying, “PePe and Bill #EPIC.” (FYI, PePe is another nickname Johnson/Ochocinco has for himself.)

At least in a symbolic sense, the name change could signify Johnson/Ochocinco/PePe's desire for a fresh start as well as him sending a signal to Belichick that he's willing to immerse himself in the no-nonsense Patriot Way, where no one changes their last name on a whim and daring to make subversive foot jokes in a press conference is a punishable offense.

While this might be the most obvious case ever of opposites attracting (save for maybe Julia Roberts and Lyle Lovett), the reality is that Belichick and Johnson are simpatico.

The coach's admiration of Johnson/Ochocinco/PePe is mutual and genuine. It dates back to a pre-draft workout in 2001 at Southern Cal when Johnson boldly showed up with an Oregon State flag waving atop his car.

They bonded further when Belichick coached him at the 2006 Pro Bowl. When the Patriots played the Bengals in their season opener this year, Belichick sought out the receiver after the game and gave him the kind of friendly embrace Eric Mangini probably always dreamed of.

Belichick spoke fondly of the day after the Patriots lost to the Bengals during the 2009 exhibition season while acknowledging that they are a bit of an odd pairing.

“I don’t know if you can say Chad and I are a lot alike,” said Belichick. “Maybe in some ways we are. But yeah, I respect that about Chad. His enthusiasm for the game and the competitive level that he brings. Though, I don’t like playing against him because he’s a good player, he’s hard to defend.
"I remember when I worked Chad out on the USC campus when he came out for the draft a few years ago. We had a great visit and workout and kind of stayed in touch with him in situations like last night when we play them, before the game and that type of thing, and also at the Pro Bowl a few years ago. We had a chance to spend a week together, along with a lot of other players. He’s a fun-loving guy, very competitive. When he’s on the field, he loves to compete and he works very hard, practices hard. He challenges guys in every situation. I respect that, I think he’s a terrific player. I love his competitiveness. He’s a hard guy to compete against. He’s very good.”


So would Belichick consider bringing him to the Patriots now? Sure, but we're betting it doesn't happen in the end. The Patriots coach is nothing if not prudent, and while the Johnson/Ochocinco/PePe of three or four years ago he would have been a perfect fit, he's lost a step or two at age 30. And the Patriots' biggest need at receiver is someone who can stretch the field.

Of course, if he shows up at Gillette this offseason with a Jets flag waving off his car, who knows what could happen . . .

No. Brady lobbied pretty hard for Deion Branch in 2006 and he got exiled to Seattle.

What do you think of that? (Not Branch, but Brady's apparent lack of influence on BB)

BB probably learned from that, because losing Branch that year very likely cost him a super bowl. Total Ass Crap at WR that year.

He does a good job of thinking long term with the team but two moves Branch and Seymour hurt them a lot in the playoffs.

If they move Welker, it would be because he's got high value right now and it wouldn't be a bad move for the future state of the team but he's got to replace him and add at least one more weapon for Brady.

Also, over/under on how many days until 4/5 picks a random QB and blindly roots for Miami to get him for the next 3 months despite not knowing much about him at all and having no assurance that he'll actually be any good or anything?

I like it. Improving the football team as he sees fit should always be more important than indulging the feelings of any one player, no matter his relative importance.