Eagles smart with Carson Wentz Ron Rivera entering big year

Wiki Article

Eagles smart with Carson Wentz; Ron Rivera entering big year Published: Jun 13, 2019 at 07:02 AM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host Bill Belichick . Sean McVay during the team's mandatory minicamp before taking off for the summer. The best coaches in the NFL are telling us with actions, not words, that non-padded practices only have much value. This is the time of year where the most meaningful stories happen away from the field, with the potential to echo throughout the 2019 season. Before the league takes its six-week nap prior to training camps kicking off, here's a look at my four biggest takeaways from OTA/minicamp season. 1) The Eagles beat the rush with Carson Wentz contract The least interesting and most overheated talking point in sports is whether or not NFL teams can succeed when spending money at the quarterback position. It comes up every time a franchise quarterback receives a new contract. But the truth is, once a quarterback performs at an above-average starter level, he's going to get paid. The contract is usually the biggest ever at the position. The only question is, when will he sign? easily cleared that performance bar with his play during the 2017 season, when he threw for 3,296 yards with a 33:7 TD-to-INT ratio in 13 games before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Even his injury-marred 2018 campaign (3,074 yards, 21:7 TD-to-INT ratio in 11 games) was worthy of a long-term investment. The were smart to , before fellow 2016 draftees and . Quarterback contracts that looked huge at the time they were signed, like those given to (for six years and $140 million) , (for five years and $150 million) and (!) (for six years and $96 million) , wound up looking affordable in the long run. Consider where each quarterback ranks today in terms of annual average value acro s all positions, Luck ($24.6 million) is 11th, Ryan ($30 million) is fifth and Dalton ($16 million) is tied for 41st. The salary cap continues to rise at a rapid pace, while the amount of money allocated to players on rookie contracts (which seems like a significant portion of most rosters) remains relatively fixed. As former executive Andrew Brandt put it recently, it's never been easier to , a theory supported by the incredible amount of salary-cap space available throughout the league. The notion that franchise quarterback contracts make it much tougher for teams to win is vastly overstated. Teams like the and , who have young quarterbacks (Luck for Indianapolis and for Oakland) on big deals, seemed to struggle to find enough quality players to spend their cap space on in the years after they signed their QBs, leaving resources unused. Eight NFL teams have in "dead money" taking up cap space because of players no longer on the roster, according to Over The Cap. Spending money on a starting quarterback is not a hard decision, and it's not a difficult one to build around. The have as many quality veterans signed long-term as any team in the league, and they were still able to fit Wentz's contract in. The fact that the current collective bargaining Gabriel Gagne Kids Jersey agreement is set to expire after the 2020 season makes , but the Wentz contract will ultimately free up cap space for 2020. The are in a similar boat, with an expensive quarterback ( is in Year 2 of a three-year, $84 million deal) and a veteran-heavy team, yet they were still able to keep and with new contracts this offseason. Under the previous CBA, the poorly run teams were always trying to escape salary-cap hell. The current CBA has made it almost impo sible to get into salary-cap hell in the first place. (Although 2020 will present unique challenges, because of the CBA's rules into an uncertain future.) The poorly run teams now just can't find enough good players to spend their money on, so they either waste unused cap space or are forced to spend it on bad players. The haven't had that problem, and their investment in Wentz should pay dividends. By the time he's ready to sign again (the extension will carry him through 2024), quarterback contracts will likely have reached another stratosphere. 2) Bill O'Brien consolidates power The have never belonged more to coach Bill O'Brien than they do now in the wake of general manager Brian Gaine's firing . of former "character coach" Jack Easterby into a role as executive vice president of team development back in April was an important shift for the organization. O'Brien an apparent with former GM Rick Smith in Houston, and the arrival of Easterby was another sign that O'Brien, who worked for the from 2007 to 2011, is bringing people to the organization that he's comfortable working with. There's an argument to be made that O'Brien has earned the right to call the shots heading into Year 6 of his tenure with the team. The have had a winning record in four of his five seasons there, with the sole exception being 2017, when 's rookie year was derailed by a torn ACL. Since then, founding owner Bob McNair , and O'Brien appears stronger than ever under chairman and CEO Cal McNair. With power comes greater scrutiny. The on Wednesday against the for trying to pry executive Nick Caserio away to replace Gaine. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport notes that Easterby was at the ' ring ceremony the night before Gaine was fired, which "set off alarm Clarke MacArthur Men Jersey bells" in Foxborough. Before the tampering charges were filed, The MMQB's Albert Breer on the strong connections between Easterby, Caserio and O'Brien. Whether O'Brien is able to bring Caserio to Houston or not, the underlying me sage from Houston is clear. This is O'Brien's organization. Any post-firing analysis of Gaine that tried to pin certain draft picks or free agent moves to him during his brief tenure (he was ) was misguided. O'Brien is the through-line in this organization. He wants the responsibility and ultimately should be given the credit for its resourceful pa sing game over the years and their chronically underachieving offensive line. It's all on him. 3) Tyreek Hill remains a Kansas City Chief The criminal investigation involving receiver regarding child abuse is no longer active, a spokesperson for the Johnson County District Attorney's Office last week. What that means for Hill's future in the NFL remains unclear. The announced that Hill would no longer be allowed to participate in team activities, in the wake of audio being released by KCTV5 of Hill and his fiancee speaking about injuries suffered by their son. The release of the audio precipitated involving Hill, and there was widespread speculation that Hill's days with the and po sibly in the NFL were over. But that hardly seems certain six weeks later. "Barring any further developments, there is every reason to believe that will be back with the before training camp begins late next month," NFL Network's Tom Peli sero . "Now of course the NFL could intervene here, they could apply the Commi sioner's Exempt List to Hill while their investigation continues." Commi sioner Roger Goodell and spokesman Brian McCarthy for a court proceeding involving Child Protection Services before the league moves forward. This much we know: Hill . He wasn't quickly released, like former running back was , after video emerged of Hunt shoving and kicking a woman in an incident at a hotel. (Hunt was subsequently signed by the and .) Hill also . "Barred from team activities" is not an official status and is temporary. Hill is currently residing in a gray area, but that can't continue much longer. Until the league or the officially changes his place on the roster, it seems foolhardy to a sume anything one way or another about the status of the three-time Pro Bowler for the 2019 season. 4) Ron Rivera set up well for make-or-break year Not a ton of news that occurs in May and June changes my view of a team's outlook, but two significant developments involving the took place in the span of a few weeks. Carolina (Gerald McCoy) and unveiled quarterback 's at mandatory minicamp. The succe s of Newton's adjusted mechanics will not be known until the season. from shoulder surgery after the 2016 season to positive offseason reports, but his shoulder strength was a notable problem again in the 2018 season. It's undeniably a positive that Newton was back on the field well before training camp, and it's an encouraging sign that he's still trying to fix his accuracy i sues. The McCoy signing adds to a defensive line that was Marian Gaborik Kids Jersey already bolstered by the addition of first-round pick . McCoy, Burns, , and will be a lot for opposing offensive lines to handle, reminiscent of great lines of the past. The McCoy addition allows Rivera's defense the best shot po sible to reclaim the form it has shown for much of the decade, with a strong defensive line, at linebacker and a secondary that punches above its weight. With new owner David Tepper presumably ready to make changes if needed, Rivera surely knows he must win with this group, or there could be a house-cleaning after the season that includes the team's coaching staff and front office. It's not so different than the situation coach Sean Payton faced entering the 2017 season after a string of mediocre campaigns. Rivera has been one of football's most reliable coaches since taking over in 2011, and before, but this is a make-or-break season. It's quite po sible that Rivera and coach Dan Quinn -- heading into Year 5 in Atlanta -- each need a playoff spot to keep their jobs in the NFC South, and there may not be room for both of them. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
https://simonrftg20864.mysticwiki.com/316567/tony_romo_to_replace_phil_simms_in_broadcast_booth
Click here Click here