With the regular season coming to a close very soon, many teams like the Browns and the 49ers are looking towards the off season. But for teams like the Redskins and Eagles, this is a very important time for some of their players. Mainly, their upcoming free agents. Free Agency can get messy very quickly depending on who wants who. Look at last years DeMarco Murray signing, or the Jimmy Graham trade. While both teams may be kicking themselves right now about the signings, they did cause a lot of media coverage.
Today, I will talk about the most interesting free agent stories this upcoming year. This will be based upon their potential for leaving the team, their actual skills, and most interestingly, what would their story be based on how they have already performed this season.
1. Kirk Cousins = Franchise QB?
Cousins' contract is ending and the Redskins are going to have to make a decision whether to keep him or not. Cousins has been the starter for the entire 2015 season and is currently on top of the NFC East. Granted, it's not hard to win this division. If Cousins leads the Redskins to the playoffs, they will most likely Franchise Tag him.
2. Sam Bradford done in Philly?
Bradford's contract was only for two years. With the showing he has had recently, Bradford is not turning many heads. Are his best days behind him? With a history of injuries, this could be the case. I would not be surprised if the Eagles let him walk or if they sign him. This is not a very heavy QB class in the draft, and there is not anyone worth trading for. (Unless they get Mariota)
3. Matt Forte moving on?
With Forte not getting the same reps he is used to, it may be time for the Bears to part with one of the best pass-catching backs today. With Ka'deem Carey and Jeremy Langford as a solid duel back, the Bears have little incentive to keep Forte around. Could Jerry Jones get a back he wants in free agency?
4. JPP, the 9-fingered DE
Jason Pierre-Paul was Franchise Tagged last summer before his incident on July 4th. He has 12 tackles and no sacks in four games. Not the JPP teams used to fear and double team. Pierre-Paul's career could very well end this season. There are still four games left, maybe he will surprise us.
5. Josh Norman leaving Carolina?
Heck no! Carolina has some names, but they will have enough to pay one of the breakout player of the year candidates.
6. Eric Weddle leaving San Diego?
This is a harsh reality for Chargers fans. Weddle has openly stated what he wants, but the Chargers are not willing to give in. It is too much, especially with the possibility of moving cities around the corner. Do not expect to see Weddle wearing the baby blue and yellow next fall.
7. RBs losing their top spot?
Lamar Miller, CJ Anderson and Alfred Morris are all free agents come this spring. But with names like Jay Ajayi, Ronnie Hillman, and Matt Jones looking to take over, the first three guys may be in trouble.
8. Bruce Irvin leaving Seattle
This could very well happen. The Seahawks already have $82.7 million in cap space divided up between eight players. Irvin is a very good linebacker and would find that many teams would be willing to pay top dollar for his services.
9. Morris Claibourne to leave Dallas
This was a contract year for the former 1st round pick. Claibourne has been nothing but a liability for the Cowboy defense. Against the Redskins, when Cousins threw to the receiver Claibourne was covering, only one pass was not completed. This was only because the receiver fell. All other passes were for a total gain of 175 yards. Dallas, move on.
10. Greg Hardy's future
There is currently a media circus surrounding this DE. With how his case was handled, many are calling for him to be removed from the NFL entirely. His future will ultimately remain in the hands of where Dallas will draft. If they have a top 8 slot, do not expect to see Hardy next year.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
Friday, December 4, 2015
Dalvin Cook Should Be a Heisman Finalist
So the Heisman votes will be released soon and we all know Derrick Henry from Alabama and Deshawn Watson of Clemson will be be invited to New York. Other people in the talk have been Leonard Fournette of LSU, Christian McCaffrey of Stanford, and Ezekiel Elliot of Ohio State. Here is my one question: where is Dalvin Cook?
My posts are normally very objective and I will give credit where credit is due. This even goes for rival teams like Clemson, Miami, and Florida. But for once, I have decided to rant about how it is a sham that Cook is not even in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
1. Rushing yards: Dalvin Cook does not have to most rushing yards in the NCAA. That title goes to Derrick Henry with 1797 yards on the ground alone. This is very impressive. Dalvin Cook has 1658 yards, 5th overall behind Fournette, Elliot, and Royce Freeman (Oregon). Dalvin missed one full game and was only in another game for 2 snaps. One of those snaps went for a 94 yard touchdown.
That aside, when Dalvin Cook played a full game, he averaged 156.4 yards per game. Subtract the 94 yards from his overall total and add 156.4 twice and Cook would have had 1876 yards, 79 more than Henry.
Let's not forget that those games were against Wake Forest and Syracuse.To put that into perspective, Syracuse gave up 244 yards to Fournette. Wake Forest allowed an average of 161.3 rushing yards per game (59th overall). If Dalvin had played, he probably would have broke the single-game rushing record against one of these teams.
2. Average Touchdown Run: Dalvin Cook's average yardage per touchdown was the best it has been by a back in the last 20 years. Dalvin Cook had a total of 19 touchdowns this year, 18 rushing and one receiving. Of those touchdowns, 12 of them were from outside of the red zone. Not enough? Five of those scores were from beyond 50 yards.
Dalvin's total yards on rushing touchdown runs alone is 697 yards, an average of 38.7 yards per touchdown run.
3. Of the Heisman contending running backs, Dalvin is the only one to be ranked in the top 6 in scoring, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, all-purpose yards, rushing yards per game, and rushing yards carry.
Note: Dalvin is ranked 2nd in the last category
Fournette: 17th
Henry: 29th
Elliot: 20th
McCaffrey: 41st
Freeman: 11th
Let's not forget that Dalvin broke the FSU single-season rushing record in eight games or that he has 22 plays for 20+ yards this season (Leads FBS). Do not forget that he played three-quarters of the season with a hamstring injury and most importantly, HE NEVER HAD A TURNOVER IN THE REGULAR SEASON. What did Cook do? He still wrecked everyone and everything in his path.
Dalvin Cook deserves to be in New York, at least. Does he deserve to win? That is for another day.
My posts are normally very objective and I will give credit where credit is due. This even goes for rival teams like Clemson, Miami, and Florida. But for once, I have decided to rant about how it is a sham that Cook is not even in the conversation for the Heisman Trophy.
1. Rushing yards: Dalvin Cook does not have to most rushing yards in the NCAA. That title goes to Derrick Henry with 1797 yards on the ground alone. This is very impressive. Dalvin Cook has 1658 yards, 5th overall behind Fournette, Elliot, and Royce Freeman (Oregon). Dalvin missed one full game and was only in another game for 2 snaps. One of those snaps went for a 94 yard touchdown.
That aside, when Dalvin Cook played a full game, he averaged 156.4 yards per game. Subtract the 94 yards from his overall total and add 156.4 twice and Cook would have had 1876 yards, 79 more than Henry.
Let's not forget that those games were against Wake Forest and Syracuse.To put that into perspective, Syracuse gave up 244 yards to Fournette. Wake Forest allowed an average of 161.3 rushing yards per game (59th overall). If Dalvin had played, he probably would have broke the single-game rushing record against one of these teams.
2. Average Touchdown Run: Dalvin Cook's average yardage per touchdown was the best it has been by a back in the last 20 years. Dalvin Cook had a total of 19 touchdowns this year, 18 rushing and one receiving. Of those touchdowns, 12 of them were from outside of the red zone. Not enough? Five of those scores were from beyond 50 yards.
Dalvin's total yards on rushing touchdown runs alone is 697 yards, an average of 38.7 yards per touchdown run.
3. Of the Heisman contending running backs, Dalvin is the only one to be ranked in the top 6 in scoring, rushing touchdowns, rushing yards, all-purpose yards, rushing yards per game, and rushing yards carry.
Note: Dalvin is ranked 2nd in the last category
Fournette: 17th
Henry: 29th
Elliot: 20th
McCaffrey: 41st
Freeman: 11th
Let's not forget that Dalvin broke the FSU single-season rushing record in eight games or that he has 22 plays for 20+ yards this season (Leads FBS). Do not forget that he played three-quarters of the season with a hamstring injury and most importantly, HE NEVER HAD A TURNOVER IN THE REGULAR SEASON. What did Cook do? He still wrecked everyone and everything in his path.
Dalvin Cook deserves to be in New York, at least. Does he deserve to win? That is for another day.
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