Tuco

They can discuss all the details they want now but still only with the agent. New this year. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/03/06/league-softens-its-stance-on-the-legal-tampering-period/

You're saying Richie Incognito can't walk into OBD on Monday and sign a contract for 2016 and beyond? That he has to wait until Wednesday? That's totally wrong. He can't sign a contract that has anything to do with adding or adjusting his 2015 contract. Once the season is over the league adjusts all contracts for incentives, etc. And once it's finalized and teams declare they're rolling it over then they can't do anything that would change the 2015 cap. I get all that. Any new contract obviously won't go into effect until March 9th since it will be a 2016 contract. But he most certainly does not have to wait until Wednesday to sign a new contract with the Bills. That date is only for players signing with a new club. Richie Incognito is a member of the Buffalo Bills until 4:00 PM March 9th and can sign a new contract extension any time. A few examples from last year when the first day of the year was March 10th- http://www.jaguars.com/news/article-JaguarsNews/%E2%80%9915-free-agency-Alualu-re-signs/bdfa56c2-29b2-4705-a5da-39c8209d2605 Defensive end Tyson Alualu, a fifth-year veteran who never has missed a game in five NFL seasons, re-signed with the Jaguars Sunday, a move that came two days before the start of the 2015 NFL league year Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Alualu would have become an unrestricted free agent at that time, but finalized the terms of the contract and signed it Sunday morning. Reports were that the deal is for two years. http://www.mlive.com/lions/index.ssf/2015/03/detroit_lions_sign_k_matt_prat.html Detroit announced Friday (March 6) it has signed Prater, a pending free agent, to a three-year contract. The deal is worth $9 million, according to NFL Network. He is the fourth pending free agent to re-up with Detroit, following quarterback Dan Orlovsky, defensive end Darryl Tapp and long-snapper Don Muhlbach. Teams can begin negotiating with the rest of Detroit's free agents Saturday, and begin signing them at 4 p.m. Tuesday. http://www.cincinnati.com/story/blogs/2015/03/08/report-bengals-re-sign-mike-nugent/24626477/ (Article dated March 9th) On a wild day of action across the NFL on Sunday, the Bengals quietly kept putting away their own players. Cincinnati re-signed kicker Mike Nugent to a two-year contract, first reported by NFL Network. The agreement keeps Nugent from hitting the free agent market when the new league year starts on Tuesday. http://www.hogshaven.com/2015/3/6/8161915/redskins-re-sign-te-niles-paul-to-a-3-year-deal (Also dated March 6) Multiple sources are reporting that the Washington Redskins have re-signed TE Niles Paul to a 3 year deal that can earn him almost $10 million. Paul was going to be a free agent next week, and was expected to get some interest from multiple teams. The list goes on and on. Again, I'm not saying they can do any kind of deal that gives Incognito a signing bonus or any money before March 9th. But nothing is stopping him from signing a new contract with the Bills before then.

Rolled over cap has nothing to do with it. A new contract isn't going to have anything to do with 2015 anyway. And obviously you can't sign a pending free agent from another team until March 9th because he's not a free agent until then. But you can re-sign your own pending free agents any time. Teams do it all the time.

It's true nothing can be filed with the league until Monday. But when it comes to re-signing they don't have to wait until the new year.

They use the top 51 starting March 9th and all through training camp and the preseason until the deadline for all teams to trim rosters to 53 players. Dead money and any players moved to injured reserve also count.

Combined reasons. For one they're already tight to the cap and the franchise tag for DE comes in at $15.7 mil instead of $12.7 mil. But more importantly, if they franchise him nobody's going to make him an offer. They never do. Nobody ever gives 2 first round picks and outbids a team for a player (okay it has happened but I think only twice n the history of the tag - so basically it never happens). The argument of using the franchise tag to get compensation always comes up but it never happens. So with the transition tag teams have nothing to lose so they will make an offer. Maybe Miami can't match and lose him, but the offer will be structured like all offers with a lot less than $12.7 mil cap hit the first year. This gives the Fins the opportunity to keep the guy at a lesser cap hit than the tag amount. With the franchise tag nobody's going to make an offer. And as soon as the guy signs the tag Miami is stuck paying him $15.7 mil and is stuck with $15.7 mil on the cap for the season and he'll most likely be gone next season anyway. Transition tag gives them a reasonable chance of matching an offer with a smaller cap hit. Franchise tag risks not reaching a new cap friendly deal, paying through the nose and whacking the cap for the season with basically no chance of the player even getting an offer.

Sorry but incorrect. You're right it doesn't hit the cap March 1st. It hits the cap at the start of the new year on March 9th and stays there until either he signs a new deal or the tag is withdrawn.

While I understand the notion of the business owners trying to maximize as being dirty and underhanded, it really amounts to roughly $.5 million per team per year. That's way less than 1% of a yearly payroll. Obviously that's a lot of money. But when we talk salaries and cap charges around here we toss around $.5 million like it was peanuts. So I'm not going to get too worked up over it. It's not like the company I work for hasn't done similar things with my pension contributions. You keep watch, and when you catch them they say oops and you make them pay. Then you get up and go to work.

What do the numbers say? Converting Clay's roster bonus into a signing bonus reduces this year's cap from $13.5 million to $6 million. That saves $7.5 million this year. It also makes Clay's cap charge $9 million in 2017, 2018 and 2019. Additionally, if we decide to release him in 2017 we would lose $9 million in cap space. And if we cut him in 2018 we would lose $4.5 million in cap space. I understand the deal was made with a restructure of the $10 million bonus in mind. But we need to realize if we do it we are definitely keeping him around until 2018 at least - at $9 million per year after this year.

I have no doubt Belly* wanted to kick off. Or, rather, he wanted to defend the east end of the field. But either he or his captain screwed the pooch. If you watch the video, even though the camera is still pointing at the coin, you can clearly hear the captain say they want to kick, then as the ref starts asking the Jets for their choice of which way they want to receive, the Pats* captain tries to say they want to kick going "this way." But it doesn't work like that. When you win the toss you have choose from either option A or option B. You can choose to either- Option A) - Kickoff or receive, or, Option B) - Defend a certain goal After you make your choice the other team gets to select their choice from the other option. Now, normally when a team elects to receive the ref looks to the other team and asks which way they want to kick. This isn't a double choice, they're kicking because the opponent has already chosen to receive (option A) and the ref is actually only asking for their answer of which goal they want to defend (option B). In this case, since all 3 offensive touchdowns in regulation were scored in the same end, it's likely Belly* decided they would rather defend an end, which, by default, would mean kicking off. But the Pats* captain didn't quite understand that he can't elect to kickoff and defend an end. He thought he could say we want to kickoff going this way, but that would be choosing both option A and option B. He should have elected to defend the certain end (option B), at which point the ref would have asked the Jesters if they wanted to kick or receive. As it was the ref (correctly) took the captain's first stated choice - to kickoff. And as the ref was asking the Jets which way they wanted to receive you can hear the Pats* captain trying to also trying to say, "going this way." And his confusion is evident immediately after as you can hear him saying, "we won, don't we get to choose?" Ultimately it's Belly's* fault for not preparing the player well enough. Or maybe he did but the player blew it anyway. Either way Belly* was probably right wanting to defend the east end as that's the direction every offensive TD in the game was scored, including the winner. So he figured the worst they would do is give up a FG on the first drive. But they blew it and got neither the ball nor the correct direction. Afterward Belly* is also smart enough to know nothing good would come from saying it was the player who screwed up, so he keeps it short and takes the blame.

Was a big football fan. Used to host Saturday Night Live and was on the Johnny Cash show once too I think. That codicil was rescinded from the rule book at the first owners' meeting after the Pegs bought the Bills. It's now known as the, "I'm gonna slap Jerry Jones in the choppers if he don't shut" up rule.

Even if it was the rematch of Son Of Bum Phillips and the ghost of Tom Landry, it wouldn't be flexed. With the exception of week 17 all games flexed to Sunday night must have 12 days notice. It's a little late.

Before they came up with the neutral zone infraction - yes it was a long time ago - offensive linemen were not allowed to move at all once they were set at the line, or it was a false start, plain and simple. And by not moving at all that meant no twitching, twinging or anything. If a defender moving caused the offensive lineman to move it was a false start on the offensive lineman. The rule was straightforward and simple and offensive linemen were trained not to move a muscle until the snap. Knowing the snap count was considered all the advantage they needed. Then they changed the rule to say if the defender crossing into the neutral zone caused the O lineman to move the penalty was on the defender (they turned a cut and dried rule into a judgement call). That rule has morphed into any time a defender crosses the line the O linemen purposely move and point to him and it's pretty much automatically on the defender. Furthermore, nowadays you see O linemen getting set, then pointing all over the place. Then the guard turns his head and looks at the QB. Then he smacks the center on the leg. Then the center bobs his head a couple times and maybe snaps the ball while the QB is barking and head bobbing. All of that crap used to be illegal. Now it's just a whole bunch of movement by the O line - much of which is designed to get the defenders to cross the line and get an easy 5 yards. When people say the rule was better before, it was. And that being said, even though the rule sucks it's the same for everybody, and our team sucks at abiding by it.

That's pretty good. But . . . . . what if Pittsburgh takes the 5th seed outright and we get in a 3 way tiebreaker for the 6th seed with Kansas City and Houston? If we lose to Kansas City and beat Houston, Kansas City wins that tiebreaker because they would own head to head over us and Houston. Losing to them both is not an option. But beating Houston and losing to Kansas City, then finishing in a 3 way tie sends us to AFC record. KC is already 1-3 in the NFC, meaning if we win just one of our remaining NFC games we would still tie them in AFC record, but lose to them in AFC if we win more than one NFC game . But if Houston beats New Orleans this week that makes them 2-2 in NFC. That would give the 3 way tiebreaker to KC via AFC record unless we tank all but one of our NFC games. But even if we go 1-3 in the NFC, if Houston goes 2-2 that knocks them out of the tiebreaker. That would send us and KC back to step one of the 2 team format where they would have us on head to head. So looking at the overall picture we should just beat KC and Houston. Then if we have to beat the Jesters in week 17 to get in, so be it. But it's nice to know if we lose to Kansas City there is a bright side . . . . sort of . . . I guess.

LOL. A flex to Sunday night on short notice.

Hello everybody. Yes there will be a night game week 17. They don't schedule one because they're almost certain to flex a different game anyway. And since week 17 only requires 1 week's advance notice there's no sense in inconveniencing more teams than necessary. Get it? Got it? Good.

You're right, it isn't defined. But the play is discussed a couple more times in the rule book. ARTICLE 10. DEFENSIVE MATCHUPS FOLLOWING SUBSTITUTIONS. If a substitution is made by the offense, the offense shall not be permitted to snap the ball until the defense has been permitted to respond with its substitutions. While in the process of a substitution (or simulated substitution), the offense is prohibited from rushing quickly to the line of scrimmage and snapping the ball in an obvious attempt to cause a defensive foul (i.e., too many men on the field). If the offense substitutes, the following procedure will apply: (a) The Umpire will stand over the ball until the Referee deems that the defense has had a reasonable time to complete its substitutions. (b) If the offense snaps the ball before the defense has had an opportunity to complete its substitutions, and a defensive foul for too many players on the field results, no penalties will be enforced, except for personal fouls and unsportsmanlike conduct, and the down will be replayed. At this time, the Referee will notify the head coach that any further use of this tactic will result in a penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct. Note: The quick-snap rule does not apply after the two-minute warning of either half, or if there is not a substitution by the offense. © On a fourth-down punting situation, the Referee and the Umpire will not allow a quick snap that prevents the defense from having a reasonable time to complete its substitutions. This applies throughout the entire game. (d) If the play clock expires before the defense has completed its substitution, it is delay of game by the offense. ARTICLE 11. UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT. Using entering substitutes, legally returning players, substitutes on sidelines, or withdrawn players to confuse opponents, or lingering by players leaving the field when being replaced by a substitute, is unsportsmanlike conduct. See 12-3-1-l. The offense is prevented from sending simulated substitutions onto the field toward its huddle and returning them to the sideline without completing the substitution in an attempt to confuse the defense. Rule 12 SECTION 3 UNSPORTSMANLIKE CONDUCT ARTICLE 1. PROHIBITED ACTS. There shall be no unsportsmanlike conduct. This applies to any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship. Such acts specifically include, among others: (l) Using entering substitutes, legally returning players, substitutes on sidelines, or withdrawn players to confuse opponents, including lingering by players leaving the field after being replaced by a substitute.

This clarification is from 1991 when they changed the original rule. The "in-the-grasp" rule, proposed by Jerry Seeman, the league's new supervisor of officials, clarifies a rule that has been one of the NFL's most controversial since it took effect in 1978. "If a quarterback is scrambling from the pocket and one man gets his hand on him, he's not down," Seeman said. "It takes effect only when the man is being held up and there are other defenders around to grab him. He can be in control but the whistle blows only when he's in danger of injury."

I was thinking about the long Karlos TD run yesterday and how it was the 2nd of 2 consecutive running plays we called after it was 2nd and 24. I wasn't surprised with the draw play on 2nd and 24 since were were getting into FG position and that figured to make it closer. But then I thought, who calls an off tackle run on 3rd and 12? We did and I'm glad, but I got curious so I went back and rewatched some of the game. I noticed Miami mostly only blitzed when it was 3rd and long, and often right up the middle. Then I watched the Karlos play - a run on 3rd and 12 - and sure enough, Miami sent 2 LBs and a DB all between the tackles. The off tackle run was the perfect call as those 3 secondary defenders basically took themselves out of the play. It gave every blocker a good angle on his man including the linebackers. The only downfield block required was from Charles Clay on the safety and the rest was clear sailing. I believe Miami expected a pass 100% on that play and Roman outsmarted them.

Yes he let up, and that's why play continued and it's not in the grasp. Suh had him totally in control by the collar. If he didn't let up he would have been flagged for a horse collar tackle. Not our player's fault if the other team let's up to avoid getting a penalty.

Tyrod's effort was encouraging and good to see, even though it was too little too late. Now if Tyrod had added the same 20 point debacle as EJ did in the 1st quarter I would say, just as I did with EJ, that he played a crappy game. And what does EJ's performance against the Jags have to do with 4th quarter heroics? From halfway through the 2nd quarter to halfway through the 4th quarter he led the team to 2 TDs and 2 FGs. That's pretty decent for a half a game against what most people call the worst team in the league. However his performance in the first 1 1/2 quarters was beyond horrible, and his performance at the end of the 4th quarter was pretty lacking also. A single touchdown drive in the 4th quarter to get within 3 is hardly 4th quarter heroics. Fourth quarter heroics would be getting the ball back down by 3 (check) with 2:16 left (check) and three time outs (check) and actually tying or winning the game instead of crapping out with a helium balloon of a pass. EJ played an overall horrible game which he almost managed to salvage but came up short. There were no 4th quarter heroics by EJ, My assessment of EJ's overall play for the day was that the abysmal early follies and lacking late performance far outweighs any halfway decent play he may have shown in between. And I don't see how anybody pointing out that Shady fumbled or that the defense gave up a TD right after scoring a TD will change that. Sure, those things happened too. None of it means EJ showed any heroics or that he didn't play a crappy game. But that's just me I guess.

Right you are.

I wasn't crapping on him as THE reason. There were lots of reasons, the BIGGEST by far was the incredibly crappy play by EJ. And whenever somebody tries to minimize that by talking about how he came back it seems they need to be reminded that after giving the other team 20 points, there was no point in the game where EJ ever did enough to walk off the field with the lead. So talking about a comeback doesn't really seem like much of a reason not to crap on EJ's crappy play. Crap is crap. Was EJ THE reason? No. There was a fumble by Shady. That's bad but nowhere near as bad as Ej's plays. There was bad officiating, but nowhere near as bad as EJ's play. Let's crap on the defense, they gave up 2 touchdown drives and a 3rd touchdown with a drive start on the 36 (thanks to EJ). They also forced seven 3 and outs, one of which gained 7 points to help offset some of EJ's crappy plays. Lots of reasons. None of which are anywhere near as bad as Ej's giving the ball away 3 times in 7 plays. The dude sucked bad and anybody trying to say he didn't by pointing out Blake Bortles was the difference is just pointing out that when EJ did have a final chance to make it all right, he continued to play crappy. I don't need to crap on EJ, he did that to himself. Almost coming back doesn't change that.

And another way of looking at it was, at the end of the game, down by 3 with 2:00+ and 3 time outs left, E.J. was not the difference. Yeah we came back and had the lead - thanks to the defense. At no time after the 3-0 lead (should have been 7) in the first quarter did E.J. ever walk off the field with the lead.

What? The Bills have only ever played once on Sunday night? Or are you just talking about since NBC started broadcasting it?