NFL (since 2016)

[crystal falace]

"Free agency started last night and was pretty crazy some huge money being spent. Osweiler getting £18m a year for the Texans, leaving the Broncos without a QB, Giants have spent a fortune on good but not great players, Oliver Vernon has more guaranteed money than JJ Watt. lots more deals but cant be bothered to list them all."

[Far Cough]

Roger Craig and Richard Dent were great players

[southbankbornnbred]

"What always amazes me about the '83 draft, was the quality of some of the other players taken early on: Eric Dickerson, Darrell Green, Willie Gault, Jim Jeffcoat etc. The quality that year was extraordinary. Roger Craig went in the second round that year. Richard Dent and Mark Clayton went in the later rounds."

[southbankbornnbred]

"FC - highly unlikely, mate. This year's is a decent QB class, but '83 was something else: Elway, Marino, Kelly, Eason, O'Brien and Blackledge. This four or five of this year's crop have the potential to go on to have solid NFL careers as long-term starters. It's possible that a couple of them could become top-class. But equalling the '83 class of three legends plus three really solid starters - that would take some doing. I think Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield and possibly Allen could be long-term starters. They all have exceptional accuracy at college level. Allen is a risk, but has huge potential. Jackson looks to me like he might be in and out of the NFL quite quickly. But you just never know."

[Grumpster]

"Splendid young man, perfect. I'll be happy to lose the score so long as we have a positive win record and finish above the Seahawks filth."

[Mr. Burns]

Apologies. Big twenties?

[Grumpster]

"Burnsy you fucking pussy, you never answered my call for a bet on who wins our division!!! Current odds below, so you can't lose surely? ;o) Rams - 11/10 Niners - 13/5 Seahawks - 15/4 Cards - 11/1"

[Far Cough]

??

[Far Cough]

Could this year rival the famed quarter back class of 1983

[southbankbornnbred]

"OMM - five QBs will go in the 1sr round: Darnold, Rosen, Mayfield, Allen and Jackson. They might all go inside the top 16 picks if someone over-extends on Jackson. That QB premium is going to create a lot of good value further down in Rnd 1 and into Rnd 2. A few tackles and DLs who might be worth a top 15 pick will probably drop to late Rnd 1 and early Rnd 2. The unglamourous positions will give shrewd coaches rich pickings through to RndS 3 and 4."

[ooooh Morley Morley]

"While it's not the outstanding draft class that some are making out it is an interesting draft roster this year. So many teams need help, a number of franchise QBs are coming to the end of their careers.... could see 5 or 6 QBs go in the first round."

[southbankbornnbred]

"Burns - the Rams could literally give picks away in this draft and still be flippin' strong next season. That's one heck of a roster already. JFKD - you a big Browns fan, then? If so, looks like you're going back in for a QB at #1 and could possibly land the best player in the entire draft (RB Barkley) at #4 if the Giants pass on him and opt for a QB instead."

[southbankbornnbred]

"CF - good points, and they have been the big Qs people have been asking about Mayfield ahead of the draft. Personally, I have no qualms about his character. He's actually a decent guy, just very cocky and confident. But I don't get the impression that he's arrogant or complacent - quite the opposite at the moment: he studies his game and works like a dog on his accuracy. It's interesting, this NFL infatuation with character. Of course it's important - you don't want a lunatic off the pitch who doesn't train or commit himself to his team. But I sometimes think that the infatuation among GMs etc for the 'clean' guy, particularly at QB, means they opt for the wrong guy. Give me Jim McMahon's swagger and confidence against, say, Jay Cutler's huge arm and 'clean' pre-draft assessments any day of the week. As a GM, I'd accept the odd late night in a nightclub from my QB providing he was getting the job done and his team-mates rallied around him. You never can tell, of course, but Mayfield looks like somebody who gets his team-mates behind him and leads them. I like that for the Jets. Rosen looks the same, too, despite the concerns about his (too high!) intelligence being a problem. On Mayfield's size, that is a concern. But, again, you can be 6ft 5 and have a huge arm and have all kinds of accuracy and mobility issues. It's a hugely flattering comparison at this stage of his career, of course (because he's proved nothing until he enters the NFL) but people are comparing Mayfield with Drew Brees because of his combination of (under)size and accuracy. If he turns out to be even half as good, he'll be a good signing for somebody. Other QBs in recent years have done well despite their (relatively) smaller size. Russell Wilson, most notably. I think Mayfield is exactly the same size as Brees - a touch under 6ft 1. That is quite small for a QB, but Wilson is even smaller."

[Mr. Burns]

No first or second round picks for the Rams........but then we are so good we don't need them.

[crystal falace]

"From what ive been reading about mayfield it seems the biggest question marks about him are his size, he's very small for an NFL QB, coupled with a fairly low release means he may have alot of passes batted at the line of scrimmage Not seen him myself but also question marks about his charachter he seems a bit of a douche already"

[southbankbornnbred]

"I'm looking forward to the draft. It's not the most talented draft class, but it's certainly stacked with talent - and not in the positions that will dominate the higher picks. A shrewd GM and head coach will make hay in this draft, even with lower picks. In every round, there will be six or seven good players who could easily have gone in the previous round. Which all worries me, because that is when the eternally and annoyingly good Belichick does his thing so well for the fecking Patsies."

[JustAFatKevinDavies]

Watch your mouth when talking about my boys

[southbankbornnbred]

"Grump - the draft starts tomorrow (Thursday) night. Brownies pick first, then Giants, then Jets, then Brownies again because they are so bad that they needs as much help as any one sport can throw at them! TM - Vea and Payne both look the part, don't they? They'll both have good NFL careers providing they can stay on the straight and narrow. Their talent is there. If you need somebody who does a little bit of everything on the defensive line, then Vea is the guy. If you want the top run-stuffer then Payne is the man (might be worth the Skins considering that, to counter Elliott, Ajayi etc). There's been so much focus on the QBs in this year's draft - simply because the likes of the Browns and Jets have been so appalling in that position for so long - that everybody has taken their eye off the ball on the defensive side. The higher-than-higher-than-usual premium for QBs and RBs this year, means there will be some real bargains for good quality defensive players. And on the O-line, too. There's some decent blockers who will fall into the second round."

[Far Cough]

"It was the Packers Charles Martin who did the cheap shot on McMahon, bloke should have been ejected: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr7UcrLLybo"

[Grumpster]

"When is the draft? Aged 43 and 30 years into my love of the NFL, it still confuses the fuck out of me because of all the draft picks etc traded away. Can't wait for it all to start again thanks to the cluster fuck that is West Ham. At least I have something to look forward too - a winning season for the Niners again!!!"

[El Scorchio]

"I think the Redskins medical staff and coaches were a bit irresponsible with Griffin as well. He shouldn't have played in that playoff game where he re-injured himself. Undoubtedly fucked his career, the way they handled him."

[Takashi Miike]

"mcmahon's been battling early onset dementia for quite a few years now, he's in that Bears 86 doc talking about it"

[Takashi Miike]

"i really hope our lot draft on a need basis. i listened to doug williams yesterday who was talking about possibly going the 'best player available' route. we need a big, powerful DT and Vea is him, Payne if Vea's gone early. if they go anywhere near a WR for Smith they've really fucked up"

[Far Cough]

"I liked Jim McMahon, who was it who lifted him up and smashed him into the ground long after the play was dead?"

[southbankbornnbred]

"Btw, any chance a moderator can change the name of the thread to '2018 NFL season'?"

[southbankbornnbred]

"TM - yeah, I watched a lot of Griffin's first season for you guys. He was excellent, and it's such a shame that injuries got the better of him. The problem was always going to be what happened when opposition coaches worked out how to contain him on the run, while covering his primary receiver. Once that happened, in combination with injuries, he was never the same kid. Shame, because the entertainment value was immense."