West Ham Online

"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."

"yes, trent williams (silverback) was like that for us at LT. lightening quick, but you also couldn't move him. sadly now in san francisco"

"I am sure there are plenty of teams who could use a reliable 1,000 yards a season pro-bowler (The Dolphins for starters). The old astroturf pitches were horrible - Just ask Deon Sanders who recently had to have two toes removed after they were mangled playing.. As was said it is the atheticism across the entire squad that has changed. You now have 20st D line players who can sprint espeically on the edge so the collisons are ridiculous."

"That Theissman break was terrible, even Laurence Taylor was horrified."

"the worst two injuries I've seen (theismann & alex smith) were both on a turf pitch, so it's hard to blame any particular surface. the weirdest thing were the similarities between the two incidents https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/5/5/21247893/almost-eery-similarities-alex-smith-joe-theismann-injury-situations"

I think it's harder to be a back now as although the game was much more violent in the likes of Barry sanders I do think the rest of the players have got a lot faster and fitter so even a slight drop in pace like we've seen from Zeke seriously limits their ability to hit home runs if half the other teams defence is quicker than the back. Pollard was a home run machine last season but did tore his ligament in the playoff game against the niners. If his pace drops by even a couple of percent he'll just become pretty useless. Sanders would have been miles quicker than 90% of the players on any defence so any small drop would have not made a massive difference. Pollard for instance although very quick probably isn't as quick as Parsons before his surgery Can't see teams giving long contracts out for backs going forward when you can get a fresh one from the draft and save cap space with the likes of bosa looking at 30mill+ a season and QB's getting 50mill+ WR getting 25mill something has to give

In the NFL 16 teams play on Grass surfaces and 14 teams play on Artificial surfaces.

"There was a lot of synthetic 'grass' back in the day, I know Minnesota had it and Detroit and Dallas also, there were others I'm sure? Synthetic is unforgiving so when a player tries to brake himself it can rupture tendons etc I don't know what they use now, is the grass the same as used over here in football?"

There's been a big debate in the NFL in recent years about the pros and cons of using synthetic over Grass. I read an article that said Sportsman are 58 percent more likely to sustain an injury on synthetic surfaces than they would on grass.

have a great time üëç

Anyone going to the baseball at the LS today? I'm at the bat & ball having a pre match pint

"Not really sure Mike, maybe they aren't as good as the old days RBs are."

"cough, what do you think is limiting RBs lifespan these days? It can't be the tackling as I thought the game was much more violent years ago, maybe it's these synthetic pitches they play on? who knows"

"If you're good RB you get a nickname, Diesel and Sweetness"

"norf, very true and especially for modern backs but my two favourite ever rbs (payton & riggo) were playing better than ever well in to their 30s. not sure if they were just freaks of nature or just worked harder, but the modern backs do seem to have limited longevity"

I think Barry Sanders got better the longer he played?

Mike Yes but the main difference between all those positions is the players tends to get better the longer he plays but th opposite seems to happen with RB's

"norf, the top guards/tackles are also on big contracts"

"I just think a lot of teams are realising they don't need to pay big bucks for a RB as once they have a bit of mileage on the clock their output drops dramatically. They are drafting players for 3 years on rookie contracts and saving cap space for QB, WR and pass rushers."

Any thoughts on the Cook move by the Vikes or is it a salary cap thing?

Jets might be interested?

"Cook released by the Vikings, don't understand that one at all unless they have the next Barry Sanders lined up?"

"Agree about Elway just a great QB in that era there was some great QBs Elway, Marino, Jim Kelly, Randall Cunningham, Warren Moon, I'm not going to say Jim McMahon, he was decent but he was in a great team and agree about Barry Sanders, easily the best RB since Jim Brown but what a shit team he was on."

"There were many players I loved watching from that era (Randall Cunningham being another QB, although he wasn't at the same throwing level). But the other big name who was mesmerising was Barry Sanders. Never been a better running back in the modern era. That guy was untouchable. His balance and agility have never been matched. And in a poor side, most seasons. Talk about carrying your team."

"Yep - totally agree on all fronts. Brady is a brilliant percentages man: cold, calculated under pressure, knew his playbooks inside and knew the percentage chances of each throw. Seriously good in a frantic sport. But Elway had something more magical and the ability to improvise in a way that Brady couldn't. He could be 3rd and 18 (as he was on The Drive) and his primary receiver would be doubled-teamed and he'd still find a way to get the ball to his third or fourth check-down for a first down. Usually using those incredible feet to find some extra room. That's something Brady never had."

"him & payton (sweetness) are my favourite non redskin players. elway literally had you on the edge of your seat, the ultimate competitor. also loved singletary & ronnie lott"