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."

"Btw, stronger-than-normal rumours/gossip (and it is only that) circulating that Tom Brady might finally hang up his spikes at the end of this season. He's generally been quite impenetrable on the issue when asked, but in recent weeks quite a few of his (genuinely) closer friends (mostly select ex-team mates) have all indicated that this could be his final year. Which indicates that he's dropped more hints than usual. It's all gossip and rumour, as usual. But it does seem to have a little more resonance because of the sources. Wonder how long Belichick will hang around beyond Tom's retirement? Could be all change in the AFC East. Might even give us Jets a chance to shine (don't hold your breath!)..."

"Yeah, the infection in Smith's leg is awful news, coming on the back of the double-break. He's a really good bloke, and I hope he gets through it OK. The good thing is that he will get the best medical attention in the world, and both the Skins and the NFL will look after him. They are (both) pretty good like that. To be honest, Skins fans, I think Smith was unlikely ever to play again anyway. A double leg break of that kind, at the age of 34, was always going to take at least two years to recover from fully. The infection and treatments he'll need could merely slow that process down further. He's looking at being 36 - minimum - by the time he's even training again. It sounds really harsh, but I'd kinda' written off a comeback. I just hope that he gets over the infection, the breaks and gets mobile enough to enjoy a full retirement. He's earned it."

"No, I'm not sad about it at all! But it's going to be fucking crippling if it turns out he can't play again. Agree about Smith himself. Really hope he gets through this ok."

"you're sad about our cap hit? haha fuck snyder anyway, he deserves all the bad shit he's created. all i care about is smith not losing a leg and walking again, he's a top bloke. until we have new owners and a gm who's his own man, we'll continue to achieve nothing"

"Sounds like Alex Smith is in a pretty bad way with the leg after picking up an infection, and might never play again. Really shitty for him. Sucks for the skins as well. I think he's a 20 million dollar cap hit for both 2019 and 2020."

Yeh sorry about that.... :-)

I was against him ;-(

So who had Derrick Henry in their Fantasy Team then?

"Yeah, McCarthy's offense stagnated at the Packers - and he became increasingly reliant on Rodgers' incredible improvisation skills. He needs to take a break, and update his playbook a little, before going back into the NFL. But he's a good coach and he'll be a catch for somebody. I'm not sure Rodgers has been calling the plays this season, as suggested, it's more the case that he's improvised continuously in the way that he, and few other QBs, can. Rodgers has missed games, remember, and isn't quite the same QB as he was five years ago. That's only natural. I suspect McCarthy won't land at the Jets, but you never know. My gut feeling is that Woody Johnson will try to lure one of the Harbaugh's to New York - but that's just me guessing. Could see McCarthy going to Cleveland and bringing them some much-needed stability - and working well with another improvising QB in Mayfield."

i concur mr b

Rodgers has been calling the plays there for years. It's the biggest open secret in the game. Be interesting who they get in. A yes man. Or one of the Harbaugh brothers.

"loads of coaches who've been at their franchises too long. marvin lewis, probably the biggest failure out of all of them. he must have photos of the bengals owner eating shit :.)"

"Could see the jets going for mccarthy, would be a good coach for darnold"

Packers have fired mccarthy big decision Seems like a bit of a scapegoat. The playcalls havent been great but rodgers has been just bad for large parts of this season

Odell Beckham has strong passing stats for the season.

"Have to take into consideration with bell is that he was the steelers number 2 receiver essentially which is why he wanted to be paid so much, On another note, love seeing the pats score twice on fullback dives, he's one of my favourite players develin, proper oldschool fullback"

"Congrats to my Rams, NFC West Champs for a second year in a row."

"Bizarre, made a lateral run along the end zone until he got taken down. Probably ruined a bet or two on next TD."

"most probably, he did the same thing a few weeks ago late in the 4th quarter"

"Anyone see the end of the Rams/Lions game, where Gurley doesn't run in a clear TD? Had the sound down so wtf was that about? Wasting the clock?"

Come on you Bears

"Btw, Jets will most likely take Kelvin Harmon, AJ Brown or N'Keal Harry in the draft. Best three receivers on the list. The other option for them would be Jonah Williams, who looks like a strong starting tackle for years to come. That's why they need to get rid of Bowles. He'll pick yet another D-lineman if he gets a chance. There are some good ones in the 2019 class - but Jets need a change of direction."

"TM - Agreed, and if we can afford it, then it would be great to land Bell. But for my money, a #1 receiver (probably through a top 5 pick in the draft) and at least two solid O-line men (through free agency) are crucial for the next 5+ years at the Jets. We have to start moving the ball through the air - we haven't done it well since before Pennington injured his shoulder in 2005. That was a long time ago now. QB-wise we've been through (an ailing) Testaverde, Bollinger, Carter, (an ailing) Favre, Sanchez, Clemens, McElroy, Smith, (an ailing) Vick, (a useless) Tebow, Fitzmagic and McCown since then. We need stability in a passing game led by a top-notch QB. Darnold could be that guy, with the right coach and help. But he needs targets and protection."

Hope so Mike

"Early days in the Jets' search for a new head coach, but gossip mongers who seem to know at least a little about the franchise - and who have helped in past searches for coaching staff - say that owner and GM may make a big money move to tempt Jim Harbaugh back into the NFL. Personally, I wouldn't be averse to that - although he will be hard to tempt away from Michigan, now that he's finally getting good results at college level. He's on a huge salary in Michigan, too, so money is less important to him. Bizarrely, if Jim Harbaugh can't be tempted, there is talk of landing his brother John. John could well be released by the Ravens at the end of another disappointing season for them, but remains a well-respected offensive mind. He might walk out of the door in Baltimore and straight into a big job in the Big Apple. My personal choice would be either David Shaw from Stanford or Lincoln Riley from Oklahoma - but both would be bigger risks. Neither has been a HC in the NFL, although both are extremely talented college coaches who run pro-style offenses. I'm generally not a huge fan of recruiting college HC's straight into NFL head coaching jobs. But these two are both regularly successful and running sides which resemble professional outfits. All the more impressive for Shaw, given that he's also handicapped by ""only"" having brighter players to choose from at Stanford - and none of the (very useful) goons who'll run through a brick wall just because you tell them to! Regardless, surely the Jets have to go for an offensive mind at HC - their first since 1993. It's the only way that they can have no excuse over the future form of Darnold (who looks promising and is still aged just 21)."