***2018 Official NFL Off-Season Thread***

[Phantom Phenom]

Mike Mularkey, Titans negotiating contract extension

Fake News. He was just fired.

Nope try again.

Strunk stated that "we did discuss extending [Mularkey's] future with our team over the past week, but in those discussions about the direction of the team, it became evident that we saw different paths to achieve greater success."

[Phantom Phenom]

"Of course," Bell said, via ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "I never want to leave this city, but obviously, circumstances and things like that. But I definitely don't."

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday the Steelers are expected to use the tag on Bell again, despite the threat from the back to sit out the offseason again. The tag is expected to be worth about $14.5 million.

The question is whether both sides can agree on Bell's worth. The tailback wants to be paid like the team's No. 1 back and No. 2 receiver. The Steelers seems reluctant to sink too much cash into the position -- and for a player who has a history of injuries and a suspension on his record.

Bell certainly proved his value in Sunday's AFC Divisional Round loss. The dual-threat earned 155 scrimmage yards on 25 touches and two total touchdowns.

Sunday's loss marked another what-if playoff moment for the Steelers. But Bell wants to return to in 2018 to see if the Killer Bs can finally get over the hump.

"I think we get everyone healthy, it can even be more special," he said. "Give credit to [Antonio Brown]. He went out there at whatever percent and still gave his all. Obviously, wasn't himself. Still made plays. Being incredible. Guys like that, you can't come across all the time."

[Phantom Phenom]

McDaniels the favorite to replace Mularkey?

Adam Schefter breaks down the possibility of Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels replacing Mike Mularkey as the Titans' head coach.

[Super K]

You don't think they already have someone lined up, a la the Raiders and Gruden?

With who?

I'm gonna throw out a wild guess.. completely off the top of my head, no rhyme or reason to it..

Todd Haley...

[DreadNaught]

You don't think they already have someone lined up, a la the Raiders and Gruden?

With who?

Titans will eventually figure out that having a QB that can't consistently get through his reads/progressions and deliver the ball is the problem and not the coach.

But they are invested in Mariota so coaches will continue to be the scapegoats as to why he's not developing.

Mariota has a NEGATIVE TD/INT ratio this season and didn't get better in any other advanced passing stat. Name me a single QB that would NOT be criticized as a 'bad QB' if they had a negative TD/INT ratio? Just one? I have no clue why Mariota gets a pass no other QB ever has. I get that he's a nice person, but facts are facts, and Mariota is held to a different standard.

Yet it the coaches fault of course...

[Phantom Phenom]

With who?

I'm gonna throw out a wild guess.. completely off the top of my head, no rhyme or reason to it..

Todd Haley...

Josh McDaniels

[uscbucsfan]

I'm gonna throw out a wild guess.. completely off the top of my head, no rhyme or reason to it..

Todd Haley...

Josh McDaniels

Rumor is McDaniels to Colts, but Titans would be a better gig. Colts have a terrible roster and Luck may or may not be broken forever.

[Super K]

With who?

Titans will eventually figure out that having a QB that can't consistently get through his reads/progressions and deliver the ball is the problem and not the coach.

But they are invested in Mariota so coaches will continue to be the scapegoats as to why he's not developing.

Mariota has a NEGATIVE TD/INT ratio this season and didn't get better in any other advanced passing stat. Name me a single QB that would NOT be criticized as a 'bad QB' if they had a negative TD/INT ratio? Just one? I have no clue why Mariota gets a pass no other QB ever has. I get that he's a nice person, but facts are facts, and Mariota is held to a different standard.

Yet it the coaches fault of course...

I see what you mean, but I'll go at it from a bit of a different angle here...

I have no doubt in my mind Mariota can be a successful QB in this league, but how that success comes about is the question..put him in a system like the Rams and I think he tears the league a new ass...

And that's where coaches SHOULD be held accountable imo..too often they try to force square pegs into round holes instead of focusing on what the players they have do well and then building on that...

Mariota will never, ever be able to run an offense like Brady, Ben hell even Winston...

Wait, let me rephrase, he can do it, problem is he can't do it well enough..so change up your offense and put him in position to be successful instead of being rigid and all "this is how we do things...blah blah blah"..

[MJW]

Titans will eventually figure out that having a QB that can't consistently get through his reads/progressions and deliver the ball is the problem and not the coach.

But they are invested in Mariota so coaches will continue to be the scapegoats as to why he's not developing.

Mariota has a NEGATIVE TD/INT ratio this season and didn't get better in any other advanced passing stat. Name me a single QB that would NOT be criticized as a 'bad QB' if they had a negative TD/INT ratio? Just one? I have no clue why Mariota gets a pass no other QB ever has. I get that he's a nice person, but facts are facts, and Mariota is held to a different standard.

Yet it the coaches fault of course...

I see what you mean, but I'll go at it from a bit of a different angle here...

I have no doubt in my mind Mariota can be a successful QB in this league, but how that success comes about is the question..put him in a system like the Rams and I think he tears the league a new ass...

And that's where coaches SHOULD be held accountable imo..too often they try to force square pegs into round holes instead of focusing on what the players they have do well and then building on that...

Mariota will never, ever be able to run an offense like Brady, Ben hell even Winston...

Wait, let me rephrase, he can do it, problem is he can't do it well enough..so change up your offense and put him in position to be successful instead of being rigid and all "this is how we do things...blah blah blah"..

Yeah, I have never understood that mentality.

"We have a quarterback who's really good at X, so let's make him even better by forcing him to do Y!"

Best/Worst example ever was when the Falcons installed a WCO with the intent of turning Michael Vick into Steve Young (as I recall, they even had him meet with Steve Young at the time.)

[Super K]

I see what you mean, but I'll go at it from a bit of a different angle here...

I have no doubt in my mind Mariota can be a successful QB in this league, but how that success comes about is the question..put him in a system like the Rams and I think he tears the league a new ass...

And that's where coaches SHOULD be held accountable imo..too often they try to force square pegs into round holes instead of focusing on what the players they have do well and then building on that...

Mariota will never, ever be able to run an offense like Brady, Ben hell even Winston...

Wait, let me rephrase, he can do it, problem is he can't do it well enough..so change up your offense and put him in position to be successful instead of being rigid and all "this is how we do things...blah blah blah"..

Yeah, I have never understood that mentality.

"We have a quarterback who's really good at X, so let's make him even better by forcing him to do Y!"

Best/Worst example ever was when the Falcons installed a WCO with the intent of turning Michael Vick into Steve Young (as I recall, they even had him meet with Steve Young at the time.)

Funny enough that Vick example can go even further..

So he leaves ATL and ends up in Philly with Reid,.a strong disciple of the WC system...all Vick does is throw for the most yards, most TDs, highest completion % and highest average/completion in his career...

Why? Because Reid changed what he was going to do to fit his QB so that THEY could see the most success..

This is what frustrates me about DK..this is where he has blinders on...

[Bootz2004]

Yeah, I have never understood that mentality.

"We have a quarterback who's really good at X, so let's make him even better by forcing him to do Y!"

Best/Worst example ever was when the Falcons installed a WCO with the intent of turning Michael Vick into Steve Young (as I recall, they even had him meet with Steve Young at the time.)

Funny enough that Vick example can go even further..

So he leaves ATL and ends up in Philly with Reid,.a strong disciple of the WC system...all Vick does is throw for the most yards, most TDs, highest completion % and highest average/completion in his career...

Why? Because Reid changed what he was going to do to fit his QB so that THEY could see the most success..

This is what frustrates me about DK..this is where he has blinders on...

What is Koetter making Jameis do that he's not good at?

[DanTurksGhost]

Yeah, I have never understood that mentality.

"We have a quarterback who's really good at X, so let's make him even better by forcing him to do Y!"

Coaching egos can screw people up. This is why Don Shula was such a great coach. He always adapted to the strength of his personnel. You know that he wanted to run the hell out of the ball, but when he had Marino and the Marks Brothers he adapted and let Marino wing it. Coaches need to stop pounding square pegs into round holes.

It makes me continue to worry about the long-term prospects for Jameis under Koetter. it happens all over the league and no one seems to want to learn from it. Their hubris becomes the downfall of their teams.

As far as BB's coordinators go, not many of them have gone on to HC success. Perhaps because BB basically controls pretty much everything.

[Bootz2004]

Yeah, I have never understood that mentality.

"We have a quarterback who's really good at X, so let's make him even better by forcing him to do Y!"

Coaching egos can screw people up. This is why Don Shula was such a great coach. He always adapted to the strength of his personnel. You know that he wanted to run the hell out of the ball, but when he had Marino and the Marks Brothers he adapted and let Marino wing it. Coaches need to stop pounding square pegs into round holes.

It makes me continue to worry about the long-term prospects for Jameis under Koetter. it happens all over the league and no one seems to want to learn from it. Their hubris becomes the downfall of their teams.

As far as BB's coordinators go, not many of them have gone on to HC success. Perhaps because BB basically controls pretty much everything.

Again what is Koetter making Jameis do that he's not good at?

[Super K]

Funny enough that Vick example can go even further..

So he leaves ATL and ends up in Philly with Reid,.a strong disciple of the WC system...all Vick does is throw for the most yards, most TDs, highest completion % and highest average/completion in his career...

Why? Because Reid changed what he was going to do to fit his QB so that THEY could see the most success..

This is what frustrates me about DK..this is where he has blinders on...

What is Koetter making Jameis do that he's not good at?

Not specifically Jameis, more the offense as a whole...

It was clear as day that:

-our 2min/spread offense helped us as it allowed for and calls for different routes..we would use it, see success, then go away from it..

-we ran well/better out of spread..again, rarely did we come back to it..

-we passed well out of heavy..you've pointed out yourself how little we used 12 personnel and on top of that how we wouldn't pass out of it..


-finally his stubborn ass personnel insistence..is Sims lines up in the slot, what play is coming?..if WE know it and are flabbergasted, what do you think the opposing D knows?

[mdb1958]

What is Koetter making Jameis do that he's not good at?

Not specifically Jameis, more the offense as a whole...

It was clear as day that:

-our 2min/spread offense helped us as it allowed for and calls for different routes..we would use it, see success, then go away from it..

-we ran well/better out of spread..again, rarely did we come back to it..

-we passed well out of heavy..you've pointed out yourself how little we used 12 personnel and on top of that how we wouldn't pass out of it..


-finally his stubborn ass personnel insistence..is Sims lines up in the slot, what play is coming?..if WE know it and are flabbergasted, what do you think the opposing D knows?

If Sims leads the NFL RB pass catching with Brady you will understand the fallacy of your thought process - maybe.

[Super K]

Mdb, I'm fine with throwing it to Sims..in fact,.I'd like us to do it more..

What I'm not fine with is throwing it to him on that damn smoke screen thing (or whatever the hell it is) EVERY time he lines up in the slot/out wide...

There are many other things that can happen out of that formation....I'd like to see some of them..

[Buc2]

SBNation has a fairly clear story on the Titan/Mularkey split.

https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/15/1681 ... onday-2018

[MJW]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

[Naismith]

I love what the Titans are doing. If you're ready to move on, you can't let one game change your mind. I also think McDaniels is *the* hire of this (and the last two) cycles and when your guy is available, you make the move.

[MJW]

I love what the Titans are doing. If you're ready to move on, you can't let one game change your mind. I also think McDaniels is *the* hire of this (and the last two) cycles and when your guy is available, you make the move.

Oh, is THAT what you think?

[Phantom Phenom]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

and he'll take Case Keeum with him.. no discussion

[uscbucsfan]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

I don't think too many Giants fans are celebrating that hire.

[MJW]

Update: Shurmur to the Giants
McDaniels to the...Colts.

Titans, Cardinals, who knows. Lions still being linked with Patricia.

[uscbucsfan]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

and he'll take Case Keeum with him.. no discussion

I've heard he would try, but he doesn't have complete say in the matter.

Vikings could franchise or sign him.

[MJW]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

and he'll take Case Keeum with him.. no discussion

I think the Vikings tag him. If they don't...heck yeah. Keenum can go with him. Eli can go to the Jags. Win-Win. Except for Blake Bortles.

[MJW]

Pat Shurmur expected to be named Head Coach of the Giants.

I don't think too many Giants fans are celebrating that hire.

I was in New York when Coughlin was hired, and they weren't happy then either. They were thrilled about McAdoo though. Maybe they've learned.

[Naismith]

Oh, is THAT what you think?

It's definitely what *I* think. Clearly not what the Raiders or Bucs think. I don't think it's particularly close between Gruden and McDaniels.

[Phantom Phenom]

Matt Patricia is a virtual lock to be the next coach of the Detroit Lions, according to sources.

[Bootz2004]

I love what the Titans are doing. If you're ready to move on, you can't let one game change your mind. I also think McDaniels is *the* hire of this (and the last two) cycles and when your guy is available, you make the move.

The only problem with that is why issue the statement giving him a vote of confidence? Additionally as many have highlighted McDaniels is a lock to go to Indy. Tennessee doesn't have a plan in place other than interview people for the job.

[Bootz2004]

"Of course," Bell said, via ESPN's Katherine Terrell. "I never want to leave this city, but obviously, circumstances and things like that. But I definitely don't."

NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Sunday the Steelers are expected to use the tag on Bell again, despite the threat from the back to sit out the offseason again. The tag is expected to be worth about $14.5 million.

The question is whether both sides can agree on Bell's worth. The tailback wants to be paid like the team's No. 1 back and No. 2 receiver. The Steelers seems reluctant to sink too much cash into the position -- and for a player who has a history of injuries and a suspension on his record.

Bell certainly proved his value in Sunday's AFC Divisional Round loss. The dual-threat earned 155 scrimmage yards on 25 touches and two total touchdowns.

Sunday's loss marked another what-if playoff moment for the Steelers. But Bell wants to return to in 2018 to see if the Killer Bs can finally get over the hump.

"I think we get everyone healthy, it can even be more special," he said. "Give credit to [Antonio Brown]. He went out there at whatever percent and still gave his all. Obviously, wasn't himself. Still made plays. Being incredible. Guys like that, you can't come across all the time."

**** it. Swing a trade and pay the man. No player touches the ball more than him game except QBs and centers. If WRs who might get 70-90 touches a season are worth that much, why not this guy who touches the ball 350-400 times a season? I wouldn't normally take this POV but Bell is special and still young.