Offseason GM: AFC North

Free agency is officially upon us! Rumors swirling non-stop! Not too much in the form of official signings just yet, as most action has been in the form of re-signings. That said, you can expect a flurry of transactions in the next few days, one of the most notable being the trading of Darrelle Revis. The Bucs are rumored to be set on cutting him if no trade is realized, as they would get back their very high 3rd rounder in exchange for their 4th. In such a deep draft, that’s a pretty big difference. Moving on to the AFC North now, we will start with a team that is rumored to be interested in Revis, the Browns.

Offseason GM: NFC North

This is one of my favorite divisions in the NFL, as very few others can boast so many storied rivalries. Three very good QB’s and a fourth team that stays competitive with the best RB in the league. The top three teams are very close together in talent level and make for exciting divisional match ups year in year out. Even if there are no juggernauts here, everyone of these teams can be exciting to watch.

Offseason GM: AFC West

What was once a boring division showcasing the talents of Tim Tebow, is now a cluster of very interesting teams. Everyone knew the Broncos would be an AFC powerhouse, but the Chiefs put together a very strong season in Andy Reids first year. Another first year head coach, Mike McCoy, made an impressive showing with a somewhat weak roster. The Raiders…well they provide color as always.

Offseason GM: AFC East

Need to pick up the pace here as teams are already starting to make some moves; the Eagles have already resigned both of Riley Cooper and Jeremy Maclin, franchise tags have been used on Greg Hardy and Jimmy Graham, and Jordan Gross has retired. In other news, the official cap ceiling has been released, and it’s all the way at $133M, much higher than the initially projected $120M.

Next up in the Offseason GM series will be the AFC East. The AFC may be a bit weaker than the NFC, but this division is likely to improve quite a bit the next few years. The entire division is in a very sound financial position, and stands to be pretty competitive in 2014.

Offseason GM: NFC East

Continuing with the series ‘Offseason GM,’ I’ll move on to the NFC East. While they may not have any juggernauts, the division is always very competitive. Any edge in offseason performance could easily tip the balance for who wins the division in 2014. Also it was recently noted that the expected cap limit this year is going to be around 130M, not 126 as previously projected.

 

Offseason GM: NFC South

Football is year round for us, and the period after the season ends is actually one of my favorite parts of the football year: the offseason business side. Assessing a team’s cap situation, their pending free agents, and stock of draft picks in an attempt to set out the course of the future is something I find to be a lot of fun. Right now I’m feeling extremely impatient due to the fact that free agency doesn’t even officially open till the second week of March, so over the next couple weeks I’ll be giving you an economic roster breakdown of the next year. I was discussing the Saints earlier today with Nath, so the NFC South seems like a good place to start.

Week 6 Embarrassment Predictions

1/6 last week following 4/11 in week 4. Let’s see how poorly I can do this week, where I will introduce teaser picks. I think there is a lot of value in adding a few points to either side of a bet even if you have to hit on more picks at worse odds. I’m also not feeling the standard lines this week (due to poor performance and plain toughness) so apologies for fewer straight up line picks.

Week 5 NFL Line Predictions

Apologies for the late post, I won’t be able to make a detailed writeup since the games are on soon, so I’ll include most of my thoughts later this week in the recap. Here are my picks for week 5:

Week 4 Lines Recap; bring on the lol’s

Recommended lines: 1/5

Solid Leans: 3/6

Pretty terrible week to say the least, but lets go further and break it down.

Week 4 NFL Line Predictions

While we are all big NFL fans here, let’s be honest: One of the most fun things about following the NFL is attempting to overcome its unpredictability and predict the future. Whether you’re trying to make a buck, will your team to victory, or simply looking for bragging rights, NFL betting is extremely exciting. I’ve always enjoyed analyzing potential NFL outcomes, and I’d like to put my recommendations out there. I’ll do my best to touch upon all factors I find important, but if you feel I’ve left something out, feel free to leave a comment. So without further ado, I present to all of you the first of what will be a weekly column for this blog.

Analyzing the Trent Richardson trade

Our first reaction is: Wow. No one anywhere can say they saw this one coming, maybe not even Jim Irsay himself.

The Jets’ big looming question: To fire Rex Ryan, or not to fire Rex Ryan?

(ed. note: please welcome our latest contributor to the blog. Smiglet will be writing regularly in coverage of the Jets, advanced statistical analysis, and more.)

All offseason I’ve seen opinions and articles how Rex Ryan is guaranteed to be fired following the Jets upcoming season. Reasons cited have generally fallen into the following categories:

• He failed to come through on his Super Bowl guarantees,
• The new GM should be allowed to bring in his own guy,
• His continuous support of Mark Sanchez in the face of fire and poor play.

All of these reasons are perfectly legitimate. Ryan always seemed to promise just a little more than he delivered. New regimes always create turnover in both rosters and coaching. Ryan’s opinion on Sanchez has never been close to the truth. All that said, the Jets would be making an enormous mistake in firing him after just one more year.