Hottest Topics Heading into 2015 offseason - Week 15

Where is RG3 going to get traded, or is he?

We all know by now that RG3 and the Redskin brass aren’t on the same page. Given the choice between Jay Gruden or RG3, the Redskins will undoubtedly take their HC over RG3. Except, where will he end up? What kind of bidding war will go between the teams that are looking for a QB without having to draft one in this year’s draft? After doing a bit of looking, here are five destinations that will present itself to the Redskins once that word DRAFT roams around.

Likely Target:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: If they win a couple games to close the season they’ll likely be out of contention for the prized prospect Marcus Mariota. Given a chance between drafting Jameis Winston in the Top 5 picks or trading a lower pick (likely a 2nd or 3rd) for RG3 is what they will have to decide. If the Bucs rate RG3 as a better QB than Mariota or Jameis, look for them to take an olineman  if they fall out of the top 3 and trade for RG3.

Tennessee Titans: Ken Wisenhunt will probably rather have RG3 than any of the qbs on his roster. As with most teams who haven’t won much these past few years, a good quarterback is key to a turnaround. The question is, how much are the Titans willing to give up for that chance? If the Titans say they are legitimately satisfied with their QBs or the FA class, or if they don’t rate the QBs in this year’s draft as we think, maybe they take a chance on RG3.

Chicago Bears: This one might be a wildcard but it could work. Jay Cutler’s career in Chicago might be cut short soon given how many turnovers the QB has accumulated over the years. He just cannot win the big games when the $$ is on the line. (Lost to the Packers in the NFC Championship game, Lost to the Packers in the final game last year to get into the playoffs). Cutler has accumulated 90 interceptions in 7 seasons with the Bears. Aaron Rogers has only 54 ints to Cutler’s in the same time frame. Maybe the Chicago Bears will clean house and take a chance on RG3. There have been crazier things to happen in the NFL and this could just very well happen.

Dallas Cowboys:  Maybe the Cowboys blow up and miss the playoffs. In this year’s  playoffs you probably need 11 wins to get in, with 3 games to go, the ‘Boys might not get those 2 wins against the Eagles, Colts, or Redskins. Maybe Jerry Jones has had it with the Jason Garrett-Tony Romo combination and wants change. Say good-bye to Romo and hello to RG3 with a backfield of Adrian Peterson and DeMarcu Murray, once again. A little too dreamy? Maybe, but if there’s an NFL owner/GM who can make things like this happen, then that guy’s name is Jerry Jones.

Saint Louis Rams: Ha, this one will be funny. So the Redskins sent almost half a decade’s worth of picks to get RG3 and then they end up trading him to the Rams anyways and will almost get nothing back. Talk about winning a trade so hard.  However, even garnering an ounce of interest means they have given up on the injury prone Sam Bradford and I don’t blame them. RG3 gives the Rams a dynamic look that will bode well with their defense.  If RG3 can stay healthy, the Rams will be a serious contender if he can return to his rookie and pre-injury form.

Likely Asking Price: Redskins will surely ask for a 1st rounder in return. There isn’t a contender who would give up a backend first rounder type pick to them so it’ll have to be a 2nd round pick or lower. Given how bad RG3’s publicity has been, GMs will be asking for a 4th or 5th round pick out of him.

Final verdict?: He’ll be traded for a late 2nd to an early-mid 3rd rounder with a few throw in late rounders. Where ever he ultimately ends up hopefully the HC/OC and GM will get everyone on the same page and move forward with him as the franchise QB.

What will become of Adrian Peterson?

Given what I just said, Adrian Peterson COULD be on his way out. However, with the size of his contract it will be hard to unload him. He’s 31 and probably has only a few years left. For sure he’ll play next year and at this point, it’ll likely be with the Minnesota Vikings. Unless things change and someone steps up to eat this contract, he’s not going to go anywhere.

Who are the coaches that are going to get the boot?

Each year there are 12 teams from both conferences that make the playoffs. Each year, every other team will be re-evaluating their head coaches. Each year, a handful of them will get fired and teams will begin searching for new ones. This year is no different. We’ve already seen one (Dennis Allen –OAK) get fired mid season. Who’s next?:

Jim Harbaugh – SF: Things are going south for Jim Harbaugh. Last offseason he was rumored to have been traded to the Browns before everything fell apart at the last few moments. This year he has a number of players complain about him. He and starting QB Colin Caepernick have had their differences. Seems like the SF brass does not want him going forward which will make him one of the best FA Head Coaches out in the market come February.

Mike Smith – ATL: Mike Smith seems to be going backwards in terms of developing his team. A season after they went 13-3 and reach the NFC championship game, his team goes 4-12 in a very absurd season in 2013. This year isn’t much better and things are looking bleak for the Falcons. You could argue that their trade to secure Julio Jones gave up a lot of depth that were exploited through these past few years (defense and O line) but still, it’s the head coach’s job to get his team ready to play. It’s especially tough to understand how a 13-3 team goes 4-12 the following year and that is all on Mike Smith’s shoulders. He’s likely going to get the boot, same with their GM.

Marc Trestman – CHI: This guy seemed like the perfect fit. Intelligent offensive minded HC that will mold their explosive offense around Jay Cutler and lead one of the elite offenses in the NFL. It has been anything but exciting football in Chicago these past few years. Their offense is in shambles, their defense is hurting, and the team seems to have given up on him. Phil Emery, the Bears’ GM, will likely boot Trestman to save his ass another year. But the problem wasn’t Trestman, it’s probably Jay Cutler, but we will see how everything shakes up. As of now, Trestman is on the hotseat.

Tom Coughlin – NYG:  Eli Manning’s interception problems are well known by this point. But as a Head Coach, it’s your job to take care of that problem either by replacing Eli or getting the right people to help him fix his issues with turning the ball over.  The Giants haven’t looked competitive in 2 years and in a league where winning now is preminent, the Giants will be looking to turn things over to a new and maybe younger guy. Heck, maybe they’ll blow the entire thing up and rebuild. But as of now, Coughlin’s job is in question and moving forward will be easier said than done.

Will the Lions retain either starting DT in Nick Fairley and Ndamakung Suh?

The Lions are going to be handcuffed trying to sign both Nick Fairley and Ndamakung Suh to new deals this off season. Realistically, they’ll only get one of them back. They are projected to have about 15-18 million cap space and both are going to demand salaries north of 9million so it’s not even going to be close. Suh will likely bolt, Fairley will probably come back for a deal worth about 9 mil a year. Detroit will have to do a lot of restructuring and releasing players to get both back but it’s not impossible. Tough to do, but Detroit’s front 7 next year will take a huge hit.

What the heck is going on in New York? (Both the Giants and Jets)

I’m going to say that both Head Coaches are going to get fired. The next problem after that is, of course, the quarterback position. Eli Manning is a turnover machine while the QB situation on the Jets seems more like a soap opera than a football team.

Working on the assumption that both coaches are fired, Eli’s future rests on the new head coach while the Jets are going to look to hope and land Mariota or Jameis Winston. Eitherway, we’re going to be seeing two very different teams next year because everything has gone wrong in both franchises this year. It hasn’t even been close. It’ll be a long winter in New York this year. None of the four major sports teams are having good years.

Will the Raiders become the next LA franchise?

I believe so. Groups of owners have been trying to get a team to L.A. for the longest time ever. They even have an NFL ready stadium built there just waiting for the next NFL team to fail and grab it immediately. Okay, maybe the Raiders aren’t failing but finding a spot for a new stadium is a tough bill to act upon. The most likely scenario is for the new age of Davis to sell the team and hand off the legacy of their father to people who will take care of it, IN L.A. Or maybe the Davis’ will just simply relocate the team just because they want to. Whatever happens, the Raiders stay in Oakland is nearing it’s end.

Who are the top draft prospects that might go in the top 10?

Five Names: Amari Cooper WR, Alabama. Melvin Gordon RB, Wisconsin. Marcus Mariota QB, Oregon. Leonard Williams DE/DT, USC. Landon Collins S, Alabama. These are all going to be top ten picks and it’ll be interesting how each end up where or which teams are brave enough to trade up to grab them. The first three are Heisman finalists this year and the latter are both top players at their positions and are both demanding positions in the NFL.

Should the NFL change the playoff seeding format?

In reality everyone will talk about a change but it will never happen. Why? Because rules will have to be voted upon NFL OWNERS, not players or fans. If you’re an NFL owner in a division that’s weak for a few years, would you give up a chance to get home field advantage in the playoffs? Probably not. Because once you get in the NFL playoffs anything can happen and you would like that chance as much as possible. It’ll probably get talked about, get voted on, and get dropped so fast no one will ever see this topic ever again. Let’s be hopeful and pray the owners do the right thing. Playoff seeding should be changed regardless of divisions. The NBA are looking to get rid of seedings regardless of CONFERENCE so it’ll be interesting how those talks will affect the NFL.

What rule changes should be discussed?

-Isn’t it about time the NFL change the OT rule once again? Eversince they implemented the new OT rule in 2012, there have been 3 overtime ties the last three years in a row. We’ll see more in the future unless the NFL wants to do something about it. San Fran got a bye week in the playoffs thanks to the tie in 2012 which helped propel them into the Superbowl. This year it seems as though the tie between the Panthers and the Bengals will affect two division races as a tie equals a half game up or behind each team in their division. It’ll be interesting to see how it ends up but it could be costly that this result wasn’t a W or a L for teams fighting for playoffs or for these teams directly.

-Automatic First Downs should be evaluated and changed thoroughly. Too many times a short 5 yard automatic first down penalty extend drives. It’s especially tough to swallow when that penalty occurs on a 3rd and long. It needs to change. Teams should get rewarded for making plays to get their opponents into 3rd and long and not get punished for a foul that is borderline touchy when called to be an automatic first down. This is crucial in late games when an illegal contact turns a 3rd and 15 into a 1st and ten inside opponents territory instead of just being a 5 yard penalty on a replayed down.

-Challenge Replay system needs an overhaul. There are too many rules about challenges and if something is able to be challenged or not. There are way too many things that headcoaches can’t challenge or not. BOOM! Penalties, turnovers, and scoring plays are all non-reviewable and automatically reviewed. The rest is up for head coaches to decide (things like down by contact, sideline catches,  ball placement, dogpile recoveries of fumbles, etc). It’ll just make the game much simpler and more about the players than the refs.

-Allow challenges to ALL penalties. If the whole intent of replay is to get the call on the field right, then let’s do it. Get the call on the field right and if it’s not, call in a review. False start offense. Review, actually, the defender caused the offensive player to move first, reversed. Personal foul, illegal blow to the head of a defenseless receiver. Call in a replay. The defender clearly hit the shoulder pad and the WR’s head hit the ground which caused the injury. Reversed, no penalty. See, we can make the game less about officials and more about the players and this is the first step. Will we be seeing 4 hour games? Maybe, but keep in mind coaches still would only have 2 challenges so it won’t change all that much.