NFL 2013

And yet they will pass on Alex to continue being mediocre with Ponder. I can't say I see Alex making any other team appreciably better aside from Minnesota (and maybe Jacksonville because they are just flat terrible with Gabbert), since most of the at-large teams have terrible offensive lines. Smith is good at making audibles but not good at post-snap improv.

Also as a gushing SF fanboy mired in post-SB-loss gloom, I have to say I am even more impressed with Colin Kaepernick. He took all of one week off after the Superbowl before beginning offseason training. Just one frickin' week.

I'm not what you'd call a Ponder apologist, but I don't see Smith with our shitty WRs being much of an upgrade over Ponder. Ponder may still have some upside -- he played well for stretches last season (along with one four-game period of the worst QB play I've seen in the NFL, no joke). Add into the equation whatever price you'd have to pay for Smith, and I don't love the move for the Vikings.

I think the biggest issue is that every team in the league knows that the 49ers will cut him if they can't make a trade. That basically limits the possible trade partners to teams who Smith would not want to sign with as a free agent. And in that case, whatever you give up you pretty much know you're just renting him. Everyone else can just wait a couple weeks and then offer him a contract with no need to make a deal with the team.

Wait, that stretch was worse than any stretch with Tavaris Jackson?

According to my memory, yeah ;) We could dig through stats if we wanted to, but why do that when I could reminisce on the 2000 election or Master of Orion 3?

Interesting piece here about official positions and real positions in terms of what a player does and how it could impact salaries. The franchise tag gives a player a one year contract based on an average of what the top paid players at that position are making. But sometimes the position can be murky, as the article notes using the example of Titans free agent Jared Cook. He's listed as a tight end, which pays less, but lined up on nearly 80% of his plays last year in wide reciever spots. So his agent is asking for clarification. And this could impact other players as well.

Alex Smith the Chiefs. Is there no backup they won't try?

Tebow?

Ooh I would love Tebow on the Chiefs. Running Andy Reid's "throw the ball 800 times a game" offense. That would be glorious.

Is there nothing they won't try to avoid drafting and developing a starting QB of their own? Obviously, this is a shitty year for QBs, but that's not true of every year since 1983, which is the last time they drafted a QB in the first round.

Some interesting developments:

- Steven Jackson of the Rams has exercised his option to void the final year of his contract, making him a free agent.
- Manti Te'o had a bad 40 time at the combine and very probably isn't a first rounder anymore. "Is he gay?" also seems to be getting a lot of attention.
- Florio at PFT says the Redskins are considering filing a lawsuit against the league over the cap penalty they and the Cowboys were given for last year and this year. The reason this matters is because supposedly they will ask a judge to suspend the start of free agency until the issue is resolved, meaning it would impact everyone.

If the combine actually drops Te'o out of the first round, somebody is getting a steal. Probably not the Niners, because we already have the best middle linebacker combination in the league, but somebody. Has anyone who shot up the draft boards because of workouts ever justified their draft position? Whereas guys who produced in college usually go on to produce in the NFL, no matter what their 40 time was.

The problem with Te'o is that he looked terrible against Alabama. All of the combine stats and invisible girlfriend stuff I can give him some leeway on, but he looked like he didn't belong on the field against Alabama.

That's why I'd be leery of him. I don't know if it was that the d-line didn't show up (I don't watch enough Notre Dame football to tell), the overhype factor of Notre Dame being in the BCS title game (this has to be a decent factor) or if he's just not good enough to play against near-NFL quality blocking (again, I don't see enough Notre Dame football to see how they typically do) but they looked outclassed in that game.

I don't think a second-round pick is reaching or getting a steal after seeing that performance workouts notwithstanding; like Shadarr I'm also leery of workout warriors that haven't produced and/or have other question marks (Dontari Poe, Chief's fans?).

I don't think you should ignore the effect of the 6-8 week layoff leading up to the championship game. These guys are used to playing every week, and then they have literally half a season off before playing the best team in the country. Alabama has proven they know how to keep their players game-ready over that time, but Notre Dame is hardly the first team to come out looking sluggish and out of it.

It's entirely possible Notre Dame was never that good and Te'o is just a biproduct of the Irish hype machine, I haven't actually watched a game to know. But my general take on the combine is that its only value is the one-on-one meetings. Everything else, you can see on film. If a guy runs faster in shorts than he does in pads on film, trust the film. If he can't bench press as much as you thought he would because he pushes guys around on film, trust the film. Falling in love with workout numbers leads to drafting Darius Heyward Bey over Michael Crabtree.

Troy Williamson.

I haven't seen Te'o play either but the way the Combine has set up for him, it doesn't sound like ideal circumstances to perform.

In other news, the Saints has gotten themselves a new Secondary coach, Wesley McGriff out of Ole Miss.

Well will you look at this shit. I thought they fired Pioli?

Alex Smith to Kansas City.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...x-smith-traded-to-kansas-city-chiefs/1951179/

EDIT:Scooped by Clements!

SECONDS MATTER

Alas, Matt Cassel, we hardly knew ye.

Its an interesting move for KC, especially as Smith doesn't seem like a Reid guy. That said, the Chiefs do have some talent, the division is weak outside of the Broncos, and Reid had a history of getting good results out of marginal guys when he had to in Philly.

If you are Smith there are worse teams he could have been sent to. If you are the Chiefs there weren't many other QB options. Not worth a 2nd round pick, though.

And possibly a pick in 2014.

Considering that 2nd rounder they just got is just a few picks later than the Niner's 1st round draft pick...wow. That's a high price for Alex Smith.

If they get performance almost identical to his past two seasons, I think he's worth the second round pick (although whether he's worth the additional pick remains to be seen). Whether Smith will continue to perform as he has remains to be seen, although I think KC sets him up for success moreso than any other team he could have gone to. The Chief's pass protection is on par with or better than SF's and they have one of the best running backs in the league. Not sure what their receiver situation is like, but I've never considered SF's receiving corps anything to write home about lately. The thing that will most work against Smith in KC is not having the best defense in the league to bail him out.

No, shut up! This is a great deal for the Chiefs! They are getting a former #1 overall pick for a pick an entire round later. Plus all that experience! It's a steal! For the Chiefs.

It's not a horrible trade but not a great one either. When looking at all the QB trades in the last ten years it's about what I expected, a second round pick and maybe a little more. I did think they would've gone for the picks next year though since they already have so many this year but then again they can still trade those away to move up or for more picks next year.

The 49ers are now in a great position to move up if they want to. There are several teams out there that would probably gladly trade down to get more picks. The Seahawks are in a similar position with extra picks this year, and would have even more if they can unload Flynn on somebody (not that Flynn will bring a second rounder or anything).

Apparently the 49ers may be using those draft picks to trade for Revis.

Revis is an interesting situation. He's in the last year of his contract and here in NYC you hear the occasional holdout rumor (he's pulled it before). But he's also coming off of ACL surgery and there's always questions about whether or not a player can return from that and be the same.

If Revis is traded, that's a good sign this is Rex's last year. That'll indicate the team's in full on rebuilding from scratch mode (yet again).

Niners would gamble on Revis I think. SF's secondary got exposed in the latter half of the season once Justin Smith got hurt. I imagine they figure Revis would still be a factor even his performance is affected post-surgery.




Anything to get Chris Culliver off the field

Looks like it was maybe 2 2nd rounders for Alex Smith. At least a 2nd and a 3rd in 2014...but that 3rd could be a 2nd depending on how things go.

According to the rumour mill, the price got pushed up when Oakland got into the bidding. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they never had any interest in Smith just did it to screw over the Chiefs.

Doubt that would get Culliver off the field since he was the nickle back. It would just probably mean cutting Rogers loose instead. While Revis might be a nice addition he'll probably be a one year rental. If that's the case I rather they continue to built through the draft. Maybe try and trade up to a top 10 or 15 pick and get one there.

A lot of Cowboy contract restructuring: Ware, Carr, Whitten, couple of linemen, Austin as well. Looks like most of these are putting some portion of this years salary into a signing bonus. IMO, pretty good cap management from Jerreh, even with the *cough*bullchit*cough* penalty imposed for this year. Of course, Romo re-negiotating his contract may add more cap room.

I know I just hate Culliver.

Is the Revis thing anything but media speculation, though? What I've read sounds like "this seems like a good idea" stuff from national writers as opposed to anything with an actual source indicating 49er interest. Sure, they could pull of that trade but that's a lot to give up in terms of picks and salary for a guy coming off an injury that caused him to miss the entire season.

Plus he's a free agent after this season, you run the risk of giving up picks to rent him for a year.

I'd imagine that's not so much a risk as something they'll determine prior to making the trade offer.

Or maybe even a bonus if you think Revis might put forth a "contract/free agency year" type year as a result.

To be precise, Joe Flacco's deal with Ravens will clock in at six years and $120.6 million, a bit more than Drew Brees' in almost every way.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 2, 2013

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1550124-breaking-down-joe-flaccos-record-contract