NFL 2018

[XXXIV]

Yes you did.

Super Rams Super Bowl.

NFC goes thru Philly b*tch!

I do hope it works out that way.

Would love to see them make philly their b*tch.

My problem is as a fan since 1974, I have seen a few Rams teams favored to win the NFC fall so VERY flat on their faces.... How do you win a record straight 7 div championships and only make one SB? and win zero?

A qb short they were....No pun intended Pat Haden was listed at 5 11

TY 99

[Diablo25]

Even if the Eagles have a great year, it is still incredibly tough to repeat as champ in ANY sport.

[Danimal]

Don't say this often, excited to be a Bears fan today.

[10spro]

We don’t get to see these type of trades of this magnitude much, with the season about to start do we?

Bears got quite a front to count on, an impact player for sure that has narrowed the gap with the Vikings.

Look forward to their rivalry matches vs GB.

Not sure what J. Gruden’s plan is but those first round picks won’t make much of an impact for at least a couple of years.

[Rodster]

Not sure what J. Gruden’s plan is but those first round picks won’t make much of an impact for at least a couple of years.

EGO !

That's just it, he did the same sh*t in Tampa and worked his way out of town. He took a well stocked Tony Dungy team, milked it and stripped it apart because he thinks he's also the best GM or whoever his GM puppet is. Gru, is a good solid coach, good with QB development and play calling but he needs to stop thinking he's a GM because he stinks at that. So Raider fans can expect more head scratching stuff from Chuckie in the years to come.

[XXXIV]

Bear games will be more fun.

If Im a Raider fan Im VERY f***in angry today.

[pk500]

Ironically, the last time a first-round pick was dealt for a player in the NFL was in 2009, when the Chicago Bears sent a first-rounder to the Broncos for the immortal Jay Cutler.

Let's hope this deal works out better for the Bears. It should. Mack is a monster. The pride of the University of Buffalo!

[TCrouch]

Bear games will be more fun.

If Im a Raider fan Im VERY f***in angry today.

A 39 year Raider fan is trying to decide whether or not to continue to be a Raider fan.

A move like this can bury a team for years. All it's doing is telling future players if you do everything right, be a model player/citizen, work at your craft, and become one of the best in the league...we won't pay you. There's also distrust in a locker room, because Gruden brought in all these 30+ year old players, meaning "win now". Then he trades the best player, which means "rebuilding", with future draft picks.

I was so emotional and angry yesterday that I had to really evaluate why something like this would affect me so deeply. Ever since I moved to Houston a year ago and constantly see all of the community support the Texans, Astros, and Rockets have here, it has had them grow on me bit by bit. And then this happens, putting everything I've ever held dear, from a fan perspective, in question.

So yeah...angry is one word for it.

[Rodster]

And just think, Gru has another 9 years on his contract after this year. I saw what he did in Tampa and they're still trying to rebound.

[wco81]

Raiders defense sucked with Mack.

They had Carr and Mack for 4 years, made the playoffs once. So they were going to pay both of them $40-50 million for the next 5 years or so and expect to see a big difference?

These big contracts handicap teams more than anything, especially big contracts given to non QBs.

And even QBs who get big money don't win like they did BEFORE they got their big paydays. Rodgers, Wilson and Flacco won their Superbowls BEFORE they got paid. Brady has won Superbowls in recent years but notice he's taking a lot less than his market value, which lets the Pats have a lot of roster flexibility elsewhere.

Suh got a big deal, didn't make the Dolphins a playoffs team. I think the Bills gave a DT big money too. Watt made the Texans defense great BEFORE he got paid. Since he got paid, they're okay and it helped that they didn't have to pay big money to a QB at the same time.

Maybe Donald and Mack will do better with their teams but again, it helps that their QBs are still on rookie deals.

You can argue that a superstar getting a super max contract in the NBA has much greater impact, since an individual player has a greater chance to impact games in the NBA than in the NFL. But even there, you have maybe a half dozen guys who are worth the super max. There are a lot of guys making $30 million or more but they're not worth their contracts, as far as winning championships. So Wiggins isn't going to make the Wolves a champion nor in all likelihood, a player like Wall will make his team champions.

[DivotMaker]

Raiders defense sucked with Mack.

They had Carr and Mack for 4 years, made the playoffs once. So they were going to pay both of them $40-50 million for the next 5 years or so and expect to see a big difference?

These big contracts handicap teams more than anything, especially big contracts given to non QBs.

And even QBs who get big money don't win like they did BEFORE they got their big paydays. Rodgers, Wilson and Flacco won their Superbowls BEFORE they got paid. Brady has won Superbowls in recent years but notice he's taking a lot less than his market value, which lets the Pats have a lot of roster flexibility elsewhere.

Suh got a big deal, didn't make the Dolphins a playoffs team. I think the Bills gave a DT big money too. Watt made the Texans defense great BEFORE he got paid. Since he got paid, they're okay and it helped that they didn't have to pay big money to a QB at the same time.

Maybe Donald and Mack will do better with their teams but again, it helps that their QBs are still on rookie deals.

You can argue that a superstar getting a super max contract in the NBA has much greater impact, since an individual player has a greater chance to impact games in the NBA than in the NFL. But even there, you have maybe a half dozen guys who are worth the super max. There are a lot of guys making $30 million or more but they're not worth their contracts, as far as winning championships. So Wiggins isn't going to make the Wolves a champion nor in all likelihood, a player like Wall will make his team champions.

Injuries have kept Watt from performing at his usual high level, not that he "got paid".

[XXXIV]

Injuries have kept Watt from performing at his usual high level, not that he "got paid".

BINGO!

[XXXIV]

Bear games will be more fun.

If Im a Raider fan Im VERY f***in angry today.

A 39 year Raider fan is trying to decide whether or not to continue to be a Raider fan.

A move like this can bury a team for years. All it's doing is telling future players if you do everything right, be a model player/citizen, work at your craft, and become one of the best in the league...we won't pay you. There's also distrust in a locker room, because Gruden brought in all these 30+ year old players, meaning "win now". Then he trades the best player, which means "rebuilding", with future draft picks.

I was so emotional and angry yesterday that I had to really evaluate why something like this would affect me so deeply. Ever since I moved to Houston a year ago and constantly see all of the community support the Texans, Astros, and Rockets have here, it has had them grow on me bit by bit. And then this happens, putting everything I've ever held dear, from a fan perspective, in question.

So yeah...angry is one word for it.

Dude I know this sounds silly but I feel your pain.

I was like wtf would you let a once in a life time player go????

Beyond f***in stupid!!!!

Enjoy Bear fans.

[Danimal]

I was like wtf would you let a once in a life time player go????

Well when you give a QB a monster deal, you run out of money.

Funny thing, there is a healthy number of Bears fans who don't like this deal. I've told everyone of them they are idiots.

[TCrouch]

I was like wtf would you let a once in a life time player go????

Well when you give a QB a monster deal, you run out of money.

Funny thing, there is a healthy number of Bears fans who don't like this deal. I've told everyone of them they are idiots.

That's because they haven't seen him play. Never personally watched a defender so good at playing the edge vs the run OR the pass. I can only recall one screw up in the past 4 years by him, and it was on an option out to the edge. Mack bit on the fake and the QB ran right by inside.

Then they tried it again and he blew that crap up 4 yards deep, somehow played both guys at once. Mack is a freak, a walking Hall of Famer, and was really the ONLY reason to watch that putrid defense week after week. Bears fans that didn't watch many Raider games are going to freak out over what he can bring to a team. They've had their share of HoFers on defense, so it's not completely new. But to have a guy like that getting after the QB and defending the run equally is crazy. And his penchant for sack/strip/fumble recovery plays are nuts. Did it to the Bills, the Panthers, the Giants...at the most critical time in the game. That 12-4 season was equal parts Derek Carr taking the lead, and Mack sealing the win.

[wco81]

There are rumors here that Davis simply didn't have tens of millions that the Raiders would have to pay as a signing bonus and any upfront money to sign Mack to a long term deal.

Their cash flow situation might have improved after the season started and the TV money started rolling in.

[TCrouch]

That's been going around for a while, but he found a way to pay Gruden his $100MM guaranteed. When you own an NFL team, you're not cash-strapped. Your team is your collateral, and merchandising alone for the Raiders is crazy compared to some other teams. If he really WANTED to get it done, he'd be able to get it done. This just stinks of ego of Gruden (and maybe Guenther, thinking he could coach up and scheme up a pass rush without an all-world talent. Want more credit for turning around a bottom-3 defense? Get rid of the best player and wholeheartedly believe that with good coaching, the other guys will get better!).

Honestly, I'd never seen the Raider defense look as prepared as they did throughout preseason. It has been a long time since there was a REAL defensive coordinator in place. It's been first year guys or washed up guys for so long that I'd forgotten what creativity and players knowing their assignments looked like. WRs weren't constantly running wide open down the middle of the field, or catching the ball without a black jersey in the frame every other drive. It's been so long with that stuff on defense, that I didn't really understand what the rest of the NFL was getting nowadays. The Raiders looked great at the turn of the century, and about 15 years before it, but the NFL was so different and not set up to generate offense like it is now. The defense looked WORLDS better than it has in the past 10 years, easily.

What will bug me forever is not being able to see that defense WITH Mack playing on it. They're banking way too much on rookies to get to the passer (Arden Key, Mo Hurst, and PJ Hall...he of fresh-out-of-division-II fame).

[pk500]

There are rumors here that Davis simply didn't have tens of millions that the Raiders would have to pay as a signing bonus and any upfront money to sign Mack to a long term deal.

Their cash flow situation might have improved after the season started and the TV money started rolling in.

Those rumors must be BS unless the Raiders are the most poorly run franchise in pro sports. The Packers are a publicly owned team, so we get to see all of the franchise's financial dealings with the NFL.

The Packers received $244 million in ANNUAL revenue-sharing proceeds from the NFL in 2016. The Raiders and the other 30 NFL teams earned the same. That was a $22 million increase from 2015.

NFL teams may have problems, but money isn't one of them.

[XXXIV]

Cleveland Browns.

Really?

[vader29]

Cleveland Browns.

Really?

[XXXIV]

LOL

[10spro]

Man, this Mack-attack is making quite a debut.

[XXXIV]

Man, this Mack-attack is making quite a debut.

LMFAO

YES!

Real deal!

[TCrouch]

And his penchant for sack/strip/fumble recovery plays are nuts.

Just sayin'...

Mack gonna Mack.

I was telling Dan, it's awesome to see him on a defense with a real coordinator and 10 other players who belong in the NFL. The guy has been unbeatable, even while being triple teamed with no other talent around him.

Imagine when he learns the play book and isn't limited

Raiders are dipsh*ts for letting a player like him go. Generational talent, walking Hall of Famer.

[Aristo]