ESPN Rick Spielman 3/30 Chat Wrap...1 'boys blurb

[WoodysGirl]

Rick Spielman: (4:01 PM ET ) Thanks for joining me today. Let's get started on your questions.

JC DC: Rick, How do you think the NFC East shakes out this year? Are you part of the ludicrous TO was a good move camp and the Cowboys will be a superbowl contender? The MSM of the sports media is so funny. The Cowboys were ok last yr but got crushed a few times towards the end of the season. They will not be much better this year. thanks.

Rick Spielman: (4:06 PM ET ) I am not a T. O. fan. I think he will bring down the Cowboys eventually. If he had issues with McNabb, he have plenty more with Bledsoe. They still have offensive line issues. Drew caqn't move in the pocket and if he spends most of the game on his back it won't matter if they have TO or not. I think the team to beat at this time is the Wash Commanders. With the addition of Saunders as OC and the playmakers they addedat wr they should be a much more explosive offense


Kevin (Brandon, MS): Rick, How do you see Drew Brees improving the Saints offense & will Duece still be the focus of the offense under Sean Payton.

Rick Spielman: (4:08 PM ET ) Duece is a very talented back and should be the feature of their offense. Brees needs talented skill players around him to be effective. A great running game makes any qb that much better.

BJ Carmel NY: If Deshaun Foster plays up to his potential, do you see the Panthers winning the NFC now that they have a true possession reciever in Keyshaun to take the pressure off of Smith.

Rick Spielman: (4:12 PM ET ) If Foster can stay healthy he is one of the top backs in the league. That is a big if. Keyshawn will take some pressure of Smith but they still need to add a playmaker a the TE position. They have added solid players to an already very good defense. They should be the favorites in that divison

James/Phoenix, AZ: With the 15th and 22nd pick will the Broncos select a WR, RB, S or DE?

Rick Spielman: (4:17 PM ET ) They must feel good about Ron Dayne to step in a fill the void left by Anderson but I would still have some concerns. Bell has durability issues and Dayne has never performed on a consistent basis. Their should be a very solid rb available to them at either of those picks. They can alos use a passer rusher off the edge and a receiver as well. I would go with the best pass rusher first than offense either receiver or running back depending on what player was rated the highest

Brett, grosse ile, michigan: what do you think about the lions offseason moves...such as quarter backs...and offensive line moves...what other places do you think they need address with the rest of free agency and the draft. thanks

Rick Spielman: (4:22 PM ET ) It will be interesting to see if Martz can make either of these QBs better. Kitna is a solid back up but never considered a frontline type starter. McCown is more talented when he is on but has been way to inconsistent. He does have more upside than Kitna. The rest of their signings are not going to make a significant difference in winning and losing games. They have to develop the young players on their current roster to take that next step or things may not change much

Scott (Dallas): Rick, Can you please explain (other than the obvious) the difference between what Ricky Williams did ("retire" late in the offseason) and what Brett Favre is doing. Shouldn't Brett be getting the same grief that Ricky did?

Rick Spielman: (4:26 PM ET ) Ricky Williams pulled the disappearing act on us right before the start of training camp. That was after free agency, after the draft and after the June 1st cuts so we had very limited options trying to replace him. Favres retirement talks are not a surprize. In fact that is probably why the drafted Rodgers last year. You have one player ending a career and one player quitting in the prime of his career

Ron (Houston): Realistically, is there ANY way the Texans pass on Reggie Bush?

Rick Spielman: (4:29 PM ET ) I don't know how. He will be developed as the best player on almost every teams draft board. They don't need a qb because they made a committment to Carr. Unless they trade out I don't see how they can pass on him. If he turns out to be a Barry Sanders type they would never live that down. It is the easiest pick for the new regime and the safest

Christopher(Worcester, MA): If the Patriots lock up Seymour and Branch long term does that mean losing McGinest, Vinatieri, etc was worth it?

Rick Spielman: (4:31 PM ET ) The Pats have lost alot of key players and have yet to replace them. They need a solid draft which they will have and may try to pick up some bargain basement vets once the market is dried up. As long as the have Brady they have a chance.

Tom (Chicago): Rick, Please tell me the Bears are going to somehow get a tight and and then please further tell me that they will actually look at the middle of the field this year. Please.

Rick Spielman: (4:35 PM ET ) They should be able to land a te in the draft with their first pick. Davis will be gone but Pope or Lewis should be available. Both are big athletic pass catching te's that can stretch the middle of the field. This is a good year if you need a te which the Bears do. They need a solid draft because they have been extremely quite in free agency except for the Griese signing

Harry(baltimore): Hey Rick! I was wondering why the media loves to bash the Commanders when they overspend but when a team like seattle overspends for a #2 wide receiver nothing is said.

Rick Spielman: (4:38 PM ET ) Wash has spent big in the past and the results were poor. Seattle just made it to the Super Bowl. Wash will continue to be questioned until the money spent shows results, which I think it will this year

Brad (Anchorage AK): Would the Steelers be able to pass on Antonio Cromartie if he is still there at 32. What are the chances of Moss falling as well.

Rick Spielman: (4:42 PM ET ) Steelers have to answer the question is Cromartie worth taking there. He had very good work outs but missed all of last season. He could be a " steel" no pun intended at that pick but of his natural athletic skills. Moss could also fall because of size. He is extemely fast and a very good route runner but does have some drops and may only be a third receiver at best. Did not make as many dynamic plays in college as his brother did and also does not return like he brother did when he came out.

Christopher (Phoenix): Why does AJ Smith have a job? The Bolts didn't make the playoffs last year, they have the best player in the entire NFL in their backfield, he let D. Brees get out the door for absolutely nothing and they have a very underrated D. Please explain.

Rick Spielman: (4:46 PM ET ) They have to feel that Rivers is ready or I can not see why they would let Brees go. If Rivers falls flat on his face it was a huge risk to take especially if Brees excels as a Saint. I don't agrre with your statement on their defense being underrated. They have a good front seven but the secondary has some issues that need to be addressed

Chris (Lakewood, OH): Unfortunately it sounds like the Browns are going to trade Jeff Faine (he seems like a good Cleveland guy...he actually bought me a shot at a local bar once) but what might the Browns be able to get in return for him in a trade?

Rick Spielman: (4:47 PM ET ) Alot would depend on the state of his health. He was a very good player coming out of Notre Dame. To bad they can't keep him in the starting lineup with Bentley and Schaffer. They would have a very solid offensive line. He is good when healthy

Josh (mpls, MN): "If Foster can stay healthy he is one of the top backs in the league." Really? Deshawn Foster? Where was I when this happened?

Rick Spielman: (4:49 PM ET ) Watch the Atlanta game from last year

Chris (DC): Rick, With former VT QB Coach Kevin Rogers at Minn now, do you see the Vikes taking a chance with Markus Vick with a late round draft pick?

Rick Spielman: (4:51 PM ET ) Or it could work the other way that he says I know this kid and would not touch him with a ten foot pole

Dan (San Jose): Rick...I would have to disagree with you when you say "They have to feel that Rivers is ready or I can not see why they would let Brees go.". It seems to me that the main reason Brees is gone is because AJ Smith needs to justify his acquisition of Rivers. Remember, Brees was John Butler's guy. Poltics, man, politics.

Todd (ATL): Do you agree with the extention of the instant replay?

Rick Spielman: (4:53 PM ET ) Yes - with so much a stake each Sunday any time you can correct a call to make it right is a positive thing.

Brandon (Memphis, TN): Who do you think the Titans will draft in the NFL draft Rick?

Rick Spielman: (4:56 PM ET ) They will take a qb. They are in a perfect scenerio to develop a young qb while he plays behind and learns from a pro bowler for a year or two

Joey, Portland: Rick, What's your take on the Steve Hutchingson Nate Burelson "poison pill" fiasco? Will the leauge be able to prevent the use of such tactics in the future, or will transition and restricted free agent tags never be the same again?

Rick Spielman: (4:59 PM ET ) If the league does not address the issue it will become an even bigger fiasco next year. What next - if your brother marries Bobby Sue in the month of October when your playing in Detroit the money becomes guarenteed

Rick Spielman: (5:01 PM ET ) Thanks for all the great questions. Alot will be happening over the next month with alot of questions that need to be answered

 

[cboyd]

he must be taking tips from Randy Galloway and Jennifer Floyd Engel.

 

[CrazyCowboy]

Another T.O. hater......well, I say T.B. (TOO BAD)

 

[AsthmaField]

They will not be much better this year. thanks.

Commanders fans kill me.

Let's see... reasons Dallas will be improved this season:

Defensively:

*Marcus Spears will have a year in the NFL under his belt. He was really coming on towards the end of the season and becoming a real problem for offenses.

*Chris Canty will have a year in the NFL under his belt. Continued improvement from him is a given and he was already playing very well.

*Greg Ellis will be a situational pass rusher. He might not like it, but it will make him even more effective in getting to the QB.

*Demarcus Ware will have a year in the NFL under his belt. By the end of last season, you could tell that everything was starting to click for Ware. He was starting to figure it all out. Played the run much better than the first half of the season and was improving his already good pass rush.

*Kevin Burnett, who has the most athletic ability of anyone in the front seven, will be healed and have some more experience. Before he got hurt towards the end of last season, he was starting to see more playing time and was looking good doing it. He's just got so much ability... if he stays healthy, he could be a beast.

*Bradie James will have another year in a 3-4. By the last half of the season, James was playing very well and making the defensive calls. He's always had great physical tools and intelligence... now he's starting to figure things out.

*Jay Ratliff and Thomas "Pepper" Johnson, who both contributed as rookies, will be healthy and have a year of experience.

*Akin Ayodele in place of Shanle/Fowler. Really big upgrade here and personally, I think Ayodele is perfectly suited to playing inside in a 3-4. He'll be a much better player in our 3-4 than he was in Jacksonville's 4-3. He fits it much better.

*(Speculation) Rob Carpenter in place of Scott Fujita. No comparison here. Carpenter (or Lawson or Winbley) is a much better athlete than Fujita and will be a really big upgrade on our defense. With a capable pass rusher at SOLB, Ware will become much more effective because all of the attention (RB and TE chips) won't be paid to him. If it is... Carpenter or Lawson or Wimbley will make them pay dearly.

*Overall, the entire defense will have a year's experience in a 3-4. You know the second year in any scheme always yields much better results than the first. Zimmer will also have another year's experience in a 3-4 scheme.

- The only loss on this side of the ball appears to be Glover... and he was merely an average player in the 3-4. It shouldn't hurt the defense at all.

Even without adding a FS candidate (which we still might do), the defensive side of the ball will be much improved. Even if we didn't add Ayodele and a SOLB, there would be a lot of improvement just because guys like Ware, Spears, Burnett and Canty will be so much better in their second seasons.

Offensively:

*Julius Jones. The third year for RB's are usually good as they have started to figure things out. I think that Parcells tried to tinker with Jones' running style and by the end of the season had figured out that he needs to leave well enough alone. Jones should be a very good back this year.

*Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson will each have a year under their belts and should be even better.

*Year two for Bledsoe back in Parcells system should make for some improvement.

*Year two for Lousaka Polite should make him even better.

*Owens in place of Keyshawn. Huge improvement. A difference maker on offense. Him alone would upgrade the offense significantly.

*Kyle Kosier for Larry Allen. I know some don't see this as an upgrade, but Allen had lost all mobility and simply whiffed on his guy some of the time. A young, aggressive player who can move around good will make for improvement.

*Fabini in place of Pettiti. Big upgrade here and it should make a really big difference in how the offense performs.

*Healthy Adams at LT. All the difference in the world.

*Palmer at offensive coordinator. I know some don't like this move... but I love it. He is a very good offensive coach. Good enough that he was given two chances to be a head coach when he wasn't a very good head coach. Our passing game should take off.

Those things, even without counting anything but our first round draft choice, should make for a really big difference in how the team plays.

I think that year 4 under Parcells will be a very good one... regardless of what Skins fans think.

 

[Ken]

I think I agree with everything that you said, even if it is a homeristic way to look at it.

Not everything is going to happen this way, but if we hit on 70% of them, we will be great.

 

[RedLine]

You left out Rivara. He was hurt last year, and should preform better as long as he stays away from that damn treadmill!

 

[Secondary2None3141]

When will the main stream media get a clue.

Owens had issues with McNabb because Owens wanted more money. McNabb, the 115 million dollar man, told him to shut his mouth about it.

Also, Owens worked his arse off to get back in time for the Super Bowl, and he played brilliantly in it. His team had a chance to win the game, and McNabb literally "choked" at the end. HE LITERALLY CHOKED!

McNabbs choking, coupled with his 3 interceptions, is what cost the Eagles and Owens the Super Bowl ring.

Before all that, they got along great.

 

[miamicowboy21]

What credibility does spielman have? This guy along with wannstedt destroyed the miami dolphins. T.O. was a bad decision. So i guess trading a second round pick for AJ. feely was smart, or trading a 3rd round pick for lamar gordon. Dont get me started on this clown. Spielman should be arrested for stealing money from the bears and dolphin organizations. Screw speilman!!!!

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

Dallas didn't actually get younger when you look at it, T.O. will be 33 by years end, Fabini is 30ish and Vanderjerk is 36. I think this is a make or break year for this particular team.

 

[AsthmaField]

You left out Rivara. He was hurt last year, and should preform better as long as he stays away from that damn treadmill!

Yes, I did leave out Rivera. He should play much better this season than last. I also think Al Johnson will play a lot better too, because he's had another year of weight training.

And of course, leaving out Vanderjact (sp?) is my biggest mistake. He will make a HUGE difference in our games.

Throw those 3 guys in with the guys I mentioned above and it's easy to see where a lot of improvement might could come from.

 

[dstew60105]

What credibility does spielman have? This guy along with wannstedt destroyed the miami dolphins. T.O. was a bad decision. So i guess trading a second round pick for AJ. feely was smart, or trading a 3rd round pick for lamar gordon. Dont get me started on this clown. Spielman should be arrested for stealing money from the bears and dolphin organizations. Screw speilman!!!!

You hit the nail right on the head. This guy is the king of bozo's and will NEVER hold a NFL GM position again.

Don

 

[Eskimo]

Dallas didn't actually get younger when you look at it, T.O. will be 33 by years end, Fabini is 30ish and Vanderjerk is 36. I think this is a make or break year for this particular team.

TO may be about the same age as Keyshawn but from an athletic point of view he is much, much younger than Key who was clearly showing signs of ageing last year.

Fabini is older than Pettiti but he is far from ancient. Anyhow, age doesn't really matter so much when you are upgrading the performance this much.

Kosier is much younger than Allen.

Who cares how old your kicker is?

In reality, Cowboys made many good moves this offseason.

They got rid of older players whose skills were declining (Campbell, Glover, LA, Keyshawn).

They did not overpay for older players (Fabini's deal was reasonable unlike Rivera's and Fergy's the year before).

They brought in some young, middle tier vet FAs at positions of weakness (Ayodele, Kosier).

Overall, this has clearly been BP and JJ's best offseaon (so long as this whole TO thing works out).

 

[DragonCowboy]

"playmakers they added at wr"

They're hardly playmakers...they won't make the Commander offense as explosive as Spielman thinks...

 

[Rack]

The Cowboys were ok last yr but got crushed a few times towards the end of the season.

We did? We got "Crushed" one time all season. *** is this guy smoking?

 

[AsthmaField]

We did? We got "Crushed" one time all season. *** is this guy smoking?

He's from DC, so it was apparently in a peace pipe, whatever it was he smoked.

Commander fans are just as biased against Dallas as they are biased for Washington. I don't think any team's fans hate another team as much as the Skins fans hate Dallas. It really is hard for them to see things clearly when it comes to the Cowboys.

Remember their reaction when they finally beat us in the second game last season? Owner and coach jumping up and down. The whole team just giddy from finally beating their arch-nemisis Cowboys. Have you ever seen anyone as happy about winning the second game of a season? Me either... and everything about the Cowboys are skewed when it comes to how the Washington fans view them.

We got Crushed in a lot of games, huh? :laugh2:

 

[ghst187]

I think the team to beat at this time is the Wash Commanders. With the addition of .... [/QUOTE]

how many years in a row have we heard that....?

 

[skinsscalper]

how many years in a row have we heard that....?

Every year since stupid bought the team.

SS

 

[TwentyOne]

Even if we had the ******** Hogs they'd still be using the same argument like Bledsoe can't move and that's why Dallas won't be SB bound.....

Bla bla bla. Nothing intelligent here plz delete!

 

[ghettogandhi]

The BIG difference between the Boys and the Skins is COACHING- the skins have great coaches at each level - we only have a great head coach and his strength is not on defense or offense but more of a general whereas the Skins have great offensive coach in Saunders and one of the best defensive coaches in the league in Williams- that will continue to be the difference until we upgrade our coordinators

 

[firehawk350]

Commanders fans kill me.

Let's see... reasons Dallas will be improved this season:

Defensively:

*Marcus Spears will have a year in the NFL under his belt. He was really coming on towards the end of the season and becoming a real problem for offenses.

*Chris Canty will have a year in the NFL under his belt. Continued improvement from him is a given and he was already playing very well.

*Greg Ellis will be a situational pass rusher. He might not like it, but it will make him even more effective in getting to the QB.

*Demarcus Ware will have a year in the NFL under his belt. By the end of last season, you could tell that everything was starting to click for Ware. He was starting to figure it all out. Played the run much better than the first half of the season and was improving his already good pass rush.

*Kevin Burnett, who has the most athletic ability of anyone in the front seven, will be healed and have some more experience. Before he got hurt towards the end of last season, he was starting to see more playing time and was looking good doing it. He's just got so much ability... if he stays healthy, he could be a beast.

*Bradie James will have another year in a 3-4. By the last half of the season, James was playing very well and making the defensive calls. He's always had great physical tools and intelligence... now he's starting to figure things out.

*Jay Ratliff and Thomas "Pepper" Johnson, who both contributed as rookies, will be healthy and have a year of experience.

*Akin Ayodele in place of Shanle/Fowler. Really big upgrade here and personally, I think Ayodele is perfectly suited to playing inside in a 3-4. He'll be a much better player in our 3-4 than he was in Jacksonville's 4-3. He fits it much better.

*(Speculation) Rob Carpenter in place of Scott Fujita. No comparison here. Carpenter (or Lawson or Winbley) is a much better athlete than Fujita and will be a really big upgrade on our defense. With a capable pass rusher at SOLB, Ware will become much more effective because all of the attention (RB and TE chips) won't be paid to him. If it is... Carpenter or Lawson or Wimbley will make them pay dearly.

*Overall, the entire defense will have a year's experience in a 3-4. You know the second year in any scheme always yields much better results than the first. Zimmer will also have another year's experience in a 3-4 scheme.

- The only loss on this side of the ball appears to be Glover... and he was merely an average player in the 3-4. It shouldn't hurt the defense at all.

Even without adding a FS candidate (which we still might do), the defensive side of the ball will be much improved. Even if we didn't add Ayodele and a SOLB, there would be a lot of improvement just because guys like Ware, Spears, Burnett and Canty will be so much better in their second seasons.

Offensively:

*Julius Jones. The third year for RB's are usually good as they have started to figure things out. I think that Parcells tried to tinker with Jones' running style and by the end of the season had figured out that he needs to leave well enough alone. Jones should be a very good back this year.

*Marion Barber and Tyson Thompson will each have a year under their belts and should be even better.

*Year two for Bledsoe back in Parcells system should make for some improvement.

*Year two for Lousaka Polite should make him even better.

*Owens in place of Keyshawn. Huge improvement. A difference maker on offense. Him alone would upgrade the offense significantly.

*Kyle Kosier for Larry Allen. I know some don't see this as an upgrade, but Allen had lost all mobility and simply whiffed on his guy some of the time. A young, aggressive player who can move around good will make for improvement.

*Fabini in place of Pettiti. Big upgrade here and it should make a really big difference in how the offense performs.

*Healthy Adams at LT. All the difference in the world.

*Palmer at offensive coordinator. I know some don't like this move... but I love it. He is a very good offensive coach. Good enough that he was given two chances to be a head coach when he wasn't a very good head coach. Our passing game should take off.

Those things, even without counting anything but our first round draft choice, should make for a really big difference in how the team plays.

I think that year 4 under Parcells will be a very good one... regardless of what Skins fans think.

I'm gonna call BS on a couple of these real quick. First off, Julius Jones IS NOT AN ELITE BACK. Good games against mediocre defenses does not make a good running back. But go on and keep thinking JJ is the franchise's future.
"A year under this dude's belt, a year under that dude's belt" Blah blah blah... So your argument is that the young guys get better, but yet that doesn't apply to Brandon Lloyd??? The ONLY thing he was missing last year was concentration. He is coming into his 3rd year, he's already proved he can make plays. So we should see an improvement there, right? But yet, we added no playmakers??? Tell me what these are then...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gn59E361XB4&search=brandon%20lloyd
I see you say that you got rid of "declining talent" because they got old? But this logic doesn't apply to Bledsoe, TO, Terry Glenn and Adams. Odd enough.
Before you jump on my case, let me just point some things out. The Skins do have someone OLDER then Bledsoe in the pocket. Yet Brunell posted better stats then Brunell, WITH LESS. Brunell didn't have Witten (though I'm a cooley fan by all accounts). Brunell had a better threat in Moss but lacked a #2, or #3 or a #4. And we brought offensive genius Al Saunders aboard. Anyone think this will in any way hurt our offense? The defense has a hole or two, but we also have Gregg Williams, who can lead a team to a #3 ranking without Lavar, so why can't he do so again? So how does the prospects for Dallas look that much better then the prospects for Washington.