HEADLINES

PFR Polls News & Rumors

Poll: Best Free Agent Quarterback?

February 13th, 2015 at 8:58am CST by Luke Adams

As Andrew Brandt of The MMQB.com pointed out yesterday (via Twitter), it may sometimes seem as if teams are overpaying to keep their own quarterbacks, but that’s due in large part to the fact that capable starting QBs rarely reach free agency. This year’s class of free agents is more proof of that.

When I examined 2015’s free agent market for quarterbacks on Monday, I identified Mark Sanchez, Brian Hoyer, Michael Vick, and Jake Locker as a few of the top players available, with longtime backups like Matt Moore and Ryan Mallett also in the mix. While most of those guys may be better suited as No. 2 options, I expect nearly all of them will get a chance to compete for a starting role in 2015, given how many QB-needy teams are out there.

Later in the week, Josh McCown joined this year’s group of FA quarterbacks, having been released by the Buccaneers. Last winter, McCown received the biggest contract for a free agent QB changing teams, signing a two-year, $10MM deal with Tampa Bay. This time around, he once again looks like one of the top options available, despite a disappointing 2014 campaign. Since he was cut early, McCown will also get a chance to sign anywhere before other free-agents-to-be are eligible to speak to other teams.

But if you were running a team and wanted to add the best veteran quarterback on the market, would you make a move for McCown, or would you want to wait for someone else? Who is the top prospective free agent signal-caller for 2015?

Poll: Best Head Coaching Hire Of 2015?

February 3rd, 2015 at 11:56am CST by Luke Adams

As our head coaching search tracker shows, all seven NFL teams that parted ways with their head coaches at season’s end have now hired replacements, with the Falcons formally announcing today that Seahawks defensive coordinator Dan Quinn would take over Mike Smith‘s old job. The Bills, Bears, Broncos, Jets, Raiders, and 49ers all made coaching changes as well.

While Quinn was one of the most highly-regarded assistants in the league, there are a number of other intriguing names among this year’s group of seven new coaches. A pair of head coaches – John Fox and Rex Ryan – who have had success in the past jumped from one team to another, while other top coordinators like Gary Kubiak and Todd Bowles also landed new jobs leading their own teams.

Time will tell which of these seven teams made the best move, but based on what we know right now, which hiring do you like the most?

Poll: Which Team Will Win The Super Bowl?

January 30th, 2015 at 8:55am CST by Luke Adams

For the second consecutive season, the No. 1 seeds from the AFC and the NFC will meet in the Super Bowl, and it seems unlikely that this year’s game will be as one-sided as the Seahawks’ win over Denver a year ago. The Patriots and the Seahawks were strong on both sides of the ball in 2014, and have been on fire for the last three months — since October 19, the two teams have combined for just three losses, and one of those came when the Pats rested their regulars against Buffalo in Week 17.

While they opened as early underdogs in Super Bowl XLIX, the Patriots have settled in as two-point favorites, according to sports betting site Bovada.lv. Given how rarely games are decided by two points or less, the contest is essentially a toss-up, according to Vegas, and is perhaps one of the most evenly matched Super Bowls in recent memory.

So today’s PFR poll question is simple: Who wins the game? Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski, and the Patriots? Or Russell Wilson, Richard Sherman, and the Seahawks?

Poll: Best Potential 2015 Free Agent?

January 27th, 2015 at 11:17am CST by Luke Adams

Six weeks from today, the NFL’s free agent period for 2015 will officially open. By that point, a number of the more notable names on our 2015 free agent list may be off the board, having reached new agreements with their current clubs, or perhaps receiving the franchise or transition tag.

That certainly applies to the players at the very top of teams’ free agent boards for the coming offseason — it’s hard to imagine the Cowboys letting Dez Bryant reach the open market, or the Broncos allowing Demaryius Thomas to test the free agent waters. Still, for now, those players are eligible for unrestricted free agency, and there’s no indication that they’re on the verge of long-term extensions.

Even though players like Bryant and Thomas may not ultimately reach the open market, we can still examine how they’d stack up against the year’s other top free-agents-to-be. In PFR’s most recent free agent power rankings, Dallas Robinson listed those receivers third and fourth respectively, trailing a pair of formidable defenders, in Ndamukong Suh and Justin Houston — Suh is arguably the NFL’s best defensive tackle, while Houston may be the league’s top pass rusher not named J.J. Watt.

The same four players topped the first edition of our FA power rankings as well, and seem to make up the first tier of 2015’s free agent class. Putting aside the fact that they won’t all actually become available, which of these four players would you consider the best free-agent-to-be of 2015?

Obviously, a team stacked on defense may prefer one of the wideouts, while a club heavy on receiving talent would lean toward one of the defenders, but if we assume all else is equal, who do you like best going forward? Suh, Houston, Bryant, or Thomas? After submitting your vote, feel free to weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.

Poll: Best Post-Draft Trade Acquisition

January 24th, 2015 at 8:33pm CST by Ben Levine

There have been a number of NFL trades since the 2014 NFL Draft ended in May, with 13 players and 11 future draft picks switching teams. The Patriots were the most active on the trade market, participating in five deals, while the Buccaneers ultimately made three trades, including a pair with New England.

Let’s quickly remind ourselves of the trades made post-2014 NFL draft…

A couple of the players acquired in these trades had little impact on their new squads. Neither Justin Green or Ben Bass played a snap this season, while T.J. Yates only threw four attempts serving as Matt Ryan‘s backup. Ryan Mallett‘s opportunity as the Texans quarterback only lasted 158 snaps, while Mark Barron Jonathan Casillas, and Akeem Dent primarily served in backup/platoon roles with their new squads.

That leaves six players who played more than 300 snaps following their trade, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required): Mankins, McClain, Ayers, Harvin, Wright and Burley. So, which of those players ended up having the biggest impact on their new squad?

Mankins led that group with 937 snaps, and his 4.8 rating on PFF ranked him as the third-best offensive player on Tampa Bay (however, he only ranked as the 22nd-best guard in the league). The 32-year-old was still very reliable for the Bucs, starting all 16 games.

Meanwhile, the player he was traded for ended up being a red-zone force for the Patriots. Wright finished the season with 26 catches for 259 yards, a far cry from his 54 catch, 571-yard season in 2013. The 24-year-old did set a career-high in touchdowns, though, catching six. Across the division, the Jets were hoping Harvin could provide a spark to their struggling offense. The wideout compiled 29 catches for 350 yards and a touchdown in eight games for New York. The skill player also added 22 rushes for 110 yards.

McClain had a bounce back season in 2014 following his one-year retirement. The former first-round pick made 13 appearances for the Cowboys, finishing with 81 tackles, two interruptions, a forced fumble and a sack. He also ranked eighth in PFF’s list of the top inside linebackers. The other linebacker on that list, Ayers, filled in adequately for the injured Jerod Mayo. Ayers played in nine games for the Patriots, including four starts, compiling 20 tackles and four sacks.

Finally, Burley managed to carve out some playing time in a very deep Seattle secondary. In 13 games, the 24-year-old compiled 25 tackles and an interception, while also earning a positive rating from PFF. His 1.7 rating was actually higher than teammates Byron Maxwell, although he played about half the snaps.

So, focusing on the six players who had played more than 300 snaps, which player acquired via trade had the biggest impact on their new club? Should one of the omitted players have made the list? Let us know in the comments.

Poll: Top Head Coaching Candidate?

January 10th, 2015 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been nearly two weeks since the 2014 regular season ended, but none of the six teams looking for a new head coach have made a hire yet. The slow process can be partially attributed to the fact that several strong head coaching candidates are still alive in the postseason, but there are plenty of viable targets available now.

Of course, many of this year’s noteworthy candidates are talented coordinators who don’t have any previous head coaching experience, so it’s not necessarily easy to identify the top options. Rex Ryan, Mike Shanahan, and Doug Marrone have had varying degrees of success in past head coaching roles, while Dan Quinn (Seahawks), Todd Bowles (Cardinals), and Teryl Austin (Lions) led three of the league’s best defensive units this season. Throw in Adam Gase, whose Broncos offense has ranked in the top three in DVOA for three consecutive seasons, and there are a number of intriguing coaches out there interviewing for multiple job openings.

So what do you think? If you were running an NFL franchise and tasked with hiring a new head coach, which of these candidates would you make your top priority? We’ve limited our poll to the eight aforementioned names, but feel free to weigh in below in the comments section if you feel strongly about a coach not listed here.

Poll: Where Will Adam Gase Land?

January 1st, 2015 at 10:35pm CST by Rory Parks

We learned earlier tonight that the Bills requested an interview with Broncos offensive coordinator Adam Gase for their surprisingly vacant head coach position. Gase, who also has interviews scheduled with the 49ers, Falcons, and Bears, is quickly establishing himself as perhaps the most sought-after head coaching candidate in the NFL, and the interest in his services is understandable. In each of his two seasons as Denver’s offensive coordinator, Gase has guided the Broncos’ prolific offense to top-three finishes in Pro Football Outsider’s Defense-adjusted Value Over Average metric, and top-four finishes in total points scored (the Broncos were the top-ranked team in both categories in 2013).

Of course, having Peyton Manning and a wide array of elite playmakers at one’s disposal will bolster the resume of any offensive coordinator, but that has not slowed the heavy pursuit of Gase. Given the amount of interest in the 36-year-old, it appears as though head coach John Fox will be replacing his top offensive assistant for the second time in two years, having lost Mike McCoy to division rival San Diego in 2013.

Each member of Gase’s ever-growing list of suitors would present a unique challenge for him, although the San Francisco and Atlanta positions would at least offer the comfort of having a settled quarterback situation, unlike the uncertainty that Buffalo and Chicago face under center. However, no team with a head coaching vacancy offers a quarterback with Manning’s pedigree or the complement of weapons that Denver has boasted over the past several seasons, which will allow Gase the opportunity to prove that he is the offensive architect that much of the league apparently believes him to be. Indeed, Gase was rumored to be the top candidate for the Browns‘ head coaching job last year, before Cleveland ultimately hired Mike Pettine. At the time, however, the Broncos were in the middle of Super Bowl preparations, which allowed Gase to artfully sidestep an undesirable landing spot in Cleveland.

This year, though, figures to see Gase at the helm of his own club, so without knowing which team or teams will ultimately offer him a head coaching position, let’s take a guess at where he might find himself in 2015:

Poll: What Could 49ers Get For Harbaugh?

December 25th, 2014 at 5:00pm CST by Ben Levine

We’ve seen plenty of reports that suggest that 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is on his way out the door. Of course, the 51-year-old is still under contract, but it seems like the organization would be happiest trading Harbaugh for some future assets. The 49ers would certainly get something useful for the former AP Coach of the Year, but what could they reasonably expect to get in return?

Daniel Brown of InsideBayArea.com looked back at some of the previous coach trades in NFL history, and the compensation has hardly been consistent. Since 1997, six coaches have been traded for a variety of different picks:

  • Herm Edwards; Jets received a fourth-round pick from Chiefs
  • Jon Gruden; Raiders received two first-rounders, two-second rounders, and $8MM from Buccaneers
  • Dick Vermeil; Rams received a second-round pick, third-round pick, and $500K from Chiefs
  • Marty Schottenheimer; Chiefs received two third-rounders from Washington
  • Bill Belichick; Jets received a first-round pick and opportunity to swap picks from Patriots
  • Bill Parcells; Patriots received first-rounder, second-rounder and fourth-rounder from Jets

There appears to be three tiers of compensation for these trades: multiple first-rounders, a first-rounder and mid-round picks, and a collection of mid-round picks. The various trade packages depended on much more than the coach’s resume, but it’s interesting to compare Harbaugh’s credentials to those before him.

Half of the coaches were given away for middle-round picks, including Schottenheimer, who had compiled a .635 winning percentage in Kansas City, and Vermeil, who had won a Super Bowl only two years prior. Parcells had previously won a pair of championships when he was traded for a first-round pick, but Belichick had only put together a 36-44 when he was swapped for a first-rounder.

The real king’s ransom was the package that the Raiders received from the Buccaneers, which got them a pair of first-rounders and a pair of second-rounders. At the time, Gruden had a 38-26 record and two playoff appearances. Meanwhile, Harbaugh has a 43-19-1 regular season record, and he’s already coached his team to a Super Bowl and two NFC Championship appearances.

There’s a chance that the 49ers could end up with no compensation for their head coach. The team could ultimately decide to relieve Harbaugh of his duties, and such a move would likely precede the head coach moving to the NCAA. There’s also a chance that the two sides could improve their relationship and Harbaugh decides to stick around.

What do you think the 49ers could expect to get back for Harbaugh? Vote in the poll below, and feel free to discuss potential packages in the comment section.

Poll: Which Team Will Win NFC South?

December 20th, 2014 at 6:23pm CST by Luke Adams

The 2014 NFL schedule saw the NFC South plays its inter-conference games against the four AFC North teams, and the three clubs still in the hunt for the NFC South crown didn’t fare so well in those games against the AFC — the Falcons, Saints, and Panthers have combined to go 1-9-1 against the Bengals, Ravens, Steelers, and Browns.

Nonetheless, at least one of those AFC North teams – and perhaps more than one – will be left out of the postseason, and at least one team from the NFC South will host a playoff game. The 6-8 Saints, 5-8-1 Panthers, and 5-9 Falcons continue to vie for a division that could end up being won with just seven – or even six – victories.

With two weeks left in the season, the third-place Falcons are the key team in the race. Atlanta, already 4-0 in divisional games, plays both the Saints and the Panthers to finish the regular season, and if the Falcons win both contests, they’ll win the NFC South with a 7-9 record. Still, that won’t be easy — the Saints haven’t been their usual dominant selves in the Superdome this season, but they still enter tomorrow’s game as solid favorites over Atlanta, and then would just have to defeat the South’s last-place team (Tampa Bay) in Week 17 to clinch the division. In fact, a Week 16 win could guarantee New Orleans a division title if the Panthers don’t keep pace with a victory of their own against the Browns.

The Saints look like the current frontrunners, but the Falcons control their fate, and the Panthers’ tie means they could finish a half-game ahead of their division rivals and not have to worry about tiebreaker scenarios. What do you think? Which of these teams wins the South and hosts a first-round playoff game?

Poll: Which NFC Contender Will Miss Playoffs?

December 5th, 2014 at 3:33pm CST by Luke Adams

Six teams in the NFC so far this season have won at least two-thirds of their games, and head into Week 14 with records of 8-4 or better. Besides the 7-5 Niners, every other team in the conference is 5-7 or worse, suggesting that the difference between the eventual playoff teams and the rest of the NFC has been fairly well established.

However, the postseason qualifiers won’t be quite so cut-and-dried, since the dismal NFC South must send at least one of its current sub-.500 teams to the playoffs. That means that when the regular season ends, one of those top six teams in the conference will be left on the outside looking in.

Even outside of the South, where the Falcons and Saints are tied at 5-7, division races across the board remain too close to call — the 9-3 Eagles are edging the 9-4 Cowboys, the 9-3 Packers are a game ahead of the 8-4 Lions, and the 9-3 Cardinals are in danger of losing their division lead to the surging 8-4 Seahawks. With Eagles/Seahawks, Eagles/Cowboys, Seahawks/Cardinals, and Packers/Lions contests still on the schedule, the last few weeks of the season will be very interesting. Five non-South playoff spots are up for grabs and six legit contenders are in the mix (seven, if you count the 49ers).

What do you think? Will the Cowboys have their usual December swoon and miss out on a postseason berth? Will the Cardinals’ losing streak continue? Will the Lions, despite upcoming home games against the Bucs and Vikings, be the team that misses out? Or will one of the other clubs currently occupying a playoff spot drop out? Cast your vote below, and feel free to weigh in with your comments as well.

Load More Posts