Cap to be raised

[JDM]

They could also say that if a TE can't block sufficient , then lining up at WR sometimes is a sign of lack at his natural position....He gets away with playing the WR because, defenders know he ain't gonna blow past noone and the only way he succeeds is if someone misses their assignment....Not like he is Magatron or something....He's a TE, PERIOD !!

Do you understand football?


He plays WR because he is good at it. He'd be a top 20 WR in the league if you count him as such. Considering that he almost never blocks and the majority of his snaps must be split out, he should count as a WR.

 

[Oldschool739]

Do you understand football?


He plays WR because he is good at it. He'd be a top 20 WR in the league if you count him as such. Considering that he almost never blocks and the majority of his snaps must be split out, he should count as a WR.

Yea, pretty well, I've been watching it probably longer than you've been alive....But I have no problem with you having your own opinion.....Just don't try to lay that silly crap on me, it's about football, production and money...
If a player cannot play multiple positions in today's NFL, then they are not up to par.....
He's a whole lot better TE than he is a WR, why don't you show us a top 20 WR chart with him on it.....:rollseyes:

 

[JDM]

He can't block. His whole role is catching passes, and he does most of it split out, covered by a corner. He leads his team in both receptions and yards, and is second on his team in yards per catch. I don't see how you consider him anything else just because he occasionally lines up on the line of scrimmage. His primary role is very clearly playing WR.

 

[Midnightangel]

They could also say that if a TE can't block sufficient , then lining up at WR sometimes is a sign of lack at his natural position....He gets away with playing the WR because, defenders know he ain't gonna blow past noone and the only way he succeeds is if someone misses their assignment....Not like he is Magatron or something....He's a TE, PERIOD !!

Not all TE's block, though. Some are blocking TE's and some are recieving TE's. You can't lump all TE's in together like that.

I could make the argument that anyone that has over 1,000 yards recieving is a WR. Graham had 1,200, making him the Saints leading reciever. He had over 300 more yards than the next closest reciver on the Saints.

He even beat out Larry Fitzgerald, Wes Welker and Anquon Boldin.

NFL Stats: by Player Category

He averaged 14 yards per catch and had 16 TD's. Does that sound like a TE to you?

 

[JDM]

The difference between graham and a guy like Gronk is that Gronk lines up at tight end and plays tight end the majority of the time. Graham plays receiver.

Just the stats don't make him a wide receiver. How he got them does.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

Should be interesting to see how the Graham argument shakes outs.

 

[ONEPANTHERSFAN]

This should help the Panthers who have 21 free agents and with the new cap should be between 19 and 20 million under. The real question is what to do with Greg Hardy. Franchising will cost around 12 million. I'm hoping they can get something long term worked out and keep his cap number around 10 million. They should then be able to make reasonable offers to a few other key players like Jordan Gross. Then just be smart in the draft and do what they did last year in FA, work the 2nd tier and rent some good role players.

 

[Money]

Can graham even block? He's a WR.

But yet he's made two pro bowl teams and been voted an all-pro at TE. Should those honors be stripped away from him?

 

[cdumler7]

This should help the Panthers who have 21 free agents and with the new cap should be between 19 and 20 million under. The real question is what to do with Greg Hardy. Franchising will cost around 12 million. I'm hoping they can get something long term worked out and keep his cap number around 10 million. They should then be able to make reasonable offers to a few other key players like Jordan Gross. Then just be smart in the draft and do what they did last year in FA, work the 2nd tier and rent some good role players.

I think it helps pretty much every team in some way. Those tight against the cap and needing to sign some of their young stars it helps them a bit to have a little more room to make deals. Teams over the cap obviously this lessens the burden of having to cut players just to get under the cap. Those extremely under the cap it just gives them that much more room to fill in their roster with talent.

Biggest question I have though is because of the extra money does this mean prices of players gets driven up. Agents know there is more money to spend so they might start higher than they would have in contract talks. Teams might be a little more relaxed knowing they have a bit more to spend. So I wonder if this is somewhat like inflation in prices go up as salary goes up.

 

[Davis_Mike]

In my opinion, Graham should be tagged as a TE.

The TE position has been redefined over the last 5 years or so. No longer do they mainly just lineup at the line of scrimmage. More & more teams are lining their TE(s) in the slot more frequently than ever before. On this basis alone, I don't think Graham should be tagged as a WR. He put up great numbers. If he is going to use where he lines up as part of the reason why he should be tagged as a WR, then I think who covers him on defense should factor in on his tag designation.

As for the "extra" bump in the cap, I think this will help everyone, teams & players. But I don't think it will help players as much as some believe it will. We are in a new era of cap awareness. Only a few teams now spend with reckless abandon anymore. Salaries are still in the process of being reset do to the the new CBA. We will still see more than a few good players accepting 1 or 2 year "prove it" deals like last season.

 

[SonnyCID]

In my opinion, Graham should be tagged as a TE.

The TE position has been redefined over the last 5 years or so. No longer do they mainly just lineup at the line of scrimmage. More & more teams are lining their TE(s) in the slot more frequently than ever before. On this basis alone, I don't think Graham should be tagged as a WR. He put up great numbers. If he is going to use where he lines up as part of the reason why he should be tagged as a WR, then I think who covers him on defense should factor in on his tag designation.

Good point. If they line him up out wide against man coverage, its probably still a LB following him out there.

 

[JDM]

I think he faces corners a good bit too. The team doesn't control who covers him so it isn't relevant. They treat him like a WR therefore they should pay him like one.

 

[SonnyCID]

I think he faces corners a good bit too. The team doesn't control who covers him so it isn't relevant. They treat him like a WR therefore they should pay him like one.

In man defenses, the defenders are usually assigned by matchup, not by player location. When Brees gets to the line and recognizes man defense, he can move Graham outside and the guy manned up on him will follow him.

 

[Davis_Mike]

I'm saying that Graham is listed as a TE but plays more like a WR so maybe the CBA need to have a rule for guys like him...TE's that play like a WR, should be tagged like a WR, not a TE.

I'm not saying combine the two positions, just that if you're going to use your TE the way the Saints are using Graham, then you should have to tag him as a WR, not a TE.

And that, to accomplish that, the CBA may need a new clause or provision.

I don't agree with this at all. The TE position is ever changing. Just because he lines up in the slot & has the ball thrown to him a lot, does not make him a WR. He is still a TE. He is mainly being covered safeties & linebackers. Now if he was constantly being covered by the opponent's #1 cornerback, then I might agree with his stance on being tagged as WR.

 

[Money]

I think he faces corners a good bit too. The team doesn't control who covers him so it isn't relevant. They treat him like a WR therefore they should pay him like one.

If he's treated like a WR, who should the league replace him with on the 2013 All-Pro team?

 

[cdumler7]

If he's treated like a WR, who should the league replace him with on the 2013 All-Pro team?

Well my guess is Vernon Davis would move up on the TE list while Graham would replace either Gordon or Johnson on the receiver list and move one of them down to 2nd team.

 

[JDM]

In man defenses, the defenders are usually assigned by matchup, not by player location. When Brees gets to the line and recognizes man defense, he can move Graham outside and the guy manned up on him will follow him.

That's assuming he is covered by a linebacker in the first place. This isn't always the case, but if a team decided to put a linebacker on your receiver, that makes him a tight end now?

I think that when he protests he should and will win. The position he plays the most is WR, and his market value is clearly much closer to a WR's as well (although this second part isn't technically relevant, it's still likely to strengthen his case).

 

[Midnightangel]

I don't agree with this at all. The TE position is ever changing. Just because he lines up in the slot & has the ball thrown to him a lot, does not make him a WR. He is still a TE. He is mainly being covered safeties & linebackers. Now if he was constantly being covered by the opponent's #1 cornerback, then I might agree with his stance on being tagged as WR.

And it's cool that you disagree.

I'm just saying that if you're going to use the man as a WR, and if you go to tag the guy, he should get WR money.

 

[Money]

Well my guess is Vernon Davis would move up on the TE list while Graham would replace either Gordon or Johnson on the receiver list and move one of them down to 2nd team.

Huh??? Jimmy Graham is 13th in receptions and 15th in yards. Not exactly All-Pro material.

 

[Davis_Mike]

And it's cool that you disagree.

I'm just saying that if you're going to use the man as a WR, and if you go to tag the guy, he should get WR money.

They aren't using him as a WR, they are using him as a TE in the slot.