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Author: Jon Kuzma

You’re asking yourself if the Dolphins can afford all of these players and the answer is yes. It would take some some cuts but Miami could clear enough cap space to pay Nick Foles, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell $16M dollars apiece. The first step is releasing Ryan Tannehill, Robert Quinn, Andre Branch, and DaVante Parker in order to free up some funds. Obviously losing those players will hurt to some degree particularly on the defensive line. Although the guys that the Dolphins are getting in return would give their organization a chance to to really make a splash. The hard sell will be getting everyone to play for $16M but Tom Brady has an annual salary of $15M per year. So if Foles, Brown, and Bell want to compete that’s what they’ll have to sign on for but you have to believe they would. Forming a super team will be compelling to everyone and remember Brown grew up in South Florida and Bell currently lives there. So Miami should call up the Pittsburgh Steelers and offer a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th round pick in this draft for the 30 year old Brown. And then ink Foles and Bell in free agency. Look this is an all in move but it’s definitely going to give their roster a boost. Nothing else has worked and it’s time that Chris Grier and the front office takes some bold risks. The good news about all of these acquisitions is the Dolphins would still have a 1st round pick in 2019 and then they would have all their picks next year. Ultimately they’d have a 3 or 4 year window to at least make run at a AFC East title. We know one thing and that’s how dynamic that trio of offensive players can be. It’ll also raise their profiles a little bit too.

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If Miami landed Nick Foles, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell it would be a dream come true.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

This shouldn’t be about anything but football. Whether you’re for or against kneeling during the National Anthem it doesn’t matter Colin Kaepernick should join the AAF or XFL and prove to the world how much of an impact he can make on the field. There’s no doubt the NFL has unfairly destroyed Kaepernick’s career and it’s obvious because there’s so many worse quarterbacks in the league. Which makes this an opportunity of a lifetime for Kapernick because this is his shining moment. He can win his collusion case against the NFL in the court of public opinion by lighting up one of these upstart organizations. Can you imagine how much the former San Francisco 49er would be hailed if he was able to do that? Really it shouldn’t be that hard considering Kaepernick threw for 16 touchdowns and 4 interceptions in his last season (2016). Obviously there will be a little bit of rust but everything should improve over time. Think about all of the players who’ve been banned from the NFL who never had another option on the table. Yea the CFL has always been around but they limit the amount of American players on their team’s rosters. It’s not like it’s just one alternate league either there’s literally going to be more football than ever. Kaepernick will have to find a place to fit in and that should probably be in the Alliance of American Football because they’re hitting the field this year. If Kaepernick did go that route he’d have to play for the Arizona Hotshots because that’s the affiliate of the University of Nevada (Kaepernick’s college). So you can predict that’s where he’ll wind up if Colin Kaepernick does choose to give it a chance. Right now Trevor Knight is expected to be the Hotshots starting quarterback so that’s who Kaepernick has to beat out. It doesn’t get any more simple than that he just has to take what’s rightfully his.

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It’s time Colin Kaepernick steps up and proves he can be an effective quarterback in the AAF or XFL.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

J.J Watt has taken a beating over the course of 8 NFL seasons. During that span of time the 3x Defensive Player of the Year has dislocated his elbow, broke his hand, tore his abdominal muscles, herniated a disc in his back, and broke his left leg. Yet despite all of that Watt battled back in 2018 and was just shy of winning the Comeback Player of the Year award. Ultimately that honor was given to Andrew Luck but you better believe that Watt’s 16 sacks deserves a ton of recognition. For him to go out there and prove not only that he could play but also that he can dominate the sport like he has done in the past is obviously huge. A lot of people were ready to write J.J Watt off but clearly he wasn’t having any of that. With Jadeveon Clowney possibly leaving in free agency the Texans are expecting Watt to maintain this high level of production. Watt really has to earn his paycheck every single year because if he slips up then Houston might let him go. That’s because Watt’s contract has 3 years and $46M dollars left on it. There’s also minimal dead cap (only $2M left) so Houston could cut Watt and be completely off the hook as far as the salary cap goes. Obviously that’s a lot of leverage for the team and it might actually be a good thing for J.J Watt motivation wise. Watt’s motto has always been “success is earned every single day” and he’s essentially playing for his spot on the roster. Yea he could go somewhere else but this is the franchise that drafted him and that has to mean something. When you also consider that he’s established some strong roots in Texas it makes sense that he’d want to stay there. Therefore you can almost guarantee that Watt will keep his foot on the gas for at least the next three years.

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Battling back: J.J Watt bounced back from a two year stretch that most would’ve caused most athletes to retire.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

Every off-season tough decisions have to be made and sometimes that means letting a very good player go. Especially if that individual is making a lot of money and when it comes to the Washington Redskins’ roster Josh Norman is on the chopping block. Norman is slated to make $30M over the next two seasons but the team can cut him and only take on $9M dollars in dead cap. With Alex Smith’s contract completely throwing the Redskins salary cap out of whack it makes sense to release Norman and save $21M. Those are funds that could go a long way in improving the roster but losing a good cornerback is definitely going to hurt the secondary. Norman actually played really well after struggling in 2017. He picked off 3 passes and did a great job of covering some of the top receivers in the NFL. So if Washington does give him the pink slip it’s not because he doesn’t have it anymore. It’s actually the complete opposite and Norman improved his stock quite a bit. Which almost guarantees that someone will end up signing the 31 year old (Norman) if he does become a free agent. Truthfully going to a more competitive team could be the best thing that happens to Norman. The Chiefs, Texans, and Colts are a few of the possibilities and there’s no denying that adding a defender of that caliber will make their roster better. For someone like Kansas City that can be the difference between getting over the hump or not. Where ever Norman ends up going it feels like he has at least a couple more good seasons in him. It would be nice to see the veteran defensive back in the postseason competing for a championship. What’s a better way to measure his talent than going against the best?

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Josh Norman’s contract presents some salary cap problems. Which means the Redskins could release him.

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Sport Author: Jon Kuzma

It’s amazing how many people are gunning for Aaron Rodgers now that the Packers are coming off back-to-back losing seasons. Several of Rodgers’ former teammates have ripped Green Bay’s franchise quarterback for being “arrogant and self-centered.” While everyone is entitled to their own opinion one thing that is suspicious is the timing of everything. Nobody had anything bad to say about Rodgers when he was leading this team to the playoffs or the Super Bowl. Not only that but the front office hasn’t done a good enough job of getting Rodgers the help he deserves. All of these analysts want to act like the former first round round pick (Rodgers) is playing bad but his stats tell a completely different story. When has 25 touchdowns and 2 interceptions ever been underperforming? Clearly Rodgers has done an exceptional job at protecting the football and if anyone else was under center you’d see how much that meant to this ball club. If Green Bay can only win 6 games with those numbers what would happen if they had a quarterback who throws 13 or 14 interceptions a year? You can begin to see how quickly things would unravel if this guy wasn’t up there in Wisconsin. It’s just a shame that some individuals waited for the perfect moment to attack someone that was supposed to be an ally to them. Rodgers shouldn’t be all happy go lucky because he’s carrying an organization that is somewhat holding him down. He could’ve signed with any team in the NFL but he chose to stay loyal and come back to the place where it all began. So it’s frustrating to see everyone pile it on Aaron Rodgers because if they had a problem it should of been dealt with directly. Instead all of these anonymous Packers (and Jermichael Finley) went the sleazy route and it’s a poor reflection of them more so than Rodgers.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

The Baltimore Ravens had a good season and that’s because they made the playoffs. Lamar Jackson ignited Baltimore’s offense and everything was trending upward. However now the Ravens have some tough decisions to make with Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith. Those were two of John Harbaugh’s main pass rushers and both guys are heading towards free agency. It’s still possible that one or even both of those players could be re-signed. Baltimore also has the option to franchise tag one of them as well but the truth is someone needs to come back in order to keep this organization in the hunt. That should probably be Smith because he’s much younger than Suggs. At 27 years old he’s got a lot more left in the tank than the 37 year old future Hall of Famer (Suggs). The only benefit of going with Suggs is the Ravens could probably sign him to a cheap contract. Although the emergence of Patrick Onwuasor and Matt Judon give the team’s front office even more incentive to target Smith. With those three guys and a strong year from Jackson and the offense they’d should be very close to making the playoffs again next season. If both Suggs and Smith leave though then there could be trouble on the horizon. Obviously that’s not a risk that Baltimore wants to take because everything is finally coming together. This franchise just won the AFC North and there’s a lot of positive energy swirling around their ball club. You can’t jeopardize that by rolling the dice and hoping everything will pan out without Suggs and Smith. That defense is what Harbaugh hangs his hat on and it’s essentially their ace in the hole. It might not be bad idea to bring them both back and be safe rather than sorry.

Charity of the day: Keep America Beautiful

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Baltimore could lose their playoff spot if Terrell Suggs and Za’Darius Smith both leave in free agency.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

With most of Von Miller’s dead cap in the rear-view mirror the Denver Broncos could consider trading Miller in order to save $31M over the course of the 2020 and 2021 seasons. Obviously the last thing this team wants to do is lose out on one of the best pass rushers in the entire NFL. That could cause the Broncos to regress into a bottom tier franchise but the same thing can happen if they end up retaining Miller. There would be no money to improve the other positions on their roster with that mega contract on the books. Not only that but it seems like there’s tension between John Elway and Miller so that could also play a role in whether or not the future Hall of Famer stays or goes? If anything does end up happening it will probably come in the form of a trade so Denver can get something in return. Now this is where things get tricky because everything becomes about timing. The Broncos don’t want to hold on for too long because Miller is getting older and he could have a bad year (which would decrease his value). At the same time though they’re already on the hook for his 2019 salary and if they’re going to pay for Miller they mine as well keep him on the team for at least one more season. Finally you have to analyze the psychology behind Elway and you know he’ll send Miller somewhere decent as a token of his appreciation for winning Super Bowl 50 (It would also make Elway look like a class act). The last thing Elway wants to do is trade Miller to an AFC team and go against him for the next half a decade. Meaning Miller’s preferred destination (Dallas Cowboys) is on the table if they chose not to re-sign Demarcus Lawrence and made the trade happen down the line. The Rams could also be in play if they decided to let Ndamukong Suh walk. Then there’s a team like the Seattle Seahawks who could be in the market for another pass rusher especially if they lose Frank Clark. Really all options are on the table but this is the direction things are heading. Broncos fans better enjoy this last season of watching Miller because time is winding down.

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Von Miller’s time in Denver could be winding down and it’s because the Broncos’ salary cap situation will spiral out of control if they keep him

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Author: Jon Kuzma

Things are going to be completely different in Cincinnati after Marvin Lewis was let go this off-season. Lewis had been with the team since 2003 and it’s hard to imagine the Bengals without him roaming the sidelines. However this is an opportunity for Cincinnati to turn the page on the last 16 years and get a fresh new start in terms of leadership. That’s where former Rams quarterback coach Zac Taylor comes into the picture. Taylor was actually a pretty good quarterback at the University of Nebraska and he also spent time with the Miami Dolphins’ staff. This guy is often praised for improving Ryan Tannehill and Jared Goff so he hangs his hat on stellar QB play. There’s even been some rumors that Taylor might try to acquire Tannehill and trade away Andy Dalton. Obviously shaking things up will probably be a good thing for this organization because their best days are in the rear-view mirror. By bringing in a whole new cast of players it can help change the nucleus and give the Bengals a new identity. The idea is they’ll be scoring more points than they have in the past and Taylor also has to improve the team’s discipline. Lewis struggled to reel in Vontaze Burfict and Adam Jones when he was on their roster. Those problems have to be fixed and then it’ll be up to the offensive guru (Taylor) to work his magic. A.J Green and Tyler Boyd are good enough receivers to execute a legitimate passing attack. Joe Mixon is a good running back too so there’s some pieces there. It’s all about figuring what they’re going to do at quarterback and adding couple of free agents or draft picks on the offensive line. This isn’t a barren wasteland though the Bengals can be rehabbed into a contender. Zac Taylor just has to make the right tweaks and build up a positive culture.

Charity of the day: Partnership for a Healthier America

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With Zac Taylor leading the Cincinnati Bengals the biggest changes should come on offense.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

The New England Patriots are Super Bowl champions and Brian Flores was the defensive coordinator of that team. The Patriots shutout the high flying Los Angeles Rams’ offense and that’s promising if you’re Miami. The question is how much of that was Bill Belichick and did Flores have a significant contribution? You have to believe just being on that staff gives Flores an advantage over a lot of other coaches because he’s learning how to prepare from the best ever (Belichick). But what’s concerning is even though Belichick’s a head coach he’s a defensive minded guy and he had the final say on the Patriots’ game plan. Which means Flores needs to find his own identity with the Dolphins. He can take some things with him from the Patriots but eventually he’ll have to come to his own. What we do know is he’s someone who’s also involved on the defensive side of things and that’s where his expertise lie. So you can almost expect the Dolphins to run a system that’s very similar to what New England has. Based on everything we know that will be probably be a 3-4 scheme. When you look at the talent that they have on Miami’s roster they’ll definitely have to overhaul things. Cameron Wake is a free agent and that’s the best 3-4 outside linebacker they had. Making it clear that Flores needs to find an elite pass rusher if he wants to compete in the AFC East. Trey Flowers will probably hit the open market and that would be a good acquisition. If Flores could also bring aboard Clay Matthews too then he’d at least have the personnel to implement his defense. The other option would be drafting someone like Montez Sweat out of Mississippi State. You still would have to add either Flowers or Matthews to play opposite of Sweat but if you wanted go cheap then Sweat and Matthews would be the best course of action. With those weapons on the field Flores would have legitimate shot at winning game. If he can combine that with a very disciplined and detail orientated philosophy things just might work out in Dade County.

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The Miami Dolphins are trying to follow the Patriot way and that why they hired Brian Flores.

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Author: Jon Kuzma

The key to beating the Los Angeles Rams is taking away their running game. Sean McVay loves to call playaction passes and bootlegs but those designs only work if Todd Gurley and C.J Anderson are establishing a presence on the ground. Unfortunately that wasn’t the case for the Rams and you better believe Bill Belichick knew exactly what he was doing. By making Los Angeles one dimensional he already gave New England the upper hand in what would go on to be an underwhelming Super Bowl. Belichick didn’t stop there either and the next step was limiting Jared Goff. New England did that by generating a disruptive pass rush and Goff was sacked 4 times before the night was over. By accomplishing those two primary objectives the Patriots were able to rattle one of the best offenses in the league. McVay was being hailed as a once in a generation offensive innovator but the gap between Belichick and the 33 year old coach is pretty wide. Experience is key and we saw just how important it can be when you get into a clash of the titans match-up. There was one more thing that has to be mentioned about the Super Bowl champs and that’s what they did in the secondary. Stephon Gilmore was excellent and his interception late in the game was a pivotal moment in the victory. Gilmore wasn’t the only one who stepped up though. Jason McCourty had a touchdown saving pass break up against Brandin Cooks that was clutch. Cornerback Jonathan Jones also led the team in tackles (8 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 TFL) so it was an all-around effort and the Patriots were good at all three levels defensively. This was a truly remarkable performance and only Belichick could’ve kept such a high octane team in check.

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Bill Belichick and Sean McVay coach the opposite sides of the ball but it was obvious Belichick was in complete control during Super Bowl LIII.