When it came to re-signing their own players before the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement, few teams were as busy last month as the Oakland Raiders.
Oakland re-signed Richard Seymour to a two-year, $30 million contract, cornerback Stanford Routt to a three-year, $31.5 million contract, used the exclusive franchise tag on linebacker Kamerion Wimbley, and re-signed defensive tackle John Henderson and running back Rock Cartwright.
Lost in the shuffle was that the Raiders had also re-signed running back Michael Bennett to a one-year deal worth $890,000, and guard Daniel Loper, who inked a two-year deal worth $4.2 million.
According to a league source, Seymour's entire contract is potentially guaranteed.
Seymour's $15 million base salary this season is fully guaranteed, as is the $7.5 million roster bonus due on the 5th day of the 2012 league year. Seymour's $7.5 million base salary in 2012 is guaranteed for injury at the time of the signing, but will become fully guaranteed if he's on the roster five days after the 2012 waiver period begins.
Routt's contract contains $20 million in guarantees, including his 2011 ($10M) and $2012 ($5M) base salaries, and a $5 million roster bonus due in 2012. Routt's $11.5 million base salary in 2013 is not guaranteed.
Seymour and Routt's 2012 roster bonuses are treated like signing bonuses, and are prorated over the lives of both contracts.
Henderson's two-year, $8 million extension included a $1.5 million signing bonus, with $1.5 million of his $4 million base salary guaranteed for s
Showing posts with label technic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technic. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Fantasy Football 101: Expectations and Providers
You have to worry about it with car insurance, medical insurance, customer service, banks, cell phone providers, internet providers...If you are using a service, you will have and should have some expectations. Everyone wants something different, which is why so many different companies exist in the world today, and your Fantasy Football experience is no different. You have an idea of what you want your league to look like and how you want to run it, and you have an idea of who you want in it....But what should the provider do for you? Let's take a look.
First off, I am not going to do a "this is the best provider" article. I had some requests to compare providers to help find the best fantasy sites, but the important thing is to remember everyone has different preferences, and mine might not be yours. Instead I am going to try to identify all of the things I like to see from a provider, that way you know what to look for.
The Must Have Stuff: When you are looking to join or create a fantasy football league, you have some expectations, especially after reading the fine articles that came before this one. You have an idea of what scoring system you want to use, what roster set up you want, whether you want keepers or not, and a multitude of other things...Its important to make sure a provider has them.
Scoring Systems: Some smaller fantasy football sites do not let you manipulate scoring systems, but they are rare. All of the big ones (ESPN, CBS, NFL, FOX, etc.) let you change scoring settings. The question here is, do they let you change them in all the ways you want? Some good questions to ask/research (if you care): Can we use decimal scoring? Can we add Points Per Reception? Can we add milestone bonuses (for 100 yard games, as an example)? Can we use negative scoring? Can we reward return yards/scores?
Rosters: Can we divide special teams and defense into separate units? Can we use Individual Defensive Players? What options do we have for Flex Positions? This last question is big. Some have a RB/WR and a WR/TE option. Some have a WR/RB/TE option, but not all. Some have an Offensive Utility Player option, which may include QBs as well. When it comes to IDP, this can mean the difference between DE & DT or just D-Line player in general. Some let you add silly stuff, like Punters and Head Coaches. Make sure you know what you want and then make sure a provider can do it for you.
Keepers: Does the provider allow keepers? Is the amount unlimited? Can you program rules or do you have to manually make sure no one is in violation (if you have a no-more-than-1 QB keeper rule, but 3 total keepers, for example. Will the provider stop them from keeping 3 QBs, or do you have to review it as the League Manager?)
Drafting: Some providers don't offer Auction Drafts yet. That only matters if you want one, but its good to know. Some have Auction drafts but do NOT have the supplemental salary cap rules for managing the roster. Some won't let you force teams to "pay" for their keepers. A good number of providers don't let you do "Straight line" drafts, which really gets my goat. A snake draft isn't always the answer.
Status Updates: All providers have status updates to let you know when players are Injured, put on IR, suspended, cut, or traded. Some can email you or text you if you want. The big thing here is speed. There are a number of service providers that are hours behind, but some are days behind, and in our modern era of communication, it is unacceptable that I may have to go to a 3rd party site to find out if my player is in or out for a game. If you are a casual player and look and your roster looks good 20 minutes before kickoff, it will kill you to find out later 3 guys were out. Game-time decision players are announced an hour prior, and your provider should be paying attention. On top of this, some providers are good at it, but neglect special roster players - such as IDP updates. Just because they have real time Offensive player updates, doesn't mean they give the same care and attention to IDP.
The Bells & Whistles
Scoring Updates: In this day and age, there is no reason to work with a provider that does not have up to the minute scoring updates. Some even have embedded highlight film or watch it live scoring replays. I don't watch my fantasy game, but I do check it during commercials, so all I care about is up to date scoring.
Analytical Tools: Most sites are catching up here. The ability to do side by side trend and stat comparisons, compare how position groups do against certain teams, get realistic expectations in scoring predictions can be a great help whether you are casual and don't have time to do it yourself or are hardcore and want a good baseline of information to start with. Most have some kind of "draft kit" to help prepare you.
Draft Prep Tools: Being able to pre-rank in case you miss a draft and it auto-drafts on you, being able to prioritize positions or individual players by round, those are nice. What I really like is a chart that shows me what everyone has drafted, more by position than the specific players, so I can predict whether or not the guy in front of me is thinking QB or RB. It makes me feel better anyway.
Trophies: Electronic trophies are a nice touch, and some sites let you set them for anything and everything measurable, both good and bad. Lowest scoring game of the season? Have a trophy added to your profile that advertises how bad you are. Some let you add point values to these so you can do end of year awards based on the team with the highest trophy score...Its a fun side project.
Embedded Financial Trackers: This helps keep money leagues straight. This can help avoid "lost" money and hurt feelings when someone thinks they paid and you think they didn't, only to find the check later.
"Other" stuff: There are millions of bells and whistles. Fantasy articles, fantasy experts, automatic "best lineup" engines that recommend line ups for you, calendars, message boards, alerts, "scout teams", Pick 'em games....You name it, it exists.
The bottom line is this: Make sure your site is going to give you ALL of the things you need to have the league you want (Roster, Scoring System, Draft Style, Keeper set up) and that it is up to date and accurate enough to support you without you having to do a lot of extra work (live scoring updates, live player status updates). Everything after that is icing on the cake and comes down to your preference. If you want to compare features, I recommend looking at ESPN, CBS and NFL.com to get a good feel for some of the built out providers, compare features, and then go looking. Unless I am doing a money league, I like my leagues to first and foremost be free... but sometimes you get what you pay for.
First off, I am not going to do a "this is the best provider" article. I had some requests to compare providers to help find the best fantasy sites, but the important thing is to remember everyone has different preferences, and mine might not be yours. Instead I am going to try to identify all of the things I like to see from a provider, that way you know what to look for.
The Must Have Stuff: When you are looking to join or create a fantasy football league, you have some expectations, especially after reading the fine articles that came before this one. You have an idea of what scoring system you want to use, what roster set up you want, whether you want keepers or not, and a multitude of other things...Its important to make sure a provider has them.
Scoring Systems: Some smaller fantasy football sites do not let you manipulate scoring systems, but they are rare. All of the big ones (ESPN, CBS, NFL, FOX, etc.) let you change scoring settings. The question here is, do they let you change them in all the ways you want? Some good questions to ask/research (if you care): Can we use decimal scoring? Can we add Points Per Reception? Can we add milestone bonuses (for 100 yard games, as an example)? Can we use negative scoring? Can we reward return yards/scores?
Rosters: Can we divide special teams and defense into separate units? Can we use Individual Defensive Players? What options do we have for Flex Positions? This last question is big. Some have a RB/WR and a WR/TE option. Some have a WR/RB/TE option, but not all. Some have an Offensive Utility Player option, which may include QBs as well. When it comes to IDP, this can mean the difference between DE & DT or just D-Line player in general. Some let you add silly stuff, like Punters and Head Coaches. Make sure you know what you want and then make sure a provider can do it for you.
Keepers: Does the provider allow keepers? Is the amount unlimited? Can you program rules or do you have to manually make sure no one is in violation (if you have a no-more-than-1 QB keeper rule, but 3 total keepers, for example. Will the provider stop them from keeping 3 QBs, or do you have to review it as the League Manager?)
Drafting: Some providers don't offer Auction Drafts yet. That only matters if you want one, but its good to know. Some have Auction drafts but do NOT have the supplemental salary cap rules for managing the roster. Some won't let you force teams to "pay" for their keepers. A good number of providers don't let you do "Straight line" drafts, which really gets my goat. A snake draft isn't always the answer.
Status Updates: All providers have status updates to let you know when players are Injured, put on IR, suspended, cut, or traded. Some can email you or text you if you want. The big thing here is speed. There are a number of service providers that are hours behind, but some are days behind, and in our modern era of communication, it is unacceptable that I may have to go to a 3rd party site to find out if my player is in or out for a game. If you are a casual player and look and your roster looks good 20 minutes before kickoff, it will kill you to find out later 3 guys were out. Game-time decision players are announced an hour prior, and your provider should be paying attention. On top of this, some providers are good at it, but neglect special roster players - such as IDP updates. Just because they have real time Offensive player updates, doesn't mean they give the same care and attention to IDP.
The Bells & Whistles
Scoring Updates: In this day and age, there is no reason to work with a provider that does not have up to the minute scoring updates. Some even have embedded highlight film or watch it live scoring replays. I don't watch my fantasy game, but I do check it during commercials, so all I care about is up to date scoring.
Analytical Tools: Most sites are catching up here. The ability to do side by side trend and stat comparisons, compare how position groups do against certain teams, get realistic expectations in scoring predictions can be a great help whether you are casual and don't have time to do it yourself or are hardcore and want a good baseline of information to start with. Most have some kind of "draft kit" to help prepare you.
Draft Prep Tools: Being able to pre-rank in case you miss a draft and it auto-drafts on you, being able to prioritize positions or individual players by round, those are nice. What I really like is a chart that shows me what everyone has drafted, more by position than the specific players, so I can predict whether or not the guy in front of me is thinking QB or RB. It makes me feel better anyway.
Trophies: Electronic trophies are a nice touch, and some sites let you set them for anything and everything measurable, both good and bad. Lowest scoring game of the season? Have a trophy added to your profile that advertises how bad you are. Some let you add point values to these so you can do end of year awards based on the team with the highest trophy score...Its a fun side project.
Embedded Financial Trackers: This helps keep money leagues straight. This can help avoid "lost" money and hurt feelings when someone thinks they paid and you think they didn't, only to find the check later.
"Other" stuff: There are millions of bells and whistles. Fantasy articles, fantasy experts, automatic "best lineup" engines that recommend line ups for you, calendars, message boards, alerts, "scout teams", Pick 'em games....You name it, it exists.
The bottom line is this: Make sure your site is going to give you ALL of the things you need to have the league you want (Roster, Scoring System, Draft Style, Keeper set up) and that it is up to date and accurate enough to support you without you having to do a lot of extra work (live scoring updates, live player status updates). Everything after that is icing on the cake and comes down to your preference. If you want to compare features, I recommend looking at ESPN, CBS and NFL.com to get a good feel for some of the built out providers, compare features, and then go looking. Unless I am doing a money league, I like my leagues to first and foremost be free... but sometimes you get what you pay for.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Stanford football: Report from the first spring practice
technic football style..
The core of what you’re about to read was written Monday night, following practice, and appeared in Tuesday’s Merc. I’ve added a few thoughts that didn’t appear in the original.
We’ll start with the main item, followed by some notes …
*** The first Stanford football practice under David Shaw looked a lot like the Stanford football practices under Jim Harbaugh, right down to the head coach’s father roaming the field.
“It felt normal,’’ said Shaw, the former Stanford player and assistant who was named head coach Jan. 13.
“I know the guys. I know the university. I understand the team. I know where we can improve and where we are strong.’’
Shaw led the Cardinal through a 2.5-hour workout Monday afternoon – the first of 15 spring practices that culminate April 9 with the Cardinal and White scrimmage in San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium.
Stanford mixed position drills with some light scrimmaging, which provided an early look — emphasis on early – at the revamped offensive line:
Right tackle Tyler Mabry, right guard David DeCastro, center Khalil Wilkes, left guard Kevin Danser and left tackle Jonathan Martin.
(DeCastro and Martin are the unit’s only returning starters and the only players assured of starting the season opener, injuries not withstanding.)
“They got in and out of their drills, they got a lot done and had a lot of disciple,’’ said Shaw’s father, Willie, the former Stanford and Oakland Raiders assistant who filled the father-watching-practice role previously held by Jack Harbaugh.
“You can tell coach Shaw is trying to put his own stamp on things,’’ defensive back Michael Thomas said.
“It was at a high tempo, and he was really coaching us. But it didn’t feel like it dragged on for three hours. He made his points and got in and out quickly.’’
Shaw’s main point: “It was a good practice, but I told the guys we weren’t out here to be good.’’
*** Tailback Jeremy Stewart has been granted a medical redshirt and will be available for the 2011 season.
Stewart, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in the Orange Bowl, played in just four games in 2009, allowing him to qualify for a fifth season.
Add Stewart to a unit that includes 1,100-yard rusher Stepfan Taylor, powerful junior Tyler Gaffney and promising sophomore Anthony Wilkerson, and the Cardinal is deep at tailback — so deep, in fact, that Usua Amanam will get a look at other positions, including cornerback.
*** Several players did not practice, including Gaffney, who was with the baseball team.
Receiver Chris Owusu and safety Delano Howell are recovering from undosclosed injuries and did not participate — Howell did some conditioning drills, Owusu was nowhere to be seen.
Shaw said, in both cases, that Stanford wanted to be cautious … that neither player had anything to prove and there’s no reason to jeopardize their availability in the fall by rushing them back for the spring.
(It’s probably safe to assume that Owusu had offseason knee surgery. I say that because 1) Shaw acknowledged that Owusu had surgery, although he wouldn’t get specific, and 2) Owusu had a knee injury last season.)
*** Tight end Levine Toilolo didn’t practice, which is no surprise considering the seriousness of the knee injury he suffered last season.
I asked Shaw if Toilolo would take part in any contact drills this spring. “Maybe at some point, but we’re going to be cautious,” he said.
*** Shaw said former cornerback Corey Gatewood will play receiver exclusively next fall.
Given that Stanford lost Ryan Whalen and Doug Baldwin .. and that Owusu appears injury prone … and that Drew Terrell and Jamal-Rashad Patterson haven’t produced … Stanford could use whatever contributions Gatewood provides.
*** Quarterback Andrew Luck was not available for comment. He’s scheduled to sit down with local media on Friday.
The core of what you’re about to read was written Monday night, following practice, and appeared in Tuesday’s Merc. I’ve added a few thoughts that didn’t appear in the original.
We’ll start with the main item, followed by some notes …
*** The first Stanford football practice under David Shaw looked a lot like the Stanford football practices under Jim Harbaugh, right down to the head coach’s father roaming the field.
“It felt normal,’’ said Shaw, the former Stanford player and assistant who was named head coach Jan. 13.
“I know the guys. I know the university. I understand the team. I know where we can improve and where we are strong.’’
Shaw led the Cardinal through a 2.5-hour workout Monday afternoon – the first of 15 spring practices that culminate April 9 with the Cardinal and White scrimmage in San Francisco’s Kezar Stadium.
Stanford mixed position drills with some light scrimmaging, which provided an early look — emphasis on early – at the revamped offensive line:
Right tackle Tyler Mabry, right guard David DeCastro, center Khalil Wilkes, left guard Kevin Danser and left tackle Jonathan Martin.
(DeCastro and Martin are the unit’s only returning starters and the only players assured of starting the season opener, injuries not withstanding.)
“They got in and out of their drills, they got a lot done and had a lot of disciple,’’ said Shaw’s father, Willie, the former Stanford and Oakland Raiders assistant who filled the father-watching-practice role previously held by Jack Harbaugh.
“You can tell coach Shaw is trying to put his own stamp on things,’’ defensive back Michael Thomas said.
“It was at a high tempo, and he was really coaching us. But it didn’t feel like it dragged on for three hours. He made his points and got in and out quickly.’’
Shaw’s main point: “It was a good practice, but I told the guys we weren’t out here to be good.’’
*** Tailback Jeremy Stewart has been granted a medical redshirt and will be available for the 2011 season.
Stewart, who rushed for 99 yards and a touchdown in the Orange Bowl, played in just four games in 2009, allowing him to qualify for a fifth season.
Add Stewart to a unit that includes 1,100-yard rusher Stepfan Taylor, powerful junior Tyler Gaffney and promising sophomore Anthony Wilkerson, and the Cardinal is deep at tailback — so deep, in fact, that Usua Amanam will get a look at other positions, including cornerback.
*** Several players did not practice, including Gaffney, who was with the baseball team.
Receiver Chris Owusu and safety Delano Howell are recovering from undosclosed injuries and did not participate — Howell did some conditioning drills, Owusu was nowhere to be seen.
Shaw said, in both cases, that Stanford wanted to be cautious … that neither player had anything to prove and there’s no reason to jeopardize their availability in the fall by rushing them back for the spring.
(It’s probably safe to assume that Owusu had offseason knee surgery. I say that because 1) Shaw acknowledged that Owusu had surgery, although he wouldn’t get specific, and 2) Owusu had a knee injury last season.)
*** Tight end Levine Toilolo didn’t practice, which is no surprise considering the seriousness of the knee injury he suffered last season.
I asked Shaw if Toilolo would take part in any contact drills this spring. “Maybe at some point, but we’re going to be cautious,” he said.
*** Shaw said former cornerback Corey Gatewood will play receiver exclusively next fall.
Given that Stanford lost Ryan Whalen and Doug Baldwin .. and that Owusu appears injury prone … and that Drew Terrell and Jamal-Rashad Patterson haven’t produced … Stanford could use whatever contributions Gatewood provides.
*** Quarterback Andrew Luck was not available for comment. He’s scheduled to sit down with local media on Friday.
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