Floyd talks about his mentor, Fitz

[Darkside]

My only issue with MF at this point is he isn't consistent enough with his hands, he drops more balls than he should. Fitz drops one every season or two and MF drops one every game or so. At this point he is faster, stronger and more explosive than Fitz but as stated needs to become more consistent.

I loved and defended his being picked (11th overall?) and hope he gets extended/re-signed this next year. He is a beast and will continue to get better and better which means he is easily a #1 type WR.

Nobody is a Fitz though. Nobody, it's unrealistic. Fitz is HOF, these younger dudes everyone raves about? Get back to me in 10 years and see if they have the #'s, right now they're just the new shiny toy.

Floyd makes plays. He's explosive. He makes difficult catches that Fitz could make, but he can get in positions Fitz can't get to down the field anymore. That's just reality.

Floyd is really good. Is he top 11? I don't know, but he hasn't had to be that guy because of our depth, and we don't have an offense like that. We don't even have a QB like that, he's not going to chuck it to one guy. Letting Floyd develop under a dude like Fitz and a coach like BA enhances his value more than simply athletic talent. Floyd is about team. Just like all of our guys, and I love our team and all the guys on it.

 

[Finito]

My only issue with MF at this point is he isn't consistent enough with his hands, he drops more balls than he should. Fitz drops one every season or two and MF drops one every game or so. At this point he is faster, stronger and more explosive than Fitz but as stated needs to become more consistent.

I loved and defended his being picked (11th overall?) and hope he gets extended/re-signed this next year. He is a beast and will continue to get better and better which means he is easily a #1 type WR.

That's the problem with some of these Arizona fans. Well Fitz does this and Fitz does that how come Floyd doesn't.

Well Fitzgerald is a first ballot hall of Famer and an all time great. Not everybody is that. I don't understand why this is so hard for some people

 

[Chopper0080]

There are subtleties to the WR position that Floyd has still not gotten down. He is still pretty inconsistent. That being said, I would be crazy if I didn't admit that I have been impressed with his play the second half of this season. If he can continue this level of play, he will earn a nice contract.

His play in the playoffs is something I will be watching closely. Can he raise his game to another level. I'm not saying that he has to be Larry in our Super Bowl run, but can he takeover at times? We will see.

 

[kerouac9]

Is Floyd a FA next season? Anyone think we'll be able to keep him. I'd like think he gives us a "home town discount", but if someone throws 50MM+ at him....

I'd sure like to keep him around. Great size, insane catch radius, good route runner, willing and capable blocker, great guy. Everything you want in a player.

Go Cards!!!

Jeremy Maclin got a 5-year, $55M contract with $22.5M guaranteed last offseason as a UFA. If Floyd can put up another year like this one over 16 games, he'll be in line for a deal like that. Possibly from his hometown Minnesota Vikings.

Floyd could be a monster in that offense.

Finally had time to read it. That's a great article. Thanks for sharing it.

Players tribune is becoming my new favorite site. Not as good as Grantland but they're doing some good work and will only get better. There's another thread about the suck that has become ESPN, part of that is gobbling up really good sites like Grantland and others and then dismantling them or handicapping them. They eat the competition, shut them down, and they're the only thing left. ESPN regularly sucks, but it's not new, they've sucked supreme ass for awhile.

To be fair, Grantland was sponsored by ESPN and developed by them. They didn't acquire that property like they did with fivethirtyeight. They should've spun off Grantland to someone who wanted that (Slate would've seemed like a natural home), but they decided they wanted to stab Simmons.

 

[Chopper0080]

Jeremy Maclin got a 5-year, $55M contract with $22.5M guaranteed last offseason as a UFA. If Floyd can put up another year like this one over 16 games, he'll be in line for a deal like that. Possibly from his hometown Minnesota Vikings.

Floyd could be a monster in that offense.

Fitzgerald's contract voids after the 2016 season I believe. So, if Floyd puts up another big year, he is getting that contract from AZ or getting franchised.

 

[kerouac9]

Fitzgerald's contract voids after the 2016 season I believe. So, if Floyd puts up another big year, he is getting that contract from AZ or getting franchised.

Yeah, but Fitz's contract leaves behind $10M in dead money in 2017 (if he doesn't manufacture a way to remain here). Tyrann Mathieu and Calais Campbell are prospective members of the free agent class of 2017, as well.

 

[Chopper0080]

Yeah, but Fitz's contract leaves behind $10M in dead money in 2017 (if he doesn't manufacture a way to remain here). Tyrann Mathieu and Calais Campbell are prospective members of the free agent class of 2017, as well.

Ok, but our cap is already factoring in 10+ mil for Campbell in 2016 so it isn't like the Cards will have to factor a higher cap hit in 2017 for him.

Same with Fitz. His cap number in 2016 will be 15 mil, so they will have factored him in as well.

Floyd would get a bump up from the 7 mil they will pay him in 2016.

Mathieu is the large increase as his salary will increase significantly if he stays healthy.

It is a unique situation where our best players will already be getting paid in 2016 so any extensions will more than likely lead to a decrease vs an increase other than Mathieu and Floyd.

We will be 20 mil under the cap in 2016 with Palmer costing 17.075, Campbell costing 15.850, Fitz costing 15.250, and Floyd costing 7.320. If there is an increase in total salary in 2017 from this group, it will be minimal.

 

[82CardsGrad]

Ok, but our cap is already factoring in 10+ mil for Campbell in 2016 so it isn't like the Cards will have to factor a higher cap hit in 2017 for him.

Same with Fitz. His cap number in 2016 will be 15 mil, so they will have factored him in as well.

Floyd would get a bump up from the 7 mil they will pay him in 2016.

Mathieu is the large increase as his salary will increase significantly if he stays healthy.

It is a unique situation where our best players will already be getting paid in 2016 so any extensions will more than likely lead to a decrease vs an increase other than Mathieu and Floyd.

We will be 20 mil under the cap in 2016 with Palmer costing 17.075, Campbell costing 15.850, Fitz costing 15.250, and Floyd costing 7.320. If there is an increase in total salary in 2017 from this group, it will be minimal.

That, to me, is such an awesome and amazing situation!!

 

[Darkside]

To be fair, Grantland was sponsored by ESPN and developed by them. They didn't acquire that property like they did with fivethirtyeight. They should've spun off Grantland to someone who wanted that (Slate would've seemed like a natural home), but they decided they wanted to stab Simmons.

I'm pretty sure you're mistaken, Grantland was popular before ESPN acquired them. Being sponsored by and owning is different. I take issue with saying ESPN developed them, I don't believe this is true. Simmons himself has said the only reason he allowed the acquisition was due to exposure, he thought ESPN could provide more exposure. If anything, they became less developed under ESPN. Simmons has written rather extensively on this very subject.

IMO the reason they didn't sell the product and spin off to a slate is precisely because they were competition and they would rather destroy it. They fired virtually every valuable member of the Grantland staff. They didn't just shut it down, they voided it of talent, and the rest resigned to go join Simmons in his new venture.

I could be mistaken (you mention the site fivethirtyeight, which rings a bell also) however. But my recollection is that Grantland was very popular before ESPN even came into the picture.

 

[Darkside]

Ok, but our cap is already factoring in 10+ mil for Campbell in 2016 so it isn't like the Cards will have to factor a higher cap hit in 2017 for him.

Same with Fitz. His cap number in 2016 will be 15 mil, so they will have factored him in as well.

Floyd would get a bump up from the 7 mil they will pay him in 2016.

Mathieu is the large increase as his salary will increase significantly if he stays healthy.

It is a unique situation where our best players will already be getting paid in 2016 so any extensions will more than likely lead to a decrease vs an increase other than Mathieu and Floyd.

We will be 20 mil under the cap in 2016 with Palmer costing 17.075, Campbell costing 15.850, Fitz costing 15.250, and Floyd costing 7.320. If there is an increase in total salary in 2017 from this group, it will be minimal.

I'd like to get your opinion on the TM situation. Will they still pay him perhaps what they would have before he got hurt? Right now, I hate to say it, but the facts are he's injury prone. I love the dude, but he's light in the frame and small and been hurt. Do they request a discount or pay him top dollar? What player do you know that has returned from two ACL's in both legs and been awesome? What salary did they command? I find it hard to believe he's a core player going forward. I love the dude, but he may be relegated to nickel corner at this point and that changes the dynamic of his salary.

 

[MrYeahBut]

.

What player do you know that has returned from two ACL's in both legs and been awesome?

Kyle Vanden Bosch? Although I don't know if awesome would describe him, but a good player nonetheless.

 

[Darkside]

.

Kyle Vanden Bosch? Although I don't know if awesome would describe him, but a good player nonetheless.

Props for spelling that on new years eve. LOL

There's probably more, I'm sure there is.

My point is, do you put that faith in a guy who is already physically challenged. I'm not knocking the dude, I love TM, but still...IMO it's no different than an Ellington, whom I view as unreliable and injury prone. He has a slight frame, is explosive, sure, but half the battle at work is showing up and being there.

 

[MrYeahBut]

Maybe you use TM much more as a role player which is basically what Ellington is.

 

[Darkside]

Maybe you use TM much more as a role player which is basically what Ellington is.

My thoughts also, question is how do you compensate that?

 

[SO91]

I'm pretty sure you're mistaken, Grantland was popular before ESPN acquired them. Being sponsored by and owning is different. I take issue with saying ESPN developed them, I don't believe this is true. Simmons himself has said the only reason he allowed the acquisition was due to exposure, he thought ESPN could provide more exposure. If anything, they became less developed under ESPN. Simmons has written rather extensively on this very subject.

IMO the reason they didn't sell the product and spin off to a slate is precisely because they were competition and they would rather destroy it. They fired virtually every valuable member of the Grantland staff. They didn't just shut it down, they voided it of talent, and the rest resigned to go join Simmons in his new venture.

I could be mistaken (you mention the site fivethirtyeight, which rings a bell also) however. But my recollection is that Grantland was very popular before ESPN even came into the picture.

This is not accurate brother. Simmons was the creator and editor-in-chief for Grantland, and he was under contract for ESPN when it was created. ESPN owned it, and backed the creation financially. Where they screwed up (the many screwups), according to Simmons, is in the lack of exposure they gave to the site. They had a monster lineup of writers and content, and it could barely be found on the front page of ESPN.com. A lot of talent left to do something else when their contracts ended after Simmons left, but not all of them left to join him. They kept the ones under contract, and they are still writing for ESPN.com (Barnwell, and Lowe are the 2 of the biggest).

 

[MrYeahBut]

I loved TMQ by Gregg Easrerbrook. Many thought him a pompous ass but I thoroughly enjoyed his columns. You can find his column on The NY Times, but it isn't the same.... I mean with the Times being just another rag and all...

 

[Darkside]

This is not accurate brother. Simmons was the creator and editor-in-chief for Grantland, and he was under contract for ESPN when it was created. ESPN owned it, and backed the creation financially. Where they screwed up (the many screwups), according to Simmons, is in the lack of exposure they gave to the site. They had a monster lineup of writers and content, and it could barely be found on the front page of ESPN.com. A lot of talent left to do something else when their contracts ended after Simmons left, but not all of them left to join him. They kept the ones under contract, and they are still writing for ESPN.com (Barnwell, and Lowe are the 2 of the biggest).

I couldn't have been more wrong. Appreciate the correction.