Jennings contract re-structured

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squishy35
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http://3downnation.com/2018/01/12/lions ... -contract/

An incentive laden new contract in exchange for funds so that the Lions can sign some FA O-line guys to protect him.

I appreciate Jennings' movement on this contract. It could prove to be beneficial for him if he gets better protection in the pocket on a consistent basis.
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B.C.FAN
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This is excellent news. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the O-line. The only reason to restructure Jennings’ contract is to allow Travis Lulay to share the QB position once he’s healthy. Whoever plays better will get the most money.
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Toppy Vann
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Interesting move as that might also ensure some incentives for Lulay as right now his recovery is crucial.

Frankly speaking, the CFL and the Stamps saw how beneficial it was for Bo Levi to attend the Jeff Garcia bootcamp (which BLM did on his OWN money at the rec'd'n of then OC Dave D). That was the off season before they chose in TC Tate or Mitchell. BLM gave that time starting at 5:30 am for a work out, 8 am tossing footballs and a full day after that. BLM said he and his wife were at dinner with Garcia and family and it helped on how to live. Dickenson said it was a sign of huge commitment by BLM as that camp is costly.

Two faltering young but potentially star QBs last season (for differing but some parallel reasons) were Zach Collaros and Jon. Jennings - why would teams not get these guys that kind of help and pay or fund part of it - or recommend it versus what sounds to me like these teams are just hoping and expecting somehow these QBs will come back to their old selves.

Why Garcia over the other academies?

1. Jeff G knows what it takes to be a long term pro at QB.
2. He knows the CFL and the NFL - something Jennings wants to pursue.
3. Academy QBs are hated by a lot of teams in the NFL as they're too robotic (lots of stuff on that ) as it's all about x steps and toss and that kind of stuff versus what they really face in the games and that is where Garcia is supposed to excel if we can believe a multiple HOF QB and pretty successful OC and HC - Dave Dickenson.

Bottom line is that Jeff Garcia could help these two guys off season to get to their potential.

Why some sort of camp or help?

There are too many QBs that showed a ton of potential who thru circumstances just flamed out here and ultimately are gone from football.

In Jonathon Jennings case my fear is that he kind of hit a sort of sophomore jinx or whatever it could be termed where the throws he made the prior year that were heroic were all of a sudden failing.

Also, there sounded post the season finale loss to the Argos 40-13 a problem with the culture where Jennings tossed 3 INTS and Ross 1 :

This might have zip to do with a young QB and more on the HC as players must be frustrated with something going on last season:
“It just all boils down to the culture around here, man, “Arceneaux added.

“That’s one thing that needs to be changed and fixed. Once you’re tight and you understand the different stages of adversity, at some point you have to come along and realize you have to play football. You just gotta change some things man, that’s about it.”
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
maxlion
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 10:34 am
This is excellent news. I don’t believe it has anything to do with the O-line. The only reason to restructure Jennings’ contract is to allow Travis Lulay to share the QB position once he’s healthy. Whoever plays better will get the most money.
Agree. When Jennings initially signed, the plan seemed to be that he would be able to solidify his starting position last year and be the clear starter in 2018. Lulay could then retire or continue as an unofficial player-coach, but it would be Jennings' team. Instead, Jennings got badly outplayed by Lulay, necessitating a re-think of the whole plan.

“There’s talk of restructuring, but not necessarily for what he didn’t do on the field, more so to provide resources to put around him,” Hervey said. “We want to make sure that those resources can allow him to have success.”

Those resources include a QB who can help Jennings develop and shoulder the load for extended periods.
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Guess he didn't garnered much interest from the NFL in the off season.
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Hambone
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Does Garcia still run any sort of camp Toppy? I tried various Google searches and can't come up with much on the topic since about the time you talk of with BLM which would be about 5 years ago. I could find info on a Beyond Wealth company he formed but that was about preparing players for life after their playing days were over. I did come across an interesting article from just over a year ago about Garcia wanting to coach at his alma mater San Jose State. It was in the Mercury News which is San Jose's daily rag. What was interesting was how they referenced Joe Kapp as being comparable in that he was hired to be HC at his alma mater Cal despite having next to zero coaching experience.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/29/ ... ose-state/
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Gridiron Ernie
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I don't necessarily see it as an either/or thing -- Jennings' restructured deal can likely benefit him (and team of course) regards what funds it potentially frees up for both his QB mate Lulay and the O-line.
I see LU has chimed in on the topic: http://3downnation.com/2018/01/12/new-j ... t-reality/
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Toppy Vann
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Hambone wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 1:32 pm
Does Garcia still run any sort of camp Toppy? I tried various Google searches and can't come up with much on the topic since about the time you talk of with BLM which would be about 5 years ago. I could find info on a Beyond Wealth company he formed but that was about preparing players for life after their playing days were over. I did come across an interesting article from just over a year ago about Garcia wanting to coach at his alma mater San Jose State. It was in the Mercury News which is San Jose's daily rag. What was interesting was how they referenced Joe Kapp as being comparable in that he was hired to be HC at his alma mater Cal despite having next to zero coaching experience.
https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/11/29/ ... ose-state/
My understanding was that "camp" might be the wrong word as in he has a formal academy set up - as I believe he never had. I think it was just him taking on QBs off season who paid a high price and worked with them.

It seems he's been trying to land a coaching job and is not successful. I'm wondering if that is a combo of him not wanting to be far from family, not a lot of formal coaching experience and maybe a time commitment issue.

I think he wanted to be a HC in BC IIRC but Wally said something like he didn't have a lot of coaching experience (the latter is true).

As far as Jonathan Jennings goes, it sounds like the Lions and he hope last year was a blip. My sense is he's where BLM was pre-Garcia and we know Bo took off that year after the 1 month with Garcia. I've read quite of bit on that and Bo was even saying it was not just plays and passing but about career and how to do it. Ergo Bo signs for 4 years with the Stamps and makes no noise about looking for an out to the NFL during this time.

Heard Hufnagel at the Naylor Mountainside talks say that in this 4 years BLM has said nothing of the NFL and they're not yet talking as this is the last of the 4 year deal. Hufnagel said that Bo wanted this deal that long to take the NFL out of the equation.

Jennings thinking last year was a ticket to the NFL with his tryouts might be making an error here OR he was smart and just getting in some extra work and feedback from NFL teams.
"Ability without character will lose." - Marv Levy
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Gridiron Ernie
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Not much meat in this article, but a couple interesting comments from Jennings. The young man always seems to have the right attitude. Ain't we lucky that way! -- him and Lulay -- never demonstrative or pouting or making it all about themselves.
http://3downnation.com/2018/01/15/lions ... -me-thing/
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WestCoastJoe
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Gridiron Ernie wrote:
Fri Jan 12, 2018 5:26 pm
I don't necessarily see it as an either/or thing -- Jennings' restructured deal can likely benefit him (and team of course) regards what funds it potentially frees up for both his QB mate Lulay and the O-line.
I see LU has chimed in on the topic: http://3downnation.com/2018/01/12/new-j ... t-reality/
In practical terms, that’s a pretty reasonable move by Jennings, who probably would dearly give back what was coming to him this season if he could guarantee he wouldn’t take the beating absorbed as a result of inadequate protection.
That is how this fan sees it.
To be sure, Jennings is a victim of bad timing; remember, he was being given peanuts when he threw for 5,226 yards and 27 touchdowns two seasons ago when his eyes were downfield and always wasn’t running for his life ...
John Madden's Team Policies: Be on time. Pay attention. Play like hell on game day.

Jimmy Johnson's Game Keys: Protect the ball. Make plays.

Walter Payton's Advice to Kids: Play hard. Play fair. Have fun.
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Belize City Lion
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How does an "incentive loaded" contract affect your salary cap if the player hits all the targets? So the Lions save cap space now, spend it on other positions and Jennings has a great year. Then he is due all that bonus money and Lions wind up going over their cap. Right?
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DanoT
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Belize City Lion wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:36 pm
How does an "incentive loaded" contract affect your salary cap if the player hits all the targets? So the Lions save cap space now, spend it on other positions and Jennings has a great year. Then he is due all that bonus money and Lions wind up going over their cap. Right?
Here is my guess for how I think it would likely work:
You have a budget for the 3 QB positions so you sign Jennings to a base salary = 2nd string money and then you sign Lulay (or another QB if Lulay is still rehabbing ) to a similar contract. You then pay bonus $ equivalent to 1st string QB money to whoever ends up with the most game day snaps. So no SMS overages. One guy might get full starter salary if he plays every game or they might split the $ if they share playing time.
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B.C.FAN
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DanoT wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:21 pm
Belize City Lion wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:36 pm
How does an "incentive loaded" contract affect your salary cap if the player hits all the targets? So the Lions save cap space now, spend it on other positions and Jennings has a great year. Then he is due all that bonus money and Lions wind up going over their cap. Right?
Here is my guess for how I think it would likely work:
You have a budget for the 3 QB positions so you sign Jennings to a base salary = 2nd string money and then you sign Lulay (or another QB if Lulay is still rehabbing ) to a similar contract. You then pay bonus $ equivalent to 1st string QB money to whoever ends up with the most game day snaps. So no SMS overages. One guy might get full starter salary if he plays every game or they might split the $ if they share playing time.
Yes. In the simplest example, the team could pay Jennings and Lulay a base salary, plus $10,000 for each game they start. That's a fixed incentive cost of $180,000 no matter how many games they each start.
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KnowItAll
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B.C.FAN wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:42 pm
DanoT wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 9:21 pm
Belize City Lion wrote:
Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:36 pm
How does an "incentive loaded" contract affect your salary cap if the player hits all the targets? So the Lions save cap space now, spend it on other positions and Jennings has a great year. Then he is due all that bonus money and Lions wind up going over their cap. Right?
Here is my guess for how I think it would likely work:
You have a budget for the 3 QB positions so you sign Jennings to a base salary = 2nd string money and then you sign Lulay (or another QB if Lulay is still rehabbing ) to a similar contract. You then pay bonus $ equivalent to 1st string QB money to whoever ends up with the most game day snaps. So no SMS overages. One guy might get full starter salary if he plays every game or they might split the $ if they share playing time.
Yes. In the simplest example, the team could pay Jennings and Lulay a base salary, plus $10,000 for each game they start. That's a fixed incentive cost of $180,000 no matter how many games they each start.
I think that making any part of salary based on number of games started can disrupt the chemistry between qbs as far as their support for each other.
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maxlion
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There is some speculation over at Riderfans that the Lions might have some interest in Vernon Adams. Personally, I think this could be a good fit. I don't think we can count on Lulay being ready to start the year, and we don't have anyone else on the roster who could step in for Jennings if needed. We will definitely need to pick someone up with a bit of pro experience and ability before training camp.

Adams is still young and has potential. He would likely welcome the chance to be a backup and potentially see some real playing time if Jennings falters again. Between him and Jennings, we could have a strong QB base for the next few years. I'd be happy to see him back.
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