OK...who still thinks our wait and see attitude for FA's is correct?

[ArcticWildMan]

While it may be a novel approach and make a GM look like he's "in control", it can backfire like it apparently has now.


Shawn Barber's offer of 7 years, 30 million by the Chiefs just raised the bar for the price of LB's.

You wanted Spikes for 5 mil? Not gonna happen now. Try 6-8 Mil.

You wanted Peterson for 3-4 mil? Make that 5-6 mil most likely.


Sure glad we waited to make a move on a name LB'er! Now we can probably pay 2-3 mil more than we would have if we had moved sooner.

[WG]

Maybe not, you never know w/ FAcy.

I totally hear your frustration and won't disagree, but what we have to keep in mind is that some teams just jump the gun out of fear or whatever.

Not all the teams that need an LB will be paying thru their nose like that. Is K.C. known for their shrewd FAcy bargaining? Not the last time I checked. Best move they've ever made was for Holmes and IMO they had no idea he'd be what he is. Luck for them.

Look at what they did to Gonzalez, a totally integral part of their team and leading WR after Holmes, and look how they treated him last year while paying Barber and Mas exorbitantly.

It's simple economics at some point. Supply and demand economics. Just as with us. It's a zero-sum game. You can't have the best at every position. We'd like to manage our cap as well. That's why I think signing a guy like Peterson for the $4M he's reportedly seeking, a guy who's been very, very good, although not great on a team w/ sketchy defensive talent, just entering his prime, is a GREAT 6 year sign.

I hear ya WM!!! I really do. But we need to be patient. If we're in the same spot next Monday and Price is still "tagged", then I'll be all over TD and his tactics. That's what I fear the most. I sincerely believe that TD is getting himself wrapped up emotionally in this Price thing.

[ArcticWildMan]

If we don't have a LB or DT signed by Thursday or Friday, I'm going to start getting real nervous. It is not an infinite talent pool out there.

[Tatonka]

barbers deal was not that much. see the other post.. it averages 3.3 mill a year for the first three years.. then he will be cut.. guarentee it.

[Judge]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
If we don't have a LB or DT signed by Thursday or Friday, I'm going to start getting real nervous. It is not an infinite talent pool out there.

W/ all due respect, you're overreacting. The talent pool for d-line is reportedly very good in this year's draft. We already signed Marcus Jones and Keith McKenzie, as well as Posey. Just because we haven't signed Spikes or other "big name" guys doesn't mean TD hasn't improved the team yet.

[ArcticWildMan]

With all due respect, we don't have a first round draft pick, so all the D-line talent in the world doesn't mean squat unless we trade Peerless for a first round pick.

Also, I never claimed TD hasn't improved the team. What I am saying is that he may have waited too long to move on a big name player and that may cost us extra money.

[Judge]

You're assuming he wants a big name player. Maybe there isn't the need for a new one, quite frankly. We've got 4 on defense already:

Williams
Fletcher
Clements
Winfield.

We've got a ton on offense:

Bledsoe
Moulds
maybe Price
Brown
Henry


How many "big names" do you want?

We need affordable quality talent to give the big names we have a chance to make a difference.

[ArcticWildMan]

We'll have the same problems this year that we had last year if we don't add a quality player to our D-line and LB corps.

Winfield and Clements are good, but they still aren't an elite CB group. Clements especially, was burned way too much for my liking.

Big Pat can't do it by himself and unless we get somebody to help him, he will wear himself out trying to beat the endless double teams.

[Judge]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
We'll have the same problems this year that we had last year if we don't add a quality player to our D-line and LB corps.

Winfield and Clements are good, but they still aren't an elite CB group. Clements especially, was burned way too much for my liking.

Big Pat can't do it by himself and unless we get somebody to help him, he will wear himself out trying to beat the endless double teams.

But the DT and LB don't have to be overpriced "big names" who will throw off the salary cap situation.

The DB's will improve exponentially if the D-Line improves its pass rush, because it will take the heat off of them to maintain their coverage for too long. Clements and Winfoeld are Pro Bowl bound when that happens.

[ArcticWildMan]

Who do you suggest we bring in for the D-line then? DE's aren't deep at all in the draft and the FA market has one impact DE (Douglas), and that's it!

With the exception of Big Pat, our entire line is nothing more than average (if not below average).

Who do you suggest we sign to suddenly provide a pass rush and stop the run?

[Judge]

Originally posted by ArcticWildMan
Who do you suggest we bring in for the D-line then? DE's aren't deep at all in the draft and the FA market has one impact DE (Douglas), and that's it!

With the exception of Big Pat, our entire line is nothing more than average (if not below average).

Who do you suggest we sign to suddenly provide a pass rush and stop the run?

I have no idea, because it isn't my job to look for that kind of player. I'm a lawyer, not a general manager. I haven't studied the free agency lists or the college draft sheets.

That said, I personally think that our $ would be better spent going for a lesser name d-lineman than Douglas, signing a lesser name LB than Spikes, and looking for value talent (like Marcus Jones, McKenzie, Posey) that will boost the overall level of play on the defensive side of the ball rather than spending it all or most of it on one guy.

[ArcticWildMan]

I'm not for blowing our entire budget on one player, but we have to spend some money to get talent.

We have plenty of money to sign 2 very good defensive players.

While players like Posey are great values on paper, they are not the kind of players that teams base a defense on or win championships with.

If we had a proven guy like Belichek as our coach, I would be a lot more inclined to not worry about big name players. Sadly, we don't have anywhere near that coaching talent, so we have to rely on player ability to make up for that.

[kgun12]

AWM Do yourself a favor. Tell yourself RELAX until Friday, if nothing happens by then, then you can get nuts. Just give TD a week, I'm worried about ya man! lol.

[ArcticWildMan]

I can't help it if I'm bored. It's been a long winter

[kgun12]

I hear ya man. TD won't let you down. Honest. I guess that goes for Wys too!