The Atlantic - Latest Comments in NFL Free Agency Begins

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Bruce — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 19:35:10 -0000

Jon Kitna for Antony Henry??? tell me something good about this trade besides the cap-room...How many corners are we supposed to draft this year?? Scratch that, how many Db's are we supposed to draft this year?!?

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Fallsroad — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:01:32 -0000

The Haynesworth deal will prove once again that it isn't just Snyder, but Cerrato who has the nose for picking players who are a year to two (if that) from being on the down side and giving them the big money. Haynesworth is a beast, if healthy, but the 'Skins cap problems and, more specifically, their utter lack of a football philosophy are what keep them in mediocrity. Team needs a real GM, someone who can say no to Snyder, and who can realistically assess talent.

Every year it is the same thing - Kings of the Offseason after a big trade or free agent pick up or three, chronic epic fail in the draft, and then they actually have to play the games, which for those of us who have been Washington fans all of our lives means pain, shame, and more pain.

Blech. Go Cards!

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Joel — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 15:09:26 -0000

And the other shoe drops.

Cassell and Vrabel for the #34.

Good deal for both squads.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Joel — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:21:43 -0000

Scott Pioli loves Mike Vrabel. The Patriots traded Vrabel to the Chiefs for an undisclosed (second day most likely) draft pick, and clear $3+ million in cap space.

This increases the likelihood that the Patriots will be drafting linebackers this year.

Rumors abound that Cassell soon to follow to the Chiefs.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Just Karl — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 15:19:29 -0000

Dang, busy day today. Browns traded Kellen Winslow to Tampa for undisclosed picks.

Damn! The Bucs cleaned house this off-season. Gone are Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn, Joey Galloway, and Ike Hillard. They franchised Antonio Bryant and they add Winslow? These seem like two guys with lots of talent and little ability to stay on the field. Who is their QB? Jeez, who is their coach for that matter? Interesting.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Doug T — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:58:34 -0000

I'm a Ravens fan and, while I think Ray is still a heck of aplayer, I don't see how it makes sense to sign him and not Bart Scott. Ray is on the downside of his career. I think he's got maybe 2 more years at a high level and another couple of years as a solid but unspectacular MLB. His physical gifts are tailing off but he's still an extremely smart player who from reports watches as much film as anybody in the NFL.

So the teams that should want Ray Lewis are teams that think they're close to winning the Super Bowl in the next 2 years, but are a peice away. And I don't think that's the Ravens. It was a fluke for them to beat the Titans and make the AFC championship game, and Flacco, while good for a rookie, is still not really a good NFL QB. He needs another couple of years of seasoning. They also need another WR, a position that takes a couple of years for a draft pick to master.

Add in the free agency losses on defense this year and they're likely to take a step back next year. Their window for winning a Super Bowl is 3-6 years down the road, assuming Flacco develops. Signing Ray Lewis would be a poor move on their part from a footbal perspective.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

jonnyblu605 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:57:39 -0000

The NFL is the No Freakin' Love game(see: Marvin Harrison, Derrick Brooks, Joey Galloway, Fred Taylor) if you are over 32 you gotta bounce; except in the case of Ray Lewis (it seems so far). If the Ravens re-sign him you have to think it's because of his leadership in the locker room and likely not so much just because he's playing at a high level.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

TW Andrews — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:46:20 -0000

I don't see why the Patriots would give up Sammy Morris. I'd much rather see he and Fred Taylor split carries than Taylor and Maroney. I suspect that Maroney will be traded in fairly short order.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

stein — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 14:28:24 -0000

I hope ray lewis sticks with the ravens so the steelers can beat him another half-dozen times before he retires.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

SeanH — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:22:18 -0000

Dang, busy day today. Browns traded Kellen Winslow to Tampa for undisclosed picks.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Joel — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 13:08:20 -0000

Chris Baker signed with the Patriots. Leigh Bodden looks likely to follow; love that signing. Another possibility is Fred Taylor, presumably to take Sammy Morris' role. If those are the only three signings by the Patriots this offseason, I'd be pretty happy.

Now, if I was a Vikings fan (like my future father in law), looking to Sage Rosenfels as my quarterback to take my team deeper in the playoffs, I'd be pissed.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

sgwhiteinfla — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:48:43 -0000

Hey you can hate on Ray Lewis all you want but he was still at a Pro Bowl level this year and he was still tearing bitches heads off all year and especially in the playoffs. His game against Tennessee was absolutely ridiculous and there is no reason to think he won't play even better next year. People tend to forget that last year was the first time in a long time that Ray was healthy just about the whole year and thats why he looked so much better. He was the same weight he has been for the last 3 or 4 years. Examples of leaders going into a new team and fitting right in. Reggie White, Rodney Harrison, Bill Romonowski, London Fletcher, Kris Jenkins, just to name a few. Like I said before as a Cowboys fan I will definitely take him since yall don't want him.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

hubcapiv — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:15:25 -0000

Of course that makes the same point. He's not worth the huge huge bucks that his name implies because he's starting to reach that inevitable point of decline.

Yep. Like I said, I like him and I hope he stays in Baltimore. I have no problem with guys going for as much money as they can (that's probably what I would do). But I feel like I could write the Dallas Cowboy chapters of The Ray Lewis Story right now and they wouldn't be much fun for anyone.

(Hint: They would be a lot like the Dallas Cowboy chapters of The Zach Thomas Story only at a higher level of play. Not a disaster, but a slow fizzle and a lot of, "Man you should have seen him when he was with (old team). He was really something.")

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

SeanH — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:15:15 -0000

I hear you guys and I wouldn't be excited about him if I were a Cowboys or Jets fan, but Denver's front 7 was absolutely pathetic last year, they have no leadership on defense other than Bailey who's a lead by example type, they have a ton of cap space, and they're building a 3-4 from scratch.

I know he's not what he used to be, but even if he can't make a play outside the hashmarks he'd be a big help in Denver.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Just_Another_Greg — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:57:37 -0000

I've seen Ray play plenty, he unquestionably looked bigger and thicker this year, but believe me he was not faster. I remember watching a game with some friends and right after a replay someone piped in, "Is Ray Lewis getting fat?" Right away somebody else, "I was just thinking the same thing." And on the whole, I just do not think he was as dominating as in years past. He can still tackle, but he's not all over the place.

Of course that makes the same point. He's not worth the huge huge bucks that his name implies because he's starting to reach that inevitable point of decline. The gap between how good he still thinks he is (and he is still a very very good linebacker) and how good he is evaluated to be by most teams should make for an interesting free agency period for him. Actually, the last take I heard was that he'll probably stay in Baltimore.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Uncular1 — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:48:52 -0000

I just hope this is true:

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumors/view/92810-bengals-to-re-sign-housh

I mean the Bengals won't sign a big name free agent, but maybe we'll at least keep our important ones.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

hubcap — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:45:31 -0000

I like Ray Lewis, but I'll make the anti-Ray Lewis case. He's 33 years old and in his 12th season at a brutal position. The Ravens know him inside and out and design schemes to accentuate his strengths and hide his weaknesses. He is a team leader, but vocal team leadership often doesn't transfer between teams - the new guy has a harder time commanding the respect of guys who only know him by rep. Finally, after years of gentle, age-appropriate decline Lewis's sudden contract-year resurgence reeks of PEDs. It's rude, but I'm saying it. How many professional athletes get bigger, thicker and faster at age 32? I'm not judging him morally, but if I were writing checks I'd be worried about his body breaking down even faster than expected.

Keep in mind, I like the guy. To me all of that means that the best fit for Lewis is in Baltimore, where they know his abilities best.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

SeanH — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:45:15 -0000

Fred Taylor to the Patriots. Him splitting carries with Maroney seems like a good fit since neither's an every down guy.

The damn Baltimore Sun's getting me excited by speculating about Ray Lewis heading to Denver.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Ty — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:34:06 -0000

Is Snyder possibly this bad on accident? He's gotta be trying, right?

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Norsecats — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 11:18:36 -0000

Sage Rosenfels, Houston's backup QB, is going to the Vikings. He'll be an improvement over Tarvaris, who played terribly in the playoff game against the Eagles and who is too scatter-armed to be a reliable QB. If he can run the West Coast offense well and Adrian Peterson both stays healthy and learns how to hang on to the football, the Vikings will have themselves an offense. If nothing else, they should be able to easily win a weak division. I don't see da Bears getting any better; the Lions may improve all the way up to 4-12, and the Packers are mediocre.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

sgwhiteinfla — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:52:17 -0000

I am betting that Laverneus Coles ends up with the Dolphins.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

sgwhiteinfla — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:38:34 -0000

And to echo the other commenters Dan Snyder is a fucking idiot. At some point someone should tell that fool that this isn't fantasy football. Albert Haynesworth is good but honestly I think Kevin Williams of the Vikings is a helluva lot better. And how does signing Haynesworth help the Redskins get to the playoffs? Well I guess like Weezie says, it ain't trickin if you got it but at some point the fans aren't going to keep supporting the same old shit. There isn't a chance in hell that Haynesworth could even possibly live up to that contract. Considering the Deadskins' recent history on big free agent signings its pretty much a done deal that he is going to end up being seen as a bust.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

SeanH — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:38:27 -0000

Friggin' Redskins. 6 years and 52 mil for Deangelo Hall? I'll bet he doesn't make half that contract before Washington's taking a solid cap hit because they have to cut him. Dude's been a constant disruption over his career and can't play man-to-man, but he behaved and played well for a whole four games in Washington so of course they hand him 21.5 million in guaranteed money.

Also, Haynesworth is damn good, but no D-lineman is worth quality QB money. Like King says, the dude won't even be on the field for 1/3 of defensive plays and he'll only be able to play as well as he has for maybe another 2 or 3 years. He's definitely worth paying and I hoped Denver could sign him, but unless that $100M contract is really heavy in incentives he won't reach or salary in the late years they won't actually be paying him for it's ridiculous. Wish articles would make a habit of actually saying what the guaranteed money and annual cap numbers are since the total contract value doesn't really mean much of anything in the NFL.

Redkins, Offseason Champs once again!

Dude, cap hits from overpriced contracts like this are the reason the Redskins are always stuck up against the cap. It looks great now, but it won't look so pretty 4 years from now when they're stuck trying to decide whether to keep paying something like 18 million a year for a 32-year-old, 350 pound dude that can only play 15 snaps a game or take a 20 million cap hit to cut him.

I'm pretty interested to see free agency next year if we get a capless season. Teams will probably be cutting folks right and left since there won't be any cap hit. Should be fun.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

sgwhiteinfla — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:30:57 -0000

Coates

I don't understand your concern about Ray Lewis and I am still hoping they go after him. We need a damn voice in that lockerroom that commands respect and we don't have it right now. Back in the day it was Money Mike and Ray would fit that role well. Plus I think he would get TO's ass in check or at the least knock him the fuck out when he starts up again.

Re: NFL Free Agency Begins

Hill Rat — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 10:24:41 -0000

The Haynesworth signing is terrible for the 'Skins, typical Danny Boy bonehead move.