Natedawg44
12-17-2004, 10:57 PM
Credit Tampa Bay free safety Dwight Smith, who can be an unrestricted free agent in the spring, with some forward thinking. Smith played the first two seasons of his NFL career at cornerback, and became one of the league's premier "nickel" players (remember his two interception returns for touchdowns in Super Bowl XXXVII), before switching to free safety in 2003 to replace the departed Dexter Jackson. But Smith, and agent Drew Rosenhaus are savvy enough to know cornerbacks draw much bigger paychecks in the NFL than safeties, and so the veteran player is already marketing himself in free agency as a boundary defender.
"I'm going on the free-agent market as a corner," Smith said this week. "You got all these cornerbacks who I know I'm better than, and they are getting $8 million and $9 million (in signing bonuses). And you want me to take a safety salary because I moved to safety to help (my current) team? I can't fathom it. It's not that I'm that greedy. It's just that you want to be paid what you're worth." Smith figures to attract a pretty healthy market. He is only 26 years old, has extensive experience, and has terrific cornerback instincts. The Bucs last month signed strong safety Jermaine Phillips to a four-year, $9.5 million extension, and might not be able to afford to keep Smith at such numbers. Fact is, Smith is going to demand more, and probably get it. And he likely didn't hurt his case by announcing already that he wants to return to cornerback, a spot where he has more value, and where every team, it seems, is looking for help.
If Phillips got 9.5 mill Smith is definitely gonna get more :(
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Wide Receiver
Cincinnati Bengals
Profile
2004 SEASON STATISTICS
Rec Yds TD Avg Long YAC
58 800 3 13.8 62 275
According to a few pro scouts to whom we regularly speak, no potential unrestricted free agent has helped himself more in recent weeks than Cincinnati Bengals wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The four-year veteran, who even some Bengals coaches felt was a bit too fragile in the past, has really emerged, with 26 catches for 395 yards and three scores in the past three games. The Bengals have really challenged secondaries lately, getting more vertical, and it was felt Houshmandzadeh didn't fit that kind of game. But he has made big catches, added yards after the catch, and set himself up for a pretty nice payday.
It will be interesting to see if the Bengals can keep both he and tailback Rudi Johnson, another pending free agent. Contract talks with Johnson have gone nowhere, and the Bengals might gamble that first-round tailback Chris Perry, who has done next to nothing this season because of injuries, can step up. If money is tight -- and it will be now that quarterback Carson Palmer has triggered some of his escalator clauses -- the Bengals might also sacrifice wideout Peter Warrick if they can take that money and turn it into a deal with Houshmandzadeh. By the way, coach Marvin Lewis feels Houshmandzadeh has been the victim of three blatantly cheap shots this year: from New England linebacker Mike Vrabel, Cleveland corner Chris Crocker and Dallas safety Roy Williams.
With his recent slump (an average of just 2.6 feet per carry over the past two games), and the woes of the Cleveland offense, it appears that Browns tailback William Green will lose $4.5 million in potential contract escalators. Green's initial NFL contract stipulated that if he rushed for 1,000 yards in any of his first three campaigns, his base salary for 2005 would jump from $500,000 to $2 million and his base salary for 2006 would rise to $3.5 million from $525,000. Those extra bucks have all but evaporated. Green, who could be replaced in the starting lineup by the more explosive (but often injured) Lee Suggs this week, needs to run for 432 yards in the final three games to get to the 1,000-yard mark. Such a feat of the feet isn't likely. Green has said, however, that he hopes to be back with the Browns in 2005, under a new coach, and hopes to re-jump start his once promising career.
Think this isn't a season in which parity has morphed into dis-parity? Consider this: Through 14 weeks, just 43.2 percent of the games played have been determined by seven points or less and just 22.3 percent by three points or fewer. If those numbers hold up over the final three weekends, it would be the lowest percentage of seven-point games since 1992 and the lowest quotient of three-point contests since 1998. Last season, 48.4 percent of all games had a margin of seven points or fewer and 23.4 percent of games were determined by three points or less. There also have been only nine overtime contests to date in 2004.
Strange but true: The coordinators for the league's three top-rated defenses through 14 weeks of the season all worked for the Buffalo Bills in 2003. Dick LeBeau, who oversees the top-rated Pittsburgh defense, was a senior assistant in Buffalo in '03. Greg Williams, who coordinates the No. 2-rated Washington defense, was, of course, the head coach of the Bills. And the Bills current coordinator, Jerry Gray, who has the third-rated unit in the league, held the same position in Buffalo last year and was retained by rookie head coach Mike Mularkey.
Punts: At the aforementioned league meeting this week, the Jets took another shot at completing a contract extension for nose tackle Jason Ferguson, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the spring. But assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum and agent Jimmy Sexton couldn't bridge the negotiating gap, and it now appears that Ferguson will go onto the open market. ...
This is very good news ;)
In 61 games with Paul Hackett as offensive coordinator, the Jets have scored 30 or more points just a dozen times. ... Eagles special teams coach John Harbaugh, one of the best in the business, has interest in the University of Pittsburgh head coaching spot, but Panthers officials haven't called him yet. ... Disregard the rumors that Cleveland owner Randy Lerner is prepared to give Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome a few percentage points of ownership to get him to the Browns in the same capacity. ... Pete Garcia, the first lieutenant to deposed Browns coach Butch Davis, has several nibbles at the pro and college levels. Garcia, who remained with the club after Davis' exit, is much respected and will land on his feet. ... Bills coaches are thrilled with the performance of right offensive tackle Mike Williams, previously thought to be a first-round underachiever, in the past month. ... Tennessee officials are taking seriously now the retirement talk from quarterback Steve McNair. Apparently the Titans star has told key officials that his pronouncements were more than just empty rhetoric and frustration.
"I'm going on the free-agent market as a corner," Smith said this week. "You got all these cornerbacks who I know I'm better than, and they are getting $8 million and $9 million (in signing bonuses). And you want me to take a safety salary because I moved to safety to help (my current) team? I can't fathom it. It's not that I'm that greedy. It's just that you want to be paid what you're worth." Smith figures to attract a pretty healthy market. He is only 26 years old, has extensive experience, and has terrific cornerback instincts. The Bucs last month signed strong safety Jermaine Phillips to a four-year, $9.5 million extension, and might not be able to afford to keep Smith at such numbers. Fact is, Smith is going to demand more, and probably get it. And he likely didn't hurt his case by announcing already that he wants to return to cornerback, a spot where he has more value, and where every team, it seems, is looking for help.
If Phillips got 9.5 mill Smith is definitely gonna get more :(
T.J. Houshmandzadeh
Wide Receiver
Cincinnati Bengals
Profile
2004 SEASON STATISTICS
Rec Yds TD Avg Long YAC
58 800 3 13.8 62 275
According to a few pro scouts to whom we regularly speak, no potential unrestricted free agent has helped himself more in recent weeks than Cincinnati Bengals wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh. The four-year veteran, who even some Bengals coaches felt was a bit too fragile in the past, has really emerged, with 26 catches for 395 yards and three scores in the past three games. The Bengals have really challenged secondaries lately, getting more vertical, and it was felt Houshmandzadeh didn't fit that kind of game. But he has made big catches, added yards after the catch, and set himself up for a pretty nice payday.
It will be interesting to see if the Bengals can keep both he and tailback Rudi Johnson, another pending free agent. Contract talks with Johnson have gone nowhere, and the Bengals might gamble that first-round tailback Chris Perry, who has done next to nothing this season because of injuries, can step up. If money is tight -- and it will be now that quarterback Carson Palmer has triggered some of his escalator clauses -- the Bengals might also sacrifice wideout Peter Warrick if they can take that money and turn it into a deal with Houshmandzadeh. By the way, coach Marvin Lewis feels Houshmandzadeh has been the victim of three blatantly cheap shots this year: from New England linebacker Mike Vrabel, Cleveland corner Chris Crocker and Dallas safety Roy Williams.
With his recent slump (an average of just 2.6 feet per carry over the past two games), and the woes of the Cleveland offense, it appears that Browns tailback William Green will lose $4.5 million in potential contract escalators. Green's initial NFL contract stipulated that if he rushed for 1,000 yards in any of his first three campaigns, his base salary for 2005 would jump from $500,000 to $2 million and his base salary for 2006 would rise to $3.5 million from $525,000. Those extra bucks have all but evaporated. Green, who could be replaced in the starting lineup by the more explosive (but often injured) Lee Suggs this week, needs to run for 432 yards in the final three games to get to the 1,000-yard mark. Such a feat of the feet isn't likely. Green has said, however, that he hopes to be back with the Browns in 2005, under a new coach, and hopes to re-jump start his once promising career.
Think this isn't a season in which parity has morphed into dis-parity? Consider this: Through 14 weeks, just 43.2 percent of the games played have been determined by seven points or less and just 22.3 percent by three points or fewer. If those numbers hold up over the final three weekends, it would be the lowest percentage of seven-point games since 1992 and the lowest quotient of three-point contests since 1998. Last season, 48.4 percent of all games had a margin of seven points or fewer and 23.4 percent of games were determined by three points or less. There also have been only nine overtime contests to date in 2004.
Strange but true: The coordinators for the league's three top-rated defenses through 14 weeks of the season all worked for the Buffalo Bills in 2003. Dick LeBeau, who oversees the top-rated Pittsburgh defense, was a senior assistant in Buffalo in '03. Greg Williams, who coordinates the No. 2-rated Washington defense, was, of course, the head coach of the Bills. And the Bills current coordinator, Jerry Gray, who has the third-rated unit in the league, held the same position in Buffalo last year and was retained by rookie head coach Mike Mularkey.
Punts: At the aforementioned league meeting this week, the Jets took another shot at completing a contract extension for nose tackle Jason Ferguson, who is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent in the spring. But assistant general manager Mike Tannenbaum and agent Jimmy Sexton couldn't bridge the negotiating gap, and it now appears that Ferguson will go onto the open market. ...
This is very good news ;)
In 61 games with Paul Hackett as offensive coordinator, the Jets have scored 30 or more points just a dozen times. ... Eagles special teams coach John Harbaugh, one of the best in the business, has interest in the University of Pittsburgh head coaching spot, but Panthers officials haven't called him yet. ... Disregard the rumors that Cleveland owner Randy Lerner is prepared to give Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome a few percentage points of ownership to get him to the Browns in the same capacity. ... Pete Garcia, the first lieutenant to deposed Browns coach Butch Davis, has several nibbles at the pro and college levels. Garcia, who remained with the club after Davis' exit, is much respected and will land on his feet. ... Bills coaches are thrilled with the performance of right offensive tackle Mike Williams, previously thought to be a first-round underachiever, in the past month. ... Tennessee officials are taking seriously now the retirement talk from quarterback Steve McNair. Apparently the Titans star has told key officials that his pronouncements were more than just empty rhetoric and frustration.