Hostile
The Duke
- Messages
- 119,565
- Reaction score
- 4,544
I don't know, maybe I'm just tired of all the threads complaining that we haven't done ANYTHING. Especially the ones that don't have suggestions what we actually should do. I figured I'd give it a shot. What we should do is use common sense. I believe the Dallas Cowboys are doing exactly that.
Saying that will probably get me called a homer again. So be it. It doesn't matter to those who point that finger that their machinations don't make a lick of sense. They just want to bang on the bongo drums and call it Mozart.
Here's the real scoop. There's this thing called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL, it's owners, the clubs they own, and the players represented by the NFLPA. It is going to run out. 2010 was projected to be an uncapped year. That means the normal talent pool of Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) is extremely watered down. Instead of that we get a rather large pool of Restricted Free Agents.
For example, if the owners and players had agreed on a new CBA Marcus Spears would be free to sign with any team and Dallas would receive no compensation. Because he is an RFA that is not the case.
You remember how Dallas put "tender offers" on 12 of our RFAs? 31 other teams did that too. What that means is if we sign one of their RFAs to an offer sheet and they do not match it, we owe them compensation for that player. Compensation in the form of a Draft pick.
You see, it isn't just a case of what we get if someone signs our guys. It works the other way too. If we sign their guys we owe them. We don't want to give up our Draft picks. We only have 6, and this draft is deep at the positions we want to build for the future.
That seems to be what escapes too many people, the future. Dallas is trying to have one, not just an immediate fix at the 2010 rummage sale.
Let's take a look at the quality on display in the UFA pool. Our own list would include Montrae Holland and Shaun Suisham. These are either the UFAs we have or the guys we did not give a tender offer to. In other words, they can sign with anyone. They are JAGs. That is a perfect sample of what is available in Free Agency right now from the other 31 teams as well.
Now someone will inevitably point out guys like Julius Peppers, Antrel Rolle and so on who were let go by their teams and snapped up. They did so at prices none of us would have paid them. So why do we expect the Cowboys to? Oh yeah, because they have to do something or up in arms fans get the butt clenches.
I say let them get the butt clenches. I love the new mentality of "we must be that good" if we are doing nothing. Let's examine that for a minute. 5 teams draft behind the Cowboys in the Draft and one of them, the Jets, had a worse record in 2009. They draft behind us because they beat the Chargers to advance to the AFC Championship. These 5 teams are the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets. The Jets would not be drafting behind us if they had not won that game. You can argue with yourself if that win makes them better than us or not. I don't care.
The Saints are the undisputed kings of the mountain as the Super Bowl champs. Therefore they really are "that good." I suppose you could also say the Colts are "that good" since they played for the Championship. I'll skip them and what they have done in Free Agency since they are "that good."
The Vikings and the Chargers were right below them. Let's look at what they have done.
First the Vikings. They tendered 3 players, re-signed Jimmy Kennedy, let OT Artis Hicks leave to the Commanders, and let CB Karl Paymah leave to the 49ers. They signed CB Benny Sapp and K Rhys Lloyd.
Oh my gosh! Look at how active they are in Free Agency! They know they are this close to being the team to beat. They almost beat the Saints for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Benny Sapp and Rhys Lloyd will get them over that hump right?
Please.
Now the Chargers. I shouldn't even have to do this to drive the point home even further, but I can't resist. The complaining has been so foolish it needs to be exposed for the silly drama that it is.
They gave tender offers to 10 RFAs. They waived one of the greatest RBs of all time and turned their running game over the Darren Sproles and whomever they might draft. Unless you believe their claiming of Marcus Mason means they are happy with their corps of RBs and won't do anything in the draft. They traded Antonio Cromartie because they want to start Antoine Cason whom they believe has developed into a starting quality CB. They traded their 3rd string QB. They re-signed TE Kris Wilson. They allowed NT Jamal Williams, WR Kassim Osgood, and TE Brandon Manumaleuna to leave and sign with other teams. They have signed CB Donald Strickland.
We could have had Donald Strickland? Oh the horror.
Benny Sapp, Donald Strickland and Rhys Lloyd. This is the kind of impact will satisfy the up in arms fans? In the name of all that is holy, why would it? Why would players of that caliber satisfy anyone? Please note, they are roughly the same quality of players as our 2 totally free to sign with anyone player,. Montrae Holland and Shaun Suisham. That is the true talent pool these people think will move us ahead of the Saints, Chargers, Vikings, and Colts.
Please don't say that isn't the case, because it damned sure is. Unlike the Chargers the Cowboys have not yet had to unload a guy like LaDanian Tomlinson. Are the Colts or Saints making huge waves in Free Agency? I suppose you could say the Jets are, but they have to. They did not win their Division in 2009, still have to clear the Patriots hurdle and they are once again loaded in the Draft, and they probably won't repeat their 2009 success when they get the tougher 2010 schedule. Remember the 2008 Dolphins? They returned to earth in a hurry in 2009. The Jets will be good, maybe even better, but there is a chance they go backwards too despite the 2 decent moves they have done.
The two names that seem to be highest on everybody's man crush are Jared Gaither and OJ Atogwe. People want to completely forget the fact that their teams gave them tender offers just like we did our guys. Have you noticed no one is jumping at the chance of signing our guys either? There is no feeding frenzy this year. Not even the normally free spending Commanders.
That's what gets me most of all. Our fans can see how the free spending has NOT pushed the Commanders over the top. Hell it hasn't even gotten them out of the basement. Yet they want Jerry to spend like a mad man. Do the Colts do that? They have been atop their perch in the AFC South for quite a while now. Or do they try and control things with solid moves and good drafting? What about the Patriots? For the better part of a decade they have been considered the pinnacle of smart management in the NFL. Same with the Eagles. Are any of these teams rushing to spend on these "quality" UFAs? Show me where.
Back to Gaither and Atogwe for a minute. The two gotta haves. Do we really gotta have them? First let's look at OT. We have guys who are aging, but are better than solid and Free has now vaulted himself into talk of starting. Flozell has a huge salary and could be waived. If we draft an OT we like, he probably will be. Why in the name of all that is intelligent would we rush to grab Gaither, pay the Ravens for him, pay him, and then vault him to the front of the line while skipping a shot at an OT in the Draft? Aren't we the fans who demand guys not be guaranteed starting jobs? Earn it. If you go grab Gaither you start him immediately. The problem is he would start at LT and we have our future LT in Doug Free. I am sorry to tell the truth, but there it is.
The Commanders lost their starting LT to retirement, are known to spend Draft picks and cash, Gaither is in their back yard, and they aren't in a rush to sign him. Yet we should be? That doesn't make sense.
Someone will undoubtedly think they know more than an entire coaching staff and Free is not a LT, he's a RT. Uh, no he isn't. LT people. In truth, they see Brewster as the future RT. I know he hasn't done anything except tear a pec muscle. So do the Cowboys. You'll have to trust me on that.
Last year our Defense was good enough to be 2nd in the NFL in points allowed. That with Ken Hamlin at FS. The Cowboys already know what they have in Hamlin. They know they can get by if they have to. Instead fans want us to grab Atogwe, pay the Rams for him, pay him, and skip FS in the Draft.
To get these 2 guys would cost us our 1st and 2nd round picks. How is that good team management? Yet that is exactly what our fans want us to do. Oh wait, we could negotiate lower costs. I forgot that for a minute, because every owner is ready, willing, and able to bless the Cowboys with a better deal than the ones they are offering us for our tendered players. Oh that's right, no one is making offers to them either. Damn the real world, it sure messes up a lot of fantasies.
The biggest fantasy of all is that we are doing nothing while every team around us is getting better. Instead of using a fraction of common sense people are griping about boxing, NBA all star games and the ilk. Apparently no other NFL sports venue seeks to augment their income in the off season. The Cardinals didn't allow Wrestlemania 26 to happen in their new stadium last night. That is just a figment of your vivid imaginations.
No, Jerry is Nero and he is fiddling while Rome burns all around him. Forget the fact that not since 2005 have we jumped early in Free Agency to make a splash. Forget the fact that 2009 brought us 3 starting quality guys on our Defense and we waited patiently to get them. Especially forget the fact that the CBA has us in an uncapped year and the UFA pool doesn't have a Keith Brooking, Gerald Sensabaugh, or Igor Olshansky to be found anywhere.
No, instead people want to gripe about what we paid to acquire Roy Williams. Gripe about his salary. And at the same time gripe that we aren't doing the exact same thing of giving up high draft picks to go grab Gaither and Atogwe and then pay them. Sigh.
We're going to build through the draft, see if any teams remove the tender offers from players after their drafts, and we are going to proceed with a well thought out plan of attack to round out an already talented and full roster. We're going to pass on the Benny Sapps of the world to focus on the next level.
Damn I'm sorry we're not going to swim in 1 star talent pool waters to appease some of you. I just couldn't be more ashamed of that. I know how fragile your nerves are when Free Agency hits. We passed on Benny Sapp. We're doomed. That was the sky that just hit me in the head. It's falling.
In truth, the only thing falling is the common sense level.
I already know I will get at least one response to this novella that says "tldr." Too long, didn't read. My response to this is "tbdl." Too bad, didn't learn.
Saying that will probably get me called a homer again. So be it. It doesn't matter to those who point that finger that their machinations don't make a lick of sense. They just want to bang on the bongo drums and call it Mozart.
Here's the real scoop. There's this thing called the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) between the NFL, it's owners, the clubs they own, and the players represented by the NFLPA. It is going to run out. 2010 was projected to be an uncapped year. That means the normal talent pool of Unrestricted Free Agents (UFAs) is extremely watered down. Instead of that we get a rather large pool of Restricted Free Agents.
For example, if the owners and players had agreed on a new CBA Marcus Spears would be free to sign with any team and Dallas would receive no compensation. Because he is an RFA that is not the case.
You remember how Dallas put "tender offers" on 12 of our RFAs? 31 other teams did that too. What that means is if we sign one of their RFAs to an offer sheet and they do not match it, we owe them compensation for that player. Compensation in the form of a Draft pick.
You see, it isn't just a case of what we get if someone signs our guys. It works the other way too. If we sign their guys we owe them. We don't want to give up our Draft picks. We only have 6, and this draft is deep at the positions we want to build for the future.
That seems to be what escapes too many people, the future. Dallas is trying to have one, not just an immediate fix at the 2010 rummage sale.
Let's take a look at the quality on display in the UFA pool. Our own list would include Montrae Holland and Shaun Suisham. These are either the UFAs we have or the guys we did not give a tender offer to. In other words, they can sign with anyone. They are JAGs. That is a perfect sample of what is available in Free Agency right now from the other 31 teams as well.
Now someone will inevitably point out guys like Julius Peppers, Antrel Rolle and so on who were let go by their teams and snapped up. They did so at prices none of us would have paid them. So why do we expect the Cowboys to? Oh yeah, because they have to do something or up in arms fans get the butt clenches.
I say let them get the butt clenches. I love the new mentality of "we must be that good" if we are doing nothing. Let's examine that for a minute. 5 teams draft behind the Cowboys in the Draft and one of them, the Jets, had a worse record in 2009. They draft behind us because they beat the Chargers to advance to the AFC Championship. These 5 teams are the Saints, Colts, Vikings, Chargers, and Jets. The Jets would not be drafting behind us if they had not won that game. You can argue with yourself if that win makes them better than us or not. I don't care.
The Saints are the undisputed kings of the mountain as the Super Bowl champs. Therefore they really are "that good." I suppose you could also say the Colts are "that good" since they played for the Championship. I'll skip them and what they have done in Free Agency since they are "that good."
The Vikings and the Chargers were right below them. Let's look at what they have done.
First the Vikings. They tendered 3 players, re-signed Jimmy Kennedy, let OT Artis Hicks leave to the Commanders, and let CB Karl Paymah leave to the 49ers. They signed CB Benny Sapp and K Rhys Lloyd.
Oh my gosh! Look at how active they are in Free Agency! They know they are this close to being the team to beat. They almost beat the Saints for the right to go to the Super Bowl. Benny Sapp and Rhys Lloyd will get them over that hump right?
Please.
Now the Chargers. I shouldn't even have to do this to drive the point home even further, but I can't resist. The complaining has been so foolish it needs to be exposed for the silly drama that it is.
They gave tender offers to 10 RFAs. They waived one of the greatest RBs of all time and turned their running game over the Darren Sproles and whomever they might draft. Unless you believe their claiming of Marcus Mason means they are happy with their corps of RBs and won't do anything in the draft. They traded Antonio Cromartie because they want to start Antoine Cason whom they believe has developed into a starting quality CB. They traded their 3rd string QB. They re-signed TE Kris Wilson. They allowed NT Jamal Williams, WR Kassim Osgood, and TE Brandon Manumaleuna to leave and sign with other teams. They have signed CB Donald Strickland.
We could have had Donald Strickland? Oh the horror.
Benny Sapp, Donald Strickland and Rhys Lloyd. This is the kind of impact will satisfy the up in arms fans? In the name of all that is holy, why would it? Why would players of that caliber satisfy anyone? Please note, they are roughly the same quality of players as our 2 totally free to sign with anyone player,. Montrae Holland and Shaun Suisham. That is the true talent pool these people think will move us ahead of the Saints, Chargers, Vikings, and Colts.
Please don't say that isn't the case, because it damned sure is. Unlike the Chargers the Cowboys have not yet had to unload a guy like LaDanian Tomlinson. Are the Colts or Saints making huge waves in Free Agency? I suppose you could say the Jets are, but they have to. They did not win their Division in 2009, still have to clear the Patriots hurdle and they are once again loaded in the Draft, and they probably won't repeat their 2009 success when they get the tougher 2010 schedule. Remember the 2008 Dolphins? They returned to earth in a hurry in 2009. The Jets will be good, maybe even better, but there is a chance they go backwards too despite the 2 decent moves they have done.
The two names that seem to be highest on everybody's man crush are Jared Gaither and OJ Atogwe. People want to completely forget the fact that their teams gave them tender offers just like we did our guys. Have you noticed no one is jumping at the chance of signing our guys either? There is no feeding frenzy this year. Not even the normally free spending Commanders.
That's what gets me most of all. Our fans can see how the free spending has NOT pushed the Commanders over the top. Hell it hasn't even gotten them out of the basement. Yet they want Jerry to spend like a mad man. Do the Colts do that? They have been atop their perch in the AFC South for quite a while now. Or do they try and control things with solid moves and good drafting? What about the Patriots? For the better part of a decade they have been considered the pinnacle of smart management in the NFL. Same with the Eagles. Are any of these teams rushing to spend on these "quality" UFAs? Show me where.
Back to Gaither and Atogwe for a minute. The two gotta haves. Do we really gotta have them? First let's look at OT. We have guys who are aging, but are better than solid and Free has now vaulted himself into talk of starting. Flozell has a huge salary and could be waived. If we draft an OT we like, he probably will be. Why in the name of all that is intelligent would we rush to grab Gaither, pay the Ravens for him, pay him, and then vault him to the front of the line while skipping a shot at an OT in the Draft? Aren't we the fans who demand guys not be guaranteed starting jobs? Earn it. If you go grab Gaither you start him immediately. The problem is he would start at LT and we have our future LT in Doug Free. I am sorry to tell the truth, but there it is.
The Commanders lost their starting LT to retirement, are known to spend Draft picks and cash, Gaither is in their back yard, and they aren't in a rush to sign him. Yet we should be? That doesn't make sense.
Someone will undoubtedly think they know more than an entire coaching staff and Free is not a LT, he's a RT. Uh, no he isn't. LT people. In truth, they see Brewster as the future RT. I know he hasn't done anything except tear a pec muscle. So do the Cowboys. You'll have to trust me on that.
Last year our Defense was good enough to be 2nd in the NFL in points allowed. That with Ken Hamlin at FS. The Cowboys already know what they have in Hamlin. They know they can get by if they have to. Instead fans want us to grab Atogwe, pay the Rams for him, pay him, and skip FS in the Draft.
To get these 2 guys would cost us our 1st and 2nd round picks. How is that good team management? Yet that is exactly what our fans want us to do. Oh wait, we could negotiate lower costs. I forgot that for a minute, because every owner is ready, willing, and able to bless the Cowboys with a better deal than the ones they are offering us for our tendered players. Oh that's right, no one is making offers to them either. Damn the real world, it sure messes up a lot of fantasies.
The biggest fantasy of all is that we are doing nothing while every team around us is getting better. Instead of using a fraction of common sense people are griping about boxing, NBA all star games and the ilk. Apparently no other NFL sports venue seeks to augment their income in the off season. The Cardinals didn't allow Wrestlemania 26 to happen in their new stadium last night. That is just a figment of your vivid imaginations.
No, Jerry is Nero and he is fiddling while Rome burns all around him. Forget the fact that not since 2005 have we jumped early in Free Agency to make a splash. Forget the fact that 2009 brought us 3 starting quality guys on our Defense and we waited patiently to get them. Especially forget the fact that the CBA has us in an uncapped year and the UFA pool doesn't have a Keith Brooking, Gerald Sensabaugh, or Igor Olshansky to be found anywhere.
No, instead people want to gripe about what we paid to acquire Roy Williams. Gripe about his salary. And at the same time gripe that we aren't doing the exact same thing of giving up high draft picks to go grab Gaither and Atogwe and then pay them. Sigh.
We're going to build through the draft, see if any teams remove the tender offers from players after their drafts, and we are going to proceed with a well thought out plan of attack to round out an already talented and full roster. We're going to pass on the Benny Sapps of the world to focus on the next level.
Damn I'm sorry we're not going to swim in 1 star talent pool waters to appease some of you. I just couldn't be more ashamed of that. I know how fragile your nerves are when Free Agency hits. We passed on Benny Sapp. We're doomed. That was the sky that just hit me in the head. It's falling.
In truth, the only thing falling is the common sense level.
I already know I will get at least one response to this novella that says "tldr." Too long, didn't read. My response to this is "tbdl." Too bad, didn't learn.
