Hostile;3324134 said:
#1. Your point was the big contract the Rams will give for the #1 pick side by side with a contract for Atogwe.
Jerry will have to give a big contract to Austin, side by side with a contract for Atogwe.
There is literally no difference in money so there was no point. He was amplifying that.
#2. He called Atogwe an "average FA" and you call that a fail. So you are therefore saying he is a star FA IO assume. Yet this cannot be defended based on the contract he is likely to get nor his overall performance, or even the contribution he has made as a difference maker. I would contend that ed Reed, Troy Polumalu, and even to a lesser extent Darren Sharper all contributed directly to wins for their teams. Atogwe did not. Unless you think his play was the difference in that lone win. All of these things define him as exactly what he said, an average FA. He's a guy stuck on a bad team, but he isn't a star.
#3. He called the NFL a "seller's market." In other words the advantage goes to the seller, not the buyer. Again he was absolutely on the money with that. That is why teams can let someone else set the market and still not lose a player. If no one does set the market then the Rams get to keep him at a pre-determined amount that we must already assume they are willing to pay or they would have simply let him walk.
The Rams hold all the high cards in this. He was right.
#1. They are not the same situations and should not be compared because we would be releasing an over-priced, average player in Ken Hamlin, which would save us a good amount of cap money. The Rams aren't releasing anybody with the contract of Hamlin, so the comparison makes no sense. By the way, if you think Miles Austin is going to have a contract as big as Sam Bradford will, then you're from another planet my man! Sadly, Bradford will be one of the highest players in the NFL if he goes #1 overall. Terrible analogy to compare Austin to Bradford, and at the same time Dallas would be releasing an overrated, over-priced player in Hamlin. No dice with that comparison.
#2. Do not put words in my mouth please. I never said Otogwe was a "star player." I'm not exactly sure what a star player is. All I know is that he's a very good player on a horrible defense and would be an upgrade over our current free safety. I think it's funny you said this:
"All of these things define him as exactly what he said, an average FA. He's a guy stuck on a bad team, but he isn't a star."
So he's an average free agent, but he's "a guy" stuck on a bad team. Make up your mind!!! You must think well enough of him to admit that he's "stuck on a bad team." Is he average or is he a solid player stuck on a bad team? The hypocrisy in that statement is amazing to see.
I also think it's funny that because Otogwe had NO other decent player in the secondary with him, and the defense couldn't generate a pass rush, that he wasn't good enough to generate more wins. I guess we're in a new age in the NFL where one player dictates who wins and loses. You put Otogwe on a defense that has Ware, Spencer and Ratliff rushing the passer and he'll have twice as more turnovers than Hamlin did or his lack of turnovers.
#3. The Rams do hold all the cards RIGHT NOW, I agree. But if Otogwe does not sign his tender (which is likely he will not, unless he reaches a long term deal with the Rams), eventually he will become an unrestricted free agent, and he'll be free to sign with any team. It would be pointless for Dallas to sign him to an offer sheet right now actually, when they could hold their own private negotiations with Otogwe if and when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
