Thompson made a run at Revis???

That would have been a shock, but interestingly Revis mentioned the Packers first in listing teams that were in play for his services:

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"It was the Packers, Baltimore as well, Cleveland, the Chiefs and the Jets also," said Revis during an appearance on SNY's Loud Mouths. "And then also the Pats, so it was a number of teams."

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http://www.packersnews.com/story/spo...sted/70503728/

Just another example of things that go on without the fans typically being made aware. Thompson has said often that they are very active during free agency, that they have many discussions with agents, just don't often reach common ground. Last year they signed Peppers without anyone even being aware of their interest. Had they been only a little apart with Peppers, so that no agreement was reached, we may not have even known how close they were to signing him.

Who knows how close they were to Revis, but I do find it interesting that the Packers were mentioned first by him. It would be natural to name those who were the most serious first.

Obviously only Thompson knows what his real level of interest was, but Ted does due diligence on everyone. He's "interested" in everyone at certain prices. Maybe Revis too, might take a discount to play for a serious contender. No? OK then. Turn over the next rock.

A casual discussion, that was never close to anything serious, might not even be mentioned to the player by the agent. A semi serious discussion, with some back and forth on figures might have qualified them for mention by Revis as an "also" or an "as well". But to be mentioned first, with others then added to them, gives me the impression that Green Bay was a serious contender, perhaps the "runner-up" with whom they had they most serious discussions.

Either that, or Green Bay was the first one brought to his attention.
Or, maybe it is where he really wanted to go! :-)

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Originally Posted by Patler

A casual discussion, that was never close to anything serious, might not even be mentioned to the player by the agent. A semi serious discussion, with some back and forth on figures might have qualified them for mention by Revis as an "also" or an "as well". But to be mentioned first, with others then added to them, gives me the impression that Green Bay was a serious contender, perhaps the "runner-up" with whom they had they most serious discussions.

Either that, or Green Bay was the first one brought to his attention.
Or, maybe it is where he really wanted to go! :-)

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I had very similar thoughts when I read his comments.

andre johnson and greg jennings also mentioned green bay

one guy (might have been andre) said he would like to play for all the final 4 teams

i'm sure a lot of players would like to play for a winner

i think its important to figure out if he was just mentioning teams he would like to go to, or teams he was close to signing with

Just remember that agents have a huge interest in drumming up offers for their players. The level of interest doesn't need to be equal, you just need enough named teams to create worry somewhere so they pull the trigger early and at more player friendly terms.

Revis might be a special case. Despite a big injury, he has been paid a lot of money three times now, and it has happened a year or two earlier than most franchise level players. he is thought to be very much on top of his game from a business negotiation standpoint. His agent is his Uncle, so its quite possible he knew the minutiae of contacts for his services.

But I would take Andre Johnson and Greg Jennings kinds of mentions with grains of salt.

I don't pay much attention to the teams mentioned by players or agents before they sign. I don't pay much attention to what agents say publicly about anything, ever. A player mentioning other teams that were in play after he has already signed with another team seems to carry a bit more reliability, in my mind. It can still be a bit of ego self-stroking, but he can do that more generally without specific mentions of teams.

It could be. However, except as I note might be the exception in a case like Revis, I think many players are repeating what the agent is selling.

My guess is Ted made some inquiries just to test the waters but knowing deep down Revis will be too rich for his blood = TT doing his due diligence.

i can see ted looking at revis to be much like me buying a new car

salesman- "hey, what can i do you for"
me- "i need a new car"
salesman "what kind"
me -"something awesome"
salesman "well we got....."
me "SWEET IS THAT A FERARRI?"
salesman "yup, 1993 ferarri 512TR"
me "nice, can i sit it it?"
salesman "sure"
me " oh man, how much?"
salesman " only 93,000 because it has low mileage"
me "nice....... so do you have anything like a 1989 geo metro that you're about to scrap?"
salesman "yes we have 4"

LATER THAT DAY

my friend "cool new geo metro you bought"
me " yeah i know, i looked at a ferrari, but i just decided on the better gas mileage of the geo"

BACK AT CAR DEALERSHIP

car salesman to boss "yeah, i almost sold the testarossa today, thought i had him"

Threads like this just bother me. I don't expect TT to go balls out in free agency. But I would like to see a signing or two every couple years of players that aren't from some inner city flag football team. No Peppers doesn't count.

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Originally Posted by Rutnstrut

No Peppers doesn't count.

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Why not? (Just trying to understand your point.)

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Originally Posted by Patler

Why not? (Just trying to understand your point.)

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If you exclude the things that do not support your argument, you win!

I like hearing this; my gut says we had no shot but at least we are trying. Ted sticks to hit budget IMO

Revis is perhaps the best "businessman" as far as players as we've ever seen.
He's in this for the money and he's never signed a deal w/o that being in perspective
Go back and add up how much ching this guy made at the CB position

I think Suh might be the same way

Here's the thing, there are only a handful of players each year that would qualify as "big" free agents. With 32 teams out there, is it realistic to expect a big free agent signing every couple of years? What teams actually do this with any consistency?

Over the years Thompson has taken a shot at a number of different FAs that we know of. I presume there are plenty we don't know about. I don't think we are as great of an anomaly in our FA activity as the press likes to portray.

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Originally Posted by Bretsky

Revis is perhaps the best "businessman" as far as players as we've ever seen.
He's in this for the money and he's never signed a deal w/o that being in perspective
Go back and add up how much ching this guy made at the CB position

I think Suh might be the same way

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Yup, I wonder if Revis is "business smart" himself, or just smart enough to listen to his agent who seems to be managing his career quite well, financially. According to Sportrac, Revis has been paid $85 million cash through 2014. Not bad for 8 years, including his rookie contract.

That doesn't include the supposed $39 million guranteed under his new contract..

when all is said and done Revis might command one hundred fifty Mil

Crazy Ching for a CB

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Originally Posted by Patler

Why not? (Just trying to understand your point.)

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1. I don't really like him as a player.
b.I don't think there was a whole lot of competition for him.

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Originally Posted by Rutnstrut

1. I don't really like him as a player.
b.I don't think there was a whole lot of competition for him.

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I don't see how either of those disqualify him as the type of player you wrote that you want TT to sign "every couple years".

Besides, how can you judge the competition for him? He was barely on the street, just three days. .

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Originally Posted by sharpe1027

Here's the thing, there are only a handful of players each year that would qualify as "big" free agents. With 32 teams out there, is it realistic to expect a big free agent signing every couple of years? What teams actually do this with any consistency?

Over the years Thompson has taken a shot at a number of different FAs that we know of. I presume there are plenty we don't know about. I don't think we are as great of an anomaly in our FA activity as the press likes to portray.

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Oh yeah, the Packers are an anomaly. Hardly anyone on the team comes from outside the system. But with 32 teams, it's hard to get a 'spash guy' all that often. And TT is targeting specific guys when he does go after a 'big' FA. He likes the physical specimens - the guys with combinations of size, speed, ability/knack that you almost never draft except at the top of the first round. Pickett, Woodson, Peppers. Very deliberate with FAs is TT. Either flyers at the bottom, or specimens who the rest of the league seems about to give up on.

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Originally Posted by Patler

Besides, how can you judge the competition for him? He was barely on the street, just three days. .

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Typically, that's a sign of high value, but maybe he just has a good agent and all you need really is two very interested teams.

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Originally Posted by mraynrand

Oh yeah, the Packers are an anomaly. Hardly anyone on the team comes from outside the system. But with 32 teams, it's hard to get a 'spash guy' all that often. And TT is targeting specific guys when he does go after a 'big' FA. He likes the physical specimens - the guys with combinations of size, speed, ability/knack that you almost never draft except at the top of the first round. Pickett, Woodson, Peppers. Very deliberate with FAs is TT. Either flyers at the bottom, or specimens who the rest of the league seems about to give up on.

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Well, part of only having their own guys that is that they cut many of their FA signings. Is that due to who they sign, or because they have a pretty talented roster? Probably a bit of both.

Another part is that they use undrafted FA with success. Those category of FA's don't count in many people's books because they have played for another team. But, is it that much different?

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Originally Posted by sharpe1027

Well, part of only having their own guys that is that they cut many of their FA signings. Is that due to who they sign, or because they have a pretty talented roster? Probably a bit of both.

Another part is that they use undrafted FA with success. Those category of FA's don't count in many people's books because they have (not?) played for another team. But, is it that much different?

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All true. Mostly they do low risk, (hopefully) high reward with FAs.