Quote Originally Posted by Anti-Polar Bear View Post
Yes, I'm old enough to remember Brown. Had a couple of gimme picks off "Smokin' Bum" O'Donnell in Super Bowl 30 (unlike Cutler, O'Donnell literally smoked cigarettes - or fags, as the Brits are fond of saying - during games). Signed a lucrative contract with Oakland afterward with Al Davis' blessing

I also remember the Polar Bear signing an aging, washed out, injury-prone free agent corner named Charles Woodson. And the Niners literally purchased their last Super Bowl win, which included the acquisition of a cocky free agent named "Neon" Deion Sanders, among others. And, oh, ever since that midget corner left Green Bay as a free agent and signed with the Bolts, he has been a-pimpin'.

Butler is too slow for my liking, so I ain't arguing for the German Shepherd to sign the Super Bowl hero. All I'm saying is, free agency (and trades) can and does help teams win Super Bowls. Just ask the Balding Eggles.
If you get the right player, any player acquisition helps. Its the hit rate of getting the right player plus the cost that is the problem.

Ted did not abandon FA, he just used it infrequently. He used it when certain (Woodson, Peppers) in dire need (Pickett) or in dire need but suffering from a head cold (couple of safeties, Frank Walker, Brandon Chillar). If the hit rate is the same as drafting (and what I have read said its about 50%) then its vastly more expensive than the draft with no more certainty.

If you have no choice, you are going to get hurt worse than in the draft. Going after role players makes sense since they won't be signing in the dumb money portion. But I would not mind the Packers getting in on more FA tours early in the process just to see what happens (and I think that is what BG was talking about in his press conference). But to make that pay, you have to be certain and hit better than 500.

I definitely think they could do more trades and fill some gaps in depth. I don't want them trading many draft picks though unless they are going to start dumping vets like the Pats do to get the picks back.