Smart NFL teams spend little in free agency

[Deputy Nutz]

I don't know what you mean about the Packers doing better, I don't think I see 13 wins, but I certainly see 10 maybe 11 wins and that is conservative. Rodgers is going to make mistakes but I think he is going to bring a lot to the table. I still see a hole at running back. I don't think Grant is going to be as productive as he was in 07, but I do think Brandon Jackson will be better, but yet there isn't going to be a back that Rodgers is really going to be able lean on when he is struggling. Favre never really had a back like that as well outside of the three years when Ahman Green was one of the top three backs in the league. Rodgers is going to need a running game more than Favre to make this offense consistently successful.

[RashanGary]

We'll see how Rodgers does. He says he's understanding the "whys" of the offense. To me that is a very important thing. If I know why something is done, I commit to it better and I can do it better becaue I know where to put my focus. Just hearing him say that brings a little confidence.


At the same time, he's completely unproven. We could dominate the North for the next 10 eyars with another really good QB or we could have a dud. We'll find out soon enough.

[Scott Campbell]

I think B is addicted to free agents the way Tyrone is addicted to crack.

But I just said we might as well not bother with FA's this year
Has Tyrone given up his addiction too

I hear what you're sayin, but like Tyrone, you're one day at a time.

[KYPack]

We'll see how Rodgers does. He says he's understanding the "whys" of the offense. To me that is a very important thing. If I know why something is done, I commit to it better and I can do it better becaue I know where to put my focus. Just hearing him say that brings a little confidence.

I'll be happy if he knows the "hows', as in "how" to do it.

[Guiness]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

[KYPack]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

The Yankees have spent the most, but haven't won a WS since the 2000 subway series. They have blown the most $, but been beaten out by the "smart money" teams.

Football has really shown you can't buy it, look at Washington and some of the other dumb money teams.

[Bretsky]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

The Yankees have spent the most, but haven't won a WS since the 2000 subway series. They have blown the most $, but been beaten out by the "smart money" teams.

Football has really shown you can't buy it, look at Washington and some of the other dumb money teams.

Gosh I'm not sure I'd say you can't buy a title in baseball. I actually think being loaded on the cap gives you by far the best chance and a number of teams have no aspirations or chance for the playoffs at the beginning of each year. That's sad for a sport.

With a few exceptions the teams amongst the highest payrolls in the game win it all.
Exceptions were the Diamondbacks and Marlins.

[Zool]

Still need to draft well to win it all.

[Sparkey]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

The Yankees have spent the most, but haven't won a WS since the 2000 subway series. They have blown the most $, but been beaten out by the "smart money" teams.

Football has really shown you can't buy it, look at Washington and some of the other dumb money teams.

Gosh I'm not sure I'd say you can't buy a title in baseball. I actually think being loaded on the cap gives you by far the best chance and a number of teams have no aspirations or chance for the playoffs at the beginning of each year. That's sad for a sport.

With a few exceptions the teams amongst the highest payrolls in the game win it all.
Exceptions were the Diamondbacks and Marlins.

I'd bet the Yankees and their annual 200+MIL wish they could "buy a title" with their payroll.

[DonHutson]

Amen to that. In addition to those mentioned, the Patriots have generally steered clear of wasting money on other teams' free agents.

The key word there is WASTING. The Pats dropped a boatload of money on Adalius Thomas last year. Just like the Packers paid Woodson the year before.

It's not so much about spending a lot or a little. It's about spending however much you spend wisely

Just like it doesn't matter if you trade up or down in the draft, as long as you make good choices wherever you pick.

It is true that the teams that are confident in the homework they've done can get away with spending more selectively in FA, and they can stockpile lower picks in the draft because the good preparation leads to fewer mistakes.

[sharpe1027]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

There are few sports that have a disparity of baseball between the have and have nots. Small market teams have to be extremely good in their farm systems. Even then they have a very small window of time that they have to win in before losing their players to FA.

Bad analogy.

[HarveyWallbangers]

There are few sports that have a disparity of baseball between the have and have nots. Small market teams have to be extremely good in their farm systems. Even then they have a very small window of time that they have to win in before losing their players to FA.

Bad analogy.

Agreed.

[Gunakor]

Back to the original article...

Baseball learned that you can't buy a championship?????

Umm, what rock has he been under while the Yankees and Red Sox have stayed on top the past decade?

It's been almost an entire decade since the Yankee's were on top. How many WS have they won since adding Alex Rodriguez to thier lineup? NONE. They haven't won a damn thing. All the money they've spent has amounted to incredible regular seasons followed by post season flops.

For comparison, over the last 10 years count up the number of World Series' that the Yankees have won and compare that to the amount of World Series' that the Florida Marlins have won. Suprised?

In baseball you can buy a great regular season, maybe even a division title. But money can't buy October.

It cannot buy January for NFL teams either.

[HarveyWallbangers]

It's been almost an entire decade since the Yankee's were on top. How many WS have they won since adding Alex Rodriguez to thier lineup? NONE. They haven't won a damn thing. All the money they've spent has amounted to incredible regular seasons followed by post season flops.

For comparison, over the last 10 years count up the number of World Series' that the Yankees have won and compare that to the amount of World Series' that the Florida Marlins have won. Suprised?

In baseball you can buy a great regular season, maybe even a division title. But money can't buy October.

It cannot buy January for NFL teams either.

Well, even if you develop a great farm system, that's all you can buy. Baseball is a different game than football. Even the great teams won't win more than about 2/3 of their games, and even the terrible teams win 1/3 of their games. It's pretty much a tossup once two solid teams play each other in the postseason--especially in a short series.

No, money is a HUGE advantage in baseball. Convenient how you are forgetting that the Yanks AND Sox spend the most money. Seems to me the Sox are doing just fine at buying their championships. There are only 8 playoff spots in baseball. When is the last time either the Sox or Yanks didn't make the postseason. It's huge that money almost guarantees that they'll be one of the 8 teams that make the playoffs EVERY year. It allows them to be terrible in developing their systems. Now that both teams have built up their farm systems... on top of the money to buy FAs... these two teams are going to remain dominant for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, the money discrepancy in football isn't nearly as bad as baseball.

[Gunakor]

It's been almost an entire decade since the Yankee's were on top. How many WS have they won since adding Alex Rodriguez to thier lineup? NONE. They haven't won a damn thing. All the money they've spent has amounted to incredible regular seasons followed by post season flops.

For comparison, over the last 10 years count up the number of World Series' that the Yankees have won and compare that to the amount of World Series' that the Florida Marlins have won. Suprised?

In baseball you can buy a great regular season, maybe even a division title. But money can't buy October.

It cannot buy January for NFL teams either.

Well, even if you develop a great farm system, that's all you can buy. Baseball is a different game than football. Even the great teams won't win more than about 2/3 of their games, and even the terrible teams win 1/3 of their games. It's pretty much a tossup once two solid teams play each other in the postseason--especially in a short series.

No, money is a HUGE advantage in baseball. Convenient how you are forgetting that the Yanks AND Sox spend the most money. Seems to me the Sox are doing just fine at buying their championships. There are only 8 playoff spots in baseball. When is the last time either the Sox or Yanks didn't make the postseason. It's huge that money almost guarantees that they'll be one of the 8 teams that make the playoffs EVERY year. It allows them to be terrible in developing their systems. Now that both teams have built up their farm systems... on top of the money to buy FAs... these two teams are going to remain dominant for the foreseeable future.

Fortunately, the money discrepancy in football isn't nearly as bad as baseball.

Yeah they are doing just fine making the postseason. The Colts have done a fantastic job making the postseason year after year but only have 1 ring to show for it. Is this about making the playoffs or winning championships? There's no grey area here - if your 200 million dollar payroll loses in the playoffs or WS then is your payroll really worth 200 million dollars?

I realize about the Red Sox too. They have won 2 championships in the last century, both in the last couple years. I remember they lost to the Cardinals a couple years ago too - highly inflated payroll and all.

The Sox and Yanks have combined for 3 championships in the last 10 years. That means 7 other teams have also won, most with drastically reduced payrolls. The Marlins have won as many as the Red Sox and MORE than the Yankees, and thier payroll isn't even in the same ballpark as Boston and New York. No, money doesn't buy you anything. Nothing at all. Championships are earned by working hard and practicing diligently, not by spending everything you have.