Free Agency: Buyer Beware

[HarveyWallbangers]

Article from Andrew Brandt.

http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/2008/11/free-agency-buyer-beware/

[RashanGary]

Another smart, knowledgable person speaking on the subject that had so many (including Brett Favre) up in arms. Anyone with half a brain, there is still time to change sides.

[prsnfoto]

Another smart, knowledgable person speaking on the subject that had so many (including Brett Favre) up in arms. Anyone with half a brain, there is still time to change sides.

Yes Randy Moss turned out to be a horrible pickup last year, Faneca sucks balls , as does Jared Allen and the worst FA signing in recent memory has to be Charles Woodsen that guy is comepletely washed up, Micheal Turner has only what 65 yards rushing this year, even Chad Pennington was a bum with the Dolphins having won 1 game this year. Have I reached your stupidity level yet?

[mission]

Have I reached your stupidity level yet?

You've been there for at least 2 months now...

[HarveyWallbangers]

Another smart, knowledgable person speaking on the subject that had so many (including Brett Favre) up in arms. Anyone with half a brain, there is still time to change sides.

Yes Randy Moss turned out to be a horrible pickup last year, Faneca sucks balls , as does Jared Allen and the worst FA signing in recent memory has to be Charles Woodsen that guy is comepletely washed up, Micheal Turner has only what 65 yards rushing this year, even Chad Pennington was a bum with the Dolphins having won 1 game this year. Have I reached your stupidity level yet?

Jared Allen wasn't a FA pickup. The Vikings traded a lot of picks for him. Some work. Most don't. I think that was the point of the article. Look, I'd love for more Charles Woodson signings, but I'm cool with being cautious when it comes to big name UFAs. It allows us to resign our own guys (Aaron Rodgers, Ryan Grant, Aaron Kampman, Al Harris, Donald Driver, etc.; hopefully, Greg Jennings and Nick Collins soon).

[bobblehead]

Another smart, knowledgable person speaking on the subject that had so many (including Brett Favre) up in arms. Anyone with half a brain, there is still time to change sides.

Yes Randy Moss turned out to be a horrible pickup last year, Faneca sucks balls , as does Jared Allen and the worst FA signing in recent memory has to be Charles Woodsen that guy is comepletely washed up, Micheal Turner has only what 65 yards rushing this year, even Chad Pennington was a bum with the Dolphins having won 1 game this year. Have I reached your stupidity level yet?

Don't forget that moss was a trade as well, and he had to give up his MONSTER contract just to get the pats to take him....have you finished proving your stupidity yet?? So really you have cited faneca and turner...read the orignal article and look at all the huge failure brandt cites. Also, lets see how long faneca stays dominant compared to how long the jets cap gets hit by him before we declare that a raging success.

Lets talk about Ahman Green and Mike Flanigan. Both prizes of FA....one is retired, the other is injured, Edgerin James...beat out. The list can go on and on.

[run pMc]

Good article.
Another side effect of signing upper tier FA's is that everyone else on the team starts thinking they deserve the same money. Good way to ruin team chemistry if not careful.
I liked where the article points out that spending lots of $ in FA is usually a sign that a team isn't drafting very well and is trying to spend its way out of the problem.

I admit to getting a little caught up in the concept of FA -- and then I look at the (mostly underwhelming) list of who's available and I realize that I root for a TT team. It's OK though -- I'd rather TT extend Jennings than sign some guy like Ernest Wilford. (Or Marc Boerigter.) Besides, the draft is more intruiging to me than FA.

Chillar's working out OK. Woodson & Pickett are as well. Joe Johnson, Adrian Klemm and Marquand Manuel did not. It's a gamble.

[Lurker64]

I think the important point the article makes is that free agency is a gamble you take to fill holes in the roster when other means of filling the roster (i.e. the draft) have failed you).

If we look at a couple of very successful free agent signings (by this team) in recent memory we notice:

The Ryan Picket signing was necessary because by 2006 Michael Montgomery, Donnell Washington, Corey Williams, and James Lee had not yet become reliable run-stopping DTs for the Packers and the Packers did not draft another DT in 2001 and 2002.

The Charles Woodson signing was necessitated because by 2006 Mike Hawkings, Kurt Campbell, Ahmad Carrol, Joey Thomas, and Chris Johnson (and to a lesser extent Antuan Edwards, Fred Vinson, and Mike McKenzie) had not developed into dependable, reliable cornerbacks for the Green Bay Packers.

In both of these cases, these signings were motivated largely by failures in the draft. Thankfully, they worked out, but it does illustrate the point that free agent signings are made necessary by poor drafting. This is also why trades and free agency are self-compounding problems, since a signing that doesn't help you will make it harder for you to help the team down the line.

I don't believe Brandt is saying "FA is stupid, stay away from it" but I think he's saying "It's a gamble, spending 'mad money' in FA is frequently stupid, it doesn't always help you, and it's mostly needed to fill holes that have arisen due to failures in other spots."

[Partial]

Another smart, knowledgable person speaking on the subject that had so many (including Brett Favre) up in arms. Anyone with half a brain, there is still time to change sides.

Tell that to the Patriots who rode smart free agency decisions to becoming a dynasty... Even last year they retooled through free agency and trading (essentially same thing) to build one of the greatest teams ever.

Surely, NE will do the same this off-season once again and be poised to make another run with a healthy Brady.

[RashanGary]

Further proof you do no know what you are talking about.

[RashanGary]

I don't believe Brandt is saying "FA is stupid, stay away from it" but I think he's saying "It's a gamble, spending 'mad money' in FA is frequently stupid, it doesn't always help you, and it's mostly needed to fill holes that have arisen due to failures in other spots."

Further proof that you have above 5th grade reading skills and are probably not a complete idiot. This is not to say you're a genius, although it doesn't disclude you from that either. Clearly though, you are not as dumb as many here.

[retailguy]

I don't believe Brandt is saying "FA is stupid, stay away from it" but I think he's saying "It's a gamble, spending 'mad money' in FA is frequently stupid, it doesn't always help you, and it's mostly needed to fill holes that have arisen due to failures in other spots."

Further proof that you have above 5th grade reading skills and are probably not a complete idiot. This is not to say you're a genius, although it doesn't disclude you from that either. Clearly though, you are not as dumb as many here.

Did somebody piss in your wheaties again?

I guess I missed the part where they had to agree with you?

[Noodle]

You could probably write a similar article about how stupid it is to have picks 1 through 3 in the draft -- the kids will cost you tons of doe re me and my lord look at all the washouts.

Do you think these FAs caused or are causing a lot of heartbreak for their teams: Rich Gannon with the Raiders, Priest Holmes with the Chiefs, Curtis Martin with the Jets, James Farrior with the Steelers, Jake Delhomme with the Panthers, John Lynch with the Broncos, Plaxico Burress with the Giants, Drew Brees with the Saints, Leonard Davis with the Cowboys, Mike Vrabel to the pats, Antonio Pierce to the Giants, TO to the Boys, Jamal Lewis to the Browns, and (gulp) Longwell to the Vikes?

And of course, the Minister of Defense to the Pack (as well as Woodson and Pickett).

Brandt has a point, of course, but to say that it's never a good idea to go to FA is like fighting with one hand. You do it to fill a need. You take a risk. But no risk, no reward.

I also wouldn't say that poor drafting creates the need -- circumstances do. I think TT is a good draft guy, obviously, but some things don't work out (like most of his OL picks to date). So if something doesn't work out, why not use FA to fix it?

[RashanGary]

Clearly thier is a time and place for free agency. Woodson is one of the best of the last 5 years and that is just on our team. However, the artical talked about how UFA hurts more than it helps so if you want to win, draft well because you won't be forced to slit your throat in UFA.

Bottom line, I believe TT is going to have this team contending for many, many years, probably win one or two big ones and have all of you doubters eating your idiotic words.

[Freak Out]

Clearly thier is a time and place for free agency. Woodson is one of the best of the last 5 years and that is just on our team. However, the artical talked about how UFA hurts more than it helps so if you want to win, draft well because you won't be forced to slit your throat in UFA.

Bottom line, I believe TT is going to have this team contending for many, many years, probably win one or two big ones and have all of you doubters eating your idiotic words.

Justin Harrell...fighting for truth, justice and the Packer way.