Free Agency Miscellany
Here are a few things about free agency that I haven't gotten to yet:
=> Chris Hope. Hope spurned the Steelers' attempts to sign him and chose instead to cast his lot with the Tennessee Titans, who languish now in football's poorhouse and essentially have since their Super Bowl run a few years ago. Hope is good, solid, but not a difference maker. He was a cog in the Steelers' machine; on an inferior team, he will quickly prove himself to be overpaid.
=> QBs on the move. I wrote a few words on Joey Harrington, but I have not yet written on the two big off-season acquisitions, Drew Brees to the Saints and Daunte Culpepper to the Dolphins. Any clear-eyed observer could see that the Dolphins, the better team to begin with, got the better quarterback. When healthy, Culpepper is a force. While he is mobile, he is not a running quarterback in the vein of Mike Vick or even Donovan McNabb; the knee injury should therefore be less of an issue. He has some receivers (Randy McMichael, Chris Chambers) and a tough young back (Ronnie Brown) to support him. The Dolphins are officially a dangerous team.
The Brees signing, on the other hand, raises more questions. While no one should doubt Brees' ability (remember how much better he got after Philip Rivers was drafted? It wasn't a case of others making him look good), one can certainly doubt the talent on the Saints' roster. Deuce Mcallister is a solid back, but he gets hurt a lot. They have some receivers--Donte Stallworth, Joe Horn--but no one seems to live up to his potential. The problem is that the Saints organizational culture is a culture of losing. On good teams, many of the Saints players could be solid performers, or even stars. But they play down to the level of the organization's expectations. In that way, the Brees signing is a good thing--it seems to suggest a desire to lift the expectations--but the concern must be that the culture will change Brees before he can change it. Nick Saban already has the Dolphins believing, and, now, in steps Daunte Culpepper. The Saints, perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, still need to believe.
=> The Colts. In this space I have been praising the Steelers' attitude toward free agency. The Colts have what I deem to be an equally healthy attitude. Despite the loss of Edgerrin James and David Thornton, the Colts have stood pat, waiting for the bonanza of panicky overpayment (Washington, Cleveland) to die down. Yesterday, reports surfaced that the Colts had interest in Michael Bennett, the former Pro-Bowler who never really found his rhythm as a Viking. Joining the Colts, though, would raise his talent level by a factor of five, at least. The point is, though, that the Colts aren't treating free agency the way a fat kid treats a pie-eating contest. They are moving carefully, mindfully, with a minimum of effort. Whether they get Bennett, or another back (Maurice Morris of the Seahawks?), or whether they acquire one through the draft: look out for the Colts.
=> The Draft. For freaks like me, the Brees signing was particularly exciting because it augured a shake-up in way that the draft would play out. No longer would the Saints be targeting Matt Leinart; now, they would either trade with the Jets (so that the Jets could take Leinart ahead of Tennessee) or draft Mario Williams, a DE who draws comparisons to Julius Peppers. But the Jets are working hard to get Matt Schaub from Atlanta, a move which would put them out of the Leinart hunt. So: Vince Young to whom? The Raiders? Jay Cutler to Arizona? Baltimore? Oh, baby.
=> Chris Hope. Hope spurned the Steelers' attempts to sign him and chose instead to cast his lot with the Tennessee Titans, who languish now in football's poorhouse and essentially have since their Super Bowl run a few years ago. Hope is good, solid, but not a difference maker. He was a cog in the Steelers' machine; on an inferior team, he will quickly prove himself to be overpaid.
=> QBs on the move. I wrote a few words on Joey Harrington, but I have not yet written on the two big off-season acquisitions, Drew Brees to the Saints and Daunte Culpepper to the Dolphins. Any clear-eyed observer could see that the Dolphins, the better team to begin with, got the better quarterback. When healthy, Culpepper is a force. While he is mobile, he is not a running quarterback in the vein of Mike Vick or even Donovan McNabb; the knee injury should therefore be less of an issue. He has some receivers (Randy McMichael, Chris Chambers) and a tough young back (Ronnie Brown) to support him. The Dolphins are officially a dangerous team.
The Brees signing, on the other hand, raises more questions. While no one should doubt Brees' ability (remember how much better he got after Philip Rivers was drafted? It wasn't a case of others making him look good), one can certainly doubt the talent on the Saints' roster. Deuce Mcallister is a solid back, but he gets hurt a lot. They have some receivers--Donte Stallworth, Joe Horn--but no one seems to live up to his potential. The problem is that the Saints organizational culture is a culture of losing. On good teams, many of the Saints players could be solid performers, or even stars. But they play down to the level of the organization's expectations. In that way, the Brees signing is a good thing--it seems to suggest a desire to lift the expectations--but the concern must be that the culture will change Brees before he can change it. Nick Saban already has the Dolphins believing, and, now, in steps Daunte Culpepper. The Saints, perhaps more than any other team in the NFL, still need to believe.
=> The Colts. In this space I have been praising the Steelers' attitude toward free agency. The Colts have what I deem to be an equally healthy attitude. Despite the loss of Edgerrin James and David Thornton, the Colts have stood pat, waiting for the bonanza of panicky overpayment (Washington, Cleveland) to die down. Yesterday, reports surfaced that the Colts had interest in Michael Bennett, the former Pro-Bowler who never really found his rhythm as a Viking. Joining the Colts, though, would raise his talent level by a factor of five, at least. The point is, though, that the Colts aren't treating free agency the way a fat kid treats a pie-eating contest. They are moving carefully, mindfully, with a minimum of effort. Whether they get Bennett, or another back (Maurice Morris of the Seahawks?), or whether they acquire one through the draft: look out for the Colts.
=> The Draft. For freaks like me, the Brees signing was particularly exciting because it augured a shake-up in way that the draft would play out. No longer would the Saints be targeting Matt Leinart; now, they would either trade with the Jets (so that the Jets could take Leinart ahead of Tennessee) or draft Mario Williams, a DE who draws comparisons to Julius Peppers. But the Jets are working hard to get Matt Schaub from Atlanta, a move which would put them out of the Leinart hunt. So: Vince Young to whom? The Raiders? Jay Cutler to Arizona? Baltimore? Oh, baby.
posted by Shane at 7:50 AM
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