Free Agent Tid-bits

What about Julian Peterson of the 49ers? I thought he was a free agent this year but i havent heard for sure. I think he would be a fantastic fit in the BIG D!

Julian Peterson will be a free agent but I think the 49er’s will franchise him for sure. If I’m not mistaken, I think he plays the same position as Ware, weak outside Linebacker.

Im sure your right about the franchise tag. But if they got him, im sure a player of that caliber could move to another spot with out missing a beat

I gotta give it to San Diego. They are definately improving their team through the draft. I’m gonna be pissed if they get anything of value for Phillip Rivers tho. Let the Chargers keep paying his @$$.

Raf,
Just mention the Redskins as interested with every single big name free agent.

I could see Abraham leaving, just because the papers here have ripped him all season. He might like going down to Dallas and away from the NY media. If so, watch out bc that guy can rush the QB.

Denver Broncos, who I see having a nice offseason and going to the AFC championship game, if you are smart you will take Glover. In a 43 defense he is one of the best DT in the game. Put him full time in a 4-3 and he makes the pro bowl. Which DE or DT are you going to get in late 1st round? The big names such as Williams or Hali are gone, so you will have DT Watson, DE Lawson (not really a DE), maybe DE Kiwanuka. Now who looks better, them or Glover?

I can see the Jets franchising Abraham, packaging him and draft picks to San Diego for Phillip Rivers and then taking Ferguson with their first round pick.

I would not pursue Peterson. I would have two years ago when he was a greyhound (I remember a game against Dallas where he covered slot receivers — well) but he hasn’t been the same since he tore an Achilles tendon.

Problem is his contract demands have not dropped. You would be paying a mint for damaged goods. No thanks.

In defense of Peterson…like many very serious injuries, he probably comes much closer to being in full speed condition, this season. In addition, don’t you think he was hindered somewhat, by an inferior staffed team shifting to a 3-4 defense?

I don’t anywhere approach the damaged goods label with him….He would bring a seasoned veteran’s experience as well as a load of talent and coverage ability to ANY defense, which would work well in Dallas, that is still toying with the idea of a much lesser abilitied and even smaller sized Al Singleton to play there again THIS next season? I don’t think there will be a Cowboy bidding war, but not for a lack of inherent ability…

Ware and Abraham would be quite the pass rush combo. I wouldn’t mind getting Akin Ayodele either.

CCBoy,

What makes you think they’ll settle for Singleton again? I’ve got to think OLB, RT and K are the top three offseason priorities. No way they leave that position unaddressed.

And I stick by my assessment of Peterson, however rude it may seem. He’s gonna want huge money and I wouldn’t even consider it unless he proved he was 100%. Besides, I see he’s listed at 235, which is about 20 lbs. ligher than Ware and puts him squarely in Singleton territory. I don’t know if he lost weight as part of the rehab or I misremembered his size, but he always seemed bigger to me.

I think free agency is the best time to get an OLB since we are already inexperienced at LB. Get either a RT or preferably WR Santonio Holmes in the first round of the draft.

We wont be taking a wide reciever in the first round.

Why are you so sure of that Derrick. If Santonio Holmes or Vernon Davis are there at 18 I would take either one. It’s not like parcells doesn’t draft WR in the first round.

Derrick you clearly have a cristal ball with you. Why don’t we just save time, quit blogging and you tell us exactly what is going to happen?

Cknight,
We have more pressing needs than wide reciever, I dont need a crystal ball for that and as far a wide reciever goes, none are worthy of an 18th pick. What impact would a wide reciever have on this team next year,recievers take a couple of years to develop a reciever, who are you going to sit KJ, Glenn, Crayton or witten, which one to get another speed reciever which we already have in Glenn, YES, they’re getting up there in age, but thats a higher need next year.
 Needs this year is, Tackle,Linbackers(solb and wilb), free safety,kicker,nose Tackle, and guard,We’ll be either taking a Tackle, linebacker or we’ll be moving down to acquire more picks, there you go, Hope that helps you out. I used my Crystal RUM bottle to see the future, its very accurate.LOL

Rafael & CCBoy:

I always remember Peterson as being very slight in size, tall, but more lanky than most NFL LB’s I have ever seen. I actually remember the first time I saw him on TV. He was in his pads and uniform getting warmed up in the pregame and I remember thinking he must be Merton Hanks’ replacement. Seriously, I thought he was a safety.

Peterson’s game is based on his speed and quickness, which he definitely has a lot of. He’s a great player, no question, and he’s quick to the ball carrier. I think he’s going to be the highest priced defensive FA signing this year, so no need to sink so much money into one player when the draft is so deep and full of tweeners and OLB’s in the first 2 rounds.

Rafael:

Funny you mention the Raiders picking Jay Cutler. I was thinking about this last week. I don’t believe the Raiders Hegemon Al Davis has taken a QB in the 1st round since the Pete Marinovich debacle. I could be wrong, but I think that disappointment may be lingering in The Hegemon’s subconscious to keep him from doing this again, even if they do need to find a new QB.

I could envision the Raiders trading down with the Dolphins for the Fins 1st round pick and Ricky Williams. That way the Dolphins get their QB, and the Raiders get another veteran of questionable repute…as is their way, and most of the rest of their roster. Before I get panned by everyone claiming that the Raiders just signed LaMont Jordan last offseason and wouldn’t need another RB, let me point out that Al Davis also didn’t need another WR when he took Randy Moss, nor did he need another RB when he had one of the best of the game in Marcus Allen and got ahold of Bo Jackson. He brought in Jerry Rice when he didn’t need another WR. Al Davis doesn’t necessarily ever draft or sign FA’s based solely on need, he likes to fill the stables with as many great athletes and characters as he can find and let the rest sort itself out. I can remember in the early 90’s he had by far the best receiving corps in the league and his QB’s were terrible. He kept drafting and signing more WR’s and it wasn’t until he finally signed Hostetler from the Giants until they had an even decent QB.

Did I say Pete Marinovich…ugh…I meant Todd Marinovich…lol. Pistol Pete never got his shot with the Raiders. I meant Todd Marinovich, the Twinkie Kid, the supposed 2nd coming of John Elway and Kenny ‘The Snake’ Stabler. That Todd Marinovich.

Raf,

I just read on espn.com that Las Vegas has released its official odds for the likelihood of each NFL team winning next year’s Super Bowl. I was a little surprised at how high Dallas was rated (10-1). Only Indy, Pitt., Seattle, N.E., and Carolina were listed as more likely to win it all next year. In other words, the oddsmakers feel better about Dallas’ chances in 2006 than many teams that did better than us last year (Giants, Wash, Chicago, Tampa, Denver, Cinncy, etc.). Interesting.

DJRun:
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize that, Dallas was close in so many games this year that they could have been 12-4 had all the missing parts that a 12-4 team needs to have weren’t missing. Las Vegas just realizes that Parcells is going to find a way to make most of those parts look solid or at least in disguise.

Top 15 Targeted Prospects at Pick 18
  Player # Drafts %
1 Marcus McNeill, OT Auburn 82 13.7
2 Ko Simpson, S South Carolina 78 13
3 Winston Justice, OT USC 75 12.5
4 Santonio Holmes, WR Ohio St. 40 6.7
5 Eric Winston, OT Miami (FL) 39 6.5
6 Max Jean-Gilles, OG Georgia 33 5.5
7 Michael Huff, S Texas 24 4
8 Chad Greenway, OLB Iowa 23 3.8
9 Darnell Bing, S USC 20 3.3
10 Derek Hagan, WR Arizona St. 17 2.8
11 Sinorice Moss, WR Miami (FL) 15 2.5
12 Jimmy Williams, CB Virginia Tech 15 2.5
13 Jonathan Scott, OT Texas 14 2.3
14 Chad Jackson, WR Florida 14 2.3
15 DeMeco Ryans, OLB Alabama 10 1.7
Top 10 Targeted Prospects at Pick 50
  Player # Drafts %
1 Jason Allen, S Tennessee 12 8.2
2 Daryn Colledge, OT Boise St. 7 4.8
3 Brodie Croyle, QB Alabama 7 4.8
4 Ryan O’Callaghan, OT California 6 4.1
5 D’Qwell Jackson, ILB Maryland 5 3.4
6 Andrew Whitworth, OT LSU 5 3.4
7 Nick Mangold, C Ohio St. 5 3.4
8 Maurice Stovall, WR Notre Dame 4 2.7
9 Cedric Griffin, CB Texas 3 2.1
10 Greg Blue, S Georgia 3 2.1

I know this isn’t the right thread for this, but ESPN has an article up right now with a startling revelation. The official that called the pass interference, clipping on Hassleback, and the Hasselback fumble is from Pittsburgh. You would think the NFL would pay attention to those sort of things.

I hate to keep bringing this up, but I really like Reggie McNeal out of Texas A&M. With all this talk about Antwaan Randle-El, I can’t help but imagine using our 6th round pick on this guy. He’s taller than Randle-El (6’2-5’11), heavier (209-192) and about just as fast (they both run around a 4.3-4.4). He played 4 years at QB, so if he can show us something there we could use some help there too. And if not we get our guy with the versatility for gadget plays. But like I’ve been stressing, a late round pick. I’d rather see the earlier picks in the draft be used to shore up our S, OLB, and OL positions. GO BOYZ!

altercall:

When you add all those officiating breaks to the ‘Immaculate Reception’ against the Raiders in the playoffs and the ‘Incidental Contact’ break they against us in the Super Bowl that’s 3 less Super Bowls the Steelers would have.

Personally I am glad this happened to them. They will be forever tainted by it and there will always be people claiming their win was not legitimate. This makes up for the month of grief and taunting I got from friends of mine who hate the Cowboys and claimed that Neil O’Donnell threw the Super Bowl against us. I told them before SB 30 that O’Donnell wasn’t capable of leading a team victory in the big one, then when it really happened they were acting like it had to be a fix instead of realizing that he truly sucked at QB. I don’t believe the conspiracy theories, but I am glad the Steelers will be haunted by one after hearing them whine that the game was fixed after SB XXX. Karma biting them in the ass. LOL.

clam625:

McNeal really impressed me the few times I saw him play in college and in the Shrine Game. The thing I like the best about him is that he truly walks and acts like a field general. He seems to have an infectious confidence about him that rubs off on the rest of the offense. I don’t know where he’ll play, or if he’ll get his shot, but he could be a stud sleeper out of this draft/RFA class.

I could also see the Steelers picking up Marcus Robinson, the Penn St. QB in this draft to replace Randle-El if he follows the money trail somewhere else. He fits in that mold of Kordell Stewart/Hines Ward/Randle-El style QB’s turned WR. The fact that he’s from Pennsylvania only help his cause even more.

Personally, I have a hard time believing in conspiracy theories myself, but…

That game was the worst officiated Super Bowl that I’ve ever seen. What ever happened to letting them play in the big games. Hell, I remember some games where there wasn’t a single major penalty called.

Fighter15:

I blame it on poor officiating too, not a fix. Fixing a game like the Super Bowl with the whole world (minus a few million because of this lame matchup) watching is something only a total moron would do. Better to fix an early season game when no one is watching, assuming that were even able to be done.

The thing about the guy being from Pittsburgh looks bad and could be used by conspiracy theorists to infer bias, but I still don’t buy it. There is always a team of officials and one guy can be overruled or challenged by the others or by replay. He obviously does his job very poorly, but I blame incompetence more than malice.

Sterling:

I agree about the tainted part, but you know as well as I do that the NFL and ESPN will gloss over all that stuff when they rewrite the history of this game. Just look at how they have done it with the other Steelers SBs. It’s all about how they controlled those games from the start and the calls were just incidental in the outcome. The NFL wanted the Steelers to have another one, just look at all the NFL commercials, 4 Steelers with the trophy and only 1 Seahawk. They aren’t about to admit that it is tainted.

I agree with both of you on the conspiracy theory thing, I’ve never been one to buy into any of that junk. I just think it was stupid of the NFL to let a guy from Pitt ref the SuperBowl. It would be like one of us refing a SB with the Cowboys. We might not intentionally blow calls, but we might see stuff that wasn’t necessarily there.

I’m still bugged, though, about why the other refs were so bad. Leavy was TERRIBLE as a head ref, with all the calls going the same way. And the linesmen let 3 clear offsides go against the Pitt D, and one of them led to the “holding” call.

altercall:

I can’t get too worked up about this since I didn’t have my team in the game, but I am VERY happy this has happened this postseason because now the pressure is going to be over the boiling point to correct this before next year. Hopefully this means that the Cowboys will be the recipients of the fairest and best officiating next year when we are in the postseason!! Better the Seahawks be the sacrificial lambs than us!!

If the Steelers organization were smart, they would acknowledge the officiating mistakes (even if only privately) to the NFL and point out the Polomalu INT against Indy as well. It smacks of hypocrisy to complain about something one week and 3 weeks later remain silent when the same thing happens in your favor. Also, it would show gracefulness in victory to acknowledge that they benefitted from poor officiating as well as were damaged by it in the postseason.

The buzz now is that if Whisenhunt doesn’t like what he hears out of Big Al Davis tomorrow he will turn down the job. Who is interviewing whom, me wonders?

The next in line for the job is reported to be Art Shell. LOL.

Back to the future, Raiders style. Maybe Art Shell can play Billy Martin to Al Davis’ George Steinbrenner.

Whoever the coach is I can see the Raiders trading down/switching picks with either Miami for Ricky Williams or Minnesota for Daunte Culpepper. Big Al loves to ruin mock draft boards, and so does Ricky Williams.

LaRoi Glover was named to the Pro Bowl for Rod Coleman. 6 straight for him, maybe it helps his stock a little. I would like to see Glover stay but if we can get value for him we gotta do it IMO.

I agree Lou. We may have just improved our chances at gettin some value for Glover now. Lemme know which teams u think other than Denver who may be interested. Here’s 2006 projected salary cap via nflfans.com

Rank Team $ Under the Cap
1 Cleveland Browns $31 M
Considering the lack of star power in Cleveland it should come as no surprise that they are in excellent cap shape. With the well publicized front office discord that occurred at the conclusion of the season, it will be interesting to see if the team is willing to spend some money this off-season — and if so, how will they spend it?
2 Arizona Cardinals $30 M
With all of the cap room the Cardinals have, the first thing they need to do is figure out what to do with their QB situation as both Josh McCown and Kurt Warner are set to become free agents. Of course, the Cardinals could decide to go in a different direction entirely.
3 Minnesota Vikings $24 M
Despite everything else that’s gone wrong in the twin cities this year — from ticket scalping to waving goodbye to Randy to taking trips on the love boat to watching an All Pro QB blow out his knee — the Vikings continue to do a good job in managing their cap. With Tice gone, here’s hoping that new head coach, Brad Childress, can convince ownership to spend some of that money on filling some holes — and retaining some key free agents.
4 Green Bay Packers $22 M
The Packers are sure to endure one of the wildest off-seasons in the club’s history. Will Brett Favre stay or will he go? There are a good 7 million reasons (or dollars) why he may want to come back. Even so, the Packers have plenty of cap room to bring him in some reinforcements along the OL and a quality (er, healthy) RB to boot.
5 San Diego Chargers $21 M
Give A.J. Smith credit for doing a better job of managing the cap than his mentor, the late John Butler, did. The Chargers have ample room to once again hang onto Drew Brees and Phil Rivers if they so choose.
6 Seattle Seahawks $21 M
If the Seahawks choose not to sign reigning MVP Shaun Alexander to a long term contract it won’t be because they don’t have the cap room to do it.
7 San Francisco 49ers $18 M
Remember when the Niners were in cap jail just a few years ago? Well, that is a thing of the past now thanks to cheap ownership. While the good news is that they won’t be getting back into cap trouble, the bad news is that they are likely to be bogged down with a team loaded with inferior talent for years to come.
8 Jacksonville Jaguars $17 M
Much like the Bengals, the Jaguars are a quality young team with plenty of cap room to continue to improve the team’s base corps.
9 Chicago Bears $17 M
Chicago, too, is following the trend we’ve seen set by good young head coaches who have placed their stamp on their teams by putting together a quality, a young roster. In case you haven’t noticed, “young” also means “inexpensive”.
10 Cincinnati Bengals $16 M
This number, includes Carson Palmer’s contract extension, which paid out $15 M in guaranteed, up-front money and will pay him a base of $6.75 M in 2006. Clearly the Bengals, who made the playoffs this year for the first time in 15 years, have done a nice job bringing along their young talent — and they appear to be financially strong enough to contend for a number of years.
11 St. Louis Rams $16 M
Whoever takes over for Mike Martz will at least inherit a healthy cap situation. Considering all of the holes that the Rams have to fill on defense, that money may not go as far as you think.
12 Baltimore Ravens $15 M
Despite all of the on-field problems that the Ravens had this year, they remain in good cap shape. The front office as led by Ozzie Newsome has been very prudent in not throwing too much cash at players. Case in point: only 13 players are scheduled to have a base salary exceeding $1 M. The Ravens have some questions to answer at RB, as both Jamal Lewis and Chester Taylor are set to become free agents.
13 Houston Texans $14 M
All indications are that GM Charlie Casserly will exercise the $8 M option to bring David Carr back in 2006. Maybe he should spend some of the leftover cap money on an offensive line that may be able to protect this investment.
14 Buffalo Bills $10 M
Underachieving RT (or is it LG?) Mike Williams is set to count about $10.8 M against the cap, as is veteran WR Eric Moulds. Look for the team to approach both players to take a paycut. Kudos to Robert Balistreri, who has done a master job of tracking the Bills’ cap situation. Check out his excellent website here.
15 New Orleans Saints $10 M
There are so many question marks surround the poor New Orleans Saints, that we do not wish to add to that any further here. Whoever the new head coach is going to be will be inheriting a pretty good roster and a decent cap situation, which may even get better if the team elects to release Aaron Brooks, who is set to makeover $6M in base salary in 2006. The flip side of the coin is that the team has some quality free agents (such as Darren Howard) that they must try to re-sign.
16 Detroit Lions $9 M
Assuming the Fords do not cave to fan pressure and continue to mark time with Matt Millen, the Lions head into the off-season in pretty decent cap shape. Interestingly, the player set to receive the biggest series of paychecks in 2006 is none other than Joey Harrington, whose future with the team remains in doubt.
17 Philadelphia Eagles $7 M
Once each team’s cap is properly adjusted to account for likely to be earned bonus money that was accounted for against the 2005 cap — but never actually awarded to the player(s) — you can fully expect the Eagles to have a great deal more cap room. After all, they’ve been playing this little trick for years. Also, it’s no secret by now that they will be releasing TO in the coming weeks. Of course, with the unamortized portion of his original $10 M signing bonus escalating against the cap, that may not be a cap saver.
18 NY Giants $3 M
The Giants should have plenty of options when it comes to freeing up some cap space. For example, with so many big time skill position players, guess which player will have the highest base salary in 2006. Eli? Not even close. What about Tiki? Nope. Mike Strahan you ask? Wrong answer! Believe it or not, the NY Giant with the highest base salary heading into 2006 is Luke Petitgout!
19 Dallas Cowboys $2 M
The Cowboys learned the hard way how a once-proud championship team can crumble overnight due to the restrictions of the salary cap. They appear to be heading into 2006 in pretty good shape.
20 New England Patriots $0
The Patriots have done such a fantastic job picking late in the draft every year that they haven’t had to rely on overpaying free agents. Bill Belichick also seems to have a nose for knowing when to release his high priced veterans at just the right time.
21 Indianapolis Colts $0
The Colts will once again have to make a decision about what to do with Edgerrin James. Since he’s guaranteed to make 20% more than he did last year, it is highly unlikely that GM Bill Polian and the Colts will be able to absorb that price tag, as they are right at the projected cap marker. The question is whether or not they’ll consider giving him a long-term contract.
22 Carolina Panthers $-1000000
If you recall, two years ago, right after the Panthers’ Super Bowl season, they found themselves in some cap trouble. They took their medicine then — and suffered through a tough 2004 season. A year later, they’ve managed to catapult back into the playoffs and have their cap situation in a manageable situation.
23 Pittsburgh Steelers $-4 M
The Steelers cap condition is not as bad as it appears. For example, all indications are that Jerome Bettis will be calling it quits at the end of this season. The Bus is scheduled to make a little over $5.35 M in base salary alone in 2006.
24 Miami Dolphins $-5 M
Yes, the Dolphins are projected to be a bit over the cap heading into 2006. However, it’s a far cry from last season, where they were so far over that they had to go on a frenzy cutting veteran players. A few prudent moves should easily get them where they need to be, although we don’t expect them to be highly active in free agency.
25 Tampa Bay Buccaneers $-8 M
The Bucs ended the regular season with the #1 defense in the NFL. Small wonder, then, that 6 of the 7 highest paid players on the team heading into 2006 play on the defensive side of the ball. That 7th player, Brian Griese, could very well become a cap casualty, considering the emergence of Chris Simms. Of course, the team must make a decision on Simms too, as he is set to become a restricted free agent in March.
26 Atlanta Falcons $-9.908 M
The Falcons have one of the best defensive front-sevens in the NFL — and they pay dearly for it, as five of their top eight players are either linebacker or defensive linemen. In fact, their three highest paid players heading into 2006 are DL Patrick Kerney (almost $5 M base), LB Keith Brooking, and DL Roderick Coleman.
27 Tennessee Titans $-10 M
The poor Titans had to do so much house cleaning last year that they were left with a severely undermanned squad in 2005. From the looks of things, there will be more cost cutting to do in 2006.
28 Washington Redskins $-20 M
As usual the Redskins look to be one of the primary offenders heading into the new year. The team’s tendency to rework contracts over and over again has made them a poster child for the “mortgage the future for today” mantra. A good case in point is Lavar Arrington, whose base salary in 2006 jumps from $545 K to $2 M. And that doesn’t even count a huge roster bonus he is set to earn.
29 Kansas City Chiefs $-22 M
With the Chiefs in clear cap trouble, we find it interesting that the new head coach appears to be Herm Edwards, who just happens to be leaving the team with arguably the worst cap situation in the NFL.
30 Denver Broncos $-26 M
The Broncos were built to win in 2005 — as their precarious cap situation heading into next season isn’t pretty.
31 NY Jets $-29 M
Obviously the Jets are really in bad shape here. If the team elects to keep Chad Pennington, they will have to fork over a $3M roster bonus. With a $6 M base salary — and nearly $4M in this year’s bonus proration — they clearly cannot afford to keep him under the existing contract. However, it will cost them (cap-wise) about $10 M just to cut him. And they can forget about franchising John Abraham again. Expect the cost-cutting to begin soon. No wonder Herm Edwards wants to head to Kansas City!
32 Oakland Raiders $-30 M
Didn’t we go through this drill last year, when the Raiders were in such bad cap shape that they almost couldn’t afford to cut anybody? Last year Rich Gannon came to the rescue by reworking his contract to get the team under the cap — and then retiring. Who will help out this year?

Laroi glover is a probowler, period. True its’ not at the same level if he’s not in a 4-3 but if you have him out there he’s still a threat. What our problem was we were trying to tutor and mentor the young ones the second time around we played the giants, eagles, and redskins so we got lit up. I like huff from texas. That finally gets us an actual Free safety who’s more attuned to covering not just running full speed at the line of scrimmage. (no pun at keith davis but man sometimes you gotta look up in the nfl!) If not huff, ko simpson has great size and he’s coachable with his reads. If we picked up a linebacker, it might be better if we picked up two considering we lose them like chips!!

CKnight:
I’m unsure if Vernon Davis is an oversized WR or an undersized TE, but he’ll never last until the 18th pick.
CLAM625:
1. Chargers will expect some value for Rivers
2. Reggie McNeal looks like a bargain for a 6th round choice

Personally I think the Rams may be an option considering their current situation on the defensive end. They have a first rounder at 11 that intrigues me (just ahead of Cleveland) making Greenway a possibility. What do u guys think?

It’d be huge if Nagata fell to 11. It’s a slight possibility.
Houston-Bush
New Orleans-Leinart
Tennessee-Vince Young
NYJ-DeAngelo Williams/LenDale White
Green Bay-Mario Williams
Oakland-Jay Cutler
San Francisco-AJ Hawk
Buffalo-D’Brick Ferg
Detroit-Winston Justice (they don’t need a DT with Shaun Rogers)
Dallas (st.louis trade)-Ngata or Greenway

clam:
Are you willing to surrender this year 2nd Round pick for just one player in a Draft that has as much depth as this one? The points difference between pick 18 and pick 11 is 350 points, pick 50’s worth 400 points. Or are you willing to surrender next year’s 1st rounder? The value of a 1st rounder next year is the same than a 2nd rounder in this year.

No to both scenarios, next year if Dallas is one player away from a long run in SB’s, I’d play all my marbles into getting Brady Quinn.

clam625:

Good idea about he Rams, but why wouldn’t they just pick Ngata themselves? I don’t think they would pass on him to get Glover, IMHO.

clam625:

Also, Glover plays DT, not DE. Ellis plays DE.

After looking at this list of teams with tens of millions of cap space and many of them needing an OT, I am thinking more and more that it is going to be very difficult to find a good one in FA. The market for OT’s, and especially ones that can play LT, is likely to be bid up extremely high. I don’t know if there will be many values there. I know it will need to be done, but considering we had a 6th rounder and a Tucker starting last year, I can’t imagine a 1st or 2nd round OT doing any worse. I realize it takes 2 or 3 years for an OT to develop fully, and a FA at RT would be my first choice, but JJ and BP may choose to attempt to solve this through the draft.

i dont understand how denver is -26 mil over the cap….how do they plan on paying for ricky or T.O. when the hell do they have to go under the cap?

whats the sence if a cap…when half of the teams are over it…some one explain this shit to me…im not all educated on the cap thing…like washington is over and still trying to sign people…wtf?

CCBoy,

Are you from Corpus? That’s where I reside.

Saw the mock draft that had Taitusi Lutui going 48th. Granted, this is the same mock draft that had Santonio Holmes coming to Dallas at 18, so take it with a grain of salt.
Point being, I would love to see Lutui drop one spot to the Pokes at 49.
Dumb question: What are J.D. Runnels’ pro prospects?

I say trade down in the draft and get a quality FS with the first pick and get the best available LB’s in the draft and pick up OL in the draft. Remember Larry Allen may not be around next year we seriously need to bring in some talent to our OL.

I mean pick up OL in the FA.

The vast majority of teams with cap space are either notoriously cheap, already have their stud tackle (or are paying someone stud money like Buffalo).

There will be some competition, but no owner outside DC is willing to put up as much up front and no team has the “IT” factor like the Cowboys. We’ll get who we want.

Question has been stated – Runyan or Backus? Or is there an Anthony Henry type (unheralded, but talented with upside)?

I figure that we are making a run for the next two years with a veteran offense with a promise to develop some young talent to take over after the Parcells era ends.

Therefore, we’ll go proven in FA:
- Runyan or Backus
- Maybe Bentley
- A kicker
- FS or OLB

Only one spot on D will be a FA and it won’t be a high priced guy…otherwise we would keep Glover.

Draft will still include a number of OL as priority #1, 2, and 3. As we know, it takes a couple of years for them to develop

As long as we’re dreaming…how ’bout this OL starting for the ’Boys in ’06:

LT – Flo
LG – Allen
C – Bentley
RG – Rivera
RT – Runyan

They won’t be running many screens or counter-trey’s, but man, that’s a lineup with a lot a beef and attitude. mmmm…beef…doh

Sterling,

I guess the NFL wasn’t ready for Pete Marinovich’s behind-the-back forward passes!

Cash

Yea, I am here in Corpus Christi. I am an ex-Javelina linebacker. Hope you are doing well…

Rafael

There are only so many additions that can occur to the linebacker group, with the other areas that have to be made, THIS season. I don’t think that anyone will be surprised with a very solid group of changes going on with personnel on the Cowboys…this off season. Only a blind man without a braile reading source would NOT be able to see that the team will be looking for ‘home-run’ hitters…and they come with a good price tag. THAT, leaves other areas that have to use ‘dependable’ players…and Al Singleton has stuck in Parcells’ plans due to his ability to stay in the ‘dependable’ category-which is where Parcells himself works in his evaluations of talent…NO CHANCE, get real, yes there is a chance that Al Singleton is back. Experience was a big deficiency in the linebacker group. This is a secondary consideration involved in the acquisition of major role players being sought although, which was the purpose of my initial discussion. The position of Peterson was being undervalued as to effect upon the playing field. He is a dynamic player, who can influence in three very definable manners…he is great at pass rushing, very strong in pass defense, and solid against the run…now, what is NOT to like about those three qualities? All three add a dynamic very much in need for the current club, and would tremendously influence the effects in the 3-4 defense…again, a reference to our reader in the braile class. In an exactly similar situation in the Cowboy past, the Cowboys chose to bring in another 49’er, Charles Haley, uh, also undersized for a true defensive end…to make a dynamic influence. This year, Peterson will probably be the most prestigious player in free agency this off season. He will likely, also, garner the biggest cap hit of those players also. Since the offense kept the Cowboys from the playoffs this season, myself, I would doubt their top dollar will go to the OLB position. You never know, although, they probably would like his abilities there.

My favorite combination of pick-ups during free agency period would be a combination of players at linebacker-OLB Akin Ayodele, Jacksonville; and Ray Lewis MLB-Ravens. You put those two with DeMarcus Ware and Bradie James, then special teamers and backups like Singleton, Thornton, and Fujita become very good depth. If not starting, this group becomes a very top level of reserves…providing great veteran experience. This would make this group one of the very best groups at linebacker, in the NFL…low and behold.
With pedigree such as this, it would require all opponents facing Dallas this next season, to bring their ‘A’ games, every weekend….

CCBoy:
Were you dreamin’ when you wrote that?

First, Ray Lewis isn’t slated to become a FA.

Second, Akin Ayodele is a 6-2, 230 pounds and 4-3 OLB. He’s even more undersized than Singleton, who weighs 250 pounds. After seeing Singleton getting pushed around singlehandedly by RT’s size concerns me.

Third, Peterson is a staple in SF when healthy, he’s a perfect fit at OLB in a 3-4, SF plays a 3-4, Nolan likes him and SF has the cap space to sign him long term.

But you’re right with the Singleton subject, I mean, he’s good against the run and in coverage and can get to the QB if he’s unexpected and runs in a straight line, does that sounds as the job of an ILB in a 3-4? We do need better depth at ILB and he could battle Burnett for it.

BTW, after reading that Willie McGinest could be available I thought that he’s a pretty good option, he has at least 2 years of thread in his tires, especially if he isn’t playing full time.

I do think that he will be available, it isn’t known because he restructured his deal in 2002 and the agreement was undisclosed.

Mr. Bill:

Todd Marinovich wasn’t ready for the forward pass in the NFL either. Pistol Pete’s pass might have done as well as Todd’s. LOL.

Chandus:

Ayodele is 250 pounds, his height is 6’2", but I think he could be a good pickup and a vast improvement over Fujita. He might not be much of an improvement over Singleton though, as he is quite similar, just more of a banger and a bit younger. I do like Ayodele though.

The thing about McGinest has to be true, otherwise he has a lot of explaining to do to the Patriots organization since he talked about it openly on FSN last night. I think either one would be a good short term pickup, in Ayodele’s case only if Singleton goes elsewhere as a FA. McGinest might bring some veteran savvy and leadership to the defense and the locker room in general, but I’m not sure that is worth the ptoential price tag. Depends on how many other teams bite.

Mr Bill

I think that the wide receivers balked at having to go over the middle with a basketball coming in…

Chandus

The off season is for wheeling and dealing. Baltimore has switched into the 4-3 and Ray Lewis is showing a little of his time in the NFL. He just might be more solid back in the 3-4, where he can flow more to his style of play. Along the same lines, La’Roi Glover just got another invite to the Pro Bowl, and with the Raven in a more agreeable 4-3 defense, they might be receptive as to possibilities…especially if the Cowboys threw in say, a third rounder for 2007…You know, the dealing part of the league….Salaries would offset approximately…

can you guys imagine seeing this next year. Our 3-4 defense
        canty ferguson spears
abraham burnett/draft pick james ware
  newman williams chaveous henry
if not abraham then you can subsitute him for Akin Ayodele and if not chaveous then Will Demps

our 4-3 could look like this.
canty ferguson spears abraham
burnett james ware
newman williams chaveous henry
now for the fun part our nickel def.
abraham canty pepper ware
burnett james
newman williams chaveous glenn henry
And on any of the formations we could insert the 1st round pick that we get which i think will be and OLB or a DE/OLB tweener into any of the roles to spell abraham and ware. Also just look at what we could have for depth. ratliff pepper coleman fujita thornton shanle fowler glenn jones reeves berriault davis pile 1st round pick OLB/DE “tweener” and any other draft picks.

oh and since i forgot to mention the way we would get abraham even if he is franchised well if you noticed glover and ellis aren’t on the team. TRADE

This is amazing news. Tony Kornheiser will do MNF with Mike Tirico. Theisman will be on the show too, and Kornheiser doesn’t suffer fools.
Can’t wait.

Derrick
How good is Crayton. The only game he proved he could be good was against the Cargers and after that he disapeared. He might be good but he did not show enough to rely on him. We could put Santonio Holmes back to return punts and compete for the third WR spot. We need a big threat on O for now and the future. I hope the Cowboys fill there LB need by signing free agent Akin Ayodele. We are very young at LB so he should be a better solution than the draft. I have heard he is from Irving Texas. We should get a free agent kicker. RT we should fill with Tom Ashworth. Rounds 2-4 we should get FS,OL,LB. If we trade Glover than we should aquire a NT through the draft. I also would like to aquire ILB to go with James through FA. Burnette might turn out to be good but he didn’t show enough last year to go into the season relying on him.

Chandus,
No way! I wouldn’t trade ANY of our draft picks. I was thinkin about unloading some of our big contracts such as Ellis and/or Glover. If both we could grab their first rounder and an additional late rounder. Our draft picks are gold in my opinion.
Sterling,
Of course Glover plays DT. I meant St.Louis needs help on the defensive end (side) of the ball. They could use both a DE and DT. This is what footballsfuture.com has to say about there needs.

Defensive End
The Rams lost two of their top defensive ends in successive years, seeing both the aforementioned Wistorm and Bryce Fisher sign with division rival Seattle. The team still has Leonard Little who has, unfortunately, made as many headlines off the field as on it is still a capable sack artist although his total has been in decline over the past couple seasons. Tyoka Jackson, Anthony Hargrove and Brandon Green have taken their turns this season opposite Little but that group has just seven sacks combined. An infusion of talent at the end spot would also help mask some of the deficiencies in the defensive backfield. Mario Williams and Mathias Kiwanuka are the top rated ends and would be welcome additions. Those two players will more than likely be gone within the first ten to fifteen picks so the team could elect to look at the next tier of ends in the later rounds which include Tamba Hali, Manny Lawson, Darryl Tapp, Elvis Dumervil and Ray Edwards.

Defensive Tackle
This was a group that came on strong towards the end of the 2004 season but has yet to play to that level in 2005. Former first round picks Damione Lewis and Ryan Pickett are free agents after the season as well as Tyoka Jackson. Lewis has been the biggest bust of all and will more than likely not be brought back. Jackson has shown some value and Pickett has shown glimpses of why he was a number one pick. Both Jackson and Pickett may be resigned. Jimmy Kennedy, another former first round selection, is the anchor of the line right now but he could use some reinforcements. Obtaining a run stopping defensive tackle might be easier to do in free agency but if player like Jesse Mahelona or Claude Wroten were to fall into the second round, the Rams would have to take a strong look at either.

IMO I think St. Louis and Denver are our top teams to look for a trade. St. Louis just interests me because I think we can cock block Cleveland (who also plays a 3-4) from getting who they want since we would draft right before them with the rams pick. what do u guys think?

Sterling,
That’s why you make a trade before the draft with St. Louis so they dont have the opportunity to draft Ngata themselves. HAHA I know I’m dreamin but lemme have my fun. =P

Free Agency is fool’s gold. It should be used sparingly to fill that one remaining hole on a team. It shouldn’t be looked at as a way to build a championship team. Draft picks, draft picks, draft picks.

steelyeyed:
Free Agency compliments the Draft. Are you willing to Draft a Kicker and see another year of struggles? Are you willing to Draft a RT and see him struggle as Alex Barron and Jammal Brown did this year and Robert Gallery did the past year? Are you willing to see an inexperienced FS being caught too much trying to read the QB and getting burned in return?

All that happens when you deal with inexperience, that’s why FA works when you do it as Dallas has been doing in the past few years, that’s why I’m opposed to the signings of guys like Runyan, Backus, Bentley, Peterson, Abraham, Woodson and some others. I’m up for Hartwig, Ashworth, Kevin Barry, McGinest, Hope, Demps and Chavous as they come with a lower cap hit.

Free Agency can be gold for fools if you face FA as Danny boy does, he’s going to have a team in cap hell for alot of years just as Dallas did in the late 90’s but without the Lombardies.

Chandus,

Are you telling me that you’d rather have Rivera than finding a long term solution to the o-line problems? Youth comes with a certain degree of risk. Free Agents come with injuries, miles on the odometer, cap issues and a certain degree of risk.

Our free agent signings this year got a seat on the sideline for the playoffs. I’m willing to have a FS get burned if it leads to finding a young one that will be with us for a championship run lasting more than just the next season. Our FS that kept getting burned didn’t exactly just fall off the turnip wagon. I would wager that there are at least three kids in the draft that wouldn’t do any worst their first year than what we saw from veterens this year.

Steelyeyedmissile:

I totally agree that FA should be used only to fill a couple of positions that need immediate attention. You never build a championship team through FA. ( ie Redskins) The only thing different with this team is BP. He (in certain cases) does not want to groom a rookie ie: QB. He wants his championship now. He is kicking himself for not changing this defense over his first year, but how do you dismantle a nuber 1 ranked “D”. So he left it alone & lost a year or two.Now he must turn to free agency maybe more than he wants to because I don`t think he will be here 3 years from now. One position I think he will address in FA is Offensive Line. If he were planning for 3-5 years down the road I do not believe he would overpay for a Runyon type 30+ player. But I believe he is looking for a quick fix for the next 2 years reather than spending the next 2 years grooming another rookie.

steelyeyedmissile,

New England became a powerhouse by the judicious use of free agency. Namely, by selecting lower-priced, younger free agents, who fit into their system.

Personally, I see no problem with going after one high-priced free agent, so long as that player is not too old. Then going to the bargain basement for the rest of our needs.

I consider the draft part of that ‘bargain basement’. Even a first-round pick at #18 does not get all that big a signing bonus, compared to the top free agents. The $4.5 million signing bonus given to Erasmus James (#18, Vikings) last year is not exactly chump change, but it pales in comparison to what we doled out to Ferguson, Henry, and Rivera.

I have a feeling if Willie McGinnest hits the market BP will pick him up quickly.

DE Canty 280 lbs
DT Fergie 310 lbs
DE Spears 305 lbs
OLB Ware 251 lbs
ILB Burnett 240 lbs
ILB James 245 lbs
OLB McGinest 270 lbs

Now that looks more like a 3-4 defense.

If we were to sign McGinnest and a RT, and say Huff is off the board, we COULD (not saying we will) trade our 18 pick for a 2007 1st round pick, then take our 2 picks next year and move up to get our QB (Brady Quinn).

Steelyeyed:
Don’t be so quick to disqualify Rivera, he can still earn his paycheck with 2 good seasons and the same can be said from Ferguson. Yes, Rivera didn’t played great this year, in fact he played in a bellow average level, but he’s shown in the past what he can do, in his last year in Green Bay he was great and he wasn’t allowed to walk to FA because Green Bay knew that he was falling apart, they allowed him to walk because they couldn’t afford him. Green Bay offensive line struggles this year are proves of what I’m saying.

I think that you didn’t had the same logic last year when Dallas signed Bledsoe, Henry and Glenn. Ferguson is an ideal plug in the 3-4 and you know? Teams did run against our 3-4, but they didn’t ran inside for much, they ran outside. Last year the only miss was Rivera and the last page hasn’t been writen.

BTW, I’m up for taking a FS in the Draft, Hope will be a high cap guy now that he’s championship level and I don’t trust much on guys like Chavous. Demps is the other guy that’s tempting.

Unless one of the TOP LB’s falls to us at #18, I hope we trade down for more picks. I do not see BP going after a safety in the first- just not enough value there. There are NO WR’s worth a first this year- and BP does not draft them anyway. We will not go after any other OL, or a TE or a RB or a QB in the first. So that leaves off the O. Unless maybe Ngata drops to us- very unlikely- no DL either. No CB’s are needed, and none jump out this year anyway. Not going to get a kicker. So realistically I do not see any pick but a LB; or a trade down.

lou:
If Dallas indeed signs McGinest, instead of what you’re saying, I can see Ko Simpson getting major attention at 18th.

Chandus,

I could see that too, I haven’t seen alot of Simpson, I know he has alot of potential but has only played football for something like 2 years. If we sign McGinest, would anybody still take Bobby Carpenter if he is there? He could share time with McGinest, and McGinest is old and would only sign a 2 year deal max.

Lou c
I doubt that BP would trade 2 first rounders for Brady Quinn. I agree he is a hell of a player, but how much impact would he have his rookie season. Parcells contract is up in 2 years. If they don’t win the SB next year parcells won’t draft somebody that isn’t more of a sure thing. Not at that price anyway.

I still think OT will be a FA acquisition, instead of a high draft priority. With the struggles of Pettiti and Tucker, I can’t imagine Tuna looking to a rookie again. I think Tucker will be gone and Pettiti will be a back up. IMO, Tuna knows that if the team has any chance to fulfill it’s promise, OT is a must.

And I think he’s more willing to go after a young OLB in the draft. There’s no reason to suggest that he wasn’t spot on with his evaluation of Ware, and if he sees a similar find, he’ll sweep it up.

Poke

Chandus,

I don’t think watching Rivera waste 9 mil over a sixteen game season is being too quick. He’s exactly what’s wrong with free agency. We would have had the same result with a rookie that now had one year experience and 10-12 years ahead of him at a modest price instead of looking for his replacement in two more years accompanied by all the cap implications of that signing bonus.

steelyeyed:
9 millions?
Ok, do you know how the signing bonus is prorated? He signed a 5 year 20 million dollar deal with 9 millions of signing bonus. The 9 millions are splitted for the 5 years and the 11 millions of salary are splitted in parts that are higher by year, he might have played this year for the vested veteran minimum, which means that he received between 2 and 3 millions. The last 2 years might have the most part of the 11 millions, which btw is a part that he isn’t going to see.

First get informed, then write.

Ferguson signed a deal with those specs. Henry signed a higher cap deal worth something close to 21 millions for 5 years with 11 millions of signing bonus. Aaron Glenn signed a 2 year 2 million signing bonus, his deal was undisclosed, but it’s known that he’s receiving the minimum or near.

If every deal is worth the signing bonus, last year that Dallas had 15 millions under the cap, the 2 signings of Ferguson and Rivera would’ve been enough to collapse the pocket and they would have been unable to sign the rookie pool.

This year if Dallas unloads Glover and manages to get Allen to sign a restructured deal, Dallas will have more than the 15 millions of cap space that they had last year. Just for you to know.

Chandus,

I’m informed. I watched an overpaid FA waste 9 mil. It doesn’t matter if it’s prorated or not. I’d rather spend that same figure on players with a future that equals Rivera’s past.

The point of a blog is to have dialogue. Let’s not get so full of ourselves we resort to snide personal comments as we show off how much we know.

Then I’ve to be conformed that the Dallas Cowboys front office is conformed of people with a better opinion of FA.

I’ll drop the subject, I’m expecting the same from you.