All You Need is Cash...

Shaffer was one of, if not, the top rated OT’s this offseason. Perhaps Runyan will wither on the FA market long enough to drive his price down low enough to make him and his agent desperate enough to take a lowball short term contract with a Jerry Jones hard-sell-close. Afterall, he must be pretty annoyed by the Eagles not even bothering to give him a call yet, I know I would be.

I had a feeling all along Ashworth would be a tough one to land. I would love to see it, but he is still young and is generating a lot of interest. Contrast that with Runyan…wow.

Darren Howard is a great signing for those bastards. Grrr…

It will be interesting to see how good Hutchinson is without Walter Jones next to him.

Chris Hope = Steelers…a lot of people have been calling that one from day one.

Wishing that Vinatieri link worked though, I look forward to reading the article.

Vinatieri = “Big Bang”

There is a pretty good kicker out there the Cowboys could sign but no one is talking about him……Unrestricted Todd Peterson

Todd Peterson isnt bad at all. He made 23 of out 25 FGs for Atlanta last year.

Josh Brown of the Seahawks is restricted, I wonder what it takes to sign him…….

Sterling,

Shaffer was the second rated OT on the lists I saw, right behind Runyan. But here’s why his signing is nuts. He’s a 290 – 295 OT, which means he’s not for everybody.

Also, he’s not one of the 10 best OTs in the game, but now he’s getting paid like one.

Rafael:

Shaffer is a perfect OT for a guy like Mike Vick because he is pretty fleet-footed and can get out there well on bootlegs and QB scrambles. The Falcons also mostly run between the tackles, so he only has to zone block DE’s or OLB’s which he seems ok at. He wouldn’t have worked at all for a Parcells-style power rushing attack or a Bledsoe style QB, IMHO. I have similar questions about Runyan though too, since McNabb is a bit more stealth-like than Bledsoe.

They did overpay though. In economics we call that “wage push inflation”. LOL.

I was high & Mawae & Fabini but it looks like these guys want to be way overpaid. I like Mawae very much but I beleive he is looking for a 10 – 12 mil signing bonus. This type of player is worth maybe 5mil but 12mil ? No too rich for his age. Same for Fabini. I don`t know what he is looking for but with these contracts given out over the weekend @ this point no one is going to be paid what they are worth. I don`t mind overpaying for a player in his 20s who can be with us for 5 years but to me the 30 something crowd is only a stop gap & not worth mortgaging our future for.

Runyan, from what I’ve heard and seen, has some trouble with the truly fast edge rushers. He can handle bull rushers and kills people on runs.

I didn’t like him because I assumed he would want a Marco Rivera-like deal, five years, signing bonus between $8 to 12 million.

Now, if I can get him on a two year deal, with maybe a $3 to 4 million bonus, I jump, because that buys you the time to develop Petitti or some new kid you draft next month.

essi 110,

Josh Brown would cost a 7th rounder. I’d pay it for him.

We don’t need to get into the buying frenzy for O-line. If Adams and Rivera manage 80% of what they’re capable of, then we have enough bodies to man the line. RT and C remain a concern. However, we won’t fix the problem by throwing large stacks of cash at it. All we need is patience, Mexican beer, and the draft. A few moderately priced, young (with emphasis on young) FA’s and we’ll be OK. I will admit I’m more concerned about the coaching on the line than the talent.

Speaking of which…I am starting to get the feeling that an OT on day one is going to be in the cards.

I’d like to see what Colombo and Rogers can do when healthy, but no way is Parcells going to count on either of them with their injury histories. I still like the idea of moving Pettiti to Guard. He’s got the size, it’s his footwork and hands that I didn’t like.

I see where Archuleta may sign for 3.5 million, isn’t that a steal considering what the market is with the new CBA ???
And why aren’t we looking at Chris Hope ? The reports are that noone is really interested in him so he’s looking at going back to Pittsburgh.

If we get Adoyele, we could probably draft Watson and Jon Scott in the 1st and 2nd, then take OLB Chris Cogong who should be a solid blitzer to come in for Adoyele.

The Dolphins are out for Ashworth, they signed LT Shelton.

Wow the Ravens not only sign Mike Anderson but then sign back Jamal Lewis.

Someone needs to check the Redskins books now. Archeleta gets 3.5 mil anually I heard plus the signing bonus. Now theyre looking into Abraham with his HUGE price tag?? I dont understand Dan Synder, their team will always go nowhere if they dont build themselves through the draft. They never need to save draft money for the rookies because they hardly ever draft any.

Sterling,

I think you’re right. With Rogers, Colombo, Gurode, AJ, Adams, maybe Allen, and the latest FA signing I just don’t see the need to bring a Runyon at top dollar. Admittedly, these are all guys with question marks hanging over them. I’d still rather have a stable full of young guns with some veteran leadership. They heal faster and have more potential for the long run. After looking at last year, I think it was more a case of injury biting us rather than having enough servicable linemen.

Any word out there ?

I`ll take an unreliable rumor at this point !

lou c:

Please…not Watson in the 1st round…please no. I know he is a big boy and all, but he looks VERY risky and can’t possibly play every down. Didn’t Parcells find Fergie in the late 2nd day? I bet there are values out there at that position. I want a big NT as much as you do, but I would hate to see them use a 1st round pick on a guy who could only play one or two snaps every four downs in a rotation with Fergie. Not to mention the big question marks about his work ethic and terrible senior season.

I like Jon Scott, and I think the Boys have their eye on him in a big way. Although, if Winston Justice falls to 18, that seems like a no-brainer to me. Not only could he start his rookie year at RT, but he could move over to LT eventually after getting bigger and better strength/conditioning when Flo starts showing signs of not cutting it. Justice will be a stud in this league…just watch.

How about this????
We are not going crazy and throwing money like that idot snyder boy,,, and come next year we’ll have a BILLION Dollars under cap.. and we can buy the whole team!… I know.. I am trying to ease the pain by finding something positive out of all this “non-activity” stuff. Patient, I shall be.

Looks like Antonio Bryant is close to signing with 49ers.

Isn`t this exciting !!!

The Cowboys just signed Kyle Kosier to a 5 $15 million year contract with a $5 million signing bonus. What do you guys think of the signing? Is Larry Allen now a goner? I hope Allen stays!

http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=EAE719CF-DE40-EABA-F84D5D56C01EA0CB

I think Allen is gone. If I’m running the team, I take OT Winston Justice in the 1st and S Dewayne Slay from Tech in the 2nd.

How much do they stand to save on the cap by cutting Allen? Won’t he still count quite a bit even if we cut him? What is a few million extra to keep one of my all time favorite cowboys? Between FA and March madness, I hope to at least work a little today!

I am thinking LA will re-do his contract, so he wouldn’t count so much aginst the cap..

Winston Justice would be great if we can get him at #18. I don’t think he’ll be there when we pick, though.

Hang in there. Don’t become a Free Agent crackhead. Signing someone just to ease the boredom is no way to act. It’s not how much we spend, it’s how we spend. The best danny the garden gnome can hope for is a few appearences in the post season over the next few years. God, how did that moron ever make the kind of money he has.

I agree with Josh. I think Allen has something left in the tank, and cutting him would screw with our offensive line depth, because we don’t have anyone who is good enough to take his place. I don’t know enough about Kosier to trust him at LG just yet!

I can deal with letting Glover go, because we have Ferguson and the young guys who proved themselves last year on the defensive line, but offensive line is another matter. When healthy, Allen and Adams are still one of the best left sides in the game!

steelyeyedmissle:

Funny you should mention Snyder and money. I don’t think he’s as wealthy as we all thought he was. I happened to be reading through the new Forbes list of the world’s billionaires and his name didn’t make the list. Since this is based on estimated net worth, that tells me that he probably is in debt up to his eyeballs from buying the Redskins franchise. Keep in mind he bought that team quite some time after JJ bought the Cowboys and probably spent a whole lot more for it. He also probably financed a lot of that through debt. So, like a person who takes out a big mortgage on a fancy home, it may be worth a lot, but technically his net worth is not as high as the franchise value of the team. They do throw off a lot of cash every year though, since they are the top revenue generating NFL team.

On the other hand, Jerry Jones made the Forbes list. Self-made billionaire too!! Here is a link to his info:

http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/40WD.html

raf lets offer adam sign bonus and go get him

I still feel we need 3 areas filled ASAP. First, safety then #1 wide receiver and a dependable kicker. If we can sign someone like Chris Hope then maybe Vinatieri we can trade down in the draft, pick up maybe another 2nd round and still get a quality wide receiver in the draft. That not only helps us now, but also in the future.
Just because we have plenty of cap money, doesn’t mean we have to use it.

Looks like we are looking for good values more than starters. We’ll just have to wait.

Cutting LA saves $3.5 million against the cap but then we have to replace him for probably not much less than that. Given the across the board refusal of teams to pay age, a restructure looks likely since it is unlikely he will make more elsewhere.

If we would just sign a kicker, the waiting would be a lot easier to take!!

I agree, just because we have money in our pockets, doesn’t mean we have to go on a spending frenzy like the foreskins. We have a solid foundation to our offense and defense with the exception of the O-line and Kicker issues. If we address those and end up saving some cap space for next year…we will be in good shape.

I wouldnt take Watson in the first, at least not at 18. I meant trade down, pick up a 3rd, and take him late 1st/early 2nd. Winston Justice is probably gone. With all these free agent signings, could the Cowboys trade up for Ngata? It didnt seem possible at first, but now it could. Bunkley is a hot commodity right now, and if the Bills have a better player available, with them signing a DT already, could we trade up a few spots to get our future NT?

Swidge:

I agree. With all the speculation of who to get, Safety, OT , LB the only thing we all new for a fact was we need a kicker in FA period. With Longwell & Bryant gone we need to make a move. I sure it sounds stupid but I would rather pay Viniteri 4mil than lose 1 game by a field goal. We cannot go through another year like last with games coming down to the wire & no confidence in your kicker. If we just get this position taken care of I will relax & wait for the rest to unfold.

We’re not there on lb yet, even if we sign Ayodele. This is a 3/4 defense. We need at least one more solid guy from either fa or the draft.That comment about JJ owning property in argentina,where Adam V is vacationing, is intruiging. Quite a coincidence huh? huh? lol!

I think Justice goes to Arizona. Reports I’ve read stated James was assured by Denny that OL would be the Cards top priority. They don’t need to draft a RB in the first round now, so I’d be very shocked if they didn’t get Justice.

ezzi110,
I’d have to give a big NO to Peterson as a kicking possibility. He may be accurate, but he can’t kick 45+ yarders. Atlanta asked their punter to kick the long ones. That also means he can’t do kick offs.

ortonius,
Slay is a slow Roy Williams clone. The guy hits like a mack truck and has a few great highlights, but he ran the 40 in 4.82!! The scouting report on NFl Draft Countdown says:

Strengths:
Has good size and a solid frame…Very productive…Excels as a run stuffer…Tough, strong and physical…A big hitter and solid tackler…Good blitzer…Very active and aggressive…Has a knack for making the big play…Very intense with a top motor.
Weaknesses:
Has an extreme lack of timed speed…Does not have a lot of experience and only started one season at the Division I level…Struggles in coverage…Does not have great quickness or agility…Upside is limited and might only be a situational player.

This is not the kind of player we need at FS.

Kerrycowboy,

LOL. I’d love to throw some case Vinatieri’s way but it’s not my money!

Sterling…..Ferg was 2nd day 6th rounder i think……Parcells also got Ratliff and “Pepper” Johnson last year……late………i don’t think Ratliff is an everydown NT but he could play it…….i don’t see why we could not put Spears on the Nose in passing down situations either………Canty Spears and Ellis as the front 3…….beef in the middle size and more speed on the ends……

Glover was already seeing some time at DE in the 3 man front anyway…and less time…..i hate to lose a quality player….but you cannot keep all the guys. I agree though another guy under the radar can probably be found and plugged in from the draft or even rookie FAs…….but we need Ferg to play all 16 and stuff the run…..

Hey Raf,

Is Ayodele going to be moved to ILB? or left at OLB? Any word on McGinnest?

Runyan would be a fantastic stop-gap RT for the next two years while developing Rogers/Colombo/Pettiti.

By ALL measures, he’s the best, highest-ranked OT available.

WTF!!!!?

Adam Archaleta gets 6 years, 30 MILLION with a 10 MILLION DOLLAR SIGNING BONUS!!!

Hmmm. Very interesting development on the OT front.

1. Weekend — Kevin Shaffer, Browns, 6 years, $36 million, $12 million bonus;
2. Today — L.J. Shelton, Dolphins, 4 years, $15 million, $3.5 million bonus.

The market is dropping quickly. I wonder if you can now get Runyan for Kosier money, meaning about $3 million per. If Shelton got only a $3.5 million bonus, Runyan won’t cost more than that.

It will probably come down to length. I’ll bet Runyan wants a four year deal minimum. I’d only give him two.

Of course, if nobody is calling him, what type of leverage does he have?

Jon B.,

I have not found a sentence on McGinest since free agency started. Part of that might be MRS.

Another good thing about Runyan is his familiarity with the NCF East and especially the Eagles. He practices against Kearse and probably knows several weaknesses of the D in general. I’d hate to take another over 30 offensive lineman, but I’d be OK with him if that’s what we end up doing.

Does anybody know anything about Kyle Kosier? I know he played all over the line but what position did he get sign to play here?

Adam Archaleta: 6 yrs, 30 mil, 10 mil bonus

Brandon Lloyd: Supposedly 5.5$ mil a year with 10 mil guarenteed

Randle El: 6 yrs, 31 mil, 11.5 signing bonus

Faria: Not announced yet.

This is BS, theres no way they can afford all that.

aw,
I don’t think anyone is sure. The signing may be fine for added depth at the guard spot, but $15M is not exactly chump change.

We need more than Kosier to fix this line. Hopefully, we’ll get more.

Just to help explain why the Redskins can possibly afford to spend so much…
1. The CBA gave them an additional 8 mil
2. They cut enough players to give them another 11 mil
3. I just read that they restructured TWELVE players. I knew they restructured Portis and Brunell for big savings, but I didn’t know they restructured 10 other players as well. I can’t believe that they were able to get that many players to agree to a restructured contract.

As far as them being able to make a play for Abrahams, I can see them offering next years 1st rounder and Ramsey.

aw:
It would depend on the next couple of moves, if a Tackle is signed and Allen is waived before his bonus is due, then he’s a Guard. But, if no Tackle is signed and Allen’s deal is reworked, then he’s a RT until the Draft porves otherwise.

I have to say, if Washington gets Abraham too and Brunell can play like he did last year, they seriously scare me! There is a lot of speed and talent on that football team.

Blitzkreig:
I’m starting to believe that Gibbs is going to hang his hat after this next season, he wants a championship and asked Snyder to buy it.

All the restructured deals mean one thing, the money saved this year will haunt them next, I guess this is their last chance to show something for their bucks, for some time now I was seeing this happen if a new CBA was signed.

Blitzkrieg:

That makes me laugh…to get Abraham they would basically be giving up next year’s 1st rounder. Putting Ramsey in the deal is like a “Here…take him…no, really please!!”. Ramsey is kind of like the free toaster they used to give you when you opened a bank account. It’s not really what you had in mind when you opened the account, but your figure…what the hell, maybe I can use this. LMAO!!

Chandus,
Every year I think “this is the year it catches up with them”…I’m starting to believe they’ll somehow get away with this crap forever! I hope you’re right though

Sterling,
Love the toaster analogy! You come up with some good stuff! I think they were trying to get a 3rd or 4th rounder for him from the Jets anyway and since the next year’s first rounder is about equal to a second rounder this year, I figured they’d try to throw him in to save his cap money if the Jets wanted more than next years 1st.

Chandus:

The Redskins moves remind me of the Knicks in the NBA, and the Mets and Yankees in MLB. Tons of high priced talent, great coaches, yadda, yaddda, yadda.

But can all these players and coaches gel as a team? That is highly suspect, IMHO. Brunell and Moss overachieved last season, Portis had an outstanding year, and their defense got every conceivable turnover, holding/procedure call, and lucky break. Can all these guys stay injury free? I doubt it. Can all their coaches get along? I highly doubt it. Will there be a QB controversy? I can almost guarantee that at some point in the season, particularly if Brunell starts to slip a bit, and after all they gave up to get Campbell.

My guess is they start out 5-0 with huge blowout wins…then collapse down the stretch worse than the Eagles did last year to finish 6-10 or 7-9. They’ll probably beat us at FedEx and we’ll beat them soundly on T-Day to further rub salt in their hemorrhaging wounds.

I hate the foreskins more than any other team in this league. They better not trade for John Abraham the player I wanted until he got franchised. That would make for a scary team. All these signings and reworking deals has to come back and bite them in the ass at some point. I bet that they have an injury problem next year with a key player like Portis.

I got an email from a fellow Cowboys fan that said Boston radio station WEEI is reporting K Adam Vinatieri is close to signing with Dallas.

Antonio Bryant signed a four year deal with the Niners. Glad to see it. Now all the Bryant fans can stop saying we should take him back!

Raul, I hope your source is correct!!!!!!!!! PLEEEEEEASE get that guy in here!

Raul:

Thanks for the scoop. I hope your friend is right!!

That is a BIG BANG!! Mr. Clutch!!

The crazy part about the Skins is that they aren’t even signing great players, yet they are still spending all this money. Archuletta is OK, but he worth that much. Randall El is a very good WR, but he is getting #1 WR money. So even though they are laying down the bucks, they really aren’t getting All Pro players in return.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, I’m not sure how the Skins are able to afford all these guys. If I were one of those players that agreed to have my contact restructed I would be pissed. Why should these guys be willing to give up their money to see these average players rake it in.

They might be able to get Abraham for a 1st and Ramsey, but I can’t imagine they could afford him. Enough is enough.

Again, it’s what was heard on Boston radio, so take it for what it’s worth …

oh, my gosh don’t look now, the 49ers just signed antonio bryant to an outrageous deal to be the 49er’s #1 reciever. Good luck….

The Niners get rid of one problem (Lloyd) and sign another in Bryant. That makes a lot of sense.

Let’s keep this in mind about a Jets/Redskins Abraham deal:

Futures picks are usually upgraded one round. Use the Cowboys/Bills trade for Losman as an example. Buffalo offered a 2nd rounder in exchange for Losman. To get Dallas to wait a year, they upgraded it to a first.

That’s the way all futures work. Waiting one year = one higher round.

The Jets want a 1st right now. The Broncos are interested and they have two #1 (irony of ironies, that second #1 they have came from Washington).

If the Redskins want to outbid Denver for Abraham and the Broncos are seriously willing to part with a 1st rounder it will take Washington’s 2nd this year AND a 1st next year, IMO.

And if the Redskins feel Abraham is the missing piece, they’ll do this.

In which case, they better win this year, cause they’ll have no first day pick this year and no 1st.

Again, they HAVE to go crazy in free agency. Look at their picks in the first two rounds of the Snyder era (’99 to the present):

’99
1 — Champ Bailey, 2 – Jon Jansen;
’00
1 — LaVar Arrington; Chris Samuels;
’01
1 — Rod Gardner; 2 — Fred Smoot;
’02
1 - Patrick Ramsey; 2- Ladell Betts
’03
1 — no pick; 2 — Taylor Jacobs
’04
1 — Sean Taylor; 2 — no pick;
’05
1 — Jason Campbell; 2 — no pick;

In the last five years, Sean Taylor is the only quality player to come out of their first two rounds. And he might be warning a jail cell seat, depending on his assault trial.

Raul,
You don’t say much.. But when you do..Man, I pray you are right.. That would be a great signing. Thanks bud.

Dan:
I’m not that scared, Santana is poor man’s Steve Smith, and Newman proved that he can contain him, now Parcells needs to forget his stubborness and play him against the team best receiver in a consistent basis.

Randle-El isn’t that scary too, he’s a beast as PR/KR, but Keith Davis’s also a beast in the opposite side and he’ll be back at it full time. Also look for Beriault to make some solid contributions on ST’s.

Lloyd may be a good acquisition, tough, but if Henry is healthy and Dallas gets a bookend to Ware, Brunnell won’t have much time to throw.

Cooley’s damage had a lot to do with the lack of a good combination of OLB’s, in the first game Ware wasn’t very good in coverage and in the second Dallas didn’t had Singleton and Fujita was what he’s.

Rafael:

I agree with your point about their lack of draft scouting acumen, although Champ Bailey was used as currency for them to get Clinton Portis in that trade, which is not insignificant.

If you contrast that with the fact that Seattle was able to get Shaun Alexander and Koren Robinson with the picks we gave them for Joey Galloway (and by extension Keyshawn), I would say Champ Bailey helped out the Redskins even more than Sean Taylor or any of the rest of those picks. They hadn’t had a good RB since Stephen Davis was in his prime and Portis is pretty darn good even though he is a kooky clown.

BTW, last season, the only guy on a Pigskin uniform that earned my respect was Marcus Washington. All the other guys on Defense can be beaten.

Rafael:

Ooops, my fault, I didn’t see you qualified that as only the last 5 years, not all the picks listed in the Snyder era. You’re right, they do suck at the draft!!

The Redskins may have signed some good players, but they have no depth on the offensive line or at cornerback. They cut their backup center Raymer and Ray Brown retired. They also cut their third CB. So the depth on those positions is really weak, and some injuries will cause some real trouble.

you guys remember back when the redskins acquired all those high profile names, spent all that money on them ex. bruce smith year! what happened? they did nothing and went nowhere! they have a terrible track record with this. yes, they are spending all of this money and I pray that this year they will go nowhere and do nothing.. i would sacrifice our going to the superbowl for that. ok, maybe that’s a little far but man i cant stand the redskins

The Lions are quite an odd organization. They just made their first move and signed Corey Bradford to a 4 year deal…don’t they have like 8 or 9 receivers already?? Too funny.

If Portis or Brunell goes down for a few weeks to injury the Skins are done. One affects the other, and they have no quality depth at either position. All the WR’s in the world won’t matter if they have Campbell the Greenie in there taking his NFL licks amidst the confusion like the 2nd year rookie QB he will be.

Which brings up another point. I watched a lot of Campbell at Auburn and noticed a few things. One is he had a very good O-Line for an NCAA team. They didn’t give up hardly any sacks and he was hardly ever pressured. As a matter of fact, I don’t even think I saw him really scramble or show any mobility to speak of in the 6 or so games I saw him play in. The other thing is he had one of the best two-headed monster RB combos I have seen outside of USC in a long time. Cadillac ran well between the tackles, and Ronnie Brown caught the ball well on screens, flares, and circles. Campbell didn’t have to always make all the plays because of those two guys, and when he did the playaction was so effective because of the RB threats. He did make some big plays in the SEC Championship game against Tennessee his last year, and a couple in the Sugar Bowl too, but nothing that made me think he was the next big NFL QB.

We’ll see soon enough, but I still think he was a reach, and they gave up an awful lot for him. Most likely Gibbs will be long gone by the time the final verdict is in on Campbell. Good for him, since the talk at the time was he was the one pushing to give up so much to get him because he had no faith in Ramsey’s future.

FS Dexter Jackson just signed a deal with the Bengals.

You know Mike Martz can never have too many WR.

I think if we sign Vinatieri (my guess at around 4 million per), we still have money to go after someone like Chris Hope.
We can then trade down in the draft, pick up a fast receiver (to compliment Terry Glenn), and also pick up maybe a #1 next year AND have plenty of cap room.

Boysrule,

I sure hope we can manage to sign Vinatieri for less than 4 million per year. Longwell got 2, and Vinatieri made 2.5 last year. I would hope for 2.5 to 3 but I guess we will see.

Do the niners go searching for these types of receivers or does it just happen. First TO, then Loyd and now Bryant. At what point do you stop blaming the players and start looking at the coaching staff

lou c,

Archuletta actually only got a $5 million signing bonus. Then there is a $5 million option bonus next year. Next year, the Redskins will either cut him, before that is due, or guarantee it, spreading the cap hit out over the remainder of his contract.

This lowers his cap hit substantially for 2006, probably to under $1 million. They’ll worry about 2007 when it gets here.

Looking at the average cap costs for these contracts is futile. None of the Redskins’ players ever get to see the end of their contracts.

Sam,

How ironic! The 49ers got rid of Lloyd because of his lack of reliability on the field, and because he wasn’t a good fit in the locker room. So, they go out and sign Bryant to replace him!

Priceless!