NFL Free Agency Winners and Losers

Not everyone was as happy with free agency.

I don’t know if you have heard yet, but this last NFL free agency period was pretty crazy. Everyday we woke up and learned that various impact players were either traded or had signed with a new team. A lot of teams filled holes that they had been staring at them during the elongated lockout, while other teams failed to do the same. Smart front offices made logical and savvy moves while incompetent front offices remained incompetent. Basically everything that normally occurs in a standard five month off season still happened; it was just ultra-condensed, like a tightly packaged can of tuna. So let us shift through this fresh can of NFL free agency, and separate some winners and some losers.

Losers

We thought it would be fun to go into Week 1 with Rex Grossman, Chad Henne, and Tarvaris Jackson as our top quarterbacks

Miami Dolphins

They were rumored to be trying to work a deal for Denver’s Kyle Orton, but that fell through and it seems that the Broncos are holding onto their quarterback now. So now the Dolphins are stuck with Chad Heene, who has yet to impress, and Matt Moore (God bless them) who will challenge Heene for the job. They followed this up by trading for Reggie Bush and signing him to a 10 million/ 2 years.

I like Reggie Bush as a running back and offensive weapon, just not the way the Dolphins will probably use him. The Dolphins, to accompany an awful passing game, now have a backfield led by Bush and rookie Daniel Thomas. This leads me to believe that the Dolphins are banking on Bush do more than he is capable. Bush has proven that he cannot handle more than roughly 10 carries per game. In New Orleans, Bush was a luxury for the Saints and made an elite team better. In Miami, he will be a feature back and will make a mediocre team worse because of limitations and the seeming inevitability that he will not stay healthy if given such a workload. Good luck Dolphins fans. Oh wait, that’s right, you’re the same nescient, front-running fans that condoned this and booed EVERY blatant foul at Heat home games. Congrats on 4-12

Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll was pretty fortunate in the first season of his NFL comeback. He won his division at 7-9 and then got to play a team with four more wins than his at home in the playoffs, and beat them because they were not ready to play. Now, going into his second season, he is without a quarterback and seems more interested in the Andrew Luck sweepstakes than making the playoffs.

However, the Seahawks did a pretty good job outside of the most important position on the field. They signed wide receiver Sidney Rice, who could thrive in Seattle’s west coast system; tight end Zach Miller, who amassed 2,268 yards in the last three years in Oakland, and guard Robert Gallery, who will fill a big void at left guard and is one of the best run blocking guards in football.

Washington Redskins

Mike Shannahan is one of most respected coaches in the NFL, but he has been nothing short of incompetent and imprudent during his tenure in Washington.

In Beck we trust?

They got rid of Donnovan McNabb, which had to be done and was fully expected, but the mistake was not having a replacement plan. Right now, his top two quarterbacks are John Beck and Rex Grossman, (Yikes) and apparently he is convinced, after seeing them in training camp, that this duo is good enough. (Double Yikes)

Much like with Seattle, the Redskins did not do a bad job outside of the quarterback position. They signed OJ Atogwe, one of the best safeties in football, who will complement fellow safety Laron Landry nicely. They also patched up their defensive line after trading Albert Haynesworth and missing out on Cullen Jenkins by signing ex-Cowboy defensive end Stephen Bowen, and ex-Giant defensive tackle, Barry Cofield.

(For the life of me, I can’t understand why these teams spent money on wide receivers, tight ends, and defensive linemen, when they already have a ceiling of six wins this season because they have no quarterback. You are already bound to suck because you have no quarterback, why spend money on other positions so that you can win five games instead of two. If you are going to rebuild by bottoming out (not a bad plan), don’t half-way bottom out and go 5-11. Go 2-12, so that you can get one of the top picks in the draft and get a franchise changing quarterback like Sam Bradford or Matt Ryan. I know wining two games instead of five sounds counterintuitive, but that is how teams are rebuilt in pro sports, through the draft. The Rams and Falcons would not be playoff caliber teams right now without Bradford and Ryan, who they got because they won two games.)

They can’t get much worse, but they didn’t get any better

Buffalo Bills

I get that it is not easy to entice free agents to sign up to play in Buffalo for a rebuilding team without overpaying them, but they could have done better. They signed former Packer linebacker, Nick Barnett, but that move was negated by the loss of Paul Posluszny, who should have been a building block for the Bills.

Their only other noteworthy acquisition was Brad Smith, who was a big difference maker for the Jets in special teams and the wildcat package last season, but is not much more than that.

Cleveland Browns

Like the Bills, the Browns stood pat in the free agency, but unlike teams like the Colts and Steelers, they could not afford to. I have faith in Mike Holmgrem’s rebuilding plan, but that plan surprisingly did not include spending any money this season. They have a nice young nucleus of players in Cleveland, but this free agency period did not help them any.

Mild Winners

Could have been better, but could have been worse

New York Jets

They had Nnamdi Asomaugha in the bag until the Eagles swooped in at the last second. Had Nnamdi joined Revis on the same defense, it would have been the defensive secondary equivalent of the Miami Heat. But nonetheless, it remains just a scary proposition. They salvaged their cause by resigning and overpaying for Antonio Cromartie, but in their defense, they could not go into next season with Revis and Kyle Wilson as their top two cornerbacks, especially in Rex Ryan’s coverage-dependent defense.

They kept Santonio Holmes from leaving town, cut ties with Braylon Edwards, and I already touched on the Jets signing Plaxico Burress in my last post.

The one hole I think they failed to fill was a pass rushing outside linebacker, but I do not know how many where available.

The Bridges

Minnesota Vikings

Tennessee Titans

Both the Titans and Vikings drafted quarterbacks in the first round , and both quarterbacks, Jake Locker and Christian Ponder respectively, are projects who could benefit from learning behind a veteran.

The Vikings swiftly traded for Donovan McNabb, and the Titans enticed Matt Hasselbeck to leave the Pacific Northwest. McNabb and Hasselbeck will keep the ship afloat and provide a bridge to the young quarterbacks.

The Vikings, however, have a playoff caliber roster and will expect more from McNabb than just 16 games of adequate service. What will happen? Let me save Vikings fans four months of emotional investment. There will be a couple touchdown passes, a couple of inexplicable interceptions, and in the end, he will make a critical mistake in a big moment that will end your season one way or anther. The end.

Boom or Bust

Arizona Cardinals

I’ll cut to the chase. Either Kevin Kolb is going to be a quality NFL quarterback or he will fall on his face. The Cardinals are not only invested in Kolb for the short term after giving up one of their best players, Dominique Rodgers Cromartie AND a second round pick for Kolb, but also the long term with the 63 million/ 6 year contract extension that they gave Kolb after trading for him.

Kevin Kolb will make or break the Arizona Carinal’s future.

In addition to getting their guy at quarterback, the Cards signed Todd Heap who still has something left in the tank and will get a fresh start in his home state of Arizona. They also signed former Eagles linebacker, Stewart Bradley, who will assimilate well in their 3-4 scheme.

Protect your Turf

Indianapolis Colts

Just like a dog urinates on a fire hydrant to claim it as their own, the Colts claimed Peyton Manning as their’s for life by making him the richest player, (tied with Tom Brady, but who’s counting), in the league with a 90 million/ 5 year extension. (Did I just compare 90 million dollars to dog pee?) Manning reportedly did not want to become the outright richest player in the league and accepted the deal instead of a 23 million dollar franchise tag. This cleared cap space for the Colts and allowed them to resign running back Joseph Addai and right tackle Ryan Diem.

This is not surprising given Manning’s selfless track record and his appreciation for those guys and other teammates’ contributions. His superstar contemporary, Tom Brady, also took a pay cut to allow the Patriots to sign more players a couple of years ago, and the Steelers are currently trying to work out a silimar pay cut with Ben Roethislisberger. Speaking of them….

Pittsburgh Steelers

Perhaps the best thing that could happen to Steelers in the off season would be James Harrison eluding any suspension from Rodger Goodell after his abrasive comments about him and many others. Oh, and Ben Roethlisberger marrying a girl instead of… you know.

What a year can do.

The Steelers also retained Ike Taylor, their only cornerback that is even close to average, and tackle Willie Colon, who missed all of last season but will be back to anchoring the right side of the Steelers line.

Carolina Panthers

The Panthers went 2-14 last season after going 12-4 the previous season. Owner Jerry Richardson vowed that he would spend the necessary money in free agency to recitify this, and he was not kidding. The Panthers resigned Deangelo Williams for 43 million/ 5 years, defensive end Charles Johnson for 72 million/ 6 years, and extended middle linebacker Jon Beason’s contract for 50 million/ 5 years.

Now, I admire Richardson’s willingness to spend, but with Williams and Johnson signings, he overpaid and its not even close. Johnson is coming off the first great year of his career (11.5 sacks) (A year that some view as a fluke), and got paid like a guy who has been doing it for 5+ years.

Williams put the slash in the “slash and dash” combo of him and Jonathan Stewart that was vital to the 12-4 season in 2009. But, like Johnson, he has had a short period of success , and at 28, history suggests that he only has a couple years of optimal health and performance left.

Even though history suggests otherwise, it is very possible that both Williams and Johnson continue the success that brought them these contracts, and if they do Jerry Richardson will look like a genius

Winners

Made moves to fill glaring holes

Chicago Bears

In Jay Cutler’s two year tenure in Chicago, his most appealing weapon at wide receiver has been a converted cornerback. Even though the Bears did not bring in a star, Roy Williams played and thrived in Mark Martz’s offense while he was in Detroit. (He amassed over 1,300 yards in 2006.)

You lost Kristin Cavallari, but you gained Roy Williams.

The Bears also signed running back Marion Barber, a bruising inside runner who is made for the late season cold weather in Chicago. The Bears also added ex-Texan Amobi Okoye, who will fit in as a defensive tackle in their 4-3 scheme.

Furthermore, they lost the heart and soul of not only their offensive line, but their entire locker room, when they failed to resign center Olin Kreutz. Kreutz had spent all of his nine years in the league with the Bears and made six All Pro teams during that time. The Bears quickly replaced Kreutz’s production, if you will, by signing ex-Seahawk Chris Spencer, but that will not replace the leadership and steady veteran presence that he provided.

Houston Texans

The Texans had the worst ranked pass defense in the league last year and they play in a division in which Peyton Manning is king. Because of this, they sought out a cornerback to rectify this. They were in the sweepstakes for Nnamdi Asomugha, but fearful of him signing elsewhere and thus coming up empty handed, they pulled out early and settled for Jonathan Joseph. Obviously Joseph is not on the level of Nnamdi, but he is still a top 20 cornerback and will provide an upgrade to the Texans pass defense.

Jonathan Joseph will have to help fix the 32nd ranked pass defense in the league.

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons and their fans knew that they wanted a pass rusher to play opposite of John Abraham, but did not know which of the available defensive ends they would ink. They found a suitor with Ray Edwards, who is used to playing strong side end opposite of a great pass rusher, having played opposite of Jared Allen in Minnesota.

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jaguars made cost-effective moves for veterans that will go unnoticed but will make a difference on the field. They signed two proven veterans at linebacker, the Bills’ Paul Posluszny and the Colts’ Clint Session. They also swiped safety Dawan Landry from the Ravens.

On offense, they added to their offense by signing one of better young guards in football, former Packer, Jason Spitz.

Under the Radar

New Orleans Saints

Instead over paying Reggie Bush to be their dynamic back/back who catches passes out of the backfield/punt returner/decoy, they shipped him to Miami and replaced him with Darren Sproles, who essentially does everything that Reggie Bush does, expect better and for less money. So that was good.

Don’t sleep on Aubrayo Franklin.

Then they signed defensive tackle, Aubrayo Franklin to a one year deal, a acquisition that you would be mistaken to ignore. Franklin, in my opinion was the second best free agent in the class of 2011 behind Nnamdi Asomugha. Franklin played nose tackle for 49ers and demanded a double team on practically every play. He willed be paired up with Sedrick Ellis and Shaun Rodgers. It will be interesting how Greg Williams uses these three, but one thing is for sure, the middle will be clogged in New Orleans all season long.

St. Louis Rams

Of all the NFL teams who were active in free agency, other than the “dream team” Eagles, I liked the Rams’ array of deals the most. They are a young and up and coming team, who have build a strong supporting cast around franchsie quarterback, Sam Bradford. Rather than going out in free agency and throwing a bunching of money at veterans and financially crippling themselves in the future, they made cost effective moves for veterans that filled an actual need.

Offensively, they signed Jerious Norwood who will fit in nicely as a change-of-pace back, and help lighten Steven Jackson’s workload. They also, instead signing Sidney Rice or Braylon Edwards to a lucrative and long term deal, traded for the Jaguars’ Mike Sims Walker. He is a bigger target, only 26, and will fit nicely in the same receiving core as Danny Amendola and Mark Clayton. They also signed guard Harvey Dahl, who was a part of Atlanta’s bruising offensive line last year, to solidy their own line. Dahl is known as one of the nastiest offensive linemen in the league, and will bring toughness and leadership to their younger o-line.

Defensively, their big signing was two time All Pro safety Quintin Mikell, who was formerly an Eagle and will replace OJ Atogwe, an excellent safety in his own right, in the Rams secondary.

Oops I did it Again

New England Patriots

We were still getting acclimated to the constant Breaking News updates on the ESPN bottom line and Adam Schefter’s flash appearances on ESPN, when Bill Belichick hit us with a curve ball by trading for Albert Haynesworth, who represented everything contrary to the “Patriot Way” for the past two seasons. Then, just when we thought he had made his mark, boom, Chad Ochenta y Cinco.

This is not anything new from the Patriots. They have been bringing in underachieving, malcontent veterans ever since 2003, when they brought in nose tackle Ted Washington, and then again in 2004 with running back Corey Dillon, both of whom helped them win a Super Bowl. Each time they do it, it is a high reward because of the veteran’s ability and low risk for two reasons. One is that they only give up a late round draft pick. The other reason is that either the veteran will comply to the “Patriot Way” by having a team-first attitude, working hard, not mouthing off in the media, and simply doing their job, or they will prove to not be worth the hassle, and in that case, the Patriots and Bill Belichick will not hesitate to trade them, like they did with Randy Moss. Either Haynesworth will have a 180 with his attitude and Chad Johnson will focus solely on football, or they will be shipped out.

Al! Wake up! You just got traded to New England!

So from that standpoint, I like these moves. The other reason I like these moves, and past moves like it, is that all of these players are and were coming from frenetic situations and dysfunctional teams, but coming to New Engalnd shifts the focuses to them and their behavior.

Chad Ochocinco and Corey Dillion were playing for the Bungals, Albert Haynesworth was playing for his arch nemesis Mike Shanahan, and Randy Moss was playing for the Raiders. All of these players were a part of dumpster fires that had a culture of losing, and because of this, we gave them a slight pass when they had less than stellar attitudes.

When they get to the Patriots, they don’t have that excuse anymore. The situation around them is perfect and one of the best ran franchises in the league. So, in a sense, the focus shifts from the chaos around them to their behavior and performance. In sum, if they can not make it with New England, then they can not make it anywhere. If Randy Moss would have, upon arrival in New England, become a problem and been difficult as he was in Oakland, then we all would have pegged Randy Moss as the problem. Randy Moss knew this, and became a model teammate and had the best statistical season of any receiver in NFL history in his first year with the Pats. Consequently, we exonerated Randy Moss for his Oakland years, and pegged his surroundings as the problem.

Albert Haynesworth and Chad Johnson are now in the same situation. If they become a malcontent, partake in egotistical behavior, or simply do not perform, then everyone will know that their prior situation was not the problem, they were. So there is underlying pressure in their situation, just as there was with Corey Dillon, Randy Moss, and Ted Washington.

If the Eagles are the Miami Heat, then you are Eddie House.

So what does this all mean and how well will Ocho and Big Al play next season?

Big Al first; Even though the Patriots’ base defense is a 3-4, which Haynesworth said he wouldn’t play in during his tenure in Washington, they use a lot of 4-3 packages and their defense follows a lot of 4-3 principles. I think he will be motivated, focused, and although not on the level of 2008, he will be almost unstoppable.

Chad Johnson is now 33, which is not a big deal because his athleticism was never his strongest attribute, it was his route running, which will fit perfectly into the Patriots sharp, timing and spacing based passing game. Because of the weapons around him, and Tom Brady’s lack of preference with any receiver, I do not see him getting big stats, 1000-1200 receiving yards max. But his numbers will and should not be the primary indicator of his success this season, but how dependable he was for Tom Brady in big situations. If he can be dependable on the field and keep a low profile off the field, then he will fit in just fine.

Winner, winner, cheese steak dinner

Philadelphia Eagles

Lets see they….

1. Flipped their backup quarterback into a second round pick AND Dominique Rodgers Cromartie .
2. Not only got the only blue chip player available, Nnamid Asomaugha, but got him at a very reasonable price (60 million/ 5 year), considering he made 16 million last season.
3. Solidified their defensive by signing Pro Bowl edge rusher, Jason Babin, and former Packer standout Cullen Jenkins
4. Filled the vacant backup quarterback spot by trading for Vince Young, who has 28 more career wins than Kevin Kolb.
5. Signed Ronnie Brown , who will provide a much needed spell back for Lesean McCoy, to a cap-friendly one year deal.
6. Acquired right tackle Ryan Harris to protect Michael Vick’s blindside, and provide an upgrade over Winston Justice. Ryan Harris is not a big name player, but he is one of the five to ten best players at his position, so do not take this addition lightly. He may prove to be the most beneficial acquisition for the Eagles besides King Nnamdi.

In the words of Kenny Smith at the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest, It’s Over!!! The Philadelphia Eagles won free agency. But that is on paper. Only five more Sundays until we start to settle it on the field. Did I mention football is back?