I think he’s a decent tackler but not in the mold of Adrian Wilson or Troy Polamalu that’s why I see him more as a Free Safety where he wouldn’t play up as much. I predicted Antrel Rolle as a good safety candidate last off-season and I’m hoping to go 2/2 with McAllister 
I hope he leaves the division to do it though. I don’t know what his injuries were, that will be big factor for anyone looking to sign him.
The Bears need help at Safety, especially in the coverage department, so he’d be a very tempting option. With Mike Brown’s frustrating injury history another aging guy who can’t stay on the field would be a problem, but aside from this season I don’t recall him being a persistent issue. Hmm.
He can’t tackle for shit. He’s had 50+ tackles exactly once.
By comparison, Ronde Barber (a good, but not great tackler) has had 50+ tackles in 10 straight seasons, and Ty Law (a good cover guy, but not a good tackler) has had 50 tackles in 9 out of the last 10 seasons.
McAlister is a cover corner, and absolutely nothing more. He’s really good at batting down or intercepting balls, and pretty useless if his guy makes the catch.
You spelled his name right, I keep wanting to add an extra ‘l’…
Pretty much says it all about Oakland- to keep *one of their own players *they’re having to pay him 50% more than he’s worth on the open market.
Out of curiosity I checked the Ravens messageboard to see if there was any discussion about McAlister, some interesting points pro and con in this thread. Generally, most feel he could do it but they have too much depth at safety and he’s too valuable at corner. He plays press coverage very well, that doesn’t suit every teams needs in a corner.
I don’t know about that: he’s *really *good, the best CB in the league, and possibly the best defensive player. That said, there is a good chance he couldn’t have gotten such a sweetheart deal in free agency.
I didn’t realize that both Batch and Leftwich were free agents. I hope the Steelers sign one of them. Both have done a solid job when called on as backup QB.
He appears to be really good because nobody has thrown at him for the last two years. However, he’s spent all of the last two years in Oakland, where this is a less meaningful issue than it would normally be, for two reasons:
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Throwing it elsewhere makes even more sense against Oakland because their other d-backs are poor in coverage; and
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Nobody needs to throw against Oakland.
I’m sure he is very good but I wouldn’t have given him more than Asante Samuel got (roughly $10 million/year, which is less than Nate Clements managed to swindle from the 49ers).
I certainly wouldn’t call him the best defensive player in the league. Arguably the best corner.
Batch will be re-signed, they have a decent third option in Dennis Dixon. There isn’t enough money to sign Leftwich, Nate Washington, and Bryant McFadden - I think only Washington will be back from that group, the other guys are going to command to much $$$. The other big factor for the Steelers is they usually re-sign the guys they want to keep when they have a year remaining rather than waiting out the contract, that means a big decision with James Harrison among others this year. All in all though, a pretty good FA situation for a team coming off a super Bowl win. Mainly depth issues and the two lines to patch up. Kevin Colbert has indicated in interviews that he’s not in a panic over the O-line and feels they can solve their issues without getting to drastic. I’ll be surprised if they bring back Kemoeatu but the price tag might be right for him.
Speaking of having enough money, how much cap room does your team have? The 49ers have $25 million or so, which is a lot. However, they plan on spreading it out with four to six players, probably not signing a huge name. 
That’s probably no longer accurate since we just franchised Antonio Bryant and signed Luke McCown to a contract extension (and let the record show that I am thrilled with both moves).
Still, we’ve got more than enough to sign Albert Haynesworth.
I am very, very excited with the way the Bucs are heading right now.
That link says the 9ers can free up more room by cutting Jonas Jennings, which they will, and Alex Smith. They’re more likely to restructure his contract, but it could involve cutting him and resigning him. Either way, it’ll bring in $5-7 million more.
I just want a name guy, somebody opponents fear and adjust to; a pass rusher especially. If we can get another DE to play opposite Justin Smith, and upgrade at safety, I’d be happy. Add the drafting of BJ Raji, or if heaven shine upon us and Maclin falls to the ten spot, oooh boy.
It hasn’t been made official yet but it’s been rumored for the last week or so that Bears RT John Tait will be retiring this offseason creating another hole on the OL for them to fill. John St. Clair on the other side is a FA and while the Bears will almost certainly do everything they can to sign him following the Tait news it’s something to pay attention to.
With last years rookie Chris Williams contributing nothing at Tackle and him being a total unknown for '09 this might put the Bears in a position to draft a OT in the first round for a second year in a row. It’s a pretty good OT class and there’ll be a elite one on the board when they pick 18th but they Bears desperately need to find some speed and explosiveness on offense in this draft. Harvin or Heyward-Bey are probably the best fits for them, and no one with elite speed will be there if they have to wait until the 2nd round to address the WR position.
The holes at S, CB and OLB will have to wait and we’ll have to depend on Marinelli to get something out of our underperforming DE and DTs. Bad times. Angelo really needs to do something in FA before the draft or else they will be in a very precarious position when they are on the clock.
ETA: The Bears don’t trade up in The Draft, but if there ever was a time this might be it. I’d love to see them take the best OT or WR with their 18th pick and then trade up into the latter half of the first round to take a 2nd tier guy at the other position. While it hurts to give away picks when we need depth so badly, it’d be worth it and we could bide our time with some late FA signings.
Interesting day at the Combine for the skill position guys. Really liked Heyward-Bey’s speed. I worry that he might end up out of the Bears reach at #18 after turning in the best 40 time of the Combine. Kenny Britt was also the other guy that leaped out at me. Loved his prototypical size and speed, also did great at the bench press and jump drills. Didn’t see enough of his route running, but his production in college speaks for itself. If the Bears can’t get Heyward-Bay and Britt is there in the 2nd round I’ll be pretty happy. Not very high on Nicks, he didn’t stand out at all, and while Robiskie’s numbers were better than expected he projects as a possession guy and the Bears need a game breaker. Harvin not doing any of the drills is curious, and Heyward-Bey probably leap-frogged him with his performance unless Harvin really impresses in Gainesville.
I didn’t see a RB who really impressed me. There might not be a single RB taken in the first round this year, I’m almost positive that none will go in the top 15. Donald Brown outperformed expectations and someone will get a good every down back in him and I was amazed by the 40 time and overall athleticism of Ian Johnson. I’m not sure where he’ll come off the board but if he’s still around in the 4th round or so I’d love the Bears to take an chance on him as a change of pace for Forte.
I’m not seeing a single QB that interests me, even as a late round developmental guy. I think the Bears feel the same way and that’s why they added Basanez a week or two ago. I’d be surprised to see the Bears spend a pick on a QB on the first day.
The Bears reportedly offered John St. Clair a 3-year deal for an undisclosed amount today, 3 days before the deadline to do so. Both sides want to get it done and hopefully no other team steps in and drives up the price. At 32 years old and being something of a one-year wonder he shouldn’t be too pricey or coveted.
Hopefully they move fast on this one.
And so begins the annual rite of general managers vastly overvaluing a player’s speed in shorts.
Let the record show that Larry Fitzgerald ran a 4.63.
But. But. But. You can’t teach speed!!! Yeah, that’s it.
As to free agency, the Packers only have Mark Tauscher, Colin Cole, and Mike Montgomery who are unrestricted free agents. 3 months ago, Tauscher might have been another Corey Williams, where the Packers aren’t willing to pay as much as another team are, to keep a guy. But then Tauscher hurt his knee, which greatly decreased his free agent value. It will be interesting to see if they bring him back, especially before they know how his knee is. Cole and Montgomery are warm bodies and little else and will likely be sent to free agency.
Before the Packers get involved in free agency, their priority is to spend their $25 million in cap room to extend guys they already have. I think their first off season job with their $25 million in cap room, is to get Greg Jennings signed to a long term contract. They’ll also have some guys (Nick Collins, Johnny Jolly, Jason Spitz, Darryl Colledge) who may get extensions this offseason. Personally, I think Collins and Spitz are worth it, but the other two get a big “meh!” from me. The huge question mark is Aaron Kampman, who has been one of their best, if not the best, defensive players in the last few years. With the switch from 4-3 to 3-4, Kampman has to learn a new position and a new way of playing, and the Packers just may wait until they see how that goes before extending him. If it works well, it will bump up his price a lot, but I think it’s only smart to wait and see how he handles it before extending him.
The Packers rarely get into paying for high price free agents, and I don’t anticipate that changing this year. While I love the sheer dominance that is Albert Haynesworth, I have too many questions about whether he could handle not getting massive amounts of press attention and adoration and whether he simply plays for a big paycheck.
But I’d like them to take a look at those middle tier guys (guys they got who have worked out like Charles Woodson and Ryan Pickett) who are available. We still need help at the tackle position, the D Line and a pass rusher.
I’ll take this kind of offseason over the Favre carnival anytime.
He’ll get plenty of attention in Tampa, and all that cap room has to be used for something. If the Titans can’t get him re-signed I’m about 80% certain that he’s coming here.