I don’t know if we lowballed him compared to what the other OGs got, but it has been confirmed that we offered more money than San Diego
Honestly I respect the guy for having some loyalty; something we Seahawks wanted to see a little more of last offseason. :mad:
Next up we’re looking at Daniel Graham. TE is important in the West Coast Offense and Stevens has had too many chances and is till too inconsistant.
Ah I had no idea SD resigned him for that much. It sounded like SD simply didn’t have the cap space to offer him a big contract - so that by coming back, he was taking a significant paycut. But the contract he got was pretty huge.
He did give up some millions for loyalty, which is respectable, but not nearly as much as I thought.
Well Crap. Looks like there’s a new wrinkle.
The Bears swap Thomas Jones and their 2nd round pick (63rd overall) for the Redskins (via the Jets) 2nd round pick (37th overall). Personally I feel like we got fleeced on that deal. Moving up 26 spots in the second round is nice and all, but it’s still the second round and TJ had a hell of a lot more in the tank than that. It doesn’t help that this leaves us with the miserable Cedric Benson as the starter, a guy who most of the team would prefer to see get steamrolled. Not good, not good at all. Unless there was something especially unpleasant about TJs future with the team which badly diminished his value this seems like a bad deal. There’s something to be said about getting something for an aging RB before he’s a UFA, but still.
So this makes my dream of getting Turner even more pressing since I don’t see a plodding guy like Benson being anything more than a RB-by-committee guy. You need to be able to threaten the outside and catch passes. His fumbles late in the season don’t bolster my confidence.
I’m sure it’s a pipe dream, but could it be possible that the Bears wanted to move up in the second round solely because they are expecting to give away their 1st rounder for Turner? Maybe?
One more thing. It looks like my optimistic view of the Lance Briggs relationship was misinformed. Damn it, I really hope this is just posturing. The Bears front office isn’t likely to cave on the franchise tag, especially after threats in the media. I don’t know how this will end well.
Are you sure you’re not confusing Michael Turner with somebody else? His hands and his straight line speed are weaknesses, not strengths. Hell, if he could run a 4.3 and catch the ball at his size, they’d have to change the rules.
Nope. He played at 220 in college and ran a 4.41 in the combine. In college he was a homerun hitter. Playing behind LDT Marty got him to bulk up and take on the power runner role but that’s not his natural state. If there was a better speed guy out there I’d want him instead, but there isn’t a Warrick Dunn circa 2004 on the market.
I don’t get it, then.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great back, but no way is he the guy you’re talking about. If he ever was 220, he sure isn’t anymore, and 4.4, which I’m sure we both agree represented a physical peak he isn’t at anymore, is not exactly slow but neither is it tearing off corners. Plus he’s never showed an ability to catch the ball (31 catches combined in his college and NFL careers); why would you want to give up a first round pick to shoehorn him into a Charlie Garner role at feature back prices? Especially since we don’t need to look very far to find an example of a very good running back going low in the draft (cf. Michael Turner). Save your money and take a Lorenzo Booker (at least his 4.4 was recent and coupled with some burst) late in the first day if you’re going to be invested in Benson to be your fatass between the tackles (which I know you don’t like but is the case nonetheless). 3rd down explosions are cheap these days.
I’m looking at the available options and I just don’t see any speed on the market. The history of rookie RBs filling that third down role is very unconvincing. Pass protection and catching balls out of the backfield are acquired skills. I’d rather take a experienced player who could develop into a stud and permanently oust Benson than gamble on a mid-to-late round RB with some question marks. I wish Turner was more of a prototype, but I’m convinced he still has the burst he had in college and that his pass catching ability is simply under-used because he plays behind the best pass catching back we’ve seen in a decade.
I realize its not a sure thing, but I like him twice as much as any other back on the market, especially at his age, and I think this is a dangerously thin draft at the RB position.
Denver’s had an interesting offseason, to say the least: two of their players have died, and it’s had an impact on the team’s signings.
The forementioned trade with the Lions involved shipping RB Tatum Bell and OL George Foster and a draft pick to Detroit for CB Dré Bly and a draft pick. With the Jan. 1 death of Darrent Williams, Denver needed a seasoned CB, and we got a good one. It’ll be fun to watch opposing QBs try to throw to WRs covered by Bly and Champ Bailey next season.
I like the trade – Bell never offered the powerful running attack that Denver previously enjoyed from Terrell Davis, Clinton Portis and Mike Anderson.
With last season’s leading rusher gone and RB Damien Nash’s death a few days ago, the Broncos needed a RB and signed Travis Henry, late of Buffalo and most recently Tennessee. I’ve liked watching Henry the few times I’ve seen him – but this will be the first time I can remember Denver having a free-agent featured RB.
The best Safety in the league, IMO, is Adrian Wilson with the Cardinals.
I barely get a chance to watch the cardinals so I can’t comment, but the football outsiders agree with you.
For what it’s worth, I don’t think Polamalu is elite. He’s constantly praised by sportscasters for doing things wrong - he’ll constantly run himself out of a play, or miss a tackle going for the big hit, and they’ll all praise how aggressive he is instead of how he just allowed a play to develop with his over-aggressiveness. He’s not elite in coverage and the Steeler’s otherwise very strong defense has covered the slack, to allow him to function in a focused and limited role - the kind of role that creates big highlights.
He’s good, but I wouldn’t put him in the same category as Ed Reed, which is a far more complete safety and my vote, having not seen much of Wilson, for best safety in the league.
A name you’ll start hearing about, by the way, is Sean Jones of the Browns. 2nd round pick in '04 that tore an ACL in his first year, didn’t see much action in his second, and in his third put up a season that would’ve gotten him a pro-bowl appearance as an alternate at least if he were on a more successful team. He’s going to be a top 5 safety within 2 years.
That is a good trade for Denver. However, Bly is making it clear that he wanted to play in Washington and wants to be traded again.
For what it’s worth, apparently Steinbach was really, really happy to be in Cleveland, and I have no idea why.
Sure, the money - but everyone is paying guards $50 million contracts this year. There were at least 3 other teams he could’ve signed with at the same price. But he seems genuine in that he said that as soon as he got to the Browns’ facility and talked to the front office, he felt like he really wanted to be here.
Which is odd, because being in the division, he’s seen our suck repeatedly. He also got snubbed in the draft by us, when it was expected we would take him in the first round and took Jeff Faine instead.
I’d like to think that maybe as an AFC North player he has respect for Cleveland’s still psychotic and loyal fanbase despite a decade of nothing but suck. I wasn’t happy with his contract at first, but that seems to be the going rate now, and he was the best guard available, and he really seems to want to be here, so I’m warming up to him.
Of course, LeCharles Bentley’s life dream was to play here, and you could tell he was so happy to finally be home. And we were ecstatic to have him. And then his very first play as a Cleveland Brown, a non-contact scrimmage drill, he tore his knee on some grass and ended his career. He actually yelled out “NO!” as he saw his life’s dream flash before him. Absolutely sick.
And yeah, his career is probably over. Hardcore Browns fans have known for probably 6 months - people who had relatives that worked in the hospitals, people who had a friend of a friend of Bentley’s family, etc. were reporting that it was much worse than they let on. Then this month they announced that things were going badly, he might need another surgery, and who knows if he’ll ever come back.
Sick.
The reason so much insane money is being thrown around is because the salary cap has gone up $24 million that they have to spend somewhere. Personally, I only care about how much my team pays a player as it relates to their ability to pay other players, I don’t realy care in any other sense what a player makes.
I’m bummed, yet understand, that the Vikings let Napolean Harris go. He really was coming into his own at the end of the season, and KC got a good deal on him. I wish him the best.
Not a FA, but to Pittsburgh went Mike Tomlin. Yet another case of the coach who should be our head coach going somewhere where he’ll have great success (See Dungy, Tony and Billick, Brian) while we keep the crap (See Green, Denny, and Childress, Brad)
They made a couple minor pickups in FA, while what I really wanted to see is a DE or RG
OK, I’ve had some time to digest this Thomas Jones trade and I’m coming to the realization that it’s a monumental disaster. One of the worst trades I can remember seeing.
According to the NFL Draft Value Chart the Bears gained 254 points. Essentially a high 3rd round pick for Thomas Jones, a rock solid starter and 1200 yard rusher for a Super Bowl team that you wouldn’t suspect would be looking to stockpile prospects.
The Patriots gave a second-round draft pick (60 overall) and a seventh-round draft pick (220 overall) wide receiver Wes Welker. So basically, Welker is worth 303.4 points. Wes Welker and his 1121 CAREER receiving yards.
God damn the Bears got hosed.
The Saints have signed LB Brian Simmons to a 3-year deal. He got a complete physical, and there don’t seem to be any concerns about the neck injury that kept him out a few games last year. Dunno the numbers, but we get a starting LB and don’t lose draft picks, so it looks good to me…
These two items do not compute. As a Vikings fan, I am THRILLED to see Smoot leaving. A pattern emerged throughout the year. If an opposing team was facing third and long, they’d throw it Smoot’s way, and make it.
The Vikes also signed Bobby Wade to a 5 year deal. And are acting like their WR search is over. greeeeat. Another sub 1000 yard receiver. just what we need. :rolleyes: