I really like the Colts additions. Gore and Johnson is a huge upgrade over Wayne and Bradshaw. Herremans, Cole and Langford are nice additions and really the only loss that I’d sweat is Corey Redding.
Reggie Bush to San Fransisco is actually a nice fit on both sides. Bush gets to play on real grass in a warm climate. The Niners get a cheaper replacement for Gore and the rest of the midgets on the roster. He pairs well with Hyde for a nice 1-2 punch on a shoestring budget. I’d rather have this than what the Bears have in a single overpaid RB who’s well rounded but ultimately average at everything. I am slightly less excited about the exchange of Stevie Johnson for Torrey Smith. It’s not that Johnson was great but I think Smith with flounder with Kaep chucking balls to him instead of Flacco’s sweet deep fades.
Chip Kelly is now denying any interest in Mariotta. I think this is pure pragmatism, he’d love to have the guy but knows it’s a bad investment to trade up for him, at least into the top 5. We’ll see if that opinion changes should Mariotta slip into the 5-15 range.
The Bears and Ryan Pace have finally admitted that Cutler, for better or worse, is the guy. They clearly shopped the hell out of him but I’m glad they didn’t choose to eat that contract and/or give him away for nothing. People rag on him for lots of reasons, but I stand by the assertion that he’s not been the Bears biggest problem in the last couple seasons. It’s been the defense. I’m now doubting that you can win a Super Bowl with Cutler, but I’ll be interested to see what happens now that he has the most competent coaching staff he’s had in a decade. I’m skeptical, but maybe the Bears shopping him (and no one biting) and a new sense of accountability will somehow change how he handles the offense. I’d definitely rather be rolling with Cutler than being in the Bills, Jets, Texans, Browns, Redskins, Titans, Niners and Cardinals etc. shoes.
In other Bears news, they added to the defense with McPhee and Rolle, and look to be targeting another S in Ron Parker. The big move on offense is Eddie Royal which feels like a great compliment. They parted ways with Conte, Briggs, Paea and Marshall. They supposedly are out of the running for Pot Roast due to his contract demands.
I feel bad for the Buccaneers. Lovie is running that thing into the ground in record time. When his big targets on defense are resigning Major Wright and adding Chris Conte while cutting Michael Johnson you know you have issues.
Derrelle Revis sure knows how to make money. Frankly I’m shocked that he left New England. I’m not sure what the difference in the money was, or even if the Pats offered a long term deal, but I’d have thought Revis would love to play out the next 2 or 3 seasons on a contender. Seems like winning one ring was enough for him. He checked that box, so time to go get more money. He’s been quoted as saying some silly shit about “going home” but that’s just spin, the guy was never satisfied or happy in NYC. He held out like every year and was never a vocal leader or the face of the franchise.
The Jets shored up the team by fleecing the Bears for Marshall, cutting bait on Harvin, dumping CJ½K, bringing back Pace, Babin, Harris on defense and Powell on offense and adding Skrine and Carpenter as FAs. I love all of these moves, really well done. But they also brought in Fitzpatrick to compete with Geno and that my friends is desperation. I expect the Jets to grab Mariotta if he’s there and that would make for a pretty impressive offseason - assuming their cap isn’t getting gutted.
The Steelers defense is going to be practically unrecognizable. Keisel, Worilds, Harrison, Polamalu, LeBeau all gone. I don’t see the next couple years going well for them.
Aside from franchising JPP and signing Shane Vereen they Giants haven’t done much of anything.
The Super Bowl champs are bleeding badly. Vereen and Revis gone, paying big money to keep McCourty (he’s worth it) and franchising Gostkowski (huh?) and releasing Browner and Wilfork. They get the benefit of the doubt here, but they have some tough holes to fill now.
The next big shoe to drop is DeMarco Murray. Rumor is the Eagles are in the lead but I have to imagine that they are just trying to muddy the waters for Dallas, no way the dump McCoy due to salary issues and replace him with Murray. Though getting screwed on Gore might trigger an overreaction.
Not a lot of wild news elsewhere in the NFC Norris. The Pack have retained Cobb and Bulaga. Dumped a couple of LBs in Hawk and Jones. No free agents as usual, and I expect they to win the division and fail in the playoffs for the umpteenth time. The Lions recovered nicely from the Suh defection (idiotic contract by the Dolphins, totally see this playing out like Haynesworth 2.0) by trading for Ngata. they lost Bush but that won’t hurt them. Nothing else much happening there. The Vikings converted Cassel into a couple draft picks and have basically done nothing else. Still waiting to see what happens with AP, but he’s almost certainly gone.
One of the most perplexing contracts I’ve seen doled out is the one for Jeremy Maclin. Nice player and all, but definitely not $11M/year nice.
The 2 huge trades are probably worth their own post. I think both the Eagles and Saints got completely fleeced. The Bradford for Foles move is weird, but I can understand it. I don’t really understand why they had to send a 2nd rounder back to the Rams. They were doing the Rams a favor by letting them get younger and cheaper at QB. Similarly I have no idea why the Saints traded Jimmy Graham. The contract they gave out causes so much dead money they don’t really gain anything this year by trading him. They have to pay Unger who is a good player, and they have to pay another 1st round salary by getting that pick back.
As a Bears fan I’m trying to figure out what I can learn about Ryan Pace in the wake of this Saints disaster. How responsible is he for this mess and did he abandon ship after helping make that cap mess? Would the Saints have gotten fleeced like this is Pace were still there? Are there any cap casualties that the Bears will try and sign once the Saints start cutting guys in earnest?
Whew…that post got long.
