# The 2009 NFL free agency thread **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 11, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384 "2009-02-11T16:39:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 18
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2009, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/341 "2009-04-06T23:15:05Z")
It’s an interesting article but, holy shit, is that a crappy analysis. Would it have been too much effort to delve into the underlying numbers a tad? Perhaps showing the defensive numbers and how they might impact scoring? Starting field position? Turnovers? Rushing ability? It’s more than a little disingenuous to blindly link those number wholly to Cutler. ---
**Author:** ![VarlosZ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d78d45/32.png) [@VarlosZ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VarlosZ)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/342 "2009-04-07T01:03:43Z")
No kidding. Yikes, is that ever some bad analysis. The worst part comes at the end: > [@](#): > > So McDaniels and the Broncos flipped an pouting, inefficient quarterback for Kyle Orton, who’s won 21 of his 32 NFL starts with the Bears, and a stunning two first-round draft picks. A QB whose team goes 8-8 despite having one of the league’s worst defenses (and crappy special teams to boot) is unlikely to be “inefficient.” DVOA has both Denver’s defense and special teams at 31st in the league (and their offense at 5th, though the top 5 teams are all bunched very tightly together). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2009, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/343 "2009-04-07T01:09:12Z")
Every time I’ve seen a link to that website I’ve been gobsmacked by the stupidity of it. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/344 "2009-04-08T14:54:05Z")
[This](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SxJyqeK6uJw/SdqG_S89-cI/AAAAAAAACuk/qHIyPjj6vBM/s1600-h/2.3.jpg) gave me a chuckle this morning. Sad, but funny. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/345 "2009-04-08T15:33:10Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > [This](http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_SxJyqeK6uJw/SdqG_S89-cI/AAAAAAAACuk/qHIyPjj6vBM/s1600-h/2.3.jpg) gave me a chuckle this morning. Sad, but funny. You could substitute the Bears fans for Lions fans and it’d still be funny. ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/346 "2009-04-08T15:36:02Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > To change the topic a little, did any of you get a chance to watch Orlando Pace much last season? I don’t know if I watched a single Rams game and I’m curious how much Pace has left in the tank. The injury history was troubling but he stayed on the field last year, was he effective? That team and offense was so poor that it’s tough to gauge what his impact was. Last year, he was the best of a very bad line. He is not the elite tackle he was a few years ago, but he is still very good. The main thing is keeping him healthy. That said, he is a short term, 1-3 year fix at best so the Bears will want to have a good prospect behind him learning as much as they can. But for this year he will be an improvment on the Bear O-line. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/347 "2009-04-08T17:54:53Z")
> [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](#): > > You could substitute the Bears fans for Lions fans and it’d still be funny. I don’t know, you had that whole Run and Shoot era where the forward pass was a pretty common occurrence. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/348 "2009-04-08T19:29:53Z")
The Bengals signed Tank “The Human Arsenal” Johnson to a one year deal. In football terms, it’s a decent pickup to bolster our DT rotation in Mike Zimmer’s 4-3 defense, where Tank is better suited than playing NT. On a PR level, well…let’s just say the Bengals can’t get enough of their Johnsons. Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, Jeremi Johnson, James Johnson, Tank Johnson, etc ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/349 "2009-04-08T20:01:40Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > The Bengals signed Tank “The Human Arsenal” Johnson to a one year deal. In football terms, it’s a decent pickup to bolster our DT rotation in Mike Zimmer’s 4-3 defense, where Tank is better suited than playing NT. > > On a PR level, well…let’s just say the Bengals can’t get enough of their Johnsons. Chad Johnson, Rudi Johnson, Jeremi Johnson, James Johnson, Tank Johnson, etc Tank is a really good football player. The Bears defense suffered without him. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/350 "2009-04-08T21:16:42Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Tank is a really good football player. The Bears defense suffered without him. Got any more “really good football player” castoffs you want to send our way? Cedric Benson, Tank Johnson…? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/351 "2009-04-08T21:27:08Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > I don’t know, you had that whole Run and Shoot era where the forward pass was a pretty common occurrence. Yeah. 1995 was a good year. Well, until the playoffs. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/352 "2009-04-08T22:50:23Z")
Shit, our 2007 first round pick at CB, Leon Hall, was arrested for DUI on Sunday. Goddammit. Let the Bengals be the butt of jokes all over again, even though every other teams have major arrest issues recently (San Diego, I’m looking at you). ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/353 "2009-04-08T22:54:48Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Got any more “really good football player” castoffs you want to send our way? > Cedric Benson, Tank Johnson…? Grossman is still available. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/354 "2009-04-08T22:59:43Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > Shit, our 2007 first round pick at CB, Leon Hall, was arrested for DUI on Sunday. > > Goddammit. Let the Bengals be the butt of jokes all over again, even though every other teams have major arrest issues recently (San Diego, I’m looking at you). If it makes you feel any better, all the arrests are only a small fraction of what makes your franchise a joke. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/355 "2009-04-08T23:07:32Z")
> [@SenorBeef](#): > > If it makes you feel any better, all the arrests are only a small fraction of what makes your franchise a joke. LOL, speak for yourself Cleveland Brown fan! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2009, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/356 "2009-04-08T23:08:36Z")
> [@Omniscient](#): > > Grossman is still available. No thanks, we don’t need a backup QB right now. We have the mighty JT O’Sullivan when Palmer gets hurt again. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2009, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/357 "2009-04-13T22:29:34Z")
The Bucs [signed](http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4062212) Byron Leftwich for a paltry $2M in 2009 with a club option for 2010 that could be worth $5.5M. Man, based on the way this guy played when Big Ben was hurt you’d have thought he’d have gotten a hell of a lot better deal than that. I would have though he’d have been more valuable than Garcia to a team like Oakland. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/358 "2009-04-14T00:56:13Z")
He played pretty well for what, three games? He’s played badly with occasional flashes of brilliance for the rest of his career. I’m certainly not unhappy to have him competing with Josh McCown, but I do think he’s been a bit overrated by the fans and talking heads this offseason. Obviously, not so much by GMs. Bit like Chris Simms- there’s no way that guy should be anything more than an emergency quarterback right now, but the Titans were actually fighting to keep him. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/359 "2009-04-14T01:56:30Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > He played pretty well for what, three games? > > He’s played badly with occasional flashes of brilliance for the rest of his career. I’m certainly not unhappy to have him competing with Josh McCown, but I do think he’s been a bit overrated by the fans and talking heads this offseason. Obviously, not so much by GMs. > > Bit like Chris Simms- there’s no way that guy should be anything more than an emergency quarterback right now, but the Titans were actually fighting to keep him. I’m not claiming he’s a super star, but he seemed pretty clearly to be the best FA available. You could make a pretty strong case that his issues in Jax had a lot to do with his surrounding players and that he might break out with a change of scenery. In any case, that’s less than what the Bears signed Grossman and Orton for last year and Sage Rosenfels signed a 2-year $9M deal this year. I think Leftwich is better than any of those guys. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2009, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384/360 "2009-04-18T18:58:16Z")
In other news, which is perhaps only of interest to me, [Restricted free agents all stay put for first time](http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=4079398) > [@](#): > > For the first time since the NFL implemented its current system in 1993, not a single restricted free agent changed teams before the Friday deadline. > > \ > > The second-round tenders are probably the primary reason why no restricted players changed teams this year. Before the second-round tender was introduced in 2007, there were only three levels for teams to retain a right of first refusal. Most teams, reluctant to offer a tender at the first-round or first- and third-round levels, settled for the lowest-level offer, and that made players susceptible to offer sheets. > > In all, 28 players were “over-tendered,” meaning they received offers higher than the original draft-pick levels at which they entered the league. The second-round tender level, along with so many “over-tendered” players, made it difficult for restricted free agents to change teams. > > Over the 16 previous years of the free agency system, 62 restricted players, nearly four per season, changed teams. In only four of those 16 years did fewer than three restricted veterans switch clubs. I’m not sure if this is indicative of teams being concerned about the economy and not wanting to commit to large contracts or if teams are over-valuing draft picks even more than usual. Perhaps teams are getting smarter about giving players contract extensions early to avoid big matching offers ala Bernard Berrian last off-season. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384.md?page=17) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-2009-nfl-free-agency-thread/485384.md?page=19)