It's that time of year again; soon the NFL season will begin
and I, like many others will be doing my research well ahead of time for my
fantasy football team(s). So I thought I would take a look at some of the best
and worst offseason free agent signings (By the way, this is only for players
who signed with new teams, not free agents who re-signed). So, let's get to it!
Best:
1) Mario Williams--signs with the Buffalo Bills for $100
million dollars! Is he worth it? Hell yeah, if he stays healthy. If the Bills
want to compete in the AFC east, they need a pass rusher and they have landed
one of the best in Williams. This does not mean that they are the cream of the
crop by any means, but they took a step in the right direction; they needed
someone who could put tom Brady on his ass, and got him. Unfortunately, they
will still finish no better than second in that division behind the Patriots,
but that could be enough to earn a wild card spot.
2) Brandon Lloyd--One of the best signings of the off
season. He signs with the Patriots, ensuring that Tom Brady will have another
monster year. Lloyd will have one of his best as well. Once the Patriots sign
Welker, and they will, the combination of those two with Gronkowksi and
Hernandez will be hard to defend. Look for the patriots to win the division yet
again.
3) Brandon Marshall--Big move for the Bears. Let's face it,
they have a pretty good defense and a frighteningly talented running back in
Forte. What they were missing was a wide receiver threat. Bears quarterback,
Jay Cutler now has that threat, a threat made even more potent because Cutler
and Marshall know each other well; they played together in Denver. Look for the
Bears to take the next step.
4) BenJarvus Green-Ellis--this is a great signing for the Bengals,
though it remains to be seen if it is a good signing for Green-Ellis. The
Bengals are clearly trying to rebuild and they're doing a great job, at least
offensively. Andy Dalton is and should remain a tough, grind it out quarterback
and he's got good, young receivers to throw to in Green and Simpson. Now they
have gotten young, and in my opinion, better at running back. Green-Ellis will
finally get the chance to show that he can be an every down running back (he
was a tandem back in New England) and he should thrive. Let's not forget that
Green-Ellis has never fumbled in his career!
5) Randy Moss--I know what you're thinking and you're
right--this might blow up in my face, but I have faith. Clearly Alex Smith
needs someone reliable to throw to besides Vernon Davis, and Moss is that man.
Is he going to beat CB's and Safeties down the field, not as much as he used
to, but enough to make a difference. If Moss comes to play, and I think he
will, at worst, he'll be a defensive distraction, creating opportunities from
Davis and Crabtree; at best, he'll catch 8-10 touchdowns and make Alex Smith
look better than he is. Let's not forget that the 49er's should have beat the
Giants last year and probably should have been in the Super bowl--Moss might
get them to the next step if he has the sense to play hard.
6) Matt Flynn--He might just be a flash in the pan. He might
blow up in the face of Pete Carroll and the Seahawks front office, but he might
also propel the Seahawks to second place in a crappy division (San Francisco
will win that division again). Will it be enough to make the playoffs? No, but
it might be enough to make the Seahawks relevant again and a serious building
block for the future. And let's face it; Seattle needs something to cheer
about; one of the best cities in the country in need of a team they can get
behind.
The Worst:
The temptation here is to go in order, starting with the
absolute worst signings, but I'm going to go in the opposite direction and save
the worst for last.
1) Michael Bush--I'm not sure what the bears are thinking. They
land Brandon Marshall to help a suspect wide receiving core and then sign Bush.
They were literally on the cusp of contending for that division and they have
to go and piss off Matt Forte, who is without a doubt one of the elite running
backs in the league. I'm not sure what the message is here; "Hey Forte,
you're expendable." Or something along the lines of "If you think
you're going to get paid top tier running back money, think again!"
Whatever it is that the Bears organization is doing, they need to do an about
face, buy Forte an Island and tell Bush he's benched unless Forte gets hurt.
2) Vincent Jackson--clearly the man was in it for the money.
Either that or he wanted to stick it to San Diego for the way they treated him,
but even then, he was essentially the best Wide Receiver on the market and
could have gone ANYWHERE! Instead, he signs with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers! Even
with this signing the Bucs are still the third best team in that division
behind New Orleans and Atlanta. They have no chance at the playoffs and Josh
Freeman is not the answer!
3) Laurent Robinson--great for the Cowboys last year and he
should have stayed. But he is not worth the 5 year $32.5 million dollar
contract the Jaguars gave him. Good for him for getting paid, and nice try by
the Jaguars to give their fans something to cheer about, but what does it
really matter when you are lacking in almost every other position besides
running back?
4) Peyton Hillis--What was the point in this signing? The
Chiefs already have Jamaal Charles. Is this meant to motivate Charles not to
get hurt or as back-up in case he does? Why bother spending $3 million on a guy
who is just as injury prone; they should have saved that money to shore up
their defense or replace the failed experiment that is Matt Cassel.
5) Tim Tebow--we all know that Tebow is a winner, but he's
not likely to be with the Jets. Let's face it, the Jets already have problems;
their coach is more of a sorority president than a football coach and there is
already dissention in the ranks between Santonio Holmes and Mark Sanchez. So
how do the Jets rectify the problem? They bring in Tebow who is a terrible fit
for the Jets. On the one hand, Tebow gives Holmes another excuse not to support
his starting QB (Sanchez), on the other hand, it shows Sanchez that the
franchise has no faith in his ability and that he is definitely expendable if
he doesn't live up to their standards (which he won't because the Jets hotchpotch
of has been's and near-do-wells won't be able to compete with either the
Patriots or the Bills). Further complicating matters is the fact that the New York
media is going to eat Tebow alive! In Denver, Tebow had the ideal situation--no
one expected them to win and the whole city and organization was happy to go
along for the ride when it came to the winning streak and making the playoffs.
In New York, you are expected to make the playoffs EVERY year and if you don't,
you have failed. Why do you think Sanchez is under the gun (and this is a guy
who took the Jets to the playoffs two years in a row)? The media is going to
eat Tebow alive and not just because the Jets will fail to make the playoffs
again this year--and probably must distressingly, they'll continue to ask him asinine
questions regarding his plans for becoming a minister in the future. That being
said, I am a Tebow fan and I love the fact that he is so open about his
religion. In fact, I think it is terrible that the media gives him shit for it.
Maybe they should focus on those guys on the field who cross themselves and
point to God every time they score a touchdown and then commit vehicular
manslaughter because they were drunk driving after the game or out on bail for
domestic violence.
6) Peyton Manning--I know, everyone loves Peyton--I love
Peyton; he is (in my opinion) one of the top eight quarterbacks to have ever
played the game, but facts are facts. Let's forget that he is 36 years old for
a minute and the Broncos signed him to a five year deal meaning that he would
have to play until he was Vinny Testaverde's age before he retired. Here's a
guy who is playing the most dangerous, most vicious, most short-lived sport in
the world and he's had three neck surgeries! Healthy guys are one bad luck hit
away from having their careers ended; what chance does a guy whose neck
vertebrae have been fused together stand? I don't care how good he is it's
stupid business sense to pay a guy that much money, to pin your hopes on him,
when in all likelihood he probably won't make it through the season let alone
his five year deal. Don't get me wrong, I hope he does, but percentage wise,
it's probably not going to happen. It's like me taking $92 Million dollars and
playing on the pass line at an Atlantic City casino....
No comments:
Post a Comment