March 4, 2008...5:26 am
NFL Free Agency recap: Making sense of the big moves and the bigger bucks
Nearly 40 players were busy in a flurry of putting pen-to-ink on new contracts during the first weekend of this year’s NFL free agency period. As players switched jerseys, so did some teams in the pecking order in their respective division and conference pictures.
-Philadelphia Eagles. They had a glaring weakness in their secondary going into the offseason. Emphasis on had. Philly wasted little time in signing the best free agent on the market in Asante Samuel. Samuel is a tremendous ball-hawking corner, with great play-making ability, something the Eagles didn’t have much of last season. The Eagles only had 11 interceptions as a team last year, while Samuel has six himself with the Patriots. While the move probably spells the end of Lito Sheppard’s tenure with the Eagles, I’m not sold Lito is backing his bags just yet. Though Sheppard had just two picks in 11 games due to injury, a Sheppard-Samuel tandem would be one of the best in the NFC, and it would give the Eagles the freedom to move Sheldon Brown to safety to provide relief for the aging Brian Dawkins. Getting defensive end Chris Clemons from Oakland could prove huge. Clemons had eight sacks last year on a dreadful Raiders team, and the birds need a youth movement and a revitalization on a meek defensive line that couldn’t get to the quarterback consistently a year ago.
-Cleveland Browns. GM Phil Savage kept quarterback Derek Anderson, signing him to a three-year deal, and as Savage put it, the Browns will either be quarterbacked by Anderson or Brady Quinn for a long time. Finally it seems as if the Browns have some much needed stability under center. They added wideout Donte Stallworth to the mix, with hopes that he’ll take away some of the concentrated attention that will be paid to Braylon Edwards and Kellen Winslow. But more importantly, Savage beefed up a porous defensive line by acquiring defensive tackles Corey Williams from Green Bay and Shaun Rogers from Detroit. Rogers and Williams instantly improve the Browns’ defensive front. The Browns desperately needed some stout run stoppers, and the Browns could become a 10-win team last year to a serious contender for the AFC North title.
-Atlanta Falcons. Like Philadelphia, Atlanta nabbed the best player available at his position, running back Michael Turner. Turner, only 26, steps out of LaDainian Tomlinson’s shadow and he’ll have the chance to prove he can be an every down NFL back. The move to land Turner officially cancels out the notion of drafting Darren McFadden and now allows Atlanta to shift their focus on taking quarterback Matt Ryan.
-New Orleans Saints. They gave up a 4th round pick for a 1st round talent, in landing linebacker Jonathan Vilma via trade from the New York Jets. It was a struggle last year in New York for Vilma, who started just seven games and missed the remaining nine games following knee surgery. But it’s stunning the New York jettisoned a valuable commodity in Vilma for just a 4th round pick. They plucked Randall Gay away from New England for 4 years, $17.6 million, and here’s hoping in the bayou that Gay will be a drastic improvement over last year’s free agent bust, corner Jason David. For nearly $20 million, he better be. The Saints also signed defensive Bobby McCray, who had 10 sacks for the Jaguars two years ago, but had minimal impact last year. A change of scenery might do McCray some good.
-Chicago Bears. Great move to keep linebacker Lance Briggs in a Bears uniform after Briggs was adamant last year about bolting from Chicago this offseason. But maybe Chicago should look into Briggs playing at wide receiver as well. They cut Muhsin Muhammad and lost Bernard Berrian to division-rival Minnesota. That leaves Chicago will a current receiving corps. of Devin Hester and Mark Bradley. Hester is tremendous asset on special teams, but Chicago is taking a gigantic risk if they believe they can lean on Hester at wide receiver.
-New York Jets. After a 4-12 season, the Jets made guard Alan Faneca the highest paid lineman in the NFL to the tune of 5 yrs, $40 million. And Faneca is 31. They traded for defensive tackle Kris Jenkins from Carolina and then locked him up for 5 yr, $35 million, 20 of which is guaranteed money. That for a guy who has had major shoulder and knee surgeries thefew seasons, more importantly, this will be his first experience playing in a 3-4 defensive scheme. Not done yet, the Jets today signed defensive end Calvin Pace from Arizona for 6 yrs, $42 million; $22 million is guaranteed to Pace, who has been a starter for all of a year and change. They backed up the Brinks truck so far, but for a team that’s coming off a 4-win season, the Jets aren’t exactly a year or so from playing in the Super Bowl. They pushed Jonathan Vilma, Victor Hobson, and Dwayne Robertson out the door, and spending all that money on a collection of question marks is a tremendous risk.
-Oakland Raiders. You truly never know what the heck Al Davis is going to do, and this free agency period falls right in place. Oakland gave almost a combined $80 million dollars to keep defensive lineman Tommy Kelly, and lure ex-Giants safety Gibril Wilson. But offensively, it’s shaping up to be another disastrous year in Oakland. Wideout Jerry Porter switched coasts, landing in Jacksonville. That leaves Oakland with Ronald Curry and little else at wide receiver, very little size and even less speed right now. And Josh McCown leaving for Miami now leaves Oakland quarterback situation down to JaMarcus Russell and Andrew Walter. For Al’s sake, Russell better be ready to get under center in what will be only his second NFL season. You also have to wonder just what exactly is Al Davis’s fixation with signing former Super Bowl heroes. Do the likes of Larry Brown, Desmond Howard and Dominic Rhodes sound familiar? Yup, all guys who played critical roles on their teams’ success on the road to the Super Bowl and in the Super Bowl. All guys who once they signed on in Oakland were never heard from again. They don’t call it the Black Hole for nothing.
-New England Patriots. It’s been an exodus so far in Foxboro, especially on defense. The Pats released oft-injured linebacker Rosevelt Colvin. Asante Samuel left for greener pastures in Philly. Randall Gay took his game to New Orleans, and safety Eugene Wilson may depart sometime this week. Keeping Randy Moss, who came within an eyelash of signing with Philadelphia, alleviates some of the angst, but the Patriots have a lot of work to do to plug crucial gaps on defense.
-New York Giants. The champs lost three starters on defense, two at linebacker. Reggie Torbor lands in Miami and Kawika Mitchell stays in state, heading to Buffalo. Gibril Wilson heads across the country to Oakland, but GM Jerry Reese filled his spot by signing Sammy Knight. The replacements on defense may have to wait until next month’s draft.
-San Francisco 49ers. For the second consecutive year, the 49ers are doing their best Washington Redskins imitation: throw big time money at whoever’s available. Last year it was the likes of Nate Clements, Tully Banta-Cain, Michael Lewis and of course that big payoff trade for Darrell Jackson(sike!). This year, the list includes: defensive end Justin Smith, wideout Isaac Bruce, linebacker Dontarrious Thomas, running back DeShaun Foster, quarterback J.T O’Sullivan, and return specialist Allen Rossum. Underwhelming? You bet. Smith got $20 million in guarantees, for a guy that had just two sacks last year with Cincinnati. While Smith and Thomas will contribute automatically as starters, however, Bruce and Foster are big question marks. Bruce is 36 and he may have to go beyond just being a father figure and mentor to the other receivers. Foster will be counted on to shoulder some of the running back duties and take some pressure off of Frank Gore, but Foster can’t seem to ever be healthy. Couple those two with what the 49ers had a year ago, and they’ve gotten no better on the offensive side of the ball. The 49ers still don’t have a strong, steady offensive line, a line that has gotten quarterback Alex Smith killed at times last year. Tight end Vernon Davis may have no other choice but to become a clone of Antonio Gates in San Fran. If not, the 49ers can’t count on the likes of Jackson, Bruce and Arnez Battle to put a scare into opposing secondaries.
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