Throwback Thursday: The Dream Team

Free agency in the NFL has been around for about twenty years. This open bidding on football talent has seen mixed results. There have been a few hits but there have been a whole bunch of misses. Even the most aggressive of teams show some restraint. They might drop a ton of money on a player or two. Then they might add a few lower tier players. Basically, they don't go all in and sign every player with a pulse. Even the most aggressive teams don't attempt an entire team makeover. Perhaps due to the inactivity of an offseason shattered by the lockout, the Philadelphia Eagles showed absolutely no restraint when it came to the free agency class of 2011. It was the most ridiculous bit of team-building that I've ever seen. General manager Howie Roseman should have been tested for drugs. If nothing else, owner Jeffrey Lurie should have taken away the keys to his team. Vince Young said that his new team was a "Dream Team." This new Eagles team was more like a nightmare.

The end of the lockout condensed the NFL offseason in 2011 to about two weeks at the end of July. It was a frantic time and the Eagles seemed to be announcing a new signing each hour. It was nuts. Free agency is usually an exciting time for the fans of NFL teams. When the dust cleared even Eagles fans were probably wondering what the hell their team was doing. In a matter of a few days, seemed like a few hours, the Philadelphia Eagles signed the following:

QB  Vince Young

CB  Nnambi Asomugha

DE  Jason Babin

DT  Cullen Jenkins

TE  Donald Lee

G    Evan Mathis 

RB  Ronnie Brown

T    Ryan Harris

S    Jarrad Page

Traded for Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

Young was the first signing but the spending spree really started with Asomugha. The Eagles let other teams court the All-Pro corner before they swooped in and grabbed him. In one of the most publicized free agency tours in recent memory the Eagles really seemed to come out of nowhere to land Asomugha. Then they went after seemingly every free agent available. Babin, Jenkins and Lee all signed two days later. The media was probably called back to the team facilities before they even got to their cars. It probably got to the point where they just didn't bother leaving. 

Asomugha was the biggest signing but he never really fit into the Eagles defense. His impact has been slight during his two years in Philadelphia. The only player that did much of anything is Babin. He was terrific in 2011 earning Pro Bowl recognition and racking up 18 sacks. It didn't last. The Eagles released him during this past season. Babin wasn't alone. Out of that great free agency frenzy only Asomugha and Mathis are still with the team. Asomugha may not be there much longer. 

I didn't understand then and I certainly don't understand now what Roseman was possibly thinking. That's it, really. He wasn't thinking. Asomugha is the most obvious example but it doesn't seem that there was much thought involved as to how all these players would fit with their new team. It's not like the Eagles were lacking in talent. They were 11-5 and a playoff team the year before. They might have needed an upgrade or two on defense but they didn't need to bring in an excess of seemingly random players. There was absolutely nothing dreamy about this attempt at building a team. The man that brought the "dream team" notion to Philadelphia, Vince Young, is so far removed from the NFL that he's taking part in the upcoming Texas Pro Day. He's pretty much begging for some football attention. The Eagles have fallen off at much the same rate as Young. From 11-5 to 8-8 to 4-12 since the 2010 season. Head coach Andy Reid lost his job. So did Roseman. That was probably about two years too late. It might be a stretch to blame all of the Eagles' recent troubles on that free agency spending spree but things haven't been the same since. It's mostly been a mess. The Eagles showed then that it might always be best to approach free agency with some restraint.

Free For All

NFL free agency opens next Tuesday at 4pm ET. Players will get richer. Fan will get too excited. This year will be a little different as agents can start negotiating with teams this Saturday, three days early. They can't sign a contract until Tuesday but they can come to an "agreement." This new twist was added to get rid of the ever present tampering. Players had been signing with new teams moments after the opening bell. Something shady had to be going on to hammer out an agreement that fast. This new twist hasn't slowed anything. There's been several mentions of tampering since the scouting combine. Anyway, now teams and agents can do some some legal tampering a few days before signing day. That should be interesting.

Free agency rarely brings the impact that teams and fans expect. Everybody wants the stars but the stars rarely remain stars with their new team. Defensive end Mario Williams was the big fish last year. Buffalo landed him and got little in return. A new coaching staff could change things for Williams and the Bills this year. The high-priced talent that free agency brings rarely puts a team over the top. Reggie White and Deion Sanders certainly did that in the early days of free agency. Sanders did it twice. Shannon Sharpe provided a little pop to a plodding offense in Baltimore. That helped bring a championship. Drew Brees certainly turned the fortunes around in New Orleans. Some teams likely regret it now, Miami, but Brees wasn't getting a lot of calls from teams when he was looking for a team. A significant shoulder injury was mostly to blame for that. Still, Brees wasn't exactly a star in San Diego. The Chargers were so thrilled with him that they had spent a ton to add Philip Rivers in the draft. Brees became a star in New Orleans and is still writing one of the few free agency success stories. One of my favorite free agency stories is that of Minnesota Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield in 2004. He'd just finished his rookie contract with the Bills and was looking for that big second contract as a free agent. His first visit was with the New York Jets. Short of an actual kidnapping, teams do all that they can to keep a player from leaving their facility. The Jets were pulling out all the stops and thought that they had Winfield. Most in the media were calling it a done deal. The Jets had even scheduled a press conference. Fortunately for the Vikings Winfield wasn't as sold on the Jets as the Jets were sold on him. Vikings head coach Mike Tice arranged for a private plane to whisk Winfield away from New York and to Minneapolis. Winfield never left Minneapolis. Still hasn't. Because of this story I've never quite believed any report of a signing until there's actually a signing.

The problem with free agency is that the expectations are so high. Every new player, especially the big name players, are supposed to be the new team's savior. He's always the missing piece. The money that is usually involved brings much of the attention. It's often a bidding war and the winning team has to overspend. The spotlight is always on the new, rich guy. There's almost no way that he can live up to these expectations. Even a good season will be a disappointment. It has to be a great season. A great season that ends with the player holding a Lombardi Trophy. Teams are better served building through the draft. I've always liked the way that Bill Polian built the Indianapolis Colts. Granted, having Peyton Manning leading the team fills a bunch of holes. The Colts rarely played around with free agency. Polian built through the draft and did a good job of keeping the team's players. The Colts had great, sustained success for over a decade. It's an approach favored by Vikings general manager Rick Spielman. He wants to build through the draft and be smart in free agency. It's always fun to add the big name players but it's always better to not have to add them . Free agency should be for plugging holes not building a team.

The Tagging Is Done

Yesterday was the last day that NFL teams could use the franchise tag on one of their upcoming unrestricted free agents. Only eight teams did. That came after a record 21 teams used the franchise tag last year.

Here are those eight teams, the players tagged, and the one-year tender offer that comes with that player's position:

Buffalo  S Jairus Byrd  (6,916,000)
Chicago  DT Henry Melton  (8,450,000)
Cincinnati  DE Michael Johnson  (11,750,000)
Dallas  LB Anthony Spencer  (9,619,000)
Denver  T Ryan Clady  (9,828,000)
Indianapolis  P Pat McAfee  (2,977,000)
Kansas City  T Branden Albert  (9,828,000)
Miami  DT Randy Starks  (8,450,000)

A punter! It's really not that shocking. There were several kickers tagged last year. The franchise tags for kickers and punters are fairly reasonable. If you have a good one, you want to keep him.

Those are some pretty nice one-year salaries. Still, players usually hate the tags. It keeps them from signing those long-term contracts and mostly importantly it keeps them from receiving those gigantic signing bonuses. Teams only use these tags as a last resort. They'd prefer to sign these players to a long-term contract that allows them to spread the all important signing bonus over the length of the contract. The cap hits are usually lower than the large franchise salary. Teams and players can still negotiate a long-term contract later in the offseason.

One player likely more upset than most is Anthony Spencer. Last year, he played at outside linebacker in the 3-4 defense run by then Cowboys defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. Dallas is switching to the 4-3 and moving Spencer to defensive end. He's losing over $2 million being tagged at a position that he isn't going to play.

It's Kinda Historic

The NFL is hoping to find the next Vince Papale. Anything to create a story. The league debuted its regional scouting combine concept back in 2011. This year ten cities will hold a regional combine from January to March. The best players will then move on to the Super Regional in Dallas in April. These regionals have found some players in its two short years. Four players were drafted, all in the sixth round, last year. 72 other players signed as undrafted free agents. 21 players were signed in 2011. The system works. Now, it's historic.

The just completed New Jersey regional marked a first in the regional combine process, and a pretty significant event in NFL history. A female player competed.

Lauren Silberman, of New York City, participated as a kicker. A club soccer player at Wisconsin, she wasn't aware that she was the first female registrant. Said Silberman, "I was actually hoping that the 2012 historic milestone rule, to allow women to play, would prompt more women to attend tryouts this year. But for me what's important is to finally have a chance to fulfill my dreams by trying out to play in the world's most competitive football league."

Since college, Silberman has maintained a connection to sports. She wrote a Master's thesis at MIT about how athletes use video games to enhance their own performance. She then founded a consulting company Double Play that helps athletes use video games for virtual training purposes. Now, she can use her work to help herself.

Well, Lauren Silberman was always a long shot to impress an NFL team enough during a regional combine that they would end up inviting her to their training camp. Her historic shot at the NFL ended early with an injury.  She landed awkwardly after her first kickoff. Then asked to see a trainer after her second kickoff attempt. She would come back on the field once more but had a noticeable limp. She never kicked again before the end of the session. That would be a disappointing end for the first woman to participate in a league-sponsored tryout. Still, her invite and participation is historic. Congratulations Lauren Silberman!

Share Some Of That Pie

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco just signed the latest, greatest quarterback contract. It's only going to get worse. Or, better if you're a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, Sam Bradford, even Tony Romo will be raking in great sums of money in the coming years. Flacco, while a terrific quarterback with a Super Bowl title, is still working toward elite status. He doesn't have to lead the Ravens to another Super Bowl championship to join the elite group. Rogers, Brees, and Manning each have only one title. Flacco still has to show the consistency and and continued production that the truly elite quarterbacks do as a matter of routine. Despite his position, in my opinion, on the outside of elite status, Flacco deserves the big contract. It's what quarterbacks get. Unless he gets fat and lazy with his successes and new riches, he's well on his way to joining the elites. It's only a matter of time.

There's only so much pie to go around. All NFL salaries are going up. The quarterback salaries are simply going up faster than the rest. With the salary cap holding way too steady to support such increases the quarterbacks are eating far too much of the money pie. Stafford, benefiting greatly from a pre-CBA contract, is eating up more than 16% of the Detroit Lions pie. That doesn't seem fair when Calvin Johnson has to eat too. Hell, just that pass-catch combination probably takes up about a quarter of the team's cap space. That's too much even for the most dominant passing combination in the league. The current quarterback salaries may end up turning NFL teams into something more like college teams. Nearly every position but the quarterback is turned over every four years. Free agency made it difficult enough for teams to keep their players. With so much invested in the quarterback position teams have little left even for the players that they could have kept a decade ago. The NFL is a passing league and there's no danger in that slowing. It's only growing. Quarterbacks are going to get paid. All the other players have to tighten their belts and count their pennies. The Minnesota Vikings are more fortunate than most teams, for now. The team is one of the few, maybe only, run-first teams. Running back Adrian Peterson drives them. Quarterback Christian Ponder is struggling to survive on his post-CBA rookie contract. With Peterson grinding out the yards, Ponder may not put up the gaudy passing numbers that usually brings a huge second contract. By then the gigantic TV money might finally boost the salary cap up enough to afford all the quarterbacks.

One of the great draws of football is it's team play. When players start getting paid to play this incredible team sport, I'd prefer to see those players share that pie a little more equally. The quarterback can't do squat without the big guys up front and the fast guys out wide. It's a team game. Share the ball. Share the pie.

Vikings Moves

My free agent and draft ideas for the Minnesota Vikings rumble through my head daily. They change as often. The one part that always remains the same is that the Vikings need to start with signing their own free agents. Fortunately, that's been the policy of general manager Rick Spielman. He has 11 days to sign right tackle Phil Loadholt (priority #1), fullback Jerome Felton (priority #1a), and safety Jamarca Sanford. It would be nice to have receiver Jerome Simpson and one/both of linebackers Erin Henderson and Jasper Brinkley back. The New York Giants recent signing of tackle William Beatty may have set the market price for Loadholt. Hopefully, that signing and the others come soon. It would be nice to have all the signings done before other teams can get their hands on them.

As for the free-for-all of free agency, I think that it starts at receiver for the Vikings. Big name guys like Mike Wallace and Dwayne Bowe will likely find their big name money in places other than Minnesota. Greg Jennings might be more realistic but I still don't really see that happening either. I just don't see the Vikings getting into any serious bidding wars. I'm thinking that they are more likely to pursue receivers along the lines of Ramses Barden of the New York Giants and Brandon Gibson of the St. Louis Rams. Brian Hartline might fit in there too but I can't see the Miami Dolphins letting him walk. They're as desperate for receivers as the Vikings. Barden and/or Gibson would be nice additions in Minnesota. I think that the Vikings might look to a an NFC North foe to find some help for the defense. Green Bay Packers linebacker Brad  Jones would fit in nicely. He has the speed to make plays in coverage. That's something that they've lacked at middle linebacker for way too long. Linebacker and defensive tackle are right with receiver as significant needs for the Vikings. I haven't quite figured out if the Vikings are still looking for a big-bodied run-stuffer at defensive tackle since Pat Williams retired. If they are still looking Sammie Lee Hill of the Detroit Lions could be that guy. He's young and huge. With the nice dept at defensive tackle in the draft they might wait until then to find help for the interior of the defensive line. Barden, Gibson, and Jones aren't splashy and shouldn't be too expensive but they'd be real terrific additions. If the Vikings do spend big on a free agent, I'm thinking that free agent could be Miami Dolphins corner Sean Smith. You can never have enough corners and Smith is just hitting his stride. Realistically, I don't see it happening.

The draft. This is the offseason event that does most of the dancing in my head. I had the Vikings selecting Cal receiver Keenan Allen in my recent mock draft. I'd still love that pick but I'm now thinking about a different direction. No matter what they do in free agency receiver, linebacker, defensive tackle and the secondary remain needs. To turn that around, I'm currently liking the idea of drafting Kansas St. linebacker Arthur Brown, Clemson receiver DeAndre Hopkins, and Missouri Southern State defensive tackle Brandon Williams. I really think that Brown is going to be a fantastic football player. Maybe even Derrick Brooks fantastic. I question the availability of Hopkins in the second but I can hope. USC receiver Robert Woods would be a nice alternative. This isn't to say that I would be disappointed if Sheldon Richardson, Quinton Patton, and Jon Bostic were the Vikings first three picks. I wouldn't. I wouldn't be disappointed if a corner or safety was thrown in there somewhere. This is a great draft for the Vikings. It's more deep than top heavy. There's no clear-cut #1 choice. The sixth player isn't really that different from the thirty-sixth. The Vikings are going to get a great player at #23. This draft is also really deep at receiver and defensive line. It sets up nicely for the Vikings. Right now, it's Brown, hopefully Hopkins, and Williams with their first three picks. Tomorrow might be different. It'll be like that until April 25th.

Just Clowning

It sure would be fun to have Barkevious Mingo and Jadeveon Clowney as bookend defensive ends on your team. Names that fun are rarely brought together. LSU's Mingo is a likely first round pick in the upcoming NFL Draft. As a true sophomore at South Carolina, Clowney isn't eligible for this draft. If he was in this draft, he'd be the very first player selected. He'll be the first pick in any draft in which he puts himself. He's that good. Defensive end is often one of the flashy positions in any draft. In a passing league, pass rushers are crucial. You can't have enough of them. You probably have to go back to Julius Peppers and Mario Williams to find drafts with a defensive as solidly set at the top. You probably have to go all the way back to Reggie White to find a defensive end as truly dominant as Jadeveon Clowney. That's pretty significant company.

"God took his time when he made Clowney."
     -the consensus of his South Carolina teammates

At 6'6" and anywhere from 255-270lbs, Clowney is a physical freak. He's too fast and too strong. When he gets to the NFL he could put an end to the rise of the read option. His reach, speed, and strength is likely enough to tackle both the quarterback and the running back and kill the play before it starts. If Clowney can stay motivated and not cruise through a series of plays each game there's little to stop him. When I heard about this beast in high school, I couldn't wait to see him in college. After seeing him a few times in two years of college, I can't wait to see him in the NFL.

The odds are slight that Jadeveon Clowney will be drafted next year by the same team that drafts Barkevious Mingo this year. But, that would sure be fun.