You know, i really look forward to this time of year. I'm not an overly huge fan of baseball, i mean i watch it, but it doesn't have my heart. I feel this emptiness every February when the NFL season ends and the only thing to watch is what is usually my lowly 76ers. Then, every March comes free agency! The unofficial start to "next season". Every team has a shot at the title, and this "is everyone's year!"
So that gets me to my observations on NFL Free Agency.
1.) Did you ever notice that EVERYBODY over pays for their signees? Look at any message board, listen to sports radio, or watch SportsCenter 18 hours after free agency starts and it's everywhere. This team payed too much for this guy, that team got robbed, blah, blah, blah, blah. Let me ask you this... when was the last time a guy was signed and we said, "wow, that was a bargain!" IT DOESN'T HAPPEN. Teams are looking for the quick fix. Just look at the Redskins of past, or the new Redskins, aka the 49ers, and you'll see that Super Bowls are not won during free agency. It takes careful drafting, along with resigning your OWN impact players to create a contender. You can patch holes during free agency, but you can't build a team.
2.) Why do fans from the former home team feel obligated to bash the players that leave their teams for free agency? This is only really obvious when it is a Pro Bowl caliber player, say Asante Samuel. Suddenly, the guy is overrated, he's not a shut down corner, oh and my favorite, he's a system guy. When the hell did any player outside of quarterbacks become system guys? You honestly don't think an athlete like Asante can't line up over most wide receivers in the league one on one and keep him under raps? I understand that the Patriots played some zones and it allowed him to read quarterbacks a little easier than the teams that rely on 1 on1 coverage, but come on, this guy just has a nose for the ball! Let's at least wait until week 8 of the season before we decide this guy can't cut it in a new defense, not two days into free agency.
3.) NFL teams clearly do not observe the tampering rules set to keep communications between free agents and interested franchises. As I read in an article earlier today, that guard from the 49ers (Smiley) signed like an hour into free agency with the Dolphins. You think they move that quick? I doubt it. You don't think the Eagles were talking to Asante Samuel a week or two before kick-off? Of course they were. As was said in the article (i think it was Peter Kings MMQB), either enforce it, or get rid of it. And that is coming from a fan of the Eagles.
4.) NFL franchises don't read message boards or listen to sports radio when deciding who to sign. This is obvious by this offseason in Philly. If a team who has to put multi-million dollar contracts on the line to a wide receiver with a history of knee injuries, or a guy with character issues, is going to listen to BirdFanWOOHOO from South Philly, than we have bigger problems than i thought. It isn't like they wouldn't like to put a stud #1 wide receiver on the field, they just have to be smart about it. This isn't the offseason on your Madden football game for PlayStation. These are real millions.
