nfoligno

Which is why that is one of the few things I believe will absolutely be changed in the new CBA.

Got it. So you are saying Stl has a week to match the offer sheet. Okay. I sort of thought you were saying he is less developed and it would take time to see if he was a legit starter or not. That is why I asked for clarification. Now I understand. Still, he is far and away my favorite option. While it is harder to make a "poison pill" offer w/o a cap, I do wonder if front loading the deal enough would steal him away from Stl. I do understand what you are saying though. At the same time, in my eyes, no other FS on the market would offer the impact Atogwe would, so it may well be worth the chance.

Atogwe was tendered at the lowest level, meaning Stl has the right to match, but would get NO COMPENSATION if they lose him. The reason is, as I understand it, they franchise tagged him last year. So while they can tag him agains this year as a RFA, they regardless still have to pay him no less than 10% more than he got last year, which was a guaranteed $7+m as a franchise player. So, if they tagged him for compensation this year, they would have had to guarantee him nearly $8m, and they didn't want to do that.

Huh?

Key problem w/ Boldin is, you are going to have to pay him. The whole reason he is on the block is due to making life hell for the Cards over his contract. Any team that trades for him as to be willing to pay him, and he wants to be among the top paid WRs in the game. I seriously doubt that after signing Peppers, as well as any other FAs we add, we would have the money to sign Boldin to a new deal.

Both? I really like Clark, but maybe it is time to cut him loose and allow him to go somewhere where he may have a greater role. Mckie is crap, and as Martz doesn't really use a FB anyway, just get rid of him.

What I like is that, thus far, it appears FA doesn't begin AND end w/ Peppers. It seems like, even after Peppers, we still are keeping active. Look like we will sign that TE, and Chester Taylor looks like a strong possibility. Now if we could swing Atogwe into the mix (or another solid FS) that would be one hell of a FA. I had reservations about peppers, but a key issue was whether we would have enough money left over after to fill other holes.

I still have questions about Peppers (a) does he mail it in once getting that fat contract and ( how much will we have to spend if we do in fact sign him. Peppers is awesome, and if we do add him, I can only hope he plays with fire to prove his worth. As for the 2nd question, I still don't see how we can sign much more, but if the rumors are true and we could get Atogwe and Chester Taylor, along w/ Peppers, that would be one hell of an offseason.

Atogwe was a top choice of mine last year, and is again. I can't believe the Rams tendered him the way they did, but I would so love to add him.

What ESPN said this morning was, it is only tampering if they talked contract specifics. They said that we announced at 12:15 that we had a deal w/ Peppers, we would set ourselves up to for tampering issues, but ESPN said we could speak w/ his agent so long as the contract itself was not discussed. So if what ESPN said was correct, that would mean we could speak w/ his agent about stuff like the team, system, fit etc. I thought we could not talk to him about Peppers at all, but maybe there is more to it than I realize.

My problem is not the word consummate but the word professional. I just do not think of him when I think of professional. Look, TJ is a hell of a RB, but any player who complains about his contract every couple years is not what I consider a professional. A player who cries about a contract he recently signed, and who then demands either a new deal or a trade, is not a professional. Do you think NY would be unloading him if he had not made a big deal about his contract, or if he had not demanded a trade? If TJ was a player willing to share some reps w/ other RBs, do you think NY would be dumping him? I don't. I think NY is getting rid of a player who is set to cause problems on the team. If they don't cut him, he will continue his trade demands and continue to speak out about how unfair his contract is. Go back to when he was with us. Do you think the team wanted to trade him? Based on what our staff said, sure didn't sound that way. But TJ demanded a trade, and only shut up when told he would be traded after the season. He goes to NY, gets the deal he wanted, and in two years starts demanding more money again, and/or a trade. Sorry, I just don't think of him when I think of a professional. A great RB. Sure. He has a great all around game. He can run for power inside, has moves to cut it against the grain, and speed to turn the corner. He is a hell of a receiving threat, and a tremendous blocker. He has the total package. I will not argue this point. What I argue is calling him a professional. Further, I question the fit for him back in Chicago, unless you just don't think anything of Forte and have no problem simply putting him on the bench. TJ is not a RB who wants to share the load, and I can't see him being happy in a situation where there is a young RB on the roster the team wants to play. Even if TJ gets the bulk of the carries, I think he would be unhappy. He wants to be "the man" and that is fine, but I don't think he would be a good fit for us.

Agreed. As bad as he played, he was playing a new position and it should also be considered that he was playing next to a horrible LT. Later in the season, his play did seem to improve, and that he played next to a better LT may have also been a factor. The fact is, he was inexperienced when we added him, and we then switched positions. Still, his play was even worse than most who felt he would need time would have expected, but again, he did improve. We went out and got a guy who is supposedly good developing OL. Give Tice a chance. What can it hurt. If Omiyale fails, make sure you (a) have depth and ( are ready to go to a backup plan. But I see no reason to get rid of him.

Ihave asked the same, and have to say I think we are better off spreading the money around. That doesn't mean we use that money on 10 scrubs. But that is enough money to likely add a very solid (or better) DE, OL and FS. Most FAs after Peppers are going to look simply cheap. Peppers is going to get sick money. The 2nd most talked about DE is Kampman, but coming off injury, I can't see his contract being that high. The thing I ask myself is, are we one player (even a great player) away on defense? On offense, we added a pro bowl player at the position which, more than any other, has a single impact on the team, and yet it wasn't enough due to the other holes. That, IMHO, goes to show how a group with many holes is not fixed with the addition of one player. If we add Peppers to our defense, might it be improved? Sure. But how much? Looking at all the holes I see on defense, I struggle to see how Peppers suddenly makes this a good defense. On the other hand, if we were to add, for example only, Peppers and a solid FS (say Rolle as many like him) I think that could have a greater effect than if we added only Peppers.

Dwight Freeney signed a six-year, $72 million contract with the team Friday that includes a $30 million signing bonus. Wanna bet Peppers will be looking to make more than Freeney? That was $30m Freeney got up front in the form of a SB. As for what the article says, your right. I went back and read it again. I read another article talking about how that allotment would not even be enough, and was mixing to two articles. I still think it is going to be tough. Peppers is the top guy on the market, and a lot of teams seem ready to start the bidding. While $25m is a lot (a) If a Team like Wash decided they want him, $25m likely would not be enough and ( at some point, doesn't Angelo have to make a decision whether he is best served by signing Peppers and a bunch of veteran minimum guys or as many as many three very good FAs. Side question. Okay, we all know there is no cap this year. While the future is unknown, I think most of us expect the cap to return at some point. For an owner like Snyder, who has boat loads of cash to spend, would it not make sense to front load the hell out of the deal? If he offers Peppers a deal w/ similar overall numbers as others, but offers to front load it far more, that deal would look far more appealing. Further, whenever the cap is back in place, Peppers would not then be as great of a hit on the cap, which is a big deal for a team like Wash who seems to always be up against the cap.

I think you are misunderstanding the points made. Few have said TJ isn't an excellent RB. I have said that as well. Also, I agreed his release from NY is very questionable. Frankly, I don't understand why they are doing it myself. How good of a RB TJ is, or whether his release is wrong is really not the point at issue. Those points are fairly agreed on, I think. The point was your saying he is a professional. After we gave in and traded him (which I disagreed with for the record) he got his wish and signed a long term deal w/ the Jets. This was not a deal he was forced to sign, and a deal for the sort of money he was asked for. So, plain and simply, he got what he wanted. But that long term deal he signed was only good, in his mind, for two years I guess. Because after two years, he started complained about his contract, and again wanted a new deal and/or to be traded. So lets see. He gets a mega deal as a top 10 pick, and never lives up to it. He gets a deal w/ TB and does little to show for it. He signs w/ us for relatively cheap, and does well, but then complains he is worth more and should get a new contract. Funny, he wasn't concerned about being paid what he was worth when he was worth so much less than his paycheck (Arizona). But his complaining gets him his wish, a trade to NY and a new contract. But again, two years later he is crying about how underpaid he is and demanding a trade if not a new contract. Sorry, but this is simply not what a "professional" does. If it was only the one time in Chicago he wanted a new contract, I could understand. Maybe no agree, but understand. But to then turn around 2 years into the deal he wanted, and make the same complaints? And yes, I do believe there is an issue of how he is in terms of being a mentor. I don't recall his being close with Pittman in Az or TB. Blame Benson as much as you want, but most reports absolutely put TJ in that mess as well. And in NY, I have never read about TJ playing the mentor role w/ the young RBs on the roster. There is no question TJ is one hell of a RB. I also agree his release from NY is very questionable, at best. But don't pretend he is being treated so unfairly either. If he had not complained about his contract, or made an issue about NY wanted their young RB to get more snaps, I doubt TJ would be cut. If TJ were a team player, he would likely be a Jet next year, but instead he is a "me" player, and will get his wish. Don't feel for TJ. He is going to get "paid" this offseason, and that comes only a couple years after getting "paid" by NY, which came only a couple years after the Bears "paid" for a former top 10 pick BUST.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/jensen/2078...-sean02.article Per Sean Jensen of the Times, Angelo has been given permission to spend around $25m in "up front" money this offseason. As the report says, that number could climb w/ the release of Pace which saved a bit under $4m, and some other potential moves/ restructures. Also as the report says, that likely will not be enough for Peppers. That number should be more than enough for Kampman, but a key issue is that we have many holes, and if we blow all our money on one player, we would be severly limiting in plugging the other holes. Still, $25+m is a pretty solid amount to have to play with. It likely won't be enough for Peppers, but could still land us a pretty solid group of FAs. I expect us to go after a RB, but not one that would likely cost a ton upfront. If we do go after a blocking TE, again, that won't cost much. OL, DE and FS are the top needs, though I still think CB is up there. The question will be how much we can spread that money out between these position.

Exactly. Many veterans treat younger players, even those who threaten their position, basically as students. They take the mentor role and try to help the younger player. Veterans along the OL always seem to get tons of credit from the younger OL for their help. Heck, though he was a bust for us, I often heard about how Pace was helping Williams. I have heard Beekman talk about how much Kreutz has helped him. At just about any position out there, you have veterans who help the younger players. Now, I will say Benson was part of this. He entered the league w/ an arrogance and all that, but frankly, TJ should have understood as he too entered the league a high pick w/ arrogance and he too fell on his face early on. Considering TJ's past, you would really think he would be the sort to have understood where Benson was coming from, but instead, all he seemed to care about was himself.

"Consumate professional?" Are you kidding me. We bring him in at a time when he looked every bit a bust after failing to meet expectations with two teams. We soon draft Benson, but rather than work with the youth, as a consummate professional would, he makes Benson public enemy #1. After his first EVER 1,000 yard rushing season, he tells management he wants a new deal. The guy failed to earn any prior paycheck, but the first time he does well, he wants more money. He doesn't get it, but doesn't shut up until the team agrees to trade him after the season. The team does, and he gets what he wants in a big contract. Well, that made him content for about a year or two, and there he was again, this time in NY, demanding a new deal or a trade. I have no problem with a claim that he is a hell of a RB. He is. But I do not think it very professional to be demanding a new deal/trade every couple years, nor do I think it acceptible the way he is with younger players. I have read he has been to the Jets young RBs similar to Benson, though their young backs are more mature and can handle it. But when I think professional, I think about veterans who try to help other players, where as TJ always seems to take the approach they are his enemy and he needs to hold them back to prop himself up. And just for the record, we did not "release" him. We traded him. And the key reason we did that was he sreamed for a trade and would not play nice until we agreed to his demands, albeit w/ a year grace period. TJ is one hell of a RB, and will get paid this year as he is likely the top RB on the market. Frankly, I don't understand why NY is releasing him, but I have a problem with making him out to be such a great professional. If he was not again crying for a new deal and or trade, I doubt he would be released, but he is not a back who ever seems satisified, nor one who can share duties w/ other RBs on the roster.

Even if he is just to be here one year, I think that he should be bringing in people who he feels will make his offense successful. Okay, getting away from Olsen specific for a moment, and continuing the discussion down a broader path (hey, its a slow day) I can't say I agree with this. Frankly, this is one of the problems caused by hiring a coach like Martz in a situation like this. Coaches who are considered short term simply create a lot of problems. But what I can not agree with doing is making big changes in order to accomodate a coach on a short term deal. Minor changes, fine. If Martz felt we had to have Holt (example) while I would disagree, I could understand. If Martz comes in an decides he needs a change of pace RB, fine. But there is a line between minor and major changes. I question how much you yourself believe your above statement. I think your opinion is based more on your opinion of Olsen rather than what we should allow Martz to do. Okay, lets say Martz comes in an decides Williams is an awful fit for his system. He wants a big boy OT, not a finesse guy, and simply doesn't believe Williams would ever get it done in his system. Does that mean you would agree if Martz wanted to trade him? What if it was Forte? Olsen was a 1st round pick. Has he lived up to the hype. No. But he has still be in the top 10 range among TEs, and that is far from bad. He absolutely needs to improve, but I would still consider him among our biggest assets, and you must agree if you believe we can get a 2nd round pick for him. I just do not believe you get rid of a long term asset based on a short term coach or system.

I think he's still got major talent. Like him or not, TO's still better than any WR on the roster. I can not even agree with this. Consider this. He is 36 years old. Okay, but some players continue to play well into their 30s, right? Well, take a look at his stats over the last three years. Catches went from 81 to 69 to 55. Yards went from 1,355 to 1,052 to 829. TDs went from 15 to 10 to 5. And I don't even want to hear about the QB crap in Buffalo because (a) his decline began in Dallas ( even if it didn't translate to wins, as much as they were trying to force the ball to him, you would think it would translate to better stats but he just doesn't get open like you used to and he continues to drop too many balls. Westbrook and LT have been released, and it is simply difficult to believe such tremendous players have "lost it". Last year, most in the league believe Orlando Pace was finished, but we didn't believe it and signed him to be our LT. How did that workout? Sometimes it is hard to come to terms with these all time great players fading, much less fading fast, but at some point we need to simply realize that. I would be more okay w/ Holt (who I don't want) than TO. At least in Holt you can say you would have a field mentor for our young Wrs. TO does nothing to help develop young WRs. In fact, in many ways he does the opposite the way he screams for the ball (even if he is triple covered) and pressures the QB to throw it his way rather than look to other WRs. Not many knew who Miles Austin was prior to this past season. Here is dallas, fans often said they wanted to see more of him, but when TO was here, he was complaining as it was he didn't get enough looks and Romo was to close with Witten and blah blah blah. Anyway, TO leaves, Austin gets a change, and bam. Dallas has a 1,300 yards and 11 TD WR. If they kept TO, there is zero change Austin exploded onto the scheme the way he did. Could Knox not be Austin? How about Aromashadu? What player on our team may not develop because TO is demanding all the reads. I think Hester is as good as TO of today. Heck, I think DA may be as good or better as well, and when I consider age, upside and locker room character, I would take those two over TO anyday.

And if I am "the guy who always seems to think the smartest fan is pathetic compared to the dumbest coach" then I am surprised that you dont like this since it always seems like you are the guy who thinks that all fans are smarter than all coaches. Do I believe fans can provide very worthy insight? Absolutely. Do I believe fans CAN BE right when coaches are wrong, or GMs? Yes again. Do I believe all fans are smarter than all coaches. Obviously not. This guy may well be football smart, but all I saw was "schtick". And while you say "commentary aside" it is hard to put aside the commentary. The commentary goes so far to make a big deal about minor things, or to make something out of nothing, that I have to question the entire process. Here is a guy who wants to make a case against Olsen, and if the best film he can come up with displays weak evidence, then how serious am I supposed to take him. Look, putting this guy aside entirely, is Olsen a good blocker? Hell no. I was saying as much some time back. I said that last year he looked like he had actually regressed, and I felt he sucked before that. With that said, I would make two points. One. While it is great to have a great pass catching TE who is also a great blocker, those are pretty rare. While I am not saying he is as good as Gates, in this you do have an example of a TE who can be an exceptional asset to the team, even if he can't block, and make no mistake, Gates can't block. Two. I have always questioned our staff in this regard. I have never felt out staff did a good job of teaching blocking. Think about it. Most of our better blockers were not developed, but brought to the team already developed. Kellen Davis was drafted for his blocking ability, not receiving, though that is what fans loved due to his size. But he actually struggled as a blocker, and that is what coaches talked about when asked why we didn't see more of him. I forget his name, but we cut the TE drafted the year before who also was added to be a blocking TE, but didn't develop as such. I would add that we have not done well teaching our RBs to block. TJ was exceptional, but also developed in Az and TB. And don't even get me started on the OL. Point in all this however is we have made changes, and there is potential that Tice can develop Olsen and others in this regard better. I have never heard Olsen was unwilling to learn. He just sucks on the field trying to block. But maybe he simply has never been tought. It wasn't a big deal in Miami, and maybe our former OC, OL and TE coaches were simply not very good teaches in this area. If it was just Olsen, maybe it would be all about Olsen, but he is far from the only player who has struggled to develop blocking techniques as a bear.

Then why would you want to take a flier on TO? Here in Dallas, something often said is if TO were on the team in 2009, Miles Austin would have never developed. If TO and RW were starting, along w/ Witten Austin would have been so low on the reads that he would have never emerged, and thus never developed into the stud he seemed to become this past season. I just don't understand the idea of adding a WR like TO. If you like the young talent we have, and like the idea of developing the young talent we have, TO would not seem like a good idea.

Forte doesn't bring a ton of "wow" factor, but brings a greater sense (or did as a rookie) of consistency. I would use your own comments against you here. You have often railed against Turner for running Wolfe up the guy, thus it obvious you do not feel he is best served in such a manner. But we need someone who is capable of doing just that. We have Forte, who you yourself are now questioning, and you want his key backup to be a guy who you do not feel confident in running up the gut. If Wolfe is in at RB, and can't run up the guy, that limits the offense. As a change of pace back, or 3rd down back, fine, but not as a back you look to as your RB if Forte goes down or struggles again. I have never said to get rid of Wolfe. In fact, I have said I want to see more of him. That isn't the issue though. W/ Forte having one good and one bad season, and Wolfe not being an every down, all around back, we need additional help. I have said we do not need to spend much adding a big name, but do believe we need better depth than what we have. That doesn't mean we cut Wolfe, but I simply believe we need a back who we can better rely on if Forte goes down. In fact, I have actually argued what we need is a more power back. Forte has not proven capable of getting the short yardage runs, and I have no confidence in Wolfe being able to run it up the gut on 3rd and 1, and you have blasted turner when he has called such plays. I want a power back added to the mix for short yardage and goal line carries. Someone like, for example, that FB/RB in Baltimore (Anderons?) who started at one point, but also played a smaller role when other backs were stepping up. We could use a back like that IMHO.

Not sure how much this affects FA, though maybe a bit. I thought most of Pace's money was paid upfront, which means we have already paid him. If he was set to be on the books for $5-6m, I think that would have been his cap number, if there was a cap. I don't think he was due that much in new, 2010 money, so I don't think we are going to actually save that much money, in real dollars sense.

Okay, this guys is a biased idiot. I have watched it now, and I feel dirty for it. Video 1. First play shows Olsen bombed his block. Agree Olsen should have engaged, but this guy says Olsen "let him go". Those are his words. You can see Olsen trying to make the block, but Little simply beats him to the corner. To me, it appears Olsen likely didnt realize Cutler had rolled outside, and Olsen was sort of just side-stepping w/ Little, who then burst around the corner and beat Olsen. Evidence Olsen is a bad blocker, fine. Who argues that? But to say he just let him go is simply wrong. 2nd part of video one. Compains that Olsen didn't go full speed on a trick play (fake kick) but he has no idea where Olsen is supposed to be to catch the flip from Maynard. Maynard flips it from his knee (as the holder). If Olsen runs full speed, is he outside Maynard's flip ability. Then this guy also rips Olsen because he isn't tough enough to fight through a held jersey. Says he jersey is just barely held, but the damn video he shows shows Olsen jersey sticking way the hell out as he is getting held from behind. Video 2. I had to stop watching. Besides the fact the guy seems drunk, he is an idiot. Willis is not even on Clark? Are you kidding me. One, I thought the ball was tipped, and it is possible Olsen was the receiver and did expect the ball. Two, there may have been a point when the ball is in the air that Olsen realizes the ball isnt coming to him, but while this looks so obvious in frame by frame slow mo, it is so much faster in real life. I mean, if Olsen is squared up looking for the pass, ball is tipped and goes in Olsen direction, but beneath him, you are talking split seconds here. Okay, fine, Olsen whifs on the play, but this guy makes it out to be so much more than it was. Honestly, I stopped here. This guy seems to (a) simply dislike Olsen and ( be a bit caught up in his own schtick. Az, I am surprised by you. You are the guy who always seems to think the smartest fan is pathetic compared to the dumbest coach. Here you have a self proclaimed fan, and nothing more, and you use his video as evidence. I mean seriously. What the hell are you doing using this guy to support your arguments?