Biggest Need for 2009

Those two were.

 

Thought Moss was traded for Coles?

Technically Welker ended up being traded to the Pats I believe.

 

Dam bean counter.

 

I believe the FO prefers to not pay out big money to wide receivers. They did pay Wilford a 4 year 13 million dollar contract with six million in signing bonus, but no way, no how is Housh coming here for that money. He is going to want something upwards of 6 million a year probably or more. Could we use a big time receiver off the names you listed? Absolutely, every team could. I just don't think this team values the position high enough to spend the kind of money those players demand or use a number one draft pick. You may not like the names I listed, but come march they will more likely be the ones on our transaction sheet. If some of these defensive players hit the market like Dansby, McFadden, and Otogwe or even Jordan Gross for that matter, I think they would all be signed before Housh.

 

Technically yes. Essentially? No. He was leaving. And miami made him available.

 

Welker was traded to the Dolphins for a 2nd and 7th round Pick

 

Well if he signed we got the 2nd anyways as part of the deal, but he was listed as a RFA. The 7th got thrown in because of the poison pill thing between the owners. It is murky - maybe he was both signed as a FA and traded?

 

Ok, well we will say Welker was a FA, but I doubt on many other teams is he in the tops of the league. That is still not very good odds of finding a "top flight" WR in FA.

 

Wasn't going to touch that one with a ten foot pole. I was just going after the no one was signed....... thing.

Chances are this regime drafts most of the guys it needs from here on out. You'll see FA signed, but probably not the way we did it last year. How many times did you here of a BP team signing a big name in FA. Most of the FA action took place when he first got there - the bringing in of your own guys etc. The team is built through the draft.

To be honest I could see us trading out of the first round completely like the second year in Dallas. Garner a ridiculous amount of picks and just fill out the team. Hey, it's just like hitting on women in a bar, aim for the second level, hit one everyone of them and eventually a few will say yes. Law of averages.

But, chances are we don't draft a WR that high, not with the way Ginn has seemed to turn the corner and Camarillo pre injury.

 

It's all good. I don't think we're going to go after any of the receivers I listed. I was just pointing out that those are the guys currently leading the league and none of them were free agents.

I don't think Hurd, Austin, or Baskett are likely to be on our transaction sheet. If Dallas or Philly lets them go it's because they're not good enough to hold onto to. Unless they can contribute on special teams we're not going to sign any of them. I'm not 100% positive but I don't think any of them play special teams.

I agree that Dansby, McFadden, Otogwe, and Gross would be likely targets. More of a priority than Housh? I wouldn't bet on it. Not saying you're wrong. Just not sure what the priority would be. T.J. Houshmandzadeh would help us win games and this regime is all about winning games. Housh's age and salary are definitely an issue. The funny thing about free agency is that Dansby, McFadden, Otogwe, and Gross might not ever hit the market. So if you've got the room in the salary cap why not sign Housh?

Sorry. I rambled on a bit there.

Jeff Ireland lists a #1 WR among his core positions. What it really comes down to is his opinion of Ginn. Anybody got his phone number? Let's give Jeff a call and find out.

I agree with you Conuficus. I don't think we are going to draft a WR on day one this year but we might in 2010.

 

I like the idea of us trading our #1 pick to get multiple lower round picks.. especially if parcells/ireland know where they're looking in the latter rounds. oh wait, they do.

 

Here's what I'm thinking.

NEEDS:

CB - We addressed the defensive line last year. Now we need to address the secondary. The two go hand in hand. We'll draft a CB on day one.

FS - It's a very deep safety class this year and it's likely that a very good one will still be on the board in the 3rd or 4th round.

C - Satele isn't getting it done. After what Caldwell did against Auburn I think it's very likely that we use one of our 2nd round picks on him.

OLB - Roth's pass rushing skills leave a lot to be desired. We might go OLB on day one but there are also a few diamonds in the rough to found in the mid to later rounds. Depends on which juniors declare.

ILB - Could be day one pick. Could be a day two pick. Or we might not draft one at all. Rome wasn't built in a day.

FB - I believe we will draft a guy to compete with Polite and Cramer. May the best man win.

WR - Maybe this is a "WANT" but Ginn's lack of touchdowns makes me think otherwise. We have three 7th round picks and I suspect we will use one of them on a WR in hopes of finding the next T.J. Houshmandzadeh or Donald Driver both of whom are redzone threats and were 7th round picks.


WANTS:

NT - We have very little depth. Ferguson is it. He's old and somewhat injury prone. Even though it's a WANT and not a NEED the talent coming out this year is too good to pass up. We'll draft a NT on day one.

RT - No depth beyond Carey and his situation is up in the air right now. This could become a need depending on what happens in the offseason.


WE ARE IN GOOD SHAPE HERE:

LT Long, Carey, Frye
LG Smiley, Murphy
RG Thomas, Ndukwe
WR Ginn, Camarillo, Bess
SS Bell, Culver
ILB Crowder, Ayodele, Torbor
CB Will Allen, Andre Goodman, Jason Allen
TE Fasano, Martin, Haynos
DE Holliday, Langford, Merling, Starks, Wright, Dotson
RB Ronnie, Ricky, Cobbs, Parmele, Hilliard
QB Pennington, Henne, Beck
P Fields
K Carpenter

The guys in bold are still question marks but at this point I'm just not sure if we would necessarily find an upgrade on the second day of the draft.

 

The reason I dont see us signing Housh is simply that WR isnt a position that they covet enough to spend the kind of money that he is going to want. With Ginn playing better and better and Camarillo putting together a solid year, and Bess turning in some decent games I just dont think we will ever see a big time receiver signed or drafted highly. Austin by the way does return kicks for Dallas and doesn't do that bad of a job and I think Hurd plays on the coverage units.

The reason I listed those guys as people more likely to be targeted than Housh, is because they play positions more coveted save for DB. Dansby would be a great fit in this defense and if he does hit the market, I would suspect they go after him hard seeing as how hard we went after Calvin Pace.

 

I dont know why you dont have NT in the need column seeing as how its arguable the most important of a 3-4 defense. With Ferg turning 35 next year and Soliai doing everything he can to get cut, I would say after OLB, this is the position most likely to be addressed early in the draft. With Jason Allen, Will Allen, and Andre Goodman playing well this year I don't think we address CB on day one. Also dont forget this regime gave Lehan a 4 year contract.

Safety, I hope, gets addressed either through free agency or the draft or both.

Center right now is up in the air for me. Satele being injured has been brought up some on this board. The rotating RG position couldn't of helped him. I guess we will have to wait and see on that one.

OLB I believe will be addressed in the draft possibly twice and we could add a FA. ILB could see a decent shake up if we don't re-sign Crowder.

FB or WR right now I don't quite see as a need because before Camarillo got hurt, both he and Ginn were on pace for close to 1,000 yard seasons and 70+ catches I believe. Davone Bess is on pace for 40 catches and almost 500 yards. I think we add a big red zone target but not until day 2. FB I think we are fine with Polite playing decently and Cramer coming back from injury.