The Skinny on 2009 NFL Free Agency: Make It Rain

"There must be some way out of here," said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."

"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."

All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.

--Bob Dylan "All Along the Watchtower"

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In recent years, we NFL free-agency freaks have become accustomed to seeing the best players get tagged, and then to hope that our team ponies-up some ridiculous amount for a player overrated by hype. 

The mission for any team is knowing what to do but also what other teams will do. Then you can coordinate your moves strategically rather than just throw money up in the air and make it rain on the free agents. 

The case of Pacman Jones in that strip-club truly is an allegory for NFL free-agency.  The real difference between the behavior of Pacman Jones and the insanity of the market is the absence of violence.  However, some might equate Drew Rosenhaus to that of a highway or grave robber. 

That is why I always preach value in regards to free agents because when a team pulls the trigger on a bad contract, it is only because they fell prey to the temptation of "star players."  A team signs a player that is unconducive with the coach's system, which basically results in scrambled eggs and a heightened desire by the coach's for more control, which if given, doesn't work.  If NFL execs however, understood the coach's system and weren't beholdent to knee-jerk reactions from fans, writers and their egos -- then they wouldn't buy the snake-oil contracts. 

That however, leads to an ethical dilemna: how do you fairly compensate the players when the team makes exorbitant profits?  I really don't have the answer for that, other than to say, a team should focus on value and their system rather than throw money around; but increase the incentives for ProBowl and postseason berths, rather than generalize the success of a player.  Another ethical dilemna is: how do you accomodate the fans for without the fans, you have no team?  I would say, that if NFL execs truly believe in the coach's they hire, they'd be able to win, and winning is all that real fans desire.

Know how to find valuable players that were discarded by their team.  The maxim has always been: Well, if someone else didn't want you, why should I?  The answer is quite simple, if you understand the situation that player was in—then you can find value.  If you're merely trying to garner headlines for business decisions, then you might be in the wrong business.

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Take Thomas Jones for instance.  Once a first-round flop in Arizona and then journeyman to Tampa Bay and lead runner for the Chicago Bears when they lost the Super Bowl.  Now an AllPro with the Jets.  Goes to show you, that stats can be deceptive.

Or Tyler Brayton.  A first-round pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2003, who left for Carolina

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