NFL Offseason: Smart Teams Spend Little in Free Agency?

Scribe Written on March 18, 2008

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Rick Gosselin of the Dallas Morning News thinks teams who are frugal with their money during the free agent signing period are smart.

I think there is some truth to what he has to share. However, I think Gosselin is using a skewed metric.

I think his point is if a team signs a player or several players as free agents and does not win a Super Bowl, then this team was a failure. According to Gosselin, teams who doled out serious dough are foolish.

Of course, Gosselin supports his thinking by pointing out the Giants.

Last year, the Giants were prudent and spent $1,000,000 on LB Kawika Mitchell and won the Super Bowl. Two years ago, the Steelers signed their only free agent WR Cedric Wilson and won the Super Bowl.

I think free agency is not a panacea. I do not think signing other teams stars will guarantee a Super Bowl victory.

On the contrary, I think signing players can make a team better.

In his article, last year, Gosselin points out the Browns, Cowboys, Seahawks and 49ers each signed a player to a contract in excess of $39 million. Okay, each of these four teams did not win the Super Bowl. Although these teams did not receive any jewelry, two out of the 4 teams did get better and make the playoffs (Dallas and Seattle), while Cleveland finished the season at 10-6, an improvement over the previous year, and just missed making the playoffs.

Gosselin also fails to mention the New England Patriots were very active last year during free agency.

They signed several players including notables LB Adalius Thomas and WR Donte Stallworth. Recall, New England were 18-0 and went to the Super Bowl.

In closing, I think the market will bear what a player is worth. I think a team may improve by signing a player via free agency. I think the message is Caveat Emptor: Let the Buyer Beware!

I welcome you to check out:

New York Football Giants

www.nygmennfl.blogspot.com

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written on March 18, 2008 Sports

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