2010 NFL Free Agency Derby: All Hat, Little Cattle

I don't have all the numbers, but I'll speculate that the past few years of NFL Free Agency has produced little of the results that its hype has warranted, and I don't think 2010 will be any different.

Last year the Redskins made a big splash signing Haynesworth. The result? Haynesworth played well, but NOT up to his salary, and really didn't seem to help the Redskins much. They had at least gone 8-8 in 2008 and many Skins fans thought Big Al would lift them maybe into the playoffs in a fierce division. Instead, the Skins had a very poor season.

In 2008, for instance, the Jets signed Kris Jenkins, and later, Brett Favre...which caused them to release Chad Pennington who would then sign with division rival Miami. When Tom Brady went down in game one of 2008, many AFC East watchers believed that the Jets would overtake the Pats for the division title, and it looked that way for about twelve games. After all, the Jets might have been the most talented team in the NFL in 2008.

So who won that division? Miami, because of Pennington, and, oh yeah, Joey Porter, the big flop of the 2007 free agency class who redeemed himself a year later...but not in 2009. Parcells just dumped his overrated butt.

Speaking of the Dolphins, I think they might have made the only really good deal this free agency in getting Dansby. In 2008, they had a fairly strong D (despite losing Jason Taylor) that, with adding Taylor in 2009, seemed to tank. They have since gotten rid of three players who may have been chiefly responsible for them tanking: Wilson, Ayodele, and Porter. Getting Dansby will let them move Crowder to the outside where he belongs, and hopefully with Dansby's leadership Crowder can become as effective as he was when Zach Thomas was in the line with him.

The Fins were also after Rolle, who signed with the Giants. Dansby probably isn't quite worth the 43 mil he's gonna get, but Rolle definitely isn't worth the 37 mil he's gonna get! So what if Rolle is a Pro Bowler and Dansby isn't? Dansby is a big playmaker, but Rolle isn't. Hopefully, the Giants didn't waste the money. But I don't see much difference between them signing Rolle and Miami signing "the Gerbil" last year.

Now let's get to the point of this article: Julius Peppers and the Bears.

In my humble opinion, Chester Taylor is the best move the Bears made because it lets them not have to concentrate on getting the ball to Matt Forte, who was overused last year. Getting Taylor means the overrated Jay Cutler has someone to dump short passes to, which should help him not have so many interceptions. And getting TE Ray will also help the run. (Sorry, but his last name is hard to spell.)

But Peppers? Folks, there is a darned good reason Carolina gave up on him. He will help the Bears once-vaunted D some, but at the end of the year Chicago will not have improved in the standings and will likely still have a poor record, and Lovie and Jerry will be gone.

In fact, while I see little improvement in the Bears I see much more improvement in the Lions. Getting Burleson isn't the panacea, but now at least defenses won't have to concentrate on Calvin Johnson. Kyle Vanden Bosch isn't the panacea either, but he will bring leadership and some spirit. Further, the Lions didn't spend the house on either and can still sign another quality free agent. Maybe they'll sign Thomas Jones or even LT. The Lions need a running game as much as defense.

A final point on a couple of trades: Cromartie to the Jets and Boldin to the Ravens.

Why the Jets feel they have to "improve" a defense that is already outstanding is beyond me, and I don't think Cromartie is the big deal next to Revis that Jets fans think he is. I just don't see Cromartie as making a difference, and in a year or two Jets fans will be complaining about their lack of draft picks if draft-pick-wealthy New England or rebuilding-through-draft Miami overtakes the team everyone will pick to win the AFC this year. This is especially true since the Jets, who have made a few good free agency picks but not very many considering all the free agents they've gone after, have been great in the draft with the picks they had (Sanchez, Shonn Green, Darell Revis, D'Brickshaw Ferguson, David Harris, etc.) Tannenbaum, in fact, is at least equal to a Belichick or a Parcells in the draft, so I wonder why he's giving up the picks so readily for players who may not make a difference?

Boldin to the Ravens make sense, for now. But the Ravens' best defensive players are rapidly aging, as is Boldin. Again, in a couple of years the Baltimore crew may wish they had kept those draft picks they gave Arizona.