Best/Worst of Offseason - SportingNews
 

Bodies in motion . . . the best and worst moves of the offseason
By Phil Barber - SportingNews

An analytical look at offseason transactions.

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BEST

1. Cardinals sign Edgerrin James. Teams get scared off by running backs with 2,000-plus carries. But James won't be 28 until August, and he didn't do anything over the past two seasons -- 3,054 rushing yards and 23 touchdowns -- to make anyone think he's slowing down.

2. Dolphins acquire Daunte Culpepper and Joey Harrington. Culpepper is recovering from a knee injury and has been acting curiously. Harrington was a bust in Detroit. Still, for the price of a second-round draft pick and a low conditional pick, Miami got two quarterbacks who were chosen in the top 11 picks in the draft, and they likely will benefit from changes in scenery.

3. Chiefs hire Herm Edwards. No offense to Al Saunders, who was in the running for the job, but Edwards is the perfect choice to replace Dick Vermeil. Edwards will make the defense faster and more aggressive.

4. LaVar Arrington pays up. For once, a player valued success over money. It cost Arrington $4.4 million to buy out the remainder of his contract with the Redskins, with whom he had worn out his welcome. Now, as a member of the Giants, he'll be fired up to face his old team twice a year.

5. 49ers add Trent Dilfer. Second-year quarterback Alex Smith is sure to suffer more growing pains this season. He'll benefit from the veteran presence of Dilfer, who came in a trade for the much younger Ken Dorsey.

WORST

1. Chargers let Drew Brees walk. San Diego said goodbye to one of the league's most productive quarterbacks in 2004-05 and is handing the ball to neophyte Philip Rivers. Are we missing something?

2. Seahawks put transition tag on Steve Hutchinson. Seattle thought it could match any offer that came up for the Pro Bowl guard and work on a long-term deal behind the scenes. But the Vikings stole Hutchinson with a cleverly worded offer the Seahawks couldn't equal.

3. Packers overpay Charles Woodson. He remains a physical cornerback and a fearless competitor, but Woodson hasn't played a 16-game season since 2001 and coaches in Oakland questioned his commitment. Green Bay's payday -- reportedly $10.5 million in the first year, at least $18 million over three -- was far too much.

4. Titans freeze out Steve McNair. There's an outside chance McNair will remain in Tennessee. Still, the damage has been done. By banishing a quarterback who has sacrificed so much for his team, the Titans run the risk of alienating other players.

5. Saints dismantle O-line. They got Brees. Now can they block for him? New Orleans must replace three of its five starting linemen after trading left tackle Wayne Gandy, cutting left guard Kendyl Jacox and letting center LeCharles Bentley leave as a free agent.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...=tsn&type=lgns

Seems to be pretty accurate if you ask me.

we added a pro bowl qb and a leader, then drafted (in mosts opinions) the best player in the draft. got a new coaching staff and rid ourselves of trouble in the locker room. for a team that won 3 games last year i dont see how they can say weve had that bad of an off season.

Ok, am I missing something? The #1 worst move he had listed was the Chargers letting Brees walk, but N.O. isn't even listed in the best moves by signing him?

I don't think they were necessarily saying that the Saints had a bad offseason. I just think they were talking about the O-line. The "letting Bentley walk" comment showed that this guy didn't do his homework, because he was going to leave anyways. Getting rid of Gandy was a good move in my opinion, even though Brown is untested on the left side. Jacox was too sparatic in his play. However, it still will be a tough job to get that O-line in good shape for the season to protect Brees.

To add to my other post, how the hell is Dilfer to the 49ers the 5th best move in the offseason over the Saints signing Brees? We get rid of a bum and bring in a Pro-Bowler. Trent Dilfer has barely seen the field the last several years. WTF?

Well, with the Brees thing, it was more of a big deal when a team that has a realistic shot at going deep in the playoffs gives their QB away to go with the unproven guy...its not that much of a big deal when a 3-13 team pays big money for a new QB. Thats why it was on the worst moves list and not on the best moves list.

Exactly. You guys can't seriously want to see the same acquisition appear twice on the list. C'mon now!

I'm just happy that the Terrell Owens crap wasnt on there...so tired of hearing his name. For any of you who have Sirius radio, you know what i mean...for those of you wanting to get Sirius radio, i hope you like hearing about T.O. cause he is the main topic in the majority of the segments.

Everybody is so happy with Brees, I hope he does well. I wish they would have kept Aaron.

whats new the OL has been a game of musical chair since Haz arrived. I just hope we get a core unit inplace this year and complete unit by next. The third year will be jell time. This is the area that has killed us. Thats why I do not beat up (Too bad) on AB and The rest over the Haz era. Haz gutted a great thing in such a short amount of time. No OL and it does not matter who else is on the field they will not be good.

A blurb on Brees from PFW's 2006 Kickoff....


"Scouts don't agree on Bree's value. Many tout Brees as a product of his surroundings in San Diego, where he played alongside the top tight end and the top running back in the game. Others believe Bree's inner drive helped him turn the corner and see him as a Pro Bowl-caliber passer in most any system. He is limited physically, especially after season-ending surgery to repair labrum and rotator-cuff damage in his throwing shoulder, and he has never been asked to win games at the NFL level."


8)

Well, I humbly disagree with the thought process in the making of this list. We may have been 3-13 last season, but to sign a big-name QB in the aftermath of Katrina was a coup no matter how you look at it. To put the face of this team on the shoulders of Brees and to elevate the competitiveness with his siging has to be looked at a little closer. You go on the impact a player will have for a team when he is signed and taking that into consideration you have to put this signing in the top ten if not the top five. After we signed Brees we were well on our way to setting a season ticket sells record. How many of the teams listed in the top list can say that? Yes, the drafting of Bush helped, but we were almost there anyway. So the overall impact has to be considered , that is why I'm humbly disagreeing with this list. And just to get things started, Daunte was definitely a product of his surroundings, when his weapon disappeared so did his production. Until he proves otherwise I still consider him a middle-of-the-pack QB. And as for the same aquisition appearing on the same list twice, yes, I could expect it if it appeared on opposite sides of that list. One team's loss is another team's gain.

Not necessarily, but I won't get into that again. It was a bad move though.

Bentley sat out the last two games of the season not because he was hurt, so he would not get hurt because he knew he was going to be a free agent. I'm glad he is gone we need people on this team that care more about the team and not themselves besides he said he would not have resigned with the Saints anyway. C ya Bentley when Will Smith drops you on your A$$

Just so we're clear, Bentley was ALLOWED to leave. He did not HAVE to be a FA, we let him become one, and walk for nothing, then traded for the guy he replaced. The guy is 100% correct that we LET Bentley walk. Cause we did. It doesn't matter if he WANTED to play here or not, that's not his choice.