MRW

Should we have taken an o-lineman in the first just so we could say we drafted an o-lineman high? Isn't there something to be said for considering whether the players on the board at that point were worthy of the pick?

Since everyone else seems more interested in cracking jokes than providing information, I should let you know that Mike Williams was signed by the Jaguars.

Don't you think Arizona is dumb enough to draft a guy they already have on the roster?

Actually I hope he keeps coming back for partial years, ties up money on the Dolphins' cap, and keeps them from moving on.

Wouldn't that kind of weight hamper a 5'8" wideout's speed?

A quick trade for Rex Grossman and they'd have a complete set.

Um... why? Did Evans kill your dog or something? I understand not thinking Evans will do all that great, but why root against him?

They'll be laughing too hard to properly defend against it.

Great, except our Isaac Bruce doesn't want to be on the team and is throwing a hissy fit.

Nope, transition tagged, not a FA. I don't understand the negativity here about this, I really don't. My reaction is more of a shrug that it didn't work out; it wasn't some daring coup to try to sign him and it wasn't a stupid maneuver. Worth a shot to see just how committed the Cards really were to keeping the guy around. I mean, it is the Cardinals, after all.

I thought the same thing you did. Then I was trying to decide if trading McGahee for Faine made any sense.

By which team?

I have my doubts that we'll ever see the old Spikes back, but he was so good before the injury that he still should be a very good LB. I'm not too worried about him. Of course it's all moot if we can't get the help up front that we need.

This really isn't relevant to your larger point, but didn't Parella have a little meltdown and quit on the team?

Damn, that still pisses me off! I've made my peace with the Super Bowl losses, but that Wolford deal... grr!

I hadn't heard that it was made official.

You misspelled "retread" in your thread title.

So... that was a mistake in your book?

First rule of having your comments on player acquisitions taken seriously, learn the names. Tripplett, not "Tippett".

Shades of Will Wolford! I thought this sort of loophole was eliminated. I guess it's not quite an escalator clause, though...

Letting Washington go was pretty clearly a huge mistake, especially after he was willing to settle for less money. Pat Williams was sorely missed last year, but I would still be leery of shelling out the kind of money he received.

I can't help thinking back to when the Patriots let Woody go. He was the marquee player of their OL and yet they didn't miss a beat. I'm not trying to say that we have anywhere near Patriots-level talent on our OL, but one player does not make or break a line. Another example (different position) Cinci letting Takeo Spikes go. I loved seeing him come to Buffalo, but Cinci was able to take the money they would've spent on him and getting two or three solid players to fill holes in their defense. The onus is clearly on Levy and co. to get us some players, and yes, they'd better do something. But I don't buy that the only way to go was jump on the only two big-name OL out on the market. There are going to be decent, unheralded players available through FA and the draft. Whether our talent evaluators will find them is the question.

I really don't think there was (or is) a magic bullet out there to address all this team's needs in a single offseason. What I saw last year was a team with little talent on the offensive and defensive line, unable to get a push or stop other teams when it mattered. Blowing our wad on a single player when we have, it appears to me, 2 or 3 holes on the offensive line, and 3 holes on the defensive line, to fill, doesn't seem like a good long-term strategy. Before you ask, yes, I'm pretty much resigned to another bad year next year. I just don't think it's worth stressing over too much.

Why not? I mean, you keep arguing this point, but I just don't see the logic. I would hope the front office is capable of multi-tasking to some degree. Now, it may be that this was their entire plan all along, and we've added our "big name" free agents and we're done. If that's the case, then we're hosed. But I'm going to wait and see what they do before I start blasting the new administration.

A modest request: please avoid abbreviating Vernon Davis' name in future threads. The adolescent in me can't stop snickering.