apuszczalowski Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Thanks for the ground ball. The best blockers almost never hit free agency, especially LTs. Not only that, can you remember when a top OL was traded? Culpepper and other qbs get traded. An admittedly old Moulds was traded. DBs and RBs are traded. It simply does not happen with blockers. Generally speaking, when and if they DO hit free agency, they are given a "franchise tag," or re-signed to huge contracts. The above even includes the good, but not great LTs such as Jennings or Jeff Backus.. Hutch was a guard, and a rare exception. Bentley was playing in a devestated city and wanted to go home, another clear exception. This leaves little else other than the draft. Will it always work? Of course not, especially when a team has a GM who lives to prove that he is smarter than the whole world and selects a fat, lazy RT (with a history of injuries) rather than a sound LT prospect (McKinnie). A team CAN get lucky and have a good OL while devoting a small amount of draft resources I suppose. The thing is, it hasn't worked in Buffalo for at least a decade. 744446[/snapback] Finally, someone who can actually give an explanation using facts rather then just posting what he/she hears from others. While I don't fully agree that the only way a good line is built is only through the draft like some, I understand the point you are making. It is a bit easier because with careful drafting and scouting you can bring in these linemen and get them in your system early on. And since good linemen can be hard to come by, they become something teams want to hold on to and not let them test the free agent market. I still believe there are good linemen that become available in FA (mostly players who might need a little work t prove their potential or just need a change of scenery) but right now there is a high demand for good ones that most teams want to hold onto what they have. Maybe in a few years things will change and good WR's or RB's will become a priority as there will be alot of good linemen coming into the league. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt in KC Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 My expectation of 7-8 wins is based on Losman starting and starting to show signs of maturity. I will assume he will complete in the range of 55% of his passes and have maybe half again as many touchdown passes as interceptions. 745547[/snapback] Hey, that is REALLY close to my expectation for Losman, and is one of the first clearly-articulated moderate predictions I've read here, at least in awhile. I am not sure about the INT:TD ratio, but suspect you're close. In college JP had many more TDs than INTs, but last year they were equal. I personally think that more INTs may be a healthy sign that he is taking some risks and isn't holding the ball too long. Last year I think he was simply made too many bad reads, especially early in the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill from NYC Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Maybe in a few years things will change and good WR's or RB's will become a priority as there will be alot of good linemen coming into the league. 745592[/snapback] The above is certainly possible. The thing is, lots of humans can run fast. Quite a few can even catch footballs, but almost none can stop a man like Bruce Smith from doing whatever he wants to do on a football field. What I forgot to also mention is that as quarterbacks become prominent on their teams, I am of the opinion that they gain influence on personnel decisions. For instance, I think that Manning would throw a fit if the Colts cut Glenn because he makes so much money. It would simply not happen. Something I learned listening to an interview with all-time great Jackie Slater is that LTs were not being paid so much until free agency. He said that the bulk of the payroll went to qbs, wrs, and rbs. Today, LTs and DEs rank as 2 of the highest paid positions, after qb. I suppose that this is because again, so few people are able to play there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krazykat Posted August 17, 2006 Share Posted August 17, 2006 Did you actually search back through all his old posts & find previous predictions? 744399[/snapback] No. Did you? What's your point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dibs Posted August 18, 2006 Share Posted August 18, 2006 No. Did you? What's your point? 745800[/snapback] Nothing, just thought you had done it, was surprised.....& thought I'd ask. .....it's not quite as impressive now I know that you made it up....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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