In space no one can hear Posted February 16, 2007 Posted February 16, 2007 Then the next year we signed our Middle line backer from Detroit....what a front seven we had those years Great addition to this list! One of my favorites(Spielman) what a warrior........
Pyrite Gal Posted February 16, 2007 Posted February 16, 2007 I think it is probably reasonable to differentiate FA signings in the pre-salary cap era to the current order under the CBA where the NFL and NFLPA are now partners rather than combatants (particularly since with the players being guaranteed the vast majority of the entire gross receipts they arguably are the senior partner now in this deal). However, if we are just looking at whether an FA can excel in his new digs or is he likely to disappoint, i think that in addition to our prime signing of FA Bryce Paup, we also profited alot from the pick-up of James Lofton. Andre was clearly the #1, but Lofton's presence really made Reed a more effective player because of his speed threat and his acquisition paid off for us bigtime. Also, as I was thinking about this, was Desmond Howard acquired as an FA or by trade when he won the SB MVP. Either way getting this role player really paid off bigtime. I assume the question of whether their are cases of FAs paying off was asked to see whether their was a case to be made for building a team through the draft rather than FA or trades. i think the answer is of course it depends. A good GM builds his team through any means necessary, be it any any successful team or the current SB winner. Clearly the draft was central to building this squad starting at Peyton Manning, Harrison and going to the OL. However, FA acquisitions like Vinateri (if only cause they took him away from the Pats), Polian getting some great second tier players for ST and perhaps most important for putting them over the top spending off the cap for Dungy is how this team was built. My sense is that it is simply a mistake to insist on one way that a team is built and focus on only one method of player acquisition, when the reality is that you build a good team by doing whatever is necessary and end up using multiple methods.
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