The facts about the Titans in Free Agency - a 3-year look

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by Carpy, Feb 6, 2009.

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  1. Alex1939

    Alex1939 Space Invaders Champion

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    I also named three... but I've thought of someone else I'd like to bring up...

    Plaxico Burress. Would the Giants have won a superbowl without him? They struggled with his absence last season/post season.

    So there's a high profile/ high $$ FA signing that had a major impact for a recent Superbowl winning team.
     
  2. GoTitans3801

    GoTitans3801 Forward Progress!

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    I don't think it's sugarcoating to agree with the strategy that we have. It's done some very good things for us. No, we haven't won a superbowl, so we can't be satisfied, but I don't think that's cause to say that our strategy is a bad one.

    Yes, a few high profile big money free agents have been named. Some of them have been disputed, but yes, sometimes a big money signing will work out. However, it's rare. There are several high profile contracts every year that bust, and very few that are worth it. You are far more likely to overpay and not get good value out of that player. The cap has been rising, but the contracts have been rising just as fast or faster.

    The solution isn't to throw money at the problem as fast as we can, it's to stick with the system. The Washington signing was a good one, in my opinion, and it sticks to our pattern. You just aren't going to see us spend 9-11 million per year on a WR. It's not worth it for the way that we play.
     
  3. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

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    A few points are worth defining.

    1. I don't think anybody is suggesting that "the strategy is a bad one". Only that it could be better by paying the market value of what a premiere player can receive to fill the need we have. (The past few years it has been WR.)
    2. Nobody is suggesting that we abandon prudent spending- just recognize the VALUE that many poster so often call "overpaid" IS determined by the market.
    3. Our front office is not perfect or mistake free. No front office is. But it is also incorrect to suggest that our front office could not be doing things better than it is.
    4. The Super Bowl IS the ultimate goal of each player, team and franchise. Obtaining victories IS the most accurate goal of efficiency of the organization, team, and coaches. To believe otherwise would suggest that the league is a farce designed ONLY for entertainment- along the lines of pro wrestling. It is a stark, undeniable and unpleasant fact that our franchise has not won the Lombardi trophy while numerous other franchises have won one or more. That fact in and of itself, credibly warrants criticism and review.
    5. I am not aware of any poster suggesting that the FO picks up "garbage bin" players. I have referenced their style as picking up "garage sale" players. You can find alot of good things at garage sales that the owner no longer finds valuable and at a discounted price. More often than not, however, the owner has recognized the value has significantly diminished and that is why they are willing to let them go.

    I enjoy the discussion on this thread. I also feel like Alex, that too often people give the organization a pass on criticism. I believe this is a fair area of their performance for review- especially since ticket prices are so high.
     
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  4. wplatham

    wplatham U of M Class of 2012

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    But you have to remember that that market value for free agents is set according to what players are available in free agency, not by those players' values versus other players in the league. That's why I would say some of these guys get "overpaid". If an average receiver, say somebody like Stallworth a few years ago, is the top free agent receiver, he's going to get a big time contract. That doesn't mean he is worth that kind of money when you compare him to the top receivers in the league. But he will get that kind of money because he is better than the other free agents. I would call that "overpaying" because he really isn't that good, he's just better than the other free agents, yet you have to pay him like he is that good.
     
  5. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

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    I understand what you are saying but the market is the market- all factors considered. The Titans have been reticent to sign premiere FA's early and have always touted the "overpaid" argument. But just as the player's market value is determined temporally by what else is available and when they are available- THE NEEDS OF THE TEAM ARE JUST AS DYNAMIC. The Titans just don't sign premiere FA's. PERIOD. There have been plenty of instances when somebody was available that would fill a need AND we had available cap space that was later spend on garage sale depth instead.

    When the Titans win a Super Bowl with this methodology, then these arguments will be moot. Until then, it IS a valid criticism.
     
  6. Tuckfro42

    Tuckfro42 Frozen Donkey Wheel

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    Don't the Steelers use the exact same methodology as the Titans? They have just gotten the breaks that the Titans haven't.
     
  7. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

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    :spit: :biglaugh:
     
  8. Tuckfro42

    Tuckfro42 Frozen Donkey Wheel

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    Sorry, man. I guess I have forgotten about all those premium FAs the Steelers have signed. Who were they?
     
  9. Riverman

    Riverman That may be.... Tip Jar Donor

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    The ones that "gotten them the breaks the Titans haven't".

    Come on man- you know it is more than luck or "breaks".
     
  10. Soxcat

    Soxcat Pro Bowler

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    Let me get this right. Paying Wade 3 mil a year to be a permanent #3 WR and also a return guy if needed would have been stupid but using a trillion draft picks on guys that can't carry the guys jock is OK? Plus it isn't like we couldn't have signed Gage (or someone else) if we had Wade. IMO Wade was a solid player that wouldn't cost us that much and who was better value than wasting 3 or 4 draft picks hoping we might get a guy who was decent.
     
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