What if the free agent market is even worse next year?

no no no. harper will be fine in his first year, then he will schwartzed in his second.

 

Pffft... what if. What if I'm taking a shower and I slip on a bar of soap? Oh my god, I'd be killed!

 

As far as "over paying" for FAs I do think the club needs to re-evaluate what players are worth. If salaries are going up with the salary CAP everyone is going to have to pay more to get good players. We can't afford to wait around for basement players.

As far as the comment that dynasties are built through the draft that is true but with the Salary CAP the way it is remember that drafted guys are basically FAs in 3-4 years. Resigning players can be just as difficult as going out and getting a FA from another team. Successful teams are always going to have to address the availability of FAs or they will never be a dynasty. Ask the Patriots who although they have plenty of home grown talent also seem to get at least one significant FA signing every year. What FA helps with is a team can fill a significant need with a proven player who can produce from day one. Take drafting WRs just as an example. It can take a few years for even the best WRs in the draft to produce and there is always a significant probability they never will. Signing a proven vet gives you a guy who to fill that void. Again ask the Patriots who drafted a guy (Chad Jackson) they thought would help fill the void left by Givens and then later the loss of Branch. By not keeping their WRs and trying to replenish only through the draft it basically cost the Patriots a SB last year. Now their confidence in Chad Jackson is so bad (about 7th on their depth chart) they have gone out and brought in a boat load of FAs. The Patriots are the closest thing to a dynasty currently and they certainly don't have a problem mixing home grown talent with FAs.

 

A team shouldn't rely on FA. The draft takes time, and you have to go through several bust picks before you really hit on some great ones, but that's the only proven way to build a team. Kind of ironic that everyones likes to just bring in vets that are "proven", when it's also been proven the way to build a solid team is through drafting well and coaching well. Not that FAs are not needed - if a good player is available we should always consider them seriously. But a team built through FA is short lived.

Agreed about Harper - he's solid and was underutilized at Indy. Best thing about him is he does have a nose for the ball and is a gamer. Maybe not the raw talent of a Clements, but he should be successful in TN.

 

I guess I'm confused. Just because you sign a FA does that mean you can't draft players?
The main issue of building a team through the draft is if you get lucky and happen to draft a real good player, especially in the later rounds, you get a quality player cheap for 3-4 years. However, guess what. Then that guy becomes a RFA or FA what do you have to do? You have to sign him to a new contract. So what is the difference? Signing a guy you drafted to a huge contract isn't any different than signing a guy some other team drafted to a big contract is it? Obviously a team has to draft well because it isn't cost effective with the CAP to just go out and sign a whole team of FAs but when because of poor drafts or losses of players to FA (the draft picks you were building your team with who leave) it is absolutely imperative a team be successful in the FA market or they will never be very good. There is no way in the space of 3-4 years a team is going to be able to hit it big on enough draft picks to be a Super Bowl team without paying FAs from other clubs.

 

if simeon rice is a free agent we could really use him, because he is an absolute beast at DE

 

I'm not touchy at all.

I find this discussion pointless as THIS off-season has yet to finish and we did throw money at players, they didn't want to come here.

I don't see why people cannot understand something so simple.