Quote:
Originally Posted by Racehorse
So, what would you propose he do? Please be specific, because we need to know where you draw the line on where reckless starts.
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I specifically wouldn’t have signed Funchess to a 1 year $10-13m contract. If I believed in him as much as VeveJones007 does then I would have even paid him a slightly higher salary this year to “buy” a team option next year. Costs a few million this year when the team obviously will have unused space and would give you another year to evaluate him before committing to him long term. If he wouldn’t bite on that I would have taken that as an indication he’s driven strictly by a huge contract and realized I’m not doing that after one good year so I’d have moved on to a different target. Of course I’d be looking for a long term solution and I don’t believe Ballard was. Ballard was looking for a temporary solution for Cain or a draft pick.
As far as the lack of other signings, meh don’t think I’ve complained to much he hasn’t signed any specific person. I’d point to the AB trade and say he was certainly worth those draft picks and that I’d take the risk of his locker room presence. I don’t think I’d have reworked his deal as much as the raiders did (not a requirement for the trade) but he was certainly under paid.
I’m more open to older vets than Ballard has seemed to be. That’s part of the circle that makes it extremely difficult to sign free agents. They have to be young and seen as under valued “diamonds in the rough” or they are stop gaps holding a spot for a rookie. Young w/ known talent are too expensive. Older with no upside left and they won’t be peaking with the team if 3 years. Or they’ll hold back a 6th round rookie from achieving. So, that severely limits the available free agents. But for me, if the team was waiting for a rookie I would have looked at signing a more veteran free agent WR last year and been fine with 2 years of production.
The same goes for several other positions. I don’t think I’ve yelled and screamed at every big name free agent that’s signed elsewhere, but I know damn well there are available players that can help the team. But you and I had the same arguments last year. I see Ballard on the exact plan I said - a 3-4 year rebuild thru the draft. The funny thing is if Ballard had signed Collins to that contract I’d be willing to bet you’d have been all for it.