NFL Free Agency

The NFL season officially began when teams were able to sign free agents and whatnot and with it came one of the most overrated parts of the offseason, right up there behind Pro Days. Is there any scout who goes to a Pro Day and sees a performance that completely shakes up the draft. If teams change their draft boards based on warmups then shit put me out there catching Geno Smith's passes and i'll be rising up the draft board. Then again i doubt the good scouts let pro days change their opinions on players considering they have 3 to 4 years of GAME TAPE on these guys. So when Todd McShay says bullshit like Jamarcus Russell and Blaine Gabbert wowed scouts at their pro days just remember how their careers have turned out.

But i digress this post is meant to show who i think helped themselves out with free agency and which teams hurt themselves. I am in the school of thought that the good teams build through the draft and complement any missing pieces with free agency. For example, New Orleans back in 06 had all the pieces in place on offense except for a competent quarterback and ended up taking a risk in Drew Brees who had his shoulder torn off the season before and he rewarded the city with a championship. If you are a shitty team and have a bunch of holes to fill then in no way should you be trying for a quick turnaround through free agency. You are just asking for mediocrity when doing so. The most publicized example was Dan Snyder throwing money at the biggest names on the market every offseason. Let's just run down the list off the top of my head:Albert Haynesworth, Brandon Lloyd, Santana Moss, Lavernous (idk how to spell his name) Coles, the great Adam Archuleta, Fred Smoot, end of their career Deion and Bruce Smith and the list goes on. Meanwhile look at the foundation of their team who are the reigning NFC East champs: Bob Griffin, Alfred Morris, Trent Williams, Alfred Morris, Ryan Kerrigan, and Brian Orakpo, RIP Sean Taylor. All drafted guys. Shit look at the last Super Bowl rosters. The 49ers drafted Kaepernick, Gore, Staley, Iupati, Anthony Davis, Boone was an undrafted free agent, Vernon Davis, Crabtree, Willis, Bowman, Ray McDonald, Aldom Smith, Dashon Goldson, Bruce Miller, Tarrell Brown, Isaac Sopoaga. That's more than two-thirds of their starting lineup that was drafted. The only big money free agent they have on the team was Justin Smith. Everyone else they found because they were cast off from their old team or got them on a real cheap salary. Because they don't go after big money free agents, the organization is able to extend the core guys like Vernon, Willis, Bowman, etc. I'm not going to list the Ravens like that but the stars were Joe Flacco, Ed Reed, Ray Lewis, Ray Rice. Anquan Boldin was brought it to give them another weapon because that is what the offense had lacked for a long time. Boldin was a perfect example of a free agent signing used to complement the team. There are two different types of free agents. The first group is the headliners. These are the guys that are supposed to put a team over the hump and get the big money to do so. Rebuilding teams should not go after these guys because all it does is just prevent them from resigning a promising young core they may have coming up. The second group is the majority of free agents. They are the guys that fill out a team or are brought in to create competition. These guys aren't studs but they will either provide some stability with good play for a while or will be a plug until the team develops a guy they drafted.

Now to the recent free agency. You guys already know i'm going to start off with the niners so here we go. As much as i would have loved to see Dashon Goldson stay the reality is that they just could not afford him. They value other players too much and are going to have to give extension to Kaepernick, Aldon Smith, and possibly Crabtree soon so its understandable why they let him go. Another one i was disappointed in was Delanie Walker leaving because i feel he was big time for us despite having trouble holding on to the ball when wide open. He gave the offense so much versatility with his skill set and when he was on the field it did not give away whether the team would pass or run because he was equally as good running routes as he was a lead blocker. But he wanted a chance to start and Tennessee paid the man so good luck to D-Lay. So the only starter they had to replace really is Goldson and i'm assuming they draft someone and have competition because they are not paying CJ Spillman $2 mil a year to exclusively play special teams. I like Spillman because i think he will bring an attitude to the secondary but i do not know how his coverage skills are. They lost Sopoaga and Freaky Jean but did re-sign Ian Williams, signed Glenn Dorsey and are getting Demarcus Dobbs back from injury. Plus they have 14 draft picks and the needs for them are to find depth. They need depth along the d-line, secondary, and a linebacker or two because i feel Larry Grant is going to want a chance to start somewhere. Just please don't panic and sign Craig Dahl because that dude sucks.

Now on to the smug pricks up north led by sleazeball Slick Pete Carrol. Can't lie the Percy harvin trade was great (i forgot to mention but shout out to Anquan Boldin). He is a slot machine who always kills the niners and they signed him to a big ass extension. They also signed a bunch of dudes to short term deals like Cliff Avril and Michael Bennett to add to an already stacked defense. So it looks like they are copying the niners recipe for their recent success but what else do you expect. I can't wait for Dick Sherman to get his pompous ass thrown to the turf by Crabtree and Boldin this year. Dude has a lot of nerve to talk so much shit. He had one good year. A good year that ended in him getting burned by Roddy White yet he talks as if he is the greatest thing walking earth. I hate skip bayless but when his arrogant ass said he is better at life than him that shit pissed me off. This motherfucker said he is better at life because he made the all pro team in his second year. So let me get this straight, if that is the guy's barometer for success i am sure he would have no problem saying that statement to an Iraqi war veteran coming home to his family. That would mean he is better at life than a 22 year old single mother of two who is able to provide for her children. Is he better at life than a community activist who risks his or her life showing the youth there is more to life than gangbanging simply because Dick Sherman is recognized for his work. Get the fuck outta here with that shit. And his ignorant ass went to Stanford? His ego is almost as big as his nostrils.

Well the point of spotlighting those two teams were that the rich were getting richer. They filled holes on their already stacked rosters while not cash strapping themselves and being able to potentially keep their core. More teams who supplemented themselves were the Broncos signing Wes Welker and the Pats getting Danny Amendola. He is going to thrive in that system if he can stay healthy.

Now on to the team that failed at free agency. The Cleveland Browns, what are you guys doing? Paul Kruger, really? This is the dude that is going to turn around your franchise. I don't have the number but i know they gave him a good amount of change. No wonder the Browns have sucked ever since they came back into the league. The Miami Dolphins fell for Mike Wallace's trap. This delusional motherfucker said he wanted Larry Fitzgerald money HAHAHAHAHAHA. Not only did Fitzgerald consistently post great numbers prior to his extension but he had one the greatest postseason stretches for a wide receiver ever so yeah he is big time. What can Mike Wallace do? run really fast. That is worth $65 million. Shit Darius Heyward-Bey is still on the market and they could have gotten him for a fraction of what they gave the 60 minutes reporter. Shit who else will Tannenhill throw to, Brian Hartline, c'mon dude. Shit they might have to make Matt Moore QB and move tannenhill to wideout to give them more of a threat.

There aren't many teams right now who really have a complete team and only need a couple pieces here and there. The niners and seahwaks obviously. Then you got the Falcons, and they got a huge boost with Tony Gonzalez coming back, the Broncos will be good, the pats, i can't sleep on the Giants, the Packers need to develop dudes on defense to become formidable again. I thought the Texans were pretty quiet, they let Conor Barwin walk so idk. Watch out for the Chiefs because they were making some smooth moves too and they already had a good collection of talent there before Andy Reid. I'll give it another look after the draft to see who is winning the offseason super bowl. peace

Stalley- That Night feat Rashad


I been listening to Stalley's Lincoln Way Nights tape a lot this past week and i am impressed with the dude. A real humble guy who spits some real lyrics over ill beats, or as he likes to call it "Intelligent Trunk Music." The guy on the hook is Rashad and Stalley said how Rashad is a producer so i'm guessing he laced the track and he did his thing on the hook. If he looks familiar he is the odd brother of Rick Ross's MMG. The thing i like about Ross is that he is putting out projects for his guys. Still waiting on Stalley's debut but Meek Mill aka the human megaphone and Wale already released their albums. Unlike other dudes *cough Jeezy* Officer Ricky actually puts his dudes on.

Action Bronson- Mr. Songwriter


Here is one of Bronsolinio's early tracks off of The Program EP and if you're a football fan but have never seen The Program, watch that shit. It's got an early Halle Berry too. Action Bronson is a funny ass dude and in an odd way is a breath of fresh air despite having a throwback style. With lines like "I got better facial hair than Tom Selleck" it's hard to not crack a smile.