Free Agency Breakdown 2014

Well it sure has been quiet some time since I have written anything about football, but truthfully I did not want to get caught up in the hype of offseason madness that always gets overblown. I have been waiting for the big chips to fall before I made any sort of reaction on how each team came out.

Here are my thoughts on the winners and loser of the 2014 Free Agency thus far:

WINNERS:

Guards might not be the sexiest human beings,
but Matt Slauson and Eben Britton were a big
reason the Bears offense made a jump in 2013.

Chicago Bears: There was not a team in the NFL that did a better job of addressing their biggest needs in free agency. The Bears' offense was fantastic in 2013. They managed to keep guards Matt Slauson and Eben Britton with low level contracts for at least 2014 and signed Jay Cutler to a mega deal to keep him in Chicago for the rest of his career, hopefully.

Their defense was a total mess and they jumped right out of the gate to lock up defensive tackle Lamarr Houston, who is one of the more underrated interior linemen in the NFL. They also resigned Jay Ratliff to further strengthen that interior. Even if he is never the player he once was with the Cowboys, he is at worst a solid rotational lineman, which is still very valuable. After cutting ties with Julius Peppers to save an astronomical amount of cap space, they signed Jared Allen to replace Peppers and Willie Young to be a rotational lineman on the outside.

All in all, they kept their offense in check and they massively upgraded their biggest need in the middle of their defense. With some young linebackers hopefully making progress, these defense could take a big step forward. Look out for the Bears in 2014.

Tampa Bay Bucaneers: Alterraun Verner and Michael Johnson might not be household names for the average NFL fan, but they are young players who have yet to play their best football. Verner is undersized, but he plays bigger than he is. He was one of the best corners in football last year and his physical play matches what new coach Lovie Smith likes out of his corners. Johnson is an athletic freak at 6'7 and I am sure reminds Lovie of a young Julius Peppers. They do not make many human beings like Johnson and he should be the pass rusher that the Bucs' have sorely needed since the Jon Gruden era.


Atlanta Falcons: Last season was a total mess for the Falcons. Going into 2014, their biggest need was to rebuild the offensive and defensive lines. They came right out of the gate signing some underrated guys along the interior of both lines, highlighted by guard Jon Asamoah, run stuffing defensive end Tyson Jackson, and defensive tackle Paul Soliai, who is one of the best nose tackles in the league. They also retained Corey Peters, Jonathan Babineaux, and Osi Umenyiora along that defensive line, so they now have plenty of depth.

They still need more help along the offensive line and a young pass rusher to complement Umenyiora, but with the sixth overall pick, they will have a chance to add an elite player to an already impressive roster. With so many of their star players missing time last season, look for the Falcons to once again be one of the best teams in the NFC.

New York Jets: Say what you want about Chris Johnson and Eric Decker, but Johnson is the best running back the Jets have had since Curtis Martin and Decker is the best receiver since the Keyshawn Johnson was strutting around the Big Apple. Throw in Michael Vick and a lot of help from 12 draft picks, and you have the potential to have a legitimately dangerous offense. That is saying a lot since Jeremy Kerley and Bilal Powell carried this offense for most of the 2013 season.

The loss of Antonio Cromartie was much over blown, especially considering he was ranked as one of the worst starting cornerbacks in the NFL last season. Obviously the Cardinal are banking on him bouncing back as a number two corner in the desert, but he is a 30 year old corner who has relied on his speed for his career, so a fast decline is not unexpected. Losing out to the Giants on getting Antonio's cousin, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, might come back to bite them, but I still think the Giants overpaid for a highly inconsistent corner.


LOSERS:

Seeing Demarcus Ware skip town to make just as much money
with Peyton Manning and the Broncos has to sting Boys' nation.

Dallas Cowboys: When you have the worst pass defense in the history of the NFL, you probably do not want to let your two best defensive lineman, and possibly two best overall defensive players, walk in free agency, yet that is exactly what the Cowboys did. Adding defensive tackle Henry Melton, who could be one of the biggest steals in the free agency class, and retaining defensive end Anthony Spencer is simply not enough to ease the wounds of watching Demarcus Ware and Jason Hatcher walk out the door to greener pastures. I understand they were stuck in cap hell, but good teams simply find a way to keep their best players, especially when they have a quarterback whose biological football clock is ticking.

Philadelphia Eagles: The Eagles benefited from being in the worst division in football and made the playoffs. That does not hide the fact that this defense is borderline atrocious, and lightyears behind the offense. What did they do to address the issue? They resigned Nate Allen, a below average safety, and added safety Malcolm Jenkins and corner Nolan Carroll, who are both average starters at best.

On offense they managed to lock up left tackle Jason Peters and wide receivers Jeremy Maclin and the infamous Riley Cooper, all around solid moves. However, the let team leader Michael Vick walk in free agency and replaced him with the man who needed a color coded playbook, Mark Sanchez. Then they release their most dynamic offensive player and watch him walk to the rival Redskins. All of this seems vexing considering you have a quarterback who you know will not be able to repeat the ridiculous stats that he accrued in his first year as a starter (30 total touchdowns to four total turnovers). Nick Foles could be in for a big drop off in production without his favorite target. And don't tell me that a 30 year old Darren Sproles is going to even come close to replacing that production.

MJD could be an impact player for the Raiders, but he is more
likely to suffer another rough year behind a terrible offensive line.

Oakland Raiders: If the Raiders added the free agents the signed in 2014 in 2010, they would have done an amazing job. Unfortunately, it is in fact 2014 and the players they signed are either washed up or right on the brink of being washed up. Justin Tuck is a solid veteran presence, but his days of being a disruptive force are over. LaMarr Woodley was criticized for being out of shape last season and it says a lot about him that the Steelers cut him and did not even make an attempt to bring him back into their locker room, despite now having a glaring need at outside linebacker. Maurice Jones Drew might be their best signing, and he could fall apart at any point in time considering the insane amount of carries he has endured in Jacksonville.

Oh and did I mention that they won just four games in 2013 and let their two best players (Lamarr Houston and Jared Veldheer) walk in free agency? And their excuse was that they no longer wanted to play for the Raiders. Really? I'm glad the coach and GM have such strong negotiation skills that a few extra million dollars a year could not even entice these guys to stick around. What did I say before about the Cowboys? Good teams find a way to keep their talented players. The Raiders might be the worst in the league at that.


WAIT AND SEE:

Denver Broncos: Yea yea yea, they added DeMarcus Ware, Aqib Talib, TJ Ward, and Emmanuel Sanders. Let's break that down. They overpaid for Ware at the end of his career. They gave a huge, very long term contract to a cornerback with a lot of character concerns, who has only kept himself under control when under the Belichick rein (and those guys tend to flame out quickly on other rosters). TJ Ward is a better run defender than pass defender, which is not a great fit for a team that usually puts opponents in pass first situations in order to keep up with Peyton Manning.

They lost Eric Decker and tried to replace him with Sanders, who four inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than Decker. Say what you want about Decker, but he is a solid, sure handed outside receiver. Sanders is a undersized slot guy who has had problems with drops in Pittsburgh. Sanders is a good player, but he will not replace Decker and his best role is in the slot, which is currently manned by Wes Welker, aka the best slot receiver in the NFL.

Overall, Ward and Sanders' fit is questionable, despite their obvious abilities, and they overpaid for Ware and Talib. They added a lot of talent, but how they will all function together is a question and the cap situation they will be in a year or two from now will be an interesting one considering they have to pay Demaryius and Julius Thomas in 2015, both of whom are critical to their offense and will require top of the market contracts.

Darrelle Revis loves his lucrative one year contracts,
but his time in New England will be his best, and
possibly only, opportunity to win a championship.

New England Patriots: While many see the addition of Darrelle Revis as an improvement over Aqib Talib, I am more skeptical. Revis did not play up to his standard last season, despite being elected to the Pro Bowl. He consistently proves that he is a business man first and a football player second. The Patriots signed him to a one year deal that almost guarantees that he will not be with the team for more than one season, especially since he will use his time with Bill Belichick in order to get yet another big payday. Therefore, the Patriots better win the Super Bowl this year or else they will be scrambling to find more answers in their defensive backfield next season. Even if Brandon Browner turns his career around in New England, which is another big question mark, this could be a very suspect defense in 2015.

With a great opportunity to add playmakers to an offense that really struggled at the end of the season, they decided to keep Julian Edelman (aka a player who could only be productive with Tom Brady at quarterback), added Brandon LaFell, and watched their most productive running back, LaGarrette Blount, skip town to Pittsburgh.

At best, the talent level of this team is on par with the 2013 Patriots. At worst, they let the Broncos gain more ground on them and allowed teams like the Colts and Ravens to catch up to their talent level. They might actually have some trouble winning the division this year with a young Dolphins' team continuing to improve and having to face a Rex Ryan team that always seems to give them problems.

Washington Redskins: This Redskins' secondary was one of the worst in the NFL last season, and the front office made some nice moves to address this issue by adding Tracey Porter and Ryan Clark to their starting lineup. Porter had a strong season on a terrible Raiders team (yes another solid player the Raiders let walk out the door) and Clark adds a veteran presence at safety that the Redskins have missed since the days of Sean Taylor.

The addition of Jason Hatcher was an intriguing one, since he is 31 years old and last season was his first noteworthy season. Throw in the fact he clearly is better fit as a 4-3 defensive tackle (the position he played last season with the Cowboys) than a 3-4 defensive end (the role he will take over in Washington) and there are seemingly more questions than answers to how his Redskins' career will pan out.

DeSean Jackson was a huge addition for this team and allows fellow free agent Andre Roberts to resume his position as a slot receiver, where he probably is better suited, despite his insistence that he is a number two receiver. However, there is a reason that Jackson got jettisoned from Philadelphia, and while we may never find that out, there's a chance his problems in Philly follow his to the nation's capital. If RG3 gets himself healthy, this offense has a chance to be the most versatile in the NFL.