Grading the Offseason Moves: NFC

A note from the Doc: Its important to keep free agency in perspective. This isn’t the NBA or MLB. Only two free agency signings in history have made a significant contribution to a Superbowl: Reggie White and Drew Brees. This year there were only two signings that mattered... and they were both with the same team!

NFC North
Bears: Sign Chris Spencer, Marion Barber, Amobi Okoye, Vernon Gholston, Roy Williams
TJ: The Bears brought in the decent but oft-injured Chris Spencer to replace locker-room leader and Pro-bowler Olin Kreutz at center. With no offseason to learn the complex O-line system (the center often reads the D and makes line adjustments), this could wind up being a bad idea. I have a soft spot for Barber, because he carried my fantasy teams for years, and he should make a good backup and change-of-pace back here. Gholston and Okoye are young near-busts that might be hungry to turn around their careers, so I like those signings. Grade: B

DP: Another team that reminds me of the Colts- picking up some low cost ‘names’ from the scrap heap because of poor drafting. Barber and Williams are ‘has beens’ and Okoye and Gholston are ‘never weres’. Only 5 draft picks, one of which is a QB, so they may add 2 or 3 players there. The Bears are thin and I think they slip back a little in a tough division. Grade: C

Packers: Re-sign A.J. Hawk, John Kuhn, James Jones
TJ: The Pack didn’t pursue any major free agents. They’re defending champs with a bunch of guys returning from injury, so I guess they feel like they should be even stronger this year. Who am I to argue? Grade: B

DP: The Pack are set up for a repeat. Young, deep and no experienced. Plus 10 draft picks! A few of those will pan out. Grade: B.

Vikings: Acquire Donovan McNabb

TJ: Any time a 6-10 team can replace an aging over-paid QB with another aging over-paid QB and otherwise stand pat during a huge free-agent bonanza, they gotta do it, right? This team blew their chance two years ago, and should just close-up shop and move to LA. Grade: D-

DP: The Juice is not feeling the Viking love. I gotta agree that the McNabb trade remains me of the aging starlet who slaps on the make up and wears a low cut dress to try to prove she is still relevant. They would probably be best suited to just hit rock bottom and try and rebuild around Christian Ponder. That being said, I think that McNabb is a serviceable QB and the real problem in Washington was the Shanahans. He will probably keep them in the play-off race until November, but who cares about that? Grade: D

Lions: Sign Stephen Tulloch, Roy Williams, Mike Bell
TJ: Tulloch is an outstanding inside linebacker, and they got him for 1 year and $3 million, a steal. If they could have kept their young D-line healthy, they might have had a truly scary defense. As it is, they’ll still put some fear into inept offenses like the Vikings and Bears. Bell has shown flashes in Denver and should be a decent backup. I wish they had tried to shore-up the O-line a bit, though. Grade: B

DP: Could have used help on the O-line and CB, but I will reward them for relying on the draft and not wasting money by over spending in free agency. Grade: C

NFC South
Panthers: Re-sign DeAngelo Williams, Charles Johnson, acquire Greg Olsen, sign Jeremy Shockey
TJ: Look, the Panthers could have signed 1988 Joe Montana for $20 bucks and the DeAngelo Williams deal would still drop them to a D-. They gave him a 5 year $43 million deal, $21million guaranteed (when he can’t stay healthy), and they have another excellent RB in Stewart, but no QB, O-line, or defense. Just screwed their cap space for their rookie head coach’s first (and probably last) few seasons. At least they picked up two tight ends as security blankets for whatever sucker throws the ball for them this year. Grade: D-

DP: I think their strategy was to sign Charles Johnson to a ridiculous deal that would force all of the other DE’s hold out for new contracts, otherwise nothing here makes sense. Grade: D

Falcons: Re-sign Tyson Clabo, Justin Blalock, Jason Snelling, sign Ray Edwards
TJ: The Falcons were intent on keeping together an excellent offensive line, but they let go of Harvey Dahl, which could hurt their run game between the tackles, and overpaid Blalock. With the potential O-line problems, they really needed Snelling to spell Michael Turner, and replace him if (when?) he gets injured from carrying the ball so damn much. Ray Edwards was brought in to replace Jamaal Anderson at DE, and he should be terrific across from John Abraham. Grade: B-

DP: The Falcons have pushed all of their chips to middle of the table. Abraham and Tony Gonzalez are aging and they gave up 5 draft picks for Julio Jones! One of the Doc’s rules of thumb is that you’re never “One deep threat away”. Grade: C

Saints: Re-sign Pierre Thomas, Roman Harper, sign Olin Kreutz, Darren Sproles, Aubrayo Franklin, Fabian Washington
TJ: The one-year deal for Kreutz, a proven leader and cerebral center, is great, and should really help the line. This is mirrored on defense by a one-year deal for the excellent run-stuffing NT Franklin, solidifying the D front, but they overpaid to resign Harper at safety, especially for 4 years. Sproles should be a cheap way to fill-in for losing Reggie Bush, but a four-year deal seems silly for a 28-year-old scat back who’s never had 100 carries in a season. I guess they figured re-signing Thomas would cover most of the carries, and they could be right, but the running game ranked 28th last year, and I don’t see this as an improvement. Grade: C+

DP: Add to the Saints to the list with the Bears and Colts. Another recent Superbowl team that hasn’t drafted well and is trying to hold on for another run. No first round pick next year. Grade: C

Bucs: Re-sign Davin Joseph, Quincy Black, sign Michael Koenen
TJ: Biggest offseason signing is PUNTER Koenen for 6 years, $20 million, $6M guaranteed!!!! And they re-signed a decent guard in Joseph for 7 years, $53 million! And Black is a good linebacker, but he got 5 years, $29 million, well above his market value. The Bucs spent a ton of money, and really have nothing much to show for it. They didn’t have a 1,000-yard receiver last year, let go of Caddy Williams to put all their faith in the demonstrably unstable LeGarrette Blount at RB, and they ranked 28th in the league against the run last year but picked up no defensive linemen. This was such an epic clusterfuck, I had to go back and change some other teams’ grades from F’s to D-‘s, because they looked good by comparison. Grade: F-

DP: I love what the Bucs did. They have a solid young team and a ton of cap room. The knee-jerk reaction would have been to go out and overpay to get Josh Freeman ‘weapons’ (Gawd, I hate that term). They could have overspent on Sidney Rice and Zach Miller and not had money left in a few years to re-sign their own people. I also like taking a flier on Da’Quan Bowers with a 2nd round pick. Look for Tampa to surge past Atlanta and New Orleans in next season with the best team in the NFC South. Grade: B+

NFC East

Eagles: Sign Jason Babin, Vince Young, Nnamdi Asomugha, Cullen Jenkins, Ronnie Brown, Evan Mathis, Ryan Harris, Steve Smith
TJ: OK, these guys decided to make their run this year, and put the money on the table. Mathis and Harris bolster the O-line, and Brown adds RB depth (and, please, Please, PLEASE some “wildcat” trickery with Vick). Babin is a great signing that really improves the D-line, and Asomugha is the prize of the market and should allow the Eagles to blitz to their hearts’ content. Jenkins and Smith are borderline signings, as they’ve both been injured, but at least Smith got only a 1-year deal. Giving Jenkins 5-years may be a mistake if they don’t hoist the Lombardy trophy this year. Still, gotta admire the balls on this team. Grade: A

(On a related note: check out Bill Barnwell’s great article about DeSean Jackson and why the Eagles didn’t give in to his holdout here: http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/6847210/desean-jackson-eagles )

DP: OK, there were only 2 signings that will actually matter this year and Philly made both of them. Nnamdi Asomugha is the rare ‘Franchise talent’ that makes it to the Free Agent Market. He may be declining but he’s still a great player and will fundamentally change what the Philly D is capable of doing. The second signing that matters is Vince Young. He still has the talent of starting QB, but needs to grow up. He’s a perfect fit behind Vick in Philly as an athletic QB who can slide into that offense. The Eagles essentially got Rodgers-Cromartie and a second round pick in exchange for going from Kevin Kolb to Vince Young as their back-up. I’d say that’s the trade of the century. Grade: A

Giants: Re-sign Mathias Kiwanuka, Ahmad Bradshaw, sign David Baas

TJ: Bringing back Bradshaw was a priority, but they broke up their O-line, and overpaying for Baas won’t make up for it with a shortened offseason. Look for their rush production to drop. Kiwanuka is great when healthy, and reports suggest he’s recovered from the neck injury well, so I guess that was a big re-signing, but we’ll have to wait and see. This team didn’t have any glaring holes, but they certainly could have done more to try to keep up with division rival Philly. Grade: C

DP: The Giants had cap problems so they didn’t do much. I like Prince Amukamura as a draft pick at #19, but he broke his foot. The real problem is Osi Umenyiora. That’s the kind of thing that could derail an entire season. You’d think they could re-work his contract in a way to add incentives that would keep everyone happy, but what the hell do I know. Grade: C

Cowboys: Re-sign Doug Free, Kyle Kosier, Marcus Spears, sign Abram Elam
TJ: The ‘Boys retained two important offensive linemen in Free and Kosier, even if the price was a bit steep. Spears hasn’t been stellar, and they re-signed him to a 5-year deal, reducing motivation for an already borderline-effort player. Safety Elam is the only new signing of note, and he is far from exciting. This amounts to no gain or worse for a team that was 6-10 last season and really needed help in the secondary. They really should have been competing for a second-tier corner. Grade: D

DP: The ‘Boys, like the Redskins, are another team that likes to make big signings in Free Agency that never seem to work out. So I was pleasantly surprised to see some restraint on the part of the Jones’ Boys. A local radio guy (Brian Broaddus) made a great point that the Cowboys signed 7 players (including the ones above) for a little bit over the $60 million that Philly paid for Nnamdi Asomugha. The Cowboys have historically drafted for talent over character which means they end up with a few big stars but no depth. Lack of depth on the O-line and in the secondary killed them last year. So signing a few good players, cutting some problem guys, and adding a new D-coordinator is the smart way to go. The ‘Boys have the Stars, they just need a few ‘scrubs’ that can play. Grade: B

Redskins: Re-sign Jammal Brown, Santana Moss, Rex Grossman, acquire Tim Hightower, sign Barry Cofield, Josh Wilson, Stephen Bowen, Chris Chester
TJ: Brown is a good left tackle, but he’s always injured, and they gave him 5 years – could be boom or bust. Chester may also help shore-up that horrible offensive line, but it’s another scary 5-year deal. They gave a ton of money and 5-years to Bowen as well, and he’s had a grand total of 11 NFL starts. Then there’s Coffield: never played a 3-4 nose before, and they gave him 6-years, $36M. These are huge investment risks. Some good news: Wilson’s a good corner, and they got him cheap and for only 3 years, and they were able to re-sign Moss, who had a very good season last year, to a 3-year deal with only $6M guaranteed. Still, too many risks, too little potential. Grade: D

DP: The Redskins are officially now just pathetic. I admire the ‘Skins fans and its sad to see what Daniel Synder has done to the team. The Redskins probably have the least amount of talent in the league. They have probably two guys who could contribute to a contender (Orakpo and Trent Williams). The Rex Grossman/John Beck combination is not exactly striking fear in the hearts of Defensive Coordinators. The only hope for the Redskin fans is that they finally bottom out this year, draft Andrew Luck, and Daniel Synder hires a real GM and gets the fuck out of the way. Grade: F

NFC West
Seahawks: Re-sign Brandon Mebane, sign Tarvaris Jackson, Sidney Rice, Zach Miller, Robert Gallery
TJ: Bringing back Mebane was the only option: he’s their best defender, and they got him for market value or less. Gallery wasn’t good enough to play tackle, but he’s a sufficient guard. Jackson couldn’t succeed in a Minny offense that had an incredible running game and plenty of passing targets, he won’t succeed in Seattle. They gave Rice and Miller way too much money and 5-year deals to play with a bad QB. It’ll be a shock if they don’t flop. Grade: C-

DP: I hope the Seattle fans enjoyed their play-off win last year because it could be the last one for a while. Swapping Matt Hasselbeck for Tarvaris Jackson doesn’t qualify has getting “a QB of the future”. Never over pay for a WR in Free Agency ESPECIALLY when your QB sucks. Next they say they what to focus on running the ball, but then overpay for a pass-catching TE when their QB still sucks. I can’t tell if they are playing to win now or in future. Subsequently, I think they will do neither. Grade: D

49ers: Re-sign Alex Smith, Ray McDonald, sign Carlos Rogers, Braylon Edwards, Donte Whitner
TJ: The Edwards deal is phenomenal: 1 year, $1 million, $2 million in incentives. If they don’t get effort out of him with that deal, his career is over, and they still only lose a million bucks. Rogers and Whitner are serviceable D-backs that will improve a weak secondary to some degree, and neither contract is a killer. They overpaid McDonald, a relatively unproven D lineman, but not terribly. However, they bring back Alex Smith yet again, and for 1 year at $5 million. It’s just throwing more money into a dead situation. They really need to move on, and probably should have pursued Hasselbeck or McNabb as a short-term solution until they can find a decent young QB. Grade: B-

DP: Here is the list of Free Agent WR signings that have made a significant impact: NONE. That’s right. I can’t think of a single WR signing that made any difference at all. Terrel Owens and Randy moss were both traded and really only made a difference for one year. Keyshawn Johnson, Joey Galloway, Roy Williams were all trades and made no difference. Alvin Harper was signed from Dallas by Tampa and was a total bust. Please give me ONE WR signing that has ever mattered. As for Alex Smith, that qualifies for ‘throwing good money after bad’. I’d rather take a flyer on Vince Young or trade for Kyle Orten. Grade: C-

Rams: Sign Quintin Mikell, Mike Sims-Walker, Harvey Dahl, Justin Bannan, Jerious Norwood, Cadillac Williams
TJ: SS Mikell is getting older, and 4 years $28 million is a lot to give him, but he is definitely an upgrade to their defense. Sims-Walker’s deal is only 1 year, so it’s low risk, and gives Bradford more options. Dahl is an important pickup and will help the O-line a lot, just as Bannan will help the D-line. Norwood and Williams add cheap depth at RB. This is a team that knows the division is wide open, and is setting itself up for a solid few years of competing for a playoff spot. Grade: B+

DP: The Rams have had a few good drafts now, but there is still a dearth of veteran leadership. They were the one team that made some sense to add some solid veteran talent as long as they didn’t break the bank. These signings are all pretty reasonable. I was really hoping that Reggie Bush ended up here. He could have really done well backing up Steven Jackson given his speed on the turf. I guess Jerious Norwood is a more sensible alternative. Grade: B

Cardinals: Acquire Kevin Kolb, sign Todd Heap, Chansi Stuckey, Richard Marshall, Pork Chop Womack, Stewart Bradley
TJ: They’re putting their season in Kolb’s hands, so I guess we’ll finally see if this guy is the real deal. They brought in Heap to help him (a good 2-year, $5 million signing), but didn’t do much to replace Steve Breaston. Pork Chop is a good guard, but this team had the worst offense in the league last year, and didn’t do much to improve it. Marshall is no replacement for Rodgers-Cromartie (even if he was cheap), and Bradley is a fine linebacker, but was probably highly overrated for playing in that awesome Eagles system. Grade: C

DP: Well I blasted teams like Miami, Seattle, and San Francisco for leaving their QB situation in limbo, so I can’t criticize Arizona too much. At least they had the balls to make a decision and go for it. Grade: C