Easy my guy. Offense needs more love, but the free agent class for offense is terrible. They should target target OT Saffold and G/C Paradis, but just because your weakness is offense doesn't mean you blow your money on lesser talent.
Leveon Bell isnt lesser talent. and if the pool in FA for offensive talent is shallow, which it is then that makes Bell even more of a priority. Im not sold on Bell one way or the other but to say we shouldnt sign him because there isnt a lot of offensive talent available is kinda retarded no?
I respect your opinion &I understand your thought process.But isn't this always the rationale? "Theres no offensive talent available and/or they wont come here". And yet..SURPRISE every other team in the league finds offensive skill talent.. Look at all the off seasons since 2000 when we had ample cap space to make a major impact... Tell me when skill was a priority & if the $ we spent was worth the massive investments? 2003- Swung for Antoine Winfield ended up w. David Barrett. Also landed Sam Garnes & Damien Robinson. There were several 1st round WR's in this draft class but b.c the team SUCKS at scouting, de-emphasizes offense & is flat out afraid to admit it..they traded for Justin Mccareins. Championship? 2008- Calvin Pace/Kris Jenkins/Damien Woody/Alan Faneca...Decent offensive talent in the draft...went w. Vernon Gholston. Championship? 2014- Signed Eric Decker BUT in a draft absolutely OOZING w. offensive playmakers Idzik listened to Bradways philosophy of drafting a WR later to fill other needs(Sound familiar?). Calvin Pryor/Shaq Evans/Jalen Saunders/Quincy Enunwa- Instead of simply taking OBJ/Cooks/Lee/Benjamin/Landry/Matthews- Championship? 2015- LOADS of cap space. New Hc. Offense in desperate need of upgrading.So of course... Old Revis/Old Cromartie/Macrus Gilchrist/Buster Skrine/James Carpenter/Traded for old Brandon marshall & old Fitzpatrick who no one else wanted-And in the draft? Yes. Another DL. Championship? 2017- Moderate cap space-Who'd we bring in? Yet another DB in Trumaine Johnson- Championship? Now let's look at the offensive players the team has actually brought in..some from above..some from other seasons not mentioned. Justin Mccareins/Derrick Blalock/ Thomas Jones/Brandon Marshall/Eric Decker/ Matt Forte/Derrick Mason/Plaxico Burress/Brett Favre/Percy Harvin/David Nelson/Ryan Fitzpatrick/Josh Mccown/Clyde Gates I'd hate to see the list of guys we could've had via trade or FA if the team actually knew what they were doing. It's abundantly clear that the team puts a premium on defensive talent & either thinks they can get by w. lesser offensive talent or they cant scout/get guys to sign here for offense. But have all these defensive moves paid off in anyway? Seriously. what have these defensive talents yielded us? Other than a flash in the pan from 09-10 absolutely NOTHING! Investing in defense is a money pit in today's NFL. The only position worth investing is..is edge. I'm all for bringing a couple of those in.But other than that? I'd rather the team hug the cap floor & suck for another year than waste precious cap space on more overrated defensive retreads. Then what? We have to wait another 3-4 years of the team piching pennies for another spending spree that twill likely have the exact same conclusion?? Let these fricking scouts do their job & influx an offense in desperate need of talent going on at least 5 years now.Enough counting on sure things & trying to build a team on paper.
In a perfect world we get him, Tate, another wideout, one of the pass rushers, trade back and get a left tackle.
You: all of that Mac: well as an organization we decided it’s always best to stick with our board so we feel very positive about quennin Williams and the returning from injury corner and 25 year old nose tackle we took in the third round.
We haven’t had a decent offensive talent since Curtis Martin. Guess who the experts compare Bell’s game to?
Not signing Bell has nothing to do with the offensive free agent class and I never suggested that. I don't want Bell because of his financial demands and because he is on the brink of slowing down.
Kurt, I too respect your opinion and you aren't wrong to feel this way. I want them to sign more defensive players in free agency because that is where the best young talent is in my opinion. I still believe they need to sign guys to repair the O-Line and our draft should heavily focus on the offensive side of the ball.
The only argument I would make is that Bell will be 27 with an injury filled past. Martin was 25 and was mostly healthy I'm pretty sure (I don't know that for certain). I know it doesn't sound like a big difference, but for RBs it has been proven over and over again that age and usage is a huge factor.
I was talking about the way they tote the rock. Besides I would not categorize Bell as having an "injury filled past" - a sprained ankle once or something? Anyway Le'Veon Bell had 0 carries last year and if you average out the last 4 years, he's got a mere 173 carries a year. That man is a fresh and hungry 26 year old
Hes been doubted due to his workload since literally college. Thought he was a baller coming out of MSU(My college team of interest) but doubted his longevity due to the tire tread. Im done doubting the guy.He was just made to take a pounding yet keep producing. You put a few safeguards in his deal to protect the team against holdouts/Off the field & pay the man. Even if somewhere down the line he isnt the threat between the tackles,hes still the utimate 3rd down back bc of his receiving & blocking proficiency.
Age really isn't the issue with Bell. The way these guys train these days the elite RB's can and do play quite well at 30+ (AP this year). Not to mention the year off so he's extremely fresh and well rested. Bell gives us a huge upgrade on O and he's still got 3 years left in his 20's where he should be at an elite level.
Would be dumb to not make the highest offer considering what other offers are realistically going to be and what we have to spend. Also just a quick reminder, you can sign Bell for big money and still have enough to go get multiple OL/pass rushers. The two aren't mutually exclusive.
Well said all around. Off the top of my head, the only teams that "worry me" - and this is without really knowing their $ situation - are the Dolphins, Bucs, and Texans. I would have included the Colts but I think Mack has proved they can roll with him going forward. Do the Chiefs have money like that?
