Sean Smith get $40m for 4 from Raiders

[Scottemojo]

Peaches believes in catch and release.

 

[TeamoftheCentury]

Peaches believes in catch and release.

:lol:

 

[Hasselbeck]

Wow, Raiders are cleaning up.

49ers strike out, again.

:lol:

Said this here a month or so ago but if Baalke had tried to win free agency this year it would have broken from everything about him that makes him a decent GM, and would have been the final nail in the coffin of my 9ers fandom for right now.

Chip Kelly aside, the best way I can describe my reaction to the 9ers inaction on day 1 of FA is 'relief.'

They really only made 1 move (extending Ian Williams) and it was both a smart and financially prudent one.

If Baalke went into day 1 and gave Osemele or Jenkins 12 APY or Vernon 17 APY I would have just thrown up in my mouth and started watching hockey or something.

Luckily, a couple months ago Baalke also tipped his hand on this, saying that he was excited to have more money to work with than he's ever had before, but that he wasn't just going to spend it to spend it, and that he'd stick with the strategy he's always used (internally set a dollar amount on what every player is worth to the team and then just offer it; if others were offering more, no problem, and if others were offering less, again, no problem -- the point is to not let other people do your valuations for you. This should be familiar to Hawks fans, as JS and PC have a major streak of this approach in them too).

Dizzy from all that spin! Your team is a dumpster fire right now, and need help at multiple positions, especially DB and OL. Another season in the basement awaits!

I buy 100% what Popeye is saying. This FA class is weak. The Niners aren't contending in 2016 no matter how many FA's they sign. Them actually being passive at the start of FA is probably the best move for them.

Ditto Cleveland. There was no way Alex Mack was coming back.. there was no way Mitchell Schwartz was coming back.

Sometimes a team just has to admit they're 2-3 years away from improvement instead of being say... Miami .. and going all in with some really weird moves.

 

[kearly]

Point me to an NFL team that's ever had a dearth of talent and corrected that by "winning" the top of the FA market.

I can think of one example.

Heading into 2012, the Denver Broncos were 14-28 over their previous 42 games and had suffered through five straight non-winning seasons before signing Peyton Manning. After signing Manning, they went 50-14. Denver also made several huge moves in FA to build around their investment in Peyton, with stars like Ware, Talib, Ward and Sanders.

Of course, Denver drafted decently well and their circumstances were historically unique. They are the exception that proves the rule.

I think the idea that teams have to build champions out of the draft is a bit of a myth. Teams build champions by stretching their dollar. The draft is just one way of doing that. Signing bargains in FA, like Avril and Bennett, has helped Seattle more than all but a few of their draft picks have in the PC/JS era.

That said, bargains are not easy to spot this year. Even average players are getting huge money.

 

[12th_Bob]

Also, the Saints champ was basically a FA championship. They bought most of the pieces that put them over the top, or at least the important ones.

Let's take a moment to laugh at the Dolphins for taking Culpepper over Brees one more time.

 

[Marvin49]

Wow, Raiders are cleaning up.

49ers strike out, again.

:lol:

Said this here a month or so ago but if Baalke had tried to win free agency this year it would have broken from everything about him that makes him a decent GM, and would have been the final nail in the coffin of my 9ers fandom for right now.

Chip Kelly aside, the best way I can describe my reaction to the 9ers inaction on day 1 of FA is 'relief.'

They really only made 1 move (extending Ian Williams) and it was both a smart and financially prudent one.

If Baalke went into day 1 and gave Osemele or Jenkins 12 APY or Vernon 17 APY I would have just thrown up in my mouth and started watching hockey or something.

Luckily, a couple months ago Baalke also tipped his hand on this, saying that he was excited to have more money to work with than he's ever had before, but that he wasn't just going to spend it to spend it, and that he'd stick with the strategy he's always used (internally set a dollar amount on what every player is worth to the team and then just offer it; if others were offering more, no problem, and if others were offering less, again, no problem -- the point is to not let other people do your valuations for you. This should be familiar to Hawks fans, as JS and PC have a major streak of this approach in them too).

Dizzy from all that spin! Your team is a dumpster fire right now, and need help at multiple positions, especially DB and OL. Another season in the basement awaits!

I buy 100% what Popeye is saying. This FA class is weak. The Niners aren't contending in 2016 no matter how many FA's they sign. Them actually being passive at the start of FA is probably the best move for them.

Ditto Cleveland. There was no way Alex Mack was coming back.. there was no way Mitchell Schwartz was coming back.

Sometimes a team just has to admit they're 2-3 years away from improvement instead of being say... Miami .. and going all in with some really weird moves.

Agree 100%. I'd have really liked to see them sign Sean Smith, but outside of that I'm not too dpressed about the whole thing.

Niners are in a full tilt rebuild. They aren't a free agent or 2 from contending. Overpaying for a few positions doesn't really help them ling term because they likely won't be contending for a few years anyway.

 

[Marvin49]

Point me to an NFL team that's ever had a dearth of talent and corrected that by "winning" the top of the FA market.

I can think of one example.

Heading into 2012, the Denver Broncos were 14-28 over their previous 42 games and had suffered through five straight non-winning seasons before signing Peyton Manning. After signing Manning, they went 50-14. Denver also made several huge moves in FA to build around their investment in Peyton, with stars like Ware, Talib, Ward and Sanders.

Of course, Denver drafted decently well and their circumstances were historically unique. They are the exception that proves the rule.

I think the idea that teams have to build champions out of the draft is a bit of a myth. Teams build champions by stretching their dollar. The draft is just one way of doing that. Signing bargains in FA, like Avril and Bennett, has helped Seattle more than all but a few of their draft picks have in the PC/JS era.

That said, bargains are not easy to spot this year. Even average players are getting huge money.

...was gonna argue with you till I read the bolded. That pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

I also agree with your last paragraph. The 49ers drafted very well before Harbaugh took over, but those bargain Free Agents like Donte Whitner, Carlos Rogers, Jonathan Goodwin, and others were HUGE in making them who they were for a few years.