Time to make lemonade out of lemons!!!

Discussion in 'Tennessee Titans and NFL Talk' started by Gut, Mar 19, 2012.

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  1. Gut

    Gut Pro Bowler

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    Well,

    Grab a snack and commence munching...

    Of course we should have gone after Peyton and Mario, but I wouldn't have offered that much for Super Mario and Peyton didn't want us. We should not have bailed on our other priorities as Peyton would not be AS expensive for us IF he chose us because we'd use some of Hasselbeck's money for him. I would NOT have signed Hutchinson who wasn't exactly blowing open holes in the run game for AP last season. I hope they didn't merely sign him to 'help' lure Peyton! But I digress...

    I came into free agency with 3 concepts. Get a pass rush, rebuild the interior OL, and rebuild/improve the secondary.

    Due to what is/was available in free agency, my top targets would be OL. Dream team would be to have signed Grubbs and Nicks at OG (both pro bowlers and only have 4-5yrs experience so they are in their prime). Then I would have signed Chris Myers off the Texans! We want our dominant run game back AND can hurt Houston's at the same time! WIN/WIN!!! And frankly, this should(would have) given us the best rushing attack too! This is important for what you'll read in a couple of minutes!

    Keep in mind, this would mean either Amano/Harris take a paycut to remain on the team as backups or they are cut. Need to save some cap space.

    Targets for DE are/were Mario (too expensive), Wimbley (figured he'd be released but I wouldn't pay him 12mil a year, would sign him for reasonable contract), would look at Mark Anderson or Ball for backup money. The most interesting idea would be to inquire about Freeney. If the Colts really are gonna run the Baltomire D, I don't think they can do it with Mathis and Freeney. They tagged Mathis and signed him and are paying Freeney a lot. Since they are kind of rebuilding, it would make sense for them to trade/release him. If they are thinking that way, I'd offer them DT Marks and a 4th for Freeney. If they are gonna cut him anyway, it's a good deal as it gives them a mid-rd pick, a solid player to fit the new D and they save a ton of cap space. Ultimately, if Freeney isn't happening and Wimbley is too pricey for his production, I'd grab Ball and Anderson for backup money.

    If we could get Freeney, we are out of cap room and need to take advantage of the situation created by Peyton Manning hysteria as well as the Redskins aquiring the 2nd pick in the draft. We need to trade Hasselbeck to the highest bidder...

    3 things will happen. First, we save the cap room necessary for the 3 OL and Freeney to be on the team, second, we aquire a good draft pick, and lastly, the Locker era begins!!! Even before the draft, our projected starters would be...

    DEs...Morgan and Freeney
    DT....Casey and best of Smith, Klug, Clayton
    LB....Ayers, McCarthy, Spoon/McRath
    CBs..McCourty, Verner, unknown
    Ss...Griffin and Babs

    OTs..Roos and Stewart
    OGs.Grubbs and Nicks
    OC..Myers
    QB..Locker
    RB..CJ3k
    FB..QJohnson
    TE..Stevens, Cook
    WR.Britt, Wash, Williams, Hawkins, Mariani

    A dominant run game would take all the pressure off of Locker, let CJ be 2k or better and the combo of Britt, Wash, Cook and CJ would be a mismatch problem for everyone considering our OL. And now we'd have a dominant pass rusher to slow down the Peyton's!

    Back to reality...
    They signed Hutchinson to replace Scott. IMO, he might be better, he might not. I do know that Amano and Harris aren't getting it done so we still have OL problems, no RDE on the roster, and lost Finny so we need at least a nickel cb.

    At this point, I'd take a hard look at Gurode at OC, hope Hutch can still help in the run game and know OG is a top priority in the draft.

    The DE thing is a big problem so I'd look really hard into aquiring Freeney anyway possible. But short of that, our choices are start Anderson/Ball type player, overpay on Wimbley and hope we have Babin like success, or take a DE in rnd 1 or 2 and hope we get a healthy Kearse! I'd take Wimbley if we can get him for 10mil or less and in a favorable contract backloaded with half his signing bonus as roster bonuses. If no Freeney and no Wimbley, expect a first rnd DE!

    Since nickel CB is basically a starter, we might wanna take one in the top half of the draft unless one of our backup CB's is up to the task!

    Lastly, I still would look to trade Hasselbeck. Many teams are dying and have chaos at the position and ultimately, it's gonna be Locker's team anyway...so strike while the Iron is hot and we could get something decent for him since other teams are desperate! Imagine if Alex Smith signs with the Fish. What will the Niners do? Cleveland is in total disarray and is thinking about drafting Tannehil to sit on the bench? Ideally I'd take the niners 2nd rnd pick or the browns or the dolphins 3rd rnd pick as the minimum.

    Here's what we might look like...assuming no Freeney.

    DE...Morgan and Wimbley (or draft pick)
    DT...Casey and Marks (or draft pick)
    LB...Ayers, McCarthy, Spoon/McRath
    CBs..McCourty, Verner, draft pick
    S....Griffin and Babs (or draft pick)

    OT...Roos and Stewart
    OG...Draft pick, Hutchinson, or Amano/Harris
    OC...Gurode
    QB...Locker
    RB...CJ
    FB...QJ
    WR..Britt, Wash, Williams, Hawkins, Mariani
    TE...Stevens, Cook

    The 5 obvious places to draft help are DE, DT (only because the class is so good), OL, CB, and S (Babs could be upgraded). Expect our first pick to be one of the first 3 and if we got a pick for Hasselbeck, we can address our 5 biggest needs in the first 4 rnds which isn't bad!

    Comments, thoughts?

    Gut
     
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  2. yanek27

    yanek27 Starter

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    Freeney is not going to happen and Wimbley is going to sign in Chicago
     
  3. yanek27

    yanek27 Starter

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    I am not putting down your post, I just commented on first glance, you make some good points and its well thought out forsure. We can only hope though, we need to do something thats forsure
     
  4. Alzarius

    Alzarius Pro Bowler Tip Jar Donor

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    Post more often imo


    I cant find the article for anything. However Ive read that freeny had 7 sacks the past 3 seasons when he is on grass. Not sure if thats coincidence, or if he isnt as effective on grass.

    Agree on the DE situation. I wouldnt mind taking a look at porter to get someone at the CB spot.
     
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  5. Thaddeus43

    Thaddeus43 Sunshiner President

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    Haha, Love it
     
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  6. Gunny

    Gunny Shoutbox Fuhrer

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    I've missed Gut's novels.
     
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  7. Brew City

    Brew City Case Race Champion

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    Good idea...but why don't we trade for Brady, Calvin Johnson and Troy Polomalu while we're at it. That is a good plan, but it's just not realisitic. No way would we sign the 2 best guards and the best center and trade for Freeney. Not trying to be a d!k.
     
  8. guitarjunkie

    guitarjunkie We're Screwed...

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    Screw the lemonade, let's get some salt & TEQUILA! :beerbang:

    Good post as always Gut!
     
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  9. Titans2004

    Titans2004 Pro Bowler

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    I'm on the trade Hasselbeck bandwagon as well. Not because I don't like him or think he isn't good. I thought he played great last yr. But Locker is our future. If you can get a high 3rd rnder for Hass now then do it. Otherwise you need to be prepared to trade him during preseason when someones starter goes down.

    We have a tough as nails schedule this yr. Making the playoffs will be very hard. 2013 is going to be the yr to make our run. Playing AFC and NFC west teams that yr.

    The best use of our cap money would be to resign McCourty, Verner, and Cook to extensions. Do it now before they command top money.

    I do think that we need to sign Wimbley. He is an explosive player who gives us flexibilty with our defensive looks.

    No way do I trade for Freeney unless he agrees to a new contract first.
     
  10. DownSouthPlayer

    DownSouthPlayer Starter

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    I'm all about making our own stars from the draft or no name FA's.

    But the problem is so many time after we make stars they leave for bigger $.

    If we could make a solid team that wins and makes the playoffs often, i think these guys we turn into stars would stay here for less money.

    We need to be a team that players want to play for.
     
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