Weekend Roundup

by Matty I on Feb 18, 2008 12:01 AM EST in News Comment 20 comments

There really wasn't too much going on this weekend. But with the deadline to "franchise" players quickly approaching, things will liven up this week.

Until then, here's what you might have missed this weekend.

ASANTE SAMUEL TALK
ProFootballTalk posted a little blurb discussing the market for Asante Samuel. They mention an article in the Boston Herald that claims the Jets and Browns are two potential suitors for Samuel. But the guys at PFT feel that the Dolphins might also be a potential suitor for Asante:

But how about the Falcons or the Dolphins? Both teams are flush with cap space after jettisoning several high-priced veterans this past week...In Miami, V.P. of football operations Bill Parcells might be inclined to stir up the AFC East by taking a top-shelf cover corner by a team coached by one of his prize pupils and managed by the Tuna's son-in-law.

This isn't the first time there's been some talk about the Dolphins showing interest in Samuel. And where there's smoke, there is usually fire.

But one key question is what Asante is likely to cost the team he finally signs with. PFT weighed in:

In the end, Samuel is likely to give the greatest consideration to the highest bidder. But while folks keep quoting Nate Clements' eight-year, $80 million deal as the benchmark for Samuel, keep in mind that Clements' deal was only (only?) seven years and $64 million. Per the language of the contract, the eighth year will never happen.

While it's true that Clements' 8th year will never happen, his contract still paid him an average of over $9 million per year. And I still believe the team that signs Samuel will probably be paying him around $11 million per year. But wait till you hear what Champ Bailey is hoping for:

Broncos cornerback Champ Bailey hopes that Samuel shatters the nine-figure mark. "I think Asante and [Seahawks cornerback Marcus Trufant], those guys should definitely get $100 million, probably more. Every team needs premier cornerbacks in this league. They're worth it."

Yikes! $100 million? I really can't see that happening. And while I like to think the Dolphins should go after both Samuel and Marcus Trufant (assuming he doesn't get "franchised"), if it's going to cost $12-$13 million per year, I'd have to pass.

ZACH THOMAS UPDATE
In case you've missed it, the Boston Globe is reporting that Zach will be visiting with the Patriots later on today. Also, Adam Schefter is reporting that the Saints will be bringing Thomas in for a visit on Tuesday. Schefter also reports that the Cowboys, Bills, and Jets are also interested.

Now, if you ask the Palm Beach Post's Edgar Thompson, he'd tell you that he feels the Saints are Zach's best option:

But the Saints really could use Thomas, despite questions about his age and injury. New Orleans had Mark Simoneau in the middle the past two seasons. Simoneau, a free agent, averaged only 4.5 tackles in 32 games in 2006-07.

New Orleans also plays a 4-3 defense, which might better suit Thomas at this point in his career because he won't have to take on blockers as often as in a 3-4 and can flow to the ball.

Personally, of these teams to be rumored to be interested, I'd like to see him go to New Orleans. But that's simply because I wouldn't mind purchasing a Saints jersey.

As far as the Jets or Bills go, I'd have a hard time accepting that. At least with the Pats, Thomas would have a legitimate shot to win a Super Bowl. But with the Jets or Bills? Give me a break!

Meanwhile, there was an interesting tidbit in the Dallas Star-Telegram on Sunday:

The Cowboys are just taking a "look-see" at Thomas, according to the source, but they have little interest in getting into a bidding war for Thomas, who is also interested in joining the Patriots, Colts and Chargers -- and possibly a return to the Dolphins.

A possible return to the Dolphins? I'd highly doubt it, as it wouldn't really make sense for either party. But hey, you never know.

As always, thoughts below...

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Concussion

All of this talk about Zack going to this place or that place. Well did he not have a concussion last year and after having a car accident be out for the season. Having residual affects all year?

I wonder if these team's doctors are more competent than our doctors and do not see a problem. We see how Trent Green turned out after one clean hit. He is a middle linebacker, so that means a lot more hits, which means a lot more risk for more concussions.

by resman on Feb 18, 2008 7:56 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Attn People of Earth

Its spelled "Zach" Not Zack.

Also I thought he wanted to go to a contender, so why is he visting the Jets and Bills?

by Patssuck456 on Feb 18, 2008 9:25 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Zach Thomas

Sorry about the spelling :)

Not sure why he is visiting the Jets or the Bills. He would have been better off staying with the Fish.

by resman on Feb 18, 2008 7:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

NO AFC EAST

I don't care where he goes except if he lands in our division. It would be a hard pill to swallow.

Hope the Tuna isn't lost at sea!!!

by Stin on Feb 18, 2008 10:04 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Forget the pass and look at the future

Why is everybody talken abou zach now.Hes goen hes not comen back trust me hes the total oppisite type of guy that parcell likes playen middle linebacker.We got to focuse now on the future and that is what were goen to do with are draft pick also free agency in its all comen quickly and we have no time to loss.The combine is this week and free agency is next week and thats a realy big one two punch for us.Are main goes is to look out for those under the radar type of goes comen out of collage and dont waist to much money on a free agent that might end up bein a bust if he comes down to miami, And trust me we had alot of those to many to count.........

by lionel on Feb 18, 2008 12:07 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The Team

needs to think about other positions besides a $12 million dollar man. Personally, I'd like to see them spread the wealth -- go in the Safety direction first, O-line and D-line and then DRAFT a corner. They'd be cheaper and more focused on the game, trying to win a roster spot, than any of these machos transformed into a Pre-Madonna because of money. I wouldn't want the possible discord this could create in the team.
"Zach" will decide where he goes. He's from Texas -- Dallas is a winning team and there's sunshine. New Orleans should also compete next year, especially with him there AND it's close enough to Texas. He won't be the six-million dollar man anymore, and probably get a two year contract with a third option.
I'm just a fan enjoying the game's politics....

by Alpha6 on Feb 18, 2008 12:12 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Prima-donna or pre-Madonna?

Most of these guys were born way after Madonna, so I'm pretty sure you mean "prima-donna".

by lancelotlink on Feb 18, 2008 8:46 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Same thing I was thinking

I had a good chuckle over all these "Pre-Madonna" players. I mean, how would a big contract change their age?

by Offer Doll on Feb 18, 2008 9:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

he better...

go to the NFC

by YatilGinnJr on Feb 18, 2008 1:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I'm surprised the Pats are interested.

They're way too old at LB, already. Why would they want to sign another LB near the end of his career, with iffy health?

by urbino on Feb 18, 2008 4:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

let me count the reasons

he's better then what they have
he'll be cheaper then what they have
he'll stop the run - something that they don't do as well as other things
he's a great team/character guy
he'll stuff the dolphins twice a year
why didn't the dolphins offer this guy a contract??? low risk kind - if he said no - then ok, I just don't understand why they didn't ask him back at a reduced rate/role kind of offer

by W NY Fins Fan on Feb 19, 2008 12:28 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I demand a recount. :)

On 1: maybe, but not much, and only when he can play.
On 3: again, only when he's healthy enough to play.
On 4: so are all the guys they have now.
On 5: and this would be different from what they already do, how, exactly?

On 6: I dunno. Cutting him wouldn't have been my first choice, either. Maybe this is BP's "big player" bias coming to the fore, and they just didn't think they could get anything for him in a trade, given his contract.

by urbino on Feb 19, 2008 9:01 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

one I forgot and a reply or two

7) two of the guys they have may retire

on 1) when have oft injured dolphins not found the fountain of healthy living in boston? he'll likely play 6 more years in boston and gain 10 or 12 IQ points too.

4) yes but that just reinforces why they want him.
character guy with talent.

5) ok, I'll rephrase... continue the tradition of stuffing the dolphins 2x a year.

by W NY Fins Fan on Feb 20, 2008 1:38 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Matty, about Samuel, Clements, and cap numbers

People keep throwing around these numbers like 9M/yr, or 11M/yr, when talking about Samuel in FA. While those numbers are correct in terms of the total $$s of the contract divided by the length, it is misleading about what it means to a team in terms of the salary cap.

With Clements' deal, because of the bonus money spread out over the 8 yrs, the cap hit for him last year was only ~3.1M, next year it is ~6.3M, 2009 is 6.4M, and 2010 is 8.9M (increasing about 1.5M/yr after that). If the Niners cut him, they have to accelerate the unpaid prorated bonus money into that years cap number, so teams usually find a way to restructure at that point, but you can see that cap-wise, even a large deal like this doesn't need to break the budget.

I am pointing this out because whatever deal Samuel ends up with, it will not count against a team's cap for 11M per year. More likely it will be similarly structured to Clements', and be "cap-friendly" for 3 or 4 yrs minimum.

When you start to think about these FAs in terms of actual cap money, we have a TON of room to sign several big potential, young guys to contracts that will keep them around for years to come, without mortgaging the future, and still sign our draft picks.

There is no reason not to start hand picking guys now, that can be the cornerstones of the team for several years. It is overused rhetoric that people keep repeating, when they say "we are rebuilding so we should not spend big in FA"; or the same, old, tired mantra "if we were a playoff team that was only 1 or 2 pieces away from a SB run, then we could sign a marquee player, but it doesn't make sense to do it now".

Now that being said, I still don't believe in spending 90M on Samuel! But I certainly think we should make a run at some top notch young talent at several positons, including CB, LB, WR and both lines, and the money alone should not be the #1 deciding factor. I would love to see a 7yr, 8 or 9M/yr deal with Trufant that only costs us 4-5M/yr against the cap in the first 4 yrs.

A solid FA showing, plus guys from last year's draft developing, plus another good draft this year, puts us in pretty good shape in 2009!

If we leave money on the table this year, I am going to be disappointed.

by LeftCoastFinFan on Feb 18, 2008 5:55 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Thank You LeftCoastFinFan

You put it so I can understand. Now, I'm not only enlightened, but quite excited by the prospects.

I pray the Dolphins do well.

Btw, what a great article by Peter King in his MMQB piece. Now, I hope the Dolphins don't trade out and get this Defensive Lineman named Chris Long..........

by Alpha6 on Feb 18, 2008 6:40 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Ya, these contract $s are confusing, huh?

I had to spend some time looking at the contracts with a calculator and pen and paper to figure it out. :)
But there is a lot of "creative financing" teams can do to pay big bucks and still reduce the cap hit.
I am very excited as well, to see what Bill & Co. do in FA.

I also looked at the depth in the draft of several positions of need (one of the benefits of being such a bad team is that you have many ways to go in the draft), and we can pick up solid (I mean SOLID) talent at OT, WR, DE, TE, and probably QB in the second half of the 1st round, and the top of the 2nd. So I would still like to see us work something out with Dallas for their 2 number twos, and maybe a player like Newman or Witten, for our 1st and JT?

The biggest drop off in talent in this draft seems to be at DT. After Dorsey and Ellis, there doesn't seem to be a lot of clear choices.

But either way, with the 1st and 32nd pick (because of the NE forfeit), we are going to be able to get some impact players at need positions. There is good depth through the second round as well, and the Dolphins also have the 57th and 64th. I am very excited about this year's draft!!

by LeftCoastFinFan on Feb 18, 2008 7:45 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs