2005 RFA Commentary
 

Let's try to keep commentary in this thread.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Is it just me, or is this years RFA process a complete bore? None of the stud RB's have been bid on, and we've had next to no action on the players that have been bid on.

What's up guys? Was it the weekend? Is everyone just too busy? Or is everyone just sitting back and watching it unfold?

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Yeah, not much going on yet. It's still early yet. I bet things will get more exciting later this week, if not just this afternoon.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I personally have tried to be strategic in my bids, bidding close or near my max on specific guys I'm interested in and hope to pull from the tendering team.

I was hopefull on Henry but started the bidding too low. I thought he'd get raised. He was an interesting bid however, there is no guarentee he gets traded, and he very likely could be a high paid backup. For that reason alone I found him to be a very interesting player to bid on.

I'm not seeing that with too many other RFA's.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I haven't placed a single bid yet. I tend to play the early RFA process pretty close to the vest.

I intended on bumping Henry by an incremental amount over the weekend, but ended up not having a chance to get online.

I'd agree there aren't too many intriguing players on the market this time around. There is obviously loads of talent, but none remaining that have the boom/bust potential Henry held.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

yeah...me too...i'm bidding close or near my max on all of my guys also, just to let everyone know.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Has been slower than I thought but that's good for me because with all this Fighting Illini madness, I've been extremely busy at work and if they win tonight it'll only get worse...thus limiting my chances to stay up with RFA bidding this season. I'm trying my best though.

Surprised no one's been ballsy like the Insects were last season...but I guess no one wants to risk getting burnt this season either.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

It has been slow but since there really is no rush and we started over a weekend that does not seem to be a huge deal. I think it will be interesting to see how the second year of the compensatory picks plays out.

As for Henry his salary is low enough for Buffalo to keep him as a back-up (in which case I will have a nice stable of back-ups) but I think he could be traded and if he is a starter for $750 than I can't complain. If he is not starting the cap hit to cut him would not be too horrible either.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

If I had bid Henry at $1g what would you have done? Just curious where the break point on him was, because he is by far the biggest boom/bust player we had among RFA's this year.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I think it might have depended how long the bidding lasted. If it went long enough to know his status (and he was going to be a starter) I would probably have gone to about $1,500. It also would have been good to see where other RB's are selling. I am guessing with the current condition I would have matched to $1,000. After that I probably would have had to deliberate for a while and it likely I would have just taken my 3rd rounder and called it a day.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Interesting, I was gonna bid $1g but figured there'd be some activity on him, so I undercut it 25% to allow for some fun in the bidding. Bad play on my part, but it worked out great for you!

Personally, I hope the Bills do trade him, though I really think they're content to sit on him unless the right offer comes along (and LJ Shelton straight up is not it in their eyes).

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

The thing about Henry, is that even if he stays as a backup THIS year, he'll be a starter somewhere NEXT year... and to get a starting RB at under $1K, even if you have to wait, is worth it.

Personally, I gave up too soon on Lamont Jordan... could have had him for 1250 or something this year... and he's being tendered at something like 500+ over that right now.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I thought Jordan was WAY overpaid the last 2 years (when he was clearly a backup)... this year I won't comment on till the match/decline decision is made.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I don't know about others, but I wasn't paying him for being a backup last year... I was paying him for when he'd take over as the starter in NY, once 'old man Martin' broke down. Never happened... and surprise! now he gets traded, and barring the Raiders drafting a RB in the first round, becomes the starter in what looks to be a very high octane offence now that Randy's in town!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Again, I won't comment on 2005, however I will comment on the fact that when I say overpaid last year, I meant that I felt Jordan was paid too much to sit on an active roster with the hopes of getting some real use out of him a year or 2 down the road. His contract was well over 10% of the cap for a guy getting next to no playing time.

That's a big luxury to have. Had he been a DS (now TS) player I might understand, but he was paid big bucks to "develop" on your active roster when those dollars might have been more wisely spent elsewhere if you were trying to win it all the past 2 years (which I know you were).

Does that make any sense? Or am I just rambling on? ;)

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Some of us weren't paying a RB close to 3K... so we had a little "extra" money to play with! ;)

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Maybe if you DID shell out the big bucks you'd have won a championship by now! ;)

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

You're just trying to get more (any!?) nibbles on LT2... ain't gonna work with me! lol

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Nah, I already realize the market for him is slim, too many are afraid to devote the cap money on 1 player (which is understandable).

I'll hang on to him another season and go to the bowl for the 4th straight year... that'll be just fine with me!

I was just thinking of changing things up and starting anew with something different as a new challenge! I'm getting bored having the same players year after year!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Here's my translation for the league:

"I'm so bored beating you guys with the best players in the league year after year. I need a new challenge, so please take my golden boys off my team so I am forced to beat you guys with something less than the best in the NFL. Otherwise, I'll just be forced to take you all to the woodshed again."

I'd say "'dems fighting words" and "you're going down" but I really can't justify spouting that BS at this point. :bag

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

LOL, good stuff :thumbsup, about right too ;) (though Jake and Kyle have the right to hold their heads high against me).

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Condesention so becomes you, Mike.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Me? Condescending? Not intentionally! (though I think Joe once mentioned that I'm great at the "unintentional" backhanded compliment/insult smack)!

Gotta love all the divisional love going around... right Jim!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Unintentional? Likely story........

I'm surprised no one's mentioned the other boom/bust player out there. Kevan freakin Barlow. Lets see who bites on him.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Good point on Barlow... I myself don't know WTF to do with him. Westbrook is another guy.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

You know i heard today on the nfl network that the eagles were "possibly" looking into trading for henry.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Hmm, haven't heard that locally around Buffalo yet. Matt, have you heard anything in Philly?

That'd be a real clusterf*ck to both Henry and Westbrook. Total RBBC.

I wonder what Philly has to offer Buffalo in exchange. I'll keep my ears open on that. What exactly did you hear Nate?

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I probably shouldn't have said anything because of westbrook. Sorry bout that. However, I heard draft picks. This is a rumor and nothing official from the teams.
It was just kind of out of left field for me, didn't really think philly would be interested in a back since buckhalter was resigned.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Actually, I mentioned Westbrook, but this isn't really discussion on matching or not matching, or even a players value (directly).

It is somewhat out of left field though... pretty interesting.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I have not heard anything about Henry coming to Philly. I was thinking with C-Buck and Westbrook that the Birds would look at one of the bigger backs in the late second round. Of course there has been speculation that the Eagles will package some of their picks. I think the thought was to move up and grab a player in the draft but adding a player via trade would work as well.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I think last year's "youthful exurberance" in the RFA period is no more... we're all older (at least by a year) and (hopefully) a bit wiser. We're taking our time to see where RFAs sell, and then plotting out our strategy for further aquisitions. I expect this to go right up to the deadline... should be an interesting offseason!

Re: Undead's decision not to match Harrison
 

Honestly, I'm still stunned that Jeremy declined to match Marvin. I'm equally surprised the league as a whole allowed him to sell so cheap (relatively speaking). 1850 for a guy that's consistently been top 5 is a bargain IMO. Maybe Indy, we'll slow down, maybe Marv will slow down with age, maybe Stokley or Wayne will further hurt his numbers, maybe an injury will happen... I don't know, but that's an awful lot of maybes for a guy who has been extremely consistent year to year.

I understand that Chad Johnson has upside, but his upside is Harrison's downside (IMO). Add in the facts that he's $50 more than Marvin (which might have resulted in a better compensatory pick), and that a division rival would get Marvin.... shoulda been an easy decision... I just totally expected that Jake would be getting CJ.

In the end though, I'm extremely happy to land Marvin, and as you all could see in the news release, he's just as happy to be joining the leagues premier franchise! ;)

Re: Undead's decision not to match Harrison
 

Tough decision, but I could see this going either way. Marvin has a number of things working against him. The Colts had an all time season in 2004, they are most likely not going to repeat their performance, so logic dictates Marvins numbers will drop as well. Marvin age leads one to conclude that his numbers should start to decline (at some point they have to, right?). CJ on the otherhand is a commodity on the rise. I disagree that CJ's upside is Marvin's downside. I wouldn't be surprised to see at all CJ outscore Marvin if not this year, then next, and we all know this isn't a one year league.

Bottom line, if I could only have one in 2005, I'd take Marvin, but if I was looking long term, CJ isn't a bad deal IMHO.

Re: Undead's decision not to match Harrison
 

I agree longterm, but IMO neither player is worth a long term deal at those numbers. Personally I'll likely give Marvin with 1 year deal and just tag him next year.

I analyzed this from the perspective of just the 2005 season, though I do agree Brian that the longer term should also be taken into consideration, particularly with Chad.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

If Marv weren't going to a division rival, it would have been a simple decision for me. Marvin's numbers have been in decline for the last 2 seasons. He wasn't doing anything exciting for the first half of the season, until he started publicly pouting and they forced the ball to him. My gut says he continues the downward trend and his TDs won't be so inflated by Peyton going ballistic.

I also decided I should worry more about my roster than the Predators'.

Having said all that, I still came close to retaining him and letting Chad go. In hindsight, the smart play would have been to match on Chad sooner and freed the Mutts to bid up Marv. Hindsight's 20/20!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Gotta love it when I get in my opponents heads like that!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I guess when I initially heard about this, I didn't know about the CJ situation. Tough call. I'd like to say it works out for you... but you are a division rival. Then again, I can't say I hope this works out for Mike, 'cuz he's in our same division. So, with a smile on my face, I guess I can just say I hope you both regret this decision (nah!).

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Am I the only one who finds it interesting that the WR's have gotten most (if not all) of the the early action? I mean big bucks are being spent on some premeir wideouts, yet the premier RB's have been in limbo for nearly a week (with the exception of Ahman Green who has 1 bid).

Are the league priorities changing? Or is it just a bumper crop of talented wide-outs?

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I think the pool of WRs is definitely deeper than the pools of RBs. I haven't done detailed analysis of the rosters, but my guess would be if that is the case then teams are more in need of WRs, and thus they are going sooner.

I think that after the big lul after the first two week gorge fest the last two years, people have learned there's no hurry. At least I have.

2/3's into the RFA period... 10 players yet to receive a bid
 

Only 10 days of bidding remain before these players sell at the tenders:

QB Donovan McNabb (Tender = 1200)
QB Marc Bulger (Tender = 800)
QB Brian Griese (Tender = 200)

RB Tiki Barber (Tender = 2000)
RB Edgerrin James (Tender = 2000)
RB Curtis Martin (Tender = 2000)
RB Fred Taylor (Tender = 1300)
RB Chester Taylor (Tender = 300)

WR Eric Moulds (Tender = 1300)

TE Tony Gonzalez (Tender = 750)

23 of the 34 tendered RFA's have sold. 10 have changed teams thus far. 13 have stayed put. Only 1 player currently has an active bid (Maurice Morris).

You're quickly running out of bidding time as the RFA period closes April 30th.

Re: 2005 Roster App and Draft Tracker Links (View Online or Download)
 

If you're bored, I could find something new for us to debate...

Re: 2005 Roster App and Draft Tracker Links (View Online or Download)
 

Just REALLY confused by the RFA market, particularly the lack of action on the RB's, QB's and your very own TE and even WR.

Seriously what's the deal?

The UFA market for RB's is pretty weak, whereas the WR UFA market has some nice talent. Yet we've had very little action on the premier RFA RB's (Tiki - the #1 Fantasy back in 2004, Curtis Martin - the #1 rusher in the NFL in 2004 and Lamont is no longer a threat, and Edge a lock for top 10 if not top 5), and all but one of the WR's (Moulds) sold at premium prices. None of these guys can even fetch an opening bid? WHY?

Then we have the leagues 2nd best TE (Gates is #1 in my book ;)) sitting out there with no action. We have a top 5 and top 10 QB (McNabb and Bulger) with no action.

I just don't get it.

The RFA period wraps up in 10 days. Why is everyone waiting... is it because the traditionally active teams (myself, the Opihi and Insects) are tight against the cap?

Jersey has 4g to spend and some glaring holes at RB. Ragers have over 3g with similar concerns. What's the hangup?

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Things that make you go "hmmmmm???!!!???"

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I can't wait to see the UFA battles for such stud RB's as:

Artos Pinner
Brad Hoover
Dorsey Levens
Duce Staley (RBBC)
Eddie George
Emmitt Smith (Retired)
Jamal Robertson
Jerome Bettis (RBBC)
Jonathan Wells
Josh Scobey
Kevin Faulk
Marshall Faulk (2nd string)
Michael Pittman (RBBC)
Nick Goings (???)
Reuben Droughns (RBBC)
Ron Dayne
Sammy Morris
William Green

This is a HORRIBLY weak UFA RB class. I just don't get what folks are thinking!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Was too busy reading the long thread??? I'm just deciding who I should spend my money on...patience patience

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

can someone spot me 1000 cbs so I can bid on some more RFAs?

:****off
<script src="chrome://greasemonkey/content/scripts/1102161148673"></script><script src="chrome://greasemonkey/content/scripts/1102237157909"></script>

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Mike, I'm guessing you'll see a lot more action starting on Sunday... AFTER many of the aforementioned RFA Frenzy RBs get traded or stay with their same teams.

There's still a LOT of RFA time left!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Really? I had no idea Tiki was on the NFL trading block. Same goes for Curtis Martin. Wow, after losing Lamont I never expected them to consider trading CMart.

What about Fragile Fred, he's been surprisingly durable the past 2 seasons, but I guess the Jags may be ready to move him elsewhere. Sure... these guys are going to be heavily influenced by this weeks draft. How could I forget that!

The only available RFA who MIGHT be traded is Edge, and folks, I just don't see it happening.

Of Course Travis Henry could be traded, Shaun Alexander is a longshot to be moved, maybe teams are waiting on them because of that... oh wait, both of them have already SOLD.

Just a tad of sarcasm Jim, but this RFA market has been f'd up! It's gonna be fun watching the folks with no RB's bid up Bettis, Droughns, and Pittman out of desperation!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

LOL... okay... well... EDGE might be moved! LOL. I just thought the draft would be important... to see which teams pickup additional RBs... and how they might impact the starters PT. (Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humor, Mike!)

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

:D

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Jersey Toxic Waste gets the RFA movin' again! Wooohooo!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

bought friggen time!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

3785 RB Edgerrin James :bag:

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

huh?

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

I think it's a bid. Let's lock it in.

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

:****off

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

And we interrupt the first pick in the 2005 NFL draft to announce...

More RFA's just got bid on!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

At the minimum tenders... they're in play, but easy matches if they sell.

Questionable bidding there!

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

Then bid them up!!! Hahahaha...

Re: 2005 RFA Commentary
 

If I had te capspace, trust me I would, but in this weird market I have a feeleing none of em are going to get much action.

I just don't get it.