Walt has some great stuff day after day.
Here are a FEW of his Free Agent Signing Grades. He's hilarious at times..... link provided below.
He was not a fan of the work Matt Millen did as GM.
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Seahawks sign DE Michael Bennett (1 year, $5 million): A+ Grade
Michael Bennett and Cliff Avril were the third- and fourth-ranked
free agent defensive ends. The Seahawks got them both - for a combined $20 million over three seasons. General manager John Schneider is a genius.
I often criticize players for leaving winning teams and chasing money to go to crappy organizations. Michael Bennett did the exact opposite. Stuck in Tampa Bay for years, Bennett will appreciate Seattle's winning environment. He'll be a big pass-rushing upgrade over Red Bryant at the left end position. With Bennett, Avril and Bruce Irvin swarming opposing backfields, opposing quarterbacks will be fearful of playing Seattle in 2013.
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Falcons sign RB Steven Jackson (3 years, $12M; $4M guaranteed): A Grade
Think about this for a second: Steven Jackson is getting $4 million guaranteed to start for the Falcons. Shonn Greene received $4.5 million to be a backup for the Titans. How is that possible? There's a reason the same group of teams reach the playoffs every year, and it's the same reason the same organizations draft in the top 10 every April.
This is a great acquisition for the Falcons. Their most glaring offensive need was the running back position, and Jackson is a massive upgrade over the combination of Michael Turner and Jacquizz Rodgers. The concerns about Jackson are his age (30 in July) and workload (2,395 career carries), but even if he regresses, he'll still be much better than Turner was last season. Plus, it's not like the Falcons are devoting a ton of money to him. If Jackson sucks, they can just dump him without much of a repercussion.
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Seahawks sign DE Cliff Avril (2 years, $15 million): A Grade
Cliff Avril turned down a 3-year, $30 million deal from the Lions last spring, so he apparently was willing to take less money to go to a winner. That's obviously a good sign. Avril is a fierce pass-rusher; he has 29 sacks and nine forced fumbles in the past three seasons, so this is obviously a great deal for Seattle.
Avril has a big weakness, which is why he was the fourth-ranked player in my
NFL Free Agent Defensive End Rankings. He's a liability in run support. However, that's offset by how great of a fit he is in the Seahawks' defense. Avril is perfect for the Leo role, as Seattle needed help there in the wake of Chris Clemons' torn ACL.
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Titans sign RB Shonn Greene (3 years, $10M; $4.5M guaranteed): D Grade
The Titans needed a backup for Chris Johnson, which would explain why they signed Shonn Greene. Unfortunately, they overpaid. Just think about it this way: Reggie Bush is starting at $4 million per season, while Greene is getting $3.3 million per year to be a reserve. How in the world does that make any sense?
Greene probably deserves about half as much as Bush. He's a typical Big Ten plodder. He just runs forward and can't elude any defenders. He's also surprisingly poor in short yardage considering his size. I don't know why the Titans wouldn't just grab a reserve for Johnson in the 2013 NFL Draft.
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Lions sign RB Reggie Bush (4 years, $16 million): A- Grade
When I read that the Lions signed Reggie Bush to a 4-year deal, I assumed that they gave him tons of money. I stand corrected. This contract is very reasonable; Bush was the second-ranked free agent running back behind Steven Jackson, so getting him for just $4 million per season is a good deal.
Bush fills a big need for Detroit. The team had to find a pass-catching running back who could threaten defenses by going the distance on any play. The Lions originally had that with Jahvid Best, but his career has been derailed by concussions.
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Dolphins sign WR Mike Wallace (5 years, $65M; $30M guaranteed): C- Grade
Mike Wallace will provide the Dolphins with a speed element to their offense, which seems nice for now. What he'll also provide is inconsistency, plenty of drops and negative locker room attitude. Wallace is one of the most overrated players in the NFL, so it's no surprise that Stephen Ross (a.k.a. Daniel Snyder 2.0) overspent for him. Someone was going to do it, and Ross was the predictable sucker.
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Browns sign DE/OLB Paul Kruger (5 years, $41 million): C+ Grade
Paul Kruger was Baltimore's most dynamic pass-rusher during the team's Super Bowl run, so it's no surprise that he received this type of a contract.
With the Browns moving to a 3-4, they needed help at rush linebacker, and Kruger figures to be a big upgrade over what they had across from Jabaal Sheard. Stealing a talented player from a divisional rival is also nice. Having said that, I have some reservations about paying $41 million to a guy with only seven career starts. What if Kruger was just a flash in the pan last year?
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Colts sign OT Gosder Cherilus (5 years, $34M; $10M guaranteed): MILLEN Grade
Gosder Cherilus was solid last year, but he hasn't always played well. He's struggled for the most part ever since being chosen in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft by Matt Millen. Cherilus has just been a borderline starter overall, so it's only fitting that this gets a Millen grade.
What the hell are the Colts thinking? Don't they actually want to make sure Andrew Luck is protected? There were so many quality right tackles available like Andre Smith and Sebastian Vollmer, so why bring in Cherilus for a ton of money? It's almost like they took advice from Millen himself.
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Bears sign OT Jermon Bushrod (5 years, $36M; $17.7M guaranteed): Z- Grade
I can't take this signing seriously, so I'm not grading it seriously either. The fact that the Bears think they're actually upgrading J'Marcus Webb at left tackle by obtaining Jermon Bushrod is an absolute joke. In fact, I really don't think the front office has watched a second of Bushrod's tape.
Bushrod allowed tons of pressures every week. The reason his sack total was so low was because Drew Brees released the ball so quickly. Bushrod's sack numbers will increase exponentially as he's trying to block for Jay Cutler. That means Cutler will likely miss multiple games due to injury yet again. The Bears would be better off with Webb manning the blind-side position again. I find it so ridiculous that an NFL front office would pay so much money to a pedestrian player.
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Vikings re-sign WR Jerome Simpson (1 year, $2.1 million): MILLEN WHITE-SMOKED PAPAL KIELBASA Grade
What the hell are the Vikings doing? Why do they think that Jerome Simpson deserves anything more than the veteran minimum? Simpson is one of the most inefficient receivers in the NFL, as he drops lots of passes and runs poor routes. He also has a back issue that caused him to miss four games in 2012. He stinks, and this contract is a joke.
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Colts sign OLB Erik Walden (4 years, $17.5M; $8.6M guaranteed): MILLEN ON DEER ANTLER KIELBASA SPRAY Grade
This was the worst signing of the first day of free agency, which is saying a lot because a number of dumb moves were made.
What the hell are the Colts thinking? Erik Walden is borderline rosterable. He was so bad in Green Bay that I had numerous Packer fans e-mail me about how thrilled they were to finally be getting rid of him. Walden does absolutely nothing positive on the football field. He shouldn't have been signed for $1.75 million, let alone $17.5 million.
I have no doubt that Matt Millen kidnapped Colts' general manager Ryan Grigson, locked him in a closet, drenched both of them with deer antler kielbasa spray and then made this signing on his own. Not that there's anything wrong with any of that.
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Giants sign DT Cullen Jenkins (3 years, $8M; $3M guaranteed): A Grade
Jerry Reese is one of the league's best general managers, and this is yet another great deal he put together. Cullen Jenkins is a fine starter, so getting him for just $3 million guaranteed is a steal. Defensive tackle was a need, so New York can now look elsewhere come draft time.
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Chiefs re-sign WR Dwayne Bowe (5 years, $56M; $24M guaranteed): C+ Grade
Dwayne Bowe was one of a group of overrated
2013 NFL Free Agent Wide Receivers. Bowe has been notorious for having work-ethic issues and getting into spats with head coaches. Bowe was in shape this past season, but seldom concentrated. He was responsible for a handful of Matt Cassel's interceptions and always seemed to fumble at the worst time possible. Bowe is very talented, but completely inefficient.
That's why the Chiefs are getting yet another low grade. Keeping Bowe around for a 1-year deal under the franchise tag is one thing, but this long contract is just inviting lethargy to sink in. It won't be surprising at all if Bowe is massively underproducing because he's out of shape in Year 2 of this contract.
http://walterfootball.com/freeagents2013recap.php