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Cheesehead
Good points ThxJackVainisi. The problems with this year's defense are several. Lack of personnel is one; poor fundamentals and poor execution are the others.
My take is this: Regarding our own FA's, signing Finley and Wells (I believe we already signed Bush) would be beneficial as long as they don't cost that much. I think we should be able to sign Finley to a reasonable multi-year contract. Wells is 31 years old and signing him to a 2-3 year contract is all I would recommend. If his price-tag gets too high because he's a pro-bowl center, it would hurt for us to lose him. It means we would probably have to reserve a high draft pick to get us a center. Konz would be great but he will probably be gone by pick #28 and we need that pick to upgrade our defense anyway.
I don't see any other FAs that really need to be kept. I still am hoping and praying we can get something decent on a sign-and-trade for Flynn. Even a high second-round pick would be very welcome. If we can get 3 picks in the 1st two rounds I don't think we need to resort to a high-profile FA but can instead search around from the diamond in the rough.
Everyone's focusing on DLs and OLBs, but the best of those will probably be gone by the time #28 comes around. I'm still thinking that Mark Barron would be a great addition to this defense at safety, but apparently his stock has been rising. He was projected as a late 1st rounder, but now he's trending more toward the middle. He is everything we didnt' have last year: plays very physical at 6'2" 215, great tackler, can defend the tall WRs, good instincts and has experience with a complex defensive scheme and he has big play potential.
And if Nick Collins isn't coming back I'd almost say that he's a must, and if he is, imagine those two at safety....
We can always get a OLB/DL in the second round. Guys like Crick, Curry and Branch are projected as 2nd rounders.
My take is this: Regarding our own FA's, signing Finley and Wells (I believe we already signed Bush) would be beneficial as long as they don't cost that much. I think we should be able to sign Finley to a reasonable multi-year contract. Wells is 31 years old and signing him to a 2-3 year contract is all I would recommend. If his price-tag gets too high because he's a pro-bowl center, it would hurt for us to lose him. It means we would probably have to reserve a high draft pick to get us a center. Konz would be great but he will probably be gone by pick #28 and we need that pick to upgrade our defense anyway.
I don't see any other FAs that really need to be kept. I still am hoping and praying we can get something decent on a sign-and-trade for Flynn. Even a high second-round pick would be very welcome. If we can get 3 picks in the 1st two rounds I don't think we need to resort to a high-profile FA but can instead search around from the diamond in the rough.
Everyone's focusing on DLs and OLBs, but the best of those will probably be gone by the time #28 comes around. I'm still thinking that Mark Barron would be a great addition to this defense at safety, but apparently his stock has been rising. He was projected as a late 1st rounder, but now he's trending more toward the middle. He is everything we didnt' have last year: plays very physical at 6'2" 215, great tackler, can defend the tall WRs, good instincts and has experience with a complex defensive scheme and he has big play potential.
And if Nick Collins isn't coming back I'd almost say that he's a must, and if he is, imagine those two at safety....
We can always get a OLB/DL in the second round. Guys like Crick, Curry and Branch are projected as 2nd rounders.