I don't think anyone has a problem with the Sam Shields signing on its face...they have a problem with how TT is perfectly willing to overspend on his own guys, with mixed results, while he won't do the same to outside free agents. In the cases of Aaron Rodgers (first contract), AJ Hawk, Morgan Burnett and Sam Shields, he has paid nearly elite money to players who were clearly not at that level. He does so in the hopes they get there eventually (Rodgers worked out well), but as in the cases of Hawk and Burnett, it isn't always what winds up happening. So the question becomes, does the $3-4 million/year extra that was paid to Shields wind up paying dividends? Only time will tell.
But it makes it difficult for me to understand why Ted is so frugal on outsiders in UFA. Because obviously he can be as wrong about his own guys as he can about someone else's guys. So why not take a shot every few years or so on a guy you really like...even if you pay a little bit too much for him. He will do so for his guys...why not for others?