The Sporting News ranks 2014 FA Fits

[TDs3nOut]

Ware, Revis among best 2014 NFL free-agent fits - NFL - Sporting News

Here are the Sporting News' picks as the top-10 free agent acquisitions this year:

1. DeMarcus Ware. Denver
2. Darrelle Revis. NE
3. DeSean Jackson. Washington
4. Aquib Talib. Denver
5. Kevin Williams. Seattle
6. LaGarrette Blount. Pittsburgh
7. Steve Smith. Baltimore
8. Antonio Cromartie. AZ
9. Jared Allen. Chicago
10. Michael Vick. NYJ

So, what do you think? Did SN get it right?

Personally, I think that the absence of TJ Ward from the list might be due to the SN not wanting to look like Denver homers.

 

[cdumler7]

Couple of them I don't agree with. Steve Smith in Baltimore doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. They already have a player like him in Torrey Smith. Would have made more sense to go after a more possession type receiver.


Jared Allen in Chicago doesn't make much sense either. They let Julius Peppers walk to then only bring in another aging pass rush veteran. I do think Allen has a bit more left in the tank but not enough to justify making such a move.


A couple I would add to the list. Jairus Byrd in New Orleans makes perfect sense. They had some of the worst safety play in the league last year so to bring in one of the best safeties in the league to an already pretty darn good defense makes them a tough group.


Verner/Johnson in Tampa Bay both fit very well in what Lovie Smith loves to do on defense. Verner is no Revis obviously but I do think he fits the system well at a fraction of the cost. Good moves by the Bucs.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Couple of them I don't agree with. Steve Smith in Baltimore doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me. They already have a player like him in Torrey Smith. Would have made more sense to go after a more possession type receiver.


Jared Allen in Chicago doesn't make much sense either. They let Julius Peppers walk to then only bring in another aging pass rush veteran. I do think Allen has a bit more left in the tank but not enough to justify making such a move.


A couple I would add to the list. Jairus Byrd in New Orleans makes perfect sense. They had some of the worst safety play in the league last year so to bring in one of the best safeties in the league to an already pretty darn good defense makes them a tough group.


Verner/Johnson in Tampa Bay both fit very well in what Lovie Smith loves to do on defense. Verner is no Revis obviously but I do think he fits the system well at a fraction of the cost. Good moves by the Bucs.

Pretty much agree with what you wrote, particularly Byrd to NO and Verner and Johnson to TB. While I understand your point about Smith being somewhat similar to Smith, I still think that he will give Baltimore a boost in its passing game. He is just that good, regardless of what type a WR he is.

 

[cdumler7]

Pretty much agree with what you wrote, particularly Byrd to NO and Verner and Johnson to TB. While I understand your point about Smith being somewhat similar to Smith, I still think that he will give Baltimore a boost in its passing game. He is just that good, regardless of what type a WR he is.

He is good and will help some. I will say though his numbers have dropped off quite a bit the last couple of years. He doesn't quite have that speed he did even 3 years ago when he was tearing up the league. I just think if Baltimore is looking to make a big push this year they needed a Boldin type receiver again. Pitta can somewhat be that from the TE position but Boldin I think is one of the biggest reasons they won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Flacco just doesn't have that go to guy that he can trust to come up big when they need that play.

 

[Money]

He is good and will help some. I will say though his numbers have dropped off quite a bit the last couple of years. He doesn't quite have that speed he did even 3 years ago when he was tearing up the league. I just think if Baltimore is looking to make a big push this year they needed a Boldin type receiver again. Pitta can somewhat be that from the TE position but Boldin I think is one of the biggest reasons they won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Flacco just doesn't have that go to guy that he can trust to come up big when they need that play.

S. Smith obviously isn't what he used to be, but he's still the ultimate competitor and will have renewed energy and enthusiasm playing for a new team. I believe he will also improve T. Smith's game immensely. Flacco missed Pitta just as much as Boldin last year. I think a healthy Pitta and S. Smith can fill the void that existed last year.

 

[Money]

It is extremely hard to argue with what Denver did this offseason. I could try, but I don't have that kind of energy right now.

 

[cdumler7]

It is extremely hard to argue with what Denver did this offseason. I could try, but I don't have that kind of energy right now.

If I were to argue any of this from the Broncos stand point I would say Ward deserves more of a recognition for fit than Talib. The Broncos did just fine with DRC starting at Corner last year and I think they would have been just about as good signing him as they are with signing Talib. Ward gives the Broncos probably the biggest jump in talent from last year at a position as he fits not only being the hard hitting safety the Broncos haven't had in years but a guy who can actually cover even the best TE's in the league which has been the Broncos Achilles Heel for years.

 

[TDs3nOut]

He is good and will help some. I will say though his numbers have dropped off quite a bit the last couple of years. He doesn't quite have that speed he did even 3 years ago when he was tearing up the league. I just think if Baltimore is looking to make a big push this year they needed a Boldin type receiver again. Pitta can somewhat be that from the TE position but Boldin I think is one of the biggest reasons they won the Super Bowl a couple of years ago. Flacco just doesn't have that go to guy that he can trust to come up big when they need that play.

No denying that. He was definitely a big loss. I wonder of Marlon Brown will improve this year. I think he showed some promise as a rookie last year. Baltimore has another big UFA WR who supposedly has a lot of potential, a guy named Jeremy Butler. Should be interesting to see what Kubiak does there.

 

[TDs3nOut]

If I were to argue any of this from the Broncos stand point I would say Ward deserves more of a recognition for fit than Talib. The Broncos did just fine with DRC starting at Corner last year and I think they would have been just about as good signing him as they are with signing Talib. Ward gives the Broncos probably the biggest jump in talent from last year at a position as he fits not only being the hard hitting safety the Broncos haven't had in years but a guy who can actually cover even the best TE's in the league which has been the Broncos Achilles Heel for years.

Totally agree. Getting Talib while losing DRC seems like a bit of a wash, other than Talib is obviously much more physical, something that understandably seems to have been an offseason priority.

 

[cdumler7]

Kubiak was a good hire for them. I do expect that alone will improve the Offense for Baltimore. I'm not saying Baltimore will be down right terrible this season. I more just don't exactly see the fit of Steve Smith. I will say him mentoring Torrey Smith is a nice bonus as one of Torrey's bigger weaknesses is he really isn't that physical so maybe Steve can wear off on him in that department.

 

[cdumler7]

Totally agree. Getting Talib while losing DRC seems like a bit of a wash, other than Talib is obviously much more physical, something that understandably seems to have been an offseason priority.

I agree the physicality side of it is why the Broncos went after him. I just think the Ward signing was the biggest of the off season. I love the Ware and Talib signing as I think they will greatly help this team this season but Ward is the guy I just can't wait to watch play. I watched his game against Gronk and people forget how great Ward was playing even before his hit on Gronk. Pretty much he matched up one on one all game and had eliminated him for the most part. The Broncos have been horrible beyond belief against TE's over the last 10-15 years so getting a guy who can solve that problem is huge.

 

[Money]

No denying that. He was definitely a big loss. I wonder of Marlon Brown will improve this year. I think he showed some promise as a rookie last year. Baltimore has another big UFA WR who supposedly has a lot of potential, a guy named Jeremy Butler. Should be interesting to see what Kubiak does there.

The Ravens have bombed on numerous high WR picks (T. Smith notwithstanding). They might be settling into a nice little habit of finding undrafted gems at the position.

 

[gowazzu02]

It is extremely hard to argue with what Denver did this offseason. I could try, but I don't have that kind of energy right now.

Denver saw what happened to them by the most physical team in the league and wants to get physical. I dont think you can become a physical team by buying a few physical fa's. But kudos to them for trying.

I dont think you can truly ever be a physical tough team with pey pey throwing the ball 40 plus times a game.


PS: Love the Ward and Talib signing, Ware is donezo though.

 

[cdumler7]

Denver saw what happened to them by the most physical team in the league and wants to get physical. I dont think you can become a physical team by buying a few physical fa's. But kudos to them for trying.

I dont think you can truly ever be a physical tough team with pey pey throwing the ball 40 plus times a game.


PS: Love the Ward and Talib signing, Ware is donezo though.

They did more than just bring in a few FA's though. They changed up the OL and how it functions plus are completely changing their blocking scheme to fit bigger more physical OL type players. They also now have a more physical RB core than last year where Moreno was a more finesse type runner/receiver they are now the ground and pound with Ball and Anderson (both around 220 lb. RB's). They also drafted physical players in Roby (probably the most physical corner in the draft) and Latimer. So they have worked to change more than just a few players on the team to add that physicality. They also changed up how they are doing their off season to bring in a very physical team in Houston to practice against. Coaches and players alike also went and met with Saban in the off season as he has always ran a more physical team in college than most to get ideas from him. So they are working to change the whole culture of how the team thinks.

Not saying everything will click year one for it but they are drafting and bringing in guys that fit that style. Always takes a couple of years to fully get it throughout the roster but year 1 of the transformation looks pretty good.

 

[gowazzu02]

They did more than just bring in a few FA's though. They changed up the OL and how it functions plus are completely changing their blocking scheme to fit bigger more physical OL type players. They also now have a more physical RB core than last year where Moreno was a more finesse type runner/receiver they are now the ground and pound with Ball and Anderson (both around 220 lb. RB's). They also drafted physical players in Roby (probably the most physical corner in the draft) and Latimer. So they have worked to change more than just a few players on the team to add that physicality. They also changed up how they are doing their off season to bring in a very physical team in Houston to practice against. Coaches and players alike also went and met with Saban in the off season as he has always ran a more physical team in college than most to get ideas from him. So they are working to change the whole culture of how the team thinks.

Not saying everything will click year one for it but they are drafting and bringing in guys that fit that style. Always takes a couple of years to fully get it throughout the roster but year 1 of the transformation looks pretty good.

I didn't do a good job of articulating my point earlier. Seattle is what they are today because of a mentality, One clear message from day one pound the rock, on offense with their battering ram of a rb. Then on D its all 11 to the ball led by the biggest best SS in the game. It took Seattle what 3 or 4 years to get to where they were last year.

I didn't mean my post as a slight toward denver. Just that when your teams mentality is to have the nfls poster boy for qbs chucking hte rock all over the place you really can't ever get that mentality.

Its like how Seattle back when holmgren got them to the superbowl, even though they did run the ball a ton, the west coast throwing type offense was always more finesse.

 

[TDs3nOut]

Seattle is what they are today because of a mentality, One clear message from day one pound the rock, on offense with their battering ram of a rb. Then on D its all 11 to the ball led by the biggest best SS in the game. It took Seattle what 3 or 4 years to get to where they were last year.

I think that is true. At the same time, Denver can get more physical, like Seattle, without becoming exactly like them. There is, after all, more than one way to play that is capable of winning a title. And Denver has actually been building its team for several years too.

 

[LPinSLC]

Golden Tate could be a huge addition to the Lions offense. Calvin Johnson has taken a beating these last few years without a viable 2nd option. I don't know that it should make this list but I figured I'd add some more talking points to this thread.

 

[HaroldSeattle]

I'm not sure Kevin Williams makes the roster to be honest. I think it was a great move to promote the always compete theme and help make the roster better however it works out.