Forget about the Young-Bush... just for a minute - FA's this upcoming year

A couple of very nice FA players look to be on the open market this year as Free agents and U-FA's Namely - Shawn Alexander and Edgerrin James.

The obvious reasons for bringing these guys up is - Production - They are both pro-bowl caliber RB's - established, will require good deals to lock up, but both have produced the numbers to back up the money they are asking. Both teams "Colts and Seahawks" have used either a Franchise tags and/or deferred money contracts to stall a big deal, but now this upcoming year will be faced with a dilemma about how to fit either of these 2 Top notch RB's on their teams with a new money deal and resign all the players they want to keep.

Edge has this to say :http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2317349

Alexander had this to say : http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5311582?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

My thinkign is that this could be a golden opportunity for the new staff to try and strike early and give themselves a little more breathing room on draft day to go with -da Brick by picking up a marquee established back like one of these 2 and not force themselves to have to pick either Young or Bush and go with trade down to get D'Brick and some extra picks.

Plenty more to talk on the topic - but lets hear some thougths from around the horn.

U4ikrob said:

My thinkign is that this could be a golden opportunity for the new staff to try and strike early and give themselves a little more breathing room on draft day to go with -da Brick by picking up a marquee established back like one of these 2 and not force themselves to have to pick either Young or Bush and go with trade down to get D'Brick and some extra picks.

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I'm warming up to the trade down idea but I'd be a bit leery of Edge ... "it's not the years, it's the mileage" Indiana Jones ... and I wonder what it would cost to get Alexander, and I also wonder if whatever it cost couldn't be better allocated somewhere else ....

U4ikrob said:

A couple of very nice FA players look to be on the open market this year as Free agents and U-FA's Namely - Shawn Alexander and Edgerrin James.

The obvious reasons for bringing these guys up is - Production - They are both pro-bowl caliber RB's - established, will require good deals to lock up, but both have produced the numbers to back up the money they are asking. Both teams "Colts and Seahawks" have used either a Franchise tags and/or deferred money contracts to stall a big deal, but now this upcoming year will be faced with a dilemma about how to fit either of these 2 Top notch RB's on their teams with a new money deal and resign all the players they want to keep.

Edge has this to say :http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2317349

Alexander had this to say : http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5311582?CMP=OTC-K9B140813162&ATT=5

My thinkign is that this could be a golden opportunity for the new staff to try and strike early and give themselves a little more breathing room on draft day to go with -da Brick by picking up a marquee established back like one of these 2 and not force themselves to have to pick either Young or Bush and go with trade down to get D'Brick and some extra picks.

Plenty more to talk on the topic - but lets hear some thougths from around the horn.

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same objection to alexandar and edge as i have with bush...if its really the system that kubiak has that makes a good running back, we can use the money to better address the o-line. My reasons for not wanting bush are an entirely different beast, but basically...too much money, lets let the system do its thing.

Ummm.. I guess I am confused. Has Dom Davis or Morency quit the team. Why are we considering other RB's to bring in when we have 4-5 already here. RB is probably not the best position we have, but it is a good one we have. Why arent we concerned with , I dont know, maybe positions we NEED to fill.

Just heard on the 610 sports flash that Alexander, after the game last night, expressed his strong desire to stay in Seattle. It is also reported that they are about to package him a fat deal w/a possible $20 mil signing bonus.
Not thats crazy if you ask me, even if he's an MVP.

James on the other hand is young but has a lot of wear.

I won't mind if they draft Bush , but i think were good at the RB spot.

Sportsfan said:

Just heard on the 610 sports flash that Alexander, after the game last night, expressed his strong desire to stay in Seattle. It is also reported that they are about to package him a fat deal w/a possible $20 mil signing bonus.

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Not sure who's available but 20M would go a long way to plugging the OLine holes .... Good Luck in Seattle Shaun

I don't want Shaun because he's not good at catching the ball out of the backfield, and he's not that good at blocking in my opinion. With Edge, I agree with chuckcm and the "Indiana Jones" analogy. I still don't know why the Texans need a RB when they have DD, Wells, and Morency, which I consider a healthy stable of RBs.

As a Redskins fan this is what i think you guys should do.


Sign Edgerinn James to a Franchise deal and let him that you will try to make the Texans a contender as fast as you can and you know you have your franchise Quarterback right now.

Then with the first overall pick draft D'brickashawn Ferguson.
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/ot/dbrickashawferguson.html

Second Round draft pick Cedric Griffin
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/cb/cedricgriffin.html

With your third Round draft pick, pick Greg Blue.
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/s/gregblue.html

With your fourth round draft pick draft Mark Setterstrom. This guy could be a huge steal and will be perfect for your system if Kubiak is bringing the denver style running offence to the Texans
http://www.nfldraftcountdown.com/scoutingreports/og/marksetterstrom.html

Sign some average or a tiny bit below average lineman that can move well to your team.

I dont follow this team well, so i dont know. If your team seems real close together it might be a good idea to keep some starters and use them as backups so you dont ruin the chemistry between them.

WOW - Honestly im kind of astonished you guys think so little of these 2 premier Running backs. 2 guys who lead the league in rushing quite a bit in the last few years especially including Alexander who was also named MVP of the league this year.

We have a good group of running backs now on the texans??

Dom 'injury prone" Davis hasnt made one pro-bowl yet nor played one whole season without getting injured. A majority of his yards came in games where he was the primary offense yet cant take over a game nor does he have breakaway speed.
Morency - Limited reps, couldnt break the starting lineup and has been inconsistent in games played.
Wells solidified his playing thru Special teams and experience in run blocking, but has no speed or real future as an NFL RB - perhaps more suited as a FB.
Hollings - Cant even make it on the field

I'll grant the we could get bye with the stable of RB's we have and draft more lineman as some suggested here, I'm all for trading down as stated above - just felt if were trading down - Were still lacking the 1st rnd playmaker RB we still need on the Offensive side.

My point is pretty straightforward I feel - Considering Alternatives - My thought was perhaps we work a deal and get Edge or Shawn[proven playmakers] and trade down on draft day - take D'brick and some more O-line guys and a decent TE then spend cash on more O-line help. Honestly I dont see that as much different than taking Bush and trying to do the same thing honestly except with Edge or Shaun - your getting an experienced RB & Playmaker with some wear on the wheels, but both more than good enough to take it all the way and behind a good line - dominating.

Not that i care for signing either guy in our position, but i thought id comment on Edge.

The guy was left for dead after his knee surgery and has responded with a 1200 and two 1500 yard seasons rushing. His 1500 this year is special because he didnt play much the last few weeks resting for the playoffs. He is only 27 years old, and easily has 5 productive years left in him. He is an excellent blocking back, and has good hands out of the backfield. He also doesnt turn the ball over.

Anyone that belives he is damaged goods is being foolish. Whoever picks up this guy will likely be getting a steal because everyone for some crazy reason thinks his best days are behind him. He is only 27, and has shown remarkable durability since his early knee setback. Indy became the offensive power they were because of James, not the other way around. Why is it that Indy's playaction is amoungst the best in the league?

James is a stud. And if you look at his stats, he'd be well on his way to being the NFL's alltime leading rusher had not 2 season's been flushed early. He's still almost a lock for 15,000 career rushing yards.

U4ikrob said:

WOW - Honestly im kind of astonished you guys think so little of these 2 premier Running backs. 2 guys who lead the league in rushing quite a bit in the last few years especially including Alexander who was also named MVP of the league this year.

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Why does that surprise you when you yourself are leaving DD for dead?

He is a guy that has racked up 1,000 yds in his first three seasons on a horrible team. It stands to reason that if you put a good team around DD, he'll be a huge factor as well. We already have a good running back. We need to correct other issues. Getting Alexander or EG would do NOTHING if we don't improve in other areas.

Dime said:

Ummm.. I guess I am confused. Has Dom Davis or Morency quit the team. Why are we considering other RB's to bring in when we have 4-5 already here. RB is probably not the best position we have, but it is a good one we have. Why arent we concerned with , I dont know, maybe positions we NEED to fill.

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Thats what Colts fans were saying when they traded Faulk for the pick that ended up being Edge. You just never know about these things. In their case, both ended up being great options.

when does free agency start anyways? There are three players I would look at and they are CB Nate Clements from Buffalo, C LeCharles Bentley from New Orleans and OG Steve Huchinson from Seattle.

F-minus67 said:

when does free agency start anyways? There are three players I would look at and they are CB Nate Clements from Buffalo, C LeCharles Bentley from New Orleans and OG Steve Huchinson from Seattle.

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If, and IMO it's a big if, we could snag ANY of those guys, it would make the FA period of the offseason for us. In a perfect world I would like one on Defense and one for Offense. I doubt we could ever afford all three. (that and me thowing a rock and hitting the moon are equaly likely)

Ladanian Tomlinson is the best running back in the NFL and has been for three years, IMO. However, that team still had a 4 win season and hasn't made it to an AFC championship game. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and New England have three superbowl victories the past three seasons with much less at RB. I would love to have a great RB. However, in order to be successful in the NFL, many other things are as, if not more important. This team needs a lot: OL, TE, DL, ILB, CB, FS... why not attack those things. In other words, TRADE DOWN and do not spend money in free agency of a RB!!!

The Worm has already said that that we won't be very active in free agency so you might as well forget about them landing anyone of any real significance.

Fighting Blue Hen said:

The Worm has already said that that we won't be very active in free agency so you might as well forget about them landing anyone of any real significance.

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True, however, Kubes said he thought we would be more active if the cap went up. Can't remember where I read that though. My guess is that given how it seems CC wings have been really clipped, we MIGHT be more active in FA than originally thought.

The question isn't what FAs are available, but rather what FAs could, under some sort of resonabl sort of thought line, be actually possible for us to aquire that would be front line types of players. We all would like Bently, Hutchison and Clements, but I think the reality of it is that the only one of those that would reach a 50/50 level of possibility would be Bently and I'm not sure it's that good. The other two are IMO at about 10% or less likely to actually be available and then getting them an even less of a possibility.

That being said....what/who FAs would be LIKELY to come here?

"Forget about the Young-Bush..."
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snicker...

F-minus67 said:

when does free agency start anyways? There are three players I would look at and they are CB Nate Clements from Buffalo, C LeCharles Bentley from New Orleans and OG Steve Huchinson from Seattle.

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I work with Clements first cousin, and he says that Nate would love to join the Texans. Clements recently bought a townhome in Pearland.The one drawback is that he is in the prime of his career and wants a top corner contract.

Free Agency starts March 2nd. Clements and many other players are buying houses in houston due to the attractive weather, women, and no taxes. It will be interesting to see who gets free from teams. I suspect that new coach Dick Jauron wont let one of his best defenders go free though. LeCharles Bentley will likely shake free, but he wants to end up in Cleveland. Gonna be a hell of a sell to get him here, but very possible. Right now I am looking at Bentley, Teyo Johnson, and possibly a low level LB or FS like Sam Brandon or Clark Haggans.

Wish we could get Clements, that would give us one of the best CB tandems in the league, and let us turn the LBs loose on the passer a bit more...Bentley wants to head to Cleveland, and is not the prototypical center for this scheme, Hutchinson will be resigned, so no luck there. I think Sam Brandon will be resigned by the Broncos, Nick Ferguson is old and his contract should be low, and I don't see Haggans being let go by Pitt...