FanNation | The Republic of Sport

Community

IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA! won the Throwdown.

IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA!

Throwndowns: 198
Record: 144 - 54 - 0
Pittsburgh, Pa,
All Throwdowns

Votes

Throwndowns: 261
Record: 163 - 89 - 9
Somewhere In, IN
All Throwdowns

Votes

SIFS Round 3: Top 5 Potential NFL free agents of 2008

Bigdleech: 27=better than 36! said 01/12, 06:59 PM
First of all, lets set some ground rules. These are for all players eligable for free agency this offseason. This includes both unrestricted and restricted free agents. Also, it doesn't matter if you think they will resign with their current teams. If they have already signed an extension for their team(Bob Sanders), then they are not eligable. Finally, this is not the five best players on the market, but the ones most likely to have the biggest targets on their back due to weakness at their positions.
1st-list
2nd and 3rd-arguments
1. Randy Moss
2. Albert Haynesworth
3. Dallas Clark
4. Asante Samual
5. Alan Faneca

Good luck Irish.

IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA! said 01/12, 09:50 PM
1. Randy Moss-Broke the touchdown record, so that's pretty obvious.
2. Albert Haynesworth-Big man. Hitting QBs and stomping heads.
3. Marion Barber-Pro Bowl as a backup? That's crazy talk
4. Asante Samuel-Good cornerback. He makes big plays.
5. Dallas Clark-Touchdown machine (11). He played great when the injury bug bit the Colts.

Honorable Mention: Jared Allen, Alan Faneca, & Justin Fargas.

Bigdleech: 27=better than 36! said 01/13, 06:40 PM
Okay, so it basicly looks like this is Faneca vs. Barber. Although we have some others in different spots, I don't see it necessary to argue those.
Some people down below are saying that Barber isn't even a free agent this year. From what I understand, he is a restricted free agent, so that means that Dallas has the right to match any other teams offer. He is technically still a free agent though.

Now I think that I can guess your argument against Faneca. You will probably say that he will start his decline soon, so he may not be wanted as much. And I am sure that he will not be as good five years from now, but that won't bring his stock down much. People still need lineman, they are usually the first group of people to go in free agency. There are a lot more teams that would rather pick up a lineman than a running back in free agency. Steven Hutchinson was only a couple years younger when he signed a major contract with a new team.
Sure Barber, is a Pro Bowl running back, but he has not shown that he can carry the load by himself. He didn't even have 1000 yards this season. If a team would rather have a split-carry type of back, they just might go for Michael Turner.

IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA! said 01/14, 06:03 PM
Barber is a restricted free agent. The top says restricted or unrestricted. I think it would count.

Faneca is old. Alan Faneca is 31. That is over the hill for an offensive lineman set to take abuse. However, Barber is entering his prime. He was a backup to Julius Jones for most of this year, and he still made the Pro Bowl.

Sure, Barber hasn't shown he could carry the full load, but that doesn't mean that he is a bad back. Again, the Packers and Giants have both used 2 back systems this year. I'm sure a team like the Jets, Cardinals, Niners, Bucs, Bears, Raiders, Texans, or Colts wouldn't love to have Barber. Two back systems have been proven to work.

Faneca has been whiny for the past two years. The last thing you want is a disruption. Barber is usually quiet and doesn't cause problems. Hutchinson was entering his prime. He was 27 when he signed that contract. Faneca is 4 years older, and Roethlisberger was sacked 47 times this year. That's WAY too much. Faneca is suppose to be the anchor of that line. Well, that line sucked this year.

Bigdleech: 27=better than 36! said 01/15, 03:14 PM
Don't worry, Barber counts. I covered that in my last argument, and wasted four hundred characters in the process.
I agree that Faneca is pretty old to get a major contract, but he will have no problem getting one. Not only will he get one sooner, but it will be bigger. It is much harder to find a great lineman to hold down the line than it is to find a decent running back. Lineman always seem to be the first ones to go during free agency.
Most of the teams that you named would not go out and spend big time money on a running back. The only ones that I see going for a back this year are the Jets and the Cardinals. The Cardinals need to work on the line before they get another expensive back, because they need to build the line first. They will likely go after Faneca, because Grimm and the Whis both love him in Arizona.
The Jets should have a shot at McFadden in the draft, considering the more pressing needs of the teams in front of them. The fact that he has never done the job by himself(Maroney in Minnesota) could hurt him.
The Steelers line was not too good, but that was not because of him. It was the first year with Mahan, and the line was killed by injuries.

IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA! said 01/15, 07:02 PM
In this day and age, a back doesn't need to do it by himself. We've seen the Colts, Bears, Saints, and Pats go to their conference championships last year. The Packers, Patriots, and Giants all use two backs in certain situations, and the Chargers utilized Michael Turner and Darren Sproles last week. We've seen the teams who have one back (Pittsburgh, Indianapolis) go one and out. The 2 back system has been winning teams games.

There is no reason to invest so much in an old player. There should be no team that would throw away so much money on a player that could retire or be injured easily. We've seen Joe Thomas and Marcus McNeill dominate as a rookie. There is almost no reason to sign a big name when you could take a rookie. Tony Ugoh was playing well before he got hurt.

Report Offensive Throwdown

Comments (26)

Most Recent Comment Add Comment RSS

Hmm... is Barber really an FA?

An SI.com and CNN Digital Network Site

Search

Already a member?

SIFS Round 3: Top 5 Potential NFL free agents of 2008

Bigdleech: 27=better than 36! beat IrishR#1: USA! USA! USA! 13 to 10

Add a comment