Free Agency Begins in a Week, Whats the Plan?

eh, more of a disgruntle employee. there were questions if he was really hurt early in the year and just chose not to play.

Its clear that Byrd wants to be the highest paid safety in the league, I hope we dont fall for that trap.

Or he has earned that check and he really was hurt.

Wish list.



DEFENSE:

FS Mike Mitchell (play Thomas or Rambo at SS, Hall is backup FS if Mitchell goes down)

backup FS plans - Major Wright, , Chris Clemons, Louis Delmas


CB Alterraun Verner (start with Hall, Amerson starts if Hall plays FS),

backup CB plabns - Sam Shields, Captain Munnerlyn (who can also return kicks), Corey Graham


NT/DT - BJ Raji, Paul Soliai, Alex Carrington, Corey Peters

ILB - D'Qwell Jackson, Wesley Woodyard, Pat Angerer, Akeem Jordan,





OFFENSE:


WR - Emmannuel Sanders (will be WR2 behind Garcon)

WR/KR - Jacoby Jones (will be WR3, McCluster is likely staying in KC, they have the money)



T - GO after Eugene Monroe! The #1 tackle available and Baltimore did not tag him!

If we get him, do we move Trent to RT?



Backup plans at RT - Roger Saffold, Anthiny Collins, Breno Giacomini (was Seattle's Zone-Option RT), Zach Strief.


Guard - Jon Asamoah, Travelle Wharton, Chad Rinehart, Zane Beadles.

Why would you move the best LT to RT?

Or he has earned that check and he really was hurt.

He's a great player, im just really concerned about giving him a ton a money.

I'll never hold it against a player looking to get paid on their 2nd contract. It's the one shot to really cash in. Some players yeah, you need to be concerned about how they will play once they get that big payday (see Haynesworthless).

Is Byrd one of them? I really don't know much about the guy off the field. I can see where he's probably frustrated in Buffalo, for many reasons.

We just had a week long discussion about Rak getting a very large guarenteed contract with a lot of disagreement. One thing about Rak, he gives 110%. Byrd would demand a contract just as large. That cap room would close very quickly and we have a ton of holes to fill and no #1 draft pick.

I would give Byrd a similar deal to Eric Weddle/Eric Berry which would be a little less than 10 million a year (average). If he thinks he is worth more than that and another team wants to pay that much to him, then I would be more than happy to let him go if I was Allen.

Set your value, and do not exceed it. No need to just fall in love with Byrd and let him dictate the terms.

Agree w this. I think that $ would be about right for Byrd. I bet it gets it done.

We just had a week long discussion about Rak getting a very large guarenteed contract with a lot of disagreement. One thing about Rak, he gives 110%. Byrd would demand a contract just as large. That cap room would close very quickly and we have a ton of holes to fill and no #1 draft pick.

But Byrd doesn't just fill one hole, he would make the entire defense better. By turning the weakest link on the D into one of the strongest, at the most pivotal position, all of a sudden we're a possible top 10 D.

I truly believe that's the impact of a big rangy FS in Haslett's defense.

But Byrd doesn't just fill one hole, he would make the entire defense better. By turning the weakest link on the D into one of the strongest, at the most pivotal position, all of a sudden we're a possible top 10 D.

I truly believe that's the impact of a big rangy FS in Haslett's defense.

FS is pivotal for our defense, I agree. I dont think he just changes everything. We need a tackling ILB, something Fletch couldnt get done last year. We need Riley back. We need a SS who can tackle as well. Byrd doesnt fix those problems in the middle.

It's not like signing Byrd and Rak to long term deals is out of the question. Gotta remember the first few years of the deals would be fairly reasonable hits against the cap.

Coverage and pass rush certainly benefit each other. But for the specific defense that Haslett likes to run, even if the pass rush is great the coverage will break down regardless. Orakpo and Kerrigan both had good years, yet our defense left a lot to be desired. Sure you could get more pass rushers from the DL spot, but the way Haslett likes to get pressure is by blitzing in various forms.

Here's how a very fast FS allows Haslett to do his thing:

- the fast FS is capable of covering the gap left behind when a SS blitzes

- the fast FS is capable of covering the gap left behind on the seam route when a middle LB blitzes - the fast FS can successfully walk the line between covering the deep middle and covering the seam route, whereas a slower FS really has to choose either/or

- the fast FS lets the CBs play an off-zone the way it's meant to be played, with eyes on the QB ready to jump the route. Inevitably some of those gambles will go wrong, and the safety needs to be there to save the day.

- the fast FS just straight up reduces the risk of the long ball when a CB just gets flat burned

These are all reasons why we still miss Sean Taylor dearly. We'd be an entirely different defense.

If Haslett played a Tampa 2 then safety's not that important a position. Or if he played a conservative stop-run-first scheme like Blache always did, safety isn't as important. But to blitz and play soft-zone coverages, it's crucial.
Nice breakdown, thanks. I am not opposed to Byrd by any means. My preference is to spread the wealth among multiple players but if the end result is a better, more effective (ie. fewer points against) defense, I'm in!