I thought signing big names was the way to go last year, and look how that turned out, albeit they were relatively old guys. We ultimately ended up having a bunch of unproductive players, and the only glimmer of success got his quad tore the eff up.
I'd definitely go with plan B. We NEED depth, STARTING CALIBER depth especially on defense. Not some shoe ins who unexpectedly surprises us 2/3s through the season while desperately trying to scrape together a competent defense. I will not complain about whichever DBs we get because they will be an upgrade to most guys who are here right now. I will be happy.
You know what else? Put free agency to the side, BB needs to draft like his life depends on it because in the grand scheme of things he/they have been mediocre for some years. You won't NEED to be double dipping in free agency like you're some crack fiend looking to get your fix if you just draft talented guys consistently, like the goddamn Giants...
rant over
I think that it's a lot more difficult for us in the draft lately, due to the 3-4 standards that BB has had in the past. Then there's the complexity of the schemes on both sides of the ball here too.
It's possible that maybe BB has relaxed some of his standards by changing up the base looks a bit, so that may open up some additional fits here.
Just a crazy thought though, take it with a grain of salt.
FWIW--I don't know if the NYG have drafted that much better, when you consider all of the positions. We've certainly whipped them at TE's, even possibly RB's if our 2 new guys pan out. There's also the fact that there were 3 probowl draft picks (Warren, Wilfork, Seymour) on our D-line for many yrs too. QB is a big plus for us too, as they didn't even draft Manning, and their backups are not as good either. Our OL picks have been pretty damn good, so there's another position where we have drafted better than the Giants too.
As far as the DB's go, we came out of this past season with:
--a 1st rd pick in McCourty who was only the 4th NEP rookie to make the pro-bowl last yr. No one could've envisioned a sophmore slump. Even then, they utilized his skills the best they could by moving him to FS in subs
--a starting CB who led the NFL in interceptions in Arrington
--the 33rd overall pick (basically a 1st rounder) who couldn't play due to injury, but proved that he can line up and play physically due to his starting the season as our #2 CB
--a hybrid CB/S who we stole off of OAK's practice squad, who progressed enough to make some of the biggest plays of the yr in the AFCCG on consectutive back to back plays
--a sure fire SS who has emerged to one of the top 10 SS in the game. His situation was hampered due to missing 1/2 the season with injuries
With guys like Dowling, McCourty, and Moore as all providing hybrid-like skills to show the versatility that is needed in a major passing NFL, we already have a good base of DB's. Add in the NFL's leader in INT's to play the slot CB position (he did a fine job vs Victor Cruz), and Chung as SS, and you have 5 DB's right off the bat who look just fine.
Add in another draft pick, or/and a mid level FA, and the secondary is shored up significantly. Hell, if we use McCourty, Dowling, or Moore at FS, we already have a much improved secondary from last yr.
Remember that they made a lot of improvements from the 1st half of the season, and looked pretty good down the stretch in the playoffs. I don't blame the Manningham catch on poor coverage. The NYG were held to 1 TD over the first 59:01 of the game. That's not exactly bad play for a defense who will improve in the talent level significantly.
