Re: Peppers expected to sign with Bears/Dansby to the Dolphins
Read between the lines: Peppers has already been negotiating with teams. The Patriots obviously don't think he's worth the price the Bears are willing to pay. It's not like Peppers loves the Bears and refuses to listen to other offers. 31 other teams know that they could match or up the ante right now, and they are all saying no. I think this is a terrible move for the Bears, assuming the contract in the ballpark I suspect, but then again I said the Jay Cutler trade was horrible as well, and we saw how well their ultra-aggressive superstar plunge paid off with Cutler's awesome season.
Sometimes I think people forget that the Patriots do not give out enormous contracts to free agents. Adalius Thomas is one example of how that can backfire... and even that deal was considered a "favorable discount" considering the market at the time. Roosevelt Colvin broke the bank with the Pats, and while he was a key contributor, there's no way he was worth the money (injuries did not help.) It's hard to argue that Richard Seymour was worth his fat contract he signed in 06 either. For some reason because we got Randy Moss and Wes Welker, the knee jerk reaction is that we need to pay for superstars... we forget that we didn't pay a superstar price for either of them. Bottom line is, the price needs to be right.
Look at the best teams in the league. The Patriots, Colts, and Steelers. They remain competitive because they draft well. We've struggled in the draft for awhile, and it's showing. But while other teams like the Bears and Redskins try to overcompensate for poor drafting by making "big signings," I think the results speak for themselves. The front office could get lazy and throw a ton of money for a single player and make the fans happy, or they could get their hands dirty and start making some good draft picks. I was hoping we would land Peppers, but as always, it has to make sense in the big picture.
