OT: Freeney signed: 6-yrs/$72M, $30M guaranteed

[RayClay]

Way too much for a one dimensional player. This ain't Randy White or Deacon Jones we're talking about.

In other words, I love the deal.

 

[Bo0MeR]

Way too much for a one dimensional player. This ain't Randy White or Deacon Jones we're talking about.

In other words, I love the deal.

He may be "one dimensional" in some fans eyes here, but in a Colts defense where the first point of emphasis is creating pressure up front from the D Line you're not gonna find a much better player to fit into that type of sytem

 

[RayClay]

He may be "one dimensional" in some fans eyes here, but in a Colts defense where the first point of emphasis is creating pressure up front from the D Line you're not gonna find a much better player to fit into that type of sytem

He's great for that system. Maybe the best pass rush specialist in the league.

6'1" 268? He's a tweener. An undersized Defensive End. He tweaks his ankle a little, he's a nonentity.

He's not batting down passes, he's not good against the run.

30 million guaranteed? 12 Mil year? I love it.

 

[RayClay]

He may be "one dimensional" in some fans eyes here, but in a Colts defense where the first point of emphasis is creating pressure up front from the D Line you're not gonna find a much better player to fit into that type of sytem

I give the Colts all the credit in the world for their great season. Especially Peyton playing gritty football instead of arena ball.

The most amazing part was how they slapped that defense together just in time. Kudos to Dungy and Pollian.

But don't forget the Denver game, or so many others where that defense was a Marshmallow in the middle.

The Pats had a great 2001, but their weaknesses were exposed the next year.

Where are the tackles and linebackers coming from? You can't use food stamps.

An undersized DE and a shrimp safety with a big heart don't constitute a defense.

 

[fair catch fryar]

darn right--without Freeney, who do you run the ball right at?

Polian apologists like you will never admit that paying #1 money for the #8~15 defensive player in the league is bad policy.

Bingo! The true cog on their D is a safety that can defend against the run, when he's not hurt. For Polian there will come a day real soon when he needs to keep someone like Sanders and he drops his bucket in the well only to hear a loud "THUD"!:bricks: Unlike Peyton, only so many guys will keep re-structuring their contracts.

 

[Miguel]

To follow up on my response to PatsFanKen,

the Colts are not likely to spend as much cash as they did last year.

In 2006 Wayne - $15.1 million. This year 5.58 million.
In 2006 Harrison $12 million. This year $4 million.
In 2006 Simon $10.6 million. This year either $3.95 million or sero.
In 2006 Brock 10 million. This year $2.035 million.
In 2006 Mathis $8.6 million. This year $5.1 million.
In 2006 Diem $8 million. This year $3.5 million.
In 2007 Adam $4.48 million. This year $1.37 million.

That's between $43 and $47 million in total cash savings from 2006. Please note that I am not including payments made to now former Colts like Nick Harper, Gardner, Rhodes, etc. It would not surprise me at all to find out next year from USAToday that the Colts were in the bottom half in cash spending this year

It seems to me that the Colts are planning to use the LTBE move to move 2007 cap space into 2008. The Colts are under the cap by over $7 million. They do not need that much space to sign their draft picks, players 52, 53, have a 8-man practice squad, and have an injured replacement reserve.

Given that the Colts have been one of the youngest teams in the NFL for the past two years, it seems safe to say that they believe that they can coach up their young talent in time to replace older and more expensive veterans.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

According to Clayton Freeney's cap scheduled hits for 2007 and 2008 will be $5.75M. That means in the remaining 4 years of his deal there will be $60M to account for in salary and amortization. That's merely an average of $15M per year, although I'm sure Polian will find a way to reshuffle the deck chairs...because cap management/philosophy wise that is what he does. He pays whatever it takes to keep his 4-6 premier talent/core players (who change a little from time to time) in tact and he asks Dungy to coach up the rest and make do as best he can.

Manning's cap hits for 2009-2010 are currently scheduled for close to $20M per. Harrison (35 this year) facing mid teens cap hits may be gone by then (unless he drastically reduces his $9-11M backloaded salaries) but his dead cap probably won't be. Wayne and Mathis will be in the backloaded backend of their deals. Sanders if they keep him (and given his injury history and how it would effect one of Polian's deals I doubt it - more likely they tag him) will be in the early years of his deal. Ditto Glenn or Clark if there's anything left for them.

The key for Polian to keeping the top 5-6 in tact is bonus money because it allows him to manipulate their cap ramifications for a time. All GM's use bonus money in this way to some extent, Polian just uses more of it per player more broadly than most do and certainly more than we do. Which has been a neat trick since his team was small market, no stadium, owner not independently wealthy team was often cash strapped to the point Irsay had to sell his collectibles - which aside from this team he inherited is about all he owns. The new stadium will now boost revenue as long as they keep winning. And given the growth in value of all NFL franchises, Irsay could have found worse ways to re-invest his mad money.

Eventually though as players age in the midst of deals so engineered or you run out of length of time to further amortize or god forbid they get seriously or chronicly injured, is when the proverbial **** starts to hit the cap fan. That's why Belioli and Kraft eschew too many of those types of deals on the books at any given time - having one or more of those kinds of players MIA hurts you on and off the field. We haven't really seen Indy get caught short yet (although absent a CBA agreement last March and with Simon on the roster we nearly saw a preview) because none of their big ticket core pieces have aged out or run out of restructure room or been seriously injured yet. I think Polian feared Edge could become that type of player so they tagged him and then let him walk thereafter.

Harrison and Manning eventually will age out because they are or will be on deals designed to outlast them (run them up to 40) for present day cap manuverability purposes. In Freeney's case 32 isn't necessarily the end of the line for DE's - though in his case speed and agility are his calling cards so it could be. If Dwight simply slows down or little nagging injuries start to pile up before 2011 and hamper his spinability, his dead cap hits not to mention his scheduled cap hits will have heads spinning in Indy. Which is why I doubt you see Sanders on that kind of long term deal unless he plays a full season this year and really appears to have put the injury prone/fragile tag behind him.

In the final analysis this is Polian's approach and it differs from ours in that we seem to be trying to balance pay as you go with just a smattering of backloaded deals and asking players to be proavtive themselves and take a little less up front so we can surround them with a little more above average talent and back it all up with a little more talented depth without risking adversely impacting the future. Once Manning was drafted, given Irsay's finances and stadium situation, Polian could never have afforded to take that approach - so he developed an alternate philosophy based in part on his belief that overwhelming offense can be the best defense if it's they only one you can afford anyway and it simultaneously puts fannies in seats as defense never will.

Both methods (NE vs. Indy) have achieved fairly enviable results compared to most of the league, ours are just little more enviable to date. The real test will be where the teams stand in the decade to come. Can each continue on successfully once the GM, HC and QB are headed down the road to the HOF. Is there a model in place that will translate with new players and coaches or will there be a cap mess to clean up prior to a total system overhaul. My gut tells me we're better prepared continue on competitively with a far less noticiable bump in the road than most teams end up facing in transition. And the transition in Indy will be a lot bumpier because of the choices Polian made to worry about the present and cross the bridge to the future (or set someone else u[ to cross it) if and when it comes.

 

[Miguel]

Now that his salary numbers are available, here's my take on the numbers

http://www.patscap.com/freeney.gif

 

[patriot lifer]

apparently that $30 million signing bonus is being paid out half now and half in February (pft).

 

[Miguel]

apparently that $30 million signing bonus is being paid out half now and half in February (pft).

FWIW - John Clayton reported the same information in his insider blog on Monday

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I can't believe Kabir Gbaja-Biamila (or however you spell it) isn't making an average of $12M per year.

Polian ever think about paying him 72 mil?

Okay, enough already. If there's one thing the Colts generally get right, it's piling up talent. But something tells me that creating pressure up-front will never be proportionately worth that kind of money, if the guy can not do the second thing which is a necessity, i.e., handle a running play.

This one is just a head-scratcher to me. Manning? Sure. Harrison? Of course (to date.) Sanders? You betcha.

But this is just nuts, to me. A guy that can rush a quarterback is NOT a game-changer, from where I'm sitting, if he can't help the team take away the run. Nobody will bother to even pass on you. Sure, those times they do, you get a fan-happy play between once a game and once every other game, then some pressures. But this is not "cornerstone" stuff. Yeah, pressure up front in a cover 2 is important. But a safety that can lend run support despite the fact that you don't walk him up to the line? Priceless. And again, that pass rushing line is fantastic, but you also count on them to stop the run.

The Freeney option is only viable when he has spied and disregarded the possibility that a run play is flowing his way. How do you do that with your back turned -- i.e., when you're in the "spin" cycle? You don't. You're counting on down and distance. Pretty easily taken advantage of -- as the Colts' run D attests.

Okay I think I said "enough already" about 2 paragraphs up. I am always still learning, and of course, could be totally putting my foot in my mouth.

I just see the value put on Freeney as out of whack with reality. But then, I'm the same bozo that says Samuel isn't worth the $10M average per year he's demanding either -- cap inflation or no cap inflation.

But then - damn, I hate saying it - all these deals may look like bargains in three years.

Oy,

PFnV

 

[solman]

Re: OT: Freeney signed: 6yr/$72M, $30M guaranteed

I don't think that this is a bad deal for the Colts. It isn't a bargain, but the risk of an injury and/or diminished performance is mitigated by Freeney's extraordinary talent.

[...]

If the goal is to have 2-3 seasons of super bowl caliber teams, this was a very good deal. But I still don't think it will get the job done. (i.e. I still predict no more than 1 playoff win for the Colts over the next three seasons).

I think I need to revise my opinion.

If the Colts only choice had been to sign Freeney under these terms or let him hit free agency, my comments above would stand.

But the Colts had the option of keeping Freeney under the franchise tag. I think it would have been preferable for them to do so. At the very least, the threat of using the Franchise tag should have allowed them to negotiate a better deal.

Given the options available, the only justification for this deal is that the Colts have decided to completely ignore the future salary cap health of the franchise, in the hope of 2-3 more years of super bowl caliber teams.
Maybe Polian doesn't think a new CBA will get done without an uncapped year happening?

Even with Freeney on board, I don't believe they have the requisite talent, but we'll see soon enough (when the regular season starts).

 

[AzPatsFan]

This is a totally stupid signing.

a) Freeney can't play the run.
b) Freeney is undersized.
c) Freeney's one move "the spin" has been figured out by opponents.
d) Freeney had all of 3 Sacks last year!
e) Freeney's game was all quickness; and he isn't as quick any more.

Love to see the Colt's do stupid things.

 

[Bo0MeR]

This is a totally stupid signing.

a) Freeney can't play the run.
b) Freeney is undersized.
c) Freeney's one move "the spin" has been figured out by opponents.
d) Freeney had all of 3 Sacks last year!
e) Freeney's game was all quickness; and he isn't as quick any more.

Love to see the Colt's do stupid things.

Every offseason the Colts make all the "wrong" moves. This one is no different. Atleast we have that 2006 Sb Trophy to keep us company through the next 3-4 years of bottom feeding

All joking aside, good signing by the Colts, Freeney is THE premiere player on the D and he got the money he deserved