Monday, March 2, 2009

Biggest Deal in Free Agency?

At the risk of being called a moron :) I have to disagree with Bryce and say that Albert Haynesworth's deal is bigger than Matt Cassel's and here's why...


1. Cassel still has a lot to prove
I won't deny that something unbelievable happened in New England last year. The Patriots lost their leader, their best player, their star QB, all rolled into one Mr. Tom Brady in Week 1. And on came this kid who hadn't started a game since high school, takes his team to 11-5 and narrowly misses the playoffs (although they finished much better than the San Diego Chargers).
However, have we already forgotten the debate that came up after the kid started his success? Was Cassel really that great? Or was he just the product of a wonderful offensive system? No one has yet proven that it really was Cassel. It certainly doesn't hurt when you have Randy Moss and Wes Welker catching the ball for you.

2. The Chiefs aren't exactly a 'dream team'
Let's be honest, they went 2-14 in the 2008-09 season. Their best receiver is their tight end, Tony Gonzalez. Larry Johnson is out of the picture (not that he was worth much last year anway) and they don't really have any prospects right now to fill his vacancy. Other than Dwayne Bowe, you've probably never heard of their wide receivers. Cassel has a lot on his plate and not much to work with. Without the Patriots offensive schemes, will Cassel be able to produce?

3. Haynesworth's deal is big
He's getting $100 million over 7 years. That makes him the highest paid non-QB in the league. Haynesworth was probably one of few that you could name from the Titans defense, and they've lost him, which is quite notable. Beyond that, the Redskins have just made their relatively strong defense even stronger. They have impressive defensive stats, but allowed teams to drive on them late in the game several times last year. Had the Redskins been able to hang on and win those games, they would have bested the Eagles who barely scraped by into the playoffs before making a run until the NFC Championship. Haynesworth can be the change that the Redskins need.
I have to hand it to Cassel, he did make a significant improvement as far as money is concerned. In case you didn't catch Bryce's post, he's making over $14 million this year, but at the cost of playing for a struggling team that needs time before it's ready to contend. If Cassel does well this year with the Chiefs, I'll shut up. But I think he has a lot to prove before we call him a hero.

2 comments:

  1. I have to disagree about Haynesworth. Hes a huge risk and considering last year he only played 65% of the downs, I think he is highly overrated. This is just Dan Snyder's attempt to buy a good team instead of actually bringing up young players and putting people at key positions. I predict this will fail like many other players who have signed their lives away to Washington such as Deion Sanders, Jason Taylor, Mark Brunell, Laverneus Coles. When is the last time they were a real contender? Cassel has a lot of potential as Hayneworths may have reached his prime. Scoot Pioli will rebuild this team and give Cassel a chance. The Redskins are plagued by bad ownership just like the Raiders. Anyone who goes to the Raiders is foolish. Al Davis is nuts and this team is a circus, but other than that i've really enjoyed this site and everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

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  2. Thanks for backing me up, Nick, right?

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