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QuikSand · 12-05-2005, 07:51 AM

Progress Marches On… Draft and FA Update

After trading down to the bottom of round two, we still managed to pick up a player we like at 2(32), with safety Doug Schwantz. He’s got decent skills, had a good combine, and we hope to see him make improvements to become part of our long term planning here. DB wasn’t exactly our top need, but Schwants was 2nd or 3rd on my list of target players (set in advance) so I’m pretty pleased that we watched 20 guys go off the board and only one or two were higher than him on our list. Solid addition, plus he’s from Syracuse – another bonus.

I will probably struggle with him, like I did with last year’s comparable pick Herman Padgett, whether to slot him at safety or CB for the long haul. We ended up moving Padgett to play at LCB, which I think was ultimately the right move… but on paper, I think Schwantz is better suited to play CB as well-- his run defense rating might only be around 35), but his coverage and interception skills look very solid. Right now, we need a safety more than a corner, so we’ll have to weight this puzzler. Schwantz weighs in at 220 pounds, which might make the decision for me anyway—my scout suggests that he’d transition to CB at only 83%, which isn’t awful, but not ideal.

In free agency, the news is pretty grim. We had been in the hunt for a couple of linebackers, and managed to be outbid on both of them. So it goes, we ran into this last season. On a team that is nominally looking toward the future, this is probably what we ought to expect – we really shouldn’t be the top money bidders for long term FA contracts with players who are already in the middle of their careers, we ought to be developing from within best we can. Alas.

So, we add veteran linebackers Maurice Huntley (best overall LB out there, but signed for a deal worth more than $4m per season) and Preston Gibbons (solid run stopper, would have been an affinity guy) to our list of FA misses this offseason.

We do add a couple of complementary players – guys who fit pretty well for us, though not headliners. LT Horace Kolodzik is a guy we could put onto the field if need be, but a solid reserve-caliber tackle who still has a little room for improvement. He fits in well with our line leader John Houtz, which makes him an attractive pickup for us, I think, especially since we only had two tackles on the roster anyway.

DE Chuck Linquist is a solid run-stopper, and takes a three year deal with us as well. It’s at least possible that we end up using Linquist as a part-time starter, perhaps slotting him in as the nominal starter, and using another guy like Martin Santos during passing situations. Linquist is only a 5th year guy, so this investment doesn’t seem unwise to me – plus it’s a bonus-free deal, which makes cap sense as well.

Looking ahead in free agency, there’s not a lot more to spend our money on. The superstar-caliber DE finally signed a huge deal (we had in a token, short-term bid which didn’t even register, I’m sure) and the rest of the crop seems fairly uninspiring overall. We might tuck in a player or two at need areas, but we expect to mostly fill up the roster with our last draft pick (end of round four) and post-draft rookies.

12-05-2005, 07:51 AM	#186
QuikSand lolzcat Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Annapolis, Md	Progress Marches On… Draft and FA Update After trading down to the bottom of round two, we still managed to pick up a player we like at 2(32), with safety Doug Schwantz. He’s got decent skills, had a good combine, and we hope to see him make improvements to become part of our long term planning here. DB wasn’t exactly our top need, but Schwants was 2nd or 3rd on my list of target players (set in advance) so I’m pretty pleased that we watched 20 guys go off the board and only one or two were higher than him on our list. Solid addition, plus he’s from Syracuse – another bonus. I will probably struggle with him, like I did with last year’s comparable pick Herman Padgett, whether to slot him at safety or CB for the long haul. We ended up moving Padgett to play at LCB, which I think was ultimately the right move… but on paper, I think Schwantz is better suited to play CB as well-- his run defense rating might only be around 35), but his coverage and interception skills look very solid. Right now, we need a safety more than a corner, so we’ll have to weight this puzzler. Schwantz weighs in at 220 pounds, which might make the decision for me anyway—my scout suggests that he’d transition to CB at only 83%, which isn’t awful, but not ideal. In free agency, the news is pretty grim. We had been in the hunt for a couple of linebackers, and managed to be outbid on both of them. So it goes, we ran into this last season. On a team that is nominally looking toward the future, this is probably what we ought to expect – we really shouldn’t be the top money bidders for long term FA contracts with players who are already in the middle of their careers, we ought to be developing from within best we can. Alas. So, we add veteran linebackers Maurice Huntley (best overall LB out there, but signed for a deal worth more than $4m per season) and Preston Gibbons (solid run stopper, would have been an affinity guy) to our list of FA misses this offseason. We do add a couple of complementary players – guys who fit pretty well for us, though not headliners. LT Horace Kolodzik is a guy we could put onto the field if need be, but a solid reserve-caliber tackle who still has a little room for improvement. He fits in well with our line leader John Houtz, which makes him an attractive pickup for us, I think, especially since we only had two tackles on the roster anyway. DE Chuck Linquist is a solid run-stopper, and takes a three year deal with us as well. It’s at least possible that we end up using Linquist as a part-time starter, perhaps slotting him in as the nominal starter, and using another guy like Martin Santos during passing situations. Linquist is only a 5th year guy, so this investment doesn’t seem unwise to me – plus it’s a bonus-free deal, which makes cap sense as well. Looking ahead in free agency, there’s not a lot more to spend our money on. The superstar-caliber DE finally signed a huge deal (we had in a token, short-term bid which didn’t even register, I’m sure) and the rest of the crop seems fairly uninspiring overall. We might tuck in a player or two at need areas, but we expect to mostly fill up the roster with our last draft pick (end of round four) and post-draft rookies.