Quote:
Originally Posted by Keino
(Post 1431822)
It's very easy to wait until an event occurs and then say "I knew that would/wouldn't happen".
The logic for franchising Flynn was based on a recently established precedent concerning a back-up who performs well in limited action set to become a free agent.
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Actually I didn't wait until it occurred. I posted my expectation that he would not be franchised in the "sign Matt Flynn" thread and a couple other Flynn discussions before the playoffs even started.
None of the usual suspects expected him to be tagged. Insiders like Lombardi and LaCanfora and Shefter etc. all at various times publicly said that it wasn't likely they would.
Anyway I wont go into the passel of reasons why you don't franchise a guy who has two career games under his belt.
The career year thing with Davis is exactly why you do franchise him: You get another year to answer that question, without commiting big money.
Again franchise tag on a TE is cheap for a good TE. Because the "top" TE's salaries actually average out to be a relative bargain. It gives them an EXTRA year to answer the unknown questions. so if he pisses cheech & chong bong water again they aren't stuck paying fat signing bonuses and guaranteed money, OTOH they get a chance to keep him if he keeps his nose (pee?) clean.
In an emerging era where two gifted TE's seem to be a significant matchup advantage (and Depth as Cooley does have his share of injuries) Tagging Davis makes all the sense in the world. Not franchising him would literally require them to draft a top TE prospect (at cost of picks they probably don't even have now) or sign someone at HIGHER COST and possibly older age, like Dallas Clark; who will probably be on the radar of any team that manages to sign Manning; Just to maintain the current level of Depth.
With Laron Landry gone (creates a new hole in the talent pool with no really good free agent safety's available) and so many Other needs to fill, and presumably the plan to trade picks for RGIII in the works, WHY ON EARTH WOULDN'T YOU FRANCHISE HIM???? Because of character issues? Or to change the "culture"? Man you know as well as I do you can't do that all at once.
This is the problem, we all want the team to fix EVERYTHING all at once, or at least in a very condensed time frame. While we all ALSO want the coach to get the team to the playoffs at the same time. Or the "fire the coach; we must have sacrifices to appease us" talk starts up.
It's everything ANY coach could possibly do to make up for: Jason Campbell, Landry and Carlos Rodgers. Myriad lost draft picks to guys long gone like Jason Taylor, stupid signings like D Hall and Haynesworth, complete failure to draft decent WR talent with multiple high picks. Almost NO late round or undrafted free agent "finds", Old and used up players who were retiring or nearing retirement or should have already retired (the entire o line when Shanahan took over).
It amazes me how much the fanbase underestimate just how bad a situation this team was and still is in... IMO It's still on the downswing... The ship has only just BEGUN to turn away from the ice bergs it was bashing its hull into. Just like keeping Reed Doughty keeping some of these players is a necessity because you simply can not replace them all at once, and whats more, even when you DO replace them, you might not be getting a BETTER player, or a player who is better RIGHT AWAY. Some of these guys (like Doughty) are here because you can't just dump every single player AND COMPETE at the same time. And this Fanbase has shown it has ZERO tolerance for not competing no matter how unlikely they are to do anything. So please don't talk about the Colt's, they are doing something that would have THIS FANBASE (and Fearless leader Fan#1 Dan Snyder) rioting in the streets... screaming bloody murder 8-)
