Chiefs How to not be an insufferable fan during free agency. - Page 2

Direckshun · 03-09-2014, 01:42 PM

Free agency is soon to be set upon us. There will be a lot of super interesting things that happen in the coming weeks. Some moves will be super aggressive, others will make tons of sense, others will leave your head scratching. Some teams will be super aggressive, other teams will not be.

Since ChiefsPlanet is rarely more difficult to endure than during the first couple weeks of free agency, when, no matter what happens, this place is in full meltdown mode, I'd like to provide a few stock pieces of advice that you can hopefully cling to. Primarily, these pieces of advice will serve to remind you that you are a grown man in a civilized society, not a caveman or 12 year old guy. Nobody cares that your emotions "got the best of you" in a given moment. Act like a human being.

Things to keep in mind for 100% of your future posts:

1. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. We've seen BossChief's breakdowns a hundred times now, but it doesn't matter: the Chiefs have almost no money. They're working to extend Houston, they're going to give Alex Smith a pay increase, and they're not going to restructure anybody this year. They're not going to restructure Flowers because they restructured him last year. They're not going to restructure Bowe because they agreed to his deal a mere 12 months ago. They're not going to restructure Hali because they may very well cut ties with him in 2015 and they don't want to carry any more dead cap space than they have to. And it doesn't matter that you want to extend Eric Berry: the guy is still going to get $8m/year. Cutting Fasano, Daniel, Avery -- those will only net you $1m in cap space each. There is almost nothing short of outright cutting major players on this team that will open up a lot of cap space. So if the Chiefs aren't incredibly active, don't worry about it. They don't have a lot of cap space.

2. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. As much as I admire some of the analyses on this board and other Chiefs sites, the added cap space will not help us very much this offseason. It'll allow us to sign a few more middling or lower-rung players, but it's not going to allow us to sign a ton of premier talent. Why? Because other teams get the same raises. Whatever structured deal people like BossChief hilariously thinks we can provide Byrd, somebody has the same increase in cap space to offer more (no offense to BossChief, just disagreement). The raise in the cap allows us to sign more players, but those players are almost certainly not going to be game changers. So if the Chiefs aren't incredibly active, don't worry about it. They don't have a lot of cap space.

3. NFL Championships are not won in free agency. This rule is subject to certain Peyton-Manning-sized exceptions, but the teams that get to free agency get there through the draft. Hell, even the Broncos of this past year: the best players on their team were drafted: Decker, Thomas, Thomas, Woodyard, Miller, Clady, that defensive linemen from Cincinnati... The Broncos are better than us right now even if they didn't have Peyton Manning. NFL Championships are won in the draft. When it comes to the top free agents, with very few exceptions, it is a Shiny Toy Carousel. The real date to make this team better is May 8-May 10. Not March.

4. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. The Raiders have $70m to spend this offseason. The Browns have over $50m. The Jaguars have over $50m -- or at least they did, prior to signing Red Bryant. The Broncos have more cap space than we do. The Patriots have more cap space than we do. The Seahawks. The Giants. The Steelers. They have more cap space than we do. So that $9m in cap space is no where near the harbinger for success that we think it is -- and it is flatly unrealistic to think we can open up $25-30m in cap space like some on this site believe. So stop expecting the Chiefs to be a big swinging dick in free agency.

5. Don't get emotionally married to a free agent -- you will end up getting angry for no reason. The odds are, the player you are in love with is a very good player, and therefore will be desired by at least a half dozen teams, only a fraction of which we'll ever hear about because 90% of what happens in the NFL happens behind closed doors. The odds are that, even on equal footing with other teams, can land a free agent that five other teams want is a one-in-five chance; I know that sounds too stupid not to know, but you wouldn't know it by listening to certain Planeteers every year. Now, add in our cap disadvantage, and our odds shrink considerably.

6. Not signing a player you like does not mean the Chiefs are cursed. There are always exceptions, but the one exception-proof rule is this: a player can only sign with one team. That means at least a handful of teams are disappointed nearly every time an A-, B-, C-, or even D-level free agent signs with a team. The Chiefs will disappoint every offseason in this regard, because they can't always get the players they want.

7. It is oftentimes better to not sign a good player than to hamstring your cap by dramatically overpaying. There's a reason the Chiefs were so good in last year's free agency, in landing all the players they wanted. There's a reason Dorsey hit on nearly all of his free agency acquisitions: he won the bidding wars, and therefore overpaid. Sean Smith's cap space in 2015 is over $7m. Bowe's is $14m. Mike DeVito, a guy who plays half the snaps, is $5m this year. Fasano came to KC because we gave him $4m/year. We won the surprisingly-intense bidding war for Chase Daniel simply because we are paying him the most. So the Chiefs need to start making smart decisions for the next two offseasons: they need guys that can make the team better without exploding our cap and putting us in Jerry Jones Hell. Because as good as John Dorsey is as evaluating talent, he sucks nuts at negotiating contracts.

8. Keep in mind the Chiefs essentially will have added three new-ish players next year anyway at exactly $0 extra to our cap: Sanders Commings, Travis Kelce, and AJ Jenkins. The health and development of all three players will make us a better team, and will cost us nothing. Commings flashed in his handful of plays in 2013. Kelce is a workhorse tight end who can block extremely well and has good straight-line speed, with NFL bloodlines. He flashed at training camp. And we've all been hearing the buzz surrounding AJ Jenkins.

Which brings me to my final point:

9. You will be underwhelmed by free agency. Primarily because the Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space.

So, the next time you find your emotions swirling fruitlessly, and you absolutely have to rain your thunder down on an online message board because nobody in your family likes putting up with your teenage bullshit anymore, take a deep breath. You are a grown man. You have the power to regulate your emotions. This is not the NBA: it's the Draft that really matters in this league.

Much love, bozos.

tk13 · 03-09-2014, 02:10 PM

IT'S HUGH TIME, WOMAN!

**bevischief** · 03-09-2014, 02:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

What is the team's salary cap situation?

**RealSNR** · 03-09-2014, 02:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tk13

IT'S HUGH TIME, WOMAN!

This.

R8RFAN · 03-09-2014, 02:14 PM

Free agency means over paying for someone that his prior team does not think he is worth in most cases...

Championship teams are built by finding gems in the later rounds of the draft.

I would like to see this QB drafted by the Raiders, even trade down to get him, this cat is going to be an NFL star

Rasputin · 03-09-2014, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

What is the team's salary cap situation?

The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space.

See how that is in bold? That's how it is.

Direckshun · 03-09-2014, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Dole

What is the team's salary cap situation?

PM Bob Dole, he's got way more information on that kind of stuff.

Direckshun · 03-09-2014, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3rd&48ers

Free agency means over paying for someone that his prior team does not think he is worth in most cases...

Championship teams are built by finding gems in the later rounds of the draft.

I would like to see this QB drafted by the Raiders, even trade down to get him, this cat is going to be an NFL star

I actually like Brett Smith out of Wyoming a ton.

Guy's got an NFL arm, killer accuracy, and plus athleticism.

R8RFAN · 03-09-2014, 02:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

I actually like Brett Smith out of Wyoming a ton.

Guy's got an NFL arm, killer accuracy, and plus athleticism.

I am looking at him on youtube... He likes to run

milkman · 03-09-2014, 02:22 PM

I am a strong proponent of, and believe that championships are built primarily through the draft.

However, key free agency signings are clearly a part of thhe process.

Your point that championships are not won in free agency, while not completely. False, is also not true.

Cliff Avril and. Michael Bennett, who should have won the SB MVP, were key free agent additions that were inttegral components to the Seahawks championship season.

If you go back and look at previous SBs, you would undoubtedly find similar FAs on every SB winner.

Direckshun · 03-09-2014, 02:22 PM

He does, but you'll note his fantastic accuracy.

His offensive line can't block for him, and aside from Robert Herron, his receivers can't get open.

But he keeps hitting window after window after window. I think he's the diamond in this year's rough.

Rasputin · 03-09-2014, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

I am a strong proponent of, and believe that championships are built primarily through the draft.

However, key free agency signings are clearly a part of thhe process.

Your point that championships are not won in free agency, while not completely. False, is also not true.

Cliff Avril and. Michael Bennett, who should have won the SB MVP, were key free agent additions that were inttegral components to the Seahawks championship season.

If you go back and look at previous SBs, you would undoubtedly find similar FAs on every SB winner.

I agree with this in a lot of ways but the most important position to say building a team in the draft has been neglected by this team for decades. That would be the quarterback. Clark Hunt says they will build the team through the draft then turns around and trades draft picks for a quarterback.

Once you get the quarterback then it makes it much easier to find the pieces to fit around him not a square peg in a round hole like the Chiefs try to do.

**LoneWolf** · 03-09-2014, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Direckshun

The Broncos are better than us right now even if they didn't have Peyton Manning.

Dumbest ****ing thing you've ever posted and that is really saying something.

Eleazar · 03-09-2014, 03:01 PM

We were not going to put ourselves over the hump in free agency this year anyway.

Although the Chiefs were much improved last year, we had a LOT of breaks the first half of the season too. We won't have a schedule like that most years.

The only way I can see this team going further this year than we did last year is if we have a phenomenal draft. We need more than one immediate contributor IMO, because we lack the cap space or the picks to trade in order to improve the team another way.

You could really see this year playing out as a step back from last year and the venom for Smith, Dorsey, and Reid being at a fever pitch by the end of the year just because if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse, and this offseason isn't really set up to improve this team.

Mugsy · 03-09-2014, 03:13 PM

Honestly, my biggest hope about free agency is that we keep our special teams at a high level. We shouldn't take guys like Abdullah, Demps, and Zombo for granted. We gotta either re-sign those guys or find their equals. Special teams were a big piece of the puzzle last season.

mcaj22 · 03-09-2014, 03:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by milkman

I am a strong proponent of, and believe that championships are built primarily through the draft.

However, key free agency signings are clearly a part of thhe process.

Your point that championships are not won in free agency, while not completely. False, is also not true.

Cliff Avril and. Michael Bennett, who should have won the SB MVP, were key free agent additions that were inttegral components to the Seahawks championship season.

If you go back and look at previous SBs, you would undoubtedly find similar FAs on every SB winner.

dont forget they also made a trade for Percy Harvin, and gave him a big contract. Which is basically like FA spending/splashing.

03-09-2014, 01:42 PM
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $3573447	How to not be an insufferable fan during free agency. Free agency is soon to be set upon us. There will be a lot of super interesting things that happen in the coming weeks. Some moves will be super aggressive, others will make tons of sense, others will leave your head scratching. Some teams will be super aggressive, other teams will not be. Since ChiefsPlanet is rarely more difficult to endure than during the first couple weeks of free agency, when, no matter what happens, this place is in full meltdown mode, I'd like to provide a few stock pieces of advice that you can hopefully cling to. Primarily, these pieces of advice will serve to remind you that you are a grown man in a civilized society, not a caveman or 12 year old guy. Nobody cares that your emotions "got the best of you" in a given moment. Act like a human being. Things to keep in mind for 100% of your future posts: 1. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. We've seen BossChief's breakdowns a hundred times now, but it doesn't matter: the Chiefs have almost no money. They're working to extend Houston, they're going to give Alex Smith a pay increase, and they're not going to restructure anybody this year. They're not going to restructure Flowers because they restructured him last year. They're not going to restructure Bowe because they agreed to his deal a mere 12 months ago. They're not going to restructure Hali because they may very well cut ties with him in 2015 and they don't want to carry any more dead cap space than they have to. And it doesn't matter that you want to extend Eric Berry: the guy is still going to get $8m/year. Cutting Fasano, Daniel, Avery -- those will only net you $1m in cap space each. There is almost nothing short of outright cutting major players on this team that will open up a lot of cap space. So if the Chiefs aren't incredibly active, don't worry about it. They don't have a lot of cap space. 2. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. As much as I admire some of the analyses on this board and other Chiefs sites, the added cap space will not help us very much this offseason. It'll allow us to sign a few more middling or lower-rung players, but it's not going to allow us to sign a ton of premier talent. Why? Because other teams get the same raises. Whatever structured deal people like BossChief hilariously thinks we can provide Byrd, somebody has the same increase in cap space to offer more (no offense to BossChief, just disagreement). The raise in the cap allows us to sign more players, but those players are almost certainly not going to be game changers. So if the Chiefs aren't incredibly active, don't worry about it. They don't have a lot of cap space. 3. NFL Championships are not won in free agency. This rule is subject to certain Peyton-Manning-sized exceptions, but the teams that get to free agency get there through the draft. Hell, even the Broncos of this past year: the best players on their team were drafted: Decker, Thomas, Thomas, Woodyard, Miller, Clady, that defensive linemen from Cincinnati... The Broncos are better than us right now even if they didn't have Peyton Manning. NFL Championships are won in the draft. When it comes to the top free agents, with very few exceptions, it is a Shiny Toy Carousel. The real date to make this team better is May 8-May 10. Not March. 4. The Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space. The Raiders have $70m to spend this offseason. The Browns have over $50m. The Jaguars have over $50m -- or at least they did, prior to signing Red Bryant. The Broncos have more cap space than we do. The Patriots have more cap space than we do. The Seahawks. The Giants. The Steelers. They have more cap space than we do. So that $9m in cap space is no where near the harbinger for success that we think it is -- and it is flatly unrealistic to think we can open up $25-30m in cap space like some on this site believe. So stop expecting the Chiefs to be a big swinging dick in free agency. 5. Don't get emotionally married to a free agent -- you will end up getting angry for no reason. The odds are, the player you are in love with is a very good player, and therefore will be desired by at least a half dozen teams, only a fraction of which we'll ever hear about because 90% of what happens in the NFL happens behind closed doors. The odds are that, even on equal footing with other teams, can land a free agent that five other teams want is a one-in-five chance; I know that sounds too stupid not to know, but you wouldn't know it by listening to certain Planeteers every year. Now, add in our cap disadvantage, and our odds shrink considerably. 6. Not signing a player you like does not mean the Chiefs are cursed. There are always exceptions, but the one exception-proof rule is this: a player can only sign with one team. That means at least a handful of teams are disappointed nearly every time an A-, B-, C-, or even D-level free agent signs with a team. The Chiefs will disappoint every offseason in this regard, because they can't always get the players they want. *7. It is oftentimes better to not* sign a good player than to hamstring your cap by dramatically overpaying. There's a reason the Chiefs were so good in last year's free agency, in landing all the players they wanted. There's a reason Dorsey hit on nearly all of his free agency acquisitions: he won the bidding wars, and therefore overpaid. Sean Smith's cap space in 2015 is over $7m. Bowe's is $14m. Mike DeVito, a guy who plays half the snaps, is $5m this year. Fasano came to KC because we gave him $4m/year. We won the surprisingly-intense bidding war for Chase Daniel simply because we are paying him the most. So the Chiefs need to start making smart decisions for the next two offseasons: they need guys that can make the team better without exploding our cap and putting us in Jerry Jones Hell. Because as good as John Dorsey is as evaluating talent, he sucks nuts at negotiating contracts. 8. Keep in mind the Chiefs essentially will have added three new-ish players next year anyway at exactly $0 extra to our cap: Sanders Commings, Travis Kelce, and AJ Jenkins. The health and development of all three players will make us a better team, and will cost us nothing. Commings flashed in his handful of plays in 2013. Kelce is a workhorse tight end who can block extremely well and has good straight-line speed, with NFL bloodlines. He flashed at training camp. And we've all been hearing the buzz surrounding AJ Jenkins. Which brings me to my final point: 9. You will be underwhelmed by free agency. Primarily because the Chiefs do not have a lot of cap space.** So, the next time you find your emotions swirling fruitlessly, and you absolutely have to rain your thunder down on an online message board because nobody in your family likes putting up with your teenage bullshit anymore, take a deep breath. You are a grown man. You have the power to regulate your emotions. This is not the NBA: it's the Draft that really matters in this league. Much love, bozos.
Posts: 59,422

03-09-2014, 02:10 PM	#16
tk13 ... Join Date: Nov 2001 Casino cash: $502500	IT'S HUGH TIME, WOMAN!
Posts: 55,508

03-09-2014, 02:14 PM	#19
R8RFAN Molôn Labé Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: North Carolina Casino cash: $8566872	Free agency means over paying for someone that his prior team does not think he is worth in most cases... Championship teams are built by finding gems in the later rounds of the draft. I would like to see this QB drafted by the Raiders, even trade down to get him, this cat is going to be an NFL star
Posts: 23,166

03-09-2014, 02:22 PM	#24
milkman Dumbass! Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Leading the Marty bashing Casino cash: $10029395	I am a strong proponent of, and believe that championships are built primarily through the draft. However, key free agency signings are clearly a part of thhe process. Your point that championships are not won in free agency, while not completely. False, is also not true. Cliff Avril and. Michael Bennett, who should have won the SB MVP, were key free agent additions that were inttegral components to the Seahawks championship season. If you go back and look at previous SBs, you would undoubtedly find similar FAs on every SB winner. __________________
Posts: 70,769

03-09-2014, 02:22 PM	#25
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $3573447	He does, but you'll note his fantastic accuracy. His offensive line can't block for him, and aside from Robert Herron, his receivers can't get open. But he keeps hitting window after window after window. I think he's the diamond in this year's rough.
Posts: 59,422

03-09-2014, 03:01 PM	#28
Eleazar Beyond the Rapids Join Date: May 2003 Location: Langley, VA Casino cash: $-370000	We were not going to put ourselves over the hump in free agency this year anyway. Although the Chiefs were much improved last year, we had a LOT of breaks the first half of the season too. We won't have a schedule like that most years. The only way I can see this team going further this year than we did last year is if we have a phenomenal draft. We need more than one immediate contributor IMO, because we lack the cap space or the picks to trade in order to improve the team another way. You could really see this year playing out as a step back from last year and the venom for Smith, Dorsey, and Reid being at a fever pitch by the end of the year just because if you aren't getting better, you're getting worse, and this offseason isn't really set up to improve this team.
Posts: 80,659

03-09-2014, 03:13 PM	#29
Mugsy Banned Join Date: Mar 2014 Casino cash: $10004900	Honestly, my biggest hope about free agency is that we keep our special teams at a high level. We shouldn't take guys like Abdullah, Demps, and Zombo for granted. We gotta either re-sign those guys or find their equals. Special teams were a big piece of the puzzle last season.
Posts: 210