The Regret Rankings - Free Agency Frenzy Edition
by adelfish | 4 years ago | 0 Comments
The Regret Rankings
Here we are in Week 10 of the regular season of Season 65, and many of you know exactly where you are headed, be it postseason, a high draft pick, or somewhere in the middle.
Remember that big spending spree you had that got you all excited for the season? All the tickets those new, flashy players sold? Yeah, now you're 2-8 and cutting checks to old, overpaid veterans. Yikes.
Let's take a trip back to my initial grades, and do a little bit of a 20/20 hindsight review, who regrets their moves the most?
Below are my four levels of 'Regret', the top being the worst, the bottom being the best.
'Drunk Texting Ex-Girlfriend Regret'
'Picking an Argument with Spouse After Watching 8 Hours of Football Regret'
'Gwenyth Paltrow Vagina Candle Gift Regret'
'Binge-Eating Entire Bag of Chips Regret'
Let's get started.........
'Drunk Texting Ex-Girlfriend Regret'
Okay, you got a little carried away. You made a bad decision and saw those texts you sent at 2 AM, and she left you on read. Or maybe she didn't, and responded. Either way, this is a potentially disastorous move. It can have ripple effects that change your livelihood for some time. Suddenly the questions pop up, 'are you interested?', 'why didn't we work?' and 'let's have coffee.' A life changing, awful form of regret.
Yep, this still really bad.
Peters is on pace for career lows in every category, and the Seahawks are currently an above-average pass defense. They currently sit at 3rd in the NFC West, but will likely be a playoff team.
Peters is 30 years old, and the Seahawks will owe him $47 million over the next 4 years.
It's really bad.
I actually had this in just the 'Disliked Tier' last time, giving the Packers a little credit for the potential upside of Fowler, who has been a 10+ sack guy before. I couldn't imagine it would be this bad.
Fowler has 0 sacks through 8 games, and has had a few games where he didn't record a tackle on the stat sheet. With other guys on the line stepping up, Fowler is becoming a very, very expensive decoy. This deal is getting worse by the day.
The Cowboys gave away Zack Martin to the 49ers, then replaced him for the average Justin Skule at nearly $10 million a year.
Dak Prescott is currently among the top ten highest quarterbacks who are sacked, and the Cowboys are the 25th worst rushing offense...go figure! They owe this guy $30 million more.
Harry is still the least talented #1 receiver in the league, and is playing like it. He is averaging 40 yards a game, and 0.12 touchdowns a game (that's bad).
He is being paid like a high-end #2 or low end #1 receiver (that's bad).
The Texans passing attack ranks 30th in the league (that's bad).
Okay, that's a lot of bad. At least Harry won't be around for very lo-...5 year deal (that's bad).
I think this deal looks worse in Week 10 then it did in the offseason.
Hernandez was brought in to help with the run game, and help protect Josh Allen. He was also brought in to the tune of $17 million a year (!!!!).
The Bills have not done either of those things well, and are sitting at 4-5, with a bottom 10 rushing attack, and one of the league's worst pass protection units.
This contract is really going to hurt them over the years. Ouch.
'Picking an Argument with Spouse After Watching 8 Hours of Football Regret'
You ever watch 8 hours of football from noon to night, then the first thing your significant other does after is ask you to do the dishes, then you pick the fight? She gives you that crazed look of 'I just let you slob out for 8 hours, and now you're pushing the dishes to me?' This is regret that lives deep within you, and doesn't go away anytime soon, but the plus? Maybe you get kicked to the couch for one night, but there is always a way back.
Yikes. This deal looked pretty good a few short weeks ago, but here we are as the Colts sit at 2-6, with the 20th worst pass defense in the league. The Colts didn't ask Coleman to come in and be a number 1 guy, they wanted him to compliment Kenny Moore and form a really solid tandem. They haven't been that. The Colts have collapsed this year, and now they are on the hook for $20 million more to Coleman next offseason.
Normally I'd give the old 'well it's one more year' deal, but $20 million is a ton of money, and even if they cut him they are taking a hit. The hope is this team improves and Coleman can be a part of the turnaround next year, but his age and play this year give me reason to be really concerned.
This deal is starting to look slightly better than the horrific Skule deal, as the Cowboys pass defense is improving, and I don't think Fenton is a terrible player.
My issue was always that Fenton is basically the same as what Dallas already had, but with the improvements to their defensive statistics, I have to give them a little credit. If Fenton sticks around, at the contract he has now, he could be a pretty cheap #2 option.
Do I think Dallas will get a true #1 corner to go with him? Probably not, but I don't hate this move as much as I did back in the offseason.
'Gwenyth Paltrow Vagina Candle Gift Regret'
You want to spice up the relationship. You think 'maybe this Scent of Vagina Candle' will get the job done, maybe it gets her thinking. You're a simple guy, you don't know any better. She opens the gift, and sure she laughs, but internally she is in full panic mode. Why is her significant other buying her a Vagina Candle? Did he think this was a good idea? The upside is here for something tremendous, and could payoff later, but the downside is even worse.
I'm still a believer.
Yes, the Smith experiment has been a disappointment so far, but I like the potential of this move to redeem itself far more than the Justin Coleman one for Indy. Smith is still a great player, and is so versatile. I think with a full offseason with the Colts, adding more talent around him, and Jake getting more time to practice the various ways to use him, Smith could be back to an 8+ sack guy.
The 'Yikes' meter is pretty high right now for this deal, as Casey hasn't contributed much for the Titans this year, is owed $7 million per, and the Titans defense is currently among the worst in the league.
The only reason this move is defensible still, is it is a short 2 year deal, and $7 million for a solid defensive lineman seems fair. The quality of play from Casey right now is almost forcing him to the bench more often, and that is a really expensive backup. He needs to get involved more.
Alright, it's getting a little sketchy in Denver.
Drew Lock is the 3rd highest sacked quarterback in the league, and the rushing offense is below average. Andre Dillard was guaranteed almost his entire contract, so he will be the guy in Denver for at least a few years.
He has been serviceable, but do the Broncos regret guaranteeing $6 million a year to an average to above-average right tackle? I'm not sure. The results right now are not good. The bright side is that Astin is an elite game manager, so I'm sure he will find a way to improve the protection around Lock via scheming.
'Binge-Eating Entire Bag of Chips Regret'
Long week at the office, tough Redzone loss, or the last 45 minutes of Shawshank Redemption on TV. That full bag of Ruffles, crisp and unopened, in the pantry. You crush the whole bag in a sitting. Sure, you may pay for that later, but that sweet, sweet immediate payoff was worth it. Screw it, bikini season is months away.
The Chiefs offense is flying high, Mahomes is being protected well, and they are 8-1. Yeah, Bitonio is due a TON of money over the next 3 years for a guy who is 31, but as the rule says...screw it!! The Chiefs are having the most success they've had all cycle, and Bitonio is a huge part of that success. The potential risk of paying a 34 year old guard $15 million is currently worth it.
Man I loved this move at the time, and I still love it from a pure football standpoint, but the Vikings selected defensive tackle Enrique Williams in the 1st round, and already have the stud run stopper Michael Pierce, so I'm sure there is some buyer's remorse here.
Williams has been really solid for the Vikes, but turning him into a $18.5 million rotational guy with a rookie isn't ideal...ah screw it, they're going to win the North!
Yep, no regret here. The Rams got the best right tackle on the market, for less money than other tackles were getting. It's still bonkers a few months later. The Rams are 6-2, and will GLADLY pay $7 million a year for a star right tackle. Good job by you Jimmy!!!
The Bengals aren't good, they are currently 2-7 and are on their way to a top five pick in the draft. But guess what? That 1 year deal for Sherman is leading to a top 7 pass defense! Sherman is playing pretty well for his old age, and his experience in that locker room is something money can't buy.
Sure, $10.7 million is a lot of money that could have been spent elsewhere, and yeah this season is lost, but would the Bengals rather not have Richard Sherman? Probably not.
Tampa would do this move every time, getting a quality offensive tackle at under $10 million per year, and with the improvements to Tampa's offense, Humphries is a major part of that deal. Despite their 4-5 record, Humphries has played very well, and is locked in for another year.