Free agency

[Born2Fish]

AMEN! If you double up BB on the outside watch out for AP on the inside! If I do remember right I think he set the ALL TIME rushing yards for one game. Double up BB and watch as AP flys by you to the endzone!! And I havent heard anyone say a word on the SB. Im not saying he is going to be our ticket to the superbowl. But like I also said he is a VAST improvement over what we had last year. Sure he is not Johnson,Moss,Owens. But he is a burner and defenses have to respect that. And I think chicago needs Briggs there. I mean AP only put up about 224 yards on that great chicago defense last year. Certainly nothing to brag about! And im not too sure ANY good WR is going to want to stop in chicago. With the opportunity to have either Grossman or Orton throw them the ball, most will pass on that one. Once again im not sayin that the vikes will be in the SB but I do believe it is going to be between the Lions and the Bears for last place in the North.

[backstrap]

Screw it all....just give the rock to AP and watch him run! Go Vikes!

[CrappiesNCats]

the bears fans all over the net are uptight because they lost berrian. its the same thing that happened when the pack lost sharper.."oh he stinks, he's no good" fact of the matter is Berrian is poised for a breakout and the diehard bears fans are really upset they lost him. they now have the worst receiving corp to hit an NFL field in a looooooooong time. much worse even than what the vikes have fielded the last few years.

the bears are primed for about 3-4 wins right now barring an incredible draft

[CNY Tim]

My Browns did pretty good in free agency, (Det) Shaun Rogers DT, (GB) Corey Williams DE and (NE) Dante Stallworth WR... Safe to say that should give us the division title on paper and maybe more. Our draft is gone in the first 3 rounds Brady Quinn 1st round traded to Dallas last year, 2nd round pick and Leigh Bodden CB for Shaun Rogers and the 3rd round pick for Corey Williams. Resigned Derek Anderson for 3 years so we have two guys to command the ship if some one get's injured. The one thing the Browns needed was a good #2 wide receiver Jurevicious is retiring after this season so he will move to #3 as Edwards #1 and Stallworth #2 with Winslow at TE and Jamal Lewis running like a mad man, I just can't wait for the season to begin.

Our defensive line was the one piece of the puzzle that needed to be fixed. Stopping the run last year we just flat out stunk it up. Now with Corey Williams, Shaun Rogers and Robaire Smith with Shawn Smith in roation it will definitely provide alot of plug up power for Kameron Wimbley and Antwan Peek to do there thing from the outside.

[james_walleye]

Ok if you go back a post and read again what you posted you stated that "So they have one good WR now, fine. What do you think defenses will do? Double team him and what do you have left". Ok, now in your next post you say "An expensive decoy, but i don't really think he'll see much double coverage anyway because he's not a reciever that deserves it". Which is it Lmitout?

Scouting reports that i've read said he faced constant double teams last year being the ONLY weapon the bears had. He still managed 71 catches with 950 yards. So i don't really think you can say he's a reciever that will not demand double teams. I think your probably right though about facing double teams. Not because he's not worthy of recieving them, but because who would you rather take your chances on, AP or Berrian. But the difference is if you take your chances on Berrian versus what we have had is that you are going to pay. If he is singled up he will beat you all over the field. He didnt have the luxury in Chicago of not being the #1 weapon on the field. My biggest worry going into next year is not if Berrian can live up to his contract. Its if Chilly can use everyone right. There is no more excuses for him. He is the one who has stuck with Jackson. He has one of the top 2 RB's in the NFL in your backfield and hes not a rookie anymore, he has expierience. And now you have brought in what you believe is a bonified threat on the outside. Obviously i'm not the only he believes that, i didnt fork out $16 million bucks. There is a whole core of people from the vikes front office to the coaching staff to the owner who believes it. And Chilly also has the defense pretty much in place to compete at a high level. Its time to see if Chilly can coach at a high level now.

Well everyone here knows my thoughts on this. I was hoping they would get him. They got him. I believe he'll have a big impact. National media from what i've read and heard has said its a good signing, instantly upgrading the reciever core. The only people who are think there was something wrong with it are a few vikings fans. Fans who last year were probably shaking their heads because the vikings did nothing in free agency. Now they go get the 2nd best WR available and some people arent happy. I don't know what people are going to expect. If you want any high end FA at any position you will "overpay". Just wait until you see L Fitzgeralds contract when he becomes available. It will be rediculous. But that is the NFL of today.

[james_walleye]

The browns are definately going to bring it next season.

[Scott K]

Super bowl? Probably not! Playoffs, yes! We only missed them last year by one game, we are going into this season with a better core then we have had in awhile. The other nice thing is these guys are young, and if we dont get it all this year, we wont be very many pieces away from it!

[LMITOUT]

It is called bait, and it was swallowed hook, line, and sinker. I knew that someone would bring up the double coverage/AP "running wild" bit so I just put it out there first. Maybe more like chumming, than bait.

[PierBridge]

We need a QB.....

Do not debate with LimitOut.....you will lose...been there done that, it sure is fun to try though

We need a QB.....

[backstrap]

Weird, Is this the Browns site or are we talking the Vikings. Trolls go away please.

[LMITOUT]

lol... all in fun. Thats what sports are about anyway.

[Scott M]

Title of the post is free agency. Anybody can talk about any team, any player, anything!

The Vikings at least will hopefully generate interest in the team. Remember how KMSP had to buy up a bunch of tickets just so there weren't any blackouts? Expectations for the team were pretty low and they did next to nothing in free agency last year. This year they obviously didn't want to repeat that song and dance. I think they were at least trying to generate some interest. The players aren't shoddy but as has been said they did overpay...I think you will see that trend continue...Money to burn with an increasing salary cap.

The Browns and the AFC North will be tough this year. No pushovers in that league.

The Saints and 49ers sure have been busy. Guess we'll see the results this fall.

[backstrap]

Oh yeah sorry...so what are the Browns going to do with Quinn?

[james_walleye]

Baiting...well...i call it what will happen. I guess if i took it hook, line and sinker then call me a fool because that is what will happen if you play 7 in the box against this team next year. You know this arguement that well what good does it do to bring him in when you don't have a QB to get him the ball? What are these people expecting the team to do? Because they have young unproven QB you just leave the recieving core below average and totally forget about the passing game? In past years fans complain when the team brings in over the hill or mediocre at best players to try and fill holes. Now the team goes and did what it had to to snag the 2nd best reciever out there. A young guy whos first 2 years he caught 15 and 13 passes. His 3rd year 51. And last year 71 catches, 47 of them being for 1st downs. The man is entering his prime and his potential is untapped.

I still havent seen anyone explain how a reciever that they believe ins't superior can catch 71 balls for almost a 1,000 yards for the bears last year. If your not a superior reciever how do you catch that many balls on a team that had the 30th ranked rush offense?? How do you catch that many balls while getting coverage rolled to your side?? How do you catch 71 balls if all you can do is run fly patterns which people have stated. Mediocre recievers don't catch 71 balls on a terrible offense when coverage gets rolled to them. You have to be pretty good to still be able to do that. Now coming to MN where its not so easy to roll coverages if you want to stop the powerhouse running game. And its not as if no other teams were going to give him what the vikings did. Multiple teams would have in a heartbeat, but MN just didn't let him leave town.

[tisosy11]

Ok Lmitout...Berrian is going to help this team. It will be nice to have an option downfield.

He's the 4th highest paid receiver today...by the end of the week he will be the 5th or 6th and next year likely in the mid teens...

I am sick of people ripping on T-Jak...he got the ball downfield and was progressing. He had at least 2 TDs dropped by Mr. Williamson. With Rice, Wade and Berrian AP and Chester will be able to break open more runs.

This team has a long way to go yet, but as of right now we are better than we were last year and hopefully we can make a couple more acqusitions.

I will tell you something - I am truly excited!

[james_walleye]

Good point tiossy about being the 4th highest paid now, but not later. Just as i stated, in 2 years Berrians contract will look cheap compared to whats going on.

[LMITOUT]

Do any of you guys listen to the Common Man on KFAN? Ever hear his spiel about "hope"? Funny, but true. Winter Park is selling hope once again! It was real funny when everyone was calling in and returning their "hope" at the end of Dec/early Jan.

[koonie]

I've got 5 guys right here who caught more balls than Berrian and they also played on terrible offenses. I don't think any of these guys is considered superior.

Shaun McDonald(79)

Roddy White(83)

Bobby Engram(94)

Jerricho Cotchery(82)

Derrick Mason(103)

I like Berrian in purple though. He's a "good" reciever.

The reason he got the stats he did was because they were always behind and had to pass a lot. He was consistently in the top 20 in passes thrown his way each week.

[james_walleye]

Lmitout, what is your alternative solution to signing Berrian knowing your O-line is not getting younger and you can't keep a really good defense together forever?? I'd also like to listen to what the common mans answer would be. I'm a viking fan, i know our hopes get dashed every year. At least i feel as if the organization is being proactive for once. And i truly believe Berrian has upside to be revealed yet. His impact will be more than just the numbers he puts up.

[LMITOUT]

Don't get me wrong, I think Berrian is a great addition to the Vikes. It's no secret that they need something in the WR positions compared to what they've had. If you compare the acquisition to hsolist, I think the Vikes did a "buy it now" and paid more than they should have and they got him for twice what the Bears were offering. In the end they got the guy they wanted so we'll just have to watch to see if it was worth the price paid. It's unfortunate they weren't as proactive last year where they could have picked up a free-agent QB the same way.

[maros91]

I see RB Michael Turner signed with the Falcons and TE Algae Crumpler signed a 2 yr deal with the Titans.

[Bluegill1510]

 Originally Posted By: LMITOUT

Do any of you guys listen to the Common Man on KFAN? Ever hear his spiel about "hope"? Funny, but true. Winter Park is selling hope once again! It was real funny when everyone was calling in and returning their "hope" at the end of Dec/early Jan.

Ya, I listen to the common man and PA and Dubay show. So I know all the spiels they talk about! The common man has valid points but half the time he is talking out of his @ss. Maybe Winter park is selling hope, but isn't every other team in the NFL doing the same right now. Look at the Jets, Jags, 49ers, and Browns, whom are all making big splashes in free agency so far, how many of these teams will actually do good or better than last year? Maybe they will crash and burn this coming season. But you don't know until the games start.

I guess look at it this way...every vikes fan would of complained if we didn't sign Berrian, especially flying him here on Ziggy's private jet and making him stay here till we signed him. Ya we over paid but so would of another team like the 49ers or Titans and I bet they would of paid more than what we signed Berrian for. Like others have stated ya hes the 4th highest paid WR right now, but how about after next years offseason and the year after that. I'll bet his deal is bargain compared to what teams will be shelling out for "good" WR's next offseason. Look at the when we signed Steve Hutchinson and alot of vikes fan complained we signed him for way to much....well did any of you notice what Alan Faneca got this year from the Jets?? Probably not, but 5 years 40 million with 21 million bonus guarenteed!

And if you think Berrian's contract is way overpaying, the Falcons signed Michael Turner the back up to LT on the Chargers for 6 years over $34 million with $15 million guarenteed! So yes its the time of year to overpay "good to average" players, but honestly who else are you going to get that can come in now and contribute like Berrian can? Thats my question to all the nah sayers and guys saying we "overpaid"...

[Scott K]

If you want to talk about over paying players, look at the draft picks! Unproven players making way to much!

[Dahitman44]

Yeah --

When we have to pay so much for these guys it seems a little crazy but if that is what the market says -- Berry will be a good player. Not a great one but a good one. I think it will let Rice and the rest get better as well.

If we were going to over pay for a player I'm glad it was him not that reject from the Raiders!

[Nick Kuhn]

There definitely won't be any harm in picking up Berrian. Sure there are better receivers out there but we have to be realistic with who we could get to come here.

Not that there free agent acquisitions will help all that much. They still need a good DE, preferably one that can stay healthy. Overall the pass rush just isn't anywhere near what it should be, and the superbowl is a perfect example of what a good pass rush can do for you. I also think they need someone for the right side of the line.