Originally posted by Tangodnzr
I tend to disagree on this.
Here's my reasoning:
The Cards are sitting at the free agency poker table with the biggest roll of cash to spend. Everyone knows it. The Cards have shown they are going to be deliberate players and not foolishly spend it all like a country hick that just hit town with his bundle burning a hole in his pocket, ripe to get conned by the first hooker he meets.
If nothing else, the Cards seem to be establishing a reputation as an up-front organization. Bidwill has a history of honoring his contracts proabably more than any owner in the NFL. Mac has come along and has further built a reputation as an up front guy.
Now Graves seems to be adding to the mix.
Think about this: Why should the Cards, being in the position they are, play the Skins/Danny Snyder game? I think a lot of people might agree that the Skins overpaid in regards to the talent they got for their money.
Some of the players the Cards were interested in were coveted by other teams. The only way you are going to pull them off the market early is to overpay them.
Smart players and their agents are going to get as many offers as they can.
So what does the team do in the meantime?
I'm guessing the Cards are saying something like: "OK, we like you, we ARE very interested, we want you. We realize its in your best interest to visit the other teams you've scheduled. We are prepared to pay as much or more as anyone. Once you have made you rounds we will seriously start to make an offer, and then go from there."
In doing that the Cards aren't running up the score against themselves. If they make a good offer up front, that leaves them wide open for the player and his agent to go to the next team and say, "OK, here's the Card's offer, can you beat that?"
In the long run, by being patient, if they have truly established a rapport and credibility with the player and his agent, they should come out fine down the line as things start to play out.
So far I'd say that is working. As someone pointed out, how many of the players that the Cards brought in have signed elsewhere so far? Thornton is the only one I know of as I post this. Kordell has had an offer, but I've suspected that the Cards interest in him is only lukewarm anyway, and that by offering him a contract that apparantly wasn't anything too outrageous, all they've done is possibly drive the market up a little on him, and in actuality make it easier for the Bears to sign him, if they really want him.
No, I think maybe a lot of people may be underestimating the Cards right now.
They just might end up when all is said and done and all the smoke clears the ones who came out with the most and best talent for the money they spent.
I really do not agree with this theory at all. The best players are coming off the board. If we are playing poker we have not won a hand yet. I think i read it right yesterday when I looked at all the teams in the NFL FA signings. We were one of two that had not signed any outside FA. I see no positive in that at all. Some of these guys do not wait to make the rounds. When they get a good offer from a team they like they sign. We got a boat load of money and that is all we have. We have nothing else to attract a player. We will in the end sign some players but it starting to look like the ones who are good want no part of us. We will sign some who want the money. I am hearing more about guys we may lose than guys we might sign (Roundtree,Barrett,Lassister,etc,etc.). If you think we are playing a good game of poker then come on over and lets play a game of 5 card stud.
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