The GM Game; How Various Teams Approach Free Agency........

The Limited GM

Free agency may tell you how badly your owner wants to win, or not. Jack Bechta

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Print This March 21, 2012, 04:00 PM EST http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191...c/hotsheet.png


When an agent has a top player in free agency, he usually has a good idea what the market will be for that player before it commences. He will play one team against another, use the visit/tour process to tease teams and raise interest and of course, the price tag. It’s the ultimate game of cat and mouse, musical chairs and chicken. At stake is the improvement of a franchise and the career of a pro athlete, which is left in the hands of what amounts to a skilled auctioneer. We, the auctioneers, have a good sense of which teams are willing to do what ever it takes to win. And yes, some are foolish in their decisions but yet their efforts are pure. Others are savvy and some aren’t even given permission to participate.


The conundrum for a determined GM who wants to win every year is getting his owner on the same page and avoiding overpaying for a free agent savior. All GMs want to win right away and he knows he has a finite window to do so. An owner on the other hand wants to win but may want to rely more on hope than a costly plan. After all, they may own the team their entire life, thus they have time. So owners may handcuff a team by sucking the cash out of the business into their pockets, and/or distributing it to the growing family, which they have the right to do.


So each year when free agency rolls around, a team usually makes a philosophical decision such as:

1) Lets upgrade our team, be active, and go for the fences in trying to win it all.
2) Stay focused on keeping and paying our own players and target a missing piece of the puzzle. (I'd say this is pretty much how the Bears have played it ever since JA took over)
3) Let’s get younger, stay out of the initial phase of free agency, and maybe pick up a few players at the minimum to fill some holes. We will build through the draft.


Usually when a team is using #3, they could be shortchanging their fans, unless they are already a good team who has their core players locked up. Rarely does a GM ever choose this option if he has full reign over the purse strings. The biggest shock many GMs get when they get the job is how little control they get over the teams cash. As one GM put it to me, “I always have two negotiations when trying to sign a player, one with the agent and the other with my owner and the one with the agent is the easiest one.”


The NFL front offices are definitely becoming more surgical in targeting free agents. It was nice to see the Bucs finally came back to life after several years of hoarding their cash.


For those agents who were expecting big numbers in free agency, they may have done their clients a disservice by overpricing them, thus potentially having the price tag fall. I keep hearing a lot of teams saying that they “want to get younger”. Ironically, the new CBA was forged with hopes that more cash will be allocated to veterans. Outside of the QBs, we are not seeing that happen across the board so far. (I kind of expected this in 2012)

http://cdn.cloudfiles.mosso.com/c191...0078-White.jpgICONThe aggressive actions that the Packers took when they signed Reggie White and then traded for Brett Favre is a thing of the past.


Personally, I feel that building through the draft is the only way to go but you can’t discount the thirty-some things that can help your team win now. With the new rules in place limiting the amount of contact practices in the off-season, during camp, and the season, the thirty-some things should be healthier, fresher and can potentially play longer then their predecessors. This group of players may now prove to be a more attractive investment than in the past.


If I owned a team, I would be trying to win the Super Bowl at all cost every year. That’s what the Pats, Eagles, Raiders, Saints, Packers, Cowboys, Redskins, Giants, Jets, and a few others teams try to do every single season for the last decade. They are not afraid to spend on that “missing puzzle piece” to get their team over the top. I believe some teams take the year “off” by curtailing spending on their own players and free agents. Others teams such as the Steelers have done so will in the draft they don’t have to be that active. (Will the Bears please stand up come to the podium and collect your prize but sorry, no Lombardi Trophy for you)


I think people forget the rebirth of the Packers started with the signing of free agent Reggie White and then trade for Brett Farve. These were aggressive actions at the time for then GM Ron Wolf. I doubt that many of today’s owners would have allowed him to do both. Once the real salary floor kicks in, in 2013, your owner may be keeping his hands in his pockets waiting until they are forced to put the best possible product on the field. (All this will do is force teams like TB and KC who have been underspending the cap significantly to spend the majority of it as they are required to. Of course how they choose to do that is up to them. I don't think it will change things much on the Bears since we've been spending up to the cap most years anyhow. 2011 was an exception and it was not the choice of ownership not to spend. They've made that clear)

Free agency isn’t the only answer to winning a super bowl and building a great team but it is an important part of spackling the open holes that the draft can’t always immediately deliver. It can also be a measuring tool to see how committed your owner is to fielding you a winning team each and every year. There is a reason why the NFL Players union fought hard to put mandatory spending floors in the CBA. Without it, there would be lots of free riders. The fans deserve maximum effort every single year. (I like the term "spackling" that he uses. Patching the holes is exactly what FA is for whereas the draft is where you truly build your team. Good description! Beginning in 2013 there will be a mandatory spending requirement for all teams which may have a broad impact on FA if teams are more willing to pay up to keep their core players which may make the free agent marketplace more competitive as well with more teams bidding for fewer quality players)


Follow me on Twitter: @jackbechta

Always interesting to listen to agents share their dirty little secrets with us although I'm sure by now their basic techniques for bidding up the price of their players is no secret to anyone. I think it's pretty common to sort your prospect Teams/GMs/Owners into three categories too ranging from those who will usually spend to win, to the bargain shoppers, to the scrooges who rather die and see it buried with them than to spend it. I think segregating your customers like that is pretty much the same in any business. Your A's, B', and C's and God help you if you have too many of that last group because you'll be filing for bankruptcy soon.

Philosophically I see the Bears as a #2 type in his way of describing it. We tend to focus on keeping our own core group together with the thought that great teamwork can often be more important than great talent. But we're also not afraid to make a splash for top talent when we find a difference maker we can add to the team. No matter what some may think we are definitely not a #3. We tend to get older rather than younger because we stick with aging players longer than we should.

I do think we're guilty of the "let's take a year off" approach and at least part of that I lay at the feet of Ted Phillips who has basically admitted as much when he said "you can't afford to win every year". Fuck you Ted the Packers don't seem to feel that way. I'm hoping with Emery on board who has already proven to be a more astute collector of specific talent and a better steward of the McCaskey coffers than his predecessor that maybe Phillips philosophy will change once we get better results from Emery's approach.

Bechta uses the term "spackling" in his last paragraph and it's a good term relative to what successful teams do in FA. FA is for filling specific holes. It's the place you go for starters to upgrade those you have so that when draft weekend roles around you can focus more on the player and less on the position. That's how it should be done.

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Originally Posted by soulman

FA is for filling specific holes. It's the place you go for starters to upgrade those you have so that when draft weekend roles around you can focus more on the player and less on the position. That's how it should be done.

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In an ideal world you're right. It'd be lovely to go into the draft and go BPA all 7 rounds. I guess thats how successful franchises end up and real success is built in the draft. I'm glad we're being more pro-active in general though. i think things are looking up for the Bears and i cant wait 'til the draft rolls around!

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Originally Posted by rich1978

In an ideal world you're right. It'd be lovely to go into the draft and go BPA all 7 rounds. I guess thats how successful franchises end up and real success is built in the draft. I'm glad we're being more pro-active in general though. i think things are looking up for the Bears and i cant wait 'til the draft rolls around!

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Rich I think we're getting closer to it. If we would have been able to snag MWill the first couple of rounds could have just about been that way. I think the key to getting there is be better at anticipating needs and getting players in the pipeline before the needs hits. Back when Jim Finks and then Jerry Vainisi were GM's we did do things that way and it's how they built those teams during the 80's. If we would only have had a more injury free QB we'd probably have won three SB instead of one.

The Packers are very good at doing just that. Once a player starts reaching his peak they find his replacement and in another year or two at most it's out with the old and in with the new. The team stays younger that way as well and it frees up more cap space for the super stars. This year we should be looking at OG's for a year from now and spending an earlier to mid round choice on one.

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Originally Posted by soulman

Rich I think we're getting closer to it. If we would have been able to snag MWill the first couple of rounds could have just about been that way. I think the key to getting there is be better at anticipating needs and getting players in the pipeline before the needs hits. Back when Jim Finks and then Jerry Vainisi were GM's we did do things that way and it's how they built those teams during the 80's. If we would only have had a more injury free QB we'd probably have won three SB instead of one.

The Packers are very good at doing just that. Once a player starts reaching his peak they find his replacement and in another year or two at most it's out with the old and in with the new. The team stays younger that way as well and it frees up more cap space for the super stars. This year we should be looking at OG's for a year from now and spending an earlier to mid round choice on one.

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Spot on buddy.

I'm cautiously optimistic for the season ahead; A very rare feeling in all my years fo following Chi-town's finest! fingers crossed!

you know what, ive been thinking about it. Weems, Thomas, two sturdy yet unspectacular squad players. guys who can do a job when they are needed either situational or on ST. guys with experience on short term cheap deals. Its what a franchise SHOULD do before the draft when it's done with its big free agency stuff and it wants to give itself flexibility in the draft. I like the moves, i like the fact it suggests we go into the draft more BPA, taking players we like because of who they are not because they are the best player left at so and so position or because a rival just took someone a pick before us.
Build your team through the draft by picking only who you are truly high on. players who deserve their pick and fit the franchise. signing the likes of Weems and Thomas give us the flexibility to do this and ironically, their signing in free agency allows us to start putting draft first.

I'm on board with Emery. gotta say it, i'm impressed so far. BEAR DOWN!

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Originally Posted by rich1978

you know what, ive been thinking about it. Weems, Thomas, two sturdy yet unspectacular squad players. guys who can do a job when they are needed either situational or on ST. guys with experience on short term cheap deals. Its what a franchise SHOULD do before the draft when it's done with its big free agency stuff and it wants to give itself flexibility in the draft. I like the moves, i like the fact it suggests we go into the draft more BPA, taking players we like because of who they are not because they are the best player left at so and so position or because a rival just took someone a pick before us.
Build your team through the draft by picking only who you are truly high on. players who deserve their pick and fit the franchise. signing the likes of Weems and Thomas give us the flexibility to do this and ironically, their signing in free agency allows us to start putting draft first.

I'm on board with Emery. gotta say it, i'm impressed so far. BEAR DOWN!

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Emery has improved the team more than seems obvious to some of the Bears faithful because they're fixated on certain things being done in certain ways. The outsiders who follow the game and other teams notice the differences to a much larger degree.

Just adding Marshall makes a huge difference and Mike McCarthy commented on that. He's every bit the equivalent of a Megatron. With Marshall at WR teams will need to game plan for how to stop his connection with Cutler and if that's not gonna be nigh on to impossible as it is they'll have Bennett to deal with as well and he's one of the craftiest most sure handed receivers in the NFL. Some guys don't think it's enough but it's gonna make a huge difference in the passing game.

Then there's the intangible of bringing in Jeremy Bates who turned Cutler and Marshall into a Pro Bowl passing/receiving tandem in only Cutler's second year in the NFL. I'm betting he'll get far more mileage out of Hester and the other role players than we ever have before as well. Bates knows his stuff and he knows what Cutler does well. I've seen it first hand here in Denver. We've improved the passing game far more than it seems on the surface.

The other offensive additions and re-signings added more talent and depth at QB, RB, TE, and WR than we've ever had during the Lovie/Angelo era. The Oline gets it's two best players back from injuries and that's about as good as if we'd added an OT and an OG in FA. That line will be better than it was in 2011 even without any additions and I wouldn't rule out getting one. We were scoring 30 points per game before Cutler went down last year and we've added tremendously to the offensive talent since then. I can't ever remember the Bears with a better offense all around in all the years I've been watching them and that goes back to the 70's.

Emery got a lot of mileage out of what's he's spent so far. He's made some very heady moves. If we could have only gotten MWill too they'd already be talking Super Bowl probabilities. So we missed out on the defensive attack jet in FA but luckily there are some talented pass rushers to be had in the draft so we go there for our fix. If we can get a stud DE and we can stay healthy we stand as good a chance as anyone on the NFC of making it to the Super Bowl.

We're still a bit thin depth wise at some key positions but there's still time to get some vet talent where needed and the draft may bring some help in some of those thin spots on the defense as well. We've already improved dramatically on the offensive side of the ball and if we can plug those holes in the defense as well we're ready to challenge. It's close.

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Originally Posted by soulman

Emery has improved the team more than seems obvious to some of the Bears faithful because they're fixated on certain things being done in certain ways. The outsiders who follow the game and other teams notice the differences to a much larger degree.

Just adding Marshall makes a huge difference and Mike McCarthy commented on that. He's every bit the equivalent of a Megatron. With Marshall at WR teams will need to game plan for how to stop his connection with Cutler and if that's not gonna be nigh on to impossible as it is they'll have Bennett to deal with as well and he's one of the craftiest most sure handed receivers in the NFL. Some guys don't think it's enough but it's gonna make a huge difference in the passing game.

Then there's the intangible of bringing in Jeremy Bates who turned Cutler and Marshall into a Pro Bowl passing/receiving tandem in only Cutler's second year in the NFL. I'm betting he'll get far more mileage out of Hester and the other role players than we ever have before as well. Bates knows his stuff and he knows what Cutler does well. I've seen it first hand here in Denver. We've improved the passing game far more than it seems on the surface.

The other offensive additions and re-signings added more talent and depth at QB, RB, TE, and WR than we've ever had during the Lovie/Angelo era. The Oline gets it's two best players back from injuries and that's about as good as if we'd added an OT and an OG in FA. That line will be better than it was in 2011 even without any additions and I wouldn't rule out getting one. We were scoring 30 points per game before Cutler went down last year and we've added tremendously to the offensive talent since then. I can't ever remember the Bears with a better offense all around in all the years I've been watching them and that goes back to the 70's.

Emery got a lot of mileage out of what's he's spent so far. He's made some very heady moves. If we could have only gotten MWill too they'd already be talking Super Bowl probabilities. So we missed out on the defensive attack jet in FA but luckily there are some talented pass rushers to be had in the draft so we go there for our fix. If we can get a stud DE and we can stay healthy we stand as good a chance as anyone on the NFC of making it to the Super Bowl.

We're still a bit thin depth wise at some key positions but there's still time to get some vet talent where needed and the draft may bring some help in some of those thin spots on the defense as well. We've already improved dramatically on the offensive side of the ball and if we can plug those holes in the defense as well we're ready to challenge. It's close.

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Im with you man. more positive this off season than i have been in quite some time!

I saw a mock the other day that had coples fall to us. man, if that happened i'd be dancing a jig! :lol-027:

One of the things that stuck out for me was “I always have two negotiations when trying to sign a player, one with the agent and the other with my owner and the one with the agent is the easiest one.” Why am I not surprised....

That being said, Emery has been doing an excellent job so far. Even without revamping the teams scouts, I believe there will be a change in draft philosophy this year. Although, it may not be obvious.