Under The Radar Signings

[HtownColt]

OG Donald Thomas.....he has the versatilty and him starting off in NE as a backup and starting for like half the seasonwhen starting for Logan Mankins he should come at a cheaper price tag, he will be starting for somebody full time in 2013. could be for us. he is the real under the radar signing for me

2012 Grade: +10.2

2012 Snaps: 616

Summary: Thomas has shown well when called upon in a
backup role with the New England Patriots the past two years, and it
may be enough to garner interest around the league. His last starting
job was in 2009 when he graded at +5.3 as the Miami Dolphins’ right guard.

In 2012, Thomas showed his versatility by filling in at various times
throughout the season. He got the nod at right guard in Week 2, posting
a +1.6 grade before getting called upon to start at left guard five times in a six game stretch where he graded at +10.9. His ability to play on either side will only increase his value and he may be in line for a starting job somewhere in 2013.

[CardiacColts]

I would definitely be onboard with signing Schwartz as a cheaper option to some of the bigger names. Get him and Vasquez and we will have upgraded the line significantly. Even if we just resigned Justice to play RT, I would feel much better about our line. Im still a believer that the guard position was the biggest weakness on the line and with improved play from the guard spot our line would be much better.

You are 150% correct! Guard was our biggest deficiency last year. They constantly collapsed into the pocket leaving no passing or running lanes. I'm totally down with this signing as well, and if we somehow managed Vasquez too then we would be immensely better.

[CardiacColts]

Adam "Pacman" Jones - He has actually put up a pretty good season in limited action with the Bengals this season (9 passes defended and an opposing passer rating of 81.9 on balls thrown his direction). While he may not have the skills that big name FA Corners have, he will be quite a bit cheaper and is an upgrade over what we have, both as a corner and could also help in the return game.

thoughts?

I would love him as a nickle back, but at this stage of the game he can't be relied upon as a number two corner. If this were last year with 1/3 of the salary cap tied up in dead money I would say yes please. But with the resources we have this year, we certainly better address the corner issue with someone better than Pacman.

[CardiacColts]

Using this CB "per snap" data it looks like CBs Sam Shields and Keenan Lewis actually compare favorably to higher profile CBs on the market such as Cary Williams.

I like Williams but he is said to be looking for some pretty substantial money.

https://www.profootballfocus.com/blog/2013/01/28/signature-stats-first-downs-allowed-cornerbacks/

Good CBs never seem to come "cheap" but passes defended and 1st downs allowed are often overlooked for the flashier INT stats...which don't always give us the full picture. I'm not a big stat hound but at least this shows their body of work in pass defense.

Keenan Lewis also had 56 solo tackles and 15 assists.

Hahaha I LOVE Sam Shields, but there is not a single chance the Packers let him slip from their grip. In fact, keeping him may be the reason they jettisoned Charles Woodson.

[CardiacColts]

My question is are there any significant free agents we can snatch from within our division. Making us stronger while making our competitors weak simultaneously? It's happened to us many times so maybe we could return the favor. And no, I don't want Connor Barwin.

If you don't want Barwin then you answered your own question. There isn't any way to make the Jags or Titans any weaker than they already are and the only FA we can snake from Houston is Barwin...

[CardiacColts]

I don't know if this would be under the radar but I have a feeling Colts will sign Josh Cribbs of the Browns.

Fine with me only if he comes on the super cheap and only plans on returning kicks. I've been thinking that TY Hilton is going to be to valuable to us to allow him to keep returning kicks.

[pacolts56]

Hahaha I LOVE Sam Shields, but there is not a single chance the Packers let him slip from their grip. In fact, keeping him may be the reason they jettisoned Charles Woodson.

Yeah....unfortunately you're probably right. Hopefully we can poach Lewis or another one of the mid-priced guys off that list.

[FalseStart]

TO...kidding.