02-24-2022, 12:30 PM
(02-24-2022, 12:21 PM)TheLeonardLeap Wrote: All depends on which Bates you think you're getting.
2019 Bates was bad in coverage and bad in tackling.
2020 Bates was great in coverage and bad in tackling.
2021 Bates was bad in coverage and okay in tackling.
Then of course there was 2021 Playoff Bates who was making plays everywhere.. but which Bates are you getting in 2022? I have absolutely no idea and if everyone were being honest, they don't either, because the only thing he's been consistent in is his inconsistency.
If you get 2019 Bates or 2021 regular season Bates, then yes, you could have easily gotten a comparable player for major savings.
Just seems strange to spend top money on a guy who you can't even be sure if he'll be good or not.
I'm going to need a source on that claim, lol. The Patriots seemed to always be franchise tagging guys, and they've had those guys hold out during the preseason and they've traded guys on the tag. They tagged and Asante Samuel held out during preseason, went to the SB that year. They tagged and traded Cassell another year and kept on being the Patriots. The Seahawks tagged and traded Frank Clark in 2019 and won 11 games and a playoff game. The Chiefs tagged and traded Dee Ford in 2019 and won the Super Bowl.
Who says he was bad at those thing? If you say PFF we can stop there. Knowing how coverage is graded there now you might as well let some random person of the street tell you if a guy is good or bad in coverage. I talked to a national reporter who was telling me that the NFL thinks VERY highly of Jesse Bates, so much so on the open market he probably ends up top 3 in average salary. It's hard to judge secondary play as fans, especially if you don't have all 22 or know what you are looking at, but it's even harder when you lack a pass rush in 2020 or other extenuating circumstances persist in scheme change or other issues like a bunch of new players in the unit.
Washington has tanked since Cousins left, Jaguars have been a shit show since the Yannick tag and trade, Texans have been awful since the Clowney incident. Heck even the Steelers have stepped back since Bell, and many point to that (along with AB) of being when the organization kind of got caught rolling in the mud. I am not talking simply tagging people and being done, I am saying ending up in tag situations that you ratchet up rhetoric and end up in public spats and stand offs. Those are signs of dysfunctional organizations and the ones you named above handled the issues decently, although Frank Clark may have gotten ugly for a minute if I remember.
I'm usually okay with moving on from guys, but FS is one of those positions you better have a damned good plan at replacing if you move on. Our defense carried us late and essentially removing the lynchpin of the secondary is a massive risk to take on. I'd cut Joe Mixon in a heartbeat to pay for Jesse Bates (massive cap savings post June 1st by the way).
