02-24-2017, 03:02 PM
Correlation vs causation. It's not that free agency causes teams to lose. Teams that typically lose, typically have fewer players worthy of retaining - and hence more money to splurge in free agency. Using FA to fix a bad team overnight rarely - if ever - works, so it's likely that these types of teams continue to lose. This does not mean that FA should be avoided like the plague, or that a few calculated and intelligent FA moves can't help a good team get over the top.
This article is about teams that "win free agency". I've yet to see anyone asking the Bengals to do that. Pretty much every championship team over the last 25 years has benefitted greatly from a FA acquisition or a trade. This is undeniable really. It's not about "winning free agency", it's about dumping dead weight and making a smart move to get a solid player or two that greatly benefit the team. Think of the Patriots renting Revis for a championship run. Or renting a Martellus Bennett as a great insurance policy for their oft-injured star TE. These are just a couple of the hundreds of examples of successful pickups through the years.
This article is about teams that "win free agency". I've yet to see anyone asking the Bengals to do that. Pretty much every championship team over the last 25 years has benefitted greatly from a FA acquisition or a trade. This is undeniable really. It's not about "winning free agency", it's about dumping dead weight and making a smart move to get a solid player or two that greatly benefit the team. Think of the Patriots renting Revis for a championship run. Or renting a Martellus Bennett as a great insurance policy for their oft-injured star TE. These are just a couple of the hundreds of examples of successful pickups through the years.
The training, nutrition, medicine, fitness, playbooks and rules evolve. The athlete does not.
