When is Kevin Colbert going to be 'retired/resigned"?

[955876]

I don't know of many GMs that keep their jobs after whiffing on an entire draft the way Colbert did in 2008. Two Super Bowls wins will buy a lot of forgiveness. Still, His drafts never sucked that bad with Cowher (Drama has a Cowher was a better judge of talent than Tomlin agenda).

I get that drafting players and teaching them the steelers system and culture then signing core players long term is the ideal model to build a perennial contender. The Steelers won the most Super Bowls in league history using that model. So it's too easy to say the model is broken in light of some shaky extensions paid out to Woodley, Gilbert, and maybe the worst extension in team history Cortez Allen.

Bottom line is if you miss in the draft youre screwed no matter what but if you choose to only upgrade your roster through the draft now you're really screwed when you miss on draft picks...especially premium picks like Ziggy hood, Mike Adams, and SteelerFury piss boy Jarvis Jones.

All GMs miss on draft picks but what Colbert did in free agency this past year was amateur hour. A surfer buddy of mine from my Pacific Beach days we call "blonde John" knew Cam Thomas was a horrific football player. How does a 2 time Super Bowl winning GM who gets paid millions of dollars to do nothing but sit around and evaluate football players all day not know Cam Thomas is simply not good at football???

Do I think Colbert should be fired? No but only because I suspect he's not permitted to operate under the same parameters as say an Ozzie Newsome or John Elway.

Instead of a firing I would suggest getting Colbert a right hand man like Ozzies Eric decosta or at least a couple of savvy drinking buddies like Elways Matt Russell and the vastly underrated Tom Heckert. Somebody with a little more football credibility than "Blonde John" to say, "Hey Kev that Archer kid may run a wicked fast 40, but he sure sucks at football. You might want to rethink that one."

Knocked it out of the park with that post Drama...

[bradshaw2ben]

Don't see how 2008 is a complete whiff but I agree with much of the post.

[jebrick]

Bill Polean, who sent many teams to the SB but only won one 1 as a GM, had to tank 2 drafts in a row before he got let go by the Colts.

[bradshaw2ben]

Well although Mendenhall was a decent starter for them and Ryan Mundy played a lot, albeit not so well-- it was a talent rich draft where they didn't end up with any they liked.

I don't buy the influence of tomlin argument at all-- I don't think the organization gave him much influence over draft at all-- the scouting department and cross checkers on the other hand? Different story.

[USS Steelerworks]

Don't see how 2008 is a complete whiff but I agree with much of the post.

Agreed. How can the 2008 draft be a complete whiff? The Steelers did get meaningful production out of Mendenhall that enabled them to get to a SB. In regards to supplying talent for the 2013 and 2014 team I would agree it is a complete whiff, but then so is the 2006 draft.

[Obviously]

Not a complete whiff but certainly a poor draft.

1. Socrates Mendenhall - yeah, a couple good seasons. Coughed up a Super Bowl though. Spare me the O-Line blame.
2. Limas Sweed - he is the very definition of puking all over your shoes. Helluva block in the '08 AFCCG though.
3. Bruce Davis - kicking ass and taking names in the CFL at present time.
4. Tony Hills - a very offensive tackle
5. Dennis Dixon - Kordell Lite
6. Mike Humpal - never saw a single NFL snap.
7. Ryan Mundy - that he is the 2nd best pick in this draft speaks volumes for this draft and not in a good way.

[Legacy User]

ocrates Mendenhall - yeah, a couple good seasons. Coughed up a Super Bowl though. Spare me the O-Line blame.

I'll spare you from nothing. He was carrying the ball high and tight. Helmet right onto the football and it popped out. Different angle of the helmet, no fumble. Bad luck. Not sloppy handling of the football. And if the Bronco doesn't whiff, it never happens.

[Obviously]

ocrates Mendenhall - yeah, a couple good seasons. Coughed up a Super Bowl though. Spare me the O-Line blame.

I'll spare you from nothing. He was carrying the ball high and tight. Helmet right onto the football and it popped out. Different angle of the helmet, no fumble. Bad luck. Not sloppy handling of the football. And if the Bronco doesn't whiff, it never happens.

I still despise him.

[jeemie]

Well although Mendenhall was a decent starter for them and Ryan Mundy played a lot, albeit not so well-- it was a talent rich draft where they didn't end up with any they liked.

I don't buy the influence of tomlin argument at all-- I don't think the organization gave him much influence over draft at all-- the scouting department and cross checkers on the other hand? Different story.

So when he says he has major input into the draft...including the making of the final decisions...he's lying?

And Art II himself said Tomlin and Colbert both go over the draft board together and assign final grades (he did seem to imply Colbert was the final arbiter, but that Tomlin was heavily involved).

So you're going back to calling him a potted plant. He lets the coordinators run the units. He's not involved with the draft.

What, exactly, does he do?

Cheerlead and spout his well-developed line of bullshit?

[lifelongsteel]

Many on this board are suffering from "loss aversion bias" when we grade Colbert and his choices.

loss aversion bias - the disutility of giving up an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it.

this bias is most often seen with gamblers, where losing $100 (for example) seems like a much bigger deal than winning $100.

What this means for many Steelerfury, is that the opportunity lost by taking Archer in the 3rd feels like a much bigger deal than the value found by taking Bryant in the fourth, even when by comparison more good comes from Bryant in the fourth than what we could reasonably expect from a 3rd round pick.

Now that I've named it I feel better not arguing with all of you suffer from this bias

(And yes, i did spend my morning in a management training course related to decision making bias')

[Legacy User]

ocrates Mendenhall - yeah, a couple good seasons. Coughed up a Super Bowl though. Spare me the O-Line blame.

I'll spare you from nothing. He was carrying the ball high and tight. Helmet right onto the football and it popped out. Different angle of the helmet, no fumble. Bad luck. Not sloppy handling of the football. And if the Bronco doesn't whiff, it never happens.

Somebody else whiffing means nothing. Tiki Barber had the same fumbling problems even with so-called correct ball placement. He solved his fumbling issues by putting his palm over the tip of the ball instead of two fingers per BendNFall.. Spindarella could never do that because once he got in the open field the ball tuned into a loaf of bread. I give Socrates no benefit of the doubt.

Matt Forte

[jeemie]

Many on this board are suffering from "loss aversion bias" when we grade Colbert and his choices.

loss aversion bias - the disutility of giving up an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it.

this bias is most often seen with gamblers, where losing $100 (for example) seems like a much bigger deal than winning $100.

What this means for many Steelerfury, is that the opportunity lost by taking Archer in the 3rd feels like a much bigger deal than the value found by taking Bryant in the fourth, even when by comparison more good comes from Bryant in the fourth than what we could reasonably expect from a 3rd round pick.

Now that I've named it I feel better not arguing with all of you suffer from this bias

(And yes, i did spend my morning in a management training course related to decision making bias')

You have no basis for claiming the value gained by Bryant is greater than any value we lost in the third.

And the criticism for the pick is that the Steelers had many areas of need...Archer filled none of those needs, except perhaps on STs...and he had NEVER DONE what we were going to ask him to do there.

You take gambles on projects in the 5th round or lower.

Your picks in the first four rounds should all be solid starters or contributers...NOT projects.

Archer was a project.

And do NOT try and sell the idea that Archer was BPA when it was our turn to pick.

[jeemie]

ocrates Mendenhall - yeah, a couple good seasons. Coughed up a Super Bowl though. Spare me the O-Line blame.

I'll spare you from nothing. He was carrying the ball high and tight. Helmet right onto the football and it popped out. Different angle of the helmet, no fumble. Bad luck. Not sloppy handling of the football. And if the Bronco doesn't whiff, it never happens.

Somebody else whiffing means nothing. Tiki Barber had the same fumbling problems even with so-called correct ball placement. He solved his fumbling issues by putting his palm over the tip of the ball instead of two fingers per BendNFall.. Spindarella could never do that because once he got in the open field the ball tuned into a loaf of bread. I give Socrates no benefit of the doubt.

Matt Forte

He was hit almost upon receiving the ball...he would have had no chance to put his hand over the tip.

[lifelongsteel]

Many on this board are suffering from "loss aversion bias" when we grade Colbert and his choices.

loss aversion bias - the disutility of giving up an object is greater than the utility associated with acquiring it.

this bias is most often seen with gamblers, where losing $100 (for example) seems like a much bigger deal than winning $100.

What this means for many Steelerfury, is that the opportunity lost by taking Archer in the 3rd feels like a much bigger deal than the value found by taking Bryant in the fourth, even when by comparison more good comes from Bryant in the fourth than what we could reasonably expect from a 3rd round pick.

Now that I've named it I feel better not arguing with all of you suffer from this bias

(And yes, i did spend my morning in a management training course related to decision making bias')

You have no basis for claiming the value gained by Bryant is greater than any value we lost in the third.

And the criticism for the pick is that the Steelers had many areas of need...Archer filled none of those needs, except perhaps on STs...and he had NEVER DONE what we were going to ask him to do there.

You take gambles on projects in the 5th round or lower.

Your picks in the first four rounds should all be solid starters or contributers...NOT projects.

Archer was a project.

And do NOT try and sell the idea that Archer was BPA when it was our turn to pick.

Bryant looks like a first round quality player (2nd round minimum). On any draft chart either a first or a second is more valuable than the combination of a 3rd and 4th. Thus, the Bryant pick more than makes up for the Archer pick.

I'm not defending the Archer pick. I'm defending the 2014 draft as a whole and saying that the good outweighs the bad. I'm not living in my fears. I'm not losing sleep or overreacting to one draft pick. You're welcome to.

[tbsteel]

I don't know of many GMs that keep their jobs after whiffing on an entire draft the way Colbert did in 2008. Two Super Bowls wins will buy a lot of forgiveness. Still, His drafts never sucked that bad with Cowher (Drama has a Cowher was a better judge of talent than Tomlin agenda).

I get that drafting players and teaching them the steelers system and culture then signing core players long term is the ideal model to build a perennial contender. The Steelers won the most Super Bowls in league history using that model. So it's too easy to say the model is broken in light of some shaky extensions paid out to Woodley, Gilbert, and maybe the worst extension in team history Cortez Allen.

Bottom line is if you miss in the draft youre screwed no matter what but if you choose to only upgrade your roster through the draft now you're really screwed when you miss on draft picks...especially premium picks like Ziggy hood, Mike Adams, and SteelerFury piss boy Jarvis Jones.

All GMs miss on draft picks but what Colbert did in free agency this past year was amateur hour. A surfer buddy of mine from my Pacific Beach days we call "blonde John" knew Cam Thomas was a horrific football player. How does a 2 time Super Bowl winning GM who gets paid millions of dollars to do nothing but sit around and evaluate football players all day not know Cam Thomas is simply not good at football???

Do I think Colbert should be fired? No but only because I suspect he's not permitted to operate under the same parameters as say an Ozzie Newsome or John Elway.

Instead of a firing I would suggest getting Colbert a right hand man like Ozzies Eric decosta or at least a couple of savvy drinking buddies like Elways Matt Russell and the vastly underrated Tom Heckert. Somebody with a little more football credibility than "Blonde John" to say, "Hey Kev that Archer kid may run a wicked fast 40, but he sure sucks at football. You might want to rethink that one."

Great post, but a counter to the bolded:

Anyone on here would kill to have Trent Baalke as our GM. I think we can all agree that he has done a tremendous job of making the 49ers one of the most talented overall rosters in the league. But:

2008:
1 29 Kentwan Balmer DE North Carolina
2 39 Chilo Rachal G USC
3 75 Reggie Smith DB Oklahoma
4 107 Cody Wallace C Texas A&M
6 174 Josh Morgan WR Virginia Tech
7 214 Larry Grant OLB Ohio State

2012:
1 30 A.J. Jenkins WR Illinois
2 61 LaMichael James RB Oregon
4 117 Joe Looney G Wake Forest
5 165 Darius Fleming LB Notre Dame
6 180 Trenton Robinson FS Michigan State
6 199 Jason Slowey T Western Oregon
7 237 Cam Johnson LB Virginia

That's two complete whiffs for draft classes over a five year period. That could be killer for teams, but the key is if you have a whiff of the draft class, like the Steelers pretty much had in 2008, that puts that much more pressure on you to nail the next one and make some key FA moves.

The Steelers are battling a pretty big talent drain that has and is still taking place. We need Shamarko to be a good player and for the Steelers to hit on 3 good players for the D in this draft if they're realistically going to turn this around in a year or two on that side of the ball. On offense, we need a weapon at TE and for the young guys to keep developing and we should be fine. I feel better about this team now given the improvement/breakout of Bell, Beachum, DeCastro, and Bryant. The D is dogshit though.

[stinger8]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

[jebrick]

2008 was a stinker for a draft class overall.

[bradshaw2ben]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

Those Baltimore drafts have Harbaugh's fingerprints all over them. New some does what he's told by the guy in charge. /sarca

[lifelongsteel]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

out of 32 GM's where would you rank Colbert? Who are the guys/teams you would put in the top 5?

[lifelongsteel]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

Those Baltimore drafts have Harbaugh's fingerprints all over them. New some does what he's told by the guy in charge. /sarca

If Ravens fans are anything like steelers fans they would want to run newsome out of town for dealing Boldin for a 6th. Just look at the one transaction and measure him on that like we do with Archer.

[bradshaw2ben]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

Those Baltimore drafts have Harbaugh's fingerprints all over them. New some does what he's told by the guy in charge. /sarca

If Ravens fans are anything like steelers fans they would want to run newsome out of town for dealing Boldin for a 6th. Just look at the one transaction and measure him on that like we do with Archer.

They might have-- but he replaced him with Steve smith-- in 2014-15 Smith is a better player

[jeemie]

Ravens' fans were all over them for releasing Boldin...especially after the Ravens failed to make the playoffs in 2013.

[Steeldrama]

Why ALL the emphasis on Colbert and the draft?? What about his extensions AND free agent acquisitions? These are almost as important. Does anyone doubt that Baltimore has surpassed the Steelers almost solely on the strength of Newsomes performance vs Colbert's over the past 3 years? If you agree with this you understand why we need more from this important organizational area. Colbert aint gettin it done.

out of 32 GM's where would you rank Colbert? Who are the guys/teams you would put in the top 5?

My Top 5 GMs

1.) John Elway- I think he’s a little more than a GM and I know he is yet to win a Super Bowl as GM, but I really like how he operates out there in Denver. FIrst off he had to clean up the Tim Tebow mess he inherited from Josh McDaniels. Not only did he jettison the fan favorite Tebow without hesitation after he defeated our Steelers in the playoffs, he went out and replaced him with a first ballot HOF qb coming off several neck surgeries. I also like that despite playoff appearance by McDaniels and a Super Bowl appearance by Fox. Elway fired them. Super Bowl Victory or bust. BALLS. Elways got them. Elway and his crew not only draft very well, they also are extremely aggressive in free agency. Peyton Manning, Wes Welker, DeMarcus Ware, Aquib Talib, TJ Ward, and yes Emmanuel Sanders all made the Pro Bowl as free agent signees with the Broncos. Who did Colbert sign again this offseason? Nevermind. You get the point.

2.) Ozzie Newsome- Been saying it for years the man is simply good at his job. Like Elway, he’s smart enough to surround himself with smart football guys like Eric Decosta. He just knows how to build and SUSTAIN a team. Draft, free agency, AND trades. Good ones like Anquan Boldin. Mike McCrary a great signing to help complete a Super Bowl defense. Too many GREAT player acquisitions to list and he never overpays. Getting rid of players when he knows they’re done such as Boldin and Ed Reed. I also like that Newsome will go out of his way to get his coaches what they want. Take that toolbox Brian Billick. Man he just had to have Kyle Boller because he could throw the ball 50 yds threw the uprights from his knees. So Ozzie traded back up into round 1 to get him. He had me scratching my head at the Harbaugh hire. Yes Harbaugh is a major tool but he does have a Super Bowl an impressive playoff record. Ozzie knows defense and defensive coaches. More importantly he knows how to reload that defense so they seemingly never get old (unlike one team I know and love). Ray Lewis and Ed Reed. Two simply great picks that I was praying would end up Steelers but Ozzie knew to draft them and knew when it was time for them to go. CJ Mosely. You just have to laugh at that steal. Nice one Tombert.

3.) Ted Thompson- Now here’s a guy that has a lot of control over a football team. I know the fans are shareholders in the team, but I mean who the hell is Thompson’s boss??? Anyway, this guy doesn’t seem to have any money to throw at big free agent signings yet he operates like he doesn’t care or doesn’t even want it. He builds through the draft plain and simple. He makes moves with the present and future in mind. Case in point drafting Aaron Rodgers even though Brett Favre was still in his prime. Randall Cobb is a free agent? Big deal go out and draft his replacement in Davante Adams. Players are just wheels on the bus to this guy. Dig him big time.

4.) Bill Belichick- I don’t expect this pick to be popular but here’s why I like it. Nobody knows Belichick’s system better than he does so it only makes sense that he does away with the middle man and acquires the players he wants for his team and system. Like Ozzie, he rarely has to rebuild just sustain. He’s from the Bill Parcells Coaching tree but he’s a Jimmy Johnson disciple. Although I like how Bill aggressively trades throughout the draft, I think he’s much better at identifying key free agents and making trades for players that fit the Patriot way. Mike Vrabel, Corey Dillion, Wes Welker, Aqib Talib, Darelle Revis, Randy Moss? For a 4th round pick? He’s also not afraid to piss off Brady. Trading Mankins, Deion Branch, ditching Welker. The man is a genius. Dig him too.

5.) Bo Duke-I think crooked nose Pete actually calls most of the shots out there in the Pacific Northwest or else I’d be inclined to rank John Schneider higher on the list. Anyway, I was critical initially of these two clowns as they made an obscene 284 roster moves their first year on the job in Seattle (That’s called house cleaning Drama ya dumbass). Anyway, these guys don’t care how big (Kam Chancellor, Richard Sherman) or small (Russell Wilson) a player is, if they can play football they want him on their team. A 4th round pick for Marshawn Lynch? Robbery.

Pre the disaster draft of 2008 Colbert makes that list. Ben, Troy. Quality free agent signing in Farrior and Hartings. Two Super Bowl Wins. Then the constant restructuring of contracts, Extending Lamar Woodley,Marcus Gilbert, Cortez Allen, sub par drafts, TERRIBLE free agent signings (I’m looking right at you Fat Cam). But to me this inability to part ways with veteran players particularly on the defense really showed a lack of balls to me. But really it showed a lack of faith in the players drafted to replace these legendary players or just a flat out lack of players period.

As things stand now Colbert might not make my top 20 (if I had a top 20). I appreciate the two Super Bowl rings but I’m that down on the guy. Hopefully things are on the upswing now that the offense is top 5 caliber and it looks like the defense is finally ready to make a new start under Keith Butler and a new generation of Steeler defenders.

[stinger8]

5 STAR POST by Drama. Lifelong there is a great response to your query. I bet you can come up with another 5 guys who have effectively improved their teams over the past 5 years, and are superior to Colbert. I REALLY dislike the "we have no choice but to resign these guys cause there is no one else" line used far too often. That is an admission you have not done your job and have painted yourself into a corner. Yes you do have a choice. Its called not getting to that situation initially by staying ahead, having prospects coming through the system ready and waiting, its an admission you were negligent. Look at our CB and outside linebacker situation going into 2015. Colbert is the architect. If a player is not worth the dough (see Allen) then make some prescient moves drafting/or free agency because its your job to not get to the "we have no other option". If Colbert was competent we are playing later today and 2 wins from #7

[jeemie]

Can we please stop putting LaMarr Woodley on the list of "bad signings by Colbert"?

There was no way to predict what would happen to him, and at the time, his contract was value for what he had produced and could be expected to produce.

People may forget that for much of 2011, until he suffered his first injury, he sure looked like he was going to earn that contract.

Also Gilbert- he is not a bad signing, and played well this year.

[BethlehemSteel]

Nice post Drama......but I'll defer in #4...........he is simply a dickheaded cheater

[Legacy User]

Too early to tell yet whether Elway's quick trigger and impatience will be fruitful or disastrous. Many good moves but even with an improved run game, ol' noodle neck seems to be fading fast. As he faded so has the team and Elway's supposed genius.

Overall great post, top-to-bottom. Around here, people want to heap criticism on Newsome every little chance....as time goes and the team is restructured, that criticism is just silly. Rebuilding the team while remaining relevant.

People can call Belichik a cheater....but he has more important things to worry about - like the playoffs every year and afc championship games. oh yah he sucks because he lost 2 close superbowls to a team he didn't match up well with. I'll take that kind of failure of 4 years of 0-2 in the post-season.

[jeemie]

Too early to tell yet whether Elway's quick trigger and impatience will be fruitful or disastrous. Many good moves but even with an improved run game, ol' noodle neck seems to be fading fast. As he faded so has the team and Elway's supposed genius.

Overall great post, top-to-bottom. Around here, people want to heap criticism on Newsome every little chance....as time goes and the team is restructured, that criticism is just silly. Rebuilding the team while remaining relevant.

People can call Belichik a cheater....but he has more important things to worry about - like the playoffs every year and afc championship games. oh yah he sucks because he lost 2 close superbowls to a team he didn't match up well with. I'll take that kind of failure of 4 years of 0-2 in the post-season.

Precisely.

Since Spygate ended, the Patriots may not have won any Super Bowls, but they are in their fourth consecutive AFCCG. Brady has been to six of them since Spygate ended, and is likely headed to his third Super Bowl (making a total of six for him).

[stinger8]

Can we please stop putting LaMarr Woodley on the list of "bad signings by Colbert"?

There was no way to predict what would happen to him, and at the time, his contract was value for what he had produced and could be expected to produce.

People may forget that for much of 2011, until he suffered his first injury, he sure looked like he was going to earn that contract.

Also Gilbert- he is not a bad signing, and played well this year.

Sorry Jeems its called accountability. You want the credit when things go well, then take the heat when things go south. On Woodley its the size and length of the contract. Please don't tell me in Woodley you did not see a very "thick" body. Thick can become fat, very quickley. You have to protect yourself against that development and Colbert did not. On Gilbert very average player being paid like an excellent player. Bad contract right now. In 3 years when salaries have increased he will be paid for his skill set. Over payment in my opinion. You could replace Gilberts production at half the price. Did you watch the Ravens O line in the playoff game?? 2 rookies (one a free agent I believe) and a guard playing tackle. All were better than Gilbert.

[lifelongsteel]

Appreciate the list drama. and respect your opinion. Personally i dont' study this well enough to have to well formed of an opinion of how every team is run, and more importantly it's almost impossible to know the exact role all these guys play.

My thoughts on your thoughts
- Newsome and Colbert have almost identical records over an exteded period of time right? Not sure how one can be #2 and the other incompetent
- Elway has had 2 short of a run for me to put this high. I don't really get it. Did he create all that cap space or inherit it? Did he do a good job with his bag of money in the offseason? Results say no
- I think BB is the best coach ever. A so so GM. His drafting has been abysmal
- Thompson/Duke I agree with

Re: Woodley i agree with Jeems. You have to make decisions based on the available information. Woodley was a fantastic pick. It was the right extension. Bad luck intervened.

Re: erring on the side of continuity with extensions, more and more experts that I read trump attitude/character/teamwork as more important attributes than talent when it comes to winning in the NFL. Ex. watch the seahawks go on a run when they dump percy harvin, arguably their most talented player. So, i'd rather err on extensions than on FA signings.