NFL Free Agency

Did I mention this blog was going to contain sports commentary as well? Well, that should come as no surprise.

The first week of NFL free agency is probably the best week of the NFL off-season. The NFL Draft is a close second, but it doesn't quite match up to free agency in two ways:

1. Most of the players taken in the draft are unknown to casual fans, whereas free agency is dominated by marquee players trying to cash in on their most recent season. It's much easier to get excited about players you know.
2. The draft adds to every team, while free agency can both add players to and take players from teams.

The second part is what can make following free agency fun. As a Seahawks fan, I took plenty of pleasure in the Thomas Jones story and the Lance Briggs story, both of which broke today. Oh baby. I just love watching those Bears fall apart. I watched the Bears play at least five times last season, and from what I saw (and read) they got rid of the wrong running back. I know Benson is younger, but he simply just doesn't look like as good of a running back, never mind that he's been injury prone all through his NFL career. Also, trading Jones for a better draft pick this year doesn't make the Bears better in the short term, so that's a plus. The Briggs was a pleasant surprise. Add this in with letting Ron Rivera go and the semi-bungled Lovie Smith contract negotiations and I'm starting to wonder if that organization may not be all that well run.