between the lines of the shockey signing?

[rayzor]

one thing i have been thihnking about is the timing of the shockey signing.

here richardson and hurney were saying that we wouldn't/couldn't sign anyone until the CBA was done, but here we are adding shockey to the team.

2 possiblilities here...

1) richardson and hurney weren't serious about no signings till the CBA and were blowing smoke or

2) CBA is all but a done deal, or at least richardson thinks so (in which case it probably is)

is there something more to it than that?

[csx]

I think it was throwing the new coaching staff a bit of a bone. It might be a positive sign on the CBA, but it was still just a one year contract.

[Jackofalltrades]

I do think the CBA is fairly close, but I'm trying not to read too much into it.

[mmmbeans]

not sure what the point of signing someone to a 1 year deal would be if they thought they weren't going to play football this year.

[rayzor]

thinking about how rigid richardson has been since heading into last season about this whole CBA situation. it just doesn't appear to me that he's a guy that would back down from his stances unless he knew the end of the fight was around the corner.

[Hugor Hill]

they signed Shockey to be a replacement player once the lockout starts. He'll prob end up being the starting QB, RB, WR, DE and FS.

[countryboi]

one thing i have been thihnking about is the timing of the shockey signing.

here richardson and hurney were saying that we wouldn't/couldn't sign anyone until the CBA was done, but here we are adding shockey to the team.

2 possiblilities here...

1) richardson and hurney weren't serious about no signings till the CBA and were blowing smoke or

2) CBA is all but a done deal, or at least richardson thinks so (in which case it probably is)

is there something more to it than that?

i thought the same thing yesterday that if JR is opening the purse string than he must believe a CBA will get done

[JungleCat]

Rivera mentioned that he wanted to get the TEs more involved. I think a combination of that and Chud having worked with Shockey before had something to do with it.

[rayzor]

not sure what the point of signing someone to a 1 year deal would be if they thought they weren't going to play football this year.

interesting point.

i thought the same thing yesterday that if JR is opening the purse string than he must believe a CBA will get done

yep.

[jtm]

It definitely sends a strong message to me. JR doesn't seem like the gambling type.

[Lumps]

wouldn't an extension suggest they will get it done? I bet it will get done, we are talking money. Just need to get closer to the season so someone breaks. Won't be a fair deal with this method but its money, money is god here in america.

[Mr. Scot]

"Unrestricted free agents" vs "street free agents" or players who have been cut.

Any normal year, it would have been the same deal because until the league year is over, everyone is still under contract. But a guy who gets cut can sign immediately.

The difference is that in a normal year, we would have been able to extend our own players prior to deadline. The 30 percent rule (salary can't increase by more than thirty percent from one year to the next) plus the labor uncertainty has taken that out of the equation.

[g5jamz]

Since JR just recently figured out email...maybe he's just now learned about blogs/forums and felt he needed to buck the "I'm cheap" tag he's earned. If there's not to be a season...he's willing to sign a 30yr old TE to a 1 year deal? But not willing to pay two coaching staffs?

LOL

I agree with you btw...and think that he feels the deal is pretty much done. I think JR and the owners have been humbled a bit since the Doty decision and the eventual threat of bringing all the books out.

If I were D. Smith...I'd still have the decertifying of the union ready because the owners are playing their last game with delay tactics. The NFLPA know their members can't really afford to be locked out.

[C47]

To me the Shockey signing says a lot more about who the QB is going to be on opening day. I don't think they would go out and get a guy like Shockey (who's been known to bitch if he's not getting enough throws his way) unless they believed there was a proven QB they could acquire. I think this signing makes the chances of us trading for a Carson Palmer type guy much higher....