Jump to content
Washington Football Team Logo
Extremeskins

London Fletcher and Nate Clements...coming our way.


radskin

Recommended Posts

from pft.com

POSTED 9:09 a.m. EST; LAST UPDATED 10:21 a.m. EST, February 15, 2007

FLETCHER-BAKER TO BE IN DEMAND

In what's either a sign that the free-agent market will be lighter than usual in 2007 or that there's a sudden demand for thirtysomething linebackers who are a couple of inches shy of six feet, London Fletcher-Baker of the Bills is already on the shopping list for at least two teams.

On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the Redskins plan to make a play for both Fletcher-Baker and Bills teammate Nate Clements, a cornerback. We've also heard that the Lions intend to take a flyer on Fletcher-Baker in the early stages of free agency.

The winner in the process will be Fletcher-Baker. We don't want to knock the guy's abilities, and we're impressed that he has never missed a game in nine NFL seasons. But the apparent fact that two teams who are notorious for overpaying in the early days of the Super Bowl supermarket plan to make a run for him means that he'll likely end up with far more money in his pockets than he objectively would merit.

Statistically, Fletcher-Baker had one of the best years of his career in 2006, his fifth season with the Bills. He registered 104 tackles, 42 assists, two sacks, four interceptions, seven passes defensed, and a touchdown. He also spent four seasons with the Rams, and started all 16 regular season games as St. Louis made an improbable run to the NFL Championship.

Since when is he London Fletcher-Baker? Is he pulling a Damanic Davis (Williams) or Michael Jackson (Dyson) of the Browns?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

alright well the reason im asking is another thread was talking about how springs's return is unlikely (i don't know how much truth there is to that) and i know that many people didn't want to pursue clements because of his high asking price, but I think if Springs leaves then we should definitely sign Clements. I already support the idea, if Springs left I would support it hands down.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

i'd rather get smoot

Why? I liked Smoot as much as the next guy when he was here but I really don't think he is a #1 corner; he would probably be a nickel guy and we don't really need that. We need a true top tier corner who is pretty young and can stay healthy. Sure, he'd come with a much lower price tag but we would just be getting another "ok" CB.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Since when is he London Fletcher-Baker? Is he pulling a Damanic Davis (Williams) or Michael Jackson (Dyson) of the Browns?

I actually thought I remembered hearing that the last name addition is his new wife's maiden name. He apparently just tacked it on the back when they got married, like Courtney Cox Arquette :laugh: . Not something a man usually does, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I actually thought I remembered hearing that the last name addition is his new wife's maiden name. He apparently just tacked it on the back when they got married, like Courtney Cox Arquette :laugh: . Not something a man usually does, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is.

It was to honor his grandfather or something like that. ______ Baker.

Not his wife.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

alright well the reason im asking is another thread was talking about how springs's return is unlikely (i don't know how much truth there is to that) and i know that many people didn't want to pursue clements because of his high asking price, but I think if Springs leaves then we should definitely sign Clements. I already support the idea, if Springs left I would support it hands down.

I think if springs leaves it is almost a must. Clements is the only real starting CB left out there. While others might have started in the past (smoot) they arn't exactly reliable anymore. Clements is young (27?) so it would help sure up the CB position for years to come with a tandem of him and rogers.

Price tag or not, i think it is a must if Springs leaves

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Actually....these are the only big name moves I wouldn't mind seeing. It's not like we're reaching for another bust like AA when we already had Clark. These are holes in our defense that can be immediately improved.

If we're going to pickup any other FA's, I just hope that they're the typical character-type players Coach Gibbs sees fitting in.

I agree these are areas that need to be adressed. Having Fletcher in the middle will allow Marshall to play on the outside, where he belongs, IMO.

As for Clements, I like the idea of him coming here, but Im not sure if paying him what he will likely want will be worth it...and not at the expense of Shawn Springs. If there is a way to have Springs and Clements with Rogers as the 3rd CB then this defense should be in great shape. However this scenario might just be too unweildly towards the cap.

Another interesting prospect at CB might be Rodrick Hood. But again, I say this team should do what it can to keep Springs--even if he has lost a step, he still had a step to lose.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I agree these are areas that need to be adressed. Having Fletcher in the middle will allow Marshall to play on the outside, where he belongs, IMO.

As for Clements, I like the idea of him coming here, but Im not sure if paying him what he will likely want will be worth it...and not at the expense of Shawn Springs. If there is a way to have Springs and Clements with Rogers as the 3rd CB then this defense should be in great shape. However this scenario might just be too unweildly towards the cap.

Another interesting prospect at CB might be Rodrick Hood. But again, I say this team should do what it can to keep Springs--even if he has lost a step, he still had a step to lose.

So where does this logic leave our top pick from last year? Does Rocky have a role in your plans or is he going to essentially sit another year on the bench getting older?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think Springs leaving is almost a done deal. Too much has been leaked for it not to be true in my opinion. With both players we have basically two realistic options. We need starters and GW does not start rookies so drafting a MLB or CB #1 is not realistic for this year.

Clements

1. Sign him and make Springs a June 1st cut and it is basically a wash on the salary cap. This move is pretty likely to happen. I support it as long as we also sign another CB as the nickle and retain wright as the number 4. I would love to see Hood as the three but it won't happen so Ricky Manning Jr or Smoot are probables.

2. Don't sign Clements and go for Harper (32 yrs old I believe) or Hood. Hood has shown up well when asked to start but that would leave either him or CR as a number w1 cb which is not so favourable in my opinion. It could work with Springs in a cover Safety role but I don't think he will be here next year.

Fletcher-Baker

1. Sign him and draft a mlb early next year.

2. Go for the mlb from KC Kiwanke Mitchell (SP)

-Fletcher gives you experience and knowledge of the system (He is the Favorite for those reasons)

-Mitchell brings youth athleticism and size.

I prefer mitchell and the Clements route. My favorite option would be to actually keep springs, sign clements (unprecedented versatility in the secondary) and sign mitchell.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

why not suck it up...accept the reality of the situation....and build this team over 2-3 years through the draft? kinda like San Diego? then coast for 5-6 years with late first round picks ...:-).....that replenish areas of need. we keep repeating these faulty "get rich quick" strategies that simply do not work.

The FO has had the wrong vision all along. we will always be in a 2 year cycle instead of a 6 year cycle as long as we ignore the draft as the foundation to longevity and competitive football.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...