MMQB Review: The Mania and Joy of Overpaying in Free Agency Edition

We still have open spots in the fantasy baseball league and if anyone wants to join then send me an email to bengoodfella@yahoo.com and I will send you an invite. So, onto David Steele being unfair.
 
Peter King showed the first rendering of the non-existent, possibly existent football stadium that would be built in St. Louis for whichever team would like to play there in last week's MMQB. He also advocated for Josh McCown as a $4.75 million player/coach and seems to be under the impression that McCown can still successfully start NFL football games. This week Peter talks about which teams are overpaying in free agency this offseason, free agents who will be bargains, his visit to Iceland (I'm sure there wasn't as much ice as Peter expected), and thinks J.K. Simmons is just like Bill Parcells. There's a comparison you don't hear very often. Peter is a little obsessed with Parcells from covering him for "Newsday" so I guess it makes sense in that aspect.

The headlines this morning, on the eve of the explosive, money-burning-holes-in-NFL-pockets 2015 free market:

Otherwise known as the 2015 free agency period where teams will sign the players they are trying to get rid of three years from now. It's an exciting time of free agent signings, followed by a sad time remembering your team still owes Derek Newton $2.5 million and he doesn't play on the team anymore.

THE DEVIN McCOURTY SIGNING MAY HAVE GIVEN AWAY THE PATRIOTS’ PLAN WITH DARRELLE REVIS. Can the Patriots afford to employ the game’s second-highest-paid safety (McCourty got $9.5 annually, according to Ian Rapoport) and the highest-paid cornerback if they re-sign Revis in the neighborhood of $15 million a year? Not likely, but you never know with New England.

NFL teams can pretty much do whatever they want, so the Patriots could re-sign Revis for $15 million per year, but the only question is how this affects their cap in the future. So maybe the Patriots have a plan for this that doesn't involve Tom Brady taking a pay cut.

In agreeing to terms with the best defensive lineman in free agency in the past 20 years, Ndamukong Suh, the Dolphins get the game’s best interior pocket-collapser—which they believe is the best strategy for facing Tom Brady. More about that on Page 2.

Because having Suh worked out so well in helping the Lions lose 34-9 to the Patriots just this past season.

If wideout Jeremy Maclin signs with Kansas City on Tuesday, which appears likely (according to Chris Mortensen), that means in the span of 12 months the Eagles coach will have gotten rid of the three biggest offensive weapons on the team: Maclin, DeSean Jackson and LeSean McCoy. Imagine if Kelly uses Nick Foles in a gigantic package to move up from the 20th spot in the first round April 30 to pick Marcus Mariota. (Hmmmm. Trading up for Mariota. Where have I heard that before?)

Where has Peter heard this before? How about in tons of mock drafts and whispers of speculation before he posted that mock draft? I like how Peter is trying to take credit for the Mariota to the Eagles trade in his mock draft, like there hasn't been speculation that Chip Kelly would trade up for Mariota since before the 2014 NFL season even began. No Peter, this was an original idea that you thought of. Kudos for the original thought 500 other sportswriters had.

Wide receiver Torrey Smith, the former Raven, likely headed to San Francisco for $9 million a year … Ditto tight end Julius Thomas from Denver to Jacksonville, for about the same money 

Should Julius Thomas regret leaving the Broncos and Peyton Manning before signing the contract or will he just defer these feelings until after he signs a contract to catch passes from Blake Bortles? Apparently getting one more contract worth a lot of money isn't something that concerns Thomas. His best chance to get that one more contract worth a lot of money is to stay with the Broncos and Peyton Manning. If I'm Thomas, I sign a two year deal to keep playing with Manning and then take a chance on becoming a free agent at the age of 28.

The Raiders, with $59 million in cap room, begging any warm free-agency body to take some of it 

I can't imagine why this wouldn't be a good strategy. Too much salary cap room is a bad thing if you ask me. All that money to burn and so many players to overpay so that money gets burnt.

The Patriots wouldn’t actually pay Darrelle Revis his $20 million option-year compensation, would they? I can’t see it.

Peter seems very concerned about what the Patriots will be doing with Darrelle Revis. It hasn't gotten to the point where it got a few years ago when Nnamdi Asomugha was a free agent and Peter called him the most valuable free agent on the market since Reggie White, but it could get to that point if Peter's giddiness ever becomes slightly more unbridled.

The Jets re-signed linebacker David Harris, and dealt a fifth-round pick for 31-year-old wideout Brandon Marshall, and are in play for free-agent quarterback Brian Hoyer. Not good enough, unless you’re competing with Tennessee and Jacksonville for 27th place in the NFL. The Jets enter free agency with at least $48 million to spend, and an owner fascinated with a Revis reunion. “The Jets can’t not be trying to make that happen,” said a source with knowledge of the team’s inner workings.

As I said, too much salary cap room can be a bad thing. All of a sudden the Jets are in the same position they were in with Darrelle Revis three years ago, except they pay him this time, then they start handing out cash to David Harris and Brian Hoyer. They aren't bad players, but when the Jets have money to spend they aren't going to start being cheap with the contracts they hand out.

As one opposing coach said Sunday, “Revis would be the obvious play for them, but at what cost? The hard part for the Jets is they’ve become an organization that has to overpay.” That’s what happens when you go four straight years without a winning season.

Yes Peter, but a team goes four straight years without a winning season by becoming a team that overpays for free agents. Please don't be blind to the reality of the NFL because it's more fun to watch the Jets spend money. Teams that haven't had winning seasons don't have to overspend for free agents.

The prevailing wisdom has been that New England would cut Revis and the two sides would find a common ground for him to return. That’s certainly possible, but Revis has been a mercenary during his career (and who can blame a player for wanting to max out his value?), and if the Jets offer, say, four years and $60 million, mostly guaranteed, that’d be a hard deal for New England to compete with. 

I like Darrelle Revis, but didn't paying for Eric Decker seem like a good idea to the Jets at the time? Not that Revis isn't worth the money possibly. Whatever, free agency vexes me many times over.

Revis has the one thing Johnson so desperately needs for his adrift-at-sea franchise. He’d bring legitimacy back to the team. Johnson could hold him up as an example of how the tide is turning and the talent is returning. Plus, Revis loves the lights and the pressure. It’d be a great marriage.

It was a great marriage. Then Revis held out every other year and the Jets traded him. What makes them think if he starts performing at a high level that he won't want another new contract? I love Revis as a player, but the dude is never happy with the amount of money he is making.

Tuesday, 4:01 p.m.: The first signing will be announced, certainly to be accompanied by words to this effect from the signee: “I left money on the table elsewhere.”

That elsewhere may end up being Oakland. That's how they will give Greg Hardy and DeMarco Murray $150 million combined over the next six years. But hey, Peter will like these moves because they bring legitimacy to the organization and overpaying is how they break their string of non-winning seasons. Right? That's how it usually works in the early days of free agency? Teams spend money and then immediately shoot themselves right into the Super Bowl.

1. Suh will be the highest-paid defensive player ever, handily. His $19 million average (six years, $114 million, per Mortensen) beats J.J. Watt’s $16.7 million average (six years, $100 million). Silly, because Watt’s the best defensive player, hands down, in football. But Watt wasn’t a free agent, and he didn’t have the leverage Suh had as a free man in a year with no other front-seven player even close to his impact.

Well, Watt could have eventually become a free agent. Just like an unselfish, hard-working guy like J.J. Watt would do though, he took his measly $100 million and continued to dance with the team that brought him. It's just like J.J. Watt to sacrifice so much for his team. 

Watt is now underpaid compared to Suh, but I like how Peter is acting like Watt didn't get $100 million from the Texans, like Watt signed for half of what Suh eventually got. Watt is still filthy rich, make no mistake about it. 

Against strong edge rushers, Brady feels the rush and steps up in the pocket and makes things happen. Against strong up-the-middle rushers, Brady has to roam to either side to keep the play going, and he’d rather not do that. With Cameron Wake on the outside and Suh now rushing from inside, Brady and the Patriots have a new headache in the division.  

While I do agree that having Suh and Wake together is great, again, the Lions had Suh with other quality pass rushers this year to throw at Brady. The Seahawks had a great pass rush in this past Super Bowl and neither the Seahawks or Lions managed to beat the Patriots this past season. It's a lot of money to give to a player like Suh. I'm cheap. 

2. The Packers keep wideout Randall Cobb off the free market with a four-year, $40 million deal. Sensible move by Cobb, knowing he could catch 400 balls over the next four years from Aaron Rodgers, if both stay healthy. Certainly he could have made more in Oakland or Jacksonville, and if that’s what you want to do—max out your income while you’re in your prime—that’s fine. But Cobb has a chance to be part of the best passing game in football, now, for at least the first eight years of his career. Let’s say he could have made $48 million over four in Oakland. If maximizing his money is what he wants, it’s understandable. Personally, I’d rather make $40 million and contend for a title every year than make $2 million a year more and be in a place where you have no idea if you’ll ever win.

It seems that Peter King and I agree. It's time to have a new opinion. Randall Cobb is smart. He knows he will be 28-29 years old when his contract runs out, so he has a chance to get another contract (are you listening Julius Thomas?). So by playing with Aaron Rodgers he has a chance to cash in twice during his career, as opposed to hoping David Carr or Blake Bortles turns out to be a good quarterback. Accepting $40 million to play with Aaron Rodgers and leaving options open for a second big contract in four years really shouldn't be a difficult decision.

3. The Eagles did what you should never do with a decent player on a championship team: vastly overpay him. Cornerback Byron Maxwell agreed to a six-year, $63 million deal (a $10.5 million average). I get it, and free agency is good for the players, so good for Maxwell. But in paying Maxwell—the 45th-rated cornerback in the league last season by Pro Football Focus—so much, the team and fans will expect him to be a shutdown corner, which he most decidedly is not. He’s a physical, tall, competitive corner, but not a great one. The Eagles will end up being disappointed, the same way Dallas was disappointed in Brandon Carr. I recall the words of the late Giants GM George Young: No player ever plays better because you pay him more money.

But Peter, you just hinted that the Jets needed to pay players in order to become relevant. Teams have to overpay for players when they can't win games, but overpaying these players isn't the key to winning more games. Darrelle Revis is a much better player than Byron Maxwell, but what if the Eagles are signing Maxwell to give their fans an indication there is still talent coming to Philadelphia? It's alright for the Jets to do this, but the Eagles can't?

Finding gems in free agency is every bit as important as—and given the financial savings, perhaps more important than—connecting on blockbuster deals.

It's more important to find gems in the free agency market than it is to make blockbuster deals. Peter shouldn't let the fact he gets fun headlines out of blockbuster signings affect his opinion. Finding gems on the free agent market is how a team succeeds, not through the blockbuster deals they make. Blockbuster deals can absolutely pay off, but good teams make smart deals with less expensive free agents. It doesn't surprise me that Peter favors headlines as much as smart decision-making.

“It’s a beautiful day for baseball. Let’s play two.”
—Former Niners coach Jim Harbaugh, conjuring up the late Ernie Banks at Oakland A’s training camp on Saturday. He was invited to speak to the team by manager Bob Melvin.

He's not an NFL head coach anymore. Can there just be no more mentions of Jim Harbaugh in MMQB from now on? This quote is boring and really brings nothing new to the column. It's not interesting simply because Jim Harbaugh said it. There has to be a better quote somewhere.

“How much more evidence do we need that the running back position is completely devalued? A healthy LeSean McCoy, one year removed from being the league’s leading rusher, was traded straight-up for a middle linebacker coming off knee surgery. With the degree to which a running back’s job is split up these days, no one really cares about having a top talent at the position in the NFL. Teams would rather spend that money elsewhere. One of these days the general public will come to accept this.”
—An astute Greg Bedard of The MMQB, in the wake of the McCoy-for-Kiko Alonso trade, in his Friday column.

I'm sorry, did the general public make the deal for LeSean McCoy? I seem to think the Bills front office made this trade, so I'm not sure why Bedard is lecturing the general public about the value of running backs. I think the general public knows that running backs are being devalued, so maybe save the lecture for the general public and lecture those teams who are paying these running backs. I think the deal works for both the Eagles and the Bills. Rex Ryan wanted a great, reliable running game and he has one now. Chip Kelly thinks his running backs are interchangeable and he just improved his team's defense. 

Mr. Starwood Preferred Member Travel Notes of the Week

Iceland seems like a really cool place—no pun intended.

Get it? Ice is cold.

And the 320,000 people who live there are pretty cool too—based on those I met on airplanes last week. Let me explain.

If you must explain why 320,000 people are all pretty cool, then go for it.

Many of you who follow this column will recall that nearly a year ago, my brother Ken died in England. My wife and I spent four days last week in England with my sister-in-law and the family, and to save a couple of bucks plus have a fun experience, we traveled on Icelandair, the national airline of the island nation near the Arctic Circle.

Oh, so Icelandair is related to the country "Iceland." Thanks for clearing that up. I was confused as to whether Icelandair was just a airline that specialized in really cold airplanes.

We had a fairly quick connection, 45 minutes, on the way over, and so we had to hustle off the plane to make the connection. One problem: I’d fallen asleep after finishing the LeSean McCoy-to-Buffalo column top for my Wednesday column with my cell phone in my lap, and so when we landed, my cell phone had disappeared. “You have to find it!” said one of the flight attendants, on her knees, looking for it under the seats. “The cell phone, it is your life!”

In reality it was Peter who said this, not the flight attendant and his exclamations probably went more like this.

(Peter King) "You have to find it. That cell phone is my life. Close the door, don't let anyone out! I SAID CLOSE THE FUCKING DOOR BECAUSE I'M ABOUT TO SPEAK! (everyone looks at Peter) I lost my phone. I'm important, so which one of your middle class, potentially non-American assholes took my phone? Just cough it up and I won't call you out in my weekly football column I write. No one is leaving this plane until my cell phone is found."

(Flight attendant) "Sir, we have to open the door. We can't keep everyone holed up on this flight."

(Peter King) "You have to open the door AND open your mouth when you aren't being talked to, don't you? DON'T YOU! (throws cold coffee that he refused to drink because it didn't have enough creamer in it into the flight attendant's face)"

(Flight attendant wiping her face off) "Sir, your phone is in the pocket of your shirt. We have to open the plane door."

(Peter King pulling his phone out of his shirt pocket) "Silly me! I have to catch a connecting flight, so move out of my way (starts pushing people down to get off the plane). Why are there so many people on this flight? (Peter's bag is hitting people in the face as he tries to get off the plane and then turns around as he is about to exit the plane) Lovely flight by the way. You are all pretty cool people---no pun intended."

After a few minutes of looking, two of the flight attendants said we’d better go, because we’d miss our plane, and I quickly figured, painfully, that the 787 phone numbers in the memory could be replaced (I need to save them daily, not semi-monthly),

Because Peter is important and has many friends with leather bound books he has to save his contacts daily. His house smells of rich mahogany and he knows many important people. He can't emphasize this enough. 

Dejected, I walked to the gate for Heathrow. The London flight was leaving in 20 minutes. I hate replacing cell phones. Monstrous pain. We were second in line for the connection when one of the flight attendants rushed up and said, “We found it! So happy we found you!”
Thanks, Icelandair. I’ll be back.

All people are judged by Peter on how much they are capable of helping him out or doing things that benefit him. If they can help him, they are good people. He only has time for useful people in his life. I write this because many of Peter's stories about people who are really nice revolve around these nice people doing something nice for him.

Skip this section if you don’t care, but for those who wonder what Iceland is like, I was outside for about three minutes on Saturday. Three minutes in March, anywhere, is an absurd period of time to judge any place,

Repeat after me: This is how we know that Peter will now make a comment where he tries to judge the place. Immediately after saying he can't or shouldn't judge something, Peter usually judges that something.

but here was my snapshot: The sleet pelted my face sideways, the wind whipped at 30 mph minimum, and the darkened sky look menacing. An hour later, as we taxied to leave, the sun was out, and it was setting. I loved it. A totally different world.

Fortunately, Peter found his cell phone or he would have described Iceland as the Hell-world that time should have forgotten.

Monday office pool suggestion:  "Who will the Raiders grossly overpay for?"
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) March 8, 2015

Yeah, but they would just be overpaying in order to draw talent to the team to show that players are interested in making as much money as possible playing in Oakland. Plus, this is how teams that have had so many losing seasons react, by overpaying for players in free agency. It's a vicious circle.

Ten Things I Think I Think

1. I think I’m not in the Chip Kelly’s-an-idiot camp, the same way I wasn’t in the Jimmy Johnson’s-an-idiot camp 25 years ago.

I don't think Chip Kelly is an idiot, but he certainly is getting rid of a lot of great offensive players. It's hard to call him an idiot until he actually fails for a season or two. Otherwise, it just feels like hot takes based on conventional wisdom.

3. I think it’s stunning to me that eight challengers will go to Hawaii next weekend to run against De Smith for the executive director post of the NFL Players Association. Eight foes had to be nominated by at least three player reps, which says everything you need to know about the current level of satisfaction or lack thereof with Smith’s performance. I’ll just say this: I think it’s wrong-headed to say Smith made a bad deal with the 2011 CBA. Maybe it was a bad deal, making a pact for a decade. But the gains in off-field lives for players are always minimized when players discuss the fruits of the new labor deal, and Smith’s group did a tremendous job in giving players more of an off-season and in making practices in training camp and during the season significantly less taxing. I’m not advocating for Smith.

Well, you sort of are advocating for De Smith. Not that it's a huge deal, but you are doing a little advocating. The NFL has completely non-guaranteed contracts, which I am sure is something that irritates athletes in the most physically demanding and dangerous sport just a little bit.

Notice how Peter says he thinks it's wrong-headed to say Smith made a bad deal with the 2011 CBA, then says, "Maybe it was a bad deal." So Peter is being wrong-headed in his own belief that the CBA was a bad deal. Yes, the CBA did help the players make gains off-the-field for the players, but it seems the players themselves don't appreciate these gains so why should anyone else care about this part of the fruits of the labor deal?

I’m simply saying the last deal isn’t a bad one for players—which is a platform each one of the candidates will try to espouse next weekend at the player rep meeting. 

And of course, we all know Peter wants his agent (Marvin Demoff, in case you haven't read my harping about it) to go out and get a new contract that he can proudly brag is "not a bad one" for Peter. I'm guessing Peter would probably expect a little bit more out of his agent, just like the players expect more from Smith. But since it's not Peter who has to live under the CBA, "not a bad deal" is perfectly fine with him.

6. I think it will be fashionable around Philadelphia to believe that a 32-year-old running back is a poor substitute for LeSean McCoy. But Frank Gore, in my opinion, will be a superb signing because:

But don't think Peter is going to bat for Frank Gore. Because he's not, but here are all the great things about Frank Gore: 

(I've noticed that Peter tends to worry about going to bat for a player/coach/NFL-affiliated person in a situation where it doesn't matter, yet there are other times where it matters that he doesn't give a shit if he's going to bat for a player/coach/NFL affiliated person. Like, when he tries to help Alex Mack find an offer sheet that brings him more money and will pull him away from the Cleveland Browns. That seemed pretty shady to me, but Peter didn't care if he seemed like was advocating for Mack.)

a. Gore is a north-south physical runner, more of what Chip Kelly likes in a back.
b. Gore, in his past four years, at 28, 29, 30 and 31, missed zero games playing this bruising style.
c. Gore is consistent to a fault. He has rushed for between 1,106 yards and 1,214 yards per season in the past four years. In the past eight years, he’s averaged between 4.1 and 4.9 yards per carry.

Yeah, but Frank Gore is boring and LeSean McCoy is exciting. So it's better to have an exciting player than a boring player. Trading McCoy for Gore obviously means Chip Kelly has no idea what he's doing. (Cue Stephen A. Smith's hot take)

7. I think by Thursday, everyone will be very familiar with free-agent cornerback Buster Skrine. He’s the Cleveland corner, a middle-class player at a vital position who won’t cost what a premier player costs. He’s also the type of player—maybe the fifth or sixth cornerback in the pool—who will make more than he should.

So if a team signed Skrine would it be a good signing or a bad signing? He's not expensive, but he'll be overpaid. He plays a vital position but a team shouldn't invest in him to play that position? Peter doesn't have to take a stand on Skrine's value, but he's all over the map here when talking about Skrine. If the nickel corner position is so important and Skrine won't be paid like a premier player, then couldn't that mean Skrine won't be overpaid, it's just players at that position are valued highly?

8. I think the two players incumbent teams are undervaluing are Bryan Bulaga and Julius Thomas.

I think Julius Thomas is a player who is being overvalued. I also think (and here's a situation where Peter is advocating without worrying about whether he is doing it), that Peter is advocating a bit for Peyton Manning to get Julius Thomas back. Thomas is a great receiving tight end. He's not a great blocker and how many tight ends has Peyton Manning helped to look great? Jacob Tamme looks like a serviceable tight end with Manning throwing him the football.

I am surprised Green Bay GM Ted Thompson apparently believes $7 million a year (or so) is too much for Bulaga. You can be sure Bulaga’s agent, Tom Condon, will end up with a higher offer than $7 million a year for Bulaga, the best tackle in free-agency in a weak candidate pool. I get Thompson’s skepticism, after Bulaga has missed half the Green Bay games over the past three years.

Yes, Ted Thompson is undervaluing Bulaga by not wanting to invest in a player who can't stay healthy. Why wouldn't Thompson value a good offensive tackle who can't stay healthy in a weak market by paying him like he's a great tackle who plays 16 games a year?

But he’ll be 26 on opening day, and I’d think a contract with significant incentives could hit the target for Bulaga.

Because Bulaga would probably rather accept a contract where he has to earn significant incentives while turning down an offer from another team that will guarantee him the money he would have to earn from the Packers. What kind of sense does this make?

I also understand Broncos boss John Elway being wary of Thomas because he misses time with injuries, but that is Peyton Manning’s security blanket right there. Virgil Green had better be good—and Elway will need to strike gold with a mid-round tight end in the draft.

I feel like every offensive player is described as Manning's security blanket. Julius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders are security blankets, while Wes Welker used to be. I know Peter wants his buddy Peyton to be loaded at every offensive position, so I can understand why Peter is nervous for Peyton.

10. I think these are my non-football thoughts of the week:

a. The time away allowed me to finish a really good book: “Without You, There Is No Us: My Time with the Sons of North Korea’s Elite,” by Suki Kim (Crown). I love books about hidden lives and secret societies, and the 2011 view into North Korea, by a journalist embedded as a teacher/missionary, is painful and vivid and wonderfully real. Suki Kim is a hero for risking her life and writing it. I plan to have a further review when I write about books for my annual Fathers Day book review column in early June, but if you have a curiosity about a world you simply cannot know, I’d get it.

So during the three month period between now and Father's Day, a span of time so long that you could go purchase the book and read it several times, Peter will be able to get a review of this book together. So just wait until June and Peter will tell you more about the book...you know, or just go purchase the book right now and have it read with a few months to spare.

"I saw a really great movie the other night. I'll give you my review of the movie next year when it comes out on Blu-Ray."

d. And so I saw a couple of good movies while on my time away.

Peter will reveal these good movies in three months during his Father's Day column.

e. “Whiplash.” Wow. What a job by Miles Teller. Never heard of him before this movie.

I can't believe Peter hasn't seen "Divergent," "The Spectacular Now" or "That Awkward Moment" and doesn't recognize Teller's name from the new "Fantastic Four" reboot. What a shock to me.

f. J.K. Simmons reminds me of Bill Parcells. He really does.

Of course he does. When I was watching the old "Spiderman" movies I was always thinking, "Is that Bill Parcells playing the part of J. Jonah Jameson or are my eyes, ears and every other sense that can differentiate between two humans fooling me?"

The music teacher in “Whiplash” is an abusive type. And so many of you out there will recognize someone you have known in Simmons—which is why he won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

This reminds me of Simmons' work in "Juno" when I kept mistaking him for Bill Parcells. I kept waiting for him to get in the face of Juno and tell her to just abort the baby, rub some dirt on it, and GET BACK ON THE FIELD where he can get more credit for the job he does because he works for NFL teams that have a higher profile.

g. “Birdman.” Wow. Michael Keaton needs to win awards, multiple, for his portrayal of a fading actor trying to remake his life on the stage—while trying to make up for being an absentee dad to his daughter, Emma Stone (who is wonderful as a disaffected stoner).

No pun intended here?

I am not a big fan of cinematography,

PETER THINKS CINEMATOGRAPHY IS A VITAL POSITION BUT EVERYONE HOLDS THAT POSITION ON A MOVIE SET IS OVERPAID, BUT LET HIM NOW TALK FONDLY ABOUT THE CINEMATOGRAPHY HE HATES SO MUCH!

but the way the camera follows Keaton through the theater to the streets of Broadway, and Edward Norton through the theater, is just brilliant.

Not Meryl Streep or Philip Seymour Hoffman brilliant, but more Lake Bell in that one movie Peter saw her in brilliant.

h. Beernerdness: If you have a chance to try Einstok Icelandic White Ale, do it. It’s a classic white ale, the kind with coriander and spices you’d pay $3 for a bottle of in America, and you do not have to pay $3 for many beers in the store in America.

Next time I'm in Iceland, I'll buy it. But only if I can find my phone.

Adieu Haiku

Free Agency’s here!  
False hope. Dan Snyder. Haynesworth.
Big winners draft well.

And yet, even though Peter thinks the big winners draft well more than half of this MMQB was about free agency and he has his THE MMQB employees working hard on stories about the blockbuster free agent signings. Weird how what makes teams big winners differs from the exciting stories of free agency that the media prefers to cover.