Trying to avoid the hype

In this week’s column, Peter King shows how most of last year's big signings did not lead to help on the field. After a lengthy discussion of all the moves the Browns made, he concludes with "It's going to be fun to watch the Browns this year." That's the same kind of talk that made the 49ers a chic pick to be a playoff team last year.

Titan fans should be furious at the Raiders' management. The $50 million deal given to Tommy Kelly means that the price to lock Albert Haynesworth down just went up. Kelly has 13 sacks in 49 career games.

I'm happy that the Alge Crumpler deal is only two years. That keeps the Titans out of a David Givens/Yancey Thigpen kind of deal that looks really bad if Crumpler's knee issues are worse than reported.

Another thing: I like the trend of the media stating the guaranteed money in these free agent deals. That's all they should report. Stating the entire amount of the deals isn't accurate. The Patriots gave Donte Stallworth a (what was the deal?) last year, but it was nixed after one year. The Browns deal is worth $35 million on paper. Considering the current mortgage crisis, I'd say that "on paper" doesn't mean anything.

Did the Falcons really give Ben Hartsock a $9 million contract while the Titans gave Crumpler 5.25? Oh yeah, I forgot my bit about guaranteed money. The Titans gave Crumpler $1 million up front. The total amount of the deal is about what I thought they'd have to give him in signing bonus. It's a nice, low-risk deal. With Bo Scaife coming back, I wonder if Ben Troupe is on any NFL roster this year. The Titans might draft that elusive TE of the future anyway.

Here's another example of my point. Ben Roethlisberger signed a contract with $36 million in guarantees. What's the number the media will use? They will refer to the $102 million that Ben will in no way receive. Even if Ben Roethlisberger leads the Steelers to six straight Super Bowls, you better believe there will be a new contract four years down the road. Look at Michael Vick's former contract as a tragic example. In fact, as a one-time Super Bowl winner, if I were Roethlisberger I'd be insulted that I got $1 million less in guarantees than Vick. No, wait, I wouldn't.