You may be right, but Al Harris' body is unlike other people's. I was convinced he would be put on IR after rupturing his spleen last season. That is amost always a season ender yet he was back in what? 6 games?

I learned then not to write him off. Certainly the odds are slim for him to be ready for pre season, but by week 4 I think he'll be back. He says he wants to make training camp.

He not only bust his ACL he also did something else which I cant remember the name of but sounds nasty. The NFP.com website is tracking his recovery with regular video updates.

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On DB help, Aaron Rouse has been released by the Giants today 🙂

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Ha, what about the name that shall never be spoken. Rhymes with Bahmad Barroll.......aaahhhhh

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I don't get how you built up to the question you posed.

I'm not sure how the Lions or Bears improving necessitates us needing Secondary help.

Peppers, Vanden Bosch, and Taylor are not WRs. Two of the three actually play on defense. Taylor is a RB that is playing behind a terrible O-line - a position that the Bears have not addressed. If you need secondary help to tackle RBs, then your problem lies in the front seven.

The only WR signed by the Lions was Burleson. Dude has speed, for sure, but is far from an elite WR. The Lions also need to sure up their O-line.

My point is, Secondary help - especially at Safety - was obvious when the season ended. I don't know why after the recent free agent moves by the Bears or Lions it'd be a more pressing concern.

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I have never understood the dislike with Atari Bigby. In our scheme, you do not need to have elite physical attributes, you need to be able to communicate and understand your responsibility. Bigby can do that.

Don't get me wrong, I think our depth at Safety is downright terrible. We certainly need at least one more capable body in there.

I'm all for bringing in competition for Bigby, and letting the best man win; you need to push players to bring out their best. Still, I think Bigby needs to be a part of this team going forward. Worst case scenario, he is your back-up. Best case scenario: he wins a starting spot and played solid.

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TT really should go after Ryan Clark. He's an upgrade over Bigby. Collins/Clark/Bigby rotation would be sweet.

I'd hang onto Bigby. And he's already been given an offer IIRC. Going after Clark may upset him though. He may not like taking a reduced role.

Here is my thing with going after Ryan Clark: he's done admirably in filling in for Polamalu; he is clearly better than a mediocre player.

At 30 years old, this is likely Clark's last chance to get a big payday. He is very unlikely to hold out until the later stages of Free Agency - when Ted usually gets into the FA waters by going after FAs from other teams. The longer Clark stays unsigned, the lesser money he is going to be shown.

If Ted decides to go out and get Clark, he is going to have to do more than simply offer a "fair" contract. Doing that, though you risk over-paying for a player that is old.

More than that, though, you run the risk of pissing of Collins immensely. Collins is a heck of a Safety, and what does it say if the Packers go out and take care of another Safety before one of their own - one that is pretty damn talented. Besides running the risk of having Collins holdout, you run a Javon Walker-isk risk of pissing him off to the point he wants to go to another team. That will also filter over into the locker-room.

You don't want that.

I'd much rather keep Bigby and bring in a draft pick for competition and to solidify the depth at the position.

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Simple, start talking with Collins more intensely about his contract while you sign Clark.

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Also, I feel a lot of us are missing the bigger picture of 2011.

Let's say that a CBA is worked out. It's for certain that the requirement to become a UFA goes back down to 4 years of experience...

Look at the RFA list right now. Take a look at how many players would instantly become UFAs when a new CBA is signed. Granted, some RFAs will be taken care of, but my point is that the talent pool is vastly, vastly greater for the UFA market of 2011 than it is right now, even if all the players who are RFAs now do not become UFAs by signing an extension.

You can get by with Bigby and a draft pick this year. If you still find you need to upgrade the position, then you've potentially got a very strong FA pool to go after to do so. Chances are you can still get a decent player later on in Free Agency, as Uncle Ted loves to do.

Now, of course, if there is a lockout next year then many of the RFAs this year still become UFAs. Whenever a new CBA is done, the threshold for UFA is going to go back down to four years.

My point is: in 2011 or 2012... the UFA talent pool is going to be pretty good. More than anything else, it's going to include a lot of above average YOUNG talent.

It might be good to plan with an eye to the future.

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They're already talking; Collins agent said he was optimistic.

It's more about impressions than actual reality. Collins may well feel that the team isn't as serious about him as it is about players outside the organization.

More likely though, you over-pay for Clark and end up offering more leverage for Collins agent to use to get a higher contract.

Rolle just got an amazing contract. I'm not sure about you, but I'd take Collins any day of the week over Rolle. The market is already set pretty high; risk over-paying for a good - but not elite - player like Clark, and you may end up further driving up the value for Collins.

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