- The 49ers' spending spree in free agency didn't receive top billing on the San Francisco Chronicle home page due to a fascinating report on snow monkeys, but it was still a memorable weekend for the hometown team. The Niners Insider provides the entire list of players signed by the 49ers. I'm pretty sure we counted six in all, with Bengals defensive end Justin Smith as the biggest name. As Hash regular Nancy Gay reveals, Smith will receive a staggering $20 million in guarantees. Quite honestly, he couldn't have picked a better time to hit free agency. I'm sure Bears linebacker Lance Briggs was thrilled to see Smith receive $7 million more than he did in guaranteed money. I love the fact that punter Andy Lee played a role in luring Smith to San Francisco. What am I missing here? Do these men have a special connection? I watched Smith play several times when he was at Missouri, and he had limited success against the Baylor offensive line. Not sure that's a great sign.
It's a pretty strong sign that coach Mike Nolan realizes he has to win immediately to keep his job. I'm reading that a lot of these players are excellent leaders, but it will take more than that to turn this team around. At age 36, receiver Isaac Bruce needs to do more than lead. Smith, linebacker Dontarrious Thomas and Bruce are probably the players who will start immediately. I was hoping the franchise would find some help on the offensive line, but they're actually losing at least three players instead.
- Former Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel only needed one morning to decide he wanted to be a Philadelphia Eagle. Unlike Lance Briggs in Chicago, Samuel was a wanted man from the start. His agent delivered what may be the most memorable quote of free agency when asked about Samuel's time with the Pats:
"New England has a philosophy that's right for them," said Alonzo Shavers. "New England groomed a masterpiece and put it on the market."
And in this day and age, you have to appreciate Shavers' humility. Is Samuel worth $20 million guaranteed? Probably not, but that's what the market dictated. Everyone's favorite beat man in Boston, John Tomase, rolls out the list of candidates to replace Samuel.
Sadly, Lito Sheppard was pretty much kicked to the curb by the signing. That's something the Eagles have never minded doing (see Jeremiah Trotter). As Bob Ford writes in today's Philly Inquirer, the only era that truly matters is Donovan McNabb's. Our good pal Rich Hofmann says McNabb also could use a decent wide receiver.
- Chicago Trib columnist David Haugh says Lance Briggs should've fired Drew Rosenhaus immediately. Talk about panicking. And I'm not sure why Haugh is so surprised that Jerry Angelo let Bernard Berrian walk. You could see this one coming all season.
- Phil Savage must be living right. The Bengals' loss was the Browns' gain. Landing Shaun Rogers and Corey Williams on the opening weekend of free agency was pretty remarkable. I still say you can't trust Rogers, but his talent was too much for the Browns to pass up.
- Alan Faneca is now the highest paid offensive lineman in football, and we couldn't be happier for him. I talked to him a couple of times during the season, and he made the best of a tough situation. He's going to make the left side of the Jets' offensive line one of the best in football.
- Dan Le Batard says losing Jason Taylor would hurt. But that was before Bill Parcells shot down the Yahoo! Sports report that Taylor and the Dolphins were breaking up. By the way, Jason Cole is a friend of the program, and I don't like seeing Parcells question his integrity as a reporter.
