Mike Logan
signs on.
With this
signing, the Stillers joined the pack feasting on Jaguar carrion.� Cap-hobbled Jaxville is down and more robust
teams are tearing meat from that skeletal squad.� Very sad.
Logan is a
size/speed player who when he came out in �97, I liked as a 3rd
rounder in, say, Wiggins spot.�
Unfortunately, Jaxville took him in the 2nd just before the
Stillers selected the immortal Will Blackwell.�
The Jags must have envisioned this man taking their FS slot from Chris
Hudson and Travis Davis but that never happened.� Logan was hurt for much of his first two seasons; that is one
reason the Jags targeted Lake following the �98 campaign.�
Lake went out
last year and Logan, in 11 starts contributed (54 T, 6 PD, 2 INT).� Prior to 2000, Mike had only (24T, 2PD, 0
INT) over three seasons.� When healthy
during those years, he did play on coverage teams and returned KO at 29/675.� Despite his fragility, Logan is a pretty
tough guy.� In game 16 last season, the
Jags were reduced to 2 or 3 LB.� Logan
lined up at OLB and made 6T.
Logan has the
size/speed of a big CB; if he can cover, then he approaches the state of the
art at FS.� That�s a big if; I don�t
know the answer now, we�ll all find out soon enough.� Rod Woodson, Pro Bowler that he was last year, had 10 PD and 4
INT.� Per start, Logan produced at a
similar pace.� It is worth noting that
Brent Alexander tallied only 4 PD over the 2000 campaign.
Of course,
Alexander�s contribution went beyond numbers.�
Alex was the QB in the secondary last year; his intelligence and
preparation solidified that group.��
Before he became a fixture, the Stiller DB got beat deep regularly.� Afterwards, that rarely happened.� However, due to a general lack of speed in
the Back 8,the 2000 Stillers played aggravatingly vanilla schemes.� Logan will be an athletic upgrade over Alex;
he has the speed to help deep and this may allow the CB to play some press
coverage.� Still, Scott Shields offered
athleticism too; with Logan at FS, the Stiller secondary will get bigger and
faster.� Whether it gets better remains
to be seen.
All of that is
somewhat beside the point.� Either Alex
or Logan will start at FS; the other will be in on the dime package.� Therefore, the real comparison is between
Logan and Simmons.� Logan�s deal is
$3.1M with a $750K bonus spread over 3 seasons.� I haven�t seen the package but it is highly likely that Mike will
be paid a vet minimum salary in 2001.�
If so, his cap hit will be about $683K; that is barely above the RFA
offer tendered Simmons.� That so, the
Logan signing has no effect on the Stillers ability to deal in the current FA
market.� The FO could cut Simmons and
Shields tomorrow and be ahead in that game.�
Further, had the
Stillers looked to draft immediate help at FS, they would have had to expend a
2nd round pick.� Marvel Smith
hit the 2000 cap for $655K; this year�s 2nd rounder will go
higher.� That is Logan territory, this
year anyway.� I�ll miss Alan Archuleta
but the Stillers do have other issues.�
I like this
deal.� Like Hartings, Logan is a young
veteran.� Admittedly, Hartings is a
proven performer and Logan is not.�
However, Mike does have the measurable qualities to succeed.� The Stillers drafted miserably from, at
least, �96-�98.�� Both of these players
came out in that time frame; with signings like these, the Stiller FO may have
erased some of the errors of the previous regime.� If so, they will have enlarged the core group, circa 2001-04.� While it is true that OC/G and FS are not impact
positions, they were positions of need.�
With these signings, the Stiller FO may turn towards impact in this
spring�s draft.� That�s a good thing;
I�d like to see Coach Mitchell have some material with which to work.�����