Falcons weren't playing in free agency this year

Free agency isn't always suspenseful. Just ask any Bengals fan. Since free agency began a month ago, the Bengals have signed 5 free agents whose combined contracts are worth just $4,005,000. Talk about cheap, eh?

$94,690,000, with $33,725,000 guaranteed. 6th and 10th in the NFL, respectively. That, by contrast, is where the Falcons stand.

Ever take your cane-toting grandmother to brunch? "Thank you for the waffles, Johnny!" she mutters through the arthritis and fixodent. You tell her she's welcome, of course, that you do it because you can. Well Dimitroff did the same exact thing, just because he could; except instead of waffles, he installed an anchor on the offensive line while seriously improving the defensive line. I like waffles, but they can wait, Dimitroff is whipping work.

Going forward, the biggest cause for concern is the guaranteed money. As you know, guaranteed money has a nasty habit of evolving into dead money when long-term contracts don't work out. It's absolutely possible the Falcons come to regret their fruitful free agency. But for now, let's assume that doesn't happen. Let's assume the Falcons spent their money in win-now fashion expecting to win ... now.