Commentary : Improved Teams Give A+ to Plan B : Football: Clubs learn that attention to free agentry may be as important as draft picks.

For the second straight year, the National Football League has put hundreds of players on the open market, setting them free to strike deals with any team that will have them. The vast majority are flawed, too old or too injured for any club executive in his right mind to try desperately to strike a deal. But the concept of improving a team through Plan B signings has quickly become nearly as important as the college draft.

Of course, as far as NFL players are concerned, nothing short of complete, unfettered, unrestricted, unconditional free agency--freedom for Dan Marino to receive an offer, as well as Willis Crockett--is acceptable. But for now, this will have to do, and the numbers are significant.

There are 490 more players free to change teams than there were two years ago. Figuring its old system would not stand up to legal scrutiny, the NFL devised a plan (that it hopes the courts are taking note of) to put nearly a third of its players out there on the free market.

Plan B--which enables teams to protect 37 players from other teams’ bidding at the end of each season--may also ultimately wilt under legal scrutiny, but until then this is the way the game will be played. Any club that does not spend almost as much time on Plan B as it does checking out middle- and low-round draft picks will fall behind. Given the nature of contract negotiations these days and the fact that too many first-rounders hold out much of their rookie seasons, some Plan B free agents may contribute more immediately than late first-round picks.

Dolphins Coach Don Shula recently was quoted as saying, “Some teams didn’t take it seriously (last year), and I think it really hurt.”

There were some plums among last year’s 619 Plan B free agents, 229 of whom changed teams. Al (Bubba) Baker led his team, the Browns, in sacks with 7.5. Chiefs nose tackle Dan Saleaumua shared the league lead with five forced fumbles. Dolphins linebacker Barry Krauss led his team in tackles with 119. Raiders linebacker Thomas Benson led his with 111.

The Patriots’ Eric Sievers led all AFC tight ends with 54 receptions. The Lions’ Mel Gray led the league in kickoff returns. Defensive end Fred Stokes led the Redskins with three forced fumbles, and cornerback Martin Mayhew’s six pass defenses ranked second on the team. The Redskins protected both players last week.

In San Diego, where Bobby Beathard is the new Chargers general manager, any extra chance to evaluate and acquire talent is an advantage. “I’m not so worried about the draft as much as Plan B, or protecting the right players on our club and being aware of the players left unprotected by other clubs,” he said.

Of the 11 teams that signed the most Plan B free agents last season--the program’s first year--seven improved this past season, including the Broncos and Browns, who played in the AFC title game. Some of the turnarounds were dramatic.

The Packers, who signed 20 and kept eight, went from 4-12 to 10-6. The Chiefs, who signed 17, retained eight and started three, went from 4-11-1 to 8-7-1. The Redskins, who signed 15, kept five and started two, went from 7-9 to 10-6. The Broncos, who signed 11 and kept four--all played key roles--went from 8-8 to 11-5. The Raiders, Dolphins and Lions also got better.

Certainly, it would be wrong to suggest that Plan B players alone turned those teams around. But they did help. In some cases, a lot. The Bears and Bengals, who made it to the NFL Final Four a year ago, were conspicuously absent from the playoffs this season, perhaps more than a coincidence.

“I think we’re willing to dip into Plan B,” Bengals Coach Sam Wyche said after this season. “Last year we chose the other strategy. Nobody knew what the best strategy was, anyway. Chicago and Cincinnati chose to wait.” And got burned.

Joe Gibbs has already said the Redskins will pursue Plan B players aggressively. So has Beathard; so has new Jets General Manager Dick Steinberg. The Bears and Bengals, now also-rans, are in no position to ignore a potential talent infusion no matter the source.

About 24 of the 28 teams in the league could use 49ers tight end Brent Jones. Somebody, maybe even his own 49ers, will make him rich. Thomas Sanders got caught in a backfield glut in Chicago; he might look pretty good to the Cowboys about now. Cornerback Hanford Dixon was beaten down by the bump-and-run by the end of the Browns season, but perhaps could help the Bears for a year or two, while tutoring young Donnell Woolford.

Even Packers Coach Lindy Infante said: “I don’t know if we’ll dig in as deeply as we did last year. But one thing I do feel very strongly about is that if you don’t play in Plan B, then you’re going the other way.”

Green Bay, by the way, is a perfect example of why complete free agency would work if given the chance. The NFL Management Council argues that teams with economic advantages--the cities in big media centers--would outbid other clubs for top players. The council says economic imbalance would lead to competitive imbalance on the field.

But would that really happen? If Don Majkowski, for example, were to leave the Packers for, say, the Raiders, don’t you think Marino would consider going to Green Bay where he could perhaps help win a championship? Players go where the opportunity is, even if those places are cold and small.