Fall NFL Thread

[xi0]

I don't imagine the scrutiny going away any time soon with news of this contract. Maybe if he wins another one, who knows.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Neither do I. If the Ravens' defense decreases next year with Ray Lewis retiring, Ed Reed seemingly leaving, and other issues, and then the Ravens don't do well in the regular season or something, there will be big questions.

This is too much pressure to put on Flacco, I think. In the past, if Flacco won, he won. If he didn't win, it was okay. Now, however, having won the SB and having this massive contract hanging over his head, there will be a massive amount of pressure. If Flacco performs and wins another SB in the next 3-4 years, then it'll be all worth it, but if this negatively impacts his career, ugh...

 

[xi0]

Well, it makes more sense than starting all over again. I could just list the chain of crap we had under center since the beginning.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Oh, no doubt. Flacco's a top 10 QB. He is getting overpaid here, but he won the SB, so it's fine. I do worry that the 20m a year is going to cut into the amount of cash that the Ravens have available on other players, however. That's actually a good thing for me, but it's bad if it makes the Ravens less competitive.

 

[xi0]

The contract is probably back-loaded like all the huge ones, so the cap hit probably isn't terribly steep compared to his total pay. It's definitely less than what it would be if we franchised him, and it's really nice the negotiation went so quickly so now they don't have to waste it on him to maintain his rights and get it done later. I'm curious about who they'll use it on now though, should be interesting.

 

[FrostyMouse]

It probably is, but then he'll be getting massive amounts at times, although guaranteed money is guaranteed. We also don't know how much is guaranteed.

I'm thinking that Kruger will get franchise tagged.

 

[xi0]

I'm sure a lot of it is. Plus, no massive contracts end up getting played out until the end, he'll likely restructure the deal in a few years time.

That would make the most sense yes. However, his tender would probably be a lot higher since he's a pass rusher. Remember, they figure out the tag by averaging out the top 5 or so yearly salaries at that position. They could also go for Ellerbe, who is a higher priority at ILB in my opinion. Other choices would be Ed Reed possibly, since a safety salary is probably the lowest on defense. Maybe Cary Williams at CB. They could even franchise LT Bryan McKinnie, though that would be a big tender for an LT.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Maybe he will restructure it, maybe he won't. I haven't seen Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, or Drew Brees restructuring their deals to help their teams...

True, although I think that a deal will probably get done with Kruger. Ellerbe could be more likely to be tagged under that system then, as I'd forgotten that they averaged the top five salaries.

Ed Reed seems to be lower on the pecking order and, as he's nearly retired, the Ravens seem to sort of be accepting that if the money isn't there to sign, it's more important to focus on the future.

 

[xi0]

None of them are far into their deals. It's common sense to do it, and I think Manning definitely has done it before in Indy. Roethlisberger just did it for Pittsburgh a couple days ago I believe. You need the pieces in place for you if you're QB, and they need money to do that.

I really don't know our cap situation, but even if we were in tremendous shape, signing all the people I mentioned to deals and signing our draft picks and any free agent gap fillers would be nearly impossible. That's just how the cap works. So if we could get Kruger for one more year and then see what our situation would be next year, then that would be dandy. But I really can't foresee him getting a new contract this year.

The Reed situation will likely be similar to what the front office did with Lewis some years ago. Let him shop himself around and see if it's worth it for him to stay here or move on.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Yeah, but Brady and Big Ben aren't those other three.

I can't really see Flacco restructuring because he wants his money. It'll probably happen, but some of these QBs don't want to take the risk of losing out on the money.

 

[xi0]

Peyton did it at least once in 2007. QBs will always be more apt to do it because they make the most money. Brees signed his deal a year ago, and Eli already restructured his contract last year. It's a much more common occurrence than you think. Restructuring doesn't mean you lose money, it's just moving money around on your deal to free up cap space in a given year. The only things that matter with NFL contracts are the signing bonus you get as a rookie and the amount of the contract that is guaranteed. Your career could be over in the blink of an eye. It wouldn't make much sense for contracts to work like they do in MLB with how short most players' careers are.

 

[FrostyMouse]

Really? I'm surprised then. All we ever hear about with Peyton is the size of the next deal he signs.

 

[Kaiten]

NFL contracts are mostly empty numbers, anyway. It's not like Flacco will ever see all of it. I haven't bothered looking at how much of the contract is actually guaranteed, and how it compares to the likes of Brees, Manning, and Brady. Making him the highest paid quarterback in the league was symbolic, a gesture of good faith, and nothing more.

---------- Post added at 01:48 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:41 PM ----------

Really? I'm surprised then. All we ever hear about with Peyton is the size of the next deal he signs.

Follow Andrew Brandt (@adbrandt) on twitter. He's very good at parsing the real meaning of NFL business.

The size of NFL deals are meaningless. Contracts are not fully guaranteed. There always comes a point where teams no longer are obligated to pay, and can cut a player without financial obligation. Contracts usually are front loaded, that way if the player stinks the team can get out of the contract after a few years. That is why Sanchez is still a Jet. The Jets still owe him guaranteed money from his last contract extension, so he has one more year to prove himself. After this season, they can cut him without much of a cap hit. If he sucks this year he's done in New York.

 

[FrostyMouse]

James Harrison gets released by the Steelers.

 

[xi0]

Wow, I hadn't heard any sort of rumors about that happening. He has had a hard time staying healthy though. I wonder if it's just to make more cap space and he'll rejoin them or now.

 

[FrostyMouse]

I don't know. ESPN didn't say anything more than that.

 

[Jammin]

This was expected among Steeler fans. Wallace is going too, through free agency. And Polamalu is a possibility as well, though his contract goes through next year.

 

[xi0]

If they were wise they would gut their woeful Offensive Line and do something about that

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------

This was expected among Steeler fans. Wallace is going too, through free agency. And Polamalu is a possibility as well, though his contract goes through next year.

Yeah, there were rumblings about Wallace last year. People say we should go after him, as if we have a ton of cap room to work with. He's sort of one-dimensional to me.

Boldin was threatening to retire if we released him, but it looks like he's going back on that. According to him, we haven't even approached him about restructuring his deal, which is odd... doesn't mean they won't get to it. I always liked the way Boldin plays the game, he's a throwback in that sense. But I have to acknowledge that he would disappear at times and he has a tough time getting open usually.

 

[Jammin]

If they were wise they would gut their woeful Offensive Line and do something about that

---------- Post added at 12:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 12:32 PM ----------



Yeah, there were rumblings about Wallace last year. People say we should go after him, as if we have a ton of cap room to work with. He's sort of one-dimensional to me.

Boldin was threatening to retire if we released him, but it looks like he's going back on that. According to him, we haven't even approached him about restructuring his deal, which is odd... doesn't mean they won't get to it. I always liked the way Boldin plays the game, he's a throwback in that sense. But I have to acknowledge that he would disappear at times and he has a tough time getting open usually.

Wallace would probably be a good combination with Flacco's deep ball but, as a rule, I think teams should stay away from former Steeler wide receivers.

I think the hype has a way of overshooting the talent for them and teams end up paying a lot more for something they could get elsewhere for less. Roethlisberger makes them all look a lot better than they really are with the way he stalls until the defense disintegrates.

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I actually think the offensive line is alright. The big issue on our horizon is the defense. Polamalu is getting past his ability to stay healthy, so we need to address that. We're also still kind of waiting for the next big linebacker to step up.

We also really need an everydown back. This running back by committee thing is getting old. It doesn't really matter what kind of line we have if the defense is not afraid of the run. The Steelers need the play action pass and without reliability from the running game, we can't really set that up.

 

[xi0]

Wallace would probably be a good combination with Flacco's deep ball but, as a rule, I think teams should stay away from former Steeler wide receivers.

I think the hype has a way of overshooting the talent for them and teams end up paying a lot more for something they could get elsewhere for less. Roethlisberger makes them all look a lot better than they really are with the way he stalls until the defense disintegrates.

Yeah, they see Torrey Smith on one side and him on the other, with Jacoby Jones in the slot I guess. Why do you say that about former Steeler's receivers?

It's not only that though. Sometimes scramblers screw their line over by not staying on their spot long enough. They flee because they can and not because they have to. Big Ben isn't as guilty of that as others are, but there's no denying that line just isn't very good. Not even at run blocking as much anymore.