Bears Offseason

[Chocolate Milk]

The Bears are meeting with Adam Archuleta today. I think it's likely he signs with us.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Bears are meeting with Adam Archuleta today. I think it's likely he signs with us.

 

So anyway...

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/03/13/bc.fbn.redskins.freeage.ap/index.html

[rawaction]

The Bears are meeting with Adam Archuleta today. I think it's likely he signs with us.

 

So anyway...

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/03/13/bc.fbn.redskins.freeage.ap/index.html

 

That's great. Not a big Archuleta fan. I love the Redskins theory of just spending on big names. That method has never worked. Pittsburgh, New England, Denver, St. Louis have won all the recent Super Bowls with predominately drafted and developed talented.

[CuseCubFan69]

What are the Bears projecting Benson to be? Starting back or scrub?

[Chocolate Milk]

The Bears are meeting with Adam Archuleta today. I think it's likely he signs with us.

 

So anyway...

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/03/13/bc.fbn.redskins.freeage.ap/index.html

 

That's great. Not a big Archuleta fan. I love the Redskins theory of just spending on big names. That method has never worked. Pittsburgh, New England, Denver, St. Louis have won all the recent Super Bowls with predominately drafted and developed talented.

 

Yeah, I'm slightly dissapointed that we haven't got any impact players. On the other hand, the players available that fit our needs really weren't outstanding (i.e El and AA). I'd rather spend nothing than sign mediocre players to massive long term contracts.

 

I'd be happy if we signed Drummond to do returns.

[YearofDaCubs]

The Bears are meeting with Adam Archuleta today. I think it's likely he signs with us.

 

So anyway...

 

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/football/nfl/03/13/bc.fbn.redskins.freeage.ap/index.html

 

That's great. Not a big Archuleta fan. I love the Redskins theory of just spending on big names. That method has never worked. Pittsburgh, New England, Denver, St. Louis have won all the recent Super Bowls with predominately drafted and developed talented.

 

Yeah, I'm slightly dissapointed that we haven't got any impact players. On the other hand, the players available that fit our needs really weren't outstanding (i.e El and AA). I'd rather spend nothing than sign mediocre players to massive long term contracts.

 

I'd be happy if we signed Drummond to do returns.

I totally agree with you. I'm not really a fan of the players the skins signed. Drew Brees would be nice though even though I'm really high on Grossman.

[goonys evil twin]

I'd be happy if we signed Drummond to do returns.

 

I'm not that excited about this potential signing. It would be nice to improve the return game, but they shouldn't spend a large amount of money on a guy whose only value is returning. They have to remember the return game was fine just two years ago using two servicable cornerbacks primarily (plus a little bit of Berrian). Drummond is useless anywhere but the return game. He's also never played a full season. I would rather they draft a mid round cornerback with return ability or another receiver who can do the job, or give it to one of the guys already on the roster. They should spend their free agent dollars on players who can have a much bigger impact than Drummond, who was no more than an average return man last year.

[Chocolate Milk]

I'd be happy if we signed Drummond to do returns.

 

I'm not that excited about this potential signing. It would be nice to improve the return game, but they shouldn't spend a large amount of money on a guy whose only value is returning. They have to remember the return game was fine just two years ago using two servicable cornerbacks primarily (plus a little bit of Berrian). Drummond is useless anywhere but the return game. He's also never played a full season. I would rather they draft a mid round cornerback with return ability or another receiver who can do the job, or give it to one of the guys already on the roster. They should spend their free agent dollars on players who can have a much bigger impact than Drummond, who was no more than an average return man last year.

 

I suppose that's true. I can't imagine Drummond is going to cost very much considering how one dimentional he is.

 

So the question becomes, do we sign anyone? What moves are we going to make?

 

Some of the contracts these guys are getting are insane. The Vikings just gave Ben Leber 4/20 with a 4 million dollar signing bonus. Ben Leber?

[cubweiser03]

Ok so the redskins were $4.9M over the cap on 3/10 and they go sign Randle El and Archuelata.....yeah this makes sense.

 

Any rumors on FA cornerbacks yet or where they are going.

[Chocolate Milk]

Redskins | Contract update: A. Archuleta

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:42:45 -0800

 

Jason La Canfora, of the Washington Post, reports Washington Redskins S Adam Archuleta signed a six-year contract that averages $5 million a season to join the Redskins. Archuleta's contract includes a sizeable $10 million signing bonus.

 

Wow....wow wow wow.

[goonys evil twin]

Redskins | Contract update: A. Archuleta

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:42:45 -0800

 

Jason La Canfora, of the Washington Post, reports Washington Redskins S Adam Archuleta signed a six-year contract that averages $5 million a season to join the Redskins. Archuleta's contract includes a sizeable $10 million signing bonus.

 

Wow....wow wow wow.

 

An NFL writer has to do a story about how they pull this off every year.

 

I think the Redskins will be one of the playoff teams from this season to not make it next year.

[Chocolate Milk]

Redskins | Contract update: A. Archuleta

Mon, 13 Mar 2006 10:42:45 -0800

 

Jason La Canfora, of the Washington Post, reports Washington Redskins S Adam Archuleta signed a six-year contract that averages $5 million a season to join the Redskins. Archuleta's contract includes a sizeable $10 million signing bonus.

 

Wow....wow wow wow.

 

An NFL writer has to do a story about how they pull this off every year.

 

I think the Redskins will be one of the playoff teams from this season to not make it next year.

 

They make a lot of cuts and don't have many high round draft picks. I mean, they only have 1 day one pick this year. I suppose it really don't matter considering it doesn't have a very good track record.

 

Both of these signings by the Redskins are terrible. I can't imagine this won't hurt them in the long run. I don't think these moves are that much of an upgrade, especially considering the cost.

 

I'd like to see an article about how ridiculous this free agency has been in terms of contracts. Did you see the offer sheet that the Viks offered to Hutch? Hutch is great, don't get me wrong, but he's also a guard. I heard Len Pasqurelli(SP?) on the radio this morning and he was astonished at what he was seeing. I have to beleive that some of these teams are going to regret these contracts in the near future.

[goonys evil twin]

I heard Len Pasqurelli(SP?) on the radio this morning and he was astonished at what he was seeing. I have to beleive that some of these teams are going to regret these contracts in the near future.

 

I don't think football people should be that astonished. The salary cap in 2006 and 2007 will be so much bigger than it was in 2004 and 2005. As soon as it became clear how much higher the cap would be, it became obvious that guys would be getting contracts way out of line with the deals signed by similar players (and even better ones) just one or two years before. You can fit a whole lot more under the new system. Teams will still be hurting if they keep up the irrationality, but with so much more space, a few deals like this were inevitable, and should have been expected.

[Chocolate Milk]

I heard Len Pasqurelli(SP?) on the radio this morning and he was astonished at what he was seeing. I have to beleive that some of these teams are going to regret these contracts in the near future.

 

I don't think football people should be that astonished. The salary cap in 2006 and 2007 will be so much bigger than it was in 2004 and 2005. As soon as it became clear how much higher the cap would be, it became obvious that guys would be getting contracts way out of line with the deals signed by similar players (and even better ones) just one or two years before. You can fit a whole lot more under the new system. Teams will still be hurting if they keep up the irrationality, but with so much more space, a few deals like this were inevitable, and should have been expected.

 

Some big deals could be expected, but I'm not sure that deals the magnitude of these were anticipated. Adam Archuleta is now the highest paid safety in the history of the NFL. Unreal.

[goonys evil twin]

Some big deals could be expected, but I'm not sure that deals the magnitude of these were anticipated. Adam Archuleta is now the highest paid safety in the history of the NFL. Unreal.

 

Who did he overtake? The salary cap is much bigger than it was just 4 years ago. Look at Peter King's latest MMQB and check out these numbers:

 

"You want a healthy league? This is a healthy league. The year-by-year salary-cap figures since the cap was instituted in 1994, projecting into next year with the figure the NFL announced last week:

 

1994: $34.6 million

1995: $37.1 million

1996: $40.7 million

1997: $41.4 million

1998: $52.3 million

1999: $58.3 million

2000: $62.1 million

2001: $67.4 million

2002: $71.1 million

2003: $75.0 million

2004: $80.5 million

2005: $85.5 million

2006: $102.0 million

2007: $109.0 million

 

From 1994 to 2007, the cap will have gone up 315 percent."

 

In 2006 the salary cap will be 43% higher than it was in 2002. Mike Brown signed his current deal in 2003, and the cap has grown 36% since then. You are going to hear about a lot of guys becoming the highest paid something or other in NFL history. He's just the first. Suddenly, those $100 million deals for franchise QB's don't look so unwieldy with the higher cap costs. A QB costing $8m against the cap in 2005 took up 9.4% of his team's cap space. A QB costing $8m in 2007 will count just 7.3%. So a lesser player could easily sign for significantly more money now than a better player could have just a couple years ago, and still be appropriately fit into the new cap. And remember, a lot of the game's stars are signed through 2008 or further, which means their value is going to be depressed from what they could earn on the open market. In a year you might have an unprecedented number of holdouts looking for more money in a new deal.

[Chocolate Milk]

Some big deals could be expected, but I'm not sure that deals the magnitude of these were anticipated. Adam Archuleta is now the highest paid safety in the history of the NFL. Unreal.

 

Who did he overtake? The salary cap is much bigger than it was just 4 years ago. Look at Peter King's latest MMQB and check out these numbers:

 

"You want a healthy league? This is a healthy league. The year-by-year salary-cap figures since the cap was instituted in 1994, projecting into next year with the figure the NFL announced last week:

 

1994: $34.6 million

1995: $37.1 million

1996: $40.7 million

1997: $41.4 million

1998: $52.3 million

1999: $58.3 million

2000: $62.1 million

2001: $67.4 million

2002: $71.1 million

2003: $75.0 million

2004: $80.5 million

2005: $85.5 million

2006: $102.0 million

2007: $109.0 million

 

From 1994 to 2007, the cap will have gone up 315 percent."

 

In 2006 the salary cap will be 43% higher than it was in 2002. Mike Brown signed his current deal in 2003, and the cap has grown 36% since then. You are going to hear about a lot of guys becoming the highest paid something or other in NFL history. He's just the first. Suddenly, those $100 million deals for franchise QB's don't look so unwieldy with the higher cap costs. A QB costing $8m against the cap in 2005 took up 9.4% of his team's cap space. A QB costing $8m in 2007 will count just 7.3%. So a lesser player could easily sign for significantly more money now than a better player could have just a couple years ago, and still be appropriately fit into the new cap. And remember, a lot of the game's stars are signed through 2008 or further, which means their value is going to be depressed from what they could earn on the open market. In a year you might have an unprecedented number of holdouts looking for more money in a new deal.

 

I understand that the added cap space is going to result in large contracts. I guess what I'm saying that this is surprising given the quality of these players. Why give such a huge contract to EL and AA when superior player might be had for similar money in the coming years? I could see if there were marquee impact players available, teams with a lot of cap space would get into a bidding war and thus drive up the price to these ridiculous levels. I mean, the Skins doubled the nearest offer for El. Do the Skins think that El and AA are going to put them over the top? What's the point in blowing all the new cap room right away on average players?

 

Other players are signing for reasonable amounts. Joe Jurevicius signed for 4/10 and Mike Anderson signed for 4/8. Both of them are similar caliber players to El and AA. I guess the spending by the Redskins and Vikings is what I am taking issue with.

[Chocolate Milk]

The Redskins are at it again, and this makes the second defensive signing. Defensive end/outside linebacker Andre Carter is schedule to fly to Washington and sign his brand new six-year, approximately $30 million contract.

 

So where are the supposedly cap-poor Redskins coming up with the cap space to get these deals done?

 

They freed up $4.4 million a week ago as part of the deal that made linebacker LaVar Arrington a free agent, and they shed several veterans on the eve of free agency to create more room. Likewise, it was reported that they planned to convert $13.5 million in roster bonus payments into guarantees, which would then be spread over five years.

 

And don't forget about the extra $7.5 million in cap room that popped onto the books as part of the new CBA.

 

Our guess is that these new deals will leave the 'Skins close to the $102 million ceiling for 2006, and that there will be more tinkering with contracts in order to free up more money for more signings. Eventually, they'll need cap space to sign their incoming rookies.

 

Converting those bonuses is going to lead to trouble down the line when they are forced to cut some of those players.

[goonys evil twin]

I understand that the added cap space is going to result in large contracts. I guess what I'm saying that this is surprising given the quality of these players. Why give such a huge contract to EL and AA when superior player might be had for similar money in the coming years? I could see if there were marquee impact players available, teams with a lot of cap space would get into a bidding war and thus drive up the price to these ridiculous levels. I mean, the Skins doubled the nearest offer for El. Do the Skins think that El and AA are going to put them over the top? What's the point in blowing all the new cap room right away on average players?

 

Other players are signing for reasonable amounts. Joe Jurevicius signed for 4/10 and Mike Anderson signed for 4/8. Both of them are similar caliber players to El and AA. I guess the spending by the Redskins and Vikings is what I am taking issue with.

 

Part of the answer is this is Washington, they don't care about "blowing the cap" in a couple years. They've done this stuff for years now. Also, I think it's a bit unrealistic to call Jurevicius and Anderson similar to Randle El and Archuletta. Joe is a one dimensional possession receiver. He has been in the league 8 years and is 31 with 3000 career receiving yards. El is going to give you more options to use him as a weapon, is 26 has only 4 years in the league and already 2000 yards. Anderson is a banged up 32 year old platoon running back. Archuletta is a very good starting strong safety. AA's careeer is likely to last longer than Anderson's at this point, going on the shelf life of RB in this league.

[goonys evil twin]

Converting those bonuses is going to lead to trouble down the line when they are forced to cut some of those players.

 

Probably, and in my opinion, hopefully.

[Chocolate Milk]

Converting those bonuses is going to lead to trouble down the line when they are forced to cut some of those players.

 

Probably, and in my opinion, hopefully.

 

Well, it seems we are in agreement that the Redskins are overspending ridiculously. Personally, I'm not sure how much better it will make them and I think it will screw them in the long run.

[goonys evil twin]

Converting those bonuses is going to lead to trouble down the line when they are forced to cut some of those players.

 

Probably, and in my opinion, hopefully.

 

Well, it seems we are in agreement that the Redskins are overspending ridiculously.

 

That is probably true, I just think it should have been expected by those who knew the details of the negotiations. I can't imagine Len P seriously thinking the Skins would be quiet, or not overpay for name players after the cap was raised by as much as it was.

[Butterscup1679666578]

If this pans out, I'd be very interested.

 

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2367238

[rawaction]

What's with wanting to pay big money to a WR? Moulds is getting up in age. Why pay an old guy to be a #2 when you have 2 guys who showed they could develop into legit #2's who are very, very young? The only way I pay big money (over $3-4M) to a WR is if it pushes Muhammad to the #2. I'd much rather hope Bradley and Berrian can develop (remember they played almost exclusively with a incompetent QB), than spend on someone who isn't likely to be much better to justify the salary difference.

[Southpaw191679666239]

I'm thouroughly enjoying this off-season. Every name tied to the Bears, has signed elsewhere. Even Drummond re-signed with the Lions. Hooray.

 

:roll:

[TrueBlueCubFan]

I believe the Bears have some nice young talent @ WR: Berrain,Gage,Bradley & Currie, mix in Berlin & veteran Moose & it's not all that bad. One of the 4 youngesters could take over KR & CB R.Davis looks like he could be a decent PR. It would be nice to add one more veteran WR to the mix, However, I'm all that sold on throwing big FA money @ another WR, when they did it LY with Moose. I'm glad they didn't sign Randle El. In my opinion, he wasn't really a good fit here. Drummond I would have been fine with. If they address playmaking TE, shut-down CB, durability @ safety & depth @ OL & LB in the draft & FA the Bears should be a team to reckon with once again this winter.