1 I thought we stopped paying attention to the NFL top 100 yrs ago, I did around 5 yrs ago.
2 no one, including me was unhappy mack was on the team, or questioned his talent. it was never about the player, it was the combo of picks and cap space that was going to hamstring the team later, which is going to start effecting the team next year and the year after as they have 5 mil in cap space next year, and no space tbe year after that
1 I thought we stopped paying attention to the NFL top 100 yrs ago, I did around 5 yrs ago.
2 no one, including me was unhappy mack was on the team, ir questioned his talent. it was never about the player, it was the combo of picks and cap space that was going to hamstring the team later, which is going to start effecting the team next year and the year after as they have 5 mil in cap space next year, and no space tbe year after that
I am wondering if THIS is our #1 best opportunity to win another super bowl. This year. Nobody knows what the future will bring (I sure don't). But common sense tells us that:
1. This team is loaded with talent THIS year - both starting talent and solid backup depth in most positions.
2. No way we keep all of these talented players. Some will be gone due to the financial realities of the cap.
Also, after this season, there is only 1 more season under the current CBA. Who knows if we will even have a work stoppage again at that point. My only point is that we don't know what is going to happen beyond THIS season in which we KNOW the Bears are loaded to the max for a super bowl run - the coaching and player talent is here to win NOW. Yes, with Pace and Nagy here, we may be a solid team for many years to come. But our best shot at winning a super bowl may be this year - I think Mack realizes this, and that was behind his comments this week. Win now. Don't leave anything to an uncertain future.
1 I thought we stopped paying attention to the NFL top 100 yrs ago, I did around 5 yrs ago.
2 no one, including me was unhappy mack was on the team, ir questioned his talent. it was never about the player, it was the combo of picks and cap space that was going to hamstring the team later, which is going to start effecting the team next year and the year after as they have 5 mil in cap space next year, and no space tbe year after that
I am wondering if THIS is our #1 best opportunity to win another super bowl. This year. Nobody knows what the future will bring (I sure don't). But common sense tells us that:
1. This team is loaded with talent THIS year - both starting talent and solid backup depth in most positions.
2. No way we keep all of these talented players. Some will be gone due to the financial realities of the cap.
Also, after this season, there is only 1 more season under the current CBA. Who knows if we will even have a work stoppage again at that point. My only point is that we don't know what is going to happen beyond THIS season in which we KNOW the Bears are loaded to the max for a super bowl run - the coaching and player talent is here to win NOW. Yes, with Pace and Nagy here, we may be a solid team for many years to come. But our best shot at winning a super bowl may be this year - I think Mack realizes this, and that was behind his comments this week. Win now. Don't leave anything to an uncertain future.
What I would say is...1. we don't know what next years cap number will be, so the $5 mill number is probably going to end up being more. 2. There are always ways to create space, for instance if you cut Amukamora and Gabriel that will save $12 mill on the cap. If you add in Cordarelle Patterson that makes it $17 mill. 3. I would say the window you want to try and hit is while your QB is on his rookie contract, so that gives us this year plus two more if Biscuits 5th year option is picked up. Having said that I think this year and next year is when we have to try and go for it.
1 I thought we stopped paying attention to the NFL top 100 yrs ago, I did around 5 yrs ago.
2 no one, including me was unhappy mack was on the team, or questioned his talent. it was never about the player, it was the combo of picks and cap space that was going to hamstring the team later, which is going to start effecting the team next year and the year after as they have 5 mil in cap space next year, and no space tbe year after that
The cap has been going up around 10 million per year for the past few years. Sure we might have to let go average talent to pay for Mack we got a top 3 player in his prime for around half a decade.
You need talent to win games. Talent cost money. Every good NFL team supposedly has a cap hell period but most find a way out of them.
I am wondering if THIS is our #1 best opportunity to win another super bowl. This year. Nobody knows what the future will bring (I sure don't). But common sense tells us that:
1. This team is loaded with talent THIS year - both starting talent and solid backup depth in most positions.
2. No way we keep all of these talented players. Some will be gone due to the financial realities of the cap.
Also, after this season, there is only 1 more season under the current CBA. Who knows if we will even have a work stoppage again at that point. My only point is that we don't know what is going to happen beyond THIS season in which we KNOW the Bears are loaded to the max for a super bowl run - the coaching and player talent is here to win NOW. Yes, with Pace and Nagy here, we may be a solid team for many years to come. But our best shot at winning a super bowl may be this year - I think Mack realizes this, and that was behind his comments this week. Win now. Don't leave anything to an uncertain future.
What I would say is...1. we don't know what next years cap number will be, so the $5 mill number is probably going to end up being more. 2. There are always ways to create space, for instance if you cut Amukamora and Gabriel that will save $12 mill on the cap. If you add in Cordarelle Patterson that makes it $17 mill. 3. I would say the window you want to try and hit is while your QB is on his rookie contract, so that gives us this year plus two more if Biscuits 5th year option is picked up. Having said that I think this year and next year is when we have to try and go for it.
BINGO ^^^^^^^^^^^
Not gonna fret about not having (on paper, currently) tens of millions of dollars of cap space in 2020. Not really worried much at all.
Maybe we should stop to consider the fact that during the awful Trestman/Fox years we routinely had plenty of cap to spend and we ended up going 27-53, missed the playoffs all 5 years, and finished dead last in the division 4 straight seasons. This is not say a GM should foolishly blow money willy-nilly but fact is, bad teams tend to have plenty of spare cap space and good teams tend to not. The Saints seem to be tight against the cap nearly every year and seem to make the playoffs pretty darn often, for instance.
It seems to me Ryan Pace has been pretty astute with the teams finances. He's had some clunker signings (Glennon, Wheaton, Sims) sure but has been always careful to not mortgage the future for a non-critical player. Mack was that critical player and that one missing link that made a good defense great. He's worth every penny IMO.
A year from now its likely that Trevathan and Amukamara will be gone. Gabriel, Long, Patterson, and Skrine are also possible release or trade candidates next year or in 2021. The overall cap will rise another $10-15m each year. Yes, some tough choices will have to be made. The Patriots make those kind of choices every offseason without a hitch. It will all work out fine as long as Pace can keep drafting well and Trubisky doesn't flop.
1 I thought we stopped paying attention to the NFL top 100 yrs ago, I did around 5 yrs ago.
2 no one, including me was unhappy mack was on the team, or questioned his talent. it was never about the player, it was the combo of picks and cap space that was going to hamstring the team later, which is going to start effecting the team next year and the year after as they have 5 mil in cap space next year, and no space tbe year after that
The cap has been going up around 10 million per year for the past few years. Sure we might have to let go average talent to pay for Mack we got a top 3 player in his prime for around half a decade.
You need talent to win games. Talent cost money. Every good NFL team supposedly has a cap hell period but most find a way out of them.
