Here's a radical idea: Maybe Bears should stay the course
Dec 21, 2016 15:49:59 GMT -6
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Post by JABF on Dec 21, 2016 15:49:59 GMT -6
Mulligan from the Chicago Tribune:
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Here's a radical idea: Maybe Bears should stay the course
If there was such thing as football feng shui, the Bears' rebuild could be righted in a hurry. The team could easily move the furniture around and change the flow of their energy.
That's the benefit of roster stability. Get everyone back from injury, add another good draft, sign a couple of excellent free agents and maybe a season of inspired defeat can turn into an inspired season.
Even in the context of a losing season, should the Bears put a value on continuity?
It's an argument that could be made when a team with 24 players scheduled to make $1 million or more this year can push a potential division champion like the Packers nearly to overtime with just 11 of those 24 available.
Could anyone beguile the Bears brain trust with the notion that continuity on all fronts would create a newfound strength in depth? Guys forced onto the field one year might be a treasure in reserve the next.
Would they buy the idea a three- to five-win season was simply a form of collective altitude sickness caused by too many guys stepping up a level too quickly? Have the Bears been using tomorrow's solution today?
Continuity is important in all sports, but you really want to achieve it with Cubs-style world domination and not simply maintain status quo on a flawed team. The Bears must be internally debating the issue since they have surprisingly few decisions required at season's end. If free agency starts from within, the Bears have virtually no one to sign.
They could bring Jay Cutler back — he is still under contract — put another franchise tag on Alshon Jeffery and try again next year with the group they thought might contend this season. Unless you consider the future of Lamarr Houston or Eddie Royal crucial, Cutler and Jeffery are what passes for critical decisions.
According to several experienced NFL decision-makers, there are surprisingly few considerations when it comes to making the choice to move on from players.
"When you feel you can get the same production for less, it's time to move on," one said.
"It all comes down to production,'' another said. "What is his production versus his cost? Where are we moving forward? Personality and all that stuff is secondary."
The Bears have a lot more information about players, coaches, management types — everyone in the organization. When considering what to do in terms of effectively firing anyone from Cutler to Jeffery or even coach John Fox, the rule has to be equally simple: If you feel you have made a mistake, move on regardless of cost. If you feel it can work, then carry on regardless of cost.
Cutler counts $16 million against the salary cap next year, but his base salary is $12.5 million. What has sparked the idea of sending him packing is that the dead money on the Bears salary cap drops from $19 million if he were released before this year to just $2 million next season.
Jeffery played this year on a franchise tag that will likely jump from $14.599 million this year to over $17 million if he is tagged again next year. But he cost himself big money with his four-game PED suspension this season, roughly $3.435 million.
The Bears could get a cap credit rollover and effectively get him next year at a cap hit around the same as this season. What's unknown is whether the Bears declined to give him a long-term deal last year because they wanted him to prove something this season.
What is known is that, while Jeffery didn't do enough this year, the guys who would have to replace him did significantly less. When you have as many needs as the Bears, why create another one by getting rid of a potentially big-time playmaker?
If the Bears feel they have a potentially cheap option at quarterback with Matt Barkley, a restricted free agent, they could sign another free agent, make a trade, draft a player or do all those things and feel improved.
Is it better to try and rebuild the rebuild or convince yourself deficiencies at cornerback, safety, offensive tackle and franchise quarterback can be solved from within? Can the Bears harmonize their environment through football feng shui, or would they just be moving around deck chairs on the Titanic?
Chicago Tribune special contributor Mike Mulligan co-hosts "The Mully and Hanley Show" weekdays from 5-9 a.m. on WSCR-AM 670.
Here's a radical idea: Maybe Bears should stay the course
If there was such thing as football feng shui, the Bears' rebuild could be righted in a hurry. The team could easily move the furniture around and change the flow of their energy.
That's the benefit of roster stability. Get everyone back from injury, add another good draft, sign a couple of excellent free agents and maybe a season of inspired defeat can turn into an inspired season.
Even in the context of a losing season, should the Bears put a value on continuity?
It's an argument that could be made when a team with 24 players scheduled to make $1 million or more this year can push a potential division champion like the Packers nearly to overtime with just 11 of those 24 available.
Could anyone beguile the Bears brain trust with the notion that continuity on all fronts would create a newfound strength in depth? Guys forced onto the field one year might be a treasure in reserve the next.
Would they buy the idea a three- to five-win season was simply a form of collective altitude sickness caused by too many guys stepping up a level too quickly? Have the Bears been using tomorrow's solution today?
Continuity is important in all sports, but you really want to achieve it with Cubs-style world domination and not simply maintain status quo on a flawed team. The Bears must be internally debating the issue since they have surprisingly few decisions required at season's end. If free agency starts from within, the Bears have virtually no one to sign.
They could bring Jay Cutler back — he is still under contract — put another franchise tag on Alshon Jeffery and try again next year with the group they thought might contend this season. Unless you consider the future of Lamarr Houston or Eddie Royal crucial, Cutler and Jeffery are what passes for critical decisions.
According to several experienced NFL decision-makers, there are surprisingly few considerations when it comes to making the choice to move on from players.
"When you feel you can get the same production for less, it's time to move on," one said.
"It all comes down to production,'' another said. "What is his production versus his cost? Where are we moving forward? Personality and all that stuff is secondary."
The Bears have a lot more information about players, coaches, management types — everyone in the organization. When considering what to do in terms of effectively firing anyone from Cutler to Jeffery or even coach John Fox, the rule has to be equally simple: If you feel you have made a mistake, move on regardless of cost. If you feel it can work, then carry on regardless of cost.
Cutler counts $16 million against the salary cap next year, but his base salary is $12.5 million. What has sparked the idea of sending him packing is that the dead money on the Bears salary cap drops from $19 million if he were released before this year to just $2 million next season.
Jeffery played this year on a franchise tag that will likely jump from $14.599 million this year to over $17 million if he is tagged again next year. But he cost himself big money with his four-game PED suspension this season, roughly $3.435 million.
The Bears could get a cap credit rollover and effectively get him next year at a cap hit around the same as this season. What's unknown is whether the Bears declined to give him a long-term deal last year because they wanted him to prove something this season.
What is known is that, while Jeffery didn't do enough this year, the guys who would have to replace him did significantly less. When you have as many needs as the Bears, why create another one by getting rid of a potentially big-time playmaker?
If the Bears feel they have a potentially cheap option at quarterback with Matt Barkley, a restricted free agent, they could sign another free agent, make a trade, draft a player or do all those things and feel improved.
Is it better to try and rebuild the rebuild or convince yourself deficiencies at cornerback, safety, offensive tackle and franchise quarterback can be solved from within? Can the Bears harmonize their environment through football feng shui, or would they just be moving around deck chairs on the Titanic?
Chicago Tribune special contributor Mike Mulligan co-hosts "The Mully and Hanley Show" weekdays from 5-9 a.m. on WSCR-AM 670.
