overall, pretty low. I wonder if they have ratings that also reflect the cities Populations size? Dies a bigger city (Chicago,LA, NY) always imply bigger spenders??
chicagopurple wrote:overall, pretty low. I wonder if they have ratings that also reflect the cities Populations size? Dies a bigger city (Chicago,LA, NY) always imply bigger spenders??
Vikings - $12.5 million (17th highest cap space)
Bears - $7.6 million (24th highest cap space)
Packers - $15.6 million (11th highest cap space)
Lions - $1.6 million (31st highest cap space)
I think some of that is a product of a youthful team where many players are under their rookie contracts but it also seems like Zygi could open the wallet a little more too.
Kind of an odd time of year to be adding up those numbers.
How are they in the top ten at defensive tackle, with only Linval Joseph with a significant salary, and Sharrif Floyd still on his rookie contract?
What gets me is that with those placings at the various positions you would think they'd have much more than just $12.5M in cap room and be higher than 17th overall in the league. Just shows you how much that running back number skews things. Anyone who thinks it's not limiting what the Vikings can do in free agency is kidding themselves.
And we are drafting at #8? Makes sense. Seems like we should spend more $ at LB and Cb if we really want to stop anybody . Our old model/philosophy of a dominant Dline is an outdated scheme. The teams that are winning a lot have great LBs and Corners. Better cover guys give the DL time to get to the QB
Laserman wrote:The teams that are winning a lot have great LBs and Corners.
Seattle may have had one of the best defensive lines in the league. Same goes for the 49ers. Carolina, too. Teams invest in QBs on the offensive side of the ball and edge rushers that can get pressure on those guys on the defensive side. It's not a surprise that those guys are still being paid a premium.
Better cover guys give the DL time to get to the QB
The same is true on the opposite side: better defensive linemen take pressure of corners and can help them cover "longer" and get more PDs and turnovers.
We just need more talent all over, including LB and CB. Even the best defensive lines can't cover up a sorry bunch of corners. The same is true vice-versa.
“Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that.” --- Bill Shankly
Laserman wrote:And we are drafting at #8? Makes sense. Seems like we should spend more $ at LB and Cb if we really want to stop anybody . Our old model/philosophy of a dominant Dline is an outdated scheme.
I doubt it will ever be outdated unless the rules change in a significant way. The game is still won and lost at the line of scrimmage.
To me, the Vikings problems, especially on defense, haven't been due to not spending enough at certain positions, but the fact that they've been so poor at finding talent. The linebacker position has been just plain ignored. The cornerback position is second only to the QB position at sheer incompetence in drafting and in finding skilled free agents.
I don't think there's a magic formula for spending by position that can be said to win championships. Every team has the same amount to spend, but circumstances often dictate their spending more so than any conscious effort. If you have a Drew Brees or an Aaron Rodgers, you pay him $20M and that's that. It's finding those guys who are worth overpaying that is the much bigger challenge.
S197 wrote:I think some of that is a product of a youthful team where many players are under their rookie contracts but it also seems like Zygi could open the wallet a little more too.
I bet signing draft picks takes up about $4 million, that takes us down to $8 million left. Keep $2-3 million in reserve for picking up guys as injury replacements and now you're down to $5-6 million in cap space. Next year we know AP's number goes up by $1 million, Chad Greenway's cap hit goes up by $1.6 million, Greg Jennings cap hit goes up by $4 million. Kyle Rudolph will be a FA come 2015... All of a sudden there's not much money left.