Pay Earl Thomas? Why? or even Aaron Donald and Khalil Mack at that

[eaglesnut]

Lol @ this concept being a thing unless you're a QB.

There are no shortcuts to a good defense.

It's a thing.

Zeke made the players around him better too.

Most positions can do it.

 

[Rock Strongo]

That was awesome.

sick. dudes a beast. best pass rusher we had since tippett.

and hes not ours anymore.

 

[Fountain City Blues]

It's a thing.

Zeke made the players around him better too.

Most positions can do it.

 

[LambeauLegs]

I know some of you guys do not like Colin Cowherd but I like his work. So everyone is saying that each respective team of Thomas, mack and donald should pay them but why? Todays game favors the offense and you really just need a well coached defense that just knows how to play together and not have one guy eat up all the cap. Lets look at some of the highest paid defensive players this season.

1. Von Miller- great player, defense ranked 3rd last season.......Won 5 games
2. Eziekil Ansah- defense as a total ranked bottom 5 in the league, lions missed playoffs
3. Demarcus Lawrence- Almost half of Dallas losses came from the Elliot suspension and they could only average 7 points in those games. Shows that this team is built around Elliot and Dak and their offense
4. Fletcher Cox- success.
5. Olivier Vernon- Giants won 3 games
6. Justin Houston- Kansas City's defense is ranked bottom 3rd in the league
7. JJ Watt- Gets hurt every year the face of this team is now Deshaun Watson and Hopkins, in JJ's prime the Texans were barely a .500 team even with Andre Johnson. until Watson got there
8. Chandler Jones- Arizona missed playoffs and probably will again this year
9. Kawaan Short- Success
10. Marcell Darius- Success

Those players that were a success you can argue there are other plays that are reasons to why their teams are winnings such as Cam Newton and Carson Wentz.

Bottom line its better to invest your money in your key offensive players and better off not spending your cap fortune on certain defensive players.

The thing is Seattle won their Super Bowl when they had a cheap discount QB and had like the highest paid defense.

 

[LambeauLegs]

Ok to be clear one thing everyone kinda skimmed over was the cap situation and my question is this...

Can you build a great team with a (singular) defensive player eating up a TON of your cap space. We all know if you pay one guy another guy has to be cut loose. IF the Rams decide to pay Donald all that money he is seeking there will be players that will be lost. Like @ATL96Steeler said is a DT worth the money? It didnt work for the Miami Dolphins and SUH. I wouldnt want to pay a 30 year old Earl Thomas you dont need an All Pro safety to go to a super bowl, the cardinals let go their pro bowl safety, dont get me wrong it helps but i think a middle linebacker that manages the defense would have more value

About the only way is to have a good QB on his rookie contract as once he gets paid the money left may not buy enough to keep the team at the same quality. Wait till the Eagles have to open the pocket book. It will be the same situation Seattle has just been through

 

[NWPATSFAN]

The Pats go to SBs a lot because they have continuity from GM/HC to OC to QB who is arguably the GOAT...i.e. they two of the 3 "must haves"...QB and OL.

imo one reason they didn't win it LY and were fortunate to win the last two they did win is lack of pass rush...both SEA and ATL had pretty good OFC games against them, just couldn't close the door.

The way the game is played now...you don't really need a great DT, but you do need that guy off the edge, LBs that can run and tackle, CBs that can cover and tackle. Once you find them, you can't keep them all, but to retain them you're going to have to invest some cap money on that side of the ball.

The Falcons are in a interesting position related to this topic...they have several young DEF players that will be coming off rookie contracts soon...they already paid the CBs big money...Grady Jarrett (imo their best DEF player, but he's a DT) is coming up next, then Vic Beasley after him, then Keanu Neal.

Agree with this^

But I'd add what has kept NE so competitive is BALANCE. BB and Co. have made a science of it. You need a couple super stars, some wily vets on team friendly deals, some rookies and or UDFA that work out in their first or second year. Then a bunch of 2nd tier type players that can do their job and not worry about being a "look at me type". Good drafting helps (actually great scouting helps) but NE has proven by drafting late every year as well as losing picks it's not all about the draft. Year in and year out BB leaves fans with some of his pick.

Disclaimer; it hasn't hurt having arguably the GOAT QB taking team friendly deals.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

The thing is Seattle won their Super Bowl when they had a cheap discount QB and had like the highest paid defense.

True and that D was fast and able to get to the QB. Part of that was the front 7 while the back side held receivers in check.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

I think the better argument is don’t have huge contracts on your team. Football teams are greatest before they have to pay all of their players. Once they have to pay a ton to retain players, some get more complacent and it reduces your chance of retaining all the other very good players.

 

[GhostOfPoverty]

Cowherd picks and chooses stats. Jaguars defense dominated the first half against the steelers and like most teams played scared with a lead. How many super bowl champs over the last decade had an elite receiver on their team? The top defenses are almost always title contenders. We just watched a final 4 of case kennum, nick foles, Blake bortles, and Tom Brady.

To be fair about the whole final 4 of last season bit, I think people need to quit putting Foles in as if 3 average/below average QB's made it to the final 4 alongside Brady. Wentz had them at 10-2, with Foles taking over in the game against the Rams in a team with both offenses doing very well and then finished out the season against the Giants, Raiders, and Cowboys (at home, which they lost because they already had seed 1 locked up). Philly was already in great position to get the 1 seed when Wentz went down and I'd argue that that 1 seed might very well have been the difference between making the Superbowl and going home after the NFC title game that year. It's not like Foles carried that offense from the beginning of the season, he just got hot at exactly the right time after Wentz did most of the dirty work and they had a cupcake schedule to end their regular season.

I'll give you Keenum and Bortles, those guys wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without the defenses their teams had that year.

 

[NinerSickness]

Colin Cowherd in a nutshell:

1. Make wrong statement
2. Make stupid analogy that makes no sense to try to back up wrong statement
3.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Agree with this^

But I'd add what has kept NE so competitive is BALANCE. BB and Co. have made a science of it. You need a couple super stars, some wily vets on team friendly deals, some rookies and or UDFA that work out in their first or second year. Then a bunch of 2nd tier type players that can do their job and not worry about being a "look at me type". Good drafting helps (actually great scouting helps) but NE has proven by drafting late every year as well as losing picks it's not all about the draft. Year in and year out BB leaves fans with some of his pick.

Disclaimer; it hasn't hurt having arguably the GOAT QB taking team friendly deals.

The Pats under BB reflect the ideal concept of TEAM, and with football being the ultimate TEAM sport...Brady might not be the only QB that has left money on the table, but in this era...it really stands out.

 

[Manster7588]

The Pats under BB reflect the ideal concept of TEAM, and with football being the ultimate TEAM sport...Brady might not be the only QB that has left money on the table, but in this era...it really stands out.

Let's not pay Brady on the back too much. It's a little easier when your wife makes the money his has.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Let's not pay Brady on the back too much. It's a little easier when your wife makes the money his has.

That's true, leaving a few million on the table is not changing his lifestyle at all, but you still have to make a conscious effort do it.

Matt Ryan was the one of the last rookie QB deals before the rookie pay scale, 60+ mil, made close to 100 mil on this 2ND contract so he could've left a few bones on the table for his 3RD contract, but no...didn't leave a scrap on the table.

 

[Manster7588]

That's true, leaving a few million on the table is not changing his lifestyle at all, but you still have to make a conscious effort do it.

Matt Ryan was the one of the last rookie QB deals before the rookie pay scale, 60+ mil, made close to 100 mil on this 2ND contract so he could've left a few bones on the table for his 3RD contract, but no...didn't leave a scrap on the table.

I agree. Many of us making peanuts claim we'd play for a few hundred thou, but truth is if we were good enough to play in the NFL we'd want our share of the pie.

 

[Jikkle]

Offense is simply the better investment because so much of that side of the ball the performance is centered around the QB. If you have a top tier QB and a great offensive mind behind him you're going to be a really good offense.

That's why the teams you see in Super Bowls have top tier QBs and are running a good scheme. They don't always have elite #1 WRs or top tier RBs because all you need are guys that are good not great at those positions because the scheme is what gets them open and the QB executes that scheme and delivers accurate passes.

QB in general is a position that stays healthy and will play at a high level for 10+ years which makes for another reason it's a sounder long-term investment.

What makes defense a weaker investment is that its longevity for high levels of performance isn't as long and the fact you have to invest in multiple positions to maintain a high level of performance.

But the best investment for defenses is the guys up front because the way you beat great QBs and offenses is win the battle up front and pressure the QB all game long.

The issue with up front is you need most of the guys to be good and you can't have one stud but a bunch of scrubs around him.

The reality is that the only position worth paying top dollar for is QB and it's only worth paying top dollar for other positions if it doesn't have a dramatic effect on the quality of the rest of the roster. It's simply better to have a stud at QB and have a roster that is good up and down rather than have a few studs mixed with some garbage.

 

[Pattersonca65]

I think the better argument is don’t have huge contracts on your team. Football teams are greatest before they have to pay all of their players. Once they have to pay a ton to retain players, some get more complacent and it reduces your chance of retaining all the other very good players.

Don't think you can play moneyball with an NFL roster. Drafting is always important but you can just keep letting every pro bowl type player walk from your team. You just have to have a great FO that can pick and choose which players to keep and which to let go.

 

[Beengay fudgepackers]

Don't think you can play moneyball with an NFL roster. Drafting is always important but you can just keep letting every pro bowl type player walk from your team. You just have to have a great FO that can pick and choose which players to keep and which to let go.

Yeah, that is when GM becomes very difficult. Only one team has really been able to do it effectively for a long period of time, and that’s the patriots.

 

[Earl Stevens]

Colin Cowherd sucks donkey balls. Not Skip Bayless level donkey balls, but still... donkey balls.

Colin is worse than Skip because Colin thinks he’s actually smart. Skip is mostly a LeBron troll. He’s pretty level headed on most other topics.

 

[Roy Munson]

Colin is worse than Skip because Colin thinks he’s actually smart. Skip is mostly a LeBron troll. He’s pretty level headed on most other topics.

 

[Earl Stevens]

Lol at anyone that agrees with that douchebag Cowherd. Dude talks for three hours everyday and doesn’t say shit.