Your current grade for the Lions 2015 off season is...

[TBBishop]

You are looking at a perfect example of layering and structuring. Like with Watt the extension was signed and the player got a portion of the up front $ added to the final year of their original contracts.

Because neither team was in cap prison they had room to do that. It let's them essentially spread out the average of the deal, for McCoy that $15.87m, over more than just the 6 years it was signed for. That's why you are seeing cap hits that don't make sense. Very savvy financial mgmt.

Teams that manage their caps well do these type of things. We don't and haven't because LewanDUI has kept us backed up against the wall forever. Instead he kicks the can further down the road which keeps us against that wall. He blows at what he does, it really is that simple.

Appreciate the explanation. I still don't believe that starting at even $16 mil would have made a difference. We'll never know though. I can't let you get away with calling the Bucs cap savvy though. When they fired Jon Gruden they still owed him a load of money so they hired Raheem Morris as the lowest paid coach in the NFL. They then gutted the team of most of their vets, all of their higher paid vets, and told Morris to win with kids. Can't remember now if it was the same year or a couple years later that there was no salary floor and their payroll dipped to under $40 mil per year. mind you that McCoy had a high dollar, 3rd overall pick in the old structure that was part of that payroll. They had to spend a ton of money just to get to the salary floor the next year. Over this time they've only had 2 guys good enough to pay a lot of money to: McCoy who got his payday last year and LeVonte David who has yet to get his and may not if he doesn't prove he can play better in the Tampa 2. Also in this time they've been for the most part a terrible football team. A lot of people around here believe that the Glazers cut payroll to maximize profits that they used to help pay for Manchester United. So at the end of the day they weren't being savvy, they were being frugal and even more so, the Glazer boys simply don't know what the hell they're doing. Neither did GM Mark Dominik for that matter.

 

[TBBishop]

Another question for Meow or whoever. When was the last time the Lions were not cap strapped? I have only been paying attention since my early CBS days. Took a few years to even start to understand it. So has Lewand really ever had a chance to work out deals in these savvy ways?

I read an article recently, MLive or Freep, that Mayhew inherited cap hell from Millen and between Calvin being #2 and needing to be resigned, Stafford being #1 overall and Suh being another #2 overall under the old structure that Mayhew's only choices were to restructure high contracts to try to bring in free agents or let the team suck. The article basically said the only way to get out of cap hell was to let Suh walk. Can't remember who wrote the article.

 

[lionstop1]

I read an article recently, MLive or Freep, that Mayhew inherited cap hell from Millen and between Calvin being #2 and needing to be resigned, Stafford being #1 overall and Suh being another #2 overall under the old structure that Mayhew's only choices were to restructure high contracts to try to bring in free agents or let the team suck. The article basically said the only way to get out of cap hell was to let Suh walk. Can't remember who wrote the article.

This, I think is correct.
When the team drafted Fairley, I knew at some point something would have to happen because there wasnt going to be no way the team could handle all the en large contracts. I dont think the team could have avoided losing Suh in any kind of way, especially when he decided he wanted to be the highest paid.

 

[Old Lion]

I wont address any one post as there were too many for me to catch up on. I am thinking many are assuming we are worse off than last year on defense because common sense would say we lost 2 better DTs than we gained. That is assuming we stay with the 4-3. If we switch to a 3-4, are we really much worse off? Whiteheads improvement and keeping Tulloch and Bynes means we have more than enough LBs to run a 3-4.

Granted we had the number 2 defense last years so the odds are almost 30-1 in favor of us being worse then last year even if the roster stayed the same.

On offense we are so young that just another year of maturity for the young O-line along with Fuller and Ebron should see some improvement. I would have preferred a veteran FA for the O-line though. Hopefully it is one more year for Lombardi to get his head out of his ass too.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

I'm really not concerned with adding overpriced free agents so we can be perceived to be "better" than when the season ended...

We couldn't add high priced free agents if we wanted too. But if we did have the money I would certainly not mind filling a hole with a proven good player, rather than put all of our hope in developmental guy who hadn't quite developed yet, or forcing a rookie to be an immediate starter.

I'm not for being the Redskins and signing every big name out there, but freee agency certainly is a useful tool to fill holes...like say when the Pats added Revis last year.

 

[VulturesRule]

Suh got an extra $2m on his guarantee, would you leave your job for a extra 3-4%?

Most professionals change positions for reasons outside of just the money. What makes this an apples to oragnes argument in Suh's case is the short time horizon and absolute value of the difference. Last, the guarantee wasn't the only difference.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

This, I think is correct.
When the team drafted Fairley, I knew at some point something would have to happen because there wasnt going to be no way the team could handle all the en large contracts. I dont think the team could have avoided losing Suh in any kind of way, especially when he decided he wanted to be the highest paid.

I absolutely disagree. That article was an "I'm Sorry" fluff piece that came on the heals of them bashing on both Millenhew and LewAAnd for the poor cap mgmt they have done. The author simply realized that he needs a good working relationship with those guys and didn't want to be on their bad side.

It's the lack of vision and restructures that killed this team and their choice to use that tool vs examining the roster itself first for options find the $. There were true duds and players of very marginal value that could have been replaced with younger, much cheaper talent who offered upside. Those duds should have been released. That is where you first look to free up the cash.

Players like Tulloch and J. Jones are actually far better than many of the losers we kept on the roster. And many of them were kept under situations exactly like both Tulloch and Jones right now. Jones is an FA next season and if they keep Tulloch and pay him what his contract is then I'm fucking done with this team because they aren't ever going to win anything because the incompetence level is so staggeringly high from ownership on down we have no chance.

The Suh deal was affordable for the Lions. It could have been done. Not at an average of $19m simply because that is stupid beyond belief but they had their chance last year or even early in the negotiations this offseason I think that deal gets done. If that would have meant that you cut Tulloch then so be it. That would have been the right business decision, and a smart one. Suh > Tulloch by a staggering amount. Whitehead = Tulloch, pretty close in my opinion. Add in the uncertainty of Tulloch is coming off ACL surgery and its a no brainer when he's got one more year on the roster and that's it barring a big pay reduction.

This front office simply does not get it and both of The Clown Show have been around long enough to prove they have learned jack shit from their mistakes and will keep right on making them.

 

[gandydancer]

We couldn't add high priced free agents if we wanted too. But if we did have the money I would certainly not mind filling a hole with a proven good player, rather than put all of our hope in developmental guy who hadn't quite developed yet, or forcing a rookie to be an immediate starter.

I'm not for being the Redskins and signing every big name out there, but freee agency certainly is a useful tool to fill holes...like say when the Pats added Revis last year.

As I have said extending Ngata, you can free up that money you are needing Coach Ed. Then go get that veteran guy in Wisniewski or W as some call him. Swanson at G and BAM. Your problem is solved.

 

[gandydancer]

We couldn't add high priced free agents if we wanted too. But if we did have the money I would certainly not mind filling a hole with a proven good player, rather than put all of our hope in developmental guy who hadn't quite developed yet, or forcing a rookie to be an immediate starter..

Yes you could have. Just never gets done in Detroit. Using the bonus to your advantage and low first year salary the cap hit can be kept low and have bigger salary hit next year when money is available.

 

[gvsulaker82]

For the guy thinking there wont be an immense drop off in defensive production after losing suh and gutting the strength of your defense and then on top of it switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4, must be nice to have such wishful thinking.

 

[LionsWhyMe]

For the guy thinking there wont be an immense drop off in defensive production after losing suh and gutting the strength of your defense and then on top of it switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4, must be nice to have such wishful thinking.

From what Walker has heard from the coaches, the Lions wont be switching to a 3-4. From what I've seen around here from others is the Lions defense will be bottom top 10 to the middle of the league. Making the Top 10 defenses sounds feasible.

 

[Dr. Evil-er]

If The Clown Show really wants to help a defense that is weaker because of the loss of Suh, Fairley, and Mosley then you go o-line in the draft and get a road grader LG.

Caldwell wants to run the ball and control the clock. Can't possibly do that with the current o-line. Long, time consuming drives keeps the defense fresh and gives the coaching staff more time on the sidelines to see what the opposing offense is trying to do and make adjustments.

The defense "could" play at the level of last season. Does Slay continue to improve? Is this the year that Ansah puts it all together? Are Jones, Johnson, Tapp, and Taylor able to take it up another notch? What does Van Noy have to offer? Lots of variables there but IMO much of that success will depend on what we do on the other side of the ball.

 

[RobBase]

For the guy thinking there wont be an immense drop off in defensive production after losing suh and gutting the strength of your defense and then on top of it switching from a 4-3 to a 3-4, must be nice to have such wishful thinking.

Everything Mayhew touches turns to rainbows.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

Yes you could have. Just never gets done in Detroit. Using the bonus to your advantage and low first year salary the cap hit can be kept low and have bigger salary hit next year when money is available.

Isn't that what got us into this mess?

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

As I have said extending Ngata, you can free up that money you are needing Coach Ed. Then go get that veteran guy in Wisniewski or W as some call him. Swanson at G and BAM. Your problem is solved.

I would really like to add a quality lineman. I think extending Ngata will be difficult as he will want more years than we should give a guy his age.(I could be wrong though.)

 

[gandydancer]

I would really like to add a quality lineman. I think extending Ngata will be difficult as he will want more years than we should give a guy his age.(I could be wrong though.)

Well if I am Ngata I want to sign a extension and get guaranteed money before playing out my 8.5 one year with no future money there if I get hurt or(God help us) has a down season and the market is not there for him next year. JMO...

 

[gandydancer]

I would really like to add a quality lineman. I think extending Ngata will be difficult as he will want more years than we should give a guy his age.(I could be wrong though.)

That is another way Meow was explaining. Get the guaranteed money paid over this year and next and you cut him year three or four with no dead money.

 

[gandydancer]

Isn't that what got us into this mess?

Sure if Miami can not get Suh to restructure next year, it will be bad having 23.8 cap hit. They pull it off somehow without kicking the can. Having Suh cost 6.1 against the cap this year and ungodly amount next year is not my thoughts.

Veteran OL can be had for a about 2-3 million hit this season and have a higher number next year.
How to structure it? Not sure I can do all that properly. ( still learning and don't want to speak as I if understand it completely) The more I keep reading how these contracts from other players around league are structured, the more I learn and more I am buying into Meows thoughts of Lewands idiotic ways.

 

[broncosmitty]

I do not want Ngata restructured or extended.

He's getting old.

Tag him next year if you have to.

 

[Coach_Ed_LPW]

I do not want Ngata restructured or extended.

He's getting old.

Tag him next year if you have to.

Yup, I agree with Smitty. If we get him to restructure for this year, it's going to take at least more han the 8.5 million he's already getting. If he's deferring money to the future and taing less this year... that says to me he will have a big cap number in the future eventually. That's why I don't see that happening.