..necessarily for the reasons you say.
If we don't make a playoff run this year, it's still going to be necessary to keep most of these guys somehow to have any chance of winning later. I just don't see us losing that many guys in one year and remaining competitive, really.
I see other present players redoing many of their past deals to make more room to keep most of them until '09 is done and we wait and see what is going to happen with the new agreement.?
The owners have known now for several years this was coming and the Jones have done some things to work around this as needed. I'd feel pretty confident of that.
Whether it's redoing contracts and gaining needed cap room to sign short extensions or just one year deals as a temporary stopgap until extended deals can be budgeted or whatever..there has to be something in the works.
I just can't see us letting that number of players go at that point with us being right on top of a non-agreement uncapped year in which after that, there maybe no cap at all to worry about.
Letting all those guys go just to sign with other cap strapped teams would be insane.
There is something we are missing here.
Not sure what it is, but let's wait and see what happens here.
And this is a bit off the thread topic, but could we just try to enjoy this season before we all go into a panic about "the sky is falling" routine and worrying about '09 before '08 is even played..?
It's all fine and well to want to play these mental games.
But frankly, there is one major caution that concerns me with this team as it's presently structured and being currently paid and in looking at the renewal of the players who you have listed above.
If the winning doesn't start this year as in playoffs and going deep into it, I think after this year, those players you have listed are going to have to be let go because you can't afford to play guys with big deals that really aren't winning.
Not just because they have big new deals coming to keep them.
This team has had so much money spent on players and coaches and expensive FA's trying to prop up the lack of success over the last 5 years that it will be reaching a point of having to do some rebuilding soon anyway with an eye towards letting the less expensive backups start to play and cut the big salary cap types to do it.
It runs in cycles as we all know and I think we are past the point of being able to continue financing losing.
You have about 5-6 years to really build a team and pay the big contracts out before you have to start renewing them at even higher dollars. If enough winning hasn't occurred over those 5-6 years to warrant adding the additional bucks it will take to keep the expensive vets around..when the rolling over of new contracts comes to pass..
..that's it. Some are going to be disappointed and allowed to walk.
Party over and you take a step or two back, you need to lose to get more high draft picks to start the rebuilding and start again building a new core of talent.
I have been saying it now for the last couple of years, this team is nearing it's freshness label expiration date as an affordable team to keep around.
I just see a poor track record and year after year of underachieving under BP has begun to cripple it's chances of really being a great team because it's costing a lot of money to keep together a team that maybe..hasn't got it and maybe won't ever match expectations.
I think back sometimes to BP leaving like he did and wondering why on earth would he leave if this team was really on the verge of being a great team. I think he wouldn't. And that leaves open the question as to if it's not going to be a great team, how long do you continue the dream and expense of funding as the owner if this bunch of guys are basically flawed and not going to acheive much more than they have so far..regardless of the money spent..?
It's difficult to say that as a true fan, but this is getting to be a little desparate on Dallas' part as time slips by and it has little to show but looking forward to the next year in the hopes it works out..
They really HAVE TO WIN this year..and not just the regular season win. That's not going to be good enough now.
We aren't that young anymore and five years of completely rebuilding this team with BP and now Phillips has netted one Eastern Divison title and mostly December swoons and/or total playoff collapses.
There comes a point where you have to wonder, is it realistic to think the team will continue on it's present path of not winning and do you go the distance with sending the team into cap hell to salvage it..?
Hmmm...
:starspin RedBaLL ExPreSS :starspin
