D-nymph
Posts: 1751
Joined: 9/19/2001 Status: offline
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Porktown I know it's hockey season, but just read that the Stillers picked up Justin Hartwig from the Carolina Panthers. Yeah, that same team that was 29th best in the pass, and made the Stiller's pass blocking look All Pro... This isn't the best off season.. http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=Akb06qF6BiJPLJYpFVJuJjMdsLYF?slug=ap-steelers-hartwig&prov=ap&type=lgns Indeed, it's not the best offseason for the steelers and free agents. But the Steelers are at the very bottom of the league in cap space. The Ben Roethlisberger deal is a big move though. The thing that nobody talks about is this: When the steelers for the past 5-6 years keep restructuring these contracts to make cap room in order to re-sign their own players, it has a long term affect. Those players' cap numbers don't just go away, they get extended over a longer time frame. As time passes they start to add up, and you get into the spot they are in now. They need to improve in some areas and they don't have the money available to do so. It's like only paying the minimum balance on your credit card. You get by for a while, but that money keeps building up, until you can't get rid of your debt. Everyone always says "just re-structure some contracts, and sign a big free agent or two". But it doesn't work that easy. They have a big choice to make. Either continue on the same path, be a borderline playoff team, and maybe get hot and lucky at the right time, like they did a couple years ago. or cut some veterans, (some combination of 4 or 5 of M. Smith, Hampton, A. Smith, Keisel, Ward, Simmons, Farrior, Foote, Mahan, etc) probably stink for 2-3 years, Get high draft choices, take their lumps and re-build. I can see why they choose th eformer, but the latter may be a better course of action. And as far as the Browns go, I'm not a fan, obviously. But Braylon Edwards is an awesome player.
< Message edited by D-nymph -- 3/27/2008 4:07:20 PM >
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