Keep f***ing doubting Alex Smith

[Hammock Parties]

The title of the thread says it all....

**** you doubters. He plays with heart, and he continues to get the job done. You people who bash Alex, I don't even consider true fans. He plays his heart out every week, and you continue to bash him...

Keep bashing him, I'll keep backing him.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by GoChargers

To be fair, the Steelers are awful this year, and the Saints nearly gave up 30 to the Jets as well.

Sure. But there's no denying that Brady is doing it with nobodies. He hasn't had Gronk much this year and he's putting up points with two rookies in Dobson and Thomaskins along with Edelman.

That's pretty damn impressive.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BossChief

?

[aturnis]

It's easy for you to say that on a forum, but if you were really in control of the situation, no doubt in my mind you would have paid the man. MAYBE you saved the franchise a couple of Mil over the life of the contract.

Between the importance of and demand for the QB position, the difficulty in filling it, his performance that carried the team to a Superbowl, the need for a "face" if the franchise, and the pressure of the job you'd be in, there aren't many options.

[BossChief]

Flaccos cap hit is less than 7mill.

[WhiteWhale]

The sheer stupidity of people arguing over a subjective buzzword ('elite' and 'franchise' QB's in this case) is astounding.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by aturnis

It's easy for you to say that on a forum, but if you were really in control of the situation, no doubt in my mind you would have paid the man. MAYBE you saved the franchise a couple of Mil over the life of the contract.

It's a different philosophy, for sure. But IF Flacco and Ryan fail to live up to their contracts over the course of the next few years, it will be interesting to see if other teams follow suit or move on.

What should the Bengals do?

Originally Posted by aturnis

Between the importance of and demand for the QB position, the difficulty in filling it, his performance that carried the team to a Superbowl, the need for a "face" if the franchise, and the pressure of the job you'd be in, there aren't many options.

Again, there are different ways to build a contender. You can go "All In" on a guy you believe to be a Franchise Player, pay him as such and have less for other positions.

Or, you can draft and develop a suitable QB and put superior talent around him. There is no "One Size Fits All" solution.

[BossChief]

Nothing about those contracts is hurting their teams right now.

Not finding a way to keep Boldin is hurting them.
Injuries to the tight ends has hurt them.
Losing the leadership of Ray Lewis and Ed Reed is hurting them.

Joe Flacco has been a superbowl MVP. Give him time and he may be one again.

Contrary to somes thoughts on the situation, Matt Ryan is just coming into his prime years and this year is an outlier...even though he is on pace for a year that would be a career year for Alex Smith.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Flaccos cap hit is less than 7mill.

And in 2014 & 2015, it's nearly $15 million per season. To cut him would cost $36 million. In 2016, his cap number is $28 million.

It's a huge commitment to pay a guy like Flacco that much money.

Would the Ravens be 4-5 with Geno Smith or Mike Glennon this year?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Nothing about those contracts is hurting their teams right now.

It will hurt them in 2014 and 2015 if he continues to perform as he's performing.

Originally Posted by BossChief

Joe Flacco has been a superbowl MVP. Give him time and he may be one again.

And he might not.

Originally Posted by BossChief

Contrary to somes thoughts on the situation, Matt Ryan is just coming into his prime years and this year is an outlier...even though he is on pace for a year that would be a career year for Alex Smith.

I'm not talking about Alex Smith, I'm talking about Ryan and Flacco.

Ryan will be 29 years old next and will have a $17.5 million dollar cap number. That won't leave them much room to add players and depth, so they'd better hit later in the draft to keep pace with Carolina and New Orleans.

They have a tough road ahead.

[GOB]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Most importantly though, it's a supply and demand issue, and salaries rise for every position every year. They ride the coattails of the Brady's, Peyton's and Brees and Rodgers'some of the league. As does each each and every player who ever signs a contract. They(he and Flacco) just happen to be lucky enough to play the position with the most demand.

Totally true but the question here is value.

I think QB's and receivers are really overvalued. Think about the differential between a top paid QB and Alex Smith.

(a) Aaron Rodgers makes $22 mil/year
(b) Alex Smith + the best pass rusher in the league would make $23 mil/year

Which package would you rather have? (a) or (b)? This might be debatable in your mind and I could understand

But what if instead of Aaron Rodgers it was Matt Ryan?

If winning the game is scoring more points than your opponents, in relation to the QB position, you can choose to invest in a better QB or personnel to stop the other person's QB. I would rather spend my money on defense and build offense through the draft.

[O.city]

Why does Alex smith matter in this? If we pay him 20 million dollars a year, yeah, I'd be furious, he's not worth that.

I think if come a lot closer to giving Ryan his deal than flacco, the ravens were cornered there, but that's just outrageous

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

And in 2014 & 2015, it's nearly $15 million per season. To cut him would cost $36 million. In 2016, his cap number is $28 million.

It's a huge commitment to pay a guy like Flacco that much money.

Would the Ravens be 4-5 with Geno Smith or Mike Glennon this year?

His contract averages 12.5 per year the first 3...after that, it will likely get restructured or re-done. Who knows...by then even the later years of his deal can be a bargain because the new tv money will be a couple years into things and the cap may be 135 million.

It's not a deal that is gonna keep them from re-signing anyone or adding to the roster in free agency.

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It will hurt them in 2014 and 2015 if he continues to perform as he's performing.



And he might not.



I'm not talking about Alex Smith, I'm talking about Ryan and Flacco.

Ryan will be 29 years old next and will have a $17.5 million dollar cap number. That won't leave them much room to add players and depth, so they'd better hit later in the draft to keep pace with Carolina and New Orleans.

They have a tough road ahead.

The cap went up 3 million to 124 million this year.

If it goes up a similar amount (and it should go up more) next year, you are saying it would be hard to put togehtther a talented team with 110 million to spend on a roster not counting quarterback?

110 million is a lot of resource.

So is a year of top draft picks.

[BossChief]

Flaccos cap hit this year is under 7 and the next 2 are under 15 each.

If the Ravens want out of the deal in 2016, they can cut him and save 3 million on the cap.

Seems like a steal to me...

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by BossChief

His contract averages 12.5 per year the first 3...after that, it will likely get restructured or re-done. Who knows...by then even the later years of his deal can be a bargain because the new tv money will be a couple years into things and the cap may be 135 million.

It's not a deal that is gonna keep them from re-signing anyone or adding to the roster in free agency.

I disagree.

For the next two years, he's on the books for a whopping $35 million. He will not restructure in 2014 or 2015, so you're looking at 2016 at the earliest.

In the meantime, the Falcons lack a pass rusher (along with many other defensive needs), lack a starting TE, their second WR will be 33 next year and there are questions on the O-line.

Add to that, the Saints appear to be the class of the NFC South and Carolina is pulling closer.

So the Falcons are likely the third best team in the division, barring a couple of amazing drafts and forays into free agency, before they're competing for a division title again. All the while, shelling out huge bucks to a QB that isn't elite and might be 31 before they're ready to compete again.

IMO, that sounds like a bad plan.