BLOG: The Bargain Bin Bears

Tue Mar 14, 2017 3:56 pm

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Ryan Pace isn't about to dole out big money deals, & it's all part of the plan...?

Let me know what you think, as always.

VA_Mountain_Bear · Tue Mar 14, 2017 5:47 pm

A part of me feels discouraged in this FA period. Logically though, it was a weak FA class, we don't overpay in it, and wait for draft and next FA class. We sign a bunch of generous 1 year deals, and roll a lot of cap space into next year.

Moriarty · Tue Mar 14, 2017 6:27 pm

The Bears are totally correct in their plan to not spend big money in FA and work the draft...as long as they shift gears, once they start getting close to being ready.

The Cubs did the exact same thing, for those who follow baseball. Flip the switch, once you're starting to get into striking distance.

However, as much as some people don't want to believe it, the Bears aren't really that close yet.

Middleguard · Tue Mar 14, 2017 6:43 pm

I, for one, am glad to to see this. Absence of splash is the sign of a good dive.

I'm particularly pleased that Pace didn't feel (or didn't respond to) pressure to save Fox' job (and possibly, unlikely, his own) by making expensive short term fixes.

thunderspirit · Tue Mar 14, 2017 6:54 pm

Moriarty wrote:The Bears are totally correct in their plan to not spend big money in FA and work the draft...as long as they shift gears, once they start getting close to being ready.

The Cubs did the exact same thing, for those who follow baseball. Flip the switch, once you're starting to get into striking distance.

However, as much as some people don't want to believe it, the Bears aren't really that close yet.

This.

I believe the Bears are closer than Mori does, but that doesn't mean they're "close." It means they're trying to recover from a decade of bad-to-abysmal drafting (basically since Lovie Smith leveraged greater influence in the draft room after Super Bowl XLI) and are still looking for building blocks.

Tue Mar 14, 2017 7:16 pm

I hope you're all not inferring that the tone of my article is negative. I feel like I tried to play both sides of the fence.

staleystarch · Tue Mar 14, 2017 9:29 pm

UOK wrote:https://1985edition.com/2017/03/14/the- ... bin-bears/

Ryan Pace isn't about to dole out big money deals, & it's all part of the plan...?

Let me know what you think, as always.

I agree with not spending big money on other teams FAs, but the reason for that being we can get our own players and build through the draft. The problem is we are not keeping our own players. I also see it as the Bears spiting AJ and not the other way around.

RING4CHI · Tue Mar 14, 2017 10:03 pm

I think we need to take a wait and see approach, which can be frustrating to do after three-straight 10+ loss seasons. The guys the Bears have brought in has given themselves a little bit of flexibility of what to do at #3. The Glennon signing, whether you like or not, kind of forces Chicago's hand to take a QB at 3 if the signing that doesn't happen. The Bears could look to trade down, or they could now take a guy like Adams who could be groomed under a guy like Demps.

Yes it's frustrating the Bears weren't as active in free agency as it appeared they would be, especially with how much they had to spend. But just because one has money to spend, doesn't mean they should spend all of it at once. I like most of the signings the Bears made. If guys like Amukamara and Wright are able to revive their careers in 2017, the Bears get first crack at locking them up for the foreseeable future.

I think I'll wait to see what the Bears do in the draft to see if they did approach free agency the right way.

Mr.Irrelevant · Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:01 am

I would have loved to see us spend the $15M per year to get Calais Campbell. That said, according to sportsmockery we only have $15M left under the cap, and we'll need half of that for the draft class.

I know we'll open up some more $$ by cutting Royal and probably Houston, but I also understand the need to keep a reserve for the FA's to come later (ala Sitton last year) and to re-sign our own guys like Hicks and Leno.

Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:10 am

Mr.Irrelevant wrote:I would have loved to see us spend the $15M per year to get Calais Campbell. That said, according to sportsmockery we only have $15M left under the cap, and we'll need half of that for the draft class.

I know we'll open up some more $$ by cutting Royal and probably Houston, but I also understand the need to keep a reserve for the FA's to come later (ala Sitton last year) and to re-sign our own guys like Hicks and Leno.

Campbell is on the wrong side of 30. And yes, I know they signed a 31yr old FS, but the difference is that Demps only has two years of starting wear and tear on his body.

Boris13c · Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:28 am

Bargain Bin shopping isn't all bad .... I've procured some very nice Bears merchandise that way

so while I'm disappointed the Bears didn't grab at least a couple of the high end guys at positions of need, I will withhold off season judgement until after I see what they do in the draft ... intelligent drafting + bargain free agents is something that can work ... screwing the pooch in the draft and having nothing but the bargain free agents will suck

Mr.Irrelevant · Wed Mar 15, 2017 9:28 am

wab wrote:
Mr.Irrelevant wrote:I would have loved to see us spend the $15M per year to get Calais Campbell. That said, according to sportsmockery we only have $15M left under the cap, and we'll need half of that for the draft class.

I know we'll open up some more $$ by cutting Royal and probably Houston, but I also understand the need to keep a reserve for the FA's to come later (ala Sitton last year) and to re-sign our own guys like Hicks and Leno.
Campbell is on the wrong side of 30. And yes, I know they signed a 31yr old FS, but the difference is that Demps only has two years of starting wear and tear on his body.

I get that. But on the other hand Campbell was by far the best FA available at what has become our biggest need. And Campbell/Goldman/Hicks collapsing the pocket would go a long way to helping our db's as well.

I'm sure we'll address 5T in the draft, but I don't think even a Jonathan Allen will have the same success in year 1.

RichH55 · Wed Mar 15, 2017 8:10 pm

wab wrote:
Mr.Irrelevant wrote:I would have loved to see us spend the $15M per year to get Calais Campbell. That said, according to sportsmockery we only have $15M left under the cap, and we'll need half of that for the draft class.

I know we'll open up some more $$ by cutting Royal and probably Houston, but I also understand the need to keep a reserve for the FA's to come later (ala Sitton last year) and to re-sign our own guys like Hicks and Leno.
Campbell is on the wrong side of 30. And yes, I know they signed a 31yr old FS, but the difference is that Demps only has two years of starting wear and tear on his body.

Didn't Demps have a pretty major injury earlier in his career?

USSGlennon · Tue Mar 28, 2017 12:18 am

Middleguard wrote:I, for one, am glad to to see this. Absence of splash is the sign of a good dive.

I like it! The fact that every signing except maybe at B/U QB is an upgrade over what we had reflects our 3-13 record. And I see a fairly youthful Glennon as an upgrade over Cutler as well. Spending a pile of $$$ on one or 2 aging FA's would not help us long term... We need to get better across the board, and look for bigger names-to-be in the draft.