Posted: Thursday, September 11, 2008, 12:02 PM | 13 comments |
 

DON'T WORRY ABOUT THE CAP
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Advice to my good friend Whitey: Stop getting these people all riled up for no good reason. The Eagles are playing the Cowboys Monday night and that's all the excitement they need right now.

Whitey, just so you know, is columnist Rich Hofmann from my second favorite newspaper in the city, and he really is a good friend.

This morning, however, he suggests that it could be bad for the Eagles if the NFL's billionaires -- that's the owners -- fail to figure out a way to appease the millionaires -- that's the players -- and the league is forced to play without a salary cap in 2010. Whitey says this could be a problem for the Eagles because they are now the lowest valued team in the NFC East, according to Forbes Magazine. They fell from fifth to seventh overall because the New York Giants and Jets are about to move into a new stadium and they play in a swamp that is part of the vast New York television market.

Even if the unthinkable happened and the NFL did open up the free-agent flood gates by allowing teams to spend whatever they wanted, it just wouldn't be the same as baseball. The Cowboys, Redskins and Giants could buy a team of Pro Bowlers if they want, but in this league it's often times better to have the young, unproven legs than the old, worn ones with a long list of honors.

Case in point: The Cowboys have seven-time Pro Bowler Zach Thomas right now. The Eagles have first-year starter Stewart Bradley. Who would you rather have?

Besides, the Eagles will continue to be among the top 10 franchises in value for a long, long time and as long as they rank that high, they should have enough money to bid for the best players even in an uncapped world.
Posted by Bob Brookover @ 12:02 PM  Permalink | 13 comments
13
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:22 AM, 09/11/2008
    It all cmes down 2 drafting & A.R.'s track record hasn't been that good so I would be worried.Pinkston,Caver,Mitchell,Moats,etc.too many 2nd & 3rd round bust's.
    — hazer
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:16 AM, 09/11/2008
    Hazer, you must be kidding. How about Westbrook, Jackson, Laws, Demps, Bradley, Gaither, Gocong, etc., etc., etc. A/R is doing just fine in the draft. I didn't mention McNabb, Andrews, Patterson, Bunkley, Sheppard since you didn't complain about the #1's
    — Bama
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:34 AM, 09/11/2008
    STEWART BRADLEY..NEXT QUESTION. SHOULD BOB BROOKOVER STILL BE CASHING A PAYCHECK? ANSWER..NO.
    — Shemp Howard
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:37 AM, 09/11/2008
    Ignorant posters just like the writer. Check all the NFL teams draft selections and you'll see they are loaded with draft busts--it's not just the Eagles. Morons still talking about Quintin Caver and Freddy Mitchell.
    — Shemp Howard
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:00 AM, 09/11/2008
    Dear Bob: Thanks so much for the post. A few points: 1) I believe the proper blogging etiquette is that when you are ripping the crap out of a philly.com colleague in one of you posts, you should at least have the decency to link to my post -- you know, so that people can see how much you misrepresented it. 2) I'll bet you a beer the salary cap goes away. And, through years of trial and error, I am fairly certain that beer is one of the few things upon which we agree. 3) You do make some good points. You miss badly, though, when you say "he really is a good friend." 4) Thanks so much for the photo. Sincerely, The Idle Rich
    — rich hofmann
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:51 PM, 09/11/2008
    Shemp Homward = shoeshineboy
    — fizzbin
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:38 AM, 09/12/2008
    you should read the CBA about uncapped years and free agency. no one could become the yankees. read the "final eight plan" section. top 8 teams are very limited in how many unrestricted free agents they can sign. the absence of a cap will benefit teams like the redskins and cowboys in that they'll have more money to re-sign their own players. but the draft will still be more important.
    — mikeb
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:55 AM, 09/12/2008
    mikeb, yes, but when drafted, rookies will sign shorter contracts to become free agents quicker/earlier in their careers, and bolt to the franchises who have the deepest pockets and enjoy spending sprees (example: Yankees). It would be worse in the NFL because contracts are NOT guaranteed, they are in baseball.
    — Big Game
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:55 PM, 09/12/2008
    big game, guys still wont be unrestricted free agents until after 5 years of playing. rookie contracts are pretty standard in being 4 or 5 years, besides top 1st rd picks, already.
    — mikeb
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:06 AM, 09/15/2008
    there are too many positions in football for one or two superstars to really alter the game. Good teams will survive and prosper. Don't forget that the Redskins have never been the same since Snyder went ape on burnouts.
    — dutchman


13 comments
About Jeff McLane and Jonathan Tamari






Jeff McLane (left) began covering the Eagles in April 2009 after covering college sports and Penn State football in particular. Before that he wrote about high school sports and before that he worked in the mailroom (not quite). Find Jeff on Facebook and follow him on Twitter for instant updates on the Eagles.

Jonathan Tamari (right) began covering the Eagles in April 2010. He previously covered New Jersey state government and politics, reporting and writing about elections, policy debates and the many personalities that drive the Garden State, from three recent governors to the many musicians bidding to write the state song. He has been at the Inquirer since June 2008. Follow him on Twitter at @JonathanTamari.

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