The March Massacre
02/27/2002
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Wow, isn't parity great? Look how well the salary cap is working in the NFL right now. It's quite a model system.
Hopefully you're picking up on my sarcasm because, in the immortal words of David Spade in "Tommy Boy," "I'm laying it on pretty thick."
For those of you who think the MLB Players Union will one day decide to approve a league-wide salary cap, keep dreaming. One look at what's going on in the NFL right now will have Donald Fehr, the head of the union, pledging his undying opposition to the cap and all its evils.
Hell, a quick peek at what's going on in Baltimore this winter would scare just about anyone.
Only a year removed from being crowned Super Bowl XXXV champs, the Baltimore Ravens are cutting players more rapidly than John Goodman cuts the cheese after a trip to Taco Bell. By Friday, the Ravens will wave goodbye to tight end Shannon Sharpe, fullback Sam Gash, receiver Qadry Ismail, offensive lineman Kipp Vickers, safety Rod Woodson, and defensive linemen Rob Burnett and Larry Webster. They'll also let offensive tackle Leon Searcy, linebacker Brad Jackson, fullback Obafemi Ayanbadejo and kicker Danny Kight walk as free agents, while nudging defensive tackle Tony Siragusa into retirement. All of that just to get under the league-mandated $71.1 million cap.
Take a look at that list -- this isn't your typical waiver-wire fodder we're talking about here. Sharpe and Woodson are both future Hall of Famers, and both are still playing at a relatively high level. In fact, Woodson was the starting free safety for the AFC Pro Bowl squad this year and when Kansas City tight end Tony Gonzalez went down with an injury, Sharpe also got the starting nod in Honolulu. Gash is a former Pro Bowl fullback and Ismail, the leading receiver in team history, is coming off perhaps his best season after hauling in 72 catches for 1,030 yards and seven touchdowns.
In other words, it's not going to take long at all for these guys to find work, and you can bet the Ravens weren't really thrilled about just cutting them loose without getting any compensation -- aside from the cap relief -- in return.
But the Baltimore bloodbath doesn't stop there. The Houston Texans gobbled up special teams star Jermaine Lewis and linebacker Jamie Sharper in the expansion draft a couple weeks ago, saving the Ravens $7 million, but that salary reprieve obviously wasn't enough. Now, aside from the cuts they've already decided to make, the former champs may lose Pro Bowl defensive tackle Sam Adams if they can't reach a new agreement this week, and they may also be forced to release disappointing quarterback Elvis Grbac if he doesn't agree to restructure his contract.
Of course, Ravens fans probably wouldn't be all that heartbroken to see Elvis and his bloated salary leave the building.
"We knew that we would be facing some serious cap issues in 2002, but the opportunity to win two Super Bowls in a row was overwhelming to us," said Ravens vice president Ozzie Newsome. "What we're facing today is not something that's unexpected. I think everybody is ready for the challenge, to get this football team back where it was before."
Translation: "We know we screwed ourselves last year but we wanted to win it all again. I hope everybody's ready for a rebuilding process, because we're going to suck for a while. I mean, we're going to really suck."
In February of 2001, the Ravens were still celebrating their Super Bowl victory while they prepared for another title run. In February of 2002, they're kicking out many of the players that helped lead them to that championship with the bitter taste of a failed title defense still in their mouths. It's a sad development for Ravens fans.
But for us Browns fans, it's a joyous occasion. Trust me, I'm not shedding any pity tears for Art Modell right now.
The Ravens aren't alone, though. The salary cap already has claimed dozens of high-profile victims, putting some attractive names on the free agent market that cap-comfortable teams will no doubt snap up.
The Falcons cut quarterback Chris Chandler this week, opening the door to the Michael Vick era in Atlanta, and also saved nearly $5 million by releasing receiver Terance Mathis. The Giants released former Pro Bowl linebacker Jesse Armstead and backup running back Joe Montgomery, and they may not be done -- it's reported that offensive tackle Lomas Brown, tight end Howard Cross, safety Sam Garnes and backup quarterback Jason Garrett are next on New York's list. Tony Dungy didn't waste much time getting settled in Indianapolis before making some major decisions. He released starting cornerback Jeff Burris and starting safety Chad Cota for a savings of more than $5 million, and he also gained about half a mil by cutting Pro Bowl tight end Ken Dilger. Minnesota released about half its roster this week, saying sayonara to receiver Chris Carter, safeties Robert Griffith and Orlando Thomas, defensive end Stalin Colinet, linebacker Ed McDaniel, punter Mitch Berger and receiver Troy Walters, moves that freed up more than $15 million. Carolina saved upwards of $9 million by cutting running back Tim Biakabutuka, linebacker Dean Wells, and cornerbacks Doug Evans and Jimmy Hitchcock. The Broncos let linebacker Bill Romanowski walk, and the Raiders, who suddenly find themselves with an extra $8 million, instantly signed him to a seven-year deal. The Seahawks saved a mere $145,000 by releasing Michael Sinclair, the 33-year-old defensive tackle who led the NFL with 16.5 sacks in 1998, while the Jets, who like Baltimore had some salary lifted from their books during the expansion draft, freed up about an additional $2.5 million by cutting receiver Matthew Hatchette, safety Chris Hayes and punter Tom Tupa. Even the Cardinals, who would seem to have plenty of cap room, cleared even more by handing perennial IR-filler Rob Moore his walking papers.
And it's going to get even worse.
The mind-boggling list of players that are rumored to be next on the chopping block includes names like Antonio Freeman, Dorsey Levens, La'Roi Glover, Kevin Hardy, George Teague, Aaron Beasley, Derrick Alexander, William Thomas, Ryan Tucker, Freddie Jones, Simeon Rice, Joe Johnson, Brock Marion, Rob Johnson, Neil O'Donnell, Shane Dronett, Leon Lett, Keenan McCardell, Tim Bowens, Marquez Pope, Ray Brown, Kurt Schultz, Willie Roaf and Blaine Bishop.
So this is parity? This is how a salary cap is supposed to "level the playing field"?
Hmm... maybe the MLB Players Union has it right after all.
Even the New England Patriots, Super Bowl XXXVI champs, seem to be following the path of their predecessors in Baltimore. The Pats already have cut cornerback Terrance Shaw and receiver Charles Johnson, saving roughly $4 million in cap room. You could say that both Shaw and Johnson were more or less excess baggage on an otherwise lean team, and that by cutting them both the Pats have just eliminated some unnecessary weight. I can buy that.
But what if, as rumored, the Patriots also release linebacker Ted Johnson and defensive end Willie McGinest? While it's true that Johnson isn't as valuable to New England as he once was because of the development of Tedy Bruschi, without question he can still be a productive linebacker in this league and would help the Patriots defend their title in 2002-03. As for McGinest, after some back problems the past couple years, the former star played a key role in New England's Cinderella story this past season, culminating in a five-tackle, one-sack performance against the Steelers in the AFC Championship game and a four-tackle, one-sack show in the Super Bowl.
Having the extra $10 million they'd get by cutting both Johnson and McGinest would be nice, but you can bet the Patriots would much rather find a way to keep these two in New England. Unfortunately, the glorious salary cap may not allow that to happen.
I've always been a cap advocate in professional sports -- when you have a team like the New York Yankees sporting a $150 million payroll, a cap seems more attractive by the day. But then you see the way NFL teams have been affected. Sure, we've watched the poor get richer as the talent gap shrinks a bit each year, teams like the Patriots and Steelers, not to mention the Rams and Ravens a couple years ago. But they don't stay that way for long.
Next, we may see the Browns, Chargers or Falcons in the Super Bowl while the Patriots, Ravens and Rams struggle through six-win seasons. Don't think that could happen? Check out the Colts of 2000-01 (13-3) and the 2001-02 version (6-10). Or the 2000 Titans (13-3) vs. the 2001 Titans (7-9). Or the Super Bowl Giants of 2000 (12-4) vs. the sorry team of 2001 (7-9). Don't forget about the 2000 Vikings (11-5) and their 2001 misery (5-11). If teams can improve as quickly as the Steelers and Patriots did this year, isn't it a given that teams can deteriorate just as quickly, if not faster?
Is that what parity is all about? Teams signing high-priced free agents, making a championship run, then a year or two later cutting them all loose before the March 1 deadline hits again?
What happens next? Simple -- teams with the cap room give most of these guys comparable money and then a year or two later they get cut again. Don't believe me? The seven-year deal the Raiders gave Romanowski will pay him $2 million in 2002. How does that compare to the $2.9 million he was scheduled to make in Denver this year? Plus, the guy is 35. What do you think the chances are that he plays out the length of his contract? Exactly. He'll find himself floating in the free agency pool again in a couple years.
I understand what the salary cap is ideally supposed to promote. The only problem is that it's not an ideal system right now. Sure, it's nice to see teams like the Patriots come out of nowhere to shock the entire football world, but where are the dynasties? Where's the mystique that used to envelop teams like the 49ers, Steelers and Cowboys? The Rams may have that aura of dominance right now, but with the way things are going that'll disappear in a couple years too, and we'll be left with another group of elite teams that'll improve, peak and decline all in a matter of months. Where's the sustained excellence?
If that's the cycle we'll see in the NFL over the coming years, if that's what parity does to professional sports, then maybe, just maybe, Donald Fehr has the right idea. Annual salary purges and deadline carnage? No thanks.
In the Bullz-Eye
NCAA bubble teams. That's right, not only is baseball season officially underway with the start of spring training, but one of the absolute finest sporting events of the year is only weeks away -- March Madness. With the opening round set to begin on March 12, every extra win is vital to all those teams still hanging on to fading tourney hopes.