shamaran Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 While I'm not enthralled with the play of Bruce Smith this year (what, 4 sacks?), I am wondering out loud, if indeed, most here - want him back. I'm a bit ambivalent on the subject. He's still got enough to be a situation rusher. But, is his, "must be my way" attitude worth it? What are the cap ramifications - either way? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinthePRF Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 I think our first rounder next year, low or high, should be on a DE to take Bruce's place, period. I'm for letting him go, unless keeping him would vastly give us more cap room manuverability to fill other needs. I know he restructured this offseason for a bit more bonus money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldog Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 well, it would be better if we could push off the cap hits for Darrell and Bruce another year. Darrell is already coming back. Bruce can be an effective player here but like Darrell it requires him to have some humility and recognize that while he can still play, age has taken a toll on his endurance and ability to play full-time over 16 weeks. If Bruce comes back and we can get an end to play the run downs in front of him, I don't see any reason why Bruce can't put up 10-12 sacks in a part-time role. He has 4 so far this year and has missed a number of games. I don't know if Bruce is ready to admit he needs to be paced during games or not. I do think that Marty will run a different kind of training camp next summer. He is slowly getting back to being the coach he has been for much of his career, a player's coach that demands discipline and hard work but has the respect of the guys on the team. I think he forgot the importance of communication with the players in his two years in the booth, but has been shocked back into realizing how that makes the difference between guys playing hard for you or hardly playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Angry Buddha Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 If my calculations are correct, we still have to account for $5 million in Bruce's original signing bonus and the $3.2 million of his 2001 base salary that was guaranteed this year. If he were released before the summer, we'd take a $5 million hit against the 2002 cap. Now if he comes back for another season, his base is $3.5 million and his cap number would be somewhere in the area of $5.1 million. It may be financially prudent to take him back for another season (if he's willing), but not guarantee his base salary. That way, after 2002 we'd only be liable to take a $3.4 million against the cap-- which could be spread over two seasons. At any rate, we should get a new DE through the draft or free agency that is capable of run stuffing on short downs with Bruce coming in to rush the passer on long downs. ------------------ <IMG SRC="http://home.earthlink.net/~wahoofamily/flag.gif" border=0> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NavyDave Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 Draft a run stuffing DT, move Resign K Lang and move him to DE in front of B Smith and have them both in on passing downs ------------------ Take A Sip of the Marty KoolAid and Believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 If he's cap-friendly, then we've got enough holes to fill, without going out and looking for another one. I'm not really impressed with the stunts during training camp, but what he does on the field is more important. I thought he was scheduled to get something like $8M salary this year, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted December 21, 2001 Share Posted December 21, 2001 If we bench Bruce, he'll get alienated, and he'll pull a "Randy Moss" on the downs that he does play. He already has that "I'm the big veteran, you can't bench me" attitude. Either start him or cut him, but you can't bench him. It will cause too much turmoil within the team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art Posted December 23, 2001 Share Posted December 23, 2001 The best thing that could happen to us is if he wants to play another year for us. His cap number would be approximately the same whether he's on the roster or not, and it will allow you to take a smaller hit after another year here. Green's return helped us out a lot. Smith's would as well. It would be especially nice if we found a solid young end and Bruce taught him a little something too . I worry about someone like Alex Brown, but, if he gets motivated, with those athletic skills, he could be a huge steal when we pick. Could be a huge bust too, but, the risk/reward ratio is less risky if Bruce is around to tutor him some I should think. ------------------ Doom is in the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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