iceshack149

I'm not sure if the ton of bricks has hit us yet but I've been seeing a few precursory rocks dropping here and there.

Boston Saint

Seems to me two different issues are being conflated; the hazards of burrowing against picks in future drafts and the hazards of burrowing against the future salary cap. When debating about being able to get back into the first round next year the rise of future salary caps really isn’t part of the discussion.

AsylumGuido

It actually does come into play to a small degree. As the cap rises each year so does the slotted rate associated with that pick. The salary associated with the #5 overall pick will be incrementally higher in 2023 than it was in 2022. Not that big of a deal, but there is a degree of correlation.

Boston Saint

To an infinitesimal degree perhaps. Nothing that would influence a trade. The only real impact would be if a player was involved in the trade to move back into the first next year.

papz

Plenty of teams are using that strategy now. It definitely works... until it doesn't. Eventually you're going to need a reset and when that does happen, hopefully we'll have the draft picks to use to capitalize on it.

SmashMouth

May happen if SP decides to coach next year somewhere else. 3 number 1s, anyone?

mapcow

Highghgh Hopes ....yall got high___ hopes; Pie in the sky.. kinda Highhh Hopes....

Boston Saint

It could be a Fantastic Voyage! RIP Coolio

Boston Saint

So after a few days of rumination I had another take. See what people think of this;

Winston has played poorly. Special teams have played poorly. Coaching has been poor. Certain aspects of the D has been poor (TOs and sacks).

i’m beginning to wonder why we expected anything different. Look at some facts. We’re using a quarterback that’s coming off a major knee injury and currently has a back injury. Were using a wide receiver that’s coming off a major leg injury and is still working his way back. Our other two top WRs are new to the team. Kamara is hurt and missed a game. He did not play a lot in preseason. The Online has had injuries and poor play and was counting on recovering/new players.

I don’t have the stats in front of me, but I’m guessing that the starting offensive unit rolled out in week 1 played less than one quarter together in preseason. Which means less than a quarter together EVER! In retrospect, it seems kinda naïve to think an offensive unit that had practically no experience playing together could step onto a field and take on NFL defenses (a really good one in Tampa’s case) and expect to do well. That kind of cohesion doesn't come naturally. It takes repetition and practice; things Winston, Kamara, Thomas, Landry, Olave, and the Oline have not had together based upon who played in preseason.

Just a thought.

You think you know, but you don’t know...and you never will! Coach Jim Mora