Cardinals | Team is $13.6 million under salary cap

[Crazy Canuck]

Okay, was just trying to point out that Graves will never sign a guy like Allen.

This team follows the strict cap strategy (aka the philly-model) and lots of posters fail to recognize that (talking to posters like John H here).

Does that mean that the team is cheap? No, it does not. It means that the team is very picky about which FAs they want to sign. But when a FA meets the right criterias, then the team is also willing to spent premium money for that player. The basic rule of the Philly-Model is not to put yourselves in a situation where you'll end up hurting the cap in the future, so no nonsense deals (a long-term deal that in reality is a one or two-year deal) and no long-term deals to older players that aren't expected to play out their entire contract.

Remember when the Eagles let Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor go, because they both wanted long-term deals - that's the essense of the strategy. If you are going to spend big money on FAs then use it on a young player entering prime or in his prime(on a well structured deal), because that player will play out the entire contract and not hurt the salary cap in the future.

If you look at the very weak FA market with those criterias, then you'll see the team did a very good job in FA. Clancy was the #2 DT after Kemoeatu, Brown #3 behind Hutch and Bentley (who we never had a shot at) and Edge was #1. So very, very good signing.

The team could have made a bigger splask a la the Browns, but not without paying a price in later years. But Graves chose NOT to wet himself in order to keep warm, and eventhough it is a limited and perhaps boring choice it is IMO the best choice.

Good stuff

BIM: Criteria is plural