Wow, the number of additions

[wazzy]

Ok I think Rick could of been a good GM if he did have better coaches last year but he didn't and we wanted to restart everything so we needed not only new coaches but a new GM so bye bye.

If A.J Feely turns out to be great RS will look pretty good but if hes nothing less then spectacular people will be frowning upon his decisions

 

[FinNasty]

If Speilman didn't maintain the budget and panicked like you guys said, would Saban have had the cap space to get these FA's..Speilman's gone now, but I just wanted to thank him for what he was getting ready to do...I wished he had some real coaches last year..I think we'd be set this year. I will slight Saban in a heart beat, he didn't know these players as well as Speilman...I'm sure Speilman did nothing to help Saban transition on board here..


:shakeno:

Um... I hate to tell you, but when Saban took over, we were way over the cap! Saban made the moves to get us under and allow us to sign the FAs that we did. I am not near as hard on Spielman as most others, but still... the credit is deserved by Saban, not Spielman...

Nasty

 

[MDFINFAN]

Um... I hate to tell you, but when Saban took over, we were way over the cap! Saban made the moves to get us under and allow us to sign the FAs that we did. I am not near as hard on Spielman as most others, but still... the credit is deserved by Saban, not Spielman...

Nasty

Urrr, sorry to remind you, we were going to dish who we dished, the cap wasn't set yet when Saban got here.. Those same players were on their way out the door under Speilman..probably to include Seau.
:shakeno:

It's so hard to give credit where credit is due, isn't it??

 

[Jaj]

But the GM is the one who makes the decison on Salary and how many players and how much..we could have pushed salary cap last year and been in cap jail this year. I'm just saying thanks to Spielman for not signing the overpriced players and ensuring we could do something this year and Saban benefitted..that's all I'm saying. Speilman's gone now, but still thanks, we get to change the team more and push in the future. Could you imagine Saban going to Tenn. ??? -- We still have most of our core and able to add this many players, the GM did a good job last year setting up this year. At least acknowledge that much..

Whew, some ppl..
:shakeno:

Weidermier is who you should thank for the cap...

 

[BlueFin]

But the GM is the one who makes the decison on Salary and how many players and how much..we could have pushed salary cap last year and been in cap jail this year. I'm just saying thanks to Spielman for not signing the overpriced players and ensuring we could do something this year and Saban benefitted..that's all I'm saying. Speilman's gone now, but still thanks, we get to change the team more and push in the future. Could you imagine Saban going to Tenn. ??? -- We still have most of our core and able to add this many players, the GM did a good job last year setting up this year. At least acknowledge that much..

Whew, some ppl..
:shakeno:

Memo to MDFINFAN:

We were in cap trouble until Saban had to trade off Surtain, many of the free agents we were able to pull in at good prices had much to do with these players knowing they were going to be playing with Saban.

Boston would not be here at a good price if not for Saban, he turned down more money from Tennessee.

 

[inFINSible]

Memo to MDFINFAN:

We were in cap trouble until Saban had to trade off Surtain, many of the free agents we were able to pull in at good prices had much to do with these players knowing they were going to be playing with Saban.

Boston would not be here at a good price if not for Saban, he turned down more money from Tennessee.

Memo to BlueFin:

We ALL knew that Surtain was the key to cap space. This was not some brilliant stroke of genius by Nick Saban. Former GM RICK SPEILMAN made the decision a long time ago, perhaps even in anticipation of recouping lost draft picks in the same processs of reclaiming cap space.

Saban wouldn't have been able to do any of this if Rick hadn't left him an option, one which was well covered with a solid looking second year player in Will Poole ready to step in.

 

[gordolphin]

If Speilman didn't maintain the budget and panicked like you guys said, would Saban have had the cap space to get these FA's..Speilman's gone now, but I just wanted to thank him for what he was getting ready to do...I wished he had some real coaches last year..I think we'd be set this year. I will slight Saban in a heart beat, he didn't know these players as well as Speilman...I'm sure Speilman did nothing to help Saban transition on board here..


:shakeno:

I like Rick, but the mayority of those moves were done by Saban and we had to trade Pat Surtain. and we lost Ogun

 

[Merman]

But the GM is the one who makes the decison on Salary and how many players and how much..we could have pushed salary cap last year and been in cap jail this year. I'm just saying thanks to Spielman for not signing the overpriced players and ensuring we could do something this year and Saban benefitted..that's all I'm saying. Speilman's gone now, but still thanks, we get to change the team more and push in the future. Could you imagine Saban going to Tenn. ??? -- We still have most of our core and able to add this many players, the GM did a good job last year setting up this year. At least acknowledge that much..

Whew, some ppl..
:shakeno:

I sure hope you are saying that to yourself in the mirror.

What you said was:

Look at all these FA signed...who did the budget to ensure we had that much space?
I thought we panic'd last year.

Seem like there was a plan...

Saban you are benefitting: plus you get a lot of good players from before, we should be competitive this year, and set for a good run next year.

If no one else will, I'll thank him, thanks Speilman.

That is the job of the Salary Cap people in the organization not the GM. The GM will give the team direction and goals but the cap people make it work. It is the same in any business.

 

[MDFINFAN]

I sure hope you are saying that to yourself in the mirror.

What you said was:

That is the job of the Salary Cap people in the organization not the GM. The GM will give the team direction and goals but the cap people make it work. It is the same in any business.

You guys just don't seem to get it..how does one get in cap hell, overspending..in other words contracts backended into the next year where a team can't function without throwing away half their roster..i.e., Tenn. Titians.

The GM makes the decision on doing that, the cap guys just make sure that they're in compliance that year and advise the GM.


:shakeno:

 

[MDFINFAN]

Memo to BlueFin:

We ALL knew that Surtain was the key to cap space. This was not some brilliant stroke of genius by Nick Saban. Former GM RICK SPEILMAN made the decision a long time ago, perhaps even in anticipation of recouping lost draft picks in the same processs of reclaiming cap space.

Saban wouldn't have been able to do any of this if Rick hadn't left him an option, one which was well covered with a solid looking second year player in Will Poole ready to step in.

Thanks InFin...I'm not sure what's so hard about this..

 

[Whitedolphin54]

the biggest signing in my book :

HUDSON HOUCK

Yeah that

 

[yankeehillbilly]

Spielman is gone...and probably rightfully so, but not so much because of his job performance. Remember, last year both Spielman and Wanny were under Wayne's directive to "Win Now!" What many saw as panicking could have simply been Spielmans attempt to follow his boss's orders. Yes, giving away this year's 2nd for Feeley was too much. Rick probably knew it was too much, but what was he to do? His boss said to win now, and he knew Fiedler wasnt the answer and Feeley appeared to be the best option. Trading the 4th to move up to get Carey was also a bad move, but again....what was he to do? We had a train wreck for an O-Line, so we had to get help. Im sure the thought entered his mind that NE really wouldnt draft Carey, but he probably felt that with Wayne's demand, he couldnt take that chance. I dont fault Rick for trading away those picks when he probably didn't have to. He was put in a very difficult situation and all things considered, he handled it pretty well.

All that said though, it is best that Spielman resigned. In effect, he was demoted the day Saban was hired so Im surprised he stayed as long as he did. Obviously Saban wanted someone a bit more savvy in the art of trades/negotiations than what Spielman had displayed. It doesnt really matter that Spielman's hands were tied during his short tenure as GM...all that really matters is that the requisite trust, confidence, and respect between the Head Coach and GM necessary for success simply didnt exist between Saban and Spielman.
So, I thank Spielman for his efforts and his professionalism in such a bad situation, and I wish him well, but his departure became necessary and pretty much inevitable on Christmas Day 2004.

Anyway, thats my opinion.

 

[BlueFin]

Memo to BlueFin:

We ALL knew that Surtain was the key to cap space. This was not some brilliant stroke of genius by Nick Saban. Former GM RICK SPEILMAN made the decision a long time ago, perhaps even in anticipation of recouping lost draft picks in the same processs of reclaiming cap space.

Saban wouldn't have been able to do any of this if Rick hadn't left him an option, one which was well covered with a solid looking second year player in Will Poole ready to step in.

Who said it was a stroke of genius? I was pointing out that Spielman and Company left Saban with no choice but to trade a Pro Bowler.

Memo to InFins:

Spielman is gone as I told you he would be, as you once again argued against.

Clearly Saban was not very high on Rick Spielman, and with his record, why should he be?

 

[inFINSible]

Memo to InFins:

Spielman is gone as I told you he would be, as you once again argued against.

Clearly Saban was not very high on Rick Spielman, and with his record, why should he be?

And this has, what exactly, to do with this discussion?

Saban wouldn't have been able to do half of what he's done so far, had he not been set up by Rick Speilman's longterm plans for the franchise.

Saban's paranoia probably cost him a good right hand man. No one ever questioned Rick Speilman about his loyalty, his hard work, his tireless effort or his dedication to the franchise. It's a shame that Saban couldn't find a way to use such obvious attributes to his advantage

 

[inFINSible]

Who said it was a stroke of genius? I was pointing out that Spielman and Company left Saban with no choice but to trade a Pro Bowler.

Happens all the time to every team in the NFL. It's a fact of life in the NFL that teams are going to have to cut big name expensive players every once in awhile.

Pat was our first painful loss in a long time.

How many Pro bowlers have the Pats lost in the last 4 years?

It's a complete non issue in the sense that you're trying to portray it, however as a simple effective move to recoup draft picks and cap space in one stroke, it is a very good move and all the credit goes to Speilman for setting it up that way.