The league payroll #s say Arthur is doing a good job

[Doctor Kildare]

Teams with a higher active payroll tend to be the contenders, that is how the NFL works. The Falcons are 31st in active payroll, only ahead of the Bears. And the team just ahead of the Falcons, the Rams, have a 24% higher active payroll than the Falcons. The Ravens have a 75% higher active payroll than the Falcons. The payroll suggests they should beat the Falcons handily.

Division Payrolls

Bucs    $159,782,155

aints   $132,802,684

Panthers   $131,098,102

Falcons     $93,140,059

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/2022/

 

[Sponge]

That's probably going to change this offseason in FA depending on if we go on a shopping spree. Just hope we don't go the Dollar Tree route. 

[Killing Floor]

And very reasonable hot dogs. 
We could definitely afford to make a move for Dieter Eiselen this offseason.  

[Doctor Kildare]

1 minute ago, Sponge said:

That's probably going to change this offseason in FA depending on if we go on a shopping spree. Just hope we don't go the Dollar Tree route. 

This off-season is big. As a few of the top spending teams show, payroll does not always guarantee winning though it is a prerequisite.

[Doctor Kildare]

4 minutes ago, Killing Floor said:

And very reasonable hot dogs. 
We could definitely afford to make a move for Dieter Eiselen this offseason.  

The bad thing is the Bears are the one team who will have the most cap space.

[EddieK]

6 minutes ago, Sponge said:

That's probably going to change this offseason in FA depending on if we go on a shopping spree. Just hope we don't go the Dollar Tree route. 

One thing Arthur Blank doesn't do when he has money to spend is go thrift shopping. If the GM and HC wants somebody, AB will make all the resources available to sign them.

[Sponge]

2 minutes ago, Doctor Kildare said:

This off-season is big. As a few of the top spending teams show, payroll does not always guarantee winning though it is a prerequisite.

Seeing a lot of Lamar to Atlantie rumors online. Not sure I want to put most of my cap space on him (plus draft capital).

[Sponge]

8 hours ago, EddieK said:

One thing Arthur Blank doesn't do when he has money to spend is go thrift shopping. If the GM and HC wants somebody, AB will make all the resources available to sign them.

The FA list this offseason looks promising. If they want to come here is another thing.

[JDaveG]

The Bears not only have a worse record than us, they also get blown out a lot more than we do.  More, we have only $11 million more in payroll than they do, so basically one mid-line player ahead of them.  I think Smith is doing more with his payroll than the Bears are with theirs.

Next season is going to be a different story.  If it isn't, then the staff and FO deserve whatever scrutiny they get.  But for now, if anyone gets a pass, it's them.  Especially when you have some of the top 10 teams like the Jets and Commanders who are marginally better than us (at best) per their record, but have a full allotment of payroll.  And the Colts, who have a worse record than us.  This team isn't good.  But there isn't a team in the bottom 10 that would be in the playoffs if the season ended now, and the only two still realistically in the hunt are New Orleans and Carolina, and that's only because the Bucs hate winning so much.  Really, the main anomaly for teams with low payroll still winning is the Eagles.  They've clinched, are one of the best teams in the NFL, but are 19th in overall payroll for active players.

[ThisIsNotFantasyFootball]

4 minutes ago, Sponge said:

The FA list this offseason looks promising. If they wat to come here is another thing.

That's my concern. I am not sure the top FA will be falling all over themselves to sign here like some might think. 

[JDaveG]

Just now, ThisIsNotFantasyFootball said:

That's my concern. I am not sure the top FA will be falling all over themselves to sign here like some might think. 

I think the ones we want will.  The easy payday guys can go somewhere else.  People who want to win will want to play for a coach that instills a competitive culture.

[Flyin' In DC]

I would rather not spend loads of money on high priced FA's that just looking for the biggest contract. I hope Smith and Fontenot are as selective as they can be with filling the gaps in free agency

[SwampyMux12]

6 minutes ago, JDaveG said:

The Bears not only have a worse record than us, they also get blown out a lot more than we do.  More, we have only $11 million more in payroll than they do, so basically one mid-line player ahead of them.  I think Smith is doing more with his payroll than the Bears are with theirs.

Next season is going to be a different story.  If it isn't, then the staff and FO deserve whatever scrutiny they get.  But for now, if anyone gets a pass, it's them.  Especially when you have some of the top 10 teams like the Jets and Commanders who are marginally better than us (at best) per their record, but have a full allotment of payroll.  And the Colts, who have a worse record than us.  This team isn't good.  But there isn't a team in the bottom 10 that would be in the playoffs if the season ended now, and the only two still realistically in the hunt are New Orleans and Carolina, and that's only because the Bucs hate winning so much.  Really, the main anomaly for teams with low payroll still winning is the Eagles.  They've clinched, are one of the best teams in the NFL, but are 19th in overall payroll for active players.

TBF, the Bears passed us up before the trade deadline... We were "winning" a good chunk of the year 😂.

And the eagles got "lucky" in a way with Jalen Hurts. He's playing at an elite level for peanuts at a position where you gotta pay through the nose for that type of QB play. So he basically negates their dead money.

Most of their best players are on rookie deals, including 2 WRs who would sign $20M a year deals if they were FAs tomorrow . They were "lucky" in the respect that they all panned out, but also incredibly smart in how they built their team. They have a wide open window to win some SBs, but will eventually have to pay these guys and it will be hard to keep this team together.

[SwampyMux12]

13 minutes ago, Flyin' In DC said:

I would rather not spend loads of money on high priced FA's that just looking for the biggest contract. I hope Smith and Fontenot are as selective as they can be with filling the gaps in free agency

FA is overrated, it's all about the draft. Look at the best teams in the league, Eagles, Bills, Bengals, Chiefs, Cowboys (shocking, I know), 49ers... These are all teams that are built predominantly through the draft and will wisely spend FA dollars as needed. Sure, they'll go get a "big dog" in FA to fill a major need, but they have all been very strong drafting teams.

Honestly, the only teams that have really won SBs going the "gobble up all the top FAs route" have been the Rams, and to a lesser extent the Bucs a few seasons ago. Spending a ton of FA money rarely equates to the success you think it would.

[Stevo]

We have several players ready for contracts.  Keeping the O line together needs to be a priority imo

[Dem Birds]

The fact that this team could be a double digit win team if they get a few bounces their way or a made few different decisions this season is pretty incredible. It's also very frustrating lol

[autigerfan]

2 hours ago, EddieK said:

One thing Arthur Blank doesn't do when he has money to spend is go thrift shopping. If the GM and HC wants somebody, AB will make all the resources available to sign them.

This is why I don't buy the talk of AB being a bad owner.  He does his due diligence in making franchise altering decisions, you don't see kneejerk type of decisions, and he has always provided the resources to get the best coaches and players available.  2023 will be the year when he can start to really evaluate AS and TF. 

[The Don™]

This is easily the most consistently well coached team since OG Smitty's first four years. DQ couldn't coach to save his life here and never built a defense. 

AS has shown he can get a lot out of a little. Let's see if TF and AS can handle having more money to spend and get the right guys in here to get us over the hump, along with a good draft and development from the young players.

It's gonna take more than just some cap room to play with. Getting over that hump on a consistent basis is really hard in the NFL. Teams like the Brady Patriots are once in decades type team. It's hard to win in the NFL. 

[autigerfan]

It will be interesting to see what positions the current regime prioritze this offseason.  We could use help at almost every level of the offense and defense.  Fortunately, we will have the money to spend to fix those spots.  Just wondering how good the talent pool is expected to be in FA this year.  

[PokerSteve]

3 hours ago, Sponge said:

Seeing a lot of Lamar to Atlantie rumors online. Not sure I want to put most of my cap space on him (plus draft capital).

I would say no chance, but after the attempted Watson trade, there is no way to know what this franchise will do from one day to the next. I wouldn't be for it, but I'd root for him if he came. 

[Swayzee]

3 hours ago, Doctor Kildare said:

This off-season is big. As a few of the top spending teams show, payroll does not always guarantee winning though it is a prerequisite.

It is more than big. It is when the excuses go away.

[ThisIsNotFantasyFootball]

3 hours ago, JDaveG said:

I think the ones we want will.  The easy payday guys can go somewhere else.  People who want to win will want to play for a coach that instills a competitive culture.

Will see...

[Dark Bird Rising]

4 hours ago, Sponge said:

That's probably going to change this offseason in FA depending on if we go on a shopping spree. Just hope we don't go the Dollar Tree route. 

We're going to hit Bloomingdale's and Dollar Tree, ya got to coordinate.

[Swayzee]

4 hours ago, Doctor Kildare said:

Teams with a higher active payroll tend to be the contenders, that is how the NFL works. The Falcons are 31st in active payroll, only ahead of the Bears. And the team just ahead of the Falcons, the Rams, have a 24% higher active payroll than the Falcons. The Ravens have a 75% higher active payroll than the Falcons. The payroll suggests they should beat the Falcons handily.

Division Payrolls

Bucs    $159,782,155

aints   $132,802,684

Panthers   $131,098,102

Falcons     $93,140,059

 

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/2022/

 

Pro-Football Reference disagrees. 

Expected W-L: 6.6-8.4

[Doctor Kildare]

1 minute ago, Swayzee said:

Pro-Football Reference disagrees. 

Expected W-L: 6.6-8.4

That formula  is related to points scored, not the amount paid to the roster. That calculation just indicates what a superior job Arthur has done in keeping the games close with a severely restricted payroll.