Morgan Extends!!!

signing bonuses can only prorated over five years, due to the looming expiraton of the current CBA. And those other bonuses are roster bonuses, which means if we cut him, the bonuses arent paid; i.e., if he is released before next season, he doesnt get that 4 million dollar bonus. Likewise for the 2 million dollar bonus for the season after that. And to assume he will hit all of his excalators is not the best way to project the potential future cap implications of this deal, for instance, one likely escalator is one for being Super Bowl MVP, which would not fall into the likely to be earned category.

Still, it doesnt make much sense to release him in the first three years, but who knows, it could happen i suppose.

 

We will just have to agree to disagree on the 1st point. Morgan made the pick and the Panthers win the game. If he's not there and the ball falls to the ground the tip means nothing. Hell, you could say the QB lost the game because he threw it were it could be tipped. I don't know why you can't see it's all about finishing the play when the moment counts most and Morgan delivered in that game.

As for the tackling numbers, I need to do a little more research. My initial scan I looked at a random Ray Lewis game. I picked one that they won and did not give up a lot of points. It was a 37-14 win over NYG last season. A quick scan of the play by play I saw Ray Lews with: 4-3-8-2-3-10-5. I'm not convinced I won't find that at middle linebacker many of the tackles are in the 3-5 yard range...but I will look at more games and other players besides Ray Lewis. As it stands now, I can't say I'm convinced the yards gained prior to tackle quoted for the Philly game are indicative of a poor effort and quite possibly very expected for a MLB. I will look further.

Agian, we will have to agree to disagree on the Skins game. We lost that game because of 2 huge Rod Gardner receptions. They don't happen and we win the game.

 

This is the description written about Arrington in that game:

The offense was doing nothing. The fans were leaving. Then LaVar Arrington intercepted a pass. Arrington, who missed most of the first half after being knocked woozy, intercepted rookie Chris Weinke's overthrown screen and returned it 67 yards for a touchdown, inspiring the Redskins to a 17-14 overtime victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

All Arrington did was catch a horrible pass from Weinke. Anyone could have made that play, he just happened to be there and did not screw it up.

This is the description regarding Gardner after the game:

Has Tony Banks found a go-to receiver in Rod Gardner? It looks that way. Gardner is the guy Banks tries to get the ball to; he's the guy the Redskins have confidence in -- when there are clutch situations, he's the guy they look to. Gardner made some great plays against Carolina, averaging 34.7 yards on six catches in his team's first win. He's just a rookie, but that's being a go-to receiver.

 

Ugh. This is so stupid. It's simple logic. Action B could not have happened without Action A, and furthermore, Peppers' play was much more remarkable. You are absolutely grasping at straws in a desperate, transparent attempt to make Morgan seem better than he is. Hell, the guy who originally brought up this particular interception conceded long ago that it was Peppers' play, and that Morgan was just the end part of it. Whether or not you have difficulty comprehending that is not my problem. It's very simple logic.

They should be. Unfortunately many of Morgan's games feature tackles in the 5-9 yard range.

You can disagree all you want regarding the running plays, but it's pretty hard to argue that Morgan didn't get burnt for 23 and 27 yards on two separate pass plays, plus a number of other, shorter passes as well.

Semantics. People remember Arrington's play, but less so with Gardner's because of the momentum involved and the ability demonstrated by the play. Gardner racked up the yards by going deep, catching it, and continuing to run. Arrington took a team that was deflated, snagged a bad pass out of the air, eluded a number of Panthers players and returned it down the sideline for the score that made it a game again. Regardless, there are plenty of other examples where Arrington had an enormous impact on games, usually in the form of sacks and forced fumbles.


Seriously, this argument is dumb and pointless. I don't care whether or not you think Morgan is the greatest thing since sliced bread. He isn't, and non-Panther fans don't think he is either. Moreover, now when we play Atlanta we'll unfortunately get to see what a good, physical middle linebacker looks like. And every time Hartwell blows up one of our running plays, I'm going to be pissed off that the Falcons have him more cheaply for more years than we have our walking doctor bill.

 

LMFAO

I knew some would would say that.

 

Before posting the recalculated numbers a few items from the CBA regarding calculating the Salary Cap.
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"(b) Signing Bonuses.

(i) Proration. The total amount of any signing bonus shall be prorated over the term of the Player Contract in determining Team and Player Salary, except that:

(1) Signing bonuses agreed to in a Capped Year may not be prorated more than three years beyond the Final Capped Year ..."

This means that the signing bonus can currently only be prorated out to 2009 as 2006 is the last current capped year...or 5 years as others have mentioned. This also means contacts made next year can only prorate their bonuses over a 4 year period...

" (2) Any contract year in which the player has the right to terminate based upon events within his sole control shall not be counted as a contract year for purposes of proration. In the event the NFL and the NFLPA cannot agree upon whether an option is within the player’s sole control, such issue shall be resolved by the Impartial Arbitrator."

This is NOT the case for Morgan thus you must apply a prorated portion of his $6M signing bonus to this year's cap. He also has $1,133,750 of signing bonus remaining on his rookie contract which needs to be prorated through 2009.

"* For purposes of the Salary Cap, any signing bonus given in connection with a contract extension entered into before the expiration of the player’s existing contract will be prorated over the remaining years of the unexpired contract together with its extension. The parties agree that, pursuant to the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the player shall always have the right to receive such a signing bonus at the time that the extension is executed, unless the player expressly agrees in the contract to defer payment of the extension bonus, in which case only the present value of the deferred payment, calculated in accordance with the method set forth in Article X, Paragraph G.1.(b) of the Stipulation and Settlement Agreement and Article XXIV, Section 7(a)(ii) of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, shall be prorated (unless the extension is executed within one year of the execution of the contract being extended, in which case the gross amount of the extension bonus shall be prorated)."

The last sentence says it all. I doubt Morgan's first $6M is any part of a deferred bonus so we can safely say that we can apply a prorateed portion to this year's Cap.

"(ii) Acceleration.
(1) For any player removed from the Team’s roster on or before June 1, any unamortized signing bonus amounts will be included in Team Salary for such League Year. If such acceleration puts a Team over the Salary Cap, the Team will have seven days to conform with the Salary Cap, but may not sign any players until there is Room to do so under the Salary Cap.
(2) For any player removed from the Team’s roster after June 1, any unamortized signing bonus amounts for future years will be included fully in Team Salary at the start of the next League Year."

So, if we lose Morgan in 2008 and cut him after June 1, we'll pay the off his bonus over the next 2 years BUT we'd have to pay him his $500K roster bonus in 2008...adding to the dead money.

Anyway, with these facts about applying bonuses for cap purposes, I need to rework his numbers only slightly. Will post them soon.

 

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Here come the insults so this is my last post. If your can't understand how important a play Morgan's interception in the Baltimore game was then....well read the first sentence of your post and that says it all.

UGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! Talk about grasping at straws. To blindly suggest that just because a play goes for 23 or 27 yards that the player making the tackle is responsible for giving up the yardage is idiotic. I can find play after play were Ray Lewis makes a tackle for a play that goes double digit yardage. It's an easy way to use numbers to skew reality.

I have never said that Morgan was the best thing since sliced bread. My opinion is simply that the Panthers made a great decision to extend and that his contract imho is reasonable. I don't have a problem with you feeling differently. You obviously have a problem with someone having a differing opinion than yours and in the end seem to find the need to start lobbing insults. My mistake for thinking we could exchange differing opinions in a respectable manner.

 

If he plays out this contract with no changes his numbers look like this. (If anyone want the spreadsheet simply provide me with your email address).

Year Total
2005 $2,550,083.00
2006 $4,055,083.00
2007 $4,926,749.00
2008 $7,026,749.00
2009 $8,426,749.00
2010 $6,466,333.00
Average $5,575,291.33

That being said, the most likely thing to occur is that in 2008 they'll add a year to his contract and convert most of his base salary (all but the league minimum) to signing bonus and prorate the remaining dollars out to 2011. If they do, it will look something like this.

Year Total
2008 $3,980,041.00 ($850,000 base/$2m signing)
2009 $7,380,041.00
2010 $8,513,041.00
2011 $8,513,041.00 (assumed previous year base)

Now, as likely as not...he doesn't play the 2010 or 2011 contracts (without extending again) and since we wouldn't want to pay a 2010 roster bonus, we'd cut him (or he retires) before June 1st. If that happens, our 2010 dead money looks to be.

Year Total
2010 $4,093,416.00

In this scenario his most expensive year is 2009 and if in the rework of his 2008 contract they give him a little of his 2009 base in signing bonus (say another $2million) than that number doesn't look bad either.

His average Cap Cost (including the dead money of 2010 but averaged over 5 years) is $5,397,082.60. That is the number he has to live up to in my opinion.

(Edited for spelling)

 

I would agree with that. Looking at how that compares with 2004 cap numbers for linebackers that means he's not at the level of the highest paid ala Ray Lewis, Urlacher, Sharper, Peterson, and just below Arrington......and he's higher than the likes of Monty Biesel, Peter Boulware and Derrick Brooks. He needs to live up to being a top 10 linebacker.

 

This statement seems self contridictory. Players make the Pro Bowl because they are considered, by a vote of COACHES, PEERS, and fans to be THE BEST PLAYERS at their position THAT YEAR.

Also, factor in the that Charlotte is a relatively small market leading to a smaller share of the fan vote. I deduce from that Morgan must have done much better in the Coaches vote and the Peer vote.

Statement: Making the Pro Bowl = Being one of the best players at your position that year.

My problem with the contract is Morgan's health, not his playing ability. Unless you have access to the "22 shot" his impact can not be totally seen.

(Note: The "22 shot" is the camera angle given to the teams for tape study that shows all 22 players on the field at the same time. TV broadcast cameras tend to follow the ball, or the celebrity wide receiver in the stands.)