Rastak
07-14-2009, 02:09 PM
CHICAGO BEARS
2009 salary cap: $135,634,883
Player with highest cap number: LB Brian Urlacher ($10,185,511; 7.5 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: RB Cedric Benson ($2,509,000; 1.9 percent of cap; 14th-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: WR/KR Devin Hester ($6,885,833; 5.1 percent of cap; third-highest on club)
One could argue that the offseason signing of tackle Orlando Pace ($5,333,333 cap number in 2009; sixth-highest on the club) makes him the player who most needs to live up to his salary. In the past three seasons, the soon-to-be-34-year-old left tackle has missed 26 games while playing in only 22. However, if Pace's challenge is to stay healthy, Hester's challenge is to develop into the No. 1 wide receiver his cap number suggests he can become.
There is no doubting that, with the ball in his hands, Hester is one of the most electrifying players in all of football, but on special teams, the opponent can manage Hester's touches by kicking away from him. To fully maximize his game-breaking capacity, Hester must improve upon his 2008 wide receiver performance. Last year, he ranked 64th among wide receivers in Football Outsiders' advanced DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) stats. This year, with Jay Cutler at quarterback, Hester has to prove that rating had more to do with the players throwing him the ball and less to do with his ability to combine his speed with the technique required to be a top wideout.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
2009 salary cap: $137,421,226
Player with highest cap number: QB Aaron Rodgers ($9,652,500; 7.0 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila ($1,571,432; 1.1 percent of cap; 21st-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: RB Ryan Grant ($4,400,000; 3.2 percent of cap; 10th-highest on club)
When looking at running back Ryan Grant's 2008 statistics, one could make the argument that he didn't have a bad season. But he also didn't have a great season, with 1,203 yards, just four touchdowns and less than 4 yards per carry. During his breakout 2007 season, Grant ranked 12th in rushing value according to DYAR. Last year, he was 43rd.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
2009 salary cap: $139,300,207
Player with highest cap number: DE Jared Allen ($11,663,674; 8.4 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: RB Maurice Hicks ($300,000; 0.2 percent of cap; 83rd-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: LB Heath Farwell ($4,505,330; 3.2 percent of cap; 10th-highest on club)
Those of you outside Minnesota may be wondering who linebacker Heath Farwell is and probably would be surprised to find out that he has a salary-cap number 60 percent higher than that of Adrian Peterson ($2,815,330; 17th-highest on the club). Farwell, who missed the entire 2008 season thanks to an ACL injury, was the Vikings' 2007 special-teams MVP. Undrafted out of San Diego State in 2005, Farwell spent half of 2005 on the Vikings' practice squad before signing to the active roster for the second half of the season. He since has proven, in the eyes of the Vikings, to be a special-teams dynamo, prompting the club to give Farwell a $3.25 million bonus on the three-year contract he signed with the club in March. However, in defense of the Vikings, when you have a $139 million salary cap, you can afford to award the players you feel are important to your club, including special-teams standouts. It also should be noted that Farwell's cap numbers in 2010 and 2011 are a manageable $2.25 million and $1.75 million, respectively. Still, because he's coming off an ACL injury, it remains to be seen whether he can live up to such a lofty 2009 cap number for a reserve linebacker and special-teams specialist.
DETROIT LIONS
2009 salary cap: $128,935,600
Player with highest cap number:: WR Calvin Johnson ($8,187,405; 6.4 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: DT Cory Redding ($7,333,334; 5.7 percent of cap; second-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: LT Jeff Backus ($7,273,176; 5.6 percent of cap; third-highest cap number on club)
Obviously, when a team such as the Lions goes 0-16, one could say that every single returning member needs to live up to his cap number in 2009, with the possible exception of wide receiver Calvin Johnson. After Johnson, left tackle Jeff Backus has the second-highest cap number on the team. In 2008, Backus gave up the seventh-most sacks (9.25) of any tackle (according to Stats LLC) and drew 11 penalties (tied for eighth in the NFL). If 2009 NFL draft first overall pick Matthew Stafford becomes the starting quarterback for the Lions, his success will be determined to a large degree by the play of his offensive line, a unit that will need Backus in particular to improve upon his 2008 performance.
2009 salary cap: $135,634,883
Player with highest cap number: LB Brian Urlacher ($10,185,511; 7.5 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: RB Cedric Benson ($2,509,000; 1.9 percent of cap; 14th-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: WR/KR Devin Hester ($6,885,833; 5.1 percent of cap; third-highest on club)
One could argue that the offseason signing of tackle Orlando Pace ($5,333,333 cap number in 2009; sixth-highest on the club) makes him the player who most needs to live up to his salary. In the past three seasons, the soon-to-be-34-year-old left tackle has missed 26 games while playing in only 22. However, if Pace's challenge is to stay healthy, Hester's challenge is to develop into the No. 1 wide receiver his cap number suggests he can become.
There is no doubting that, with the ball in his hands, Hester is one of the most electrifying players in all of football, but on special teams, the opponent can manage Hester's touches by kicking away from him. To fully maximize his game-breaking capacity, Hester must improve upon his 2008 wide receiver performance. Last year, he ranked 64th among wide receivers in Football Outsiders' advanced DYAR (defense-adjusted yards above replacement) stats. This year, with Jay Cutler at quarterback, Hester has to prove that rating had more to do with the players throwing him the ball and less to do with his ability to combine his speed with the technique required to be a top wideout.
GREEN BAY PACKERS
2009 salary cap: $137,421,226
Player with highest cap number: QB Aaron Rodgers ($9,652,500; 7.0 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: DE Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila ($1,571,432; 1.1 percent of cap; 21st-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: RB Ryan Grant ($4,400,000; 3.2 percent of cap; 10th-highest on club)
When looking at running back Ryan Grant's 2008 statistics, one could make the argument that he didn't have a bad season. But he also didn't have a great season, with 1,203 yards, just four touchdowns and less than 4 yards per carry. During his breakout 2007 season, Grant ranked 12th in rushing value according to DYAR. Last year, he was 43rd.
MINNESOTA VIKINGS
2009 salary cap: $139,300,207
Player with highest cap number: DE Jared Allen ($11,663,674; 8.4 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: RB Maurice Hicks ($300,000; 0.2 percent of cap; 83rd-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: LB Heath Farwell ($4,505,330; 3.2 percent of cap; 10th-highest on club)
Those of you outside Minnesota may be wondering who linebacker Heath Farwell is and probably would be surprised to find out that he has a salary-cap number 60 percent higher than that of Adrian Peterson ($2,815,330; 17th-highest on the club). Farwell, who missed the entire 2008 season thanks to an ACL injury, was the Vikings' 2007 special-teams MVP. Undrafted out of San Diego State in 2005, Farwell spent half of 2005 on the Vikings' practice squad before signing to the active roster for the second half of the season. He since has proven, in the eyes of the Vikings, to be a special-teams dynamo, prompting the club to give Farwell a $3.25 million bonus on the three-year contract he signed with the club in March. However, in defense of the Vikings, when you have a $139 million salary cap, you can afford to award the players you feel are important to your club, including special-teams standouts. It also should be noted that Farwell's cap numbers in 2010 and 2011 are a manageable $2.25 million and $1.75 million, respectively. Still, because he's coming off an ACL injury, it remains to be seen whether he can live up to such a lofty 2009 cap number for a reserve linebacker and special-teams specialist.
DETROIT LIONS
2009 salary cap: $128,935,600
Player with highest cap number:: WR Calvin Johnson ($8,187,405; 6.4 percent of cap)
Player no longer with club who has highest cap number: DT Cory Redding ($7,333,334; 5.7 percent of cap; second-highest on club)
Player who has to live up to cap number: LT Jeff Backus ($7,273,176; 5.6 percent of cap; third-highest cap number on club)
Obviously, when a team such as the Lions goes 0-16, one could say that every single returning member needs to live up to his cap number in 2009, with the possible exception of wide receiver Calvin Johnson. After Johnson, left tackle Jeff Backus has the second-highest cap number on the team. In 2008, Backus gave up the seventh-most sacks (9.25) of any tackle (according to Stats LLC) and drew 11 penalties (tied for eighth in the NFL). If 2009 NFL draft first overall pick Matthew Stafford becomes the starting quarterback for the Lions, his success will be determined to a large degree by the play of his offensive line, a unit that will need Backus in particular to improve upon his 2008 performance.