Dominik Says No Cap Floor This Year

July 29th, 2011

Those obsessed with the Bucs spending money should be pleased to know the team has another year before the NFL cares about how many millions fly out of Team Glazer’s vaults at One Buc Palace.

Feel free to bang your head against the wall.

Per the post-practice Twittering of Bucs beat writer Stephen Holder — and a drum pounded all day by BSPN’s John Clayton — Mark Dominik says there is no salary cap floor for the 2011 season.

@StephenHolder – Just had chat with Mark Dominik. He clarified that the per team salary cap minimum DOES NOT apply this year. So everyone calm down.

It seems the NFL decided that forcing bottom-spending teams to spend gobs of cash in 2011 in a matter of days post-lockout wasn’t fair, or it simply was a part of the new labor agreement that saves owners some coin in the early year(s).

If nothing else, if the Bucs check-in with a low payroll again, look for legions of Bucs fans to blame Team Glazer and Manchester United, and claim they won’t go to games regardless of the team’s record.

56 Responses to “Dominik Says No Cap Floor This Year”

  1. dimitrios Says:

    im glad to hear this actually.. we have a really good team with very small holes.. im excited about the players we have and the ones that will break out this year!

  2. td32 Says:

    I’m glad to hear the Bucs will continue to be the most frugal(cheap) franchise in the NFL. Everyone should be proud.

  3. dimitrios Says:

    ok jackass @td32 how about you go play some fantasy football if you want big names on your roster.. go root for the redskins or the cowboys actually and see how those big free agent signings do for ya other than crush your soul every year with no light at the end of the tunnel

  4. Anthony Says:

    Falcons got better. Saints got better. Have the Buccaneers gotten better? If so, how?

  5. tony2cents Says:

    How did this go under the radar all this time. I swear that every major news outlet made it seem like it went into effect immediately..Now all these missed signings make a little more sense now.

  6. dimitrios Says:

    how did those teams get better? please explain

  7. CharlieB Says:

    I’ll never understand why people are more fixated on our cap space than our win count and potential. This isn’t a game of Madden. High priced FA aren’t plug and play — they aren’t guaranteed to be a “90.” Seriously, just because you can build a perennial super bowl winner against the “All Pro” setting by riding the cap ceiling and buying every free agent that is a numerical improvement over your current player doesn’t mean its a good strategy in practice. For every Simeon Rice there is an Angelo Crowell and a Derrick Ward.

    If watching the Bucs do nothing is giving you acid reflux, go do something else for a month and come back when there are games to comment on.

  8. Theodore Says:

    @Anthony – Bucs got better by having one more year experience under their belt! Those other teams can’t say that.

  9. admin Says:

    Joe here,

    @Dimitrios — Calling a fellow commenter a “jackass” is not how we roll around here. You see, then he calls you a douche, and you call him a Sabby and it never ends. So we don’t go there.

  10. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @CharlieB You just brought a tear to my eye. Cheers!

  11. Dan Says:

    joe! say it aint so!? none of us would stoop to the ‘s’ moniker throwing around…

    looks around nervously…

    would we?

  12. td32 Says:

    Dim(wit), did the Eagles make upgrades via FA? Werent they a playoff team last yr? Spent big money on a DE, and picked up 2 CB’s(one via trade). Were the Pats active? Or are they not good enough for you. Were the Falcons busy? They signed Ray Edwards to a contract that was nearly identical to Black’s.
    Keep buying into the propaganda that FA doesnt work, because plenty of teams succeed by building through the draft, AND adding through FA. BTW, the Bucs just signed a punter to more money then Darren Sproles got.

  13. dimitrios Says:

    @joe sorry for using that language.. @td32 your joke wasnt funny and only angers real fans like myself and many others who are truly on the raminik bandwagon, sorry for calling you a jackass too 😉

  14. Matt Says:

    I don’t understand how the entire league is supposed to be at 99% of the cap overall, but there is no minimum for each team. I guess because there is that 3M cap exemption a team can use?

  15. JoshPA Says:

    I was getting mad with all the signings going on, the media made it seem as if the minimum was effective this season. I thought they were going to have to really overpay some average players to catch up, with the big names all signing elsewhere. They still need good depth at a lot of positions. It’s time to extend some of the guys who will be FA soon. I hope they do make some kind of moves other than draft picks and resigning our own free agents though.

  16. dimitrios Says:

    ok td32 yea the eagles are the definition of a playoff team, they always get there year in and year out it seems like, still waiting to see their ring, they can have all the shutdown corners in the league, still wont help their bonehead qb (vick) from crumbling in the clutch (reg season mvp for sure, nothing more)… pats havent done diddly squat in the playoffs since the giants loss and trading for washed up vets (haynsworth, ochocinco) in hopes of great returns is just how they like to roll, good for them they should have gone offensive line to protect bradys ass from the d pressure because he turns into a wet napkin when the pocket collapses.. falcons signed the 4th best guy on his d line with most the attention going to jared allen and the williams wall totally not sold on that scrub..

  17. chargedcbh Says:

    this is what i said in a previous post, the floor starts next year….

  18. admin Says:

    Joe here,

    @TD32 and @Dimitrious — Obviously, there’s a lot of ways to win and build a team. Saints won with free agents two years ago. Packers won with maybe one FA on the whole team last year. Steelers do it like the Pack. Patriots have their lasting contender playing both sides. X-factor, of course, comes back to the coaching and player evaluation. … It’s going to be a great showdown of philosophies in the NFC South this year. That’s for sure after the Falcons have gone all-in big time, and the Saints are a powerful bunch.

  19. Wienaman Says:

    @CharlieB: I do not question that your opinion is valid, but why do you question that mine is? To be honest, I am an accountant in everyday life. Numbers are my passion, and playing Franchise Mode on Madden is honestly one of my favorite ways to enjoy a video game. I understand completely that signing a player to our squad doesn’t mean that they are going to do the same thing they did at the old team; I honestly wish Nnamdi would have signed in a situation (not us) where he had to play both sides, and always play against the number 1 receiver, so that he would have gotten exposed; having DRC or Samuel on the other side is going to go a long ways towards continuing his myth (what I consider it to be).

    Secondly: you say that you can’t understand why people are more focused on money than potential; those two are the same thing! Yes Angelo Crowell and Derrick Ward were busts, I won’t disagree; but when they got signed, they were a HUGE POTENTIAL! Hence why we had to invest a lot of money in them!

    Thirdly: you talk about how every player is a “numerical improvement”…a fair number of the people I think you are addressing are not talking about small upgrades; this is the biggest free agency class of the NFL to this point, and possibly ever. Given some great coaches, you could build a superbowl team or two out of the players that were on the free agency wire this year. We aren’t talking about, using your analogy, upgrading from an 88 to a 90; we are talking about upgrading from a 65 or 70 (say Trueblood for example) to a 95 (Free or Clabo). Before you say it, yes, I know we went after Free, that is why I mentioned him; but we didn’t get him, hence a small part of why the people interested in the money get annoyed a little.\

    *DISCLAIMER*–I have been one of the people hoping for a splash signing or two, but I won’t be saying any disparaging words towards Dominik, because I know that he knows what he is doing a whole LOT better than I do. At this point, my personal opinion is that I could be happy with what we have done, we got a punter that will likely make a huge difference on special teams, and we picked up two DLine Coaches that are going to make a world of difference this year, not to mention the fact that all the players are going to get better. I am just glad we have re-signed what we have, and look forward to seeing how our LB situation pans out this year, whether McKenzie, Foster or Ruud start, it is going to be a fun position to watch.

  20. dimitrios Says:

    we’re building a dynasty and freeman is the head of the storm.. i am so excited this year its ridiculous 🙂 already got me season tickets and tent for the tailgate… superbowl bound free4mvp!

  21. JoshPA Says:

    I see more tv blackouts in the future for this season. Without a real run at 1 or 2 big name players that can help now and over the next few seasons, ticket sales will be similar to last season. I’m not saying to go throw money at everyone, just to do it. However, we need help at linebacker. CB is questionable with Talib’s status. If you watched Charlie Batch’s Joe Montana impersonation last year, you know Safety is a need. OL was makeshift last year, could use help. They need more than just Blount at RB. It’s a good, young team. I hope that everything comes together, but you have to create some kind of excitement to fill up the seats.

  22. chrisfwc :) Says:

    Punters get ALL the ‘swah.

  23. Bucbeliever Says:

    hey, we signed a PUNTER…my year is made:)

    GO BUCS!

  24. chrisfwc :) Says:

    @Wienaman you may be and accountant but now we have script of you in case you ever go Unabomber and write a REAL manifesto.

    Hey! Our PUNTER is a KICKOFF specialist too!!

  25. Macabee Says:

    I’m a die-hard Buc fan and a Dominik supporter. But this is risky business. To build a SuperBowl team through the draft alone will be unprecedented. This will be the making of NFL history. If past is prologue, at some point this team will have to go to free agency in a big way to get over the top. There are signs that it may be possible if you use GB as a model, but there is inherent risk in setting precedent. I am old school, so I am understandibly nervous. But I liked what I saw last year, so I’m going to remain faithful now. I will watch a fire with Dominik, but I won’t walk into one with him!

  26. Picked_Off Says:

    News Flash to all those Bucs fan constantly complaining about the Glazers being cheap: Wins are wins. This team could be building to something pretty special. Go support the young guys. Unfortunately I live about 1000 miles away and am unable to make it to one of the best stadiums in the league. Those of you lucky enough to be in the area should be there

    Stop acting like you know any better. You really don’t or you’d be in a front office somewhere. It’s a lot easier to cheer for this team than constantly complain.

    GO BUCS!!!!

  27. Fear The Glow Says:

    The only thing i’ve been waiting to see from Mark Dominik is if he was being honest about re-signing home grown talent. I was worried that we would just constantly replace players through the draft instead of pay them that second contract. Im pretty happy so far. He got Davin back, kept Trueblood (not that big of a deal but he is experienced depth at worst) and got Black back. Now I want to see him bring back Crowder and Hayward. Wouldn’t mind seeing Cadillac come back either.

  28. Eric Says:

    Nice shot at bucs fans Joe.

    Unbelievable.

    Never the lack of committment from ownership though.

    Very obvious what will happen now with no floor. No floor, no spend.

  29. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @JoshPA Explain to me how in the ehck a Free Agent signing effects ticket sales? Who in their right mind would say “What? The Bucs signed Asomugha! Heck, I’m gonna go right now and buy some season tickets.” That idea doesn’t make any sense.

  30. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @Macabee The Packers are practically all draft picks.

  31. Capt.Tim Says:

    No floor, no spend. .

  32. Jrock Says:

    Why has no one brought up the point that this year, this single year alone, is the biggest free agent class in NFL history…

    …and we’re letting it pass us by. We may never have an opportunity like the one we’re in. We have a young team jostling with talent and a hunger to learn to win. We have precious few “holes” in our team that could use competition or depth, but since they don’t have a floor this year they’re going to pass on the opportunity to push in big time?

    I’ve seen signings from the Falcons and the Panthers, a few from the Saints. People, our division is getting nasty. I’m an optimist, but we’re not playing the AFC west next season. With a point advantage of 1.7 per game last season, I don’t see our “home grown talent” taking a step forward.

    All I’m asking for is competition and depth. Don’t have to back the Brinks truck up, but as a concerned and loving fan, I’d like to see us seize the opportunity of the largest free agent class ever.

  33. D-Rome Says:

    I’m going to a Bucs game this year regardless of their record or off season acquisitions.

  34. Burg Says:

    “a” game huh D Rome, don’t put yourself out or anything.

  35. passthebuc Says:

    The government is real good at spending all the money and then some they take in. Look where it got them. over the last 10 years the public was real good about spending in advance of receipts and most of them are now homeless.
    I like the buc’s semi conservative moves. Every one complained last year that we should go int free agency and get a Q back and a quality receiver.
    If you had you wish Freeman and williams would not have emerged.
    I will be happy if they are as good as last year and continue to build successfully.

  36. BamBamBuc Says:

    Jrock,

    I think the reason you’re not hearing about the “biggest FA class in NFL history” is because it’s really quite a boring class. Sure, you have some prime FA’s, but are they really gonna go anywhere? Is Peyton Manning really gonna go to another team? Even your lesser FAs are mostly signing back with their original team. Doug Free with the Cowboys, Joseph with the Bucs, etc. etc. Once you take all the players that really never planned on moving around the league out of the picture, there’s really not much left to talk about. Ooh, Darren Sproles signed with the Saints… like he’s going to be a feature back and take them to the Super Bowl. They drafted Ingram and have Thomas and Ivory for a reason. Sproles is to replace the “Reggie Bush” role.

    There really isn’t a Julius Peppers or Albert Haynesworth type free agent out there this year, even among all the 400+ free agents. Asomugha was the top FA out there that was going to move to a new team. Behind him were a slew of rather mediocre players that could add depth or be good backups on a lot of teams, maybe a couple starters here and there, but not a lot of “splash” type guys to sign.

    So, what are we giving up by passing on the “biggest FA class in NFL history”? Not much really. We’re keeping a team intact by signing our own, keeping continuity, and shrinking the learning curve in a shortened preseason. Other than DE (draft), only MLB is changing much this season (if we don’t bring Ruud back). Everything else is pretty much the same, making this team one step ahead of teams bringing in new starters and two steps ahead of teams bringing in new starters with new staffs/schemes.

    What do we gain? Well, if they front load the contracts of the guys they sign, we’ll have significant cap room in years to come to re-sign our own guys like Josh Freeman and maybe sign that actual game-changing FA that may come along down the road. So, we missed on adding Asomugha to a secondary that was already Top 10 vs the pass last year as it was. The only rumor I heard this week that actually would have been a major upgrade would have been signing Doug Free to move from LT to play RT for us. Other than that, we’re not missing out on much.

  37. Jrock Says:

    Touche BamBam.

    I’d still like to see a some action though, I do love to spend other peoples money.

  38. Macabee Says:

    Mauha Deeb, I acknowledge that GB was almost entirely draft picks, that is why I referred to them as the model to say that this may be the way of the future. It is simply not the way it was done in the past. I’m still in the boat and support Dominik’s strategy. My point was it is not easy to break new ground and even more difficult to get everyone to follow you. Success will convince the naysayers!

  39. admin Says:

    Joe here,

    @Eric — Ownership is always responsible.

  40. Bobby Says:

    I guess my answer is again as last year, watch others get better and the owners answer to us is, we dont care what you think, were going to do what we want and it doesnt matter if you like it or not. They want a steak dinner, but as long as someone else pays for it. How am i supposed to fill as a fan to see my team tell me to f*** off, And dont tell me oh we are doing it through the draft, someone makes sure im right on this, the falcons, saints, and panthers all have draft picks they think will make them better, but guess what they added talent to what they already had, while the guys here say oh well, we dont care, we will keep counting our money and we will blame the TB fans again for no attendence and tell them thats why we cant afford anyone else, bull spit, this is crap, SCREW YOU GLAZERS

  41. SRQBucFan Says:

    I don’t see why some fans are so cutthroat about what is going on. How dare you call yourself a a Fan. Fan stick by their teams good and bad. We walk thru the storm together. So we all can be standing proud when the sun starts to shine. So! We haven’t signed a big name FA. Why do we NEED it RIGHT NOW? we are still building and learning. We have put all the coaching staff together to get this thing right. Remember our coach is only in his 3rd year after skipping a coordinator gig, he should have spent few years in before becoming a HC. We are ready to be playoff contender. Just not ready for the Superbowl run. I would rather see us wait out the first frenzy of FA and pick up some quality competition for the soon to be Stars we have in the making. Domink has done EVERYTHING right so far. Give the man a few days to work his magic and look at the end result before making him walk the plank. Wait for the season to begin to start saying we are not walking the right path. As a fan to the fans, even i ask to please just be PATIENT! To the Real Buc fans out there. I see us having a great FUN year watching these baby Bucs grow into young men. I’ve done ALL my homework and know just about everything there is to know about the team right now. and the Team ( although young ) is Looking more promising then some teams in the League.

  42. SRQBucFan Says:

    And what i was referring to about Morris. Is the fact. He is still learning it to. Let him get his team exactly where he wants it for a SB run. THEN, they will go out sprinkle in those BIG name Fa everyone talks about so bad. And we will begin are march to the SB. Right now we still NEED this year if not one more to get settled and have an identity of who the Bucs are exactly. Right now all we know is Freeman is the Man . That alone is a good sign. but after a year or so learning where we stand. we can make a evaluation of what we are truley missing. Right now we still have alot of unknowns. Is Myron Lewis going to grow into a Talib version2? Is Tanard Jackson coming back and staying Clean. Is GMC going to take the next big step into being what we hope he will be ? And lets not forget some of those 2nd string names who could become to light up, now being in their second year? Also go look at the undrafted freeagent list of people we aquired. You can see we addressed some NEEDS there also

    GO BUCS

  43. SRQBucFan Says:

    Last comment of the night. I say save the money till we actually Need it and spend it. I actually like the fact The Glazer are holding onto money. We may one day very soon NEED all that money they stashed up…Think a year or 2 down the road, and some of the BIG names coming out if not signed to extension.. Adrian Peterson, Desean Jackson etc etc. Some super talent is about to get out of their rookie contracts. Just a thought to think about. Good night !

  44. Pete Dutcher Says:

    Anthony Says:
    July 29th, 2011 at 8:20 pm
    Falcons got better. Saints got better. Have the Buccaneers gotten better? If so, how?

    1) Our largest weakspot was one pass rushing last year (and the year before). We added a new beast on each end in Adrian Clayborn and Da’Quan Bowers

    2) Our second largest weakness was stopping the run, thanks in part to our MLB Barrett Ruud who could not tackle behind the line of scrimage. We addressed this by taking Mason Foster, a beast in the middle.

    3) Another concern last year were the knees of Kellen Winslow. We added Luke Stocker as his heir apparent, and he also blocks well for rushing.

    4) We drafted a SS as well, addressing another weakness with Ahmad Black. He’s small but fast and has the skills to back a competitive nature.

    5) We drafted Earnest Grahamm’s eventual replacement if Allen Bradford works out. He can play RB, HB and FB and is a “bruising” type of runner.

    6) Our offense, thank God, worked together a lot in hte off season. They didn’t have the coaches there, but they did have Freeman.They probably developed chemistry in a big way. By now, they also know each other well enough to make adjustments on hte fly.

    7) The Defense, as it turns out, was getting toether as well, although we never heard about it until now. GMC has taken over leadership of the defense. He’s been incredible with his attitude, and his game should improve this year as well. Last year, GMC’s rookie year, was on a par with Warren Sapps rookie year…actually slightly better than Sapps.

    8) A new leader has risen…Mike Williams. He is stepping up to take rookies under his wing and work with them, as was done with him last year. He considers it his responsibility. This is great, because it shows us that he is not a primidona.

    9) We signed one of the top punters in the NFL…the same guy that hurt us in two games last year. Our punting game was not so good last year, so this is a huge upgrade and incredibly important.

    10) And finally, several players from last year have, according to reports, worked on improving their skills dramatically. Not just the starters (who were mostly injured) but the young backups that had to start throughout last season. They got all important experience that will help them become better players and they all want to prove they can be starters…not bad.

    So there you go, Anthony. Those are ten ways we’ve improved. We will be competitive. We just have to be patient with the young guys. If I were you, I would look at the process of these kids becoming the best they can be. Sometimes the journey can be as exciting as the end result.

    As to Free Agency…
    I really don’t think this team is ready to spend money in Free Agency…not big money. We have extremely young defensive linemen that are going to be starters from the beginning of hte season, and if Ruud doesn;t resign, we’ll have a rookie MLB as well. If that happens, Ronde will probably run the defense while Foster learns the ropes.

    But a long term superbowl contender is built in three steps:

    1) Draft Phase – Build a nucleus

    2) Introduction of Trade Phase – Trades allow a team to add young players as they rebuild. Unlike FA which is mostly older veterans (aside from undrafted guys).

    3) And finally, when your nuceus has been developed to a certain point and the team is only missing 1-3 players to take that final step, you delve into Free Agency. You start light…adding depth for a year or so. But you keep your eyes open for Free Agents who are not older than 27 or 28 so that you can get some years out of them before they enter the injury phase of their careers.

    And once all of that is done…if your team is ready and you only need one big player…maybe two…you make your moves…wisely…in free agency. you make that splash that fans seem to think should happen every year.

    Maybe it’s just me, but I also noticed a couple things:

    A) The other teams in our division are trying to improve their running games. Why? Because we were horrible against the run the last two seasons. If they can improve their run games, they probably think they will get easy wins from us. Hopefully our new Dline will surprise them.

    B) One of the advantages to building in this way is that once the rebuild is nearly complete (and it’s not yet), you can afford to trade away draft picks. Think about it…that’s what the Pats do. They trade them away so that when they really need picks, they’ve got them stock-piled.

    C) In the past, teams have been hesitant to trade up much. But with the rookie cap in place, they might be more willing to. So we may just get more for the picks we trade away.

    D) Dominick doesn’t just seem to be building a team…he seems to be gathering investments. Take Josh Johnson for example. By next year, he might just turn out to be the hot trade rumor like Kevin K. was this year.

    There are several players on this team, young backups, that could garner draft picks for us later.

  45. Pete Dutcher Says:

    @Bobby
    The Saints are a superbowl contender…they need free agency to fill those last couple holes.

    Panthers have a history for not spending wisely.

    Falcons have Rich McKay, who will spend, spend, spend…and leave the next GM (or whatever his position is called these days) to deal with the fallout.

  46. Pete Dutcher Says:

    And just to make everyone’s day, there is not cap minimum next year either:
    http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/07/30/per-team-spending-minimum-doesnt-apply-until-2013/

  47. Ash Says:

    Quick anyone name a few big free agents that the Steelers or Colts have brought in over the years. crickets…………………………crickets………………….crickets.

    This is the model were going for. You could include the Packers minus Woodson as well.

    I was frustrated at first also but knowing now the floor doesnt take affect till 2013, Dom is leaving space for Freeman and others without spending dollars on over 30 players that may not be around 3-5 years from now.

    I understand that. Whats the last big off season FA spender to win the SB? crickets again…….crickets

  48. Jerry Says:

    Its all good with 10-6 seasons. But when the 6-10 or 7-9 seasons start….things will get ugly. This team better not regress this year.

  49. D-Rome Says:

    Hey Burg, STFU. Bucs games are expensive so I have to save enough money to take my family. I can’t just drop $200+ in tickets, parking, food, drinks, ect…anytime I want like apparently you can. Besides, are the Bucs putting themselves out by lowering ticket prices?

  50. Thomas "the Truth" 2.2 Says:

    In baseball, lower revenue teams fight for forced salary equality i.e. to have a chance for competitive balance. In the nfl, we have an org that intentionally spends 1/2 as much (roughly 60 million versus nearly 120 million) and you sheep commend this org for that.
    Yes there are differences in baseball. This org has brainwashed the sheep into thinking that this is an qcceptable thing. It is motivated by a profit first mentality, not win first and profits will follow. Falcons and Eagles get much better, bucs sign rookies and a punter. Disgusting

  51. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @Macabee Pittsburgh has been almost entirely draft picks for 2 decades. They have been very successful too.

  52. JoshPA Says:

    Who’s buying a Michael Koenen jersey this year? Nobody? The team really overachieved last season. They came together and made a good run. The core is there now, but there are holes. 10-6 teams usually look to shore up those holes. We are expecting those young players to play consistently at maximum potential, instead of bringing in anybody to help. It’s good to build mostly through the draft, but the draft doesn’t always work. Look at 1st round draft picks, around the league, the last 5 years, how many of those guys are stars? How many are still starting? Why not bring in a few proven players in their prime? I’m not giving up on the season, but I don’t see 10-6 again THIS season. The rest of the division is better than last year, and we aren’t playing the NFC West again. I hope they prove me wrong.

  53. Macabee Says:

    Mauha Deeb, You’re right again. Somehow I feel like you are helping me make my point. You’ve named 2 teams out of 32. Can you name 10? Anyway, I’m impressed with your knowledge of the game – I read your post and they are quite well-informed. I appreciate your confirmation of my original point.

  54. Chris Says:

    I agree that we do have a solid core of players. I just like the excitement of getting a big name in, but alas, both my teams are perennial (sp) (don’t really have the time to look up how to spell it…) non-spenders. The braves didn’t do anything up to the trade deadline and it doesn’t look like the bucs will either. I don’t agree however, with spending that kind of money for Koenen. It does do two things though, gets him from pinning us deep at all this year and gives us that much better of a chance at many touchbacks that we didn’t have the opportunity for last year. Go Bucs!!! and Go Braves!!

  55. Paul Says:

    I think the team they got put together now looks good.

  56. Mauha Deeb Says:

    @Macabee I don’t know. Eagles generally draft but this year is a clear SUper bowl push. It all depends on the season. Patriots were a drafting team. As they’ve been aging(having drafting badly) in recent years they have picked up the free agent moves.