Is there really a Salary Cap?

[Flash7]

8 minutes ago, Superman said:

 

In 2019, there wasn't a recent history of teams going super aggressive and winning the SB, especially not right away. The landscape was different then. I think they felt the team was really good, and with Luck having a year under his belt, the defense having some young playmakers, and a great OL, they thought they were a top two team in the AFC. We'll never know.

 

But looking back, if Ballard had an aggressive nature and insane foresight, he could have gotten ahead of these other teams. That would have been fun, until September when Luck retired. Shortest window ever...

Agreed about the lack of recent history of teams going super aggressive and winning the Super Bowl. However, we had just lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Chiefs had Mahomes and we knew that they were going to surround him with talent for a Super Bowl run. We as fans thought we were in an arms race against the Chiefs, but Ballard did not.

 

It resulted in the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl in 2020 and 2021. None of it matters as Luck retired anyway, but it gives insight into Ballard's minset.

[Superman]

4 minutes ago, Flash7 said:

Agreed about the lack of recent history of teams going super aggressive and winning the Super Bowl. However, we had just lost to the Chiefs in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Chiefs had Mahomes and we knew that they were going to surround him with talent for a Super Bowl run. We as fans thought we were in an arms race against the Chiefs, but Ballard did not.

 

It resulted in the Chiefs going to the Super Bowl in 2020 and 2021. None of it matters as Luck retired anyway, but it gives insight into Ballard's minset.

 

Our 2019 roster would have been pretty good. I don't know how it would have worked out, but we had some good weapons, Ebron had just had a great season, Funchess was intended to be a good match with Luck, Hilton hadn't fallen off yet, Mack wound up having a 1,000 yard season, Hines was getting into his groove. Even Campbell was going to address a specific need, and no one reasonably would have predicted his injuries because he was never hurt in college. The defense still had some good pass rush potential with Houston coming on... I mean, we beat the Chiefs with JB (granted, Mahomes wasn't 100%). The team had a shot, IMO. 

 

I don't think Ballard wanted to try to compete with the Chiefs by loading up the offense. I think they wanted their young players to keep growing together, and let Luck be the X factor. They added a couple of specific pieces, and expected to be in the mix. 

 

I think the league has changed since then, and that approach is probably not going to be good enough anymore. Either you have to have a special season -- like the Bengals just did -- or you have to load up and go for it. Slow and steady will give you multiple 10-11 win seasons, but it feels like you're always going to run into a juggernaut at some point.