Here's a summary of some of J.Kraft's points:
* League accounting isn't done until the end of the year and Kraft is working off Patriots internal figures and a private NFL website that the media doesn't see. He believes (and it's hard to disagree with this) that media websites are wrong.
* The rules state that if the League is more than 2% cash-over-cap, than those teams that spend more than 2% cash over cap will have the overage deducted from their future cap, prorated through the end of the CBA.
The Patriots wanted to avoid that penalty and thought they were close to getting penalized.
He said their goal is to contend for the superbowl every year, rather than blow the wad on any single season. As the only team to have won 4 straight conf championships (not to mention 3/4 SB's), clearly they've achieved that.
With 2 1st rnd picks, good cap space in '07, and a core of good players, they're in position to do it again.
Felger's primary response is to quote ESPN websites and to repeatedly state that "you know how I like to be a contrarian." Mike Felger, courageous voice of the people, as opposed to Mike Felger the unabashed publicity hound.
So I say cheap, shmeap, I don't really give a crap. The Pats have a great strategy and they execute it better than anyone else. Colts beat them in a tough game but they're in cap hell. Pats lost but are a terrific position to compete in '07.
What people don't say, and this is probably the most important point: There's a lot of luck in winning football games. The best way to win a superbowl is to content as much as possible and hope that one year, luck comes your way.
Why are the Colts going to the superbowl? Because they've contended for many years and luck went with them this year. If the Pats keep contending every year, they'll be back at the big game soon enough.
