This years NFL season has completed, and division rival Green Bay ended up being the Planet Champions. This implies that the Bears, combined with the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions, possess a lot to do to try to overcome what is now a powerhouse up in Green Bay. Based on what takes place with the collective bargaining agreement, the Vikings and also the Lions are set for being able to go by means of free of charge agency and find some players. The Bears, on the other hand, will have their hands tied. Something which was put into location in the final collective bargaining agreement will come back to bit the Bears.
What exactly is it? It's named the final eight rule. The rule essentially says that any team that's part of the final eight teams left in the NFL playoffs can only sign one unrestricted totally free agent for each 1 of their very own players lost. This player would need to need to have six accrued seasons in the NFL. Teams may also only sign 1 unrestricted free agent lost and provide them a salary that could be much like what the player leaving would get. This one thing means that Chicago can only sign free of charge agents when they shed free of charge agents. This will definitely place a handicap on what they are able to do to help improve their team this year if indeed free of charge agency will be a implies that they would like to create from during the offseason.
Although the Bears aren't traditionally a team that builds through totally free agency (this past year, they went outside of their comfort zone a little and acquired three big named free agents), this could still come back to haunt them. Realizing their struggles with the NFL Draft, free of charge agency could have been a superb way for them to take care of a few of their needs this offseason. It appears like the value of winning can be expensive. Obviously, the entire free of charge agency period could be null and void depending on what occurs with the CBA.
One more problem that may hurt the Bears is how rookies are signed and developed following the upcoming 2011 NFL Draft. There will probably be a draft even if there isn't an agreement signed by then, but what happens to those rookies following the draft has been total? There wouldn't be any rookie mini-camps, and before CBA is signed, there could be no way to sign rookies. They would certainly hang in limbo till everything is completed. Chicago is known for signing players early and getting them into camp. If this thing drags out, it would have an effect on their ability to obtain these young guys into camp (there may well not even be a training camp) to build up them to make them capable of adding to the team in 2011. So, as you can tell, the rules imposed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement and also the lack of an agreement are going to put the Bears back somewhat bit in terms of their potential to acquire and produce talent.
Of those teams that had been part of the final eight plan last year (New Orleans, Indianapolis, Dallas, Minnesota, Arizona, Baltimore and the New York Jets), 3 of them failed to create the playoffs, while just one of them advanced to their respective conference title game (that becoming the New York Jets). With these restrictions placed on Chicago, it's going to be a rough road on their behalf in 2011 (to get back towards the playoffs), and it will be a rough road for the other final seven teams too. If ever there was a time where the Bears coaching staff and management had to be at their greatest in regards to player administration and also the draft, this will be the time.
The uncertainty for the future makes it difficult to predict it, and if the Bears can make it with the time between now so when the contract is signed, they will be nicely adequate to develop and prepare the team for the 2011 season. Granted, each and every team in the final eight may have exactly the same difficulties, but the Bears want this offseason to add those pieces that had been missing this year and make an additional run in the Super Bowl.
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