Mebane

[vin.couve12]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/kjrmitch/status/631125006383120384[/tweet]

Good for him. He deserves every penny of that contract. He wouldn't spend more than 24 hours as a free agent if he gets cut. Hawks need him more than he needs the Hawks.

No doubt about it. He was better than ever last year, and he plays a position that isn't a stranger to longevity.

The best ability for a player is AVAILability and Mebane wasn't available for a lot of last season. I think he was better in 2013 because he was on the field for the entire season.

No he wasn't. He barely played during the stretch where Wagner was gettin blamed for run defense when he was playing hurt. We had McDonald playing 1tech/NT at 285 pounds and it showed. He got destroyed 9 plays out of 10.

 

[JustTheTip]

Sure, good for him for standing firm. But why make that bit of business public? What purpose does that serve (while hurting the team image)?

 

[edogg23]

Well if you listen to Clayton he thinks that Mebane is probably making about 1 million over market value right now.

 

[drdiags]

Why are they after this poor guy. He isn't making what he hasn't earned.

The one reason most will tell you is because his contract calls for him to make $5.5M and if they cut him, his cap hit would be 500K. That is a cool 5M so it is a chance for the team to claim a quick and substantial bounce in the cap.

They are hoping he would see the conventional wisdom some talent folks are saying about the DT market he falls in being worth about 3M. Business decisions. I am not going to side one way or the other that anything comes of this. It is a touchy subject that isn't worth the angst. Only time will tells how the club decides to handle this.

 

[JustTheTip]

Well if you listen to Clayton he thinks that Mebane is probably making about 1 million over market value right now.

The only thing of value clayton has done in the last 10 years is make the commercial where he finishes his segment, rips off his fake jack and tie, cranks the metal and hollers for his mom to bring him lunch.

 

[mikeak]

Going to be a fine line to walk for Schneider

"We cut Mebane because he didn't want to take a pay-cut"

"No we won't pay Kam more money as a principle he is under contract so we don't negotiate that"

Negotiating down is really no different than Kam trying to negotiate up. Cutting is really the player equivalent of sitting out........

If Mebane were to take a pay cut, who gets that money? Kam?

I doubt it goes like that. More likely to go in the coffers but from a principle standpoint it is hard to not negotiate up while negotiating down. Kam will certainly use that as an argument against the team and so will others.

 

[Hawkfan77]

Yeah, I understand why Mebane is a target, but he is also a good value right where he's at. I really, really, really don't want to see him cut. I'd rather see us trade Kearse if we really need a few million...and I don't really like that option, either.

Trade Kearse? Besides the niners, who trades for a third or fourth WR at this time of year?

It's like you search Kearse's name out in every thread

 

[Hawkfan77]

Does anyone know when Mebane was asked to take a pay cut? For all we know it was done before they cut McDaniel.

 

[swagcity21]

This might seem like a reach. and let me say I would not agree to such a move based on talent.... BUT

could anyone see with all the pass rushers we have now releasing mebane and bringing back Big Red to fill the middle with rubin and hill. most likely making Bennett the LEO on run plays?

Stranger things have happened with this team. I would much rather keep Mebane!!

 

[HawkGA]

Why are they after this poor guy. He isn't making what he hasn't earned.

It's not about being "after" anybody. In a salary cap world it's all about fitting pieces into a jar. If you can get somebody to make a little more room to fit something else in that jar or keep something in that jar, you do it.

 

[KiwiHawk]

Going to be a fine line to walk for Schneider

"We cut Mebane because he didn't want to take a pay-cut"

"No we won't pay Kam more money as a principle he is under contract so we don't negotiate that"

Negotiating down is really no different than Kam trying to negotiate up. Cutting is really the player equivalent of sitting out........

The illogic works both ways. Mebane got paid his full salary last year although he only played in 9 games. It could be argued he owes the team 7/16th of his 5.5 million base salary - or a portion thereof - for last year. He's worth X for his past performance, Y for his current expectations, and Z for retaining him for the future. If he's not playing, he's worth X + Z, not X + Y + Z, of which Y should be the largest portion.

I recall when Itula Mili (tight end) was up for a new contract before the 2003 season, he actually had the balls to hold out, even though he only played in 7 of his first 32 games while receiving full salary, only managed 42 catches in 5 years prior to his one decent season, and was primarily responsible for us selecting Jerramy Stevens instead of Ed Reed in the 2002 draft. Players have no memory of the time they got carried when it comes time to get paid. In that way they are no different from teams.

NFL is business.

 

[hawknation2015]

Going to be a fine line to walk for Schneider

"We cut Mebane because he didn't want to take a pay-cut"

"No we won't pay Kam more money as a principle he is under contract so we don't negotiate that"

Negotiating down is really no different than Kam trying to negotiate up. Cutting is really the player equivalent of sitting out........

If Mebane were to take a pay cut, who gets that money? Kam?

I doubt it goes like that. More likely to go in the coffers but from a principle standpoint it is hard to not negotiate up while negotiating down. Kam will certainly use that as an argument against the team and so will others.

In both cases, it is about paying players the value for their current play. However, I am glad Mebane called Schneider's bluff. It may have cost us McDaniel, but Mebane is too important of a player to take a pay cut. If the pass rush improves this year, Mebane should be credited with providing the interior pressure that flushes the QB out of the pocket, allowing Bennett, Avril, Irvin, Clark, etc. to finish more plays.

 

[Cyrus12]

mebane > kearse....have a lot of wr to fill his spot...

 

[hawknation2015]

mebane > kearse....have a lot of wr to fill his spot...

I agree but we will keep both.

 

[StoneCold]

Mebane and Kam's situation are very different. Mebane is no longer in the guaranteed part of his contract. That's why they can go to him and ask him to take a pay cut. They have every right to ask and he has every right to say no. If he says no then Schneider has to decide if he's worth keeping at that price. And since there's no guarantee, the Hawks can cut him and it won't cost them any money. It is the cap juggling routine.

 

[LolaRox]

Does anyone know when Mebane was asked to take a pay cut? For all we know it was done before they cut McDaniel.

This. Or even earlier than that. It could have been before they signed Russ and Bobby.

Did anyone actually hear the interview, if so, can you offer context to the tweet?

 

[kearly]

My guess is that they asked mebane a while ago, then cut McDaniel when mebane said no. Cutting both would be dumb.

 

[Snakeeyes007]

Why are they after this poor guy. He isn't making what he hasn't earned.

Mirroring the present U.S. economy, there is a shrinking middle class in the NFL. Mebane's contract puts him in the 'middle class' category and those guys are getting squeezed out as the top end keeps demanding more and more to stay and play. (i.e. See Kam and Russ as two most recent examples).

I'm not making a commentary on the above, mostly due to lack of time, but that is simply what is taking place. There are fewer and fewer guys like McDaniels, Mebane, etc. who get to keep their 'mid-level' salaries as top-end players eat more up more of the salary cap space. What you see trending is teams having a handful of top-earners and a whole bunch of rookies and journeymen making 'low-end' money by NFL standards.

 

[hawknation2015]

They did the same thing last year with Zach Miller, who was also coming off an injury. In this case, Mebane called their bluff. He referred to these conversations in the past tense, so I do not get the sense that they are ongoing. Carroll has said Mebane is in the best shape of his life and on the verge of a career year, with the possibility of taking snaps at the three technique. Mebane is going to give us much better interior penetration than we had last season after he went down.

 

[LickMyNuts]

They did the same thing last year with Zach Miller, who was also coming off an injury. In this case, Mebane called their bluff. He referred to these conversations in the past tense, so I do not get the sense that they are ongoing. Carroll has said Mebane is in the best shape of his life and on the verge of a career year, with the possibility of taking snaps at the three technique. Mebane is going to give us much better interior penetration than we had last season after he went down.

Where was the bluff?

Mebane didn't say they threatened to cut him.