Frozenbeernuts 1,654 Posted March 26, 2014 The Bears' push to revive their defense got a major boost Wednesday when the team announced it has agreed to terms on a four-year deal with former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen. Allen, who will turn 32 in April, has 128.5 career sacks and comes to Chicago after spending his past six seasons as a division rival with the Vikings. Allen had 52 tackles and 11.5 sacks last season. His most dominant campaign came in 2011 when he almost set the NFL single-season record for sacks with 22, finishing a half-sack short of Michael Strahan's record. The Bears already had added two pass rushers in free agency, signing Lamarr Houston shortly after the market opened March 11 and adding Willie Young to the mix a few days later. General manager Phil Emery, however, saw another opportunity to enliven his defense with Allen. Allen will receive $32 million over four years, with $15.5 million guaranteed. That makes him the Bears' highest average-per-year earner on defense. http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-79729470/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frozenbeernuts 1,654 Posted March 26, 2014 Does he have enough left in the tank to help the bears? Is he really that big of an improvement over peppers? I would definitely take this as a slap in the face if i were peppers and want to kill the bears the next time they meet. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cruzer 1,993 Posted March 26, 2014 Dallas did something right - glad as hell they didn't give Allen this kind of $. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,168 Posted March 26, 2014 Bears overpaid, I don't know their current cap situation but I think they will regret this. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sho Nuff 720 Posted March 26, 2014 Bears overpaid, I don't know their current cap situation but I think they will regret this. I think they cut a few guys and Cutler restructured. Should help their line..similar to Peppers...bit younger, GB just got Peppers a bit cheaper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,168 Posted March 26, 2014 I think they cut a few guys and Cutler restructured. Should help their line..similar to Peppers...bit younger, GB just got Peppers a bit cheaper. I just think they could have got a rookie in the draft as deep as the third round that could match Allen's production at this stage in his career. As a Green Bay fan I'm not to happy about the Peppers signing either, we could have done the same thing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 4,630 Posted March 26, 2014 The dude's been a nightmare to the Lions over the years. Great player. I wonder how much is left in the tank though as I heard he'd regressed last season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreenTD 56 Posted March 27, 2014 Only 6 players had more sacks than Jared Allen last season. 11.5 sacks isn't exactly peanuts in today's NFL. 2 years younger than Peppers & rarely misses a game. I say he still has plenty left in the tank but that's just me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IGotWorms 3,475 Posted March 27, 2014 That's a lot of money for a 32-year-old pass rusher. I was expecting him to get around $5 million per on a three year deal Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
iam90sbaby 2,168 Posted March 27, 2014 That's a lot of money for a 32-year-old pass rusher. I was expecting him to get around $5 million per on a three year deal So was I. I don't think he will play the full length of his contract though, he would be 36. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IGotWorms 3,475 Posted March 27, 2014 So was I. I don't think he will play the full length of his contract though, he would be 36. Yeah the length of the contract doesn't matter so much as the amount of guaranteed money. If you just look at the $15 million guaranteed it seems more reasonable Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 4,630 Posted March 27, 2014 Only 6 players had more sacks than Jared Allen last season. 11.5 sacks isn't exactly peanuts in today's NFL. 2 years younger than Peppers & rarely misses a game. I say he still has plenty left in the tank but that's just me. I wasn't sure. 11.5 sacks may well be a regression for him but a career year for anybody else. When you're a former Defensive Player of the Year, you can decline a long way down and still be above average. It's not so much your age, it's if you can stay productive. Jared Allen at 35 will likely still be as talented as most 25 y/os. At the end of the day, I don't care. All that matters is that Riley Reiff already held his own against him last year (two QB hits, two passes knocked down) and should do it again since he will be a year better in 2014 while Allen will be a year worse. The Lions O-Line really gelled when Reiff proved he could hold the LT spot against guys like Allen, Raiola having a career year at center, and rookies Warford (who we knew would be good but was great and is likely a perennial All-Pro) and Waddle (undrafted player of the year who fell in our laps and filled a huge need) stepped up. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Upper Class Trash 67 Posted March 27, 2014 Look at the contract. It's only a two year $15.5 million dollar deal. He can be cut after year two with no cap hit and only make $7.25 per season. How in the world is that overpaying? The 4th year is a voidable option by the Bears. This was a coup on the part of the Bears. They get a productive guy WELL under the going rate for two more solid seasons. Peppers was scheduled to make $16.8 million this season. So..... You could have Allen and an additional $9 million to play with. At this point in their career, Allen is the MUCH better player, especially against the run. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frozenbeernuts 1,654 Posted March 27, 2014 Look at the contract. It's only a two year $15.5 million dollar deal. He can be cut after year two with no cap hit and only make $7.25 per season. How in the world is that overpaying? The 4th year is a voidable option by the Bears. This was a coup on the part of the Bears. They get a productive guy WELL under the going rate for two more solid seasons. Peppers was scheduled to make $16.8 million this season. So..... You could have Allen and an additional $9 million to play with. At this point in their career, Allen is the MUCH better player, especially against the run. I was under the impression the bears were still taking a sizeable cap hit for cutting peppers. Guess not. The bears seem like one of the highest bidders so we will see if its worth the money. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Upper Class Trash 67 Posted March 28, 2014 Nope. Peppers release only cost them $2.4 million. He was set to count $16.3 million against the cap (I posted $16.8 above and was incorrect). His release saved them a small fortune. http://www.rotoworld.com/recent/nfl/2361/julius-peppers Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbivore 920 Posted March 28, 2014 Look at the contract. It's only a two year $15.5 million dollar deal. He can be cut after year two with no cap hit and only make $7.25 per season. How in the world is that overpaying? The 4th year is a voidable option by the Bears. This was a coup on the part of the Bears. They get a productive guy WELL under the going rate for two more solid seasons. Peppers was scheduled to make $16.8 million this season. So..... You could have Allen and an additional $9 million to play with. At this point in their career, Allen is the MUCH better player, especially against the run. This is how I saw it. Good deal for the Bears. I think the 4th year is voidable by Jared..if gets 12 sacks any of the first 3 years. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kilroy69 1,039 Posted March 30, 2014 Countdown to him destroying Stafford begins.......now Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Frozenbeernuts 1,654 Posted March 30, 2014 Countdown to him destroying Stafford begins.......now And rogers hopefully. As long as sue doesnt kill cutler we are ok. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 4,630 Posted March 31, 2014 Countdown to him destroying Stafford begins.......now I'm not too worried about it anymore. Riley Reiff handled him last year relatively well and will be a year better now while Allen will be a year worse. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kilroy69 1,039 Posted April 2, 2014 yea but stafford is made of glass. Its only going to take one shot from allen to seperate his shoulder. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bishop82 61 Posted April 3, 2014 Allen doesn't play well on grass, the fast track he played on in MIN inflated his stats. And I'm a Bears fan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Voltaire 4,630 Posted April 8, 2014 yea but stafford is made of glass. Its only going to take one shot from allen to seperate his shoulder. That was his first two seasons. He's now played all 16(+1) games for three years in a row. We're so confident in his health now that we just let Shaun Hill go and brought back Dan Orlovsky. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LunaTick 29 Posted April 13, 2014 My take on Allen on moving on from Vikings. first, I don't believe he was looking for the best place to get a ring, but to be a starter and be paid. second, if this wasn't the case. I believe he would have either. a. stayed in MN. Meaning willing to be more of a roll player on a new defense. b. or had signed up to be a Seahawk. i think there is only one other reason he did not sign on with the Seahawks. Last season he saw Winfield move on to Seatle for a ring and money. Only to be cut before the season. something the hawks would have likely done with Allen. Grass vs Artificial. I don't see this being as big of an issue, unless Bears fans are telling me their D line is one dimensional. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites