New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

Lothaar v2

Don't worry, I won't be coming back into this thread.

j8wk2feszrnpao

Lothaar v2 wrote: »

At least you responded to me, unlike munstermagic11.

Was there a question directed to me?

Tristram

Really looking forward to this weekend!

bruschi

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Chung and Arrington have to go imo. Both have been quite poor for us at times this season. Woodhead's versatility makes it a no brainer for him to stay.

would agree there. altho Chung has been useful as a back up, its not as if that is essential to have especially for the time he has been out injured. Arrington has been awful. Caught so many times for big gains by the opposition. Really thought he would have stepped up.

Woodhead and Edelman I think could be kept for relatively low money, and then it is a matter of getting Talib, Welker and Vollmer sorted. I cant see all 3 being given the type of money they will probably want, but of them, my priority would probably be Welker, Talib then Vollmer.

Only reason I am so low on Vollmer is that the O line as a unit really stepped up this year for all the slating they were getting pre season and in the 4 pre season games. I always had faith that it would come together with Mankins leading the way, and Wendell has way surpassed what I thought he'd be. Solder has improved and Connolly has been reliable. And then with Canon (still not convinced tho), McDonald and Thomas as decent backups, I think Vollmers loss of the 3 big targets would be the least felt.

Talib I'm still not 100% convinced on either. Its hard to know the true worth of a corner, as sometimes the best corner might not see the ball for 60 minutes as the opposition will not throw near him, so thats him doing his job. I do think he makes the unit better, and it gives McCourty a better chance back at safety, where I think he has been much better than when he was CB. Denard is a rookie and at times plays like that, he doesnt have blistering pace either, but he looks good and has made an impression in what for him was a tough rookie year.

Was looking at this years draft there earlier too, and pretty much every player has made some sort of impact bar Bequette and Ebert. First time in a while I think I would say at years end I was happy enough with the way we drafted.

Hazys

bruschi wrote: »

my priority would probably be Welker, Talib then Vollmer.

This would be my priority too. Welker to get the franchise tag.

We have lost 2 Pro Bowl Oline last off season and the Oline barely skipped a beat. It's always a risk for sure but we seem to always produce and develop quality Olinemen.

Talib is an unknown quantity but he's probably the most gifted CB we've had in years. If we can get him on a home (aka you've been an idiot before, we could have possible saved your career, here's you're chance to prove yourself in the right setup) discount then I'm all for it. It didn't work with Leigh Bodden but Talib is a different pedigree.

I think Woodhead would command a bit more money than people would think and the Pats would be prepared to let him walk as we have huge depth in the RB position but i think Danny knows the Pats are a good fit for him also, so hopefully they work something out.

I'd say Edelman comes back on a very reasonable 1 year contract and Chung is let walk, his coverage is awful at times.

Hazys

Also:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4738179/clayton-pats-will-plenty-of-13-cap-space

In his weekly mailbag on ESPN.com, NFL senior writer John Clayton had a list of every NFL's salary cap space for 2013. The list included the carryover for each team from 2012 to 2013.

According to Clayton, the Patriots will carry over $5.6 million and currently have $18.6 million in cap space.

This sets the Patriots up nicely. Only seven teams currently have more space.

When I see those numbers, the first thought that comes to mind is that the Patriots are well-managed. Even with quarterback Tom Brady accounting for a $22 million salary-cap charge, there is room to maneuver.

Another way to look at it is that if the Patriots can't reach a multi-year agreement with receiver Wes Welker, and ultimately assign him a franchise tag at $11.4 million, the numbers become a bit tighter.

The final point is that salary cap space is fluid and can always change with roster transactions. But the way the Patriots have operated under Bill Belichick is that they have attempted to avoid situations where they have to release players to clear salary cap space, and their financial discipline has served them well.

bruschi

would agree with you on Woodhead and Edelman, but in both cases, I dont think either would really work out better anywhere else, and I think both need the Patriots more than the Patriots need them, so I dont expect either to muck themselves up. Get paid your worth and be happy to be still involved. Chung and Arringotn I dont expect ot be around, hence why I think a deal could be done on Talib or someone else in off season. A draft pick again maybe, but it would leave too many in experienced players on defence to rely on that.

Was reading that piece on the cap space. I think a 3 year deal with Welker would reduce the potential franchise figure significantly on cap space and give him enough long term to satisfy all.

out of curiosity, what is the franchise tag for OT roughly at the moment if they did tag Vollmer?

And another who I am not sure on is Gostkowski. I think there may be a few question marks on him post season. First time I have thought that since he joined.

decies

Really need a Super Bowl win this year too many dissapoints !!!

Son Of A Vidic

bruschi wrote: »

out of curiosity, what is the franchise tag for OT roughly at the moment if they did tag Vollmer?

Tagging Vollmer will cost $9.66 million. Below is a list of projected franchise tag costs per position for 2013.

Figures will be finalised in March.

OL: Franchise: $9.660

CB: Franchise: $10.668

DE: Franchise: $10.984

DT: Franchise: $8.306

K/P: Franchise: $2.926

LB: Franchise: $9.455

QB: Franchise: $14.642

RB: Franchise: $8.079

S: Franchise: $6.798

TE: Franchise: $5.962

WR: Franchise: $10.357

Link here http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000117300/article/tentative-nfl-salary-cap-set-near-121-million-for-2013

bruschi wrote: »

And another who I am not sure on is Gostkowski. I think there may be a few question marks on him post season. First time I have thought that since he joined.

What reason do you have for thinking that?

Last year was 'The Summer of Gronk' after all and he didn't let himself or the franchise down. He was on course again for more phenomenal stats but then the arm break happened. Yet he still managed 790 Yards receiving and 11 TD's :eek:, scary stuff when you think of the games he missed. Gronk is a machine, ya he's kid a heart but he's a good decent lad. If he explodes out of the blokes in the post season and is not ring rusty then who knows? Maybe we'll get a nice pay back for last years bad luck.

Dohnny Jepp

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

Tagging Vollmer will cost $9.66 million. Below is a list of projected franchise tag costs per position for 2013.

Figures will be finalised in March.

OL: Franchise: $9.660

CB: Franchise: $10.668

DE: Franchise: $10.984

DT: Franchise: $8.306

K/P: Franchise: $2.926

LB: Franchise: $9.455

QB: Franchise: $14.642

RB: Franchise: $8.079

S: Franchise: $6.798

TE: Franchise: $5.962

WR: Franchise: $10.357

Link here http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000117300/article/tentative-nfl-salary-cap-set-near-121-million-for-2013





What reason do you have for thinking that?

Last year was 'The Summer of Gronk' after all and he didn't let himself or the franchise down. He was on course again for more phenomenal stats but then the arm break happened. Yet he still managed 790 Yards receiving and 11 TD's :eek:, scary stuff when you think of the games he missed. Gronk is a machine, ya he's kid a heart but he's a good decent lad. If he explodes out of the blokes in the post season and is not ring rusty then who knows? Maybe we'll get a nice pay back for last years bad luck.

Your kicker not te

Son Of A Vidic

My main concern with Vollmer at the start of the season was his back, he sat out all preseason so I think everyone was concerned. He was a bit stiff in his first 2-3 games but he worked that out. I never thought he would make every game bar one. So he really surprised me. Watching him in the flesh at Wembley I thought he was just awesome, him a solder were just like two man mountains. He destroyed Mario Williams during the season and has performed excellently against some top pass rush opponents. He's a no brainer to stay for me, providing the back issues are kept under control.

But I also raise my hat to the entire O line because they have all done really well. When you look at the top vets we lost and then see that we have a 16% reduction in sacks on Brady this season. That's pretty good going for a O line that is still finding its feet. Coach Scarnecchia is simply a genius and gets all the credit for this imo.

When Talib came you could immediately see more aggression coming from the secondary. This allowed McCourty to move to safety where he has done really well and is a much better player. I loved Dennard's signing from day one, he's a tough physical player who brings some steel to the secondary. No he's not the fastest, but he doesn't need to be. Because I have seen enough ball hawk potential from him in his first season to leave me quite happy.

Unfortunately Talib has been carrying a nagging hip injury for a couple of weeks now so he's been nowhere near where he wants to be. But the good news is the injury is now cleared up. This is his moment to show what he do in the big time, he has the talent and the ability, he's just got to show us all now.

Son Of A Vidic

Dohnny Jepp wrote: »

Your kicker not te

Dude forgive me, ignore the emoticon earlier, I'm sleep deprived.

counterlock

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

The original post was about Gostowski, not Gronk.

bruschi wrote: »

And another who I am not sure on is Gostkowski. I think there may be a few question marks on him post season. First time I have thought that since he joined.

I'd rather see Gostowski kept, there is no one free agents I'd take ahead of him.

Son Of A Vidic

counterlock wrote: »

The original post was about Gostowski, not Gronk.

Oh dear.

Well in my defense, I came off on call this morning and should have been in bed at 9am so I'm fecking wrecked.

Unfortunately I'm back on call on Sunday so I'm going to miss all the games. :mad:

J. Football

Getting your Poles mixed up Corv! :P

It's been a painfully slow week. Sunday can't come quick enough. What a day of sport it will be though. Cannot wait.

bruschi

counterlock wrote: »

The original post was about Gostowski, not Gronk.


I'd rather see Gostowski kept, there is no one free agents I'd take ahead of him.

true, but he needs a kick in the hole or something. Where he was once very reliable, I dont count what used to be certain FG's anymore. The miss against Arizona was awful, and he followed that up with some other poor efforts.

BaronVon

bruschi wrote: »

true, but he needs a kick in the hole or something. Where he was once very reliable, I dont count what used to be certain FG's anymore. The miss against Arizona was awful, and he followed that up with some other poor efforts.

And he takes a reasonably big chunk of salary cap!

counterlock

infacteh wrote: »

And he takes a reasonably big chunk of salary cap!

2.1 This year, 2.5 next year and 2.9 the year after. David Akers is on 3 this year and next year and he has been brutal. He's ranked 10th in active kickers (accuracy per centage), so its a fair enough salary.

Son Of A Vidic

Gostowski has been a guy that for so long we never thought about. Primarily because he's been so reliable. He has had some uncharacteristic misses this season which is a big worry now that we are in playoff territory. His success rate for this season is @ 82.9%, in 2011 it was 84.9%. He missed 5 field goals in 2011 and he missed 6 in 2012. His 53 yard field goal earlier in the season was his longest in 3 years. Statistically he's one of the most reliable kickers in the league, so not much has changed. It was the bad miss against the Cardinals which caught everyone's eye and put him on the radar. We just don't want any repeats in the business end of the season. But if it does happen again, then I think we will need to look at alternatives.

Masked Man

counterlock wrote: »

2.1 This year, 2.5 next year and 2.9 the year after. David Akers is on 3 this year and next year and he has been brutal. He's ranked 10th in active kickers (accuracy per centage), so its a fair enough salary.

Man, if I ever move to the States and have a son, he's gonna spending every waking minute kicking FGs or long snapping.

counterlock

Masked Man wrote: »

Man, if I ever move to the States and have a son, he's gonna spending every waking minute kicking FGs or long snapping.

Phil Taylor came to town about 8 years ago and was playing in the local. He was charging a tenner to play him and he used 9 dart everyone. Took him about 5 mins for a full game. He must have been playing about 11 or 12 games an hour for 4 hours.

When there is no pressure the job is very easy - whether its throwing darts or kicking FG's, the really good guys do it when it counts. Thats why Vinatieri is paid as well as he is.

TO.

Masked Man wrote: »

Man, if I ever move to the States and have a son, he's gonna spending every waking minute kicking FGs or long snapping.

counterlock has it right. Plenty of kids who can kick very well and are very good at it. The problem is with it is the variable around doing it which includes the pressure of the kick.

Take High School and College kickers you can find some excellent kickers when not under pressure and in a game situation. But put them under pressure and add the other variable like the block, long snaps and holder holding the ball and you have a recipe for missed kicks.

I honestly beleive there is plenty of better kickers out there in the US that just were unlucky not to get to the Pros due to no scouts ever seeing them or their teams not being high profile enough.

One of the hardest positions to get picked from.

TO.

Masked Man wrote: »

Man, if I ever move to the States and have a son, he's gonna spending every waking minute kicking FGs or long snapping.

Oh and send him my way and I will give him a starting spot if you end up in MA

Son Of A Vidic

TO. wrote: »

Oh and send him my way and I will give him a starting spot if you end up in MA

If you are who I think you are? Welcome back bro.

Paully D

TO is back! How's the new job going TO?

TO.

Paully D wrote: »

TO is back! How's the new job going TO?

Thanks dude. Don't start in US until August. Still in Sunny Ireland coaching DCU now.

Son Of A Vidic

All we need now is for JaMarcus to return and it will be like Walton's Mountain again.

Paully D

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

All we need now is for JaMarcus to return and it will be like Walton's Mountain again.

He's back mate - J.Football.

Son Of A Vidic

Paully D wrote: »

He's back mate - J.Football.

Ah shure isn't that great now. You know I had a suspicion it was him when I read this http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=82604678&postcount=1103

TO.

Paully D wrote: »

He's back mate - J.Football.

I knew it tis why I signed back up. Now to keep myself from getting into heated banter.