My Patriots Draft Thoughts

With all 3 Boston teams off last night I thought I might jot down my own take on the Patriots 2013 draft class and some counterpoint to The Captain.

The Captain has been pretty vocal about his position of unquestioningly supporting every decision Bill Belichick makes in this draft and has largely been his response to a free agency period that left a lot of Patriots fans scratching their heads. I don't think that this is a bad position to take and I drink plenty of the BB Kool Aid myself. Bill's personnel decisions work out a reasonable amount of the time and if not he usually puts himself in a position where he didn't really lose much, cuts the player and moves on. I also think sometimes people forget that his job in getting value out of the draft is harder when you're consistently getting natural picks that fall in the later part of the round almost every season. The lost first rounder to Spygate was a significant setback as well. The Captain is also correct that Boston is not a college football town. Most of the fans and sports media in this town, myself included, might know a little about BC football but not much else. That said, our opinions on these high level prospects coming out of college aren't derived from throwing at a dart board. I recognize that Bill has expertise in this field, but I recognize that other well informed people have formed and publicized their opinions on these players and Bill's selections as well and don't agree with the course/players he has taken. These media personalities get it wrong a reasonable percentage of the time, but Bill has also made plenty of picks that looking back haven't panned out.

The Captain's go to must answer question in his criticism of those who are critical of Bill is "Who would you take at 29?", but there's more to the equation than that prior to being put on the clock with the 29th pick. None of the talent at 29 was particularly exciting, but there did seem to be some highly regarded talent that projected to contribute immediately higher up in the draft and this was reportedly a buyer's market. This puts me in the unfortunate position of speculation, but what would it have cost for the Patriots to move up into picks 1-8 and get somebody like Tavon Austin? That's a question I'm never going to be able to answer definitively, but based on the reports of teams wanting to move down I believe there may have been a bargain to be had here. I'm just using Austin as an example here because I think wide receiver is a position of need and Austin was well regarded by talent experts, but I think there had to be somebody in this draft that was a high probability elite player that would have been a significant upgrade at a position of need and the Patriots could have sacrificed some later picks to move up and get him.

The problem I have with the Patriots approach to this draft is that they approached it in a way that would better suit a rebuilding team or a team with a lot of holes. I would really like the Patriots trade down if I were the Ravens. The Ravens had a mass exodus of players after winning the Super Bowl and they don't have the cap room to fill all the holes it seems. Trading a quality elite player for a quantity of competent warm bodies would make a lot of sense in that situation. After the free agency period and coming into the draft I feel like the Patriots are a mostly complete team and upgrading to an elite player at a position of need could be what puts them over the top. Instead of that I feel like we got some more depth and lottery tickets. This is all compounded by the fact that Tom Brady is getting older and I think everything possible should be done to maximize the opportunity to win a championship while he is still here. I think Tom himself realized this when he agreed to such a team friendly deal for what will most likely be the remainder of his NFL career.

I also don't understand why Bill seems to get so aggressive to pick players that nobody else seems to be interested in. As a coach who seems to place such a high value on draft picks it's strange to see him burn them on players that are projected to go much later in the draft  or go undrafted altogether. I can understand that maybe he/his scouts see something in a player that other teams/scouts don't, but why not try to maximize that advantage? Was he really that concerned that somebody was going to swoop in and get Tavon Wilson from him that he needed to burn the 48th overall pick to get him? People were projecting him as being a 7th rounder. You could snag him with a 4th or 5th rounder just to be on the safe side and still net a huge amount of value. The same could be said of the Duron Harmon pick this year. Maybe the Sports media completely misread the market on both of these guys and I was satisfied with Wilson's contribution as a rookie last year, but it seems like a significant value loss for minimal risk. It's possible that Bill knew something everybody else didn't about other teams being interested in these guys, but barring that he either misread or disregarded the market demand for these players.

I'm not incensed by any of these picks or think that they're serious errors in judgment by any stretch, but the picks don't make much sense to me and knowing Bill I don't think we're ever going to really get his actual thought process behind his picks which will make it more frustrating.

Draft Winners/ Losers

Winners:
St. Louis Rams: I absolutely love what the St. Louis Rams did this year. Tavon Austin is going to win the offensive rookie of the year. Brian Quick, Jared Cook, Chris Givens and Lance Kendricks is the wide receiving corps right now, so to add such a dynamic player is huge for Sam Bradford. Also, Stedman Bailey who was Austin's battery mate at WV is pretty good as well. I love that they stole Ogletree and Barrett Jones in the 4th round. I think that the Rams may have had the best draft this year.

San Francisco 49ers: Eric Reid is going to be a starter this year. He is the best safety in this draft and will be an impact player. Tank Carradine falling to them in the 2nd is absurd. This guy has 1st round talent and just adds to a ridiculous SF defense. I really like the Marcus Lattimore pick. If Lattimore didn't have 2 gruesome injuries he would be taken in the first round, however, the 49ers are the perfect location for them. He gets to basically sit out this year and be Frank Gore's successor going forward.

Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Jones and the Steelers are a match made in heaven. He is an outside pass rusher that was the most productive college player the past 2 years. The Steelers needed a RB and got Bob's boy from Michigan State Le'Veon Bell in the 2nd and picked him over Eddie Lacy. I like Lacy better, but Bell has more of a pass catching ability. Marcus Wheaton out of Oregon State was an absolute steal in the 3rd round. With the Steelers track record of mid round WR success, they found another gem here. I also love the Landry jones pick. I have had enough of the Charlie Batch, Byron Leftwhich era as Ben's back up. Now they have someone who can be the equivilant to the Patriots Ryan Mallett.

NY Jets: I really like what the Jets did. Dee Milliner should fit right in the Revis slot and will be very impactful. Sheldon Richardson will be a force, but to be honest, they should have take Eifert there, but whatever, Richardson will be pretty good for that D Line as well. Getting Geno Smith that late is a steal and if the Jets were smart, they would cut Tebow and Sanchez and say David Garrard is our QB this year and Geno Smith will take over next. gets rid of all the drama and shows a plan. Enough of the ridiculousness of the Jets QB situation. They also picked up 2 pretty good guards.

Losers:
Dallas Cowboys: I was not a fan of the Frederick pick to start with when I thought there was a lot more talent there, but whatever. They seemed a little all over the place, I didn't really see the need of drafting a TE and WR in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. I just don't get the Cowboys picks at all.

NE Patriots: People say, this was a very Patriots draft, however, I think it was just a real dumb draft. I really like the move they made with the Vikings, then hated what they did with everything. I also love how the radio and Boston media is trying to protect the Patriots and their shitty draft by saying, "nobody really knows", well yes, you do. Jamie Collins was productive for a really bad team, so maybe he can work his way in the rotation. But Dobson is a project, Logan Ryan will be lucky to be a nickle back, Harmon will be a special teamer at best and the rest of the guys blow. The Patriots decided to just draft depth, when there was much better talent on the board. Once again the Patriots out think themselves at the draft, which is weird after such a great draft last year.

Chicago Bears: The only reason I hate this draft is they had a chance to get Tyler Eifert and chose Kyle Long instead. that forever will be a head scratcher to me. Just dumb.

Patriots Have Decent, Unspectacular Draft

If you were expecting much from this draft, you're either very optimistic, very unrealistic, or very stupid. The draft as a whole was low on talent. Can you remember the last time the team picking #1 overall waited as long as possible for someone to trade for their pick? The Pats were also picking at the tail-end of the draft. And unlike past years they didn't have many picks coming in.

All things considered, I think the Patriots did okay. They found some decent talent that could contribute in different ways. They found some guys who have problems, and if those problems are sorted they can be very good. They also made a deal to acquire LeGarrette Blount, who ran for over 1,000 yards in 2010. They got him for a 7th round pick and an Olympic runner who wants to be a part-time football player.

The Pats traded out of the first-round, which upset some people, seemingly more on principle than on losing a chance to get any specific player. Everyone I've heard complain about this trade has been unable to answer the question "Who would you have taken at 29?" These people have emotional baggage from previous drafts. They're mad at the idea of trading a pick (even though other teams did it), not this specific instance. The Patriots made a good deal to add to their number of selections in a very hit-or-miss, mediocre draft.

And here are my thoughts on who they took...

Jamie Collins, an OLB/DE was their first pick. Collins had a great junior year, but "dogged it" his senior year. He was playing for a very bad team. Some teams stay away from guys with his kind of reputation. But a good team with a good coach can take the chance. The logic is simple. If he tries, he's athletic enough to find a place on the field. If he doesn't, he's gone.

Then they drafted WR Aaron Dobson out of Marshall. He played as an X receiver with a bad QB. Now he'll be in the mix with a good QB. With the lack of current depth at WR on the team, Dobson has a chance to get reps. He just needs to learn the playbook, which is always tough for new players.

The Patriots drafted a pair of DBs from Rutgers in the 3rd round. They'll join former Scarlet Knight Devin McCourty. For the first time in years, the Patriots have a secondary that is not a complete mess at the top of the depth chart. Talib was a key player whose loss hurt in the playoffs. Dennard is an early-round talent who could be even better in his sophomore season. What the Pats need is depth in the secondary. The dropoff from Talib to backups is what killed them in the AFC Championship game. Neither of these guys seem like they'll be big impact players, but both should get playing time in certain situations. And that's what the Pats desperately needed from their defensive backfield.

In the 4th round the Pats took another WR, Josh Boyce out of TCU. He is a combine stud. Fast, agile, can be an outside-the-numbers threat. But he's inconsistent with blocking and catching. He entered the Draft as a junior so he might be able to hone those skills. If he can, he'll be very productive. If not, he'll be an obscure memory and an Arena League All-Star.

Michael Buchannan is a 6' 5" frame that needs to be filled in. He needs strength. Plain and simple. He's a DE/OLB that can drop into coverage, but he needs to get bigger. He also has a DUI arrest. So stop drinking and start lifting, Michael.

The Patriots ended their draft by taking their third Rutgers defensive player, linebacker Steve Beauharnais. He's small, but smart. He can play in different situations, including special teams. As far as 7th round picks go, he's not bad. Lots of upside here. Undersized LBs have done well on this team before.

So no players who will have jerseys sold at the Pro Shop anytime soon. The players that have the most upside also have downsides. There are a lot of "if he can" players here. So maybe one or two hit big. Maybe one or two find a role as a backup. And the rest get real jobs.

-The Captain

Patriots Trade Out of First Round

It's difficult to get excited about trading down. It's much easier to get excited about the potential of a brand new player. The Patriots replenished their picks by trading their first-rounder for four picks. But those picks don't have highlight reels. They don't have 40 times. They're not "long," they don't have a "motor."

It's hard to get pumped about adding picks.

At the same time, what player was around at the 29th pick that was exciting? That WR from Clemson was gone. It was a very unspectacular bunch of players.

It isn't just about the deal with the Patriots. It isn't just about the price or the value. It is about the players, or lack of players. Last year there were players they wanted, and they moved up to get them. This year there wasn't anyone the Pats were excited about. The Vikings were willing to surrender a boatload of picks. It made sense, to the Patriots, to make the deal.

Just like they emphasize situational football, they also made this move because of the situation. The trade was good enough, the players weren't. Simple as that. Had other players been available, maybe they don't make the deal. If the Vikings don't offer as much, or another team offered more, they don't trade with Minnesota.

They got a pretty good deal.

-The Captain

NFL Draft Recap: Picks I Love, Picks I Hate and The Legend Of E.J. Manuel

Picks I Love:
Pittsburgh Steelers: Jarvis Jones LB Georgia: It's great that the Steelers drafted the next HOF LB at 17. If it weren't for a couple of health issues, Jones would be a top 10 pick easily, but since a couple of red flags popped up he fell to 17. Jones can be put in immediately for James Harrison without much drop off. He is a tenacious pass rusher, and led the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss. With an always aggressive Pittsburgh defense he fits the mold perfectly.

St. Louis Rams: Tavon Austin, No. 8; Alec Ogletree, No. 30. The 2 players I cared the most about in the draft were Tavon Austin and EJ Manuel. The Rams go out and get the most explosive player in college football in Austin. Sam Bradford will absolutely adore him as he will open up the field and give him a ton of options on plays and Ogletree is an extremely good value pick for 30. The Rams have a good D Line so Ogletree can probably play this year and be effective.

Buffalo Bills: E.J. Manuel QB FSU: Have I not told you guys about this? I told you here all the way back in 2008, and here, and here, and here that E.J. Manual was the best and nobody listened. Well what do you know, once again with college football I am on target. They should start having me be lead recruiters for schools because I have a great eye for talent. Many "experts" say this was a little bit of a reach, but it was perfect. It was obvious to me and the Bills that E.J. Manuel was the best QB in the draft so they took him. I am a big fan of drafting who you like especially if it's a QB and that's what the Bills did. E.J. has all the physical tools, size, mobility and leadership qualities and I'll go out on a limb that he will win a Superbowl before Andrew Luck. Great pick by Bills.

New England Patriots: They shipped the team's first-round draft choice (29th overall) to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for second-, third-, fourth-, and seventh-round draft choices. I think that's absurd value and with WR's dropping they still will have a shot at some good players in the second round, guys like Tank Caaradine, Robert Alfort, Manti Te'o, Robert Woods, Justin Hunter, Jonathan Cyprian, Kevin Minter and Keenan Allen are still all left and should be around when the Pats pick again. I think thats enough picks to have got like the 15th pick, so for them to get that much for the 29th is pretty good.

Moves I hate:
NY Jets: Shelden Richardson pick. I loved the Dee Milliner pick, they grabbed the best CB in the draft completely, but I maybe would have gone with Tyler Eifert. Eifert I think could be the next awesome tight end and would really help out a struggling Jets offense, but I guess whatevs. I could also say the same thing about the Chicago Bears as well.

That's it.

Sucks for Geno Smith.

I Don't Know What the Patriots Will Do Tonight, But I Already Agree With It

In Bill We Trust. Some people say that with sarcasm. Then they list all the mistakes that "Bellichick the GM" has made over the years. Then they rant about Richard Seymour and Asante Samuel.

Belichick isn't perfect. The Patriots make mistakes. But in the long run it's smart to bet on them. So whatever the Pats do tonight, it's probably a good, smart move.

I have no idea who most of these college players are. I also have no idea how they will do in the NFL. And guess what, nobody else does. Although people like to think they do. People like to think they know the game more than Belichick. Which is preposterous. I don't think anybody understands the game and the cap like the Patriots and Belichick. Certainly not some sportsradio hindsightist, and certainly not some token fan.

Sorry, you don't know as much as him. Not even close.

I'm not saying you should agree with everything the Patriots do. I'm saying that if you don't get it, just roll with it. Why get stressed?

Do you understand everything about human anatomy? Do you understand how to pilot a plane? Do you get the bond market? You trust doctors to take care of you when you're sick, you trust a stranger with wings pinned on his shirt to control an airplane, and you give someone in a suit money for your retirement. You trust these people because they're experts.

Guess what, Bill Belichick is an expert. The proof is in the results. 13 seasons running this team, 10 division titles, 5 conference titles, 3 Super Bowls. He's the most successful GM in franchise history, and the most successful current GM in the New England sports scene. Yet "Bellichick the GM" probably gets more criticism than Ainge, Chiarelli, and Cherington combined.

Why? Because people sometimes don't understand what he's doing. And he won't bother to explain it. And he also doesn't get emotionally attached to players like fans do.

He dropped Lawyer Milloy and was heavily criticized for it. He cut ties with Randy Moss and people scratched their heads. His doubters enjoy bringing up Seymour and Samuel, but how did the Raiders and Eagles do with them? These doubters get headaches if you say "well they got cap room when they didn't sign these guys." They don't want to allow thought to interrupt their emotional outbursts.

Now it's Wes Welker. Never has a region been so emotionally devastated because a stranger was leaving. People were pissed at Belichick. Some blamed the "Patriots way" as the reason the Pats didn't win the Super Bowl these past two seasons. These same people conveniently forgot Welker's huge drops in big games. The roster was good enough to win, the players didn't execute.

And let's not forget who acquired Welker in the first place. Belichick the GM. Welker was one of those Wal-Mart bargain value players that people chide Belichick for acquiring.

So I have no clue what will happen tonight. Will the Pats trade up? Will they trade down? Will they trade Mallett? Will they take a wide receiver? A cornerback?

I don't know. Belichick is the doctor/pilot/investment banker/lawyer/accountant. He's the professional. I'll let him do surgery, fly the plane, pick the stock, file the lawsuit, do my taxes. He knows what he's doing. He isn't always right (thankfully he's not a surgeon), but investors don't always pick the right stock. The good ones are right enough to make a profit. And judging by the silver and gold in the Patriots Hall of Fame, and on Bill's fingers, he seems to have invested wisely.

It's not worth getting stressed out over, people. It's very relaxing to just sit back and enjoy the show. It is, after all, a game. Have some fun watching it and thinking about it.

Steelers Match Emmanuel Sanders

The Pittsburgh Steelers have matched the New England Patriots' one-year, $2.5 million offer sheet to wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders, the team announced Sunday. ESPN

THANK GOD. After having to let everyone go the Steelers finally kept someone. I know a lot of people were judging the Steelers and saying that they will regret not taking a 3rd round pick, however, if Sanders were to leave we would only have Antonio Brown and Plaxico Burress as our only wide receivers.

Also, I am really happy because if Sanders went to the Patriots, he would have instantly become their best wide receiver. He has great hands, good speed, good vision and hasn't come close to his prime. With Gronk being out, with Amendola and Hernandez being injury prone he would have been the most consistent wide receiver on the team.

Plus Ben wanted him back and it's about time they threw Ben a bone.

BREAKING NEWS: Patriots CB Alfonzo Dennard Gets 30 Days In Jail, To Be Served Next Offseason

Patriots Cornerback Alfonzo Dennard received his sentence for assaulting a police officer in April of 2012. Dennard and the Patriots caught a nice break here. His crimes had a maximum sentence of 6 years, even a full year out of football might have been enough to permanently derail his career, but instead he'll only be serving 30 days in jail. Furthermore, his sentence will take place next March when it will have the least impact on his ability to participate with team events. It may effect his conditioning, but given how badly this could have gone it's a minor consideration. He'll also be on probation for 24 months and has to put in 100 hours of community service

Patriots Resign Julian Edelman

New England Patriots have re-signed WR Julian Edelman to a one-year deal, the rumors is that it is very incentive laden. I was wondering what would happen with him, since he was meeting with the Giants last week. It's a good move for the Patriots, as it gives them depth at the slot WR spot, and Edleman has proved to be a pretty good special teams player as well.

Edelman’s injured foot is reportedly “healing properly,” so that shouldn't be a problem once the season rolls around, but he could miss some of the early spring workouts and stuff.

Steeler WR Emmanuel Sanders Signs Patriots Offer Sheet

The Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics all had yesterday off, so there's nothing too exciting to write about today. The one piece of news is that Steelers wideout Emmanuel Sanders signed an offer sheet from the Patriots. The Steelers have five days to decide if they want to match the offer to Sanders or let him walk and take the Patriots 3rd round draft choice in the upcoming draft. The Steelers have been in a pretty big cap crunch this offseason and have had to let go of guys like James Harrison, Mike Wallace, Rashard Mendenhall, etc.; but supposedly they have the money to match the offer to Sanders if they want to.

I like this move for the Patriots. They really need some help at wide receiver and with the news of Gronk possibly being unavailable to start the season Tom Brady could use some reliable targets. Sanders made a big jump with the Steelers last season playing all 16 games with 44 catches for 626 yards and a TD. Nothing mind blowing, but going into his fourth season there's certainly room for growth. The only thing that concerns me is that he has two lost fumbles last season and the Patriots are usually pretty good about winning the turnover battle.

Gronk May Be Out for Start Of The Season

New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski "very likely" will require a fourth surgery on his left forearm, this one to remove the plate inserted in the arm in order to ensure an infection has been eradicated, two sources told ESPNBoston.com's Mike Reiss.

The Patriots have to be concerned about the health of Gronk. He has already proven to be extremely injury prone and kind of a shithead off the field. No matter what Patriot fans say or refuse to admit, Gronk will be a problem. I don't think that he will be a "bad" guy off the field but he's obviously not taking his rehab as serious as he should because you shouldn't need to get 4 surgerys for the same injury.

The Patriots now have a whole receiving core of injury guys in Amendola, Gronk and Hernandez. This has really hurt the Patriots in the past years and will continue to. If I were a Patriots fan, I would be really concerned about how this team is going to stay healthy.

Patriots re-sign Sebastian Vollmer *UPDATED*

ESPN Boston's Field Yates and the Boston Herald's Karen Guregian reported that the Patriots had re-signed their top remaining free agent Sebastian Vollmer. This morning Shalise Manza Young at the Boston Globe reported that although a deal was still likely, there is currently no deal in place.

Offensive Lineman is probably one of the most difficult positions to evaluate from a pure numbers perspective. You really only hear about an offensive lineman when something goes wrong. If they commit a holding penalty you notice them. If they get burned for a sack you notice them. If they throw a well executed block that prevents a sack and gives the quarterback extra time to find an open receiver it typically goes unnoticed and the credit is largely given to the quarterback and the receiver for the success of the play. Some people like to judge the effectiveness of an offensive lineman by sack totals, but that's a deceptive stat. Who says that he was the one who blew his blocking assignment? Maybe the quarterback held the ball too long. Maybe the wide receiver didn't create the separation he needed so the quarterback had to hold the ball. Some quarterbacks have great mobility and pocket presence, some don't, is that the lineman's fault? Basically, the success or failure of an offensive lineman is often evaluated by the success or failure of the offense as a whole because their individual contribution is difficult to quantify. Sometimes you can get into some of the advanced metrics like blocking efficiency to get an idea, but it's just a really tough thing to judge. As a result, I don't really know how good or bad of a lineman Sebastian Vollmer is. The Patriots offense is successful, Tom Brady doesn't get sacked very often and I don't see him getting beat for sacks or holding penalties regularly; so I'm inclined to think that he's good at his job. Most of the advanced metrics seem to concur that he's a solid offensive lineman. He's had some injury issues to deal with in his career. His back has kept him out of games in the past and he recently had a right knee arthroscopy. These injuries have reportedly hurt his value on the open market. If the price is right I absolutely want the Patriots to bring him back on board for a few more seasons. We'll see how this situation plays out.

UPDATE:
From the Globe:

The deal that was inevitable between the Patriots and offensive tackle Sebastian Vollmer happened Monday, as the sides agreed to a four-year contract.

According to a league source, the contract’s base value is $17 million, of which $8.5 million is guaranteed. It has a maximum value of $27 million, with Vollmer able to gain the rest of the money through incentives, roster bonuses, and Pro Bowl berths.

So about $4.25M-$6.25M per year? Looking around at some of the other deals given to the top offensive tackles on the market this deal doesn't look too bad. Jake Long's deal with the Rams set the market at 4 years, $34M total/$16M guaranteed. Gosder Cherilus signed a five-year deal worth $35M total/$16.5M guaranteed. Basically, if he can stay healthy and meet his performance bonuses it will put him in Gosder Cherilus' pay grade. If he doesn't then the Patriots don't have too much liability in terms of guaranteed money. Seems like a pretty fair deal all around.

I Like Adrian Wilson

With all my whining about Ed Reed/Wes Welker/Danny Woodhead heading elsewhere and my general disappointment with this free agency period I think it sort of got lost in the shuffle that I DO like Adrian Wilson. I like his credentials, I like his price tag, I like his style of play and I'm starting to like his attitude. He gave an interview with the Boston media recently where he made it very clear that his first preference was New England because he wants to compete for a championship. It's always nice to hear that a recently acquired player wants to play for more than just a paycheck. Some mercenaries that will play for the highest bidder is fine, but you still need a decent ratio of the guys that are invested in what's happening for more than just money. I think that's part of what happened with the Red Sox the past two years. Too many high-priced mercenaries and not enough home grown talent. I'm hoping Wilson can regain his all-pro/pro bowl form and be a serious contributor in the secondary.

Bob Kraft Makes Some Uncharacteristic Statements

Bob Kraft is a great owner in a lot of ways. He makes a few statements here or there in which he mostly puts out the Patriotspeak. Nothing overly controversial, mostly positive and supportive statements. He's well respected in the community for keeping the team in Massachusetts not once, but twice. He gets involved with things like the recent labor dispute and was instrumental in progressing the talks, ensuring that football wouldn't suffer from the lockouts that have been plaguing sports like hockey and basketball recently. He doesn't skimp out, he spends up to the cap every season and has invested a lot of money into facilities at Patriot Place. He thinks big, he sets the tone for the organization and he's learned that a good owner knows to delegate and get out of his own way. That's why I was really surprised by some of the statements Kraft made at the owners meeting. Some of the lines that the media have been blowing up lately are not his usual fare.

"I don't answer to Tom Brady"

It's 100% true and when you add some more context he dovetails it nicely by pointing out that Brady's an important member of the team and saying that he spoke to Brady, but it's just such a combative reply. The guy just took a pay cut to improve your football team and he's the most beloved figure in the history of the organization, there has to be a more diplomatic way to phrase this.

"Wes Welker, just to be very clear, was our first choice to be with the team,"

Why would you ever say something like that? It sounds like something the Red Sox ownership would say. "Just so you know Danny, you're our second choice." It reminds me of what Red Sox ownership said about Carl Crawford after Theo Epstein left town.

Beyond these things, we got some insight into what happened with Wes Welker. The way Kraft tells it, there was a significant disparity in how they evaluated Welker compared to how he and his representatives evaluated him. Welker hit the open market and the Patriots started looking at other options. From how it sounds, when Welker approached them with the offer from Denver they had already committed themselves to Danny Amendola.


"Wednesday, I personally got a call from Wes and he told me about this offer from Denver. He called Bill [Belichick] as well. We met and we chatted. We have a lot of people, we've committed a lot of money to this inside position you have Gronk [Rob Gronkowski], you have [Aaron] Hernandez, you have Danny [Amendola] now it was just unfortunately a little bit too late.

"If he had called one day earlier, he would have been with us. I'm very sad about it and I wish he would have been with our team."

The belief was that the Amendola signing was a quick reaction to Wes Welker signing with Denver. The way it's portrayed by Kraft here the Amendola deal was finished first. Kraft went on to say that he felt the offer the Patriots gave Welker was the better deal because it had more guaranteed money and speculated that the Broncos would cut him after one season as none of the second year money is guaranteed and the cap hits are $4 Million for the first year and jumps to $8 Million for the second year. He might be right, but it still feels like he's crying over spilled milk, something I believed was beneath an organization that prides itself on professionalism.

Patriots Free Agency Moves

I don't really understand what the Patriots are doing this offseason in free agency. I don't understand why we're dropping Wes Welker for Danny Amendola for approximately the same money. I don't understand why we're paying Kyle Arrington so much money. In an offseason where the Patriots figured to be big players in free agency because of their ample cap room in a buyer's market they seem to still be doing their shopping at the bargain rack picking up role players, older players that are past their prime, the poor man's Wes Welker and a few internal signings. I thought the Patriots would probably sign most of their effective free agents back, maybe add an impact player or two to try to get this team over the hump, but so far it seems like they're gutting large chunks of the team. Let's have a look at some of the more recent moves from the Patriots.

1) Brandon Lloyd was released by the Patriots. He was due a bonus and had a large cap hit coming if they didn't release him. His catches and yards were pretty solid, but he was light on YAC and TDs. He was a master of making easy catches look hard and hard catches look easy. He made some amazing fingertip catches while falling out of bounds with both feet hugging the out of bounds line and then he'd drop one that hit him right in the numbers with nobody around him. I like him a bit more than the Captain seems to. He wasn't 2007 Randy Moss, but he also wasn't Chad Ochocinco, Joey Galloway, Chad Jackson or any of the other wide receivers who have failed to get on the same page with Brady over the years. If he was getting an absurd amount of money I would be all for cutting him, but the money seemed pretty reasonable given his production. The Patriots tried to work out a new deal, but it didn't come together and he was released. Reportedly, he had some personality issues. We didn't hear much about Lloyd in the media, but maybe it was a bigger problem in the locker room than outsiders realize.

2) Former Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson has signed with the Patriots. It's a little hard to judge this deal because I'm having a hard time finding the exact terms of the deal. His wikipedia page says it's a 3-year deal, but the source they cite on ESPN says nothing about it. Wilson is getting older at 33 years of age. He's a 5-time Pro Bowler and 4-time All-pro and won both accolades as recently as 2011. Last season he was pushed into a reduced role with the Cardinals and came in for sub packages and was cut after the season. This seems like a "see what he's got left in the tank" move. Many people feel that the 6' 3" 230 lb Wilson is the hard-hitting, physical safety that Rodney Harrison suggested that the Patriots need to add on defense. Wilson's career trajectory is not unlike Rodney Harrison's when he came to New England. They both spent ample time with a relatively unsuccessful franchise, had one conference championship, some Pro-Bowl appearances and both have an impressive ability to generate sacks for a defensive back (Rodney finished his career in the 30 sack/30 Interception club, the only other member being Ray Lewis. Wilson is currently one of six members of the 25/25 club).Assuming that the Patriots didn't give him a fortune in guaranteed money I like this move.

3) The Patriots re-signed Aqib Talib to a 1-year deal. Again, there's a lack of details on the money/guaranteed money, which makes it hard to judge the deal. I'm glad to have Talib back in the fold for another season. He's young, talented and upon arriving the secondary seemed to solidify immediately. His numbers weren't tremendous, but you have to take into account that he was often covering the opponent's top receiver.

4) They signed ex-Falcon offensive tackle Will Svitek to a 1-year $1 Million deal. Even after doing some research I don't know much about Svitek. He started 10 games for the Falcons in 2011 and missed last season with an arm injury. He missed all of the 2008 season after he was released by the Chiefs. He's from the Czech Republic. Not much to say here, probably just a depth signing.

5) They signed LB Niko Koutouvides to a 1-year deal. Koutouvides is primarily a special teams player.

6) The Patriots signed ex-Bills WR Donald Jones to a 3-year $4.155 Million deal. He was alright with the Bills, but nothing special. His best games seemed to come against the Patriots, but given how bad the Patriots secondary was last year that's not surprising.  The deal has no guaranteed money up front whatsoever. He finished last season on injured reserve with an "undisclosed illness" and it came up that he had a minor kidney issue at the NFL Scouting Combine in 2010, so maybe that's causing more issues. It's a no risk deal to the Patriots, so I'm pretty ambivalent about the deal.

Patriots Sign CB Kyle Arrington to a 4-year Contract *UPDATED*

When the Patriots offseason started I wrote this about Kyle Arrington:

I would REALLY like for the Patriots to find a better corner than Kyle Arrington. It seems like every game he’s getting beat downfield or flagged for huge pass interference penalties. He had a decent season a few years ago where he made a lot of picks, but for the past two seasons he’s been a real problem.

So, of course, THIS would be the guy who manages to get a 4-year deal out of Bill Belichick. Arrington had one good year in the 2011 season where he managed 7 of his 8 career interceptions and managed to finish with the highest interception total for the year among CBs. Other than that season he's been mediocre at best. He seems to get burned for big plays and flagged for pass interference all the time and was a big part of the issues the secondary was having last season. When Talib came on board, McCourty moved to safety and Alfonzo Dennard saw more playing time Arrington often ended up the odd man out and the pass defense seemed to improve dramatically. I don't like this guy and I'm not happy that he's back no matter how low the price tag is.

UPDATE
The terms of Arrington's deal has come to light:


The Patriots and cornerback Kyle Arrington have an agreement in principle on a four-year contract, according to a league source. 

Reports have the deal with a total value of $16 million, with $8.5 million in guarantees and a $6 million signing bonus.

We can give Kyle Arrington this kind of money but we can't get Wes Welker for $12 Million for 2 years? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

I really want to drink the Kool Aid and fall back on the old "In Belichick We Trust", but I'm just so completely lost this offseason. I really do hope that Bill is still a genius and I'm just too stupid to comprehend what he's working on.

Danny Woodhead signs a 2-year deal with the Chargers

The Chargers are reporting that Danny Woodhead will be headed to San Diego on a 2-year deal. I guess I should have seen this coming with Leon Washington taking over for his kick return duties and Shane Vereen taking more of his touches later in the season, but what a bummer. Woodhead turned into a great story of the 2010 season. Undrafted coming out of Division II Chadron State (For those of you who aren't aware, Division II is below the Division I - FCS (Think Appalachian State, The Ivy League, etc.), which is below Division I - FBS) he was cut by the Jets and finally got his shot with the Patriots and really managed to maximize the opportunity. The fanbase really took well to the scrappy underdog and I'm sad to see him go.

Patriots Sign Kick Return Specialist Leon Washington

Bill seems to just love guys who can return kicks: Wes Welker, Danny Woodhead, Jeff Demps, Devin McCourty, etc. This time he went out and got a 2-time Pro Bowl, 3-time All-Pro Kick Return Specialist. Washington currently holds the NFL record for most kickoff returns for a touchdown with eight, a record he shares with Browns free agent Wide Reciever Josh Cribbs. With recently acquired wide receiver Percy Harvin being an impressive kick returner, Washington was an easy cut for the Seahawks. Washington adds some depth at Running Back in addition to his kick returning abilities, but his notoriety has come from his kick returning. Even when Washington isn't getting touchdowns from his kick returns he is a productive return man. Last season he was second in the NFL in average return yards with 29.0. It's a subtle move, but ultimately a nice improvement. Welker is gone, Woodhead is an unsigned free agent, Jeff Demps wants to split time between football and his track career (Demps won the silver medal in the 2012 Olympics) and McCourty is a full time safety. The figures of the contract aren't public right now, but it's reportedly a 1-year deal and he was halfway through a 4-year deal with Seattle where he was making $12.5 Million over the life of the contract.

Rumor: John Abraham to Patriots a Done Deal?

I was doing my usual morning browsing of Reddit when I came across this thread in the Patriots subreddit.

So this is my brothers account, I'm just a lurker, but this needs to be posted

My girlfriend just met John Abraham and he said he just signed with the pats. He showed her the email on his phone and everything. This is nowhere in the news right now.

pic because it happened: http://imgur.com/fSkPwoY

edit: This was at the airport in Florida heading up to Logan tonight.

Obviously, no high profile news source wants to touch this thing with a 10 foot pole until something more substantial is out there. Right now, ESPN is reporting that John Abraham is visiting the Patriots today, but nothing has been worked out in terms of a contract. I did a reverse image search on google of the image he posted, there was only one hit on it where somebody was referencing the Reddit thread as I am doing here. Whether this turns out to be true or not, I thought it was worth discussing as the Patriots must have some level of interest if they are bringing him up to Foxboro.

John Abraham is old. He's 34 and he'll be 35 in May. He was taken by the Jets with the 13th overall pick in the 2000 draft. The same draft where Tom Brady was taken 186 picks later at 199th overall. He's averaged ~10 sacks per season over his career and that's exactly the number of sacks he had last season with the Falcons. He supplemented that with 6 forced fumbles and 35 tackles. He's a 4-time Pro Bowler and 3-time All-Pro, his most recent Pro Bowl/All-Pro season was in 2010. He has only missed two games in the past six seasons and played all 16 games for the Falcons last season. Abraham was signed to a 3-year $16.75 Million contract last June, but was released a few days ago for salary cap reasons.

So, he's in the twilight of his career, but it seems like he still has something left in the tank and is still playing at a high level as a pass rusher. He played Right Defensive End last season with the Falcons in a base 4-3 Defense. Right now, Chandler Jones plays that position in the Patriots base 4-3 defense. I'm not entirely sure what the Patriots have in mind for Abraham as I doubt they would want to cut back on Jones' playing time and stunt the development of their top pick in last year's draft, but Abraham seems to good to be there just for depth purposes. Maybe they plan to move Abraham or Jones over to the left side, but then that leaves Rob Ninkovich as the odd man out. Maybe they would work Abraham in for certain packages? It'll be interesting to see how this story develops.

Well The Classless Organization Does More Classless Stuff

Other than cheating to win Superbowls, the second best thing the Patriots do is not re-sign or get rid of impact players that they really need. Their GM has odd ways of doing things. We have seen this in the past when the Patriots traded Richard Seymour, Asante Samuel, Adam Viniteiri, among others and it has really hurt them for a long time. Hell for how long have the Patriots been looking for a pass rusher, in fact, they still haven't found one, we have to wait and see what Chandler Jones turns into. The same can be said for their secondary, it seems like there is a forever, rotating secondary and they are often ranked near the bottom of the list, and maybe is Adam Viniteiri is still on the team Bill kicks the 48 yard field goal in the Superbowl and they win, instead of going for it. The most peculiar thing about Wes Welker is, that the guys above got mega contracts, Wes got a 2 year 12 million dollar deal. That's 6 a year. For someone who has been over 100 catches and 1000 yards with Brady for 5 years, 6 million for 2 years seems awfully reasonable. Also the thing Wes had that a lot of other WRs don't is the camaraderie he has with Brady, look in the past how hard this is to grip for other WRs, where Chad Ochocinco, Brandon Lloyd, Joey Galloway, Torry Holt, Doug Gabriel and others have failed, are we 100% positive that Danny Amendola will be able to pick it up without a pitch.

Now lets move on to Wes' replacement, Danny Amendola. The Pats counter Welker to the Broncos by giving Amendola an asinine 5 year, 31 million dollar deal. I just don't get the logic of paying someone who is unproven in the system, injury prone, and less productive more money for more years. I guess, you can say they did the same thing with Wes essentially with the trade to get him from the Dolphins, but they at least traded for him. Maybe Belichick really likes white guys from Texas Tech, but I just don't think Amendola is an upgrade at all. If you had to have 2 years from Welker or Amendola on the Patriots you 100% take Welker. I would be willing to bet anything that Amendola misses more games than Welker did in his patriot career, this year (3).

Many Patriot fanboys will bring up the Welker drops or definitely the drop in the Superbowl, which you can put 50% on Brady btw. But that shouldn't matter in this, Welker had 5 seasons in which he went over 100 catches and 1000 yards with the Patriots, had a great rapport with Brady, it seems awfully like someone in the Patriots organization had a vendetta against him. They fucked with him last year, they were blatantly phasing him out this year and then lowballed him on an already fair deal.

Also, there are already reports close to brady that say he's infuriated by this whoel thing. “He’s got so much pressure on his shoulders now — again,” the source close to Brady told Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports. “If the offense doesn’t perform at a high level, they’re screwed. This is unbelievable. It’s hard not to feel like they’ve sold him out.” So pissing off your star QB who took less money, is always a nice thing to do.

Maybe they just want an all injury prone offense with Gronk, Hernandez, Edleman and Amendola. Oh well.