supafly

I don't necessarily think that it has to be Nnamdi Asomugah, but someone in the mold of a 6 million per year aav. Other candidates would be DRC, Gamble (probably a bit higher), K.Lewis, etc. We could also just simply address the safety situation and move McCourty back to CB if the others are not cutting it during the positional battles in training camp.

I think ultimately the issue is that we all worry too much, and that it's only the month of February. If we're going to worry, then at least wait until TC or the first 1/4 of the season when the problem of poor play exists. In the meantime there are numerous things that can happen, both good and bad. For all we know we could have a draft pick come in and play great...or even a no name low level signing...or Dowling is healthy which would do wonders.

I just want the secondary addressed with some draft picks and a couple moderate level FA signings. Then we can see what we have and go from there. As much as we all want to see DMcC stay at safety, adding a guy like Elam and/or Woodson etc (or even a lower cost vet at safety) will give Belichick the option of flexibility for both positions.

Luckily we have a smart coach, so I expect that he'll be wanting to see improvements.

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Patiently waiting to defend the next "bubble" player in this summer's training camp.....

nzahir

Im not saying completely ignore what he has done, but you can structure his contract in ways that hurt him if he does anything dumb off the field or gets injured. Talib is arguably the best available cb free agent, grimes could have been but we dont know he will come back from his injury, and he is going to be 30 i think by next season. Derek cox also is injury prone. Sean smith isnt as good in coverage and wants way too much and drc is very inconsistent. Keenan lewis is good, but makes no big plays and im not so sure if hes a true #1. Hernandez also had substance abuses, look at how thats gone. Im not saying give him a 5 year 50 mil contract. But a 3-4 year contract for 5-6.5 mil, depending on how much is guaranteed and how many years.

supafly

I think we'd all be just fine with the proposed pact you'd offer Talib (although Belichick may not want to go 3-4 yrs), but the truth of the matter is that Talib isn't going to be fine with it. You said so yourself that he's likely the "#1 CB option." Those aren't #1 kinds of figures.

I also think that you are severly underestimating what the flat cap crunch and 90 man roster is doing with freeing up more players. There will be available options that could provide better play, not to mention more consistent play with less injury and off the field issues. That isn't even bringing up the character concerns or being one failed test away from a full yr suspension either.

I don't see that much difference between a DRC, a Chris Gamble, a Nnamdi Asomugah, a Keenan Lewis etc---and we pretty much know that they'll be in that 5-6-7 1/2 million dollar range that you spoke of.

I think you are just looking at the FA list and forgetting about all of the other cap casualties and roster cuts. There is also the high rd draft picks, the prospect of adding a lower cost FA vet, and there is still the potential for Dowling to be healthy (even though you'll shrug it off, you still have to remember that he'll be competing for reps in training camp and has shown us decent play when healthy, even though that has been very limited).

Relax, and realize that we have Belichick on the team and that I highly doubt he is going to sit there and accept that his secondary sucks for a 3rd/4th yr in a row. It will be addressed, just probably not in the way that you want it to be. If we can keep Talib on a deal like you mentioned, all the better, but we're not expecting that to happen due to the extreme overhyping that he's been getting in the past 2-3 months from the media and fanbase.

__________________
Patiently waiting to defend the next "bubble" player in this summer's training camp.....

Get it shawtaay

I think people are overstating Talib's play relative to the rest of the market. Look at the guys available this offseason. All of those players are roughly similar to Talib in terms of what they can do on the field IMO.

Derek Cox - Better than Talib when he's on the field. True press corner.
Sean Smith - Better on a good day but worse on a bad day. More upside than Talib.
Keenan Lewis - Looked damn good this past year and was better for sure but you have to be wary of the sample size.
Brent Grimes - Was better before he injured his knee. Still better than Talib if he can recover.
Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie - A notch below Talib, good in coverage but not physical at the line, which is really what we need.
Nnamdi Asomugha (may be cut) - Better than Talib in man coverage. Worse in zone coverage.
Chris Gamble (will be cut) - Was better than Talib this past season. Sample size concerns.
Chris Houston - Consistently solid CB#1. Higher floor than Talib.
Cary Williams - Was better than Talib this past season.*

Is our defense really that much worse for the wear with any one of these guys instead of Talib? This is much deeper than say, the offseason we had the choice of Bodden or Dunta Robinson. Obviously the first few FA signings get crazy money. And Talib might be one of them. But once the teams looking to spend 10 mil/year on a CB have their fun, you'll have a market of cash-strapped teams in a cash-strapped offseason, and the price will go down. I'd rather get Cox for less, or Houston for half the cost.




*The only guy from the list above I'd be wary of is Williams. He is verrrry physical, and observationally the refs call our secondary tighter than most due to its reputation or for some other reason. I think his foul rate will go up if he comes to NE.

betterthanthealternative

This makes me think that I've probably been overrating his contribution, too. If he'd had this kind of year for another team, plus had off the field issues, and he was put in the list of FA corners, we'd all be very wary of him. Hmmm...

AndyJohnson

Well, thats kind of my point that no one is saying build those in.
On the other hand, will he take a contract that has restrictions? And how do you propose to hurt him if he does anything 'stupid off the field'? Besides the money, that also leaves you without the player, which is part of the risk factor i was talking about.
Finally, I think you are looking at every other players negaitves and ignoring Tailbs.

everlong

I think the Patriots are going to be content to let him see what his market value is and when it's not the franchise tag X 6 years with 25% up front in value he's going to end up with either a one year prove it deal or a multi-year deal comprised of the one year prove it plus incentives. I just can't see another team paying a guy who was a huge problem in Tampa and then showed flashed in NE but was often injured in that short stint big bucks. If they lose him playing that strategy I think they'll write it off as a much more acceptable risk than killing their cap on a big contract with him.

__________________
"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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AndyJohnson

I think its a fair risk to let him go out there are see how the entire market judges his value and risk. I would bet a ton of money that Aqib's opinion of his value vs his risk factors ranks higher than all 32 GM's.
I think he is going to be disappointed in the offers he gets.

jmt57

Patriots offseason primer: After Ravens loss, expect a frenzy | Boston.com | Greg Bedard

As it stands, the Patriots are planning to go with Devin McCourty and Tavon Wilson as the starting safeties and they have a strong belief in the duo. The team has confidence that Wilson progressed enough last season, and will take the expected leap to Year 2. However, it can’t be discounted that the team really has other plans at safety — league sources believe the Patriots will try for Ed Reed of the Ravens at about $5 million per season. Packers free agent Charles Woodson doesn’t seem to be a fit for what the Patriots want to do, but those who know him think he would play at value money. A return by free agent Patrick Chung would be shocking. The team liked what Talib brought last season at cornerback and would like him back, but character and injury concerns probably will limit how far they want to go, so the transition tag could make sense. The cornerback market will be unpredictable because there aren’t any elite players available, only good ones.

Someone could jump on Talib and there’s a strong belief he’ll take the highest offer, even if it’s not much more than the Patriots’. One more area of caution with Talib: he possesses a pied-piper charisma that endears himself to younger players on the team, similar to Moss. Do the Patriots really want that long-term? The team has no idea what’s going to happen with Alfonzo Dennard’s sentencing, but most believe he’ll be with the team for most, if not all of training camp. Kyle Arrington likely will go to market because he wants to be paid as a starting cornerback. Although the Patriots think he’s a solid player, it’s a stretch to think they’re going to want to pay him as a starter when they view him as a No. 3 with good special teams ability. Expect the Patriots to take one or two cornerbacks in the draft, including a possible first-round selection.

A couple of interesting comments from Greg Bedard this morning, regarding that portion of his column on Talib.


Twitter conversation

Reader: One question though; what did you mean by the "Pied Piper charisma" comment about Talib?

Bedard: He makes others want to follow him.

Reader: Thanks. That's what I thought but I find it hard to believe anyone would want to follow him anywhere with his reputation.

Bedard: You would be very surprised.

everlong

Agreed on all counts.

__________________
"When Peyton Manning was a kid he used to go to bed at night and dream about throwing the winning touchdown for the Saints in the Superbowl. And on Sunday he did."

There's only two conclusions for Patriots fans on rookies. They are either a bust or being fitted for their bust in Canton.


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