kurtinelson

check
check
I'd like to see a restructure here. I'm not ready to let Vrabel go. Jarvis will definitley need to restructure to a more cap friendly number. If we don't/can't resign Seymor, losing the depth that Jarvis provides could be a mistake.

I'd rather stick with Vrabel and Draft the Stud OL of the future than sign Suggs to a big money contract.

I don't know enough about Jones, but S is definitely a position we need to upgrade in '09 now that Harrison may be done.

I agree spot on with the positions you are targeting in the draft, although I would include S in the discussion.
check, check, check and check

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HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

Now we're talking! Great plan!

Miguel

Like Alexander and Britt, Woods is a RFA.

Below are the RFA tender levels.
$1.01 million = original draft pick compensation (but a second-rounder if the player was a first-round pick)
$1.545 million = second-round pick
$2.198 million = first-round pick
$2.792 million = first- and third-round picks

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Box_O_Rocks

Oh brother. People on this board rant and rave all the time about wanting Reserve players who are as good as any starter at their position in the league, yet when you have one we see a crowd of people ranting about how much he's to receive for a back year in his current contract.
-- Is Jarvis "NFL" starting quality? What's that worth? What is the "cap" savings once you've cut Jarvis?
-- Is it vital for the overall strength of the NE defense to have at least one Reserve DL who can fill in at nearly the same level of performance as the Starters? What's that worth?
-- Is there one DL in this draft class who can play at the same level as Jarvis in NE's 3-4? Name(s) please. Where would he have to be drafted?

We've had our disagreements neighbor, but on this one you've flat taken leave of your senses.

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farn

Thanks Miguel. You truly are the "info-man" when it comes to Patscash. Though I'm comfortable talking most things Patriots, I find myself still lacking in the value dept... I'd have to guess that since Alexander didn't play this season, he shouldn't garner the $2-mil + tender. But BB might need to do so with Woods & Britt (though the OL should not be worth a 2nd rounder, so he could be lower). In Britt's case, they might even settle that without needing to tender.

What are your thoughts concerning the RFAs ?

bigdgp

The Decline of Mike Vrabel is significantly overstated on this board. I'll bet $50 toward the charity of the winner's choice that he's on the opening day roster.

DGP

Lampshade

And will play as many snaps as any other LB.

363839

Please someone correct me if I'm wrong but if we franchise Cassel, doesn't it mean that a team would have to give up 2 first rounders for his service?
If this is true, how likely is it that a team will give up that much?

Box_O_Rocks

A team who signs him to an offer sheet that NE doesn't match gives up two 1st round picks. If NE works out a trade with another team they could agree to lower compensation.

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mayoclinic

Boy, and people said my offseason dreams were overly optimistic!

I'm fine with franchising and trading Cassel - it's the best case scenario for getting value from him. I predict it will be to one of Chicago-TB-Detroit-Minnesota (unless Pioli really decides to go after Cassel) for pick #18-22 plus a conditional 2010 pick, but executing it will be tricky since we will have to trade him relatively quickly in order to have money to spend in FA.

I'm fine with Sean Jones as an alternative to Sanders, though I think it's more likely that we resign James and Lewis Sanders. I'm not sure how we'll have the $$ to resign all of our own FAs + Jones + a big FA + the draft. I'd also consider a mid-range CB alternative such as Jabari Greer.

The big FA signing is the biggest reach. As I see it, there are 3 options:

1. Suggs. Would move to OLB and would be great, no doubt. But Baltimore will probably franchise or resign him long term. He has already stated that he hopes Ray Lewis and Bart Scott will resign with Baltimore (for reasonable $$ so that he can get more implied), suggesting that he wants to stay with Baltimore. IF he leaves, which is a long shot, his price tag will surely be extreme. He sounds like a guy who wants his $$ and has no intention of taking a nickle less than he can get. There are a lot of teams moving to the 3-4 who have more cap space than we do. I think this is a pipe dream.

2. Karlos Dansby. Would provide the most versatility, able to play 3-4 OLB or SILB. Probably won't command as much money as Suggs, but will still be hard for us to afford if he goes the FA route. With Arizona making the SB and being $31M under the cap right now, and Dansby having stated that he hopes to stay there, I can't see him hitting FA, much as I hope it will happen. Same kind of demand as option 1. I think this is slightly more likely, but still a long shot.

3. Julius Peppers. Would move to OLB. I think this actually has the best chance of the 3 long shots, because Carolina is only $9M under the cap and also has Jordan Gross as a FA. They can't franchise both Gross and Peppers. Plus, Peppers has said he wants out, and wants to go to a 3-4 to "maximize his potential", which is practically saying that he would love to go to the Pats and play for BB. Of the 3, he's the one I can most see being willing to take a slight discount because he wants to play for a winning team with a 3-4 system and the best coach in football. But it's still unlikely.

I'd obviously love for any of these 3 scenarios to happen, but the combined likelihood of any of them happening is probably < 20% right now. But no one expected AD to sign with the Pats this time 2 years ago, so it's not impossible.

Cutting Vrabel and Green makes no sense unless we have replacements. Plus BB tends to hang on to his veterans. Restructuring them is more likely. (I'd also like to see Stephen Neal restructure). Green and Mike Wright are still reasonable quality backups, and if you cut Vrabel then we still need either another OLB or an SILB depending on the scenarios above and what we do with AD. Crable/Woods/Redd may be ready to step up, but I wouldn't count on it.

My personal favorites for #6:

- Sean Smith CB/S (alternatives: DJ Moore and Alphonso Smith, CB in the 1st round; Patrick Chung, Will Moore or Louis Delmas S in the 2nd round)
- Connor Barwin at DE/LB conversion (OLB or ILB; alternatives: Paul Kruger, Clint Sintim, Larry English, Clay Matthews)
- Trevor Canfield at OG (alternatives: Andy Levitre, Karl Urbik)
- Favorite day 2 picks: Devin Moore RB (Darren Sproles type, eventual Faulk replacement); Jarrett Dillard WR; Kevin Huber P; Sammie Lee Hill DT; Antonio Dixon DT; Donald Washington CB; Davon Drew TE)

If we get #18-22 for Cassel I'd also consider packaging it with #58 or 86 and moving up a bit if someone we love slips. My personal pipe dream is BJ Raji slipping to around 14-15.

I'm just fine with #7-10 in your scenario.

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