Peter King's MMQB column... - New England Patriots Forums

***DarrylS*** · 03-02-2009, 08:03 AM

Not a huge King fan, but this is a pretty well done column..makes a ton of sense, particularly like the value chart that essentially shows the economic value of having the four picks in the first two rounds... as opposed to having a high first.

Bart Scott, Matt Cassel, Chris Canty revel in free agency madness - Peter King - SI.com

Quote:

The answer is they didn't get taken in the trade of Cassel and Mike Vrabel. Belichick did underplay his hand, but there were extenuating circumstances, some of which were intelligently reported over the weekend by Adam Schefter, Tom Curran, Chris Mortensen and Tim Graham.

Belichick probably did pull the trigger too soon on the deal of Cassel and Vrabel to Kansas City for the 34th pick in the draft. The reason he didn't take one of the three-way deals involving Denver and either the Lions or Bucs is very simple: He'd already agreed to a trade with his former right-hand man, Kansas City GM Scott Pioli, either late Friday or very early Saturday. And he had some pressure on him to make the deal early in free agency because the team was so snug up against the NFL's $127-million salary cap, and because he knew Cassel's value wasn't as high as it should have been because of his mega-salary and the fact he'd only played at a high level for one year.

You're right to ask why Belichick didn't wait. I bet he's asking himself that same question this morning. But think back to midweek last week. I had two contenders for Cassel tell me essentially the same thing: They wouldn't deal a first-round pick or a second- and something else for Cassel, and then pay him a multi-year contract with a bonus of maybe $20 million and $35 million in guaranteed money. Too risky, they thought. (I disagree but I'm not running a franchise.) Many teams felt Cassel might be a lesser player than he was in 2008 (eighth in passing yards, 10th in quarterback rating) upon leaving the security blanket of a Belichick-coached team and Josh McDaniels-coordinated offense.

Let's examine the financial commitment those four picks (23, 34, 47, 58) required last year, and compare it to the top of the draft:

Pick Guaranteed Money Avg. per year

23 $7.12m $1.97m

34 $3.07m $1.17m

47 $2.20m $904,000

58 $1.72m $857,000

Total $14.11m $4.94m

The eighth pick in the draft last year, defensive end Derrick Harvey, got $17.47 million guaranteed in a contract averaging $4.6 million a year

BradyManny · 03-02-2009, 08:09 AM

Everyone was quick to go a little overboard w the Cassel-trade hype, and Peter King was the chief of that. If fans here had more realistic expectations, then the trade would be viewed in a different light. All of a sudden, the likes of Casserly, King, Lombardi - all guys who acknowledged Cassel's high level of potential - are coming out and saying they have spoken to GMs and the feeling around the league was that the contract and the picks would be too steep. Why weren't they saying this two weeks ago?

The Chiefs deal was fair. By putting the tag on Cassel, it immediately raised what his impending contract would be worth, and made trading for him more difficult.

Basically, the mediots dropped the ball on this one big time, and now everyone is thinking we got jobbed when we didn't.

JSn · 03-02-2009, 08:16 AM

King saying that Bill didn't even aim for the #3 is revealing.

***DarrylS*** · 03-02-2009, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSn

King saying that Bill didn't even aim for the #3 is revealing.

Have contended all along that they did not want a top 5 pick, it would upset the salary structure of this team.. it is preposterous to pay the salaries that a top 5 would demand on an unproven player even though it is what the market demands.. it just does not seem to be the Patriot way.. someone pointed out on the draft board I believe, that the only way BB would want a top 5 pick if there was the second coming of Lawrence Taylor...

MrBigglesWorth · 03-02-2009, 08:29 AM

one of those 2nd rounders is going to flip to a first rounder next year. so I'm not too critical of it.

it all depends what they do with the picks.

Gon_Trevil · 03-02-2009, 08:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarrylS

Have contended all along that they did not want a top 5 pick, it would upset the salary structure of this team.. it is preposterous to pay the salaries that a top 5 would demand on an unproven player even though it is what the market demands.. it just does not seem to be the Patriot way.. someone pointed out on the draft board I believe, that the only way BB would want a top 5 pick if there was the second coming of Lawrence Taylor...

And who says you have to draft a player at that spot if you get the pick? Having the #5 means you can trade down to whatever spot you want and get additional picks while you're at it.

***DarrylS*** · 03-02-2009, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gon_Trevil

And who says you have to draft a player at that spot if you get the pick? Having the #5 means you can trade down to whatever spot you want and get additional picks while you're at it.

Good point, but there were those on the board who automatically thought a #3 = Adam Curry.. should have qualified my comments more clearly.

tuckeverlasting · 03-02-2009, 08:35 AM

obviously bb would rather see cassel go to kc ,who is farther away from being a playoff team. the talent in denver and recent signings like gaffney, dawkins etc. in denver is far greater than kc. what's best for the pats is cassel in kc.

JMarr · 03-02-2009, 08:36 AM

Last night I was listening to Jason Smith (a highly annoying Jets homer) on the stupid sports network and he was just creaming his pants over how the Pats got snookered, BB is losing his midas touch, what's wrong in Foxboro, Pioli's a god, yada yada yada, never mentioning ANYTHING about our cap situation or how the market for Cassel turned out to be less than anyone thought.

I think I'll just listen to Chris Price from now on. Unlike the numerous tools over at ESPN etc, his only real agenda seems to be doing his job well.

Anyway, Smith did throw out one unpleasant scenario: That the Chiefs
will now get a second rounder for Tyler Thigpen.

***BelichickFan*** · 03-02-2009, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMarr

Anyway, Smith did throw out one unpleasant scenario: That the Chiefs
will now get a second rounder for Tyler Thigpen.

I don't think they will but it's not Cassel vs. Thigpen, it's Cassel at his salary vs. Thigpen at his. The fact that Cassel came with a $15M bill has a big impact. We knew it would. Franchising him worked out great, we kept him from going to the Jets and got a premium pick for him.