Lock up the Ghost. Now. - Page 2 - New England Patriots Forums

***DarrylS*** · 01-10-2010, 08:32 AM

After watching the woeful kicking by the Bengals yesterday.... a reliable way above average kicker is a tremendous asset.

***MoLewisrocks*** · 01-10-2010, 08:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarrylS

After watching the woeful kicking by the Bengals yesterday.... a reliable way above average kicker is a tremendous asset.

The Bengals franchised him this season because apparently he'd been that guy for them for 6 years. Even this season, he was fine until last night... Of course he hadn't had many pressure situations in which to be tested but that's not his fault, they are after all the Bungles. Marvin will scapegoat him, and it's not like he doesn't deserve criticism...But the HC and the QB and the #1WR are at the core of the problem. The excuses for Carson have already started. Having thumb surgery in the off season...on his non throwing hand...Lewis was supposed to build a defense but after years of failing he lost what was always at least a dangerous offense...Ocho whats-his-name is a funny guy with a good heart but he's not a team leader and he is a consistent distraction who despite years of pleas continues to write checks he and his team can't cash... At their core they have always lacked discipline in part because they were too busy balancing egos. Last night Chad was already complaining they didn't take enough shots, even though they were only there because they ran and played good defense for most of the season...

***convertedpatsfan*** · 01-10-2010, 09:00 AM

In the pre-season, I would have agreed. But lately kickers seem a lot like middle relievers in baseball; they're volatile. They can go from effective to useless pretty quickly, and sometimes back to effective for reasons no one seems to understand.

Look at Dallas this season. They cut a former Pro Bowler who should have been hitting his prime in Folk. He just lost it for whatever reason. Then Washington cuts Suisham because he's awful. So Dallas hires Suisham, who proceeds to make a ton of kicks for them, including some really nice ones during their playoff win yesterday. I bet Redskins fans can't believe this is the same guy that missed a short field goal that would have beat the previously-undefeated Saints.

I still think Ghost is worthy of the extension though. But I wouldn't make it a huge deal near the franchise number for kickers, even with an uncapped year.

***DarrylS*** · 01-10-2010, 09:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoLewisrocks

The Bengals franchised him this season because apparently he'd been that guy for them for 6 years. Even this season, he was fine until last night... Of course he hadn't had many pressure situations in which to be tested but that's not his fault, they are after all the Bungles. Marvin will scapegoat him, and it's not like he doesn't deserve criticism...But the HC and the QB and the #1WR are at the core of the problem. The excuses for Carson have already started. Having thumb surgery in the off season...on his non throwing hand...Lewis was supposed to build a defense but after years of failing he lost what was always at least a dangerous offense...Ocho whats-his-name is a funny guy with a good heart but he's not a team leader and he is a consistent distraction who despite years of pleas continues to write checks he and his team can't cash... At their core they have always lacked discipline in part because they were too busy balancing egos. Last night Chad was already complaining they didn't take enough shots, even though they were only there because they ran and played good defense for most of the season...

Not blaming the kicker, just indicating the impact of a really good kicker in a championship game.. '

Have never been a Carson Palmer fan, Ocho Cinco is injured... not important.

***ctpatsfan77*** · 01-10-2010, 09:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by convertedpatsfan

Look at Dallas this season. They cut a former Pro Bowler who should have been hitting his prime in Folk. He just lost it for whatever reason. Then Washington cuts Suisham because he's awful. So Dallas hires Suisham, who proceeds to make a ton of kicks for them, including some really nice ones during their playoff win yesterday. I bet Redskins fans can't believe this is the same guy that missed a short field goal that would have beat the previously-undefeated Saints.

Folk had hip(?) surgery this offseason, which I think was a large part of the problem. I don't know why the Cowboys just cut him rather than putting him on IR, though.

***convertedpatsfan*** · 01-10-2010, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctpatsfan77

Folk had hip(?) surgery this offseason, which I think was a large part of the problem. I don't know why the Cowboys just cut him rather than putting him on IR, though.

That's a good point. Though I can't believe they took Suisham, who was cut from the worst team in their division for missing kicks too, and he starts making everything.

Folk is still pretty young, so he should get another shot.

BradyMossWelker · 01-10-2010, 09:45 AM

I love ghost, he never misses -35 yards kicks and he is one of the best kickers in the nfl

Jimke · 01-10-2010, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgteich

I'm sure that the patriots have talked with Gost's folks and will continue to do so. There is no pressure on either party to make a deal. Gost will likely getting a scond level tender and therefore $2.4M for his services in 2010. No one is going to give a 1st for a kicker. If the patriots are worried about this, they can give him a high tender of $3M and require a 1st and a 3rd. Let's be serious! We would gladly take a 1st for a kicker.

So, we will have Gost at least through the 2010 season.

There is no rush to make a deal. However, in a no-cap year, Gost and the patriots might indeed be able to come to terms.

And, just BTW, I agree that a kicker is very important and would be willing to "overpay" Gost at $3M a year for 5 years, or even a bit more.

The figure for tendering Gostkowski is not way off from what he would
earn in a contract extension. Extend him now with a modest signing
bonus. The bonus is what kept them from re-signing Vinatieri.

***MoLewisrocks*** · 01-10-2010, 09:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jimke

The figure for tendering Gostkowski is not way off from what he would
earn in a contract extension. Extend him now with a modest signing
bonus. The bonus is what kept them from re-signing Vinatieri.

Defind modest. Most of these guys want 2 years of salary as bonus money or half of their deal guaranteed. Bonus or guaranteed money is what kept them from extending Adam because they felt he was getting to the point he's been at for the last two years as a Colt. They trusted him for 2006, just not very far beyond. They did OK on the tradeoff. Maybe Bill didn't trust Gostkowski enough in 42, but he might well have been in the same situation with Adam at that juncture.

Jimke · 01-10-2010, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MoLewisrocks

Defind modest. Most of these guys want 2 years of salary as bonus money or half of their deal guaranteed. Bonus or guaranteed money is what kept them from extending Adam because they felt he was getting to the point he's been at for the last two years as a Colt. They trusted him for 2006, just not very far beyond. They did OK on the tradeoff. Maybe Bill didn't trust Gostkowski enough in 42, but he might well have been in the same situation with Adam at that juncture.

Didn't Adam get 3 million dollars? 3-5 million for 5 years.