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I don't know if this has already been posted becaue I don't feel like reading through this whole thread right now but when people are making arguments against the Pats they keep saying they "lost" McGuinest. They didn't lose him. That implies that they really wanted to keep him and made a big effort to do so but for one reason or another they weren't able to. This isn't the case. The Pats cut him. They made absolutely no effort to keep him. Willie went on record saying he was somewhat confused because the Pats did not contact him at all. The Pats would not have shoved him out the door if they were at all worried about who would play his position or the hole he would leave on the team.
Well maybe you should have read through it because it has been beaten to death.
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I don't know if this has already been posted becaue I don't feel like reading through this whole thread right now but when people are making arguments against the Pats they keep saying they "lost" McGuinest. They didn't lose him. That implies that they really wanted to keep him and made a big effort to do so but for one reason or another they weren't able to. This isn't the case. The Pats cut him. They made absolutely no effort to keep him. Willie went on record saying he was somewhat confused because the Pats did not contact him at all. The Pats would not have shoved him out the door if they were at all worried about who would play his position or the hole he would leave on the team.
good point. I'm one of the people on here that really does not think that his loss will hurt this team that much. Yeah he had 4.5 sacks against the jags, but thats a once in a lifetime thing. He had to go sometime. Unless im mistaken, he is 35 right now. I love willie and some of my best pats memories involve willie but it was his time to go. I loved Chris Slade too, but that doesn't mean i want to see him running around the the field gettin his ass kicked in his 40s.
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But first, have you been under a rock this off-season? Do you not know who the Pats have lost? A huge peice of that front 7 is gone, your most clutch playoff performer at WR is gone and your big time kicker is gone. Those 3 were all HUGE peices of your sucsess over the years. Who did you add in the off-season? And don't tell me Chad Jackson and Laurence Maroney because they both will be very good players, but won't do a whole lot this year. You guys are just so hard headed, you don't care to look at how huge those 3 losses are. You also lost one of your staples on the Oline in Tom Ashworth as well. Oh and I almost forgot, Dieon Branch is holding out, let me know how that turns out.
Lol, you act like you know anything about the Patriots. You just seem to repeat what the analysts and haters say. You dont know anything about the Offensive line and I dont know how you could call Ashworth the staple of our offensive line. Matt Light is one of the best lineman we have, two rookies started, Hochstein and Koppen start too. So there you have it five good lineman. Willie is a great loss but when Rosevelt Colvin is the backup I wouldnt breakdown and act like the worlds over. Our D-Line is younger and far far better than yours, your linebacking core is not even close to better than Bruschi, Vrabel and Colvin, give me a freaking break. We have one hole to fill which we problably will fit Beisel in and I'm sure he wont be a faliure playing with some of the elite linebackers in the NFL. You act like someone who studies the Patriots week in and week out and act like you know all about the Pats, yet you spell Deion Branch's name in a ridiculous fashion.
There were 3 or 4 other games that we lost that we very easily could have won. For example, our first game against you which I already explained.
Then why didnt they if it was so easy? Oh yeah that reminds me of the 2003 world champions DVD when the Fins RB coach said, "cmon this gonna be easy" and Ricky Williams got stuffed.
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They'll find out Randy can't run consistently anymore. He'll drive [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick crazy. This is just my personal opinion from what I saw: He's losing his legs. He's becoming an old man fast.
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Aqua makes some good points. You'd have to be naive to think our losses won't hurt us. But this is 2006, and not 2005, and there are several big differences.
1) We have a way easier schedule. I believe the 7th easiest, as opposed to the 3rd toughest last year, and 7th toughest the year before. Both seasons we had more injuries than anyone, and we won 1 championship, not bad.
2) There is no guaranties, but we should be getting some of our key players back from injuries, and hopefully we don't lead the league in injuries.
3) Brady should only be better this year, he will have a better running game, no matter what (healthier line also). If Dillon can't do it, at least we have a better alternative that Heath Evans in Maroney.
4) Vrabel back to OLB, he's a better weapon from OLB, and a full season of Bruschi, and an improved Beisel, behind a good young front 3.
5) Better special teams (coverage wise)-With the additions of Mel Mitchell and Tebucky Jones, the special teams should be better in coverage.
I agree the losses of Givens & Vinitiari are big, but all indications are that Caldwell & Jackson are clicking with Brady, so the loss of Givens may not hurt too much. Vinitiari may be the most clutch kicker in the history of football, but remember, he was a rookie at one time, and now we have Gostkowski. We may suffer in the early part, but also all indications are that Gostkowski has a good accurate leg. We shall see.
I think the Dolphins will be very improved, and give the Pats a big challenge, but I think it may be a year or two before they win the division.
Aqua makes some good points. You'd have to be naive to think our losses won't hurt us. But this is 2006, and not 2005, and there are several big differences.
1) We have a way easier schedule. I believe the 7th easiest, as opposed to the 3rd toughest last year, and 7th toughest the year before. Both seasons we had more injuries than anyone, and we won 1 championship, not bad.
2) There is no guaranties, but we should be getting some of our key players back from injuries, and hopefully we don't lead the league in injuries.
3) Brady should only be better this year, he will have a better running game, no matter what (healthier line also). If Dillon can't do it, at least we have a better alternative that Heath Evans in Maroney.
4) Vrabel back to OLB, he's a better weapon from OLB, and a full season of Bruschi, and an improved Beisel, behind a good young front 3.
5) Better special teams (coverage wise)-With the additions of Mel Mitchell and Tebucky Jones, the special teams should be better in coverage.
I agree the losses of Givens & Vinitiari are big, but all indications are that Caldwell & Jackson are clicking with Brady, so the loss of Givens may not hurt too much. Vinitiari may be the most clutch kicker in the history of football, but remember, he was a rookie at one time, and now we have Gostkowski. We may suffer in the early part, but also all indications are that Gostkowski has a good accurate leg. We shall see.
I think the Dolphins will be very improved, and give the Pats a big challenge, but I think it may be a year or two before they win the division.
The biggest things are the improved running game and special teams. That's what really killed us in Denver. We kept getting backed up on our goalline, unable to do a thing on the ground with Corey hurt, opening up Brady to the blitz behind an injury-rattled OL. With a healthy Dillon and Maroney in the backfield, it brings us back to 2004 where we can pound it away with the run, opening up the play action while tiring the opposing defense. The loss of Givens is offset by the revived running game, Chad Jackson, and a progressing Watson.
Even if you wanted to spin it that way, I could say we (re)gained TWO STAPLES in Light and Koppen. Add in Neal, Gorin, Kaczur, and Mankins, and Ashworth should barely be considered a loss.
"
What happens if Light & Koppen don't come back, or play in less than half the games? And what happens if a Neal &/or a Gorin go down?
IS the OL still a strength??
I think fans that assume that Light & Koppen step right back in without missing a beat might be in for a rude surprise.
We did just get two offensive lineman in the draft, and usually most of them turn out to be good, so I have nothing to worry about the O-line and its most likely that Light should be good to return and maybe Koppen as well.
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They'll find out Randy can't run consistently anymore. He'll drive [Tom] Brady and [Bill] Belichick crazy. This is just my personal opinion from what I saw: He's losing his legs. He's becoming an old man fast.
-Art Shell To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
What happens if Light & Koppen don't come back, or play in less than half the games? And what happens if a Neal &/or a Gorin go down?
IS the OL still a strength??
I think fans that assume that Light & Koppen step right back in without missing a beat might be in for a rude surprise.
I think Light is almost a guarantee to come back, he was at all the minicamps. Koppen might be a different story, but Hochstein filled in pretty well at center. We also drafted 2 linemen, and Wesley Britt is a talented backup as well. I think the line is indeed a strength. Kaczur and Mankins going into their second seasons, with Mankins getting rave reviews and Kaczur getting good reviews. If Light & Koppen can't play well, and Neal & Gorin get hurt, then I don't think there is a team in the NFL who has the depth to cover that, let alone the Pats.
Aqua makes some good points. You'd have to be naive to think our losses won't hurt us. But this is 2006, and not 2005, and there are several big differences.
1) We have a way easier schedule. I believe the 7th easiest, as opposed to the 3rd toughest last year, and 7th toughest the year before. Both seasons we had more injuries than anyone, and we won 1 championship, not bad.
2) There is no guaranties, but we should be getting some of our key players back from injuries, and hopefully we don't lead the league in injuries.
3) Brady should only be better this year, he will have a better running game, no matter what (healthier line also). If Dillon can't do it, at least we have a better alternative that Heath Evans in Maroney.
4) Vrabel back to OLB, he's a better weapon from OLB, and a full season of Bruschi, and an improved Beisel, behind a good young front 3.
5) Better special teams (coverage wise)-With the additions of Mel Mitchell and Tebucky Jones, the special teams should be better in coverage.
I agree the losses of Givens & Vinitiari are big, but all indications are that Caldwell & Jackson are clicking with Brady, so the loss of Givens may not hurt too much. Vinitiari may be the most clutch kicker in the history of football, but remember, he was a rookie at one time, and now we have Gostkowski. We may suffer in the early part, but also all indications are that Gostkowski has a good accurate leg. We shall see.
I think the Dolphins will be very improved, and give the Pats a big challenge, but I think it may be a year or two before they win the division.
Thanks Scott, good post. But the part I underlined I'm going to have to disagree with you.
I don't really understand it when people say the Fins are a year or 2 away. This is the team that will be competitive right away. We have the places in peice and waiting a couple of years just makes us older. I don't know, I guess I just don't see how you can say they are not going to contend THIS YEAR. Can you explain why you think that?
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