arrellbee

Maybe this will help you understand it so you don't have to post this again.

You are looking at the wrong free agents. Try this list:

Vrabel
Colvin
Harrison
Dillon (trade, not FA)
Josh Miller
Patten
Fauria
Hochstein
Izzo
Davis
Chatham
Hawkins
Andre Davis
Tim Dwight
and probably now Seau
Caldwell ?
and probably more names that I am not recalling

Does that make you feel any better ?

Add to that undrafted rookies:
Paxton
Neal
Gay
Wright ?
Childress ?

Add to that 3 veterans from before Belichick/Pioli that they HAVE kept:
Troy Brown
Tedy Bruschi
Kevin Faulk

Add to that 22 draft choices (2000 thru 2005) that are still on the roster from BB/SP draft picks at least 11 of whom are starters (ie HALF of the starters) PLUS whatever rookies contribute to the team from this years draft.

Now you want to critique the losses verus the gains again ? Geeesh.

patsfan13

Don't know about currently but over the past few years the Pats have had the highest # of players making over $1mil. With the cap you can't keep everyone for top dollar.

In addition to Branch we have Graham, Koppen, Samuel and TBC who need to be signed next year. Would you rather (for example, not that it would work out this way) sign theese 4 players and lose Branch or sign Branch and lose these 4 players. Which would leave us with a better team?

These are the types of decisions that have to be made.

__________________
"Some guys play in all-star games, some guys don't. I don't know who picks all those all-star teams. In all honesty, I don't know who picks the combine, for that matter," Belichick said. "How does (Miami-Ohio offensive lineman Brandon) Brooks not get invited to the combine? How did Vollmer not get invited to the combine? I don't know. We can't really worry about that. We just have to try to evaluate them the best we can."

AndyJohnson

I do understand.
There is something called a salary cap.