MrBigglesWorth

The guy outright asks Asante if he wants to be a Patriot. What does he expect him to say? "Ughhh...... not really"

That was a Jim Gray moment.

On talk radio he adds nothing to the conversation.

Chris

asante didnt sound too optimistic about being back..

MrBigglesWorth

I'd Franchise him with the main factor being the market for corners and you could invest those #1's in a different position or groom a cb.

Richter

Steve Burton has nothing in his head, so it's not too surprising. Empty Vest, indeed...

psychoPat

shmessy

I hear ya, PP. There is alot of overreaction amongst the fandom right now.

I love Asante. I think he's a top 20 CB. His situation (except for the 1 year left on the contract) seems eerily similar to the Branch situation. He's not a top 5, but now thinks he is.

The FO, again, will make the right decision.

I hope they franchise Graham. The top 5 TE's make significantly less than the top 5 CB's. Franchising is a short-term solution (you can't franchise someone ten years in a row, for instance). Graham makes sense to franchise (that is, unless he accepts the Pats offer) for one year to see if David Thomas can develop his promising blocking skills. If he can, then the Pats can cut Graham loose after 2007. If not, then they should pay Graham.

Asante may just be another situation like Branch or Givens where he may be a huger value in someone else's system than in the Patriots system. Not to say he isn' important to the Pats, of course he is, but they just won't sacrifice the farm for him like Danny Snyder might.

Perhaps franchise him then trade him to the Redskins for Archuletta (concerns re: 34 yr old Harrison after all the injuries) and a draft pick in 2008?

__________________
"They (Patriots) may be the greatest team ever" - Chris Mortenson, January 18, 2005 on espn.com

MrBigglesWorth

I don't think he's top 5. But if the pats have a ton of cash to spend and then they can't get anyone on the market due to not wanting to pay the market value then where are they gonna spend that money? Do yoou want them have 10 million left over? At the very minimum don't let him walk for nothing if he's not going to get replaced by an equal player. Buy him for one year.

He knows the system, rookies always get flagged for PI and Asante if finally getting respect.

Remix 6

Samuel is definatley a top 15 Corner

i wouldnt mind paying him top 10 money or top 7 actually

MrBigglesWorth

If the FO leaves 10 million in the vaults next year and the rookie cb is getting burned then what do you say? The new salary cap changes alot of things in the league.

Richter

People want to ask "is he a top 5 CB", and I think they're letting the lowered standards of the position fool them. In this league, there's Champ Bailey and everyone else right now. Asante ranks pretty damn high on the "everyone else" scale. Can you really name 4 other guys that are definitively better than Asante right now? Ken Lucas if he's healthy, maybe... Chris McCallister, but he's really inconsistent... Ty Law is still a very savvy player but his legs aren't there anymore, his great game against Manning notwithstanding. There are a whole bunch of guys that are in that neighborhood, but none of them were as productive as Samuel this year. Guys like Clements, Sheppard, Vasher, Asomugha... I'd rather pay Asante than take a chance that one of the guys from that tier of players signed to a large contract as a FA (which would be required) can step into this scheme and perform as well. It's either that or take a chance on a rookie if you don't sign Asante. I know that I'd rather keep Asante if the dollars are in the ballpark, AND draft a talented player to bolster the position.