ForThoseAboutToRock

Agree again. Being un-sentimental is one of BB's best strengths - I'd even argue it was this trait that let him have the confidence to sit Bledsoe to start a skinny 2nd year dude.

Back to what I've snipped and quoted from you above - the example I think of is Adalius Thomas. The guy was benched and later cut despite being one of the biggest FA acquisitions the Patriots will ever make. I get the impression that, for Adalius, it was personal. He couldn't hack it long term in the Patriots no-nonsense, no coddling environment. He took offense to the environment at times - to the detriment of his performance and the success of the team. Belichick didn't bend the rules for Adalius - now one of them is out of football and the other is atop the AFC East for the millionth time.

mayoclinic

BB has some flexibility, but it has a limit, and no one is above the team. Moss and Seymour were traded, Branch traded when things couldn't be worked out, Samuel allowed to leave in FA. Mankins sat out half a season when he got miffed, and Waters ended up sitting home this season. No one makes a big deal of it, they just say "we have to make do with the guys who are here" and go on. Guys like Brady and Wilfork have shown that they are willing to work within the system, and they are very cognizant that they are part of a team, no matter how great they are on an individual level. That's part of the value of having guys like Rob Gronkowski play on special teams. It carries some risk, but it sends a message about teamwork. And so far the other players have stepped up in his absence, which should only help the team when he returns.

AD not only wasn't willing to step up, he dragged the team down in 2009. That was an unforgivable sin.

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fester

Agreed --- and this cyclical nature should be a decent indicator of where the Patriots will be looking to draft in the next two cycles, or at least a consideration in the Best Available Player at a Position of Need and Value schema. Right now Interior O-line is a bit expensive (albeit working at good productive value) as the two guards are off their rookie contracts, with one, Mankins, whose contract is included in Transition tag calculations for his position. So as running backs get comparatively more expensive, proportional savings may be found on the O-line, especially if we think that there are soft budget constraints for the offensive, defensive and special teams coordinators.

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IllegalContact

the pats won 3 superbowls with a cheap offense and an expensive defense

they haven't won any with an expensive offense and a cheap(relatively speaking) defense.

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mayoclinic

Tackle will probably get more expensive, assuming the team extends Vollmer. This year it has been dirt cheap with the retirement of Matt Light. Solder, Vollmer and Cannon are all on rookie deals. But even if Vollmer is extended it won't be terrible compared to many teams.

Interior OL cost has been mainly driven by Mankins. Connolly's salary is reasonable, and the rest are fairly inexpensive: Wendell, McDonald, Thomas. Mankins has base salaries of $5.75M, $6.25M, $6.75M and $6.75M over the next 4 years. He'll turn 31 in March, and he's been banged up. So it's not inconceivable that he could not play out the remainder of his contract.

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"OVER Loading at ANY position can create a Fatal Advantage. THAT is what interests ME. Attacking With Concentrated Force. THAT is what WINS. In the words ~ more or less ~ of General Patton: 'I'm fighting a WAR, here. Let the B*****ES worry about their FLANKS.' " - Off the Grid

"The key to any successful organization is to anticipate things, not react to them." - Michael Lombardi

ForThoseAboutToRock

My impression is that BB has attempted to mitigate what should've been an enormous surge in the cost of the TE's by the early extensions that Gronk and Hernandez got this year. Even though it's more money than paying two rookies, it feels to me to be very economical - especially given how they can both back each other up and complement each other on the field at the same time.

The bump in the pay for those two guys isn't as high as it could've been, had they not planned well in advance for it.

ctpatsfan77

And then he acted like a **** when he knew there was nothing the Patriots could do about his contract in 2009. Of course, they cut him in 2010 and he hasn't played a down since.

I also find it quite amusing that the day they deactivated him was the day they went 59-0 on the Titans.

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ctpatsfan77

Correlation != causation.

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AzPatsFan

While technically the Patriot have not lost a "starter" to IR, the situation at CB would be much better with a big, talented CB like Ras-I Dowling available.

Similarly, the LB position and the forced play of Donta Hightower before he was ready, would have been much better with the availability of Dane Fletcher.

The Defensive line would have been much better without having to overplay Vince Wilfork if Fanene and Pryor were available.

Fencer

Guaranteed money affects the salary cap all season long.

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