dryheat44

No, I'd like a free agent who would upgrade that spot....although I'm OK to go with Gaffney again.

FAs I would re-sign if it were up to me? Heath Evans, Russ Hochstein, and Lonie Paxton.
If we can't extend Seymour for reasonable money, add Wright to that list.
If we don't get Sean Jones in free agency, then I would add Rodney Harrison and James Sanders if he'll come cheaply.

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Jimke

Franchise Cassel. This will take a large chunk out of the

Patriot's salary cap space and limit early signings. Re-sign

Evans, Hochstein, Gaffney, Paxton, and L. Sanders.

AzPatsFan

Not a single one.

Other than our own FAs, like Gaffeny or Wright. There will be a lot of the "usual suspects". Vet min FAs camp tryouts, as always. I don't count those as FAs singings, by your meaning.

BradyManny

Whoops, I totally misread this title. I thought it meant free agency or draft for some reason. I just think WR, SILB, S & CB will all be upgraded through one of those two means, whether its FA or draft. Other positions will just have to dealt with to address depth and long term options.

patchick

Hmm...out of 16 respondents, only 3 (including me) think we'll solve the fullback opening with a veteran signing? So do the other 13 of you think that...

A. The Pats will draft a fullback
B. The Pats will carry no fullback
or
C. Heath Evans is still under contract?

JSn

Heath will be re-signed.

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Box_O_Rocks

"Which Needs Will Be Met in Free Agency or By Trade?"

The key word for me is "met." While I think you meant "addressed," I stuck with the more literal response. FB is the only "need" likely to be "met" through acquisition of a veteran. I'll respond to each position individually for you.

OG - Re-signing Hochstein would be the first step in "addressing" the "need." That would give NE Russ, Logan, Stephen, Billy, Dan C., and Ryan as OGs under contract for 2009. As many have noted, Stephen Neal is over 30 and has lost a big chunk of time to injury in his career - OG is often volleyed about as a Day One selection to develop a top talent behind Neal. Neal is not the only OG who loses time to injury, further, the performance over the past two seasons by Hochstein and Yates as Neal's primary reserves has me more concerned with the drop-off when Neal goes out (if Mankins ever goes down there would be an ever larger drop-off). As I see it, the draft is the best avenue to "meet" the need for improved play at reserve OG. I have to wonder if Russ' increased playing time late in the season at FB and TE was also part of BB showcasing his old faithful for teams who might want an OG in free agency - rather than re-sign him, NE could be looking at Dan Connelly as his replacement and be looking at Day Two or UDFA OLs as a means of retooling at OG.

OT - The real "need" at OT isn't in the top 3-4 positions (no matter how many people squawk about Kaczur or Light as losers), it's in having enough quality at camp fodder to develop the team in Training Camp, and to have good enough players to step in if one of the top four OTs are lost to PUP or for the season. NE went the veteran way to build depth at OT last season, epic fail - though waivers was a bigger success than we could have hoped.

WR - The "need" isn't for a 2009 #3 WR, it's for a 2011 #1 WR. This is a draft challenge.

TE - Again the need isn't for an upgrade so much as it's for 2010 and beyond.

FB - Not an urgent need, the most effective way to meet the need is to re-sign Evans for his leadership, versatility, and Special Teams play.

S - NE can address this need fastest by re-signing Sanders, but the draft is a means of building some quality depth at the position.

CB - Wilhite, Richardson, and Wheatley all showed enough talent to encourage the more analytical fans. The more panicy fans will pin their hopes on NE scoring big in Free Agency or with a trade, rather unlikely. The anticipated Lewis Sanders re-signing brings in a veteran presence to backstop Hobbs and the kids, this may be actually be a year where the Pats draft needs and the pool of high end CBs actually work to allow NE to invest in a round one kid to team with Wheatley and Wilhite long term.

OLB - The kids on roster are better than the available Free Agents when cost and upside are factored in. Draft a Sintim or Cushing if you want a rookie who can take OLB reps.

ILB - This is a difficult area to predict, the draft looks stronger than Free Agency, but Caserio is more likely to have a pool of someone else's reserves in mind for signing as budget conscious Free Agents who could blossom in the Belichick system.

DE - Re-signing Wright would be the most likely way to address this "need" in Free Agency. The draft, weak as it is in 3-4 DL prospects, is still a better opportunity to "meet" the need.

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patchick

I agree. But re-signing homegrown FAs is explicitly part of the equation in this poll.

mgteich

I thought so. My understanding is that our free agents are indeed free agents. I expect the need for a fullback to be met in free agency through the re-signing of free agent Heath Evans.

I explicity used the words "met" in "free agency" or "trade" for a reason. The follow-up poll is to ask what positions will need to be met in the first 100 picks of the draft because they are key needs that be do NOT expect to have been met before the draft. And yes, I meant "met". All of us expect the safety situation to be "addressed" in free agency. The question is whether that will be sufficient for us not to still have a serious draft Top 100 need.

patsfan55

Safety-Sean Jones
ILB-Bart Scott
FB-Leonard Weaver
WR-Brandon Jones

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