My thoughts on the Cassel trade

[NoCal Patriot]

I am baffled by those who think The Patriots didn't get enough for Matt Cassel.He played very well and won 10 games last season but remember he had Randy Moss,Wes Welker, and Kevin Faulk to throw to in all of those games.I don't see those kind of weapons in Kansas City.Another point ,in the 2009 NFL early 2nd Round Picks may be more valuable than late 1st Round Picks since the talent level is about equal but the salary and signing bonus paid are peanuts.
As for Mike Vrabel,I can't say more great things about this Guy but it's clear that he is on the back nine and Bill Belichick wants to upgrade the speed on his defense.The Patriots are now in position to immediately address their most pressing needs.
Another thing yesterday pointed to is that it appears that Tom Brady will be healthy enough to play.Matt Cassel is very good but Tom Brady is great.Kevin O'Connell is the backup and We'll watch him develop.No one can sit here now and tell Us where He is in his development.We can all make our own assessment in August since We'll see much of Him.
I chose to trust Bill Belichick's Football judgement and simply laugh at Media Scrubs objections since Bill tends to be right and they tend to be laughable.
The Patriots now need help on the back Seven of The Defense,an Offensive Tackle,A Long Snapper, and a Wide Receiver.and another Quarterback and they have the ammunition to fill those holes with almost 20 million in Salary Cap room and a boatload of Draft picks.Bill knows hat He's doing ,,let's give Him a chance to show Us once again.

 

[WhiZa]

I think people are upset partly because of comparable trades in history, and partly because of the hype surrounding it all.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

We can say that this will be mainly a defensive draft and after so many yrs LB's will be the emphasis.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

That's true. Alot of people before the trade were dismissing the Derek Anderson comparisons but in reality up to this point we have no proof that Cassel is definately not Derek Anderson with a better offense around him and you have to think that alot of GM's might feel this way. Part of me was expecting some gullible team (*cough Detroit *cough*) to overpay but the biggest concern was getting that contract off our hands with something reasonable in return and that's what we did. People are upset over the Vrabel part too but to me it's pretty obvious he wasn't in our plans for 2009 and this way Pioli may feel like he 'owes' one to BB.

Now we have a boatload of cap space to work with and we won't have a defensive starter over 30 unless Rodney re-signs and starts, even then so I'm not sure how many snaps he will actually see as 'starter'. I would like to see us make a play for one impact OLB and use the rest of the space for the draft/marginal FA signings/Wilfork extension.

 

[ScottieC]

Who is this Cassel guy everyone is talking about?

 

[Rob0729]

Personally, I don't think the Pats got enough for Cassel, but I think the only way they would have gotten a mid to high first rounder or more without giving up Vrabel would have been to wait out the process and probably make the trade in April. The trade off would be Cassel would have restricted what the Pats did in free agency.

Vrabel may have been cut without this trade which would have made his inclusion a moot point and the 34th pick is not much less than a first rounder.

I think the Pats had to weigh getting more value in a trade later over getting cap room now. I think overall they felt a very high second and the ability to add a bunch of free agents to improve the team before they are taken off the market out weighed a 10-15 spot jump in the draft. I don't know if I disagree with the logic, but I am a bit disapointed.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Lets not forget that most of the wins he got came at the expense of a weak schedule. Not taking anything away from the guy, but it's not like he lit it up against most of the "playoff" caliber defenses he went against.

KC is taking a bigger risk here then we are. We know what we got and what we gave up. I'm sure BB slept just fine last night.

 

[JR4]

Also, who knows IF and WHEN other teams would have given more for Cassel?

How long should have Bill waited to see?
Another week while he watched some of his FA 's get signed by other
teams because he had little CAP space to do much?
The closer it got to the draft the less GMs would have been willing
to give up. Knowing PATs would be on the hook for almost 15M they would
have the upper hand in any negotiations.

I think BB used the tag with the idea he would dump Cassel as soon as
possible and would take best offer within a very small window of time.
He was not going to get stuck with almost 15M tied up in cap.

The Vrabel deal was a way to give Vrabs something and for him to be
in a situation that's good for him as his career is winding down. A mentor.
PAts get youger ... which they needed to do.

 

[LiveShot]

According to Mortenson Atlanta offered their 1st and 3rd in a three way deal with Pats and Broncos. Pats would get the picks, Denver would get Cassell and Atlanta would get the Denver quarterback. There had to be more as I can't see what Denver would have given up for Cassell. The big question for me is why was Vrabel involved at all? Pats owed him 3 mil bonus on Monday. Kraft hurting for $$$? A few unanswered questions.

 

[Mack Herron]

I am baffled by those who think The Patriots didn't get enough for Matt Cassel.

Really? Go look up Matt Schaub's production, compare it to Cassel's, and see what they got for him. You will be less bafffled.

 

[mcsully]

According to Mortenson Atlanta offered their 1st and 3rd in a three way deal with Pats and Broncos. Pats would get the picks, Denver would get Cassell and Atlanta would get the Denver quarterback. There had to be more as I can't see what Denver would have given up for Cassell. The big question for me is why was Vrabel involved at all? Pats owed him 3 mil bonus on Monday. Kraft hurting for $$$? A few unanswered questions.

Atlanta??? i think you mean Tampa Bay..

 

[stevedogc]

According to Mortenson Atlanta offered their 1st and 3rd in a three way deal with Pats and Broncos. Pats would get the picks, Denver would get Cassell and Atlanta would get the Denver quarterback. There had to be more as I can't see what Denver would have given up for Cassell. The big question for me is why was Vrabel involved at all? Pats owed him 3 mil bonus on Monday. Kraft hurting for $$$? A few unanswered questions.

It wasnt Atlanta, it was Tampa. Atlanta makes no sense, they have Matt Ryan.

 

[fair catch fryar]

According to Mortenson Atlanta offered their 1st and 3rd in a three way deal with Pats and Broncos. Pats would get the picks, Denver would get Cassell and Atlanta would get the Denver quarterback. There had to be more as I can't see what Denver would have given up for Cassell. The big question for me is why was Vrabel involved at all? Pats owed him 3 mil bonus on Monday. Kraft hurting for $$$? A few unanswered questions.

Atlanta? Why would they do that? I hope you meant TB.

 

[crowell33]

According to Mortenson Atlanta offered their 1st and 3rd in a three way deal with Pats and Broncos. Pats would get the picks, Denver would get Cassell and Atlanta would get the Denver quarterback. There had to be more as I can't see what Denver would have given up for Cassell. The big question for me is why was Vrabel involved at all? Pats owed him 3 mil bonus on Monday. Kraft hurting for $$$? A few unanswered questions.

I caught Mortenson last night ( approx. midnight ) on ESPN. He concluded that the Pats turned down the #12 pick in the first round in order to give Pioli Cassel at the #34.

 

[fair catch fryar]

I caught Mortenson last night ( approx. midnight ) on ESPN. He concluded that the Pats turned down the #12 pick in the first round in order to give Pioli Cassel at the #34.

I still have a hard time believing this one. If this trade was made, they'd be tarring and feathering McDaniels as we speak.

 

[PatsFaninAZ]

As this thing dragged on, if it had gone longer, the Patriots' leverage would have diminished more and more and more.

As I posted here ad naseum, the second that we franchised Cassel, the chance of keeping him was non-existent. At the end of the day, we would have traded him for a bag of balls if it came to it. We just didn't have money to do anything in free agency, and every one knew it. The timing here -- getting it done quickly -- was almost important. The only reason Denver got interested was because another deal was imminent. Teams would have loved to see this drag on, watching the Patriots suffer while players like Gaffney got away with the patriots have zero dollars to do anything in the crucial early stages of free agency. This had to happen, and it had to happen quickly, and keeping the player was simply not an option.

It was like found money all along. You have no reason ever to expect to get something from your backup quarterback when he turns free agent. The franchise tag and last year's unfortunate events gave us a shot to get something for nothing. As it turned out, we got plenty of something -- a great second round pick (the second best) and an opportunity to take another $4 million of the books. I think we can debate the second part of the equation -- was the front office right to really think that Vrabel was not worth $4 million on the cap. But it's an entirely different question. They thought it was worth something, and they got it.

Would I have liked a swap of 3d round picks, or something else? Yes. But I've predicted all along that a second round pick was the most we were ever going to get, and so I'm hardly disappointed now to find that it is an excellent second round pick, and we also got something else in terms of a team to take Vrabel (and not one in our division which I think was important). Plus, we didn't have to go through the hard process of cutting one of our best all time Patriots. I'm sad about Vrabel moving on, and I am skeptical whether the money freed up was more important than the player, but as I said that's a separate question.

 

[BelichickFan]

I caught Mortenson last night ( approx. midnight ) on ESPN. He concluded that the Pats turned down the #12 pick in the first round in order to give Pioli Cassel at the #34.

And Mort has Shanahan as the HC in KC. Shefter says Denver decided NOT to do that trade. And if you watch Mort's report, he says "I think" before saying we could have had #12.

 

[modman]

I think that the Varbel part of the trade can be understood as a move designed to at least have some control as to where he lands. It's pretty clear he was going to be a cap casualty and if released he would have been free to sign with anyone(can you spell JESTS). The guy has our entire defensive schemes in his head. Might as well send him to a team you don't normally compete against and at least make sure he doesn't go to your immediate competition.

 

[vyrago]

Lets not forget that most of the wins he got came at the expense of a weak schedule. Not taking anything away from the guy, but it's not like he lit it up against most of the "playoff" caliber defenses he went against.

And phenomenal YAK. He had the tools to play with, but you have to give him credit for using them correctly.

 

[JMarr]

I think people are upset partly because of comparable trades in history, and partly because of the hype surrounding it all.

Both points correct. A lot of the mewing about this trade is coming from people who spend less time trying to understand how BB operates, and more time on other teams' message boards and listening to those in the media whose sole motivation is inciting controversy and outrage.