Mortenson: Broncos and Buccaneers both offered 1st round picks

[Michigan Dave]

Well, since you put it that way, we most certainly got snookered. That is a pipe dream at best. Everyone just needs to wait and see how this all ultimately plays out. We won't really know who got the best of whom until after we see how Cassel and Vrabel perform for their new team and how well the Pats do in the rest of free agency and the draft. If BB ends up being on the short end then it only proves that he is human and can make a mistake here and there. For now, I'll let his track record speak for him until then.

We walked down the street and found a $20 bill. So we didn't find a $50. We still came out ahead. We have 4 first-day draft picks, a boatload of cap room, and it's what, day 3 of the NFL year? I'm willing to wait a bit to see how the roster shapes up given these facts.

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

In hindsight, any team could go to the media and say we offered the Pats ........

Detroit could go to the media right now and say that they offered both of this years 1st rounders plus next years as well. BB went with the offer that was on the table at that moment.


Move on. We don't have to like, we just have to believe in BB. That is why we are all here typing on our computers and not being the GM of an NFL team.

 

[fair catch fryar]

We walked down the street and found a $20 bill. So we didn't find a $50. We still came out ahead. We have 4 first-day draft picks, a boatload of cap room, and it's what, day 3 of the NFL year? I'm willing to wait a bit to see how the roster shapes up given these facts.

Me too. I'm still pretty damn excited for the 2009 season.:singing:

 

[matt1073]

If the Broncos want cassel so bad why dont they just trade Cutler to KC and switch 3rd round picks

 

[BestQB]

Who knows what happened? Everyone and their dog knew that Cassel was on the block. They probably kept fornicating the canine when Pioli stepped up with his offer which was the best on the table. When word got out they tried to jump back in and either the deal was done or BB didn't want to go back on his word to Pioli.

It doesn't make me feel better but I think that's what went down.

 

[Canada's #1 Pats Fan]

Hopefully (and I speculate) there will be a bit of 'scratch my back and I will scratch your back' between Pioli and BB.

 

[Boston Boxer]

ProFootballTalk.com - DID BUCS’ OFFER COME TOO LATE?



Considering the horrible source (Mortenson) take that as you will.

that is just complete and utter BS. I wonder why everything the Pats do is magnified to the 100000000 power by BSPN. What a joke this crap is. I highly doubt the Pats would turn down a 1st rd pick and rather take a 2nd round pick. That is just stupid. Why doesn't anyone call out BSPN in public for the bunch of hacks they are.

 

[kkpat]

I don't know if TB or Denver agreed to trade their 1st. If BB does not want to trade Cassell to Denver, I can understand. But why not TB Bucs?

I just don't get how can this be true. Is BB stupid? Under no circumstances, he will act against his own franchise. If he did, it would be so criminal.

The thing that is depressing me is not this but our inability to get a good CB and Safety in draft after draft and FA after FA. Our defense was so bad for the last several years which was exposed badly last year when Brady wasn't there, in Superbowl last year and in AFC game with Colts the year before and Playoff game before that year with Denver. But we are doing nothing other than losing one player after another but getting no good player. I hope we can change that instead of getting some loser CB or S no one wants.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I'm sorry, but I really don't buy this report. Bill wouldn't have turned this deal down, no way. And how does anyone not believe that after they franchised Cassel, they sent out 31 feelers (okay, maybe 30... F$%^ the Jets) to find out who else was interested? And how does anyone believe that with KC's offer in hand, Bill didn't send out 31 more feelers to see if there was a better offer out there? This is Bill we're talking about, not the Lions' front office. Bill knew what was out there and took the best one that was out there. If #12 was out there, he would have taken it. To suggest that Bill hurt the team to help out Pioli or anyone else suggests that they don't know Bill.

Mort can report what he wants, but this looks like crap, smells like crap, and I for one believe that it is crap.

But if you want to believe this, then let me tell you about a rumor I keep hearing about the Pats taping the Rams before the Super Bowl...

 

[jmt57]

It's pure speculation on Mortenson's part (and Graham's), but the way the story was written can lead one to believe it is fact rather than opinion. And as a result, it is surely now being repeated all around the internet as just that - fact - rather than opinion.

And people wonder why BB doesn't trust the media in general, or espn specifically . . .

 

[Deus Irae]

Tom Curran must be making it up too then, right? So, to be clear, it's not just ESPN making things up, it's NBC as well?

NBC Sports Blogs: Tom Curran Archives

 

[billdog3484]

eh its b.s. it makes no logical sense that BB would pass up two higher picks

maybe they had a handshake agreement and BB wasnt ready to renege on an old buddy

 

[mike_usagisan]

Yeah, but here's the key quote in Curran's post:

There. Was. No. Market. For. Cassel. Other. Than. KC.

or if you want the better analogy:

Think of it this way.

Cassel was like a nice home that fell into your lap from inheritance.

You already have a house (Tom Brady). You're not going to pay two mortgages.

You put it on the market and - wow, nobody's stepping up for this nice house.

The sign's on the lawn but there's only one taker. So you go through the sales process with that earnest taker. Everything's all set.

Suddenly, at the closing, another buyer busts into the lawyer's office saying he'll give you more - MUCH MORE - but he needs to work out financing and he's going to try and flip it or maybe he'll get a consortium to go in on the purchase.

What would you do? The Patriots sold the nice house they didn't need to the people who were serious buyers. And they threw in that reliable 2001 Camry (Vrabel) because they wanted it to go to a good home.

On Cassel, Pats Weren't Waiting Around - NBC Sports Blogs

 

[Deus Irae]

Yeah, but here's the key quote in Curran's post:



or if you want the better analogy:



On Cassel, Pats Weren't Waiting Around - NBC Sports Blogs

Or the best analogy, assuming that this wasn't a favor for a friend: Belichick acted like an ADHD kid who didn't get his ritalin fix.

 

[Shockt327]

If the Broncos want cassel so bad why dont they just trade Cutler to KC and switch 3rd round picks

Best post of the thread.

Guys, we would have never gotten a 1st and 3rd from Tampa. That compensation was based on Tampa's desire for Jay Cutler. Not Matt Cassel.

The reason why that trade fell apart is because McDaniels did not ever want to give up Cutler. Who would? it makes no sense. Denver considered the deal and declined. That's what happened. Not because Bill did Scott a favor or because Bill reacted to quickly.

Denver never wanted to get rid of Cutler. That's where the 1st and 3 was coming from. Clearly Tampa wasn't willing to offter that for Cassel straight up.

 

[mesoslo]

The bucs and the broncos waited too long, and got screwed over for it.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Great analogy by Curran.

"Suddenly, at the closing, another buyer busts into the lawyer's office saying he'll give you more - MUCH MORE - but he needs to work out financing and he's going to try and flip it or maybe he'll get a consortium to go in on the purchase.

What would you do? The Patriots sold the nice house they didn't need to the people who were serious buyers. And they threw in that reliable 2001 Camry (Vrabel) because they wanted it to go to a good home."

I think it's easier to understand now why the Pats went through with the deal for the early 2nd instead of waiting for the stars to align for a convoluted trade that would yield them a 1st rounder.

 

[BPF]

I can't believe everyone is so fickle. Detroit and Tampa Bay need to create the illusion that they are trying to improve their QB position and their overall team. They have to show their fans that hey we are trying extremely hard to improve our team. So they call gullible Mort and the new Tom Curran and get it out there that hey we tried to make this deal happen but they were never serious. It's pretty easy to get a deal done if you really want to in the NFL and I'm quite sure the Pats wouldn't turn down a better offer to improve the team for any reason. Both Tampa and Detroit have given a have hearted effort to improve their teams so far this offseason but have been unsuccessful. There have been rumors that Tampa wanted Haynesworth and this guy and that guy and other rumors with Detroit but they can't seem to close deals. I doubt they were seriously negotiating to get a deal done because if they had offered a 1st and a 3rd or a 1st to the Pats in a 3-way deal the Pats would have not turned them down. It's nonsense to think that the Pats didn't want a high pick for salary purposes because if that was the case they would have taken the pick they received and traded down with another team.

I would trust the professionalism of the Pats front office and BB vs the new regimes in each Tampa and Detroit period.

 

[mayoclinic]

This all sounds very fishy to me.

First, we traded Vrabel to KC on Friday, almost 24 hours before the Cassel trade was announced. Everyone and their brother new that there was at least the strong possibility that it was part of a bigger deal involving Cassel. Denver, Detroit, TB and everyone else had 24 hours to show interest in Cassel, but there was absolutely no rumor of any interest until after the Cassel trade had been announced. Then, all of a sudden, there was a flurry of rumors of much better offers. Sounds fishy.

Second, Curran and others reported that KC was the only suitor for Cassel, and then changed to the Pats having turned down multiple offers involving 1st round picks. Not consistent.

Third, we're talking Bill Belichick here. He wouldn't be afraid to trade Cassel to Denver or anywhere else (including the Jets) as long as he felt he was getting adequate value. As noted, he traded Bledsoe to Buffalo. It's just not the way the man operates. And I don't buy the "not willing to renege on a verbal agreement theory" either - teams back out of deals all the time, and until the paperwork is filed it's not final.

I also don't buy the "12th pick would be too expensive theory". Mayo's contract at #10 was not prohibitively expensive. #12 is right at what many people consider the optimal "sweet spot" of the draft in terms of talent vs. cost. It's also a very tradable pick. No way you turn down #12 for #34, no matter what the issues.

This all smells like a media-generated red herring.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Exactly, it's hard to value the half hearted, last ditch efforts of Tampa or Detroit as better than the solid early offer of KC. Bird in the hand is better than two in the bush, or something like that. I can see why BB pulled the trigger.