Am I wrong in being fearful of a Peppers signing?

[skri65]

I just can't wrap my mind around how we could ever re-sign our key players (wilfork, mankins, etc) if we sign Peppers to a deal that will inevitably be costly.

Am I missing something? If we resign Bodden (if all goes well), re-sign wilfork, re-sign mankins, gost, big sey, and then we can consider light, neal,and others. How in the world could we afford Peppers?

I want to be excited about the possible (I intentionally omit "likely") signing, but I am in fact scared by it. Can you convince me otherwise?

 

[eom]

why is there so much peppers in here?

how much do we pay him?

 

[upstater1]

All those players you mentioned are under contract going into an uncapped year.

They don't HAVE to resign anyone now.

They can resign many of those players using creative methods in an uncapped year, such as super high 1 year salaries.

They can also save money by having players such as Bruschi, Neal, leave and/or retire. Then the salary cap might go up again.

Lots of time between now and next year to create extra space for Mankins and Wilfork. Gost isn't going to break the bank.

In other words, I'm not concerned.

 

[Patriot_in_NY]

Agrree'd, I think we are in a position of strength going into an uncapped year.

 

[diggemsmack]

don't be fearful just breathe and remember in BB WE TRUST.

 

[Feep50]

YES!! Be very, very afraid! Pepper's is the devil!

 

[Grizzafted]

fortunately for you, julius peppers isn't signing with the team.

jason taylor is, and we're going to get a larry english/conor barwin/clint sintim to be his understudy.

we have tons of great draft picks, there's no need to panic and sign a conversion project who will want more money than he deserves. won't happen.

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

BB will NEVER break the bank on a player that could possibly hurt the teams future. I also am a little nervous about a peppers deal, but not because of the money. Bill will always look to the future, and never risk putting the team in salary cap hell.

 

[StyLeZ X]

this draft for us is going to be so ******* sexy!:singing:

 

[brdmaverick]

Is a Peppers signing 'likely' at this point? Or are we still at the point of rumor?

 

[LoganMankinsPancakeBlocks]

I think so because how can we afford him under the cap for this year, let alone in the future when we have to pay all our other guys?

Jason Taylor on a 1 or 2 year deal and drafting an OLB pass rushing prospect in the first 2 rounds seems like a much more likely scenario to me and they might have to get a little creative to afford Taylor as well even though he'll be far cheaper than Peppers.

 

[BlitzFritz]

two points
1. you are forgetting that next year will probably be an uncapped year, (or the cap will go up.) more money to spend

2. why are you assuming BB would spring for peppers when he is UNPROVE
N in the 3-4? i am skeptical, and think the JasonTaylor one year rental is more his style while he grooms some youth

-- FRITZ

 

[nashvillepatsfan]

two points
1. you are forgetting that next year will probably be an uncapped year
-- FRITZ

This is something that bothers me. Too many people keep saying next year is uncapped. There is still a chance that that will change. Assuming we have a crap load to spend next year is not smart. As you said, it "probably" will be.

 

[satz]

pepper will not be avaiabable for a draft pick unless we can trade vince wilfork to play dt to carolina . vince 1 yr left and have a less cap hit so carolina might take them to bolster their DT position and then i think their is a realistical change of getting peppers.

when is the last blockbuster deal happen like that ... so the probability is less but if i am corolina and loosing peppers to NE via a trade and NE wants him bad will ask for vince wilfork .vince will anchor the carolina DL for 8 yrs solid ,he is young and carolina can get him for a 50 million deal extended to do it.

 

[ausbacker]

pepper will not be avaiabable for a draft pick unless we can trade vince wilfork to play dt to carolina . vince 1 yr left and have a less cap hit so carolina might take them to bolster their DT position and then i think their is a realistical change of getting peppers.

when is the last blockbuster deal happen like that ... so the probability is less but if i am corolina and loosing peppers to NE via a trade and NE wants him bad will ask for vince wilfork .vince will anchor the carolina DL for 8 yrs solid ,he is young and carolina can get him for a 50 million deal extended to do it.

Pie in the sky theory. Why would we trade away arguably our most important player on defense and replace him with someone that might not be able to fill a need?

I'd love to see Peppers in a Pats uniform, just for the sheer intimidation factor our defense would bring on back of a formidable offense.. but not at the price of sending Wilfork to Carolina.

 

[Number 2]

I think having Peppers would be a nice addition to the team, however it

would cost alot to get him. I think with the draft and the depth it provides

we can get some great players. With all the free agency signs to the

defensive backs it appears the pass rush will be targeted with the draft.

With the option of the uncapped year and the wealth of the team I don't

think retaining some of our star players will be hard. The owners of all teams

are going to push for the uncapped year so everyone can make huge signings

for thier teams while they can. Which potenitally can create some quite a

dominate teams in the near future.

 

[upstater1]

This is something that bothers me. Too many people keep saying next year is uncapped. There is still a chance that that will change. Assuming we have a crap load to spend next year is not smart. As you said, it "probably" will be.

Why would players give up an uncapped year?

 

[Ring 6]

My general rule of thumb has always been that player that everyone considers the 'must have' the 'beast' the 'guy we desperately need' never turns out to be that guy.
Personally I think the most overrated players in the NFL are guys who only rush the passer and dont even pretend to play the run (Freeney is the classic example). I think this is partly because fans love sacks, partly because the media does and at least equally because sacks are about the only stat that a defensive player can point to and have it affect his paycheck, so it gets overhyped all around.
I want my defensive player to play 1000 defensive plays effectively. 400 or so of those are running plays, unless I cant stop the run and then 600 are. I want my defensive players, especially the ones I shell out the most money for to be effective, and not a liability on 1000 plays rather than have them give me 15 exciting ones. This is why comparison of say Richard Seymour and Dwight Freeney aqre ridiculous. They arent even in the same area code. Seymour plays every down, and does everything a DE is supposed to do very well. Freeney rushes the QB 1000 times, gets run past he is spinning out of position on a run play and gets some sacks. He is a liability on 20 plays for every sack he gets.
For all of these reasons, I am against Peppers coming here. He surely isnt as one-dimensional as Freeney, but he is first and foremost a guy who only cares about sack numbers. Thats not our style. He is not awful vs the run as a 43 DE, but far from good, and that translates to trouble if converting him the a 34 OLB.
Trade for Peppers, get a sack a game, make everyone think it was a great move because there is a number to judge him on, and you end up with a guy who helped you on 15 plays (whoever else was in his spot probably would have done half of that anyway) and weakens you on 400+.
BB has never had a 'small, speedy, passrush specialist' not because they are expensive but because they just dont fit his philosophy. What you lose with that type of player is more important to BB than what you gain.
Go find one who can also play the run like a Mike Vrabel, and BB will beat down doors to get him, but I haven't seen that guy out there to get.

 

[Ring 6]

Why would players give up an uncapped year?

There are negatives to the players as well if it goes to an uncapped agreement.
First there is no minimum cap, so the gains you get from rich teams spending could be overcome by cheap teams not.
Also there is a longer time period to become an UFA.
There are some other things that are so union friendly as well, but I dont recall all of them.

 

[mayoclinic]

BB will NEVER break the bank on a player that could possibly hurt the teams future. I also am a little nervous about a peppers deal, but not because of the money. Bill will always look to the future, and never risk putting the team in salary cap hell.

I think that is entirely correct. If the Pats somehow get Peppers, then they will have a plan on how to fit his salary in and keep their other key players. They are never shortsighted.

I've been intrigued by the possibility of Peppers for a while, but at this juncture I don't think it's going to happen. I haven't been a big fan of signing Jason Taylor, but right now I think it would be a better long-term if we could get Taylor at a reasonable rate for 2 years and draft an OLB (Connor Barwin, Clay Matthews, etc.) and let them learn for 2 years under Taylor and Thomas. Taylor would probably not be that far removed from Peppers over a 2 year period (he might even be better given his experience at 3-4 OLB), and in 2011 I think we would be better off with a 24 year Barwin or Matthews than a 31-32 year old Peppers, especially given the salary.

If Peppers is an option, I think it will happen on draft day. If BB misses out on the OLB prospects that he likes, I could see him trading #34 (maybe with #89 thrown in) for Peppers. But I think at this point it's an extreme long shot.