Kevin Mawae in place of Mankins?

[The_Riddler]

How about bringing in this proven, tough, nasty veteran to play LG in Mankins spot and to provide some great depth should anything happen to Koppen? He's been a great center but I am sure he could easily flip to guard and really fill a solid hole for us.

He's looking for a team, imo, he would be just what the doctor ordered with his toughness and veteran leadership.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

In the run up to a potential lockout, no thanks. Let someone else employ the chairman of the NFLPA Executive Committee... Bill just spent an off season cleaning house and eliminating self absorbed, unfocused, aging out or negative leadership.

 

[TheComeback]

Never heard Mawae described as a negative influence on the Titans' locker room. I guess if you associate being elected to a leadership position by your co-workers with some sort of character flaw, then maybe.

I certainly wouldn't mind adding a mean, nasty SOB to the oline. We ought to sign Mawae and bring in Mankins anyway. Kevin is still a better player than Koppen, by a significant margin, and I think it's incredibly stubborn/childish for a team not to even consider him just because he's president of the NFLPA.

This guy could really help us. He's 38 or 39 and still went to the Pro Bowl last year.

Why wouldn't you be interested in the center for a line that got Chris Johnson 2,000 yards last year?

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Never heard Mawae described as a negative influence on the Titans' locker room. I guess if you associate being elected to a leadership position by your co-workers with some sort of character flaw, then maybe.

.....................

Why wouldn't you be interested in the center for a line that got Chris Johnson 2,000 yards last year?

I'd be more afraid of what he'd do to our D line in practice and they'd end up on IR!!!!!! If you've seen him get nasty, you know what I mean....

 

[Fixit]

I'd rather stab myself in the neck than have to root for that dirty effer.

 

[BradyFTW!]

depends on how much he wants, but sure, Mawae's a damn could player. I'm sure we could find a way to use him to great effect.

 

[Deus Irae]

He struggled as a center last season, and the Patriots would be asking him to change positions. If Kaczur is able to come back soon, I'd pass on this idea.


Now, if he's willing to be a backup to Koppen, I'd hope the team would be interested in bringing him in to battle the stiffs.... err, young backups.

 

[Kontradiction]

I've always Mawae throughout his career but in this case I would love to have him. He's still very effective and is a mauler of a blocker. He would also really improve the inside running game.

 

[Jared]

I'd take him for a year or two for medium money, assuming he is healthy and not spent.

We have no real young prospects at OG right now, so it isn't like he'd be taking snaps away from a young developmental player. Even if we draft somebody next year, he'd be worth having around then as a mentor.

Hate him as much as you want for being a Jet, but he was a nasty SOB as a player for many years. I'd definitely kick the tires.

 

[mgteich]

I'd be fine with Mawae. Belichick will have many choices in the next few weeks. Many guards will become available before the first game. I would like to see a veteran starter or backup. Connolly is another backup. The open question is how much confidence Dante has in Ohrnberger, Bussey or Larsen. Mawae would see a good fit for a couple of years.

 

[The_Riddler]

I agree, I think he'd bring alot attitude and toughness to the front 5, he's a mauler, would open holes, and as mentioned and would be a great mentor to the juniors as he fills a major need and adds great depth.

This nasty SOB is looking for a home, I really hope BB kicks the tires on Kevin, he would help us alleviate our worries on Mankins and I am sure he wouldn't break the bank at this point.

 

[Mike the Brit]

I'd rather stab myself in the neck than have to root for that dirty effer.

I was trying to figure out how to express this ... (Still, root for him I would!)

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Mawae is out there now lobbing grenades at his last employer for lying to him and promising him a spot on the roster this year and playing the I'm being blackballed because of my union post card. As the rhetoric builds over the course of this uncapped, final CBA season, he will be intimately involved in that process as the most vocal of the 8 Executive Committee members - a committee to which Vrabel had also ascended during his last season here after publicly adopting the stance that players here deserved a 60% cut of whatever Patriots Place ever generates since as the name proclaims their on field accomplishments were the driving force behind it's even being possible. Forget that it was a nonsensical premise adopt, that essentially Kraft was unfairly riding the coat tails of these players accomplishments to expanded his own personal wealth - the union and the media ate it up because of Kraft's ownership profile and Bill's well documented aversion to potentially divisive locker room chatter. That, coupled with diminished skill and unwillingness to restructure accordingly, is why he is ending his career in KC.

No way Bill re-infuses that potentially derisive a dynamic into his locker room let alone to acquire a 39 year old veteran - whose union stature presently is far more significant (and time consuming) than his role on the field - to "mentor" the carefully reconstructed roster he is painstakingly building to focus selflessly and singlemindedly on winning football games one game at a time for the next decade.

And before anyone brings up Brady's ascention to assistant team rep, aside from his leaguewide stature that position is normally low profile and minimally demanding and something a player as politically deft as Tom is far more capable of thoughtfully balancing than however seemingly bright a hot head on his personal back 9 whose focus is split and inclination is to shoot rhetoric from the hip.

 

[mgteich]

He's an sob, but he would be our sob.

We used to like nastiness in our linemen.

I was trying to figure out how to express this ... (Still, root for him I would!)

 

[BlueThunder]

Pats are looking for leadership, not a locker room distraction with the CBA knocking.... I'll pass...TYVM

 

[spacecrime]

Why wouldn't you be interested in the center for a line that got Chris Johnson 2,000 yards last year?

For the same reason why everyone knows sewage treatment plants are good things to have, they just don't want one in their own neighborhood. This is going to be a very contentions negotiation, and it will have bitter accusations flying (we ain't seen nothin' yet), so a smart business man will realize that the effect of having the unioin president as part of his team will not be good overall.

And gving Mawae credit for Chris Johnson's 2000 yards is like giving Tony Ugoh credit for Peyton's season. "Why wouldn't you be interested in one of the OLs that got Peyton Manning to the Superbowl last year?"

Becasue he isn't that good, that's why. At least Ugoh wasn't born when hippies were wearing flowers in their hair like Mawae was.

 

[TheComeback]

For the same reason why everyone knows sewage treatment plants are good things to have, they just don't want one in their own neighborhood. This is going to be a very contentions negotiation, and it will have bitter accusations flying (we ain't seen nothin' yet), so a smart business man will realize that the effect of having the unioin president as part of his team will not be good overall.

And gving Mawae credit for Chris Johnson's 2000 yards is like giving Tony Ugoh credit for Peyton's season. "Why wouldn't you be interested in one of the OLs that got Peyton Manning to the Superbowl last year?"

Because he isn't that good, that's why. At least Ugoh wasn't born when hippies were wearing flowers in their hair like Mawae was.

I never "gave Mawae credit" for Chris Johnson's 2,000 yards and I think your analogy is way off. An oline by itself doesn't get an entire team to the Superbowl, but they certainly have something to do with a great performance by a running back, who isn't going to get 2,000 yards if his line sucks (which they don't). By the same token, it's not all up to one player to make a line good, either. But I think center is a position of underrated importance as that player is essentially the line's leader, and Mawae has been a very, very good center throughout his career.

I think it would at least be prudent to take a look at the guy and see what he's capable of.

And where did you hear that Mawae isn't that good anymore? I know he went to the Pro Bowl but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. I don't care about his age if he can still play, especially if he's better than Koppen who isn't exactly a fountain of youth anyway.

On the other hand, MoLewis makes a good point. I didn't think all that deeply about what being NFLPA president means. If it's really such an involved position then I can see why a team would stay away. I imagined it as more of a part-time undertaking that wasn't much involved in the actual negotiations, but more interacting with the players and keeping them informed/united. The Pats don't need another Adalius Thomas-type situation, where the young players are afraid of buying in because of what some veterans are saying about the coaching staff.