Mock Offseason 2011

[alphilip77]

Hey guys,

Well, since the SB is roughly two weeks away and since not much else is going on in football news, I thought I'd share my version of an ideal offseason for the Pats this year. Now, before I go any further, a couple of things I'd like to share:

1) This isn't one of those mocks where we sign all of the best available FAs (Ngata, Asomugha, etc.). I made this offseason mock as realistic as possible. The only FA signings I have from other teams are John Kuhn and Tamba Hali. While Hali is a "big name," he's the most realsitic FA based on the system he played in and BB possibly gauging interest from him at the Pro Bowl about potentially playing in NE. This mock also covers both scenarios if he is either frachised or isn't (which I'll get into more later in this post).

2) I am working under the assumption that a new CBA has been reached and everything has been established in regards to cap and tags.

3) For the draft portion of this mock, I tried to get the players and the pick numbers/rounds matched up as realistically as possible. Many players will either rise or fall as you all know so take that into consideration when reading that portion.

4) Lastly, comments are welcome. This whole mock was just something I had been tossing around in my head the past few days and I felt like putting it on paper and sharing it with you guys. It may not be perfect or even acceptable to some, but I don't mind if you don't care for it. Enjoy!

Offseason Signings
-Re-sign Matt Light to a 2-3 yr deal
-Re-sign Logan Mankins to a 5-6 yr deal
-Re-sign Jarrad Page to a 2-3 yr deal
-Re-sign Kevin Faulk to a 1 yr deal
-Re-sign Sammy Morris to a 1 yr deal
-Re-sign Quinn Ojinnaka to a 2-3 yr deal
-Re-sign Gerard Warren to a 1-2 yr deal
-Sign BJGE to a 2 yr extension
-Sign John Kuhn to a 2-3yr deal
*Sign Tamba Hali to a 4 yr deal (if non-franchised)

2011 Draft

(Trade 1st Round (OAK) for 1st and 2nd Round Picks)

1st Round (Team A): Anthony Castonzo OT
-Good ZBS tackle that can learn behind the scenes and take over Light's spot once his deal runs out

1st Round (Original): Mike Pouncey G/C
-Would be drafted as G for us and could also work on shotgun snapping as a C during TC and pre-season. Mauler on the right side and would give us another Mankins-mentality lineman.

2nd Round (CAR): Stefen Wiesniewski C/G
-Best C in the draft and adds versatility in his ability to play G. Would take over Koppen's spot after 2011.

(Trade 3rd Round pick and 4th Round Pick for 2nd Round Pick)

2nd Round (Team B): Muhammed Wilkerson DE
-Solid D-line prospect who is versatile. Only projected him being in the second round due to level of competition he faced at Temple. May go higher obviously.

2nd Round (Team A): Jabaal Sheard OLB/DE
-Solid pass rusher and run defender. Not a world beater like Julius Peppers, but would give us better production than that lazy bum TBC.

2nd Round: Jeremy Beal OLB/DE
-Same as Sheard, although not quite as good at rushing the passer as he is. Gets the nod here because he has experience dropping into coverage at Oklahoma.

(Note: If we are able to sign Hali, he would replace either Sheard or Beal. In that case, we would trade one of our second round picks for either a 2012 1st or a 2012 2nd and 2012 3rd).

3rd Round (MIN): Ryan Williams RB
-Again, may not be here come draft day, but it's a somewhat realistic spot for now. Only projected him here based on his position and durability questions. Good running back who would complement BJGE and Woody. Good pass catcher and is a good between the tackles runner.

5th Round: Owen Marecic FB
-BB's Swiss army knife. FB, special teamer, and possible ILB on occasions. Steal of the draft.

6th Round (NO): Cecil Shorts III WR
-Know some of you may be saying, "Who?" That's what I also said at first but after reading about his career at Mount Union, I was intrigued. He's a KR/PR who's roughly 6'0" and runs in the 4.4's. Could do one of two things for us; could be the guy we need to take the top off of defenses or would spell Tate/Edelman as a returner giving them more time to develop as receivers. Either way, it's a win-win. Plus, he gives us a reason to finally dump Slater's ass.

Training camp transactions
-Kevin Faulk is allowed to retire gracefully (ala Bruschi in 2009). Could still be around team in some capacity like when Deuce McAlister was the honorary team captain for the Saints in the 2009 playoffs.
-Fred Taylor retires
-Stephen Neal retires
-Sammy Morris and (should Weston make the 53) G. Warren would be released but would be on the emergency list should they remain unsigned.

Projected Opening Day Roster

Quarterbacks
•12 Tom Brady
• 8 Brian Hoyer

Running Backs
•42 BenJarvus Green-Ellis
•John Kuhn RB/FB
•Owen Marecic FB/LB
•Ryan Williams
•39 Danny Woodhead

Wide Receivers
•84 Deion Branch
•11 Julian Edelman PR
•17 Taylor Price
•Cecil Shorts III KR/PR
•19 Brandon Tate KR
•83 Wes Welker

Tight Ends
•82 Alge Crumpler
•87 Rob Gronkowski
•85 Aaron Hernandez

Offensive Linemen
•Anthony Castanzo T
•63 Dan Connolly G/C
•67 Dan Koppen C
•72 Matt Light T
•70 Logan Mankins G
•69 Quinn Ojinnaka T/G
•Mike Pouncey G/C
•76 Sebastian Vollmer T
•Stefen Wiesniewski G/C

Defensive Linemen
•97 Ron Brace DE/NT
•91 Myron Pryor NT
•92 Gerard Warren DE/NT OR (66 Kade Weston DE/NT)
•94 Ty Warren DE
•75 Vince Wilfork NT/DE
•Muhammed Wilkerson DE
•99 Mike Wright DE/NT

Linebackers
•Jeremy Beal OLB/DE OR Tamba Hali OLB/DE
•96 Jermaine Cunningham OLB/DE
•52 Dane Fletcher ILB/DE
•59 Gary Guyton ILB
•51 Jerod Mayo ILB
•50 Rob Ninkovich OLB/DE
•Jabaal Sheard OLB/DE OR Tamba Hali OLB/DE
•55 Brandon Spikes ILB

Defensive Backs
•27 Kyle Arrington CB
•23 Leigh Bodden CB
•38 Sergio Brown SS
•28 Darius Butler CB
•25 Patrick Chung SS
•32 Devin McCourty CB
•44 Jarrad Page SS
•31 Brandon Meriweather FS
•36 James Sanders FS
•24 Jonathan Wilhite CB

Special Teams
•3 Stephen Gostkowski K
•48 Matt Katula LS
•14 Zoltan Mesko P

 

[Dufflebagz]

This would be a great off-season....I'm kind of iffy on Beal though.

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

I hope Faulk doesn't retire but I feel that we just don't need him anymore other than for his strong presence in the locker room.

 

[Sciz]

Key thing most mock-makers forget about: special teams. Slater and White were 1 and 2 in special teams tackles and you have them both leaving.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Chiefs are being run by Pioli, who's got a lot of the same ideas as BB. They are also running the 3-4 which turned Hali into a pro bowler this year. Why would the Chiefs let Hali get away at a price low enough that BB would pay it?

 

[mcsully]

While I like your thinking, I don't see Pioli letting Tamba Hali walk away..

I like your focus on the OL.. I think Matty Lights days are numbered. BB likes to get rid of a player a year early instead of a year late.. I can see vollmer moving to LT, signing mankins, drafting two young OL with 2 of the 4 first picks and letting the rookies fight it out with Koppen, Connelly and Kaczur..

I see the next couple of picks focusing on the defense. To early to pick what but I see more depth added to the defense

Just to throw my curve ball move, Pats target D'angelo Williams from Carolina.. Best way to help a young defense, keep the opponents offense off the field..

 

[alvinnf]

3 OL in a row. Two essentially playing the same position. Your hedging your bet which is fine. Not however with 1st and second rounders. I think there will be a QB selected sooner rather than later by the team this year. Just a hunch.

As far as the FA go. I wouldn't be surprised if Faulk isn't back (on the roster). While I like Kuhn. He's neither close enough to being a RB or a FB. I could see a more traditional FB being brought in. That's if they bring one in.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Pouncey seems to be on everyone's radar here. Which means we probably don't take him haha.

But he's definitely on my wishlist if he's anything like his brother.

 

[mcsully]

The Chiefs are being run by Pioli, who's got a lot of the same ideas as BB. They are also running the 3-4 which turned Hali into a pro bowler this year. Why would the Chiefs let Hali get away at a price low enough that BB would pay it?

based on the cba being done......................
Right now he has no contract... Technically there is nothing stopping the pats from getting him if they wanted.. if the chiefs franchised him with the highest tender, the pats could afford it.. Would they, probably not.. but they could..

 

[alphilip77]

The Chiefs are being run by Pioli, who's got a lot of the same ideas as BB. They are also running the 3-4 which turned Hali into a pro bowler this year. Why would the Chiefs let Hali get away at a price low enough that BB would pay it?

That's why I included the scenario IF he were to be franchised by KC.

 

[Deus Irae]

That's why I included the scenario IF he were to be franchised by KC.

But even if they don't franchise him, the question still remains, so let me try rephrasing it. Why would we expect New England to outbid Kansas City for a Pro Bowl OLB that was already on the K.C. roster?

 

[alphilip77]

Key thing most mock-makers forget about: special teams. Slater and White were 1 and 2 in special teams tackles and you have them both leaving.

The reason why I left those two off the final roster is because I feel that anyone who plays special teams should also be able to contribute in some way on either offense or defense. Slater was originally drafted as a PR/KR and sucked at that. He sucks as a receiver. I've yet to see him play a snap as safety. He's just worn out my welcome. I will admit though, that was a little bit of preference on my part. And White is fast, that's it. Arrington would be able to make up for the loss of one and possibly one of Fletcher, Marecic, or Brown could fill in as well as ST tackle leaders.

 

[mcsully]

But even if they don't franchise him, the question still remains, so let me try rephrasing it. Why would we expect New England to outbid Kansas City for a Pro Bowl OLB that was already on the K.C. roster?

Discusion we're having in another thread about top free agents and I find this interesting post from Dues Irae..

I don't get Spears or Vrabel as a top 5 guy. I don't see how either would be better than, say, Ngata or Hali, for example.

So in one place your promoting Hali and another place your saying "why would KC let him go, why would Pats go after him".. Now I understand why people have thousands and thousands of posts.. To funny

 

[Deus Irae]

Discusion we're having in another thread about top free agents and I find this interesting post from Dues Irae..



So in one place your promoting Hali and another place your saying "why would KC let him go, why would Pats go after him".. Now I understand why people have thousands and thousands of posts.. To funny

Not really. It's two different issues. One is about who would be the 5 best defensive players for the team to get. The other is about what the O.P. thinks would be "as realistic as possible".

I mentioned Ngata in that other thread as well. I don't expect the Ravens to let him get away, either.

 

[alphilip77]

But even if they don't franchise him, the question still remains, so let me try rephrasing it. Why would we expect New England to outbid Kansas City for a Pro Bowl OLB that was already on the K.C. roster?

Because Hali plays in the exact same defense as we do. We know he can succeed at pressuring the QB and getting sacks from the OLB position which is what is what we've been searching for for years.

 

[Deus Irae]

Because Hali plays in the exact same defense as we do. We know he can succeed at pressuring the QB and getting sacks from the OLB position which is what is what we've been searching for for years.

But my question is: why would the Chiefs not be willing to spend as much money to keep him as the Patriots would be to get him?

 

[Ring 6]

Good job, great detail.


I expect that when the CBA is resolved that we are going to have an awful lot of cap room available. There will be a record number of FAs available. I expect this to be a very, very active Free Agency year for BB, providing the CBA gets handled.

I don't agree with drafting a T in round 1 to replace Light in 2-3 years. Thats a long time to wait on one of the highest picks we have had in years to contribute anything.
With BBs draft history it seems very unlikely he would use 3 picks in the top 33 on OL in the same season. I think Mankins is the only OL he has ever drafted that high in 10 years. (more counting the Cleveland years)

I think those FA moves may well include OL moves.

 

[alphilip77]

3 OL in a row. Two essentially playing the same position. Your hedging your bet which is fine. Not however with 1st and second rounders. I think there will be a QB selected sooner rather than later by the team this year. Just a hunch.

As far as the FA go. I wouldn't be surprised if Faulk isn't back (on the roster). While I like Kuhn. He's neither close enough to being a RB or a FB. I could see a more traditional FB being brought in. That's if they bring one in.

The reason why I have O line done in the first three picks is because with the exception of Castonzo to a degree, Wiesniewski and Pouncey are pro ready. Brady needs protection and has 4 -5 yrs left for us to make at least one more SB run. Plus, Koppen is undersized and Neal is almost certainly done. Plus, everyone marvels at how great the Jet's O line is. That's because they invested in either money, picks, or both. Now granted, Ducasse didn't play this year (2nd rounder) and Slauson and Moore were either undrafted or mid-low rounders but you get my point. Basically, we need to establish an elite O-line for not only the present, but for the future as well.

 

[mcsully]

Not really. It's two different issues. One is about who would be the 5 best defensive players for the team to get. The other is about what the O.P. thinks would be "as realistic as possible".

I mentioned Ngata in that other thread as well. I don't expect the Ravens to let him get away, either.

ten characters

 

[alphilip77]

But my question is: why would the Chiefs not be willing to spend as much money to keep him as the Patriots would be to get him?

I'm not assuming that they aren't willing to spend the money. I'm assuming that we win the bidding war because of the other factors i.e Brady, Belichick, the Krafts, etc. Hope that helps.