Lance Briggs: FA Want List?

[Brady-To-Branch]

I can't help but think about the prospect of getting a great young talented player like Briggs to fill in at WILB next year. If the Bears don't tag him of course. The Pats are in good enough shape to make a play for him in the open FA market.

I've seen Briggs play a number of times and he can do it all: cover, run support, blitz. He was all over the place yesterday. With BB's poor track record with developing rookie LBs into his system and with the current state of our LB corps, FA is the only way to get an impact LB. Thus, I come to the conclusion that the Pats will at least take a good, hard look at Briggs.

Discuss...

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Hes going to get Brian Urlacher money. Unless we think he is going to anchor our defense for years then we have no chance to throw up that sort of money at a player.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Clark Judge was on with Felger earlier and Mike asked what our chances were. Judge said he will get pretty much what he wants, and the Bears value him enough that they will probably give it to him themselves.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Clark Judge was on with Felger earlier and Mike asked what our chances were. Judge said he will get pretty much what he wants, and the Bears value him enough that they will probably give it to him themselves.

No way. If the Bears give him that kind of money they would be the Colts of defense.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

Hes going to get Brian Urlacher money. Unless we think he is going to anchor our defense for years then we have no chance to throw up that sort of money at a player.

The Pats will pay that money for a defensive player. They doled out big money to Colvin in 2003.

I see your point, but mine is that the Pats can't afford to go into 2007 with the same collection of aging LBs and expect to be SB competitive. This team is still young and strong at both lines and they still have Brady. If the Pats fail to improve the LBs, all that goes to waste.

 

[BelichickFan]

Belichick paid Colvin pretty damn well. If he likes Briggs A LOT I could see him making a big offer, just not the BIGGEST offer. He won't get the biggest offer but I could see Belichick making a serious offer to him.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

No way. If the Bears give him that kind of money they would be the Colts of defense.

There's no such thing. You can never have enough good players on defense. Heck, I don't think that they have enough good players on D now. If Samuel walks, then the Pats will be desperate.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Re: Adalius Thomas, my preference

BB doesn't have a poor record with developing LBs. On the contrary he has doneextremely well, with the few where he has tried. Mostly he prefers established starting veterans for his Team.

There are three examples where he has done very well. He started the conversion of Tedy Bruschi from a star collegiate DT into first an OLB, and then a ILB/MLB back under the Tuna.

He took an un-established FA veteran pickup and turned him into the Mike Vrabel we now know.

He is taking a seventh round DE pick and has already converted TBC into a pretty good OLB; we don't fully know how this will turn out but he surely isn't a stiff at all.

He has also taken an UDFA and made Matt Chatham into a pretty good reserve LB, too.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

First of all Lance Briggs is represented by Drew Rosenhaus.

After doing some small researching i found this tidbit on wiki:

It is unknown at this time if the Bears will be willing to meet the expected asking price for Briggs, which would reportedly make him the highest-paid linebacker in the league. Such a contract would be unprecedented for a weak side linebacker.

Urlacher makes what? 6.5 million a year ballpark?

I cant see the Patriots spending that much or more for a weakside LB.

I really wish they could but i have a hard time seeing it.

 

[PonyExpress]

Junior Seau has won us all over with his heart and effort. But even an aging Seau, called out of retirement, was productive playing behind our magnificent front 3. It may be a misuse of cap space to spend big bucks on an interior LBer when a steady veteran can perform well enough to have the Pats rank 2nd in the league against the run with the #1 scoring D in the AFC. An outside LBer is a different story because of the pass rush impact; But Kawika Mitchell or London Fletcher or Napoleon Harris et.al., lower priced Lbers, may be able to hold down the fort for 2007 while the coming rookie class (which should include several LBer prospects) gets acclimated for 2008.

OTOH, Maybe BB sees that Bruschi's time is almost up, and is planning on replacing Bruschi long-term with Briggs, and wants to invest in a new "Defensive Captain" type. One Arizona man for another.

 

[TomBrady'sGoat]

The Bears will franchise him. Even if they don't intend to pay him themselves they can always do a franchise-and-trade.

Many teams will have lots of cap room again this summer. FA contracts for big names will be silly. No way the Pats bring home a high-profile free agent. I also think the money being tossed around will make the Bears decide that Briggs at the franchise amount won't be too much to afford.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

OTOH, Maybe BB sees that Bruschi's time is almost up, and is planning on replacing Bruschi long-term with Briggs, and wants to invest in a new "Defensive Captain" type. One Arizona man for another.

Teddy said on EEI today, that he keeps in touch with Briggs since they are both Arizona guys, and he sees him on campus in the off-season. Next time you see him Teddy, maybe drop a hint or two, or three...
"Hey Lance, you want to win a Superbowl, or two, three?"
"Boy that Rex Grossman is really good, but do you know who is just a little bit better?"
"Let me tell you what is like to play LB behind Seymour, Warren, & Wilfork"

Long before yesterday I thought Briggs would be a great guy to go after, do not discount the Pats, they made a nice offer to Colvin, I bet they at least take a good run aty him.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

Re: Adalius Thomas, my preference

BB doesn't have a poor record with developing LBs. On the contrary he has doneextremely well, with the few where he has tried. Mostly he prefers established starting veterans for his Team.


There are three examples where he has done very well. He started the conversion of Tedy Bruschi from a star collegiate DT into first an OLB, and then a ILB/MLB back under the Tuna.

He took an un-established FA veteran pickup and turned him into the Mike Vrabel we now know.

He is taking a seventh round DE pick and has already converted TBC into a pretty good OLB; we don't fully know how this will turn out but he surely isn't a stiff at all.

He has also taken an UDFA and made Matt Chatham into a pretty good reserve LB, too.

I said rookie LBs. Vrabel had experience in Pittsburgh's 3-4 scheme for four seasons. Bruschi was drafted in 1996. McGinest, in 1994. Pfifer and Colvin were FAs.

IMO, you're overrating TBC. I didn't say he was a stiff, but he hasn't showed anything beyond an occasional sack either. We'll see just how good he is now that Seau is on IR. Additonally, whether or not he pans out, it took his 4th season to do so. Moreover, I think he's a FA after this season.

Chatham was/is only a reserve. This team will need starters to continue their run.

I can't name one player that was drafted, or UDFA, in the BB era that has become a quality starter. That's a poor track record in my book.

The Pats were able to get away from spending too much at LB due to finding a few diamonds in the rough. Those days are coming to an end. Vrabel and Bruschi have lost a step and won't get better in 2007. Colvin is good but if Seau returns, he'll be entering his 18th season. Moreover, more teams have switched to the 3-4 and look for the same type of players as the Pats.

I believe the Pats will open up their wallets for prime defensive talent, especially out of necessity. In the past, the Pats were spared this, but whether it's to keep Samuel at CB or raid the FA market for LBs, the Pats will have to overpay one way or another. If they don't, then their nucleus will rot.

If the Bears tag Briggs, the Pats could offer up one of their '07 #1s in a sign and trade. Briggs is worth a low #1.

Since 2005, the Pats are 0-6 vs Denver/Indy/SD. Inability to compete against elite competition is the first sign of a decline and the only way to save the LB corps is via FA.

 

[RayClay]

He was drafted in the third round. He had 102 solo tackles in his second year.

For some reason, we're not allowed to draft linebackers in the first three rounds?

We have to wait for them to become free agents so we can spend a fortune on them.

What am I missing here?

Also, he was listed as a linebacker at Arizona. I've been told we absolutely cannot draft college linebackers, they have to be DEs.

Sorry, it seems to me this guy was a college LB.

And we have double picks in most rounds.

Again, what am I missing, here?

 

[ice]

Rookie Linebackers?
How about Lawrence Taylor.

 

[ATippett56]

The number one priority in free agency for the New England Patriots will be cornerback, especially if Asante Samuel departs. The depth at cornerback position is especially thin:

Ellis Hobbs
Asante Samuel (unrestricted free agent in 2007)
Chad Scott
Randall Gay (injured reserve)

 

[RayClay]

Rookie Linebackers?
How about Lawrence Taylor.

Can he play against Detroit? I'll bring the energizers.

 

[ATippett56]

Can he play against Detroit? I'll bring the energizers.

Energizers? Cocaine for LT!

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

He was drafted in the third round. He had 102 solo tackles in his second year.

For some reason, we're not allowed to draft linebackers in the first three rounds?

We have to wait for them to become free agents so we can spend a fortune on them.

What am I missing here?

Also, he was listed as a linebacker at Arizona. I've been told we absolutely cannot draft college linebackers, they have to be DEs.

Sorry, it seems to me this guy was a college LB.

And we have double picks in most rounds.

Again, what am I missing, here?

The highest LB drafted in the BB era was Ryan Claridge (5th).

Undersized DEs are used by BB to play OLB, not ILB. In Bruschi's case, he was initially used as a situational edge rusher, but was too small and slow to be effective in that role. Years later, Bruschi developed into a ILB.

It will likely take at least 3 years for a rookie LB to learn BB's system. Therefore, since the Pats are playing for the present, it's unrealistic to expect a rookie to come in and start in 2007. Moreover, this doesn't look like a strong draft.

Why didn't BB draft LBs on day one? Because none of them were worth drafting when the Pats were on the clock. Therefore, FA is the only way to go.

Why Briggs?

Here's a list...

2007 NFL FA LBs

Outside of Briggs, I don't see any Vrabels or Tedys on that list. Maybe Thomas. But he'll turn 30 next year and will also have his suitors. Better to overspend on a great LB then a solid one.

 

[primetime]

Someone mentioned London Fletcher. Is he a free agent this coming offseason? If so, I'd definitely throw a good chunk of cash his way. He's a stud. He's not Takeo Spikes, but he's real good.