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- Jul 11, 2005
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This is so much fun that maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have some kind of compressed FA period every year. I know the teams and GMs would hate it, but its been really a lot of fun for the fans.
1. I would be remiss if I didn't comment on Albert Haynesworth. As value addition this was a no brainer. Super high reward, virtually no risk. But I have to tell you. Haynesworth is TRULY a bad guy, regardless of how he performs on the field, and I'm not talking about the stuff that went down with the Redskins. I don't have to list the incidents. Borges and Felger will be telling us all every one...every day, so I won't waste your time.
This isn't another case of the Pats taking a "malcontent" like Dillon and Moss and maximizing the talent while (for the most part) minimizing the destructive tendencies of players to the lockerroom. Dillon was always a miserable personality, but he always played the game hard. Besides its hard NOT to be miserable if you played most of your career with the Bengals. Moss gave us 3+ years of great value, before his own insecurities caused him to self destruct last season. Haynesworth's list of indiscretions, and bad decisions go well beyond ANYTHING Moss or Dillon brought to the table. That being said, Haynesworth lucked out by coming here. Here he has A CHANCE to at least partially resurrect his sorry legacy, even its only for a single season.
Bottom line: There's a better than 50-50 chance that Haynesworth's stay in NE will be a brief one. And even then it will have "some" value, in that BB will once again prove that as soon as you prove that you aren't accepting the "patriot way" you will be gone. Its not a bad thing to prove to the rest of the lockerroom every once in a while
So while I hope for the best, I'm expecting the worst....and I won't be buying any Albert Haynesworth shirts regardless.
2. One to Chad Ochocinco.- This is more solid acquisition. Chad has always played hard and worked at the game. I'm amazed why the mediots tend to lump him into the "problem player" category. the only issue I have with this addition is, at least IMHO, his skill set duplicates Deion Branch's.Actually I think he's an upgrade on Branch in that he's bigger, tougher over the middle, and less prone to injuries, Neither are the "field stretchers" that common wisdom states we need.
That makes me think that perhaps there is a scenario where Branch is let go before the season starts. Do we REALLY need both? Just a thought
3. Matt Light. I'm kind of surprised that the rumor mill is contending that Light back to NE is pretty much a done deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have him back, but I really don't see the point of him coming back from HIS perspective. While it would be a luxury to have him on the roster so Nate Solder's transition to the starting LT will be smooth and unrushed, I can't see him coming back for just a single season. He would easily command a 2-3 yr contract for probably more money that the Pats will give him from a lot of teams. For example, based on the way the Steelers are shedding OLmen, it would seem a logical spot. Its a good organization, a contender, and just an hour and half plane ride from home.
So what would make him want to sign back with NE. I can only think of 2 reasons. The first is that he decided that 2011 would be his last year and so he can live with the Solder transition knowing that he would still be a major contributor for his final season. The other is that he is willing to start the the season at LT, but begin the transition to playing G for the remainder of the contract. Nothing else makes much sense
4. I am over feeling that somehow the Jets manipulated Goodell into getting all the dead money dropped and allowing them to escape the cap hell they and several other teams have gotten themselves into. Clearly this was a legitimate negotiation point for the NFLPA designed to get more money to their players. If the dead money wasn't eliminated, there would have been tens of millions not going into players pockets this season. So it wasn't a "Jets conspiracy", but just ANOTHER win for the NFLPA rewarding badly managed teams to get more for doing less.
5. And the madness will continue. In PFT, Florio noted that only 32 of his top 80 FAs have been signed. So there are still many quality FAs still on the market.
6. It looks to me that its becoming more and more likely that Aso will be going to the Jets. The fit is just too good. He isn't a zone guy, so the Jets D fits his skill set perfectly. He gets to go from a backwater in Oakland to the media capital of the world and a contender besides.
But I don't know if that really makes then that much better. Dropping the dead money got the Jets out of cap hell, but while Aso might give them a slight discount, he isn't going to want to earn less than he made last season or significantly less than what Revis makes. I think the delay in his signing has been made necessary by the restructures and manipulation of his contract so that it will fit within the cap. Meanwhile the Jets are losing more and more of the parts that helped them get to where they were in the first place.
They are going to lose Taylor, Ellis and Poole. They still have to pay Harris. The rest of their LB core is getting old and are on the downside. Their DL will look more like the Pats DL did after Warren,Brace,Wright, and GWarren were gone. They will be thin at S, and their best S is marginally talented to begin with, and is coming back from a serious injury. Yes they will have the 2 best CBs in the league. That will be a challenge to every team they face, but at what cost?
Who is going to back up Sanchez? Who is going to play opposite Holmes, The great OLs of the past few years might be weaker this year. the fact they gave Wayne Hunter 3MM/year to be their Woody replacement tells us that Vlad is another Jet bust. So while Mangold and DBrick are among the best at their positions, Moore is aging, Hunter is untried, and Slauson is the Jets version of Dan Connolly. In other words, competent, but someone you are always looking to upgrade. And those are just the starters. Their depth on both sides of the ball will be filled by minimum wage guys.
Bottom Line, The more I think about it, I'll be more afraid if they DON'T sign Aso and use the money to improve depth and resign some of the guys they had last season.
7. This preseason right into the first 4 games of the season really won't mean much. It will take a couple of more weeks before the bulk of the FA are absorbed into their new teams. As it is a lot of guys under contract, like Sammy Morris can't get on the field until NEXT Thursday. Most of the next 2 week practices are pretty much useless since so many guys are missing. Add all that to the ridiculous new practices limitations and its going to be a while before teams will be ready to play anything close to what was formerly NFL caliber football. If you can sense my disgust of the new practice rules, congratulations.... you have a "keen sense of the obvious".
8. Is anyone else but me disturbed that our top 3 draft picks are STILL unsigned and not on the field? Just checking.
OK have to rap this up. Suffice it to say that before all the dust clears most NFL teams will have undergone the most radical roster changes in memory, so this season could very well be one of the more surprising and interesting in many years.
4.
1. I would be remiss if I didn't comment on Albert Haynesworth. As value addition this was a no brainer. Super high reward, virtually no risk. But I have to tell you. Haynesworth is TRULY a bad guy, regardless of how he performs on the field, and I'm not talking about the stuff that went down with the Redskins. I don't have to list the incidents. Borges and Felger will be telling us all every one...every day, so I won't waste your time.
This isn't another case of the Pats taking a "malcontent" like Dillon and Moss and maximizing the talent while (for the most part) minimizing the destructive tendencies of players to the lockerroom. Dillon was always a miserable personality, but he always played the game hard. Besides its hard NOT to be miserable if you played most of your career with the Bengals. Moss gave us 3+ years of great value, before his own insecurities caused him to self destruct last season. Haynesworth's list of indiscretions, and bad decisions go well beyond ANYTHING Moss or Dillon brought to the table. That being said, Haynesworth lucked out by coming here. Here he has A CHANCE to at least partially resurrect his sorry legacy, even its only for a single season.
Bottom line: There's a better than 50-50 chance that Haynesworth's stay in NE will be a brief one. And even then it will have "some" value, in that BB will once again prove that as soon as you prove that you aren't accepting the "patriot way" you will be gone. Its not a bad thing to prove to the rest of the lockerroom every once in a while
So while I hope for the best, I'm expecting the worst....and I won't be buying any Albert Haynesworth shirts regardless.
2. One to Chad Ochocinco.- This is more solid acquisition. Chad has always played hard and worked at the game. I'm amazed why the mediots tend to lump him into the "problem player" category. the only issue I have with this addition is, at least IMHO, his skill set duplicates Deion Branch's.Actually I think he's an upgrade on Branch in that he's bigger, tougher over the middle, and less prone to injuries, Neither are the "field stretchers" that common wisdom states we need.
That makes me think that perhaps there is a scenario where Branch is let go before the season starts. Do we REALLY need both? Just a thought
3. Matt Light. I'm kind of surprised that the rumor mill is contending that Light back to NE is pretty much a done deal. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to have him back, but I really don't see the point of him coming back from HIS perspective. While it would be a luxury to have him on the roster so Nate Solder's transition to the starting LT will be smooth and unrushed, I can't see him coming back for just a single season. He would easily command a 2-3 yr contract for probably more money that the Pats will give him from a lot of teams. For example, based on the way the Steelers are shedding OLmen, it would seem a logical spot. Its a good organization, a contender, and just an hour and half plane ride from home.
So what would make him want to sign back with NE. I can only think of 2 reasons. The first is that he decided that 2011 would be his last year and so he can live with the Solder transition knowing that he would still be a major contributor for his final season. The other is that he is willing to start the the season at LT, but begin the transition to playing G for the remainder of the contract. Nothing else makes much sense
4. I am over feeling that somehow the Jets manipulated Goodell into getting all the dead money dropped and allowing them to escape the cap hell they and several other teams have gotten themselves into. Clearly this was a legitimate negotiation point for the NFLPA designed to get more money to their players. If the dead money wasn't eliminated, there would have been tens of millions not going into players pockets this season. So it wasn't a "Jets conspiracy", but just ANOTHER win for the NFLPA rewarding badly managed teams to get more for doing less.
5. And the madness will continue. In PFT, Florio noted that only 32 of his top 80 FAs have been signed. So there are still many quality FAs still on the market.
6. It looks to me that its becoming more and more likely that Aso will be going to the Jets. The fit is just too good. He isn't a zone guy, so the Jets D fits his skill set perfectly. He gets to go from a backwater in Oakland to the media capital of the world and a contender besides.
But I don't know if that really makes then that much better. Dropping the dead money got the Jets out of cap hell, but while Aso might give them a slight discount, he isn't going to want to earn less than he made last season or significantly less than what Revis makes. I think the delay in his signing has been made necessary by the restructures and manipulation of his contract so that it will fit within the cap. Meanwhile the Jets are losing more and more of the parts that helped them get to where they were in the first place.
They are going to lose Taylor, Ellis and Poole. They still have to pay Harris. The rest of their LB core is getting old and are on the downside. Their DL will look more like the Pats DL did after Warren,Brace,Wright, and GWarren were gone. They will be thin at S, and their best S is marginally talented to begin with, and is coming back from a serious injury. Yes they will have the 2 best CBs in the league. That will be a challenge to every team they face, but at what cost?
Who is going to back up Sanchez? Who is going to play opposite Holmes, The great OLs of the past few years might be weaker this year. the fact they gave Wayne Hunter 3MM/year to be their Woody replacement tells us that Vlad is another Jet bust. So while Mangold and DBrick are among the best at their positions, Moore is aging, Hunter is untried, and Slauson is the Jets version of Dan Connolly. In other words, competent, but someone you are always looking to upgrade. And those are just the starters. Their depth on both sides of the ball will be filled by minimum wage guys.
Bottom Line, The more I think about it, I'll be more afraid if they DON'T sign Aso and use the money to improve depth and resign some of the guys they had last season.
7. This preseason right into the first 4 games of the season really won't mean much. It will take a couple of more weeks before the bulk of the FA are absorbed into their new teams. As it is a lot of guys under contract, like Sammy Morris can't get on the field until NEXT Thursday. Most of the next 2 week practices are pretty much useless since so many guys are missing. Add all that to the ridiculous new practices limitations and its going to be a while before teams will be ready to play anything close to what was formerly NFL caliber football. If you can sense my disgust of the new practice rules, congratulations.... you have a "keen sense of the obvious".
8. Is anyone else but me disturbed that our top 3 draft picks are STILL unsigned and not on the field? Just checking.
OK have to rap this up. Suffice it to say that before all the dust clears most NFL teams will have undergone the most radical roster changes in memory, so this season could very well be one of the more surprising and interesting in many years.
4.
