Re: Report: Pats interested in Umenyiora, price now down to 2nd rounder
He'll be 30 in November. (sorry responded to wrong post).
Haha, it's okay. I realized I hit the "1" instead of the "0" on my number pad when I was re-reading what I wrote, but you quoted me before I got a chance to edit it.
Regardless, a 2nd round pick for 2-4 good/great years for an elite pass rusher? Sign me up any day of the week. You only get your rookies for 4-5 years now anyway, and you first have to figure out if they pan out in the first place, plus they also usually don't make HUGE impacts in the first year.
Osi would immediately make an impact, vastly improve our pass rush/3rd down D, and bring back a playmaking element we haven't had on the edge since Willie McGinest left.
This is the most important thing right here. The Pats are usually always competitive during the season. Their playoff play of late has left A LOT to be desired. I think that's really what these signings are about for me.
Osi is the final missing piece of the defensive puzzle, IMHO. Adding him to the mix with AH, Vince, Wright, Cunningham, and even Moore would be tremendous. Could you imagine Osi coming from one side while an improved Cunningham is coming from the other? All the while, Albert and Vince are creating havoc up the middle. I dare Peyton to get the ball out fast enough, especially with the improved secondary.
On a serious note, I think acquiring Osi would make the Pats defense downright scary for teams to face. Their defense would be very reminiscent of the Vikings a few years ago, as they'd have two dominant interior line guys and great pressure coming off the edge. If you all thought last year's turnover differential was great, just wait until the upcoming season if Osi were to come here!
I love how aggressive Bill is being. It's about time. He tried the patch-work route for a few years with guys like Delthea ONeal, Jason Webster, Gerard Warren, etc. That didn't work out. I love when Bill is this aggressive (a la the AD, Moss, Welker, Stallworth, etc offseason).
Osi would make this defense perfectly equipped to be dominant like they were back in 03/04. They'd have an elite edge rusher to pair with an up and coming young edge rusher in Cunningham. You've got two monstrous dominating D-Lineman inside with Vince and Albert. You've got Mayo and an improving Spikes. You've got McCourty, Bodden, Dowling, Butler, Wilhite, Arrington, Meriweather, Chung, Sanders -- one of the deepest secondaries we have had in a long time.
I'd still like to see another impact player in the LB corps because I have some doubts about Spikes' speed in a 4-3, but they'd have some big time playmakers at each level of the defense for the first time in a very long time. Osi, Albert, Mayo, McCourty, Chung, etc.
No way. If $8 mil a year was all it took, he'd be a Giant tomorrow. He is better than Panthers' Johnson - he already said so publicly - and wants MORE than $12 mil a year.
How many $8 mil a year players can a team have with a $120 mil cap? How many do we have now? I don't knwo, jsut asking
He said he is better than Johnson to prove a point. I personally don't think he's holding out for more than $12 million per year. I could be wrong, but I just think he's trying to prove a point and start at the highest number for negotiating purposes. Also, I don't know if the $8 million per year would get it done tomorrow for the Giants. They are supposedly very close to the cap and still had business to take care of with guys like Steve Smith, Boss, Bradshaw, etc. I don't know if they have the room to give Osi a large raise.
I think if you give him a contract that gives him an adequate raise and that he deems fair, he'd happily accept. Just my opinion. I think something in the $8-$10 million range can get it done.
Don't know the answer to your question about the cap and such, but there's always ways around it. You find a way to make it work for a guy like Osi.
