Time To Free Up Some Cap Room?

[mgteich]

We're are into Day 7 of fee agency.

We've re-signed 5 players (including Love) and signed 10 free agents from other teams.
We have done well with our cap space! It seems likely that some move may need to be made soon.

 

[patsfaninpa]

We're are into Day 7.

We've re-signed 5 players (including Love) and signed 10 free agents from other teams.
It seems that we done well with our cap space. It seems likely that some move may need to be made soon.

Cut Ocho. Sign Welker up for 3yrs with a little more than the average pushed into the 3RD year when the cap increases dramatically. That should give us enough to re-up Mark Anderson.

 

[Haley]

There is always a surprise cut, right? I just hope it isn't Wes. I'll cry!

 

[JoeShmoe]

I'm almost certain we trade 2 or 3 picks into 2013

 

[PatriotReign]

Cut Stinko, and give Wes a 3 year deal. That should free up some space.

 

[Deus Irae]

The rule of 51

 

[ATippett56]

It's time for Ochostinko to take a hike!

 

[Christopher Patriot]

Wes Welker for Jared Allen,
Wes Welker for Tim Tebow,
Wes Welker for current and or future draft picks.
Right now we have little to no holes going into the draft.
Something has to occur to stir us up cutting or trading Wes would do just that,
Gonzalez and Stallworth who can both do some damage in the slot.
Softens the blow.

 

[Reckedtrek]

Remember, according to Felgah... the cap is crap. Opinion, not fact. :bricks:

 

[chicowalker]

Wes Welker for Jared Allen,
Wes Welker for Tim Tebow,
Wes Welker for current and or future draft picks.
Right now we have little to no holes going into the draft.
Something has to occur to stir us up cutting or trading Wes would do just that,
Gonzalez and Stallworth who can both do some damage in the slot.
Softens the blow.

Gonzalez hasn't done any damage in years, and Stallworth isn't a reliable slot receiver

cutting or trading welker is a horrible idea.

As for holes and the draft -- think defense -- plenty of holes there.

 

[supafly]

As for holes and the draft -- think defense -- plenty of holes there.

The holes in the defense may not be as many as you think though.

They are potentially one or two players away from being a lot better, most likely coming in the front seven. One playmaker at DE/OLB + one solid big guy with youth and muscle on the line, and things are a lot better than you think.

I am still hoping for a guy like Castillo at DE, that would really lessen the needs on the line in my opinion. I think there will be a low level FA signing or two at some point, like last yr if Castillo doesn't come here. Carter will almost certainly be back. Pryor is returning from injury, and has the potential to be a strong presence as an interior rusher. Fanene and Scott are also here for competition and depth. Wilfork, Deaderick, and Love are all here. The D line will be addressed still, but it should be a lot closer to being just as good as last yr, if not improved altogether.

LB is pretty set, with the addition of a 1st/2nd round pick. They have Mayo, Spikes, Fletcher, Ninkovich, Cunningham, White, Tarpinian, and maybe even M.Carter. One more big, young, playmaker here--and we're instantly in good shape.

CB/S are also in a lot better shape than you are thinking, at least in my opinion. We saw great strides down the stretch of the season last yr, and IIRC they only allowed one 300+ passer in the last 1/2 of the season, including playoffs. That's over the last 11 games. A lot of the earlier problems were due to scheme change, injuries, and the struggles of DMcC and the safeties. As long as the safety position is improved, we have McCourty, Dowling, Arrington, Moore, and a few ST'er as CB's.

Safety is probably the biggest problem/weakness on this team. A positive aspect of this is that many of the CB's can likely also back up or even take over one of the safety positions in a worst case scenario; although that is not what we necessarily want to have to rely on.

I am seeing a total of maybe 4-5 possible improvements out of the 25 (approx.) players on defense. A couple of those will be addressed via the draft. A couple of those will still be addessed via free agency, or team cuts later on in the spring/summer. When you think about it, that isn't as many "holes" as you'd think. The positions of front seven (3-4 improvements/additional depth), and backline secondary (maybe 2 improvements/additional depth) are not that bad of a situation to be in.

 

[mgteich]

So, in order to have a reasonable defense, we need to sign Carter, have Pryo come back strong, add a playmaker on the DL, at DE/OLB and 1-2 playmakers at safety. You seem to think that being 4-5 players away is "not a bad situation to be in". Is that your position?

The holes in the defense may not be as many as you think though.

They are potentially one or two players away from being a lot better, most likely coming in the front seven. One playmaker at DE/OLB + one solid big guy with youth and muscle on the line, and things are a lot better than you think.

I am still hoping for a guy like Castillo at DE, that would really lessen the needs on the line in my opinion. I think there will be a low level FA signing or two at some point, like last yr if Castillo doesn't come here. Carter will almost certainly be back. Pryor is returning from injury, and has the potential to be a strong presence as an interior rusher. Fanene and Scott are also here for competition and depth. Wilfork, Deaderick, and Love are all here. The D line will be addressed still, but it should be a lot closer to being just as good as last yr, if not improved altogether.

LB is pretty set, with the addition of a 1st/2nd round pick. They have Mayo, Spikes, Fletcher, Ninkovich, Cunningham, White, Tarpinian, and maybe even M.Carter. One more big, young, playmaker here--and we're instantly in good shape.

CB/S are also in a lot better shape than you are thinking, at least in my opinion. We saw great strides down the stretch of the season last yr, and IIRC they only allowed one 300+ passer in the last 1/2 of the season, including playoffs. That's over the last 11 games. A lot of the earlier problems were due to scheme change, injuries, and the struggles of DMcC and the safeties. As long as the safety position is improved, we have McCourty, Dowling, Arrington, Moore, and a few ST'er as CB's.

Safety is probably the biggest problem/weakness on this team. A positive aspect of this is that many of the CB's can likely also back up or even take over one of the safety positions in a worst case scenario; although that is not what we necessarily want to have to rely on.

I am seeing a total of maybe 4-5 possible improvements out of the 25 (approx.) players on defense. A couple of those will be addressed via the draft. A couple of those will still be addessed via free agency, or team cuts later on in the spring/summer. When you think about it, that isn't as many "holes" as you'd think. The positions of front seven (3-4 improvements/additional depth), and backline secondary (maybe 2 improvements/additional depth) are not that bad of a situation to be in.

 

[supafly]

So, in order to have a reasonable defense, we need to sign Carter, have Pryo come back strong, add a playmaker on the DL, at DE/OLB and 1-2 playmakers at safety. You seem to think that being 4-5 players away is "not a bad situation to be in". Is that your position?

No, I may have not worded my thoughts as well as I could have, but I didn't say anything about all of these 'playmakers' that you bring up, with the exception of adding a 'playmaker' in the front seven. That's a total of ONE. The rest will be like any other team. You incorrectly quoted me.

I see some of those variables (re-signing Carter, having Pryor return from injury) as almost being concrete. There's no reason to believe that Pryor can't add as a rotational DL that provides depth and competition, is there?

To answer your question about being "4-5 players away" (out of 25/53 man roster approx.).....

I think that 2 can be acquired via the draft, most likely in the front seven.

I think that 1-2 lower level acquisitions can be added for depth, competition, and possible upgrades at guys like Brace/Fanane via team cuts in the summer, if not maybe a guy like Castillo sooner.

I also think the same can be said for the secondary too. There isn't any reason to believe that a guy or two cannot be signed/added/drafted, is there?

That seems to cover all the bases for me. I don't know why you'd see that as having 'many glaring holes?'

The defense improved dramatically last yr, when the safety position was shored up and the injured players came back...it was like night and day. We held the NYG to one TD for the first 59:01 of the Super Bowl. That's impressive. We also saw a team that only gave up one 300+ passer in its last 11 games, including playoffs.

There haven't been exactly many subtractions from that defense that was making great strides. The potential loss of Anderson? Please...

However, there have been additions:

Dowling, Cunningham, Fanane, Scott (I don't expect more than one to make the team out of the 2 of Fanane and Scott), Gregory, and a few more lower level moves.

I don't know why you'd see 'so many' holes, when a couple of draft picks and a couple of lower level FA signings would instantly add just about everything that we need.

Are there many defenses out there that don't have the exact same problem (4 or 5 total players out of 25)?

 

[supafly]

So, in order to have a reasonable defense

I think we have a 'reasonable defense' right now, actually.

They gave up the 15th ranked pts in the NFL, and made great strides down the stretch.

Since we haven't had any real subtractions, why is expecting the ability to shave off a point or so average such a stretch to you? That would put us in the top 10 in pts allowed. That's not a reasonable defense to you?

We still have the draft and the rest of FA and summer cuts to go, but I see no reason to believe they aren't a 'reasonable defense' right now.

For a team that played with a major scheme change, a lot of injured players and second/third tier players, and the lack of a safety whatsoever, I thought they did okay LAST year...let alone any potential for this yr.

And I am a pessimist...at best cautiously optimistic. I'm not sure why the panic?

 

[Nitro]

Wes Welker for Tim Tebow

W-T-F? that could be the stupidest thing i've ever read here, and I read the jets fans posts too!

 

[BTTA]

The odds of adding a player to the defense that will make a significant difference in this upcoming year are less than 50% even if we use three picks in the first two rounds.

 

[BTTA]

I'm almost certain we trade 2 or 3 picks into 2013

That would leave us with what, two or three picks in the entire 2012 draft? I don't think that will be their choice.

 

[supafly]

The odds of adding a player to the defense that will make a significant difference in this upcoming year are less than 50% even if we use three picks in the first two rounds.

While I would expect you to be somewhat close to the truth, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that we can add a younger, faster, stronger big body on the defensive line that may tie up a couple of guys at times; maybe even have the potential to rush the QB.

We saw a halfway decent rookie season from Cunningham, and a pro-bowl rookie season from McCourty. Dowling started day one, for the first 2 games and looked impressive while doing so.

If anything, I wouldn't expect too much contribution from a potential draft pick in the safety position, but it's still needed nonetheless.

Regardless, I still see no reason why we can't build on our additions from last yr's team. That would include Pryor, Dowling, Fanane/Scott, Gregory, and maybe even Moore--considering that he only started in 3 regular season games. Another aspect is the fact that we should hopefully see a lot more playing time from Spikes and Chung, who each missed 1/2 the yr.

Adding in a draft pick/two + a vet/two isn't anything out of the ordinary, and the defense should be able to build on some of the potential from last yr. We're not even through the 1st week of the additons yet.

 

[BTTA]

While I would expect you to be somewhat close to the truth, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that we can add a younger, faster, stronger big body on the defensive line that may tie up a couple of guys at times; maybe even have the potential to rush the QB.

We saw a halfway decent rookie season from Cunningham, and a pro-bowl rookie season from McCourty. Dowling started day one, for the first 2 games and looked impressive while doing so.

If anything, I wouldn't expect too much contribution from a potential draft pick in the safety position, but it's still needed nonetheless.

Regardless, I still see no reason why we can't build on our additions from last yr's team. That would include Pryor, Dowling, Fanane/Scott, Gregory, and maybe even Moore--considering that he only started in 3 regular season games. Another aspect is the fact that we should hopefully see a lot more playing time from Spikes and Chung, who each missed 1/2 the yr.

Adding in a draft pick/two + a vet/two isn't anything out of the ordinary, and the defense should be able to build on some of the potential from last yr.

I don't disagree with you at all. I just don't believe that BB will rely on the draft as a way to fill basic needs. He'll do that with veterans. We won't fix problems with the draft, but we can take some shots at making the team better.

 

[supafly]

That would leave us with what, two or three picks in the entire 2012 draft? I don't think that will be their choice.

He probably doesn't realize that we only have 6 picks in the draft this yr, and that would total between 33% to 50% of the entire draft.

Then again, when you consider the fact that we will most definitely be trading down for additional picks this yr, his early side prediction of 2 may not be too far off.

I can't imagine Belichick being okay with not having any picks in the 5th, 6th, or 7th rounds, so I am sure that some of the early picks will be traded into a round or two lower; with the additon of some picks added in of course.