Donnie Edwards?

[ironwasp]

Don Banks of SI is reporting that Edwards "has feuded with (chargers GM) AJ Smith and almost certainly will be allowed to leave via free agency" in the post season.

I know there was quite a bit of talk in the last post-season about the Pats going for Edwards to shore up the linebacking corps before Seau arrived, but might it happen this year.

Edwards had a massive game against on Sunday, far outshining the big name OLBs on his team, and if he does fit FA I think he'd be a great fit for us for a couple of years.

At 33, he's getting on a bit but BB has shown in the past he's happy to have older linebackers (see Seau J) and if combined with some young blood brought in through the draft he could be a big help next season.

At 33 also he won't command the type of money being bandied around for some of the higher profile FAs.

 

[stinkypete]

He'd be a nice addition if Fletcher-Baker resigns in Buffalo.

I'm a big proponent of shoring up our LB needs with established vets while trying to get younger through the draft with a UDFA. It is not fiscally responsible, with the contracts of Wilfork and Warren coming up, to spend big on Briggs or Thomas.

 

[smg93]

I remember people were knocking him last year because they said most of his tackles are of the after 5 yard gain variety. I should say that I think he played pretty well against us last weekend. I hope they are looking at him and seeing if he could be a good fit here.

He may be 33, but how old is Junior?

 

[NEPatriot]

I think he's too small for us. While I like him as a player, I don't think he'd be a good fit for us. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[ironwasp]

I think he's too small for us. While I like him as a player, I don't think he'd be a good fit for us. Just my 2 cents worth.

He's listed as 6-2 and 227, which is 20lbs lighter than Junior Seau or Tedy. But while that might make him somewhat small, we may be running short of genuine alternatives?

 

[SVN]

I think he's too small for us. While I like him as a player, I don't think he'd be a good fit for us. Just my 2 cents worth.

BB likes intelligence and smarts over size and speed...just look at our corners and WR's

 

[satz]

He is faster and i have a feeling we might need atleast 1 fast LB who can cover the faster TE/RB

 

[upstater1]

I don't think you can sacrifice size at that position. Size matters less at WR. Those big guards swallow up inside linebackers.

London Fletcher, by the way, is upset with Buffalo and is not going to sign there.

I'd love to see him, Adalious Thomas or Lance Briggs on the Patriots next year.

 

[ironwasp]

I don't think you can sacrifice size at that position. Size matters less at WR. Those big guards swallow up inside linebackers.

London Fletcher, by the way, is upset with Buffalo and is not going to sign there.

I'd love to see him, Adalious Thomas or Lance Briggs on the Patriots next year.

There are very strong rumours that the Ravens will tag Thomas. The Bears must be thinking the same way about Briggs.

 

[shmessy]

I was screaming for this in August before they picked up Seau.

Yes, yes, yes. If there is ILB talent in the draft, I'd love to see the Pats pick two of their three high draft picks (both 1's or a 1 and a 2, with the other one being a Safety) for that position, let the two guys come in and build a rapport over the years. Meanwhile pick up Edwards and have him and Bruschi mentor these kids for a year or two, while moving Vrabel back out to OLB (sorry TBC, not impressed).

This draft an offseason should be great. With the big cap ceiling in 2007, If we keep our FA's (give Asante good money, franchise Graham or sensible money, keep TBC only for a decent rate), pick up Edwards while drafting two high pick ILB's and a Safety, then I love the future for this team.

Then BB can set his sights on the 3rd - 7th rounds and hopefully get a WR, etc. I would say ST depth, but with Mel Mitchell, Tebuckey Jones, Don Davis, etc. coming back from injuries, I'm not as worried there.

 

[upstater1]

With Eugene Wilson still around and Sanders, I'd say drafting a CB opposite Samuel (assuming we sign him) is more important than a safety. As well, we have to sign Ty Warren at some point too. So it's Samuel, Graham, Warren, then a top FA linebacker, that's my order of preference.

If you can accomplish that, you can grab a CB and anything else you like, a LB like Poszlusny in the draft.

 

[shmessy]

With Eugene Wilson still around and Sanders, I'd say drafting a CB opposite Samuel (assuming we sign him) is more important than a safety. As well, we have to sign Ty Warren at some point too. So it's Samuel, Graham, Warren, then a top FA linebacker, that's my order of preference.

If you can accomplish that, you can grab a CB and anything else you like, a LB like Poszlusny in the draft.

Move Geno back to CB. Get the big, physical Safety.

 

[cstjohn17]

I don't think you can sacrifice size at that position. Size matters less at WR. Those big guards swallow up inside linebackers.

London Fletcher, by the way, is upset with Buffalo and is not going to sign there.

I'd love to see him, Adalious Thomas or Lance Briggs on the Patriots next year.

I was hoping for Seau and 1st and 2nd downs with Edwards coming in on 3rd downs...

It should be interesting, the Patriots require a lot from their ILBs. They need to be able to take on guards and also drop into coverage.

London-Fletcher has played in a 4-3 his whole career and has been protected by big tackles (Williams, Adams, etc.). He is also on the short side.. that being said the guy can play, I don't know about his ability in coverage but he should be able to be a very effective 2 down player.

Players to keep an eye on:
ILB
- Napolean Harris from the Vikings, good size and speed. 6'3, 250 and runs a 4.6. He has not played up to his potential as a number 1 pick but is only 27 and would be real big improvement athetically speaking.
- London-Fletcher - see above
- Kawika Mitchell - I don't know as much about him, the games I have watched he has seemed average, not overly physical and nothing special about his game

OLBs
- TBC - interesting to see what happens here, as a backup / ST I think he is ok, not much upside. As a starter he is below average to average
- Antwan Peek and Jason Babin - both players were drafted to play 3-4 for Houston, and are not good fit for their new 4-3. Seems like the same type of player as TBC, maybe a little more upside. Babin is not a free agent but it would be shocking if he was made available or cut, maybe the Pats unload Hill for Babin, a change of senery may help these busts.
- Adalius Thomas (Balt) - too young (29) and too slow (4.65) to play for the Pats. Just kidding, he would be great but is going to be quite expensive. I don't see this happening.

Projected LBs for 2007
- changing of the guard to some degree, most starters remain in tact but backups are younger, faster and cheaper
- ILB - veteran brought in to start, player drafted in rounds 2-4 to play special teams and learn system, take over for Bruschi in 2008
- OLB - decision to be made about TBC, appears to be a strong DE class, would not be shocked to see a DE/OLB drafted on Day 1, maybe even round 1
- Special Teams - a lot of changes here, the younger guys have proven to be as capable as the vets, Izzo and Davis do not return... I should mention that this is biased, I have not been a fan of Izzo for the last couple of years, I think Alexander or Mays could assume his role with no drop-off.

The new unit is not as experienced but improves the overall speed and has a nice balance of youth and veterans.

ROLB - Colvin, draft rounds 1-3
RILB - Harris (FA signing from the Vikings), draft pick rounds 2-5
LILB - Bruschi, Alexander, Mays
LOLB - Vrabel, Woods

Potential picks at OLB - Moses (Georgia), Victor Abiamiri (ND), Woodley (Michigan), Moss (Florida), Spencer (Purdue), Timmons (Florida State)

Potential picks at ILB - DeOzzie (Brown), Waters (Clemson), Harris (Michigan), Siler (Florida), Posluszny (Penn State), Everett (Florida), Burgess (Michigan), Sartz (USC), Stewart (Nebraska)

 

[dtbrks]

There are very strong rumours that the Ravens will tag Thomas. The Bears must be thinking the same way about Briggs.

I agree, I don't think either one will sniff free agency, they will be tagged

 

[p8ryts]

I don't care how tall or heavy he is, I was hoping we would get him this year when there was talk of his potential availability. I would be happy to have him and Seau in our linebacking corps next year.

 

[ironwasp]

It's always possible of course that Edwards wouldn't want to play for a classless organisation like the Patriots.

I'll get my coat.

:bricks:

 

[patfanken]

I think he'd be a great addition. We haven't had a decent cover LB since Roman Phifer left. It would fill a big need. I have always been a Edwards fan. He'd make a great Patriot.

As for the rest, I do think we will finally draft some college DE that projects to a LB or even pick up an actual college LB. Patrick Willis is someone I see us picking in a number of Mocks. However its usually a 3 years process for a college player to reach his potential in this defense, so getting a couple of FA LBs in this season will be critical. IF Thomas or Briggs AREN'T Franchised, then I think we will pull a Rosie Colvin and go after a big name FA.

As for CB, if we can't sign Samuel (unlikely), then I'd franchise him, and draft the best CB available with the #24 pick. The Fresno kid, McCauley has the combination of size (6'1) and speed (4.4) that I'd be looking for. Then let him spend a year in the system and let Assante hit FA after the 2007 season. I also would want to keep the annual "replacing Rodney Harrison safety search" operational. Who is the next Kerry Rhodes?????

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

Maybe this guy, Jarret Johnson will be the next Vrabel. He stepped in and played well for Ray Lewis last year, well enough that Baltimore gave him $1.5mil for one year in his restricted free agency deal. He's due to be an UFA this spring. He's big, 270, like we like them. If he's told he'd have a shot at starting somewhere, like here, he might feel it's time to move on. He'd cost barely a quarter of what Briggs or Thomas will get.

http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team/teamRosterDetails.jsp?id=339

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

I was hoping for Seau and 1st and 2nd downs with Edwards coming in on 3rd downs...

It should be interesting, the Patriots require a lot from their ILBs. They need to be able to take on guards and also drop into coverage.

London-Fletcher has played in a 4-3 his whole career and has been protected by bid tackles (Williams, Adams, etc.). He is also on the short side.. that being said the guy can play, I don't know about his ability in coverage but he should be able to be a very effective 2 down player.

Players to keep an eye on:
ILB
- Napolean Harris from the Vikings, good size and speed. 6'3, 250 and runs a 4.6. He has not played up to his potential as a number 1 pick but is only 27 and would be real big improvement athetically speaking.
- London-Fletcher - see above
- Kawika Mitchell - I don't know as much about him, the games I have watched he has seemed average, not overly physical and nothing special about his game

OLBs
- TBC - interesting to see what happens here, as a backup / ST I think he is ok, not much upside. As a starter he is below average to average
- Antwan Peek and Jason Babin - both players were drafted to play 3-4 for Houston, and are not good fit for their new 4-3. Seems like the same type of player as TBC, maybe a little more upside. Babin is not a free agent but it would be shocking if he was made available or cut, maybe the Pats unload Hill for Babin, a change of senery may help these busts.
- Adalius Thomas (Balt) - too young (29) and too slow (4.65) to play for the Pats. Just kidding, he would be great but is going to be quite expensive. I don't see this happening.

Project LBs for 2007
- changing of the guard to some degree, most starters remain in tach but backups are younger, faster and cheaper
- ILB - veteran brought in to start, player drafted in rounds 2-4 to play special teams and learn system, take over for Bruschi in 2008
- OLB - decision to be made about TBC, appears to be a strong DE class, would not be shocked to see a DE/OLB drafted on Day 1, maybe even round 1
- Special Teams - a lot of changes here, the younger guys have proven to be as capable as the vets, Izzo and Davis do not return... I should mention that this is biased, I have not been a fan of Izzo for the last couple of years, I think Alexander or Mays could assume his role with nio drop-off.

The new unit is not as experienced but improves the overall speed and has a nice balance of youth and veterans.

ROLB - Colvin, draft rounds 1-3
RILB - Harris (FA signing from the Vikings), draft pick, rounds 2-5
LILB - Bruschi, Alexender, Mays
LOLB - Vrabel, Woods

Potential picks at OLB - Moses (Georgia), Victor Abiamiri (ND), Woodley (Michigan), Moss (Florida), Spencer (Purdue), Timmons (Florida State)

Potential picks at ILB - DeOzzie (Brown), Waters (Clemson), Harris (Michigan), Siler (Florida), Posluszny (Penn State), Everett (Florida), Burgess (Michigan), Sartz (USC), Stewart (Nebraska)

Nice analysis...

 

[primetime]

I had a premonition Donnie Edwards would pick a pass off during that game, and it happened. I wouldn't mind signing him, though I prefer London Fletcher.