Well, the Prime Minister of Pomposity preaches from the pulpit. (btw, this is less a dig at you Mo, than a chance to use alliteration.
).....but I digress. No one is panicking. We are just speculating what the Pats are going to do with the 20 odd million they are going to have in cap space going into next season. There was no need to talk down to us.....again.
Just takin' a page out or your jets instructor posting guide.
BTW- do you want to bet by the time 2014 rolls around that $5.4MM franchise tag for TE's is going to be a lot closer to $8MM than 5. As the position continues to evolve and the differences between a TE and WR continue to blur, that number is going to skyrocket. Even today it would be hard to describe what Hernandez does as being a TE in the "conventional" sense. I am curious as the the percentage of time Hernandez lined up next to a an OT last season. If it was more than 25% I'd be very surprised.
I'll take that bet ken because I grasp that the formula is more complicated than it used to be and it takes into account the average of the top 5 salaries over the previous 5 seasons as well as increases in the cap which will have been negligible. See the number will only skyrocket if a whole lot of veteran elite TE's not named Gronkowski and Hernendez suddenly emerge and sign way above market extensions in the next two years and the cap contrary to predictions by those in the know implodes.
Wilfolk will probably be thinking about retirement after the 2014 season but Mankins will be here for next 4 seasons easy. But the point is that the Pats will make a decision on what to do with Gronk/Hernandez long before that.
Mankins is coming off an ACL and is now on the wrong side of 30 just 2 years into a 6 year deal that maxes out in cap hits in 2014 and 2015 (years 4 and 5). Unless they restructure him he has zero dead cap in 2016 at age 34 and just $4M in dead cap that cap be spread over two remaining seasons if he's gone in 2015 at age 33...
Mo, the only one "shrieking" here is YOU!
The starting in 2009 the Pats have virtually revamped their roster, and have a lot of young talent that is going to want to paid in their 2nd contract. Lots of them. And the fact they are on a very good team only inflates their potential value on the market (see Mark Anderson and BJGE)
I see them in Buffalo and Cleveland...
The point of my post was, that although having 20 odd million available next year might SEEM to be a lot of money, and potential high end FA signings might SEEM to be very possible, its a lot more likely that the bulk of that money is going needed to keep our OWN talent rather than going after someone else's.
It may or may not, as we've seen in the past. What we have never seen is it all spent to retain just two players, let alone in the same unit.
I agree on paper. But look at it from Welker's POV. What's the difference between a 2 year guaranteed deal, and a 4 year deal that offers no guarantees after the first 2 years. Everything the Pats have done is to indicate that they feel Welker's shelf life as an elite receiver is 2 years at best, and the only contract that they are going to give Welker that pays him "elite" money beyond those 2 years is through non-guaranteed incentives.
The point is he wants to finish his career here and he reasonable believes it won't be over in 2 seasons. He wants the chance to compete for a reasonable reward if he's right without having to attempt to sell himself on the open market to teams running another scheme or in posession of an inferior QB and coaching staff. He knows the team can always cut him, although generally speaking they persue the tradeoff of more favorable and flexible cap construction in exchange for a little more guaranteed cash. We're treating him like we did Seymour, only not at top tier money and for an even shorter term. The guy you don't trust, although with Seymour their issue was attitude and performance and durability and with Welker there is no hint of that beyond numbers on a calendar. There is as good a shot (if not better) he's still playing and productive for 3 more years (or willing to restructure if he isn't) as there is Mankins, who is 10 months younger, will be in 5.
I'm not sure I understand this point. It was my understanding that Mayo's extension was for good, but not top end money, and long term the deal favors the Pats....though I could be wrong. But either way I don't get why you mention it here. Unless to point out that the Pats would love to sign Gronk/Hernandez to relatively similar deals sometime in 2012
