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But Jesus sometimes I feel like we have the dumbest fans possible.
Patriots fans have been spoiled period. But where the OL is concerned Brady has effected their ability to play at the level Dante coaches them up to as much as anything. Unfortunately at the end of the day that level drives the unit cost artificially and that impacts the teams ability to invest elsewhere. Mankins is two years into a top of the market deal and despite what Pro Bowl voters seem to think he hasn't played at that level since 2010 when he only did so for half a season. Now they are already past protecting him and have to try to squeeze $8.5M per of production out of him... They will be facing a similar situation as they assess any offer to Vollmer - with a second deal for Solder looming after 2013 (or a hefty 5th year guaranteed rookie tag cap hit in 2015). A $25M+ OL isn't going to float here even if they were truly worth it.
Don't be surprised to see them squeeze Mankins into a pay cut restructure this off season. And a true one or at least one that requires him to earn money back via playing time incentives...and throughout the remainder of his deal unless he starts earning his pro bowl nods. Otherwise he isn't seeing that deal through to 2016.
Absolutely. I have a very hard time seeing Mankins playing out his deal, no matter what. He got his $20M signing bonus, and he hasn't consistently played up to his pre-2010 level since his holdout. I give him credit for toughness, leadership and playing through injuries, but he has a huge cap hit that is a drain on other areas, and he has to play up to it to continue justifying that kind of money.
I am shocked that that Volmer could allow a sack to one of the best pass rushing teams in the league, when his QB only dropped back 65 times in the game. Yeah he was horrible.Vollmer has been up and down for about a month or so. He also gave up a key sack at the end of the 49ers' game (so did Solder). Let's not act like this was the only game he struggled.
Well thank for that concession at least. Of course this latest blip is all about the injuries. Plus we saw how the effort of the SF/Pats game affected the Niners the next week, I'm sure it was one of the reasons for the poor play of the Pats as well.And it is probably 95% injuries that is the problem right now. Clearly Vollmer and Mankins are the most injured of the bunch and both are playing below their talent levels. Connolly too. That exposes Wendell.
He played 2011 on a popped ACL. He's played 2012 on a rehabbing ACL and multiple other injuries, when he probably should have been sitting out. I'm not sure what you think it takes to "play up to" his contract, but he's gone above and beyond.
I give Mankins full credit - as I mentioned in my post - for Mankins going "above and beyond" in terms of effort and leadership. But ultimately, the team has to decide who to pay and who not to pay, and taking a $10M cap hit for a guard who is playing at a mediocre level just isn't worth it, no matter how heroic his effort. Ultimately Mankins will either have to recover from his injuries and produce at a level commensurate with his salary and cap hit, or the Pats are going to have to make some hard choices. I applaud the guy for being willing to put his body through the wringer, but that's not enough.
Lord knows I'm no expert on contracts and the cap, but am I right in thinking that the Pats save nothing by cutting Mankins next year and only 2 mil in 2014? Probably means he's here for at least a couple more years unless they get really desperate.
Lord knows I'm no expert on contracts and the cap, but am I right in thinking that the Pats save nothing by cutting Mankins next year and only 2 mil in 2014? Probably means he's here for at least a couple more years unless they get really desperate.
Definitely agree with this. Vollmer is clearly hurting and his back issues are seemingly becoming chronic. Sit him this weekend and let him rest it.
My biggest concern about the OL is the interior OL. Wendell looks overwhelmed at times and Connolly is clearly injured. The biggest concern when it comes to an opposing pass rush vs. Brady is a pass rush up the A-Gap. Alualu was getting a decent push up the middle last week. Against teams like the Bengals and Texans, that interior OL needs to be stout or Brady's going to be peeling himself up off the turf a good amount.
Yeah, maybe some day the Patriots will actually play the Texans and test that theory.
Great observation.
- I am shocked that that Volmer could allow a sack to one of the best pass rushing teams in the league, when his QB only dropped back 65 times in the game. Yeah he was horrible.
Well thank for that concession at least. Of course this latest blip is all about the injuries. Plus we saw how the effort of the SF/Pats game affected the Niners the next week, I'm sure it was one of the reasons for the poor play of the Pats as well.
The Pats blew them out last time, yes, but the Pats also blew the Jets out in 2010 and coughed one up in Foxborough a month later.
Further, with the issues on the interior OL (which is what I was talking about in my OP), JJ Watt could potentially wreck more havoc in a re-match than he did in the first meeting. The Bengals are another team in the AFC that can exploit that weakness without having to blitz.
And now I await your intelligent and well thought out response.
So if Brady, Welker, Branch, Woodhead and Ridley came to play that leaves ...
- Hernandez
- Lloyd
- Hoomanawanui
- Bolden (12 snaps), Fells (8 snaps), Vereen (3 snaps) and Aiken (3 snaps)
- The OL
The thing that stands out to me is that Jacksonville - a team known for getting poor pressure all season - pressured Brady on almost 48% of his drop backs despite blitzing only 11% of the time. That can't happen.
Absolutely. I have a very hard time seeing Mankins playing out his deal, no matter what. He got his $20M signing bonus, and he hasn't consistently played up to his pre-2010 level since his holdout. I give him credit for toughness, leadership and playing through injuries, but he has a huge cap hit that is a drain on other areas, and he has to play up to it to continue justifying that kind of money.
I'm not so worried about JJ Watt just because when the Pats really only have to account for one specific player, they usually find a way to do it. It is when you have to account for multiple players when the Pats' struggle. Hence why the o-line improved exponentially against the 49ers when they only had one Smith to account for. I don't know if the Texans have the players to take advantage of the o-line if they figure out how to neutralize Watt.
I am more worried about the Bengals in that respect because there is no one particular player you can tee off on and take out of the game.
Cutting Mankins doesn't become any kind of an option until 2014, and even in 2014 it would only save the Pats $2M against the cap. Since there's no way they can replace his production with $2M, I expect that Mankins will be around for 2 more seasons then get the ax in 2015.
Man, that contract looks really bad in hindsight. Pats have to get some young talent on the interior of the line, probably starting this offseason.