Could have had Dashon Goldson with what Pats paid Steve Gregory

[BradyBranch39]

Trust me, every time I see Goldson make a play for SF, I think to myself "left NE without a contract".

Can't say I thought it was a huge deal when it happened though.

 

[supafly]

Gregory has a cap hit of $2,183,333 this year. Cutting him saves only $516,666 for 2013, resulting in a dead cap hit this year of 1,666,667. Next year his cap hit increases to $3,183,334. Cutting him in 2014 would free up $2,350,000 of cap space, with a dead cap hit of only $833,334.

I have no idea if we could sucker anyone into trading for him, and if so, whether a trade would affect our cap hit.

He has a $2.2 million cap hit right now (not huge even for a back up) and creates $516k cap space if cut. It is doubtful he gets cut.

I didn't think he was horrible down the stretch. Another year in the system and he could be decent although I would want another guy to rotate in there.

Thanks guys, much appreciated.

Personally I do not want to see Gregory having to start again unless in a pinch (which is always useful if/when it happens, just go back to the last 2 yrs for proof at the safety position), so my hope is actually that Gregory stays as a rotational/depth guy. I really don't think that 2.2 is nearly as bad as some are claiming for that specific role. Many were okay with Sanders remaining for a bigger hit in a backup role and that was now almost 3 yrs ago. Although it isn't necessarily ideal, the 2.2 is not as bad as I originally thought.

I'd like to see McCourty paired alongside one of those nice looking FA safeties to be honest with you. That would give us a much better starting combination right off the bat, and could still provide better depth/rotation/development with Wilson and Gregory as the backups. I would feel very comfortable with that alignment right there 1-4, with Ebner obviously counting more as a ST-only #5 safety.

Out of all of the positions besides the most obvious one of WR with Welker, the safety position is certainly my free agent hope this year, although I'd gladly take a CB too, obviously including Talib.

Keep Welker + go after a credible secondary player in FA. It's that simple

 

[Nunchucks]

I think people are way too down on Gregory. His play was definitely uneven, but he did have some very good games mixed in with those blah games.

 

[Patriot Missile]

I think people are way too down on Gregory. His play was definitely uneven, but he did have some very good games mixed in with those blah games.

Yeah, he had some good games down the stretch after the chemistry was starting to gel with Talib and Dennard. Still would like to see someone with length that can cover a whole lot of space starting back there.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

As well as Goldson has been playing, a lot of that has to do with playing with that incredible front 7. Aldon Smith, Justin Smith, Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis, etc. have just as much to do with Goldson's success as Goldson does.

Not saying Goldson wouldn't be a good addition, but you rarely see a successful secondary without a successful front 7.

 

[jmt57]

I seem to recall at the time that Goldson signed with the 49ers rather than the Patriots, the word was that the Pats had offered him a bigger contract than San Fran did - but Goldson elected to stay in SF because that's where he was living and was comfortable with the area and the team.

I couldn't find anything to verify that, though I did find these; does anybody else remember that?


Goldson chose 49ers over Patriots. Seriously{hellip} - SFGate

Goldson said he considered the Patriots before deciding to "follow his heart" and re-sign a one-year contract with the Niners, who drafted him in 2007. Goldson's deal is reportedly worth $2 million.

"This is home for me," Goldson said after his first practice Wednesday. "This is where I want to be. Unfortunately, it didn't work out long-term. But in the bottom of my heart I wanted to be here and that's exactly what I did."​

​

 

[mayoclinic]

I seem to recall at the time that Goldson signed with the 49ers rather than the Patriots, the word was that the Pats had offered him a bigger contract than San Fran did - but Goldson elected to stay in SF because that's where he was living and was comfortable with the area and the team.

I couldn't find anything to verify that, though I did find these; does anybody else remember that?


Goldson chose 49ers over Patriots. Seriously{hellip} - SFGate

Goldson said he considered the Patriots before deciding to "follow his heart" and re-sign a one-year contract with the Niners, who drafted him in 2007. Goldson's deal is reportedly worth $2 million.

"This is home for me," Goldson said after his first practice Wednesday. "This is where I want to be. Unfortunately, it didn't work out long-term. But in the bottom of my heart I wanted to be here and that's exactly what I did."​

​

I vaguely remember that, too, though I also couldn't find a report of it.

The Goldson situation is reflective of how timing is everything. The Pats had Goldson in for a visit in early August of 2011, and he chose to re-sign with the 49ers on August 8. Adam Schefter had this to say at the time:

The Patriots hosted free-agent safety Dashon Goldson on a visit Sunday, but Goldson won't be joining the team. He has decided to re-sign with the 49ers, ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reports.

The Patriots have Brandon Meriweather and Patrick Chung atop the depth chart at safety, with seven-year veteran James Sanders projected as the next man in when he returns to the practice field. Second-year player Sergio Brown rounds out the top of the safety ranks, followed by Josh Barrett (also sidelined by injury).

The team was deep at the position last year, with six-year veteran Jarrad Page -- a former starter in Kansas City -- as their No. 4 option. But with Page signing in Philadelphia, and Sanders and Barrett not on the practice field, the group has been thinned.

Dashon Goldson follow-up - New England Patriots Blog - ESPN Boston

"The team was deep at the position". Wow.

Goldson re-signed with SF on August 8. The Pats had released Brandon McGowan on August 7 after re-signing him on July 30, so presumably they were looking at Goldson as a rotational safety along with Meriweather and Chung the way McGowan (and Page) had been. In that situation, their $2M offer makes sense - not bad money, but not projecting Goldson as a long term starter.

On August 29 the Pats released James Sanders. On September 3 they released Brandon Meriweather. And they had nothing. And I'm sure at that point they wished they had made a more concerted attempt to sign Goldson.

How quickly things change. It mainly makes me wonder, not about how the Pats handled the Goldson situation, but what happened between August 8 and August 29-September 3 that made BB decide to utterly gut the safety position?

 

[Kontradiction]

Yeah, he had some good games down the stretch after the chemistry was starting to gel with Talib and Dennard. Still would like to see someone with length that can cover a whole lot of space starting back there.

We already have that in McCourty. What this secondary needs is a safety who is going to come up and lay someone the **** out. We don't have that in Gregory. Give me a head hunter who isn't afraid to be fined and isn't a complete liability in coverage any day of the week and suddenly those receivers will be seeing their arms shrink over the middle.

 

[Ive_Killed_People]

In 1986 my parents bought a house for 50,000 dollars. That house eventually burned down. Also in 1986 a little company called Microsoft offered their IPO(initial public offering) if my parents had invested in Microsoft then and rented a while longer they could probably afford to buy the New England Patriots. So now I'm just gonna sit here and wring my hands at what could have been because that's always so productive.

 

[captain stone]

We already have that in McCourty. What this secondary needs is a safety who is going to come up and lay someone the **** out. We don't have that in Gregory. Give me a head hunter who isn't afraid to be fined and isn't a complete liability in coverage any day of the week and suddenly those receivers will be seeing their arms shrink over the middle.

QFT.

Either during the UFA period, or later in the draft, or both, Bill must find us a Headhunter,
especially one who is closer to Rodney in coverage than to Chung.

 

[zipster9]

Trust me, every time I see Goldson make a play for SF, I think to myself "left NE without a contract".

Can't say I thought it was a huge deal when it happened though.

Goldson said himself, that Patriots "low ball-ed him" and offered less than what Niners offered.

Undestandable.

But, sometimes, Patriots "low-balling" method, backfires. This is one case.

Not everyone wants to play for the Patriots, for peanuts !

 

[BradyFTW!]

It's amazing how much history has been rewritten since Goldson became a "Pro Bowl" player.

I was all in favor of signing him when he visited here, but you're right that he was not without his flaws. It wasn't a slam dunk, by a long shot. The general consensus on this board was that he and Meriweather were basically the same, so what's the point.

 

[Joker]

reading this thread just reminded me..hey!..I coulda had a V-8...

 

[supafly]

I was all in favor of signing him when he visited here, but you're right that he was not without his flaws. It wasn't a slam dunk, by a long shot. The general consensus on this board was that he and Meriweather were basically the same, so what's the point.

That's basically it. Goldson pre-2011/2012 was a totally different story. If not, then why did the 49'ers pretty much offer the same kind of low end deal?

Since then, he's had 2 very nice years to make the "looking back" perspective that much harder, but SF also benefitted by some good fortune also, and that isn't getting brought up nearly enough.

Another thing to consider is that he probably wouldn't be quite the same player here, as he has one hell of a defense playing around him in SF. That has to be factored in also.

 

[patsfan-1982]

yes he's a better safety then what the pats are playing now but lets not forget he has the best front 7 in the NFL in front of him

 

[NE_PATS_FAN_54]

This is a case of people looking back in hindsight and blaming the Pats for not spending what would have been considered incredibly stupid money on what people thought was an average safety at the time.

Why look back in hindsight and blame the Pats for this, when we can do it in the present! I didn't get the Gregory signing last year and after seeing him play this year, I really don't get it. Terrible signing. Here's hoping Tavon Wilson or Ebner turn into something.

 

[tonyto3690]

Gregory is being paid HOW much?

Wow. That is freaking terrible. It's not like he was some moderately high upside player either. He's undersized and a mediocre tackler. Though to be fair I suppose he'd be a decent FS compliment in theory with Chung at SS. With McCourty he's completely redundant and flat out inferior.

All stating the obvious. I know I shouldn't expect the Patriots to strike gold everytime and never make any mistakes but it's hard not to expect better from them.

As for the Goldson signing, not terribly bent out of shape about. As others stated he was very average, and nothing special. Watching him I haven't been particularly impressed. He's a thumper and average in coverage who is one of the worst tacklers on their team. He also greatly benefits from amazing front 7 play and quality CB play. I suppose with safety talent at an all time low though, you take what you can get.

 

[supafly]

Gregory is being paid HOW much?

Wow. That is freaking terrible. It's not like he was some moderately high upside player either. He's undersized and a mediocre tackler. Though to be fair I suppose he'd be a decent FS compliment in theory with Chung at SS. With McCourty he's completely redundant and flat out inferior.

All stating the obvious. I know I shouldn't expect the Patriots to strike gold everytime and never make any mistakes but it's hard not to expect better from them.

As for the Goldson signing, not terribly bent out of shape about. As others stated he was very average, and nothing special. Watching him I haven't been particularly impressed. He's a thumper and average in coverage who is one of the worst tacklers on their team. He also greatly benefits from amazing front 7 play and quality CB play. I suppose with safety talent at an all time low though, you take what you can get.

Gregory's cap hit for the upcoming 2013 season is 2.2 million dollars.

While they could potentially hit on another safety in the draft and/or take someone much better in free agency, let's not make it out like he has a cap hit of 5 million dollars either.

Many here wanted James Sanders as a rotational depth player when he was let go, and IIRC his cap hit was around 3 million dollars that year although it's been awhile so don't quote me on that.

Gregory could still offer a lot of value staying as a rotational guy or even potentially a TE specialist, and if injuries come as they often do he has shown that he can step in and start. Would an upgrade be good? Of course, but he came on to do just fine down the stretch of the season as he played much better with McCourty alongside him, plus as his knowledge increased.

I think next offseason is an entirely different story as he'll likely be let go as his hit increases, but they already likely know that right now. This year I'm fine with keeping Gregory for a 2.2 hit. I know that I don't want Belichick to gamble and lose again like the 2011 season. If our talent improves that much this offseason at safety to where they can let Gregory go, that'd be even better, but I doubt that'll happen.

In the meantime:

1.McCourty
2. Major FA signing or high draft pick to pair alongside of DMcC (lots of great names in there)
3. Gregory/Wilson battle for 3 spot/dime back specialty role
4. Gregory/Wilson battle for 4 spot/rotational role
5. Ebner or improvement

That's not shaping up to be too bad of a 5 group safety corps with the addition of just one more player. On top of that it's also a position that doesn't cost much money either.

 

[tonyto3690]

2.2 million is way too much for an undersized backup FS who can't tackle.

I wasn't fond of the deal when it was made but gave the Patriots the benefit of the doubt that they were seeing something I wasn't seeing. Clearly wasn't the case. His contract is way too big. He should be a minimum salary player.

 

[UofApatsfan]

The amount he's getting paid doesn't bother me as much as the 3 year part. At the time of the deal McCourty was a corner and a FS compliment to Chung was the need at safety, but 3 years is a long ass time in the NFL. Gregory also isn't going to get better with more experience in the system, his problems last year were physical limitations and being unathletic.