So the Patriots were interested in Bengals DE Michael Johnson

[BelichickFan]

Who will be Franchised by Cincy. Bedard says he would have been a top target and his info wasn't from throwing darts as a dartboard.

Just curious what the feeling is around here that this means.

Just an opportunity to get a player they really like ?

Want a true bookend for Chandler with Nink being a situational player ?

Looking for a final solution at LDE with Nink hitting FA in 12 months ?

Here's the tweets, FYI :

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard

DE Michael Johnson would have been a top target for the Patriots. Bengals will tag him

followed by :

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard

Not a dartboard RT @SashV_: wheres that comment coming from about Patriots and Johnson?

 

[Marqui]

I really hope that's true. Hopefully this means Bellichick has finally gotten sick of the weak pass rush.

 

[BradyFTW!]

I'm just relieved to know that Belichick wants to upgrade at LDE. If not Johnson, then someone else.

 

[strngplyr]

If true then I doubt we see much change at the WR position as most are expecting major overhauls.

Money needs to be spent on the past rush and/or coverage. We still have an extremely dynamic offense which was anything but complete last season with 2 of our biggest threats missing half the season and Vereen not truly emerging until late.

 

[Sciz]

The problem now is that there aren't really many starting LEs available. Johnson was a good candidate. Michael Bennett is probably the only LE left on the market that I'd have interest as a starter. Other than that, the Pats would be picking from guys who need to play OLB (Kruger, Spencer), a pure speed guy who doesn't defend the run (Avril), and a bunch of older, more situational rushers (Freeney, Abraham, Umenyiora).

 

[BelichickFan]

If this is a direction they're looking at then Michael Bennett could be a target. Strong run defender and good pass rusher in the early part of his prime at 27 and not expected to be tagged.

 

[BelichickFan]

Michael Bennett is probably the only LE left on the market that I'd have interest as a starter.

You beat me on him - time to start looking at DE in the draft I guess, starting with enormous Margus Hunt.

 

[stevedogc]

If this is a direction they're looking at then Michael Bennett could be a target. Strong run defender and good pass rusher in the early part of his prime at 27 and not expected to be tagged.

Id be surprised if the Bucs dont tag him. It looks as though they have alot of cap room (over 30 mil.) and no other big time free agents. 11.1 mil for Bennett for one season may be steep, but it would keep the Bucs in control. I wonder if they do target a someone to start opposite Jones if Ninks time is up. 2.5 cap hit this season and a UFA after this season.

Would like to see the Pats improve the pressure from the middle of the line as well. Melton, Randy Starks or Des Bryant would be nice.

 

[PATS68]

Well easy answer to this question is don't pass over the guy in the draft when you had a chance to draft him. I can't stand how BB talks up these players that he passes over in the draft time and time again.

 

[Sciz]

Well easy answer to this question is don't pass over the guy in the draft when you had a chance to draft him. I can't stand how BB talks up these players that he passes over in the draft time and time again.

Considering that the Pats' last pick before Johnson was Vollmer, I think passing over him worked out just fine.

 

[jmt57]

What I am hearing from people that are ususally reliable down here in Tampa is that the Bucs and Bennett are not close, and he'll likely become a free agent.

 

[Marqui]

What I am hearing from people that are ususally reliable down here in Tampa is that the Bucs and Bennett are not close, and he'll likely become a free agent.

I think there's a good chance the Pat's target him. He's a Rosevelt Colvin type.

 

[fester]

Well easy answer to this question is don't pass over the guy in the draft when you had a chance to draft him. I can't stand how BB talks up these players that he passes over in the draft time and time again.

Thank you Captain Hindsight.

Could it occur to you that occassionally, the Patriots will not hit on all of their picks, while other teams may or may not have the occassional hit as well.

OR

The Pats are allocated 7 picks a year and tend to have a few more choices than that and the given playing career of a competent player is 6 years or less, that there are more than 42 competent players in the league at any one time, so praising a player not on the Patriots for being more than bottom of the roster situational churn is not unusual especially given Belicheck's demosntrated history of almost never saying anything negative about a player no matter the situation (A. Thomas, A. Haynesworth for example).

I'm fairly sure that if Belicheck was ever asked for a comment on my soon to be collecting Social Security mother, he would talk her up like a valued contributor for his opponent next week who could bloom into Pro-Bowl contention if she worked hard enough and had the opportunity to stay healthy....

 

[Ring 6]

Who will be Franchised by Cincy. Bedard says he would have been a top target and his info wasn't from throwing darts as a dartboard.

Just curious what the feeling is around here that this means.

Just an opportunity to get a player they really like ?

Want a true bookend for Chandler with Nink being a situational player ?

Looking for a final solution at LDE with Nink hitting FA in 12 months ?

Here's the tweets, FYI :

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard

DE Michael Johnson would have been a top target for the Patriots. Bengals will tag him

followed by :

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard

Not a dartboard RT @SashV_: wheres that comment coming from about Patriots and Johnson?

Clearly anyone who has read my posts this off season knows I am a big fan of this news.
I consider improving the pass rush to be the #1 way to get this team over the top.

 

[PATS68]

Thank you Captain Hindsight.

Could it occur to you that occassionally, the Patriots will not hit on all of their picks, while other teams may or may not have the occassional hit as well.

OR

The Pats are allocated 7 picks a year and tend to have a few more choices than that and the given playing career of a competent player is 6 years or less, that there are more than 42 competent players in the league at any one time, so praising a player not on the Patriots for being more than bottom of the roster situational churn is not unusual especially given Belicheck's demosntrated history of almost never saying anything negative about a player no matter the situation (A. Thomas, A. Haynesworth for example).

I'm fairly sure that if Belicheck was ever asked for a comment on my soon to be collecting Social Security mother, he would talk her up like a valued contributor for his opponent next week who could bloom into Pro-Bowl contention if she worked hard enough and had the opportunity to stay healthy....

Well clown don't see glowing reviews here!



1

21

Chandler Jones

DE

Syracuse



1

25

Dont'a Hightower

LB

Alabama



2

48

Tavon Wilson

FS

Illinois



3

90

Jake Bequette

DE

Arkansas



6

197

Nate Ebner

DB

Ohio State



7

224

Alfonzo Dennard

CB

Nebraska



7

235

Jeremy Ebert

WR

Northwestern




2011 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

17

Nate Solder

T

Colorado



2

33

Ras-I Dowling

DB

Virginia



2

56

Shane Vereen

RB

California



3

73

Stevan Ridley

RB

LSU



3

74

Ryan Mallett

QB

Arkansas



5

138

Marcus Cannon

T

Texas Christian



5

159

Lee Smith

TE

Marshall



6

194

Markell Carter

LB

Central Arkansas



7

219

Malcolm Williams

DB

Texas Christian




2010 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

27

Devin McCourty

CB

Rutgers



2

42

Rob Gronkowski

TE

Arizona



2

53

Jermaine Cunningham

OLB

Florida



2

62

Brandon Spikes

ILB

Florida



3

90

Taylor Price

WR

Ohio U.



4

113

Aaron Hernandez

TE

Florida



5

150

Zoltan Mesko

P

Michigan



6

205

Ted Larsen

G

North Carolina State



7

208

Thomas Welch

OT

Vanderbilt



7

247

Brandon Deaderick

DE

Alabama



7

248

Kade Weston

DT

Georgia



7

250

Zac Robinson

QB

Oklahoma State




2009 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




2

34

Pat Chung

DB

Oregon



2

40

Ron Brace

DT

Boston College



2

41

Darius Butler

DB

Connecticut



2

58

Sebastian Vollmer

T

Houston



3

83

Brandon Tate

WR

North Carolina



3

97

Tyrone McKenzie

OLB

South Florida



4

123

Rich Ohrnberger

G

Penn State



5

170

George Bussey

T

Louisville



6

198

Jake Ingram

C

Hawaii



6

199

Stryker Sulak

DE

Missouri



6

207

Myron Pryor

DT

Kentucky



7

232

Julian Edelman

WR

Kent State



7

234

Darryl Richard

DT

Georgia Tech




2008 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

10

Jerod Mayo

ILB

Tennessee



2

62

Terrence Wheatley

CB

Colorado



3

78

Shawn Crable

OLB

Michigan



3

94

Kevin O'Connell

QB

San Diego State



4

129

Jonathan Wilhite

CB

Auburn



5

153

Matt Slater

WR

UCLA



6

197

Bo Ruud

LB

Nebraska




2007 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

24

Brandon Meriweather

DB

Miami (Fla.)



4

127

Kareem Brown

DT

Miami (Fla.)



5

171

Clint Oldenburg

T

Colorado State



6

180

Justin Rogers

LB

Southern Methodist



6

202

Mike Richardson

DB

Notre Dame



6

208

Justise Hairston

RB

Central Connecticut State



6

209

Corey Hilliard

OT

Oklahoma State



7

211

Oscar Lua

LB

USC



7

247

Mike Elgin

G

Iowa




2006 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

21

Laurence Maroney

RB

Minnesota



2

36

Chad Jackson

WR

Florida



3

86

David Thomas

TE

Texas



4

106

Garrett Mills

RB

Tulsa



4

118

Stephen Gostkowski

K

Memphis



5

136

Ryan O'Callaghan

T

California



6

191

Jeremy Mincey

LB

Florida



6

205

Dan Stevenson

G

Notre Dame



6

206

Le Kevin Smith

DT

Nebraska



7

229

Willie Andrews

CB

Baylor




2005 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

32

Logan Mankins

G

Fresno State



3

84

Ellis Hobbs

CB

Iowa State



3

100

Nick Kaczur

T

Toledo



4

133

James Sanders

SAF

Fresno State



5

170

Ryan Claridge

LB

Nevada-Las Vegas



7

230

Matt Cassel

QB

USC



7

255

Andy Stokes

TE

William Penn




2004 - New England Patriots



RD

SEL #

PLAYER

POSITION

SCHOOL




1

21

Vince Wilfork

NT

Miami (Fla.)



1

32

Benjamin Watson

TE

Georgia



2

63

Marquise Hill

DE

Louisiana State



3

95

Guss Scott

SAF

Florida



4

113

Dexter Reid

SAF

North Carolina



4

128

Cedric Cobbs

RB

Arkansas



5

164

P.K. Sam

WR

Florida State



7

233

Christian Morton

CB

Illinois

 

[Joker]

is there a point to this spamming?

 

[Joey007]

Longest post in the history of forum mankind.

 

[Wilfork#75]

At the start of the offseason I though Johnson would be a perfect fit for this team opposite Chandler Jones, just not a very realistic one. Whether he got the Franchise tag or a big contract I think he was out of the Pats price range. It is however encouraging to see us having interest in a guy like him. While I don't think we will find another guy like this in free agency (Michael Bennett is likely to be way overpaid now with little DE competition) there are some interesting options in the draft. Tank Carradine is the one who immediately stands out to me, and he could go anywhere from the 1st round to the 3rd round. Other guys that could be decent value if they fall into the 2nd or later on are Alex Okafor, Sam Montgomery, Cory Lemonier, Cornelius Washington, Devin Taylor and Williams Gholston.

 

[BritPat]

It looks like the moron filters have again been removed from the new members vetting process.

Come on Ian, sort it out!

As for Captain Spammer up there, Sciz had it right - they took Vollmer instead of Johnson. What's your point?

Saying that, I do disagree with Sciz about Cliff Avril. He's a terrific all round player.

 

[Raymond]

My index finger is now cramped and my mouse wheel worn out.