An Approach To The Offseason

[mgteich]

We will have a top 5 team and SB contender if we bring back our 2013 team plus the IR folks.
Folks can whine, but I think that a 12-4 team with our IR folks and the draft is awesome.
=====================
A) INITIAL DECISIONS
e.g. keep Amendola, cut Sopoaga, say goodbye to Spikes (without replacement), make a decision regarding Wilfork

B) DECIDE BETWEEN BRINGING BACK A PLAYER AND A FREE AGENT REPLACEMENT
e.g: Wendell or a free agent center
e.g.: Blount or a free agent running back
e.g: Edelman or a fa WR

C) UPGRADE BY REPLACEMENT
e,g, don't cut Connolly or Gregory or Kelly until you have a replacement. (I would extend them all, but that's me)

D) MAJOR FREE AGENTS ARE VERY UNLIKELY
as always, we might get one

E) FILL IN WITH MINOR FREE AGENTS
as always

F) DRAFT WITH FLEXIBILITY
have lots of upgrade opportunities but only one real need

G) REMEMBER THAT WE WILL NEED $6M of cap room for transactions after June 1

 

[mayoclinic]

I think the single biggest decision will be how to handle Wilfork's situation. A future HOFer and franchise cornerstone, but with an $11M cap hit, coming off of a potentially career-threatening injury given his age, weight, and family history of diabetes. Play this one wrong and it could screw up everything. The question is what "wrong" is.

Most of the rest of the stuff will sort itself out, and is mostly a money question - how much Edelman and Blount will want, how expensive some of the FA options will be.

 

[borg]

Regular season wins are awesome
And postseasons with no pass rush are awesome
And post seasons with no deep threat are awesome
Can't forget giving up long 3rd down conversions.....simply awesome
And watching other teams host Lombardis the last 9 years..........

 

[Ring 6]

We will have a top 5 team and SB contender if we bring back our 2013 team plus the IR folks.
Folks can whine, but I think that a 12-4 team with our IR folks and the draft is awesome.
=====================
A) INITIAL DECISIONS
e.g. keep Amendola, cut Sopoaga, say goodbye to Spikes (without replacement), make a decision regarding Wilfork

B) DECIDE BETWEEN BRINGING BACK A PLAYER AND A FREE AGENT REPLACEMENT
e.g: Wendell or a free agent center
e.g.: Blount or a free agent running back
e.g: Edelman or a fa WR

C) UPGRADE BY REPLACEMENT
e,g, don't cut Connolly or Gregory or Kelly until you have a replacement. (I would extend them all, but that's me)

D) MAJOR FREE AGENTS ARE VERY UNLIKELY
as always, we might get one

E) FILL IN WITH MINOR FREE AGENTS
as always

F) DRAFT WITH FLEXIBILITY
have lots of upgrade opportunities but only one real need

G) REMEMBER THAT WE WILL NEED $6M of cap room for transactions after June 1

6 million is a high estimate.
The net cost of the draft choices is less than half of that.
The 52/53 players phenomenon usually ADDS cap space, not reduces it as players under the top 51 make the team.
We rarely spend much on in season acquisitions.

 

[OhExaulted1]

H) BEG GOODELL AND THE LEAGUE OFFICE TO GIVE US A BREAK ON HERNANDEZ' DEAD MONEY HIT AND SPREAD IT OUT

Won't happen but it's still a major handcuff. All the other dead money players totals combined is like half of that moron's $7.5 mil hit. Thanks douchebag.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Regular season wins are awesome
And postseasons with no pass rush are awesome
And post seasons with no deep threat are awesome
Can't forget giving up long 3rd down conversions.....simply awesome
And watching other teams host Lombardis the last 9 years..........

Here's a thought: why not actually contribute something useful, rather than just complaining all the time?

 

[Deus Irae]

We will have a top 5 team and SB contender if we bring back our 2013 team plus the IR folks.
Folks can whine, but I think that a 12-4 team with our IR folks and the draft is awesome.
=====================
A) INITIAL DECISIONS
e.g. keep Amendola, cut Sopoaga, say goodbye to Spikes (without replacement), make a decision regarding Wilfork

B) DECIDE BETWEEN BRINGING BACK A PLAYER AND A FREE AGENT REPLACEMENT
e.g: Wendell or a free agent center
e.g.: Blount or a free agent running back
e.g: Edelman or a fa WR

C) UPGRADE BY REPLACEMENT
e,g, don't cut Connolly or Gregory or Kelly until you have a replacement. (I would extend them all, but that's me)

D) MAJOR FREE AGENTS ARE VERY UNLIKELY
as always, we might get one

E) FILL IN WITH MINOR FREE AGENTS
as always

F) DRAFT WITH FLEXIBILITY
have lots of upgrade opportunities but only one real need

G) REMEMBER THAT WE WILL NEED $6M of cap room for transactions after June 1

This team has been in Lombardi or bust mode since 2007, so your opening statement makes no sense.

 

[OhExaulted1]

Regular season wins are awesome
And postseasons with no pass rush are awesome
And post seasons with no deep threat are awesome
Can't forget giving up long 3rd down conversions.....simply awesome
And watching other teams host Lombardis the last 9 years..........

If you were a Browns, Bills or Raiders fan we'd have to talk you down off a ledge.

 

[Keyser Söze]

you're forgetting the games we pulled out of our ass. Our record was 12-4 but could have easily been a lot worse. We have some work to do.

 

[JackBauer]

Regular season wins are awesome
And postseasons with no pass rush are awesome
And post seasons with no deep threat are awesome
Can't forget giving up long 3rd down conversions.....simply awesome
And watching other teams host Lombardis the last 9 years..........

Quality contribution, as usual.

Does that make 3,522 posts of complete garbage? Or are there some pearls of wisdom buried in there?

 

[JackBauer]

you're forgetting the games we pulled out of our ass. Our record was 12-4 but could have easily been a lot worse. We have some work to do.

On the flip side, their record could have easily been better had they not gotten bent over by the refs.

 

[mgteich]

Posters have been a Lombardi or bust syndrome since 2007.

If Belichick had that view last year, the offseason and the draft would have been different. If all he cared about was 2013, he would have spent more in the offseason (not keeping $4M to carry forward), certainly kept Welker and drafted Elam. Alternately, he would have signed a top safety instead of Wilson and used the draft pick instead of trading down.

This team has been in Lombardi or bust mode since 2007, so your opening statement makes no sense.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

This team has been in Lombardi or bust mode since 2007, so your opening statement makes no sense.

How does trading Richard Seymour for a draft pick a year later (one example of many) mesh with the team (management in particular) being in a Lombardi or bust mode?

Winning the Lombardi is always the goal, but we have also often been quite willing to be a diminished team in the short term for a perceived future benefit.

 

[Deus Irae]

Posters have been a Lombardi or bust syndrome since 2007.

If Belichick had that view last year, the offseason and the draft would have been different. If all he cared about was 2013, he would have spent more in the offseason (not keeping $4M to carry forward), certainly kept Welker and drafted Elam. Alternately, he would have signed a top safety instead of Wilson and used the draft pick instead of trading down.

I'm not sure where you're getting this theory from. Even in 2007, clearly a Lombardi or bust year, signings were largely 'bargain' types. That's what BB does. It's not as if they paid out huge deals for Welker and Stallworth in '07, after all. Last year, they had Brady's restructure and they used most of that money. That's what tells us they were going for it. It's not who they spent it on. It's that they maneuvered to get into spending mode.

As for Elam/Welker/Wilson.... He screwed up, big time. That doesn't mean he wasn't going for it.

 

[Deus Irae]

How does trading Richard Seymour for a draft pick a year later (one example of many) mesh with the team (management in particular) being in a Lombardi or bust mode?

Winning the Lombardi is always the goal, but we have also often been quite willing to be a diminished team in the short term for a perceived future benefit.

Don't get me started on the Seymour trade, because that's right at the top of his post-2007 bonehead moves list, but not every move is going to be a "See? I told you!" move.

 

[supafly]

On the flip side, their record could have easily been better had they not gotten bent over by the refs.

I believe the record was pretty much where it should have been. Yes, I agree with the poster who said we could've very well lost another couple of games, but I also agree with you that we could've won another as well. As we all know, things may very well have been much different, had we not had an unusual amount of injuries occur, particularly with Talib in back to back AFCCGs.

There's nothing wrong with the general makeup of the team, as usual, and I assume that our offseason approach will be just like any of the past years since Belichick has been here. Both the future and the present will be taken into account in an attempt to find the most value for the buck.

 

[supafly]

Posters have been a Lombardi or bust syndrome since 2007.

If Belichick had that view last year, the offseason and the draft would have been different. If all he cared about was 2013, he would have spent more in the offseason (not keeping $4M to carry forward), certainly kept Welker and drafted Elam. Alternately, he would have signed a top safety instead of Wilson and used the draft pick instead of trading down.

Obviously, Belichick, and Kraft both keep an eye on the bigger picture and aren't willing to sacrifice anything to improve their odds that much just for one year, so the approach isn't likely to change in the least.

As far as having a "Lombardi or bust" syndrome since 2007, we possibly have the greatest QB/HC combination in NFL history and are generally seen as one of the Super Bowl favorites every year. The hype machine is constantly moving and that's to be expected, especially when you're coming off of 4 straight first round byes that have resulted in zero titles and near misses every single year.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

The WR position will be stronger by giving the rookie class a year to mature. We should sign Edelman if we can without breaking the bank and keep Amendola for a make good year because he will cost too much to cut.

Ideally Wilfork will restructure his contract, cut Sopoaga who did nothing, keep the young guys on the the D-Line.

Cut Spikes who will be expensive and is too much of a specialist. The team will miss the attitude on the field and be glad to get rid of the attitude off the field. Let Collins play.

Cut Wilson or Gregory to save money at safety. The OP didn't mention Talib. If the team can't sign him to a reasonable contract it may be worth the franchise tag to see if he is worth a long term investment. It seems as if you can ever have enough CB's.

Save money on Blount and invest in some tight end depth.

The biggest issue is the o-line. There are issues at guard and center. This might be good place to use the draft. Hard to tell if a rookie will be as productive as in the past without Dante to coach them up.

Be opportunistic with the draft and free agency to add talent and depth depending upon how the signing of existing players works out.

 

[AzorianPats]

Posters have been a Lombardi or bust syndrome since 2007.

If Belichick had that view last year, the offseason and the draft would have been different. If all he cared about was 2013, he would have spent more in the offseason (not keeping $4M to carry forward), certainly kept Welker and drafted Elam. Alternately, he would have signed a top safety instead of Wilson and used the draft pick instead of trading down.

Jaimie Collins>>>>Matt Elam

 

[mayoclinic]

Jaimie Collins>>>>Matt Elam

Yup, and it's not even close.

And I personally think that the Ravens screwed up in drafting Elam over Jonathan Cyprien.