Rent a Defensive Back???

[JSn]

I think it's interesting to hear Bryant and Webster referred to as scrap. I understand they've been released by other teams, but given the fact that we have cap space why do you think we haven't gone for super-star corners?

Could it be the same reason some folks think Samuel is going to look like a shadow of his Patriot self with the Eagles?

I think BB and co. have insights into players, especially veterans who many have called washouts, and how they can show up in the right system.

Food for thought, and some of the long-time fans can probably bolster this list:

• Moss looked to be an iffy catch when the trade happened, between people claiming he would be ineffective and his attitude issues.
• Brady was #199 overall.
• Samuel was #120 overall.
• Seau was dumped by the chargers after SIXTEEN years due to injury troubles, which hit him again his first year in NE. In 2007 he set several career highs.
• Tedy Bruschi seemed to be finished football in 2005 after a stroke and the discovery of a hole in is heart. He was named comeback player of the year in 2005 and has been productive since.

This team seems to routinely make playmakers out of the scrap heap or at least out of players with low expectations.

I think anyone signed to a one year deal will likely stay there until the year plays out, but I wouldn't think of any of the veteran signees as simple camp fodder and I SURE wouldn't base what they can do here on what anyone besides them and BB have to say on the matter.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm still a little worried about our secondary. It seems to resemble to patchwork secondary of '05. Personally, I think the D will start to gel and the youth will rise up toward the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, though, we may be in for a few shoot-outs. The pressure our front seven gets on the quarterback will dictate the success of our rebuilt secondary.

 

[DaBruinz]

No way any of this happens, why would they extend Byrant or Webster? These are basically scrap heap guys that can be replaced in 10 minutes next year. There is no such thing as safety by numbers if everyone is average.

Bryant is a scrap heap guy? Why do you say that? Because he played on a garbage Lions defense that couldn't rush the passer if their life depended on it? Because he had no other help in the secondary? Do you know why the Lions cut Bryant? Salary cap. No other reason.

At Safety Harrison is near the end, he has 1-2 more good years left and is a free agent after this season. Williams has been cut by plenty of bad defenses, despite the hype he is clearly the 4th option at safety and maybe even behind Spann at this point. Signing Sanders provides a youthful base at Safety (Merriweather, Sanders), can the base be improved? Yes, of course but at least two players are in the mix. Right now Merriweather is the only Safety signed beyond this season.

Do you know what you are talking about? "Williams has been cut by plenty of bad defenses"? Please name ALL the bad defenses he's been on that he was "cut" from. He wasn't cut from Tennessee. He chose to leave. Or do you mean the Vikings where he missed an entire year due to a fractured knee-cap suffered in his first training camp with the Vikings?

Williams is more than the "4th" option at safety. Or have you not been paying attention to camp where Williams has been lining up with the 2nd team LBers? That's called versatility.

While Meriweather is the only safety signed beyond this season, there is probably a very good reason behind that. Its called the uncertainty with the new CBA. The Patriots were doing similar things during the previous negotiations. Some of that uncertainty has been laid to rest and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Patriots make an active effort to sign Sanders and Wilfork to extensions since they have quite a bit of salary cap space available.

 

[DaBruinz]

I'm still a little worried about our secondary. It seems to resemble to patchwork secondary of '05. Personally, I think the D will start to gel and the youth will rise up toward the end of the year. At the beginning of the year, though, we may be in for a few shoot-outs. The pressure our front seven gets on the quarterback will dictate the success of our rebuilt secondary.

Patchwork secondary of 2005? You mean when the team had 7 DBs on the IR by week 6? Hardly a fair comparison.

Its going to be interesting to see who makes the team, granted. But I think that people here really don't know enough about guys like Bryant and Lewis Sanders to be making some of the assinine comments that have been coming out.

Do any of you REALLY think that Belichick would have signed these guys if he felt they couldn't help the team?

And please don't mention Victor Green or Duane Starks because there have been plenty of others where BB and Pioli have gotten production that has helped this team.

 

[mgteich]

Perhaps Bryant and company (Lewis Sanders, and Webster) are the second coming of Warfield and company. Perhaps Bryant is the second coming of O-T-I-S. Time will tell. HOWEVER, Bryant should be a quality STARTER for Belichick. Wheatley should be fighting with the other for reps at nickel (and also with Richardson).

Patchwork secondary of 2005? You mean when the team had 7 DBs on the IR by week 6? Hardly a fair comparison.

Its going to be interesting to see who makes the team, granted. But I think that people here really don't know enough about guys like Bryant and Lewis Sanders to be making some of the assinine comments that have been coming out.

Do any of you REALLY think that Belichick would have signed these guys if he felt they couldn't help the team?

And please don't mention Victor Green or Duane Starks because there have been plenty of others where BB and Pioli have gotten production that has helped this team.

 

[mgteich]

You mention that Meriweather is the only safety signed past 2008. Why do you think Williams, Bryant, Webster, Spann and Lewis have all been signed to one-year contracts instead of TWO year contracts. Doesn't the cap effect of the CBA renegotiation have effects starting in 2010?

Bryant is a scrap heap guy? Why do you say that? Because he played on a garbage Lions defense that couldn't rush the passer if their life depended on it? Because he had no other help in the secondary? Do you know why the Lions cut Bryant? Salary cap. No other reason.



Do you know what you are talking about? "Williams has been cut by plenty of bad defenses"? Please name ALL the bad defenses he's been on that he was "cut" from. He wasn't cut from Tennessee. He chose to leave. Or do you mean the Vikings where he missed an entire year due to a fractured knee-cap suffered in his first training camp with the Vikings?

Williams is more than the "4th" option at safety. Or have you not been paying attention to camp where Williams has been lining up with the 2nd team LBers? That's called versatility.

While Meriweather is the only safety signed beyond this season, there is probably a very good reason behind that. Its called the uncertainty with the new CBA. The Patriots were doing similar things during the previous negotiations. Some of that uncertainty has been laid to rest and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Patriots make an active effort to sign Sanders and Wilfork to extensions since they have quite a bit of salary cap space available.

 

[Kontradiction]

Patchwork secondary of 2005? You mean when the team had 7 DBs on the IR by week 6? Hardly a fair comparison.

The 2005 secondary was ravaged with injuries. Thus, it was a patchwork secondary. This secondary is new and inexperienced in the system. They're coming in to replace the old guard that departed for bigger contracts. This is the definition of a patchwork secondary. They may not be under the same circumstances, but they can still be lumped in to the same crowd.

Its going to be interesting to see who makes the team, granted. But I think that people here really don't know enough about guys like Bryant and Lewis Sanders to be making some of the assinine comments that have been coming out.

Bryant was actually the more solid pick-up by us in the offseason. The rest are iffy. Oh, and I've seen enough of Bryant and James Sanders to form an opinion about both of them.

Do any of you REALLY think that Belichick would have signed these guys if he felt they couldn't help the team?

And please don't mention Victor Green or Duane Starks because there have been plenty of others where BB and Pioli have gotten production that has helped this team.

The pure notion that BB and Pioli can't do anything wrong in player evaluation is the assanine statement here. Sure, they have had a lot of success. More success than any in the business. Enough to make me trust them. But they have still had some pretty big duds. Two of them you mentioned yourself.

Face it, this is a brand new secondary. It takes a few games to get accustomed to the Pats' defensive scheme. It's patchwork. But patchwork can pay off... we've seen that in the past. For the record, I have faith that this secondary can work. I just don't have too much faith in them early in the season. I think we're in for some shoot-outs. As the season goes on, though, I think they will gel.

 

[cstjohn17]

Bryant is a scrap heap guy? Why do you say that? Because he played on a garbage Lions defense that couldn't rush the passer if their life depended on it? Because he had no other help in the secondary? Do you know why the Lions cut Bryant? Salary cap. No other reason.



Do you know what you are talking about? "Williams has been cut by plenty of bad defenses"? Please name ALL the bad defenses he's been on that he was "cut" from. He wasn't cut from Tennessee. He chose to leave. Or do you mean the Vikings where he missed an entire year due to a fractured knee-cap suffered in his first training camp with the Vikings?

Williams is more than the "4th" option at safety. Or have you not been paying attention to camp where Williams has been lining up with the 2nd team LBers? That's called versatility.

While Meriweather is the only safety signed beyond this season, there is probably a very good reason behind that. Its called the uncertainty with the new CBA. The Patriots were doing similar things during the previous negotiations. Some of that uncertainty has been laid to rest and I wouldn't be surprised to see the Patriots make an active effort to sign Sanders and Wilfork to extensions since they have quite a bit of salary cap space available.

I agree with the last part of the post, signing Sanders and Wilfork is a good idea. The rest of the post seems like "these are good players because the wear a Patriots uniform".

 

[Kontradiction]

The rest of the post seems like "these are good players because the wear a Patriots uniform".

Yep, that's about right. But then again, neither of us is really able to say that much. It's all speculation at this point. To be honest, I hope DaBruinz is right and they all pan out on the field. That would be great for the team. But I just don't think it's going to happen immediately.

 

[cstjohn17]

Yep, that's about right. But then again, neither of us is really able to say that much. It's all speculation at this point. To be honest, I hope DaBruinz is right and they all pan out on the field. That would be great for the team. But I just don't think it's going to happen immediately.

I will be happy if one of the three (Webster, Lewis or Bryant) makes an impact this year. Hopefully it is Bryant because the depth at Safety is better. By the sounds of it Wheatley and Wilhite bring as much to the table as L. Sanders and Webster. If it is tie I would go with youth.