Pats acquire TE Michael Matthews from Giants

Deus Irae said:

I still want Graham back. IMO, he would have helped bring home 19-0, he's the best damned blocking tight end this team's seen in the BB era, and his ability to absolutely crush the opponents would make this a much more physical offensive line. Of all the players that the Patriots have 'allowed' to go elsewhere, his loss annoys me the most.

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Indeed, but Graham was a free agent who made it clear he preferred

1) to play for his hometown team
2) wanted to get paid more for it that the Patriots wanted to give
3) believed (as it turns out, incorrectly) that he would catch more passes elsewhere

The Patriots had no realistic chance of keeping Graham. Such is life.

T-cat said:

ok think about it we have a fast TE who can be decent catching and ok blocking (Watson) then we have a perfectly balanced TE (baker) and a huge power TE (Mathews) so we have a tight end for every situation and imagine if this Mathews guy caught a ball and was running straight towords a corner...id have to look away

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You can either imagine it or you can go back and watch the 2008 preseason game between patriots and giants and see Fernando Bryant lose his roster spot over one play (or so it seemed). In hind sight it probably would have been better if it was Deltha O'Neal there

thewaylifeshouldbe said:

Most of the TE's are field stretchers now with some mediocre blocking skills. This kid Matthews has made it in the NFL solely on his blocking ability and work ethic.

I also think that whatever he has been will get better. I have faith that BB will coach this guy up to another level. Remember, this is only his third year.

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Maybe the team did not coach up TE position well. The musical chair with TEs is not a good track record. Watson, Thomas, Mills, Brady, Smith, player after player underperformed. Some might argue some players don't fit to team's need; but then why did we target these players in the first place.

I had high hopes for Alex Smith and Dave Thomas. David Thomas had over 100 yards in one game during his rookie year. He was quick with good hands. We though he could really play. Alex Smith, leading receiver of Bucs 3 seasons, 4 yr/1200+ yards, 11 tds. Seemed like a real player. I just though at least one of these guys would be real players with us. Did we screw them up? I am not sure.

Ben Watson regressed from a beast 3 years ago. Garret Mills we gave up quickly. Brady we tried and tossed for a year. Now we basically tossed out Thomas for nothing, we tried Smith but did not work (cost a 5th). Did we not know what they were, or did we fail to develop them, or were they lazy, or was the system unflexible? If the skill set was mismatched, why did we target these players in the first place. Coaching has to mold them, and find ways to utilize them. You can't expect players to come in and your scheme and player skills fit perfectly. There is got to be development on both player and coaching side, and adjust scheme to make everything work. They all seem to be have that unfulfilled potential. We invested big (drafts) on that position. We drafted TE high and traded often. Not much has worked. When several big investments promising guys don't work out, maybe we targeted the wrong guys, maybe we should look at coaching. Feeling a bit uneasy here.

I agree with Dan. The TE position may now be balanced, or at least look balanced, but that balance came at a very high cost. Besides, why trade anything for somebody who would likely have been cut anyway? If Bill wants to throw away draft picks, then why doesn't he throw one towards finding a decent ILB?

Previously, someone on the board said that they were probably badmouthing Matthews on the Giants board, just like some people were saying things about Smith on this board. However, I checked it out (New York Giants Message Boards - TE Michael Matthews traded to NE for conditonal pick...) and the sentiment doesn't seem to be that way at all. What most people are saying is that they lost a great blocking TE and asking the question who is going to seal the end for Jacobs now that Matthews is gone. I think it is a good move for the Patriots because they have a couple quick, explosive backs and if they have a guy that can create some room around the edge, it could be a very valuable asset.

By the way, if you want to see the block where matthews takes out two Patriots and springs Boss for extra 25 yards in that final preseason game, you can find it here:

http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2009090354/2009/PRE4/giants@patriots#tab:watch

The block occurs about 17 seconds into the clip at about the Giants 47 yard line, the play ends inside the Pats 30. Matthews gets a good piece of #25 and takes out #10. The block occurs about 20 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage, which also shows that the guy is pretty quick and can get downfield and make blocks, as well as block on the line or in the backfield.

TTornado said:

However, I checked it out (New York Giants Message Boards - TE Michael Matthews traded to NE for conditonal pick...) and the sentiment doesn't seem to be that way at all. What most people are saying is that they lost a great blocking TE and asking the question who is going to seal the end for Jacobs now that Matthews is gone. I think it is a good move for the Patriots because they have a couple quick, explosive backs and if they have a guy that can create some room around the edge, it could be a very valuable asset.

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so you are saying Giants gave us a good to great player? what the draft pick involved? I find that hard to believe.

bigfandan said:

so you are saying Giants gave us a good to great player? what the draft pick involved? I find that hard to believe.

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I am not saying he is a great player, I am just saying that the sentiment on the Giants board isnt at all like the argument that is going on this board about Smith. They seem to think he is a pretty good player, which I agree with. He is a versatile player who can block well out of multiple positions. He is not going to catch a lot of balls for you, but he will be great at doing what he does.

TTornado said:

I am not saying he is a great player, I am just saying that the sentiment on the Giants board isnt at all like the argument that is going on this board about Smith. They seem to think he is a pretty good player, which I agree with. He is a versatile player who can block well out of multiple positions. He is not going to catch a lot of balls for you, but he will be great at doing what he does.

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I hope you are right and his blocking will help our running game. Do you know what pick we traded for him?

TTornado said:

Previously, someone on the board said that they were probably badmouthing Matthews on the Giants board, just like some people were saying things about Smith on this board. However, I checked it out (New York Giants Message Boards - TE Michael Matthews traded to NE for conditonal pick...) and the sentiment doesn't seem to be that way at all. What most people are saying is that they lost a great blocking TE and asking the question who is going to seal the end for Jacobs now that Matthews is gone. I think it is a good move for the Patriots because they have a couple quick, explosive backs and if they have a guy that can create some room around the edge, it could be a very valuable asset.

By the way, if you want to see the block where matthews takes out two Patriots and springs Boss for extra 25 yards in that final preseason game, you can find it here:

NFL Game Center: New York Giants at New England Patriots - 2009 Preseason Week 4

The block occurs about 17 seconds into the clip at about the Giants 47 yard line, the play ends inside the Pats 30. Matthews gets a good piece of #25 and takes out #10. The block occurs about 20 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage, which also shows that the guy is pretty quick and can get downfield and make blocks, as well as block on the line or in the backfield.

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welcome tornado......nice post....Matthews is a real nice pick-up.
He's world's above Smith as a blocking TE.Short money compared to Thomas or Smith.

In goal line situations,I can see Vollmer next to Matthews and just,wow.......i wouldn't want to be a safety,trying to make a tackle.It's all good about this pick-up.

bigfandan said:

I hope you are right and his blocking will help our running game. Do you know what pick we traded for him?

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I think its a conditional 7th rounder in 2011.

TTornado said:

Previously, someone on the board said that they were probably badmouthing Matthews on the Giants board, just like some people were saying things about Smith on this board. However, I checked it out (New York Giants Message Boards - TE Michael Matthews traded to NE for conditonal pick...) and the sentiment doesn't seem to be that way at all. What most people are saying is that they lost a great blocking TE and asking the question who is going to seal the end for Jacobs now that Matthews is gone. I think it is a good move for the Patriots because they have a couple quick, explosive backs and if they have a guy that can create some room around the edge, it could be a very valuable asset.

By the way, if you want to see the block where matthews takes out two Patriots and springs Boss for extra 25 yards in that final preseason game, you can find it here:

NFL Game Center: New York Giants at New England Patriots - 2009 Preseason Week 4

The block occurs about 17 seconds into the clip at about the Giants 47 yard line, the play ends inside the Pats 30. Matthews gets a good piece of #25 and takes out #10. The block occurs about 20 yards downfield from the line of scrimmage, which also shows that the guy is pretty quick and can get downfield and make blocks, as well as block on the line or in the backfield.

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Hahaha damn, took out Chung and Slater w/ one shove.

The question I have is why was he told he was cut before he was traded?

Does that mean we got screwed and could have had him for nothing, or does it mean that we wanted him and so worked out a trade anyway so no one else could get him?

NY Giants trade TE Michael Matthews to New England Patriots for 2011 draft pick - NJ.com

From the article:

"The Giants told Michael Matthews Saturday morning he had been cut.

"I wish they would've told me then I'd be traded," the tight end said with a laugh. "It would have been much easier to handle."

It's unclear if the Giants knew at the time they'd be sending Matthews to the Patriots by the end of the day, but that's what happened."

Lloyd_Christmas said:

Does that mean we got screwed and could have had him for nothing, or does it mean that we wanted him and so worked out a trade anyway so no one else could get him?

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Given the number of TE-starved teams in the league right now, it's hard to believe that Matthews would have made it down to the Pats in the waiver queue. Same as how the Saints paid a wee bit for Thomas to keep him away from the likes of the Bengals.

patchick said:

Given the number of TE-starved teams in the league right now, it's hard to believe that Matthews would have made it down to the Pats in the waiver queue. Same as how the Saints paid a wee bit for Thomas to keep him away from the likes of the Bengals.

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.......what she said.

I know for a fact that it was reported that the Bengals were interested in Matthews. He is a local kid from Sycamore High School in Cincy. I also heard there were a total of 4 teams interested (dont remember the other two), so the chances of the Pats getting him off waivers was small.

patchick said:

Given the number of TE-starved teams in the league right now, it's hard to believe that Matthews would have made it down to the Pats in the waiver queue. Same as how the Saints paid a wee bit for Thomas to keep him away from the likes of the Bengals.

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Ok, so my question now is HOW did this happen?

When they say he was called and told he was cut, was it not already recorded with the league or something? How else do they trade a player they supposedly already cut?

I assume that must be what it was... they told him he was cut (and presumbably LEAKED the info to see what interest it generated), then traded him for the best deal they could get (the Pats) rather than actually cutting him.

Lloyd_Christmas said:

Ok, so my question now is HOW did this happen?

When they say he was called and told he was cut, was it not already recorded with the league or something? How else do they trade a player they supposedly already cut?

I assume that must be what it was... they told him he was cut (and presumbably LEAKED the info to see what interest it generated), then traded him for the best deal they could get (the Pats) rather than actually cutting him.

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Giants could have leaked it, or, after finding out his client wasnt going to be retained, Matthews agent may have started talking to some teams. I guess you would have to talk to him or his agent to know for sure, but it is likely along those lines.