You be the GM

I know there will be debates in the next two weeks of how we should spend the added cap room, but really, a DL of Jones-Wilfork-Melton-Ninkovich/Armstead would be the best line in football.

patsinthesnow said:

I know there will be debates in the next two weeks of how we should spend the added cap room, but really, a DL of Jones-Wilfork-Melton-Ninkovich/Armstead would be the best line in football.

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I'm assuming that he'll get tagged, but that would be absolutely fantastic if he hits the market.

ivanvamp said:

Well now that Brady's extension gives us an additional $7 million to play with, that gives all of us an opportunity to revise our "play the GM" scenarios. Now I can keep Welker and still do all the things I wanted to do to improve the defense.

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I think that we can potentially retain Welker, keep some of our own, address the defense (although maybe not to the point that many here want with multiple big names) and carry over some money into next season too.

patsinthesnow said:

I know there will be debates in the next two weeks of how we should spend the added cap room, but really, a DL of Jones-Wilfork-Melton-Ninkovich/Armstead would be the best line in football.

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No doubt, although I'm always leery of throwing big money at one of the bigger names in the FA market every year--as tempting as it is, it's also a significant gamble too.

I think that maybe I'd rather see a decent pass rusher brought in along with a decent pickup on the DL, maybe just not in the name of Melton. I certainly agree that it needs to be addressed, but there are pros/cons for both sides of the debate as to whether paying someone huge money like that would be worth it or not.

One way or another, we can all start dreaming about our various fantsay scenarios that we want, so that will help to pass the time for the next 2-3 weeks.

supafly said:

No doubt, although I'm always leery of throwing big money at one of the bigger names in the FA market every year--as tempting as it is, it's also a significant gamble too.

I think that maybe I'd rather see a decent pass rusher brought in along with a decent pickup on the DL, maybe just not in the name of Melton. I certainly agree that it needs to be addressed, but there are pros/cons for both sides of the debate as to whether paying someone huge money like that would be worth it or not.

One way or another, we can all start dreaming about our various fantsay scenarios that we want, so that will help to pass the time for the next 2-3 weeks.

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Well said. I'm not talking break the bank stupid money obviously. Offer him 7-8 million a year and see if he takes it. Let the Bears or another dumb team pay him insane money in the range of 10mil a year +.

patsinthesnow said:

Well said. I'm not talking break the bank stupid money obviously. Offer him 7-8 million a year and see if he takes it. Let the Bears or another dumb team pay him insane money in the range of 10mil a year +.

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Yeah I'd be fine with adding him to the line for good money. I still have Adailus Thomas nightmares though about the big money pacts from outside players though.

I'm assuming that Chicago will do their best to keep him. They'd be crazy not to, considering that he excels in their system, is young, etc.

The priority should be to trade Mallett. He now had 2 years to learn under Brady and maybe some teams still see something in him. This QB class lacks any kind of sure franchise caliber QB so maybe one team is willing to part his 2nd round pick for him. Cassell seems to be done in KC and I bet he'd be willing to be a back up here again. A 2nd rounder could be huge in this draft class. Maybe it hasn't got many blue chippers but lots of depth in various positions.

Mallett has no chance of being Brady's heir so cash in on him in this great opportunity. Mallett to the Browns to compete with Weeden? Sounds like a very good solution for both teams

patsinthesnow said:

I know there will be debates in the next two weeks of how we should spend the added cap room, but really, a DL of Jones-Wilfork-Melton-Ninkovich/Armstead would be the best line in football.

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Come on, man.

MUFC7 said:

The priority should be to trade Mallett. He now had 2 years to learn under Brady and maybe some teams still see something in him. This QB class lacks any kind of sure franchise caliber QB so maybe one team is willing to part his 2nd round pick for him. Cassell seems to be done in KC and I bet he'd be willing to be a back up here again. A 2nd rounder could be huge in this draft class. Maybe it hasn't got many blue chippers but lots of depth in various positions.

Mallett has no chance of being Brady's heir so cash in on him in this great opportunity. Mallett to the Browns to compete with Weeden? Sounds like a very good solution for both teams

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Cleveland addressed the Mallett to CLE rumors a couple of weeks ago and claimed that they are not interested, and I'm sure that was not under the assumption that a 2nd rd pick would be the compensation either. It's much more likely that they aren't interested in parting with a mid-round pick.

This whole "there are no QB's in the draft" thing is a bit overhyped. Yes it's a crappy year for QB's. That's understandable after the last few drafts gave many teams starters from day one. It's the law of averages. That said, there are still a handful of 2nd-3rd-4th round QB's who will be taken, so it isn't like they aren't out there, they just don't have 1st round talent. We are still going to see teams select QB's, it's just that there won't be a handful of them taken in round one anymore, so the story is getting played up a bit.

Then there is the fact that there are currently at least 3 top quality backups that any NFL QB-needy team is looking at right now, and all 3 of these (at least 2 of them) can be had and are expected to hit the market or via trades:

Alex Smith (SF isn't going to pay him almost 9 million to sit on the bench)
Matt Flynn (Ditto for Seattle who has found their starter, although Flynn doesn't cost as much as Smith, he is still way too expensive for a backup)
Nick Foles (Suddenly he's the 'new' Kevin Kolb these days)

That gives 3 QB needy teams options right there, assuming they don't want the Matt Barkley's, Ryan Nassib's, Geno Smith's, Tyler Wilson's, Mike Glennon's, and Landry Jones's of the world (6 more). I am assuming that at least 3 "QB needy" teams will take a shot at one of these as a starter, possibly more. That crosses at least 6-7 NFL teams off the list in those options.

The "idea" of Mallet being some top notch upper tiered backup who will net us an easy 2nd rounder is a nice idea, but it is currently a fantasy. Without any tape or game situations to go on, it would be an insane risk for someone to take unless Belichick suddenly is okay with accepting a 4th or 5th round pick as compensation. Then that would leave us with 2 yrs wasted in the system, a wasted 3rd round pick, and no viable backup.

I think the Pats should explore trading Mallet, and I'd be willing for them to get a 3rd round pick for him. They need picks, and they can almost certainly add either Hoyer or Cassel to replace him, if they don't want Kafka to be the #2.

Boy, what a day.

(1) Brady in line to be a Patriot for life.
(2) New contract gives NE about $30 million (give or take a few) to spend.
(3) Welker's new deal looks to be in the works at a pretty reasonable price.
(4) Leaves them with more than $20 million to re-sign Talib and Vollmer, and still add another big FA signing if they want. Or let Vollmer go, fill in with a modest FA replacement, and add two other stud FAs on D.
(5) Gives us a good reminder of just how much the Jets suck.

ivanvamp said:

I think the Pats should explore trading Mallet, and I'd be willing for them to get a 3rd round pick for him. They need picks, and they can almost certainly add either Hoyer or Cassel to replace him, if they don't want Kafka to be the #2.

Boy, what a day.

(1) Brady in line to be a Patriot for life.
(2) New contract gives NE about $30 million (give or take a few) to spend.
(3) Welker's new deal looks to be in the works at a pretty reasonable price.
(4) Leaves them with more than $20 million to re-sign Talib and Vollmer, and still add another big FA signing if they want. Or let Vollmer go, fill in with a modest FA replacement, and add two other stud FAs on D.
(5) Gives us a good reminder of just how much the Jets suck.

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Lets be fair, though. When teams ramp up for great success, there can be cap complications after that. Aren't you being kind of hard on the Jets for the fallout from building that go for broke dynasty. After all we are only in good cap shape and they in bad because they spent so much to build that dynasty that has dominated our division......oh..........wait.

Trading Mallett won't be a slam dunk because at the moment he's not all the rage. It's the mobile QB with the decent arm you hope can pick up the nuances of reading defenses. And stay healthy. Although in the end he has the one thing many coaches can't get over, a cannon arm. He'd have to go to a team with an above average pass blocking OL and a stable of middle-deep, speedy, physical WR's who get seperation and an OC whose forte is the vertical game and has no interest in the rage du jour.

Keeping him much longer doesn't make much sense. He was never Brady's replacement. He's not even an ideal backup. But it won't get any easier to market him. Teams know he's available now. Bill just can't bring himself to earmark reps for marketing purposes, they are too important to the season. In a deep draft getting a higher third than you used on him (and maybe change) would be fine provided they can get Cassel or Hoyer back. Then you draft another developmental QB and maybe let he and Kafka duke it out in camp for a roster or PS spot. And you keep looking for a guy who stands out. Although you don't get serious about needing to locate that guy until you get 2-3 years farther out. I don't think another year will increase Mallett's value unless they make an effort to showcase him and he doesn't spit the bit in the process. And that's just not Bill's style. Besides, a third this year is the equivalent of a second next year...

supafly said:

Then there is the fact that there are currently at least 3 top quality backups that any NFL QB-needy team is looking at right now, and all 3 of these (at least 2 of them) can be had and are expected to hit the market or via trades:

Alex Smith (SF isn't going to pay him almost 9 million to sit on the bench)
Matt Flynn (Ditto for Seattle who has found their starter, although Flynn doesn't cost as much as Smith, he is still way too expensive for a backup)
Nick Foles (Suddenly he's the 'new' Kevin Kolb these days)

.

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The problem with Smith and Flynn is that they both lost their starting jobs to, essentially, rookies/first year starters (albeit good ones).

Also, if the 49ers trade Smith before the March 14th deadline, the new team will have to pick up almost $10 million in cap costs.


The Cap Implications of Trading 49'ers QB Alex Smith - Over the Cap


My understanding with Matt Flynn is that a new team would be looking at a cap hit of around $7.5 million this coming year.

» Over the Cap- Seattle Seahawks 2013 Salary Cap Page


Foles and Mallett both come at bargain basement prices. Are both Smith and Flynn $7-9 million better (or more valuable) than Foles and Mallett? I'm not sure that either is worth that much more.
I think that both Foles and Mallett are low risk options who could be much more attractive than any rookie in a weak QB class or a much pricier veteran who lost their starting job.

RI Patriots fan said:

The problem with Smith and Flynn is that they both lost their starting jobs to, essentially, rookies/first year starters (albeit good ones).

Also, if the 49ers trade Smith before the March 14th deadline, the new team will have to pick up almost $10 million in cap costs.


The Cap Implications of Trading 49'ers QB Alex Smith - Over the Cap


My understanding with Matt Flynn is that a new team would be looking at a cap hit of around $7.5 million this coming year.

» Over the Cap- Seattle Seahawks 2013 Salary Cap Page


Foles and Mallett both come at bargain basement prices. Are both Smith and Flynn $7-9 million better (or more valuable) than Foles and Mallett? I'm not sure that either is worth that much more.
I think that both Foles and Mallett are low risk options who could be much more attractive than any rookie in a weak QB class or a much pricier veteran who lost their starting job.

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Most of Smith's cap hit is salary which any team trading for him would be on the hook for. The difference of a million on the roster bonus is negligible.

What they both have that Mallett doesn't is real NFL experience. And in Smith's case lots of it including as a winner in the last two seasons. He lost his spot due to a concussion. He certainly wasn't playing poorly.

MoLewisrocks said:

Most of Smith's cap hit is salary which any team trading for him would be on the hook for. The difference of a million on the roster bonus is negligible.

What they both have that Mallett doesn't is real NFL experience. And in Smith's case lots of it including as a winner in the last two seasons. He lost his spot due to a concussion. He certainly wasn't playing poorly.

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But NFL experience didn't help him keep his job.

Do you think he's worth $9 million more than Mallett? Also, would it cost you more in trade value for Smith? I'm not sure it's a slam dunk that Smith is the better option to Mallett given both trade cost as well as cap hit.

RI Patriots fan said:

But NFL experience didn't help him keep his job.

Do you think he's worth $9 million more than Mallett? Also, would it cost you more in trade value for Smith? I'm not sure it's a slam dunk that Smith is the better option to Mallett given both trade cost as well as cap hit.

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Absolutely. Mallett is a total unknown quantity. And he will be replacing a guy who was already on the Chief's cap for for more than that $7.5M of which will go away on his release. Reid is another WCO guy and Mallett would not be an ideal fit for his offense. Short, quick, accurate. Mallett would have a better shot of being valued for arm strength vs. accuracy or experience in a vertical offense loaded with WR's who spread you out and go deep.

MoLewisrocks said:

Absolutely. Mallett is a total unknown quantity. And he will be replacing a guy who was already on the Chief's cap for for more than that $7.5M of which will go away on his release. Reid is another WCO guy and Mallett would not be an ideal fit for his offense. Short, quick, accurate. Mallett would have a better shot of being valued for arm strength vs. accuracy or experience in a vertical offense loaded with WR's who spread you out and go deep.

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But there is still an opportunity cost. Regardless of what was gained with the departure of Cassel, they still have to spend an extra $9 million. So is Smith worth Mallett and Wes Welker (for instance) as well as any additional trade cost?

15.5 mil plus 7 from Brady = 22.5

welker 4 / 32 with 6 mil hit in year 1
Chris Gamble 4/32 with 6 mil cap hit year 1
then bring back Arrington, Cole, Edelman, Woody, Thomas
sign Hoyer or Cassel for a min contract and trade Mallet for a 3

pre draft roster:

QB: Brady, Cassel
RB: Ridley, Bolden, Vereen, Demps, Larsen
WR: Welker, Lloyd , Edelman
TE: Gronk, Hernandez, Ballard, Who-Man, Fells
OT: Solder, Cannon, Zusevics
OG/OC: Mankins, Conolly, Wendell, McDonald, Thomas

DE: Ninko, Jones, Cunningham, Francis, Bequette
DT: Wilfork, Armstead, Love, Deaderick
LB: Mayo, Spikes, Hightower, Rivera
CB: Talib, Dennard, Dowling, Arrington, Cole
S: McCourty, Gregory, Wilson

ST: Aiken, Mesko, Ghost, Slater, Ebner

Draft you can need an OT in the 1st or trade back into the 2nd and then take one if there's none you like. Then I'd take a WR in the 2nd because it seems like that will be an excellent value this year with so many talented WR projected to go in that range. We also need to develope some young talent at the position. Could even use on of your 3's to go up and get a guy in the mid 2nd. Then try and trade into the future or draft some specialists (pass rushing, DE, coverage LB) or fallers due to injury.

RI Patriots fan said:

But there is still an opportunity cost. Regardless of what was gained with the departure of Cassel, they still have to spend an extra $9 million. So is Smith worth Mallett and Wes Welker (for instance) as well as any additional trade cost?

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You are talking about the #1 overall pick in the first round of the '05 draft. Smith really proved himself the last couple of yrs in my opinion, particularly this season where he left after 9 games due to injury.

In those 9 games his team only lost twice, and he finished the season with a completion percentage over 70% (153 completions/218 attempts).

Any team who is looking for a proven win-now talented and experienced QB would not mind one bit that they'd have to pay 9 million dollars to do so. He also tailors his passing style to the likes of the W.Coast offense which is currently being employed by KC and CLE.

Matt Flynn is pretty much the same in some aspects, and there are teams who would certainly take a chance on him for 7.5 million too. Seattle just did it last offseason when he was the "in" choice for a starting QB who was a backup.

Nick Foles is a bit of a reach in my opinion, but he was a 3rd round draft choice last year and had a great college career at Arizona. I see him kind of like the newer version of the hype which was Kevin Kolb. A lot of hype and potential, but not as much to show on the field, although in his defense he was a rookie. The market would likely be much more limited for him, and we don't even know if he's available or not, although a 2nd round draft pick may be very enticing, especially to a new coach who has his own thoughts in mind of running his Oregon style offense with either Mike Vick or Dennis Dixon.

Those 3 would be the current trendy choices for teams looking for a starting caliber QB at the moment, although if Carson Palmer refuses to take a pay cut he may be added to the mix himself, which would make at least #4. He would provide the Raiders with a potential savings of 6 million dollars this year if released, so we should probably know soon.

RI Patriots fan said:

But there is still an opportunity cost. Regardless of what was gained with the departure of Cassel, they still have to spend an extra $9 million. So is Smith worth Mallett and Wes Welker (for instance) as well as any additional trade cost?

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Apparently Reid thinks so and he's on the rebound in an area he knows can get hostile in a hurry. If he thinks Smith can pick up and run his offense, $8M more is well worth the investment to him... Again, Mallett has no time in a WCO similar to Reids. And he's not well suited to it. Smith has (fortunately or unfortunately) spent time in a variety of offenses.

I also don't think there is any appetite for another Brady backup in KC regardless of price.