Three Days until the Trade Deadline

Jonas Gray looked solid and I believe he can continue to be for the rest of the year

What we need desperately more than RB is a pass rusher. Justin Tuck is who I'm crossing my fingers for.

ausbacker said:

Dislike my post if you dislike it.


There are no consequences. If you want a good player you pay for them. Would I prefer he reworked his contract? Sure.


No, this is an irrelevant point. There is no factual basis to make the claim that there is every reason to believe he would struggle.


Considerably better. Jackson is considerably better than Dobson and Tyms, our supposed outside threats.


It doesn't appear that there are impact players available on D. That doesn't mean you should stop improving your team.

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If I could hug you I would. Sums up my thoughts as well. There are too many people thinking we shouldn't upgrade the WR corps. Is it our first need? No but if there isn't a deal in place to acquire an DE, LB, or HB then upgrading the next need on the team, WR, is a good option.

I can def see BB trying to bolster some of the depth issues on Defense.. they have a ton of picks in 2015 considering the Mankins trade the likely extra comp picks.

Here are some potential targets on really really bad teams.

Charles Woodson S
Justin Tuck DT - DE
JPP - DT / DE
Ryan Kerrigan - OLB / DE
Dashon Goldson - S
Chris Clemmons - DE
Shaun Phillips - DE
Mason Foster LB

yopats said:

I can def see BB trying to bolster some of the depth issues on Defense.. they have a ton of picks in 2015 considering the Mankins trade the likely extra comp picks.

Here are some potential targets on really really bad teams.

Charles Woodson S
Justin Tuck DT - DE
JPP - DT / DE
Ryan Kerrigan - OLB / DE
Dashon Goldson - S
Chris Clemmons - DE
Shaun Phillips - DE
Mason Foster LB

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I can't believe that Jason Pierre-Paul would be available. I know he's in a contract year, but still. He's only 25, and has to be a long-term building block. JPP and Chandler Jones would be a dream set of long term bookends if the Pats could somehow afford them both.

mayoclinic said:

I can't believe that Jason Pierre-Paul would be available. I know he's in a contract year, but still. He's only 25, and has to be a long-term building block. JPP and Chandler Jones would be a dream set of long term bookends if the Pats could somehow afford them both.

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Yeah it's def a pipe dream.. but I have seen stranger things happen.

Also Thomas Davis might be a decent pickup too.

deters said:

I'm in Tampa and watch Bucs play a lot. Vjax is still an elite player but he has had some lapses this season in catching. However he is still an explosive player and a game changer. Our very own normally sure handed Minitron has had the dropsies the last few weeks, it happens. Also, his attitude might not be the best because hes on a crap team that is just flat out horrible. He's extremely competitive and even all the money he's making doesn't make up for the emotions of losing every week.

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Vjax eagerly left a contending team for the moolah. You might say his leaving was the nail in the coffin of that contender.

Now with a loser but with the Big Bucks they no longer want to spend, he wants to keep his Big Bucks and go a contender again.

Suck Lemons. Vjax That is not how the World works.

Uncle Rico said:

Chris Mortensen ‏@mortreport 13m13 minutes ago
Nobody is expecting Marshawn Lynch to be a Seahawks in 2015 - including Lynch - but he is NOT on trade block for Tuesday's deadline

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I saw an article saying the same thing, because they had injury issues w/ other RBs.

zipster9 said:

Even better. Do you think Giants will trade Jason Pierre-Paul to Patriots?

This is his contract year. 2015 he is a free agent. No signs of a contract-extension (yet).

He is 25yrs old. 6'6" and a very good edge rusher (ala Pats vs. Giants in SB).

Giants are 3-4 right now...

Pipe dream, but...

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Unfortunately, the Giants have experience in being mediocre in the regular season and still winning the Super Bowl. Doubt they fold the season now.

AzPatsFan said:

Vjax eagerly left a contending team for the moolah. You might say his leaving was the nail in the coffin of that contender.

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I'm not understanding the underlined? He left the SD Chargers, who are currently one of the top teams in the AFC. They also played 2 games in the postseason last year as well.

AzPatsFan said:

Now with a loser but with the Big Bucks they no longer want to spend, he wants to keep his Big Bucks and go a contender again.

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Actually, he's stated the exact opposite. He said today multiple times that he'd prefer to stay in Tampa Bay, even though they are currently a losing organization. He said that he's greatly looking forward to being a big part of the rebuilding process.

These trade rumors are being floated by media sources, not by Vincent Jackson.

http://fansided.com/2014/10/23/vincent-jackson-wants-stay-tampa-bay-buccaneers/

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-hears-trade-talk-but-wants-to-stay-in-tampa/

Fencer said:

Unfortunately, the Giants have experience in being mediocre in the regular season and still winning the Super Bowl. Doubt they fold the season now.

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Agreed from the NYG perspective, but would Belichick pay the double digit AAV salary on the enormous contract that it would take for JPP to sign an extension here? I think that's the much bigger concern (even though this is far from anything of a reality).

I would assume that we're going to pay something like that to keep Chandler Jones around, so I'd have a difficult time envisioning paying 2 guys double digit AAV salaries per year on big, long-term deals.

supafly said:

Agreed from the NYG perspective, but would Belichick pay the double digit AAV salary on the enormous contract that it would take for JPP to sign an extension here? I think that's the much bigger concern (even though this is far from anything of a reality).

I would assume that we're going to pay something like that to keep Chandler Jones around, so I'd have a difficult time envisioning paying 2 guys double digit AAV salaries per year on big, long-term deals.

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Not to mention that he's either been injured or rubbish since his huge season in 2011. More name than production these days. This is the first season in 3 years that he's been good.

Thru 8 games we have 3 rushing touchdowns. Ridley had 2. Vereen has 1. I don't know if we have a good short-yardage back on the roster. I like VJax but a receiver isn't as big a hole as a runner. It looks like we have a nice skill position group coming together. Gronk, Edelman, LaFell and Vereen. Your 5thh option could be Wright if 2 te set, Tyms if you want to stretch the field, Amendola if another slot guy. Not writing Dobson off either. Struggling on short yardage. Line deserves some of the blame too. But, a bigger back wouldn't hurt IMO. Wouldn't turn down a lb or de.

I think if we are looking to upgrade any position offensively, it should be RB. I feel good with our receiving options being Gronk, Wright, Lafell, Edelman, Amendola and Tyms. I don't have confidence in any of our RB to grind out the clock, or pick up a TD on the one yard line.

We can be pretty sure that if the Pats pull of a deadline trade, it won't be one we've heard about prior in the press.

yopats said:

Yeah it's def a pipe dream.. but I have seen stranger things happen.

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So, just as a hypothetical, what would you trade for JPP?

On the plus side he's only 25, he's been an impact player, and he would be a perfect replacement for Chandler Jones while he's out, and a perfect complement to Jones assuming Jones comes back. Jones and JPP as bookends would be as good as any team in the league. Rob Ninkovich would get plenty of snaps as a rotational DE and at LB, so the Pats would dramatically improve their depth at 2 critical positions.

On the downside, Jones has a history of back problems and inconsistent play, and is in a contract year. He'll want big time money, and is he worth it on a consistent basis? Would paying JPP prevent us from eventually keeping Revis, McCourty, Jones or Hightower? Otherwise, would we be paying big time for an 8 game rental?

Not likely to be an option anyway, but just a fun hypotethical.

yopats said:

I can def see BB trying to bolster some of the depth issues on Defense.. they have a ton of picks in 2015 considering the Mankins trade the likely extra comp picks.

Here are some potential targets on really really bad teams.

Charles Woodson S
Justin Tuck DT - DE
JPP - DT / DE
Ryan Kerrigan - OLB / DE
Dashon Goldson - S
Chris Clemmons - DE
Shaun Phillips - DE
Mason Foster LB

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Woodson is done.
Tuck might be useful but doesn't address the bigger need of ILB.
JPP is a pipe dream
Kerrigan - Another pipe dream, imho.. Doesn't address the need at ILB.
Goldson isn't going anywhere.
Phillips hates the Patriots and Bill Belichick.
Mason Foster - He could be a good addition, but he's on a rookie deal still and it's unlikely that TB would part with him..

I don't get all the demand for a pass rusher. The Pass rush isn't the issue.. The run defense is and that stems from a lack of quality LBers behind our top 3 of Mayo, Hightower, Collins.

yopats said:

Yeah it's def a pipe dream.. but I have seen stranger things happen.

Also Thomas Davis might be a decent pickup too.

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I doubt that Carolina would trade this long time player of theirs.. He's been a mainstay for them.

I wouldn't mind an all-pro guard who can pass and run block

People are throwing up these Pipe dream players with false hopes the player being available because they might be at the end of a contract. A player like JPP isn't going anywhere. Not when the Giants can Franchise him. Same with Kerrigan. People need to be looking at players who are bottom of the roster or players who are redundant on the other team..

Players that fall into the category are..
Tank Carredine - 49ers
Kendall Langford - Rams

Much of this depends on how Belichick wants the defense to run going forward.. 4-3 Under, 3-4, 4-3 Over, etc,,

I'll be glad when the trade deadline is up, and don't expect the Pats to make any major moves. But this tidbit from ProFootballTalk caught my eye:

According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Bucs will consider offers for former first-rounders Doug Martin and Mark Barron.

Both are caught in the trap that so often happens to first-rounders of previous regimes when new coaches and General Managers take over.

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http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...ng-to-offers-for-doug-martin-and-mark-barron/

A lot of people on this board were very high on Barron in 2012. I wasn't one of them, and preferred Harrison Smith. I can't see it happening, but Barron would be an interesting addition to the defense.