Your Opinion of Best/Worst Belichick Free Agent Signings.

When free agent signings are discussed, makes you realize that despite the noise from the naysayers, things are not all that bad.. certainly more hits than misses.

What is missing are some of the tight end that they brought in and they failed... the names escape me, but there seemed to be an effort to find a new or similar Hernandez...

jmt57 said:

Personally I would also swap Chad Brown and Monty Beisel on the worst list.

Beisel was more infamous, but he wasn't even supposed to be a starter. Brown on the other hand was signed for twice as much money, and thanks in part to not clashing with the media the way Beisel did, did not get crucified as much - though to be fair, Brown wasn't quite as bad as Beisel was.

Click to expand...

Beisel just didn't like contact. Otherwise, he was a fine tackler.

RayClay said:

Beisel just didn't like contact.

Click to expand...

Not sure about that ...

Roman Phifer. By far the most underrated player of the dynasty era. Defensive MVP of the 2001 team IMO.

On the other end, Adalius due to cost and attitude

My favourites are BB's Last Hurrah signings -- guys who were thought to be too old or "injury-prone" by their former clubs.

Of those, Rodney comes out at the top. But what about Brian Waters? And Alge Crumpler. And, of course, Junior Seau.

(BB's worst signings seem to have been guys he fell in love with at the Pro Bowl -- AD, Chad, Derek Burgess.)

The thing I love about this is that we are really struggling to find many bad ones. When we do we look at guys like Beisel who was poor but was never signed with the intention to start. Chad brown we brought back after a season, Adalius Thomas was over paid but still a decent player but wrong attitude. Springs started for us got injured then cut and didn't play again after that clearly had nothing left. Adrian Wilson is one I am most disappointed about thought he was gonna really help us not just go to IR and be cut. The guy paid to get a jersey number to never put it on. John Lynch was similar never got to see him play after we picked him up

.

billdog3484 said:

ted washington was a good one.. when did we pick him up in 03? and in 01 we picked up a C/G the bald guy was on lions. dont remember his name. he was on our 01 team. that was a good leadership role character guy

roman phifer, brian cox. c dillon, antowain smith

i cant think of bad ones. some big names we picked up didnt work out but they were via trades but werent premier type picks we gave up. haynesworth, loco cinco

Click to expand...

Cant see that list without including Mount Washington in the top 10.

I think trades for vested veterans is the same as a FA pickup for this discussion.

Otherwise you have to include all the Patriots-drafted players who ran to the end of their contracts and then re-signed with Patriots while officially as FAs. That would be just silly, they never really left the team to go anywhere else.

Gumby said:

Otherwise you have to include all the Patriots-drafted players who ran to the end of their contracts and then re-signed with Patriots while officially as FAs. That would be just silly, they never really left the team to go anywhere else.

Click to expand...

But thats the tipping point. The team makes the call whether or not to re-sign them. For example, Moss in 07 was a trade. 08 was was a FA signing.

Pats signed DMC. He was on the market. If DMC blows out his knee or has the worst year and never plays another down for the team it's the worst FA signing in history.

Why not delineate?

Best FA Signing: Harrison: For the money and impact he was so worth it.

Best Trade: Tie: Welker and Corey Dillon. Steals.

Worst FA Signing: Leigh Bodden Bodden received big money after his 09 year. At least Thomas helped them get to a SB and was playing well in 08 until he got hurt.

Worst Trade: Duane Starks. 3rd rounder. Awful

Best UFA: Stephen Neal.

This is one big key to the Pats' salary-cap era success... misses in FA are costly. They've also done a good job of indemnifying themselves against the downside risk with prove-it deals, but that's common in the league when various questions make it the right call. I think "being cheap" - the cap discipline point - makes it less likely that you'll sign "busts" in FA.

(BTW, Ochocinco was a trade too, but I think trades should be in this list... when it's a future fifth and sixth, I think the main impact is the $. If I remember correctly, they restructured him in '11 when they got him, then dropped his pay going forward when he "didn't get it" after the 2011 season.)

IMO Revis is too high on the list, because we got what we paid for -- or rather paid for what we got. He was an elite player, but for $17 million he'd darn well better be. Getting multiyear starters like Vrabel and Ninkovich off the scrap heap is a different level of success, IMO.

On the negative side, I'd distinguish between bad decision and bad result. A. Thomas was a bad decision because he turned out to be much less of a player (and teammate) than expected. But Colvin was a good player and hard worker who just happened to have an awful injury.

Of course, most of the REAL best FA moves have been re-signing their own young players. That's almost never regretted, assuming the player doesn't turn out to be a homicidal maniac or something.

Here's a list of all the signings ...

http://www.nepatriotsdraft.com/patriots-free-agency-history

patsfaninpa said:

Albert Haynesworth was a disaster. I wouldn't call A. Thomas signing terrible. Just not as good as hoped. Rodney should have won Defensive Player of Year in 03. And, Super Bowl 39 MVP. He was awesome here.

Click to expand...

Fat albert was via trade

patchick said:

Of course, most of the REAL best FA moves have been re-signing their own young players. That's almost never regretted, assuming the player doesn't turn out to be a homicidal maniac or something.

Click to expand...

Or a Tully Banta-Cain. That guy worked his 2006 and 2009 contract years to perfection.

Fooled the Niners, fooled the Patriots

DarrylS said:

When free agent signings are discussed, makes you realize that despite the noise from the naysayers, things are not all that bad.. certainly more hits than misses.

What is missing are some of the tight end that they brought in and they failed... the names escape me, but there seemed to be an effort to find a new or similar Hernandez...

Click to expand...

Agreed...I liken it to my fantasy baseball auction I have coming up: people with throw huge money at Kershaw and Miggy and others. If they get hurt or, in Miggy's case, succumb to father time and start declining, they won't be worth the money and could derail the entire season when you've spent 25% of your budget on them. They'd have to be OUTSTANDING for them to outearn the money you bid on them, because the market made them so expensive.

But on the other end you have lesser-known and/or young players who'll go for nothing. These guys don't need to do much to earn their salary and are easily replaced because they didn't cost you anything. But if they break out, if they become serious contributors, then you have a very good player for very cheap, outearning their contract by a TON.

That's the way the Patriots operate, like it or not. They have some serious 'big earners'--Brady, Hightower, Gronk, etc, so it's not like they're building a team from scratch. Revis, at full market value, would be a monster risk. Compare that against half a dozen $2-$5 million/year players and what they could add to the team and you're better off moving on.

Sorry for the derail, these two weeks of non-stop Revis talk and the BS about the Pats being 'cheap' somehow have gotten me pissed off.

When Thomas sacked farve and Leon at the same time, he redeemed some of his contract IMO.

I vote Raymont Harris as one of the worst signings

How about Adam Seward?

Oh wait!

Not sure about THE worst, but a good candidate would be Jonathan Fanene. All we paid that guy to do was have an extended legal battle with us over the money we paid him.

May be cheating but....

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/...d-patriots&id=4743747&city=boston&src=desktop

2013: Edelman 1 year 1.015 million.

We don't reach the AFCCG in 2013 or win the Superbowl in 2014 without him. Will probably be a Pats HOFer one day as well as one of the best WRs in franchise history. IF just one other team offered him a decent deal he wouldn't be here, phew.

robertweathers said:

Worst Trade: Duane Starks. 3rd rounder. Awful

Click to expand...

Hon mention: Derrick Burgess. God that guy sucked.