Patriots Trade Hooman to the Saints for Akiem Hicks

Great. Now what will the Pats do for a tight end???

We basically give up someone that wasn't even dressing for us, for someone that has some upside. I think a good move. I am wondering if we will pull the trigger for a cb though.

Roboturner913 said:

some highlights of his 2013 season, so you can see what he is capable of:

Click to expand...

From that video, first step is not the quickest, but offensive linemen wasn't moving him and he shed blocks pretty easily.

Looks like he's got ample amount of ****** strength.

borg said:

Unless NE plans to secure Hick's services in 2016 via a franchise tag, I'm not exactly sure how an expiring contract qualifies as "planning a few years down the road"

Click to expand...

Fair enough. I was trying to be diplomatic.

To be a little more clear, Branch, like Ninkovich and Vollmer, is among the oldest Patriots. However, Ninkovich and Vollmer are among the most under-rated leaders of the Patriots. Branch is someone who was released by another club for some knucklehead activities. He has been great with the Patriots, so let's give him credit, he has been a very productive pro here.

Nevertheless, it wouldn't be shocking if they aren't looking for a younger, more athletic replacement like Hicks. And, perhaps not "a few years down the road".

ashley1992 said:

I am wondering if we will pull the trigger for a cb though.

Click to expand...

Very likely. We have a SB caliber offense, just added depth at LB and DL. We badly need a #2 or #3 caliber CB and we're set.

IcyPatriot said:

I really love our bye week .... not your typical NFL bye week at all.

In other news the NFL is looking to strip all future bye weeks from the Patriots.

Click to expand...

I was looking foward to chill and drink this bye week. Damn it, now with all this activity I have to pay attention.

unoriginal said:

Thank you. I fear people are over-hyping this trade. This guy is not a sure thing, he is on a 2-6 week tryout until Chris Jones starts practicing. The Pats are taking a flyer on a guy who doesn't seem a culture fit in exchange for someone they might well have just cut.

Click to expand...

Seems as if they've decided that they can tread water at FB without the Hooman, so this allows them to, basically, given an extended tryout to a player in a somewhat similar position on another team. For the Saints, they've got TE issues.

Both teams win

shmessy said:

Yes he is. People were pretty high on his PS performance.

Click to expand...

I just want to see 6'5", 6'6" and 6'7" TEs in the red zone. That's going to be hilarious.

Patriot_in_NY said:

I presume the requisite "no take-backsy" clause is in place for this trade, correct?

Click to expand...

Hmmmm. So I'm reading this fine post and I'm thinking, all these years I've been using that saying backward, by saying "no taksies-back."

Then I thought that maybe it's a Boston/NY thing so I looked it up and it's apparently more along the line of "no taksies backsies" and we're both right.

As for the trade, I'm still skeptical. Why would NO give up on this kid if he's so good?

1960Pats said:

Hmmmm. So I'm reading this fine post and I'm thinking, all these years I've been using that saying backward, by saying "no taksies-back."

Then I thought that maybe it's a Boston/NY thing so I looked it up and it's apparently more along the line of "no taksies backsies" and we're both right.

As for the trade, I'm still skeptical. Why would NO give up on this kid if he's so good?

Click to expand...

Because they weren't going to re-sign him, and he'd lost playing time there. I mean, that's how they see it from their perspective.

It remains to be seen just how good he'll actually be here, but at least the potential is there.

Hooman will supplant Josh Hill as the #2 TE .... that's why the deal was made ...
Hill sucks and Watson is 34 ... he's playing too many snaps.

1960Pats said:

Hmmmm. So I'm reading this fine post and I'm thinking, all these years I've been using that saying backward, by saying "no taksies-back."

Then I thought that maybe it's a Boston/NY thing so I looked it up and it's apparently more along the line of "no taksies backsies" and we're both right.

As for the trade, I'm still skeptical. Why would NO give up on this kid if he's so good?

Click to expand...

There's plenty of reasons they could have given up on him. And he might be a waste of time. But it's a low-risk, high-potential reward opportunity so why not take a flyer?

Just because a bad team gives up on a player doesn't make them bad. The Raiders gave up on Moss, who set the NFL record for TDs. The Titans gave up on Ayers while the Eagles gave up on Chung, both of whom became solid contributors on a Super Bowl winner. The Bears gave up on Mark Anderson, who signed with Houston for the rest of the season before coming to NE and getting 10 sacks. The Redskins gave up on Andre Carter, who also had 10+ sacks for us. The Saints gave up on Ninko, who has been one of our best players since.

The Bucs gave up on Talib. The Bucs gave up on Blount. The Bucs gave up on Revis. Hey, has someone called the Bucs lately???

The point is that just because a team gives up on a player doesn't mean that player is worthless. I think a large part of it is that teams often look at a player's weaknesses instead of their strengths. Anderson was a speed rusher who had a lot of success as a rookie, and the Bears were so excited they tried to make him into a 3-down linebacker who did everything. It didn't work out well, and so they gave up on him and rather than use his one great skill, they tossed him aside. The Patriots knew what he was, maximized his strengths while not asking him to do anything he couldn't do, and he did really well. Then the Bills threw gobs of money at him and expected him to be a 3-down linebacker, and he failed again.

But really, has someone called the Bucs recently???

Watch Hooman get like 70 catches or something and steal Jimmy Graham's TD celebration

Could this be like a Red Auerbach trade?

Maybe the Saints and Patriots are conspiring against the league offices? Yeah, that's the ticket!

not questioning bill. he's the best GM in the league by far

Man this trade is awesome. Bill the GM has been killing it lately.

Perhaps Hicks will be here when Chris Jones comes back, perhaps not. In any case, we could use another inside DT.

Without knowing much about the DT and Bostic, what I really like about these trades is that they were not executed out of necessity. When we acquired Sopoaga, for example, we were starving for DTs; hence, he was terrible value. Now we're just stocking up on assets, even if they aren't immediate needs. This jibes with the general messages I've gleaned from the Board regarding the two players. They are talented players acquired by an opportunistic BB the GM.

tasmlab said:

Great. Now what will the Pats do for a tight end???

Click to expand...

Asante Cleveland (on practice squad) looked good as a pass catcher in the preseason games.

This is the video that got me excited about him as a day 3 prospect pre draft.