Patriots trade for TE Martellus Bennett!

winning seems to cure alot of "locker room problems" with players. getting phased out for zach miller and having Jay cutler throwing to you can cause alot of problems. that whole locker room was very in disaray.

playing 2nd fiddle to Gronkowski with tom brady throwing you balls is going to be alot better and Bennet knows it.

you go five wide with Edelman, amendola, bennet, gronkowski, lewis.....how do teams match up with that?

Armchair Quarterback said:

Patriots aren't going to cut him, so he has that for leverage. I'd bet the Patriots are completely comfortable with his salary, and I'm almost certain he's not willing to do a pay cut.

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Like I said in another post I'm pretty sure they had that conversation with him before they did the deal

PlainOldEd said:

What leverage do the Pats have? If they cut him he will just sign elsewhere for more $$ than you are suggest he restructure for.

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You are assuming that there are several teams in the market for Bennett willing to pay $5m in guarantees.I am not.

Joker said:

Coming into yesterday, I would've pegged him for the ultimate "anti-Patriot"

Hyperbole-fly...

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I'm not sure what that's supposed to mean, but apparently you aren't familiar with the man's work...

He openly brags about not having any friends, the fact that he's been kicked out of IHOP's all over the country, has fought his own teammates and been suspended, made many comments that have thrown coaches and teammates under the bus, and was repeatedly caught mocking his coaches on "Hard Knocks" during his rookie year. He certainly hadn't displayed traits that are normally seen in players that Belichick looks for.

He's now worn his welcome out in various cities and is on his 4th team, and the Bears have been trying to trade him since the end of 2014.

Belichick liked the fact that he's shown talent on the field and came cheaply on a one year deal via a 4th/6th round swap. It's basically Haynesworth or Chad Johnson all over again. If it works out, great. If it doesn't, he'll be gone at the end of the year, and will likely have improved upon the production of Scott Chandler. Either way, my point still stands. I would have seen him as the opposite of what Belichick looks for, aside from the fact that they practically handed him to us and that he's in the final year of his deal.

PF_SU said:

Adalius Thomas, while never living up to his contract, was a good player here for two years. Had 6.5 sacks his first year here (plus two in SBXLII) and led the team in sacks in 2008 when he went down for the season. If Bennett manages similar production as Thomas in 2007 we'll be fine.

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Thomas was on pace to have his best season statistically, when he broke his arm halfway through his second season. As you said, he was fitting in well and producing. Many forget that.

Part of the issue came when BB moved him to strong side and he openly questioned that in the media. He was gone when his attitude continued to spiral and he showed up late for practice during the famous snowstorm where they sent 4 guys home. After that year, he was released.

am I the only one who is absolutely giddy about thinking of brady going 5 wide with Edelman, amendola/Hogan, lewis, gronk, bennet?

not sure there is a team in the league who can match up with that. someone is going to be left open.

PF_SU said:

Adalius Thomas, while never living up to his contract, was a good player here for two years. Had 6.5 sacks his first year here (plus two in SBXLII) and led the team in sacks in 2008 when he went down for the season. If Bennett manages similar production as Thomas in 2007 we'll be fine.

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Agreed. Thomas got faaar too much flak here. He was awesome his first season. Would have been in the running for SB MVP, if only somebody recovered that fumble he forced .

RIpats88 said:

am I the only one who is absolutely giddy about thinking of brady going 5 wide with Edelman, amendola/Hogan, lewis, gronk, bennet?

not sure there is a team in the league who can match up with that. someone is going to be left open.

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Blocking is the only concern at this point.

Versatile, I like it.

Froob said:

Blocking is the only concern at this point.

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supposedly he blocked well in Chicago last year....even if not, its not like the murderer was a great blocker when our 2 TE sets were dominating the league.

As talented as Bennet is, he still has to get on the same page as Brady to be successful here. If he does, this offense will be scary.

supafly said:

Let's not act as I've reached into some unknown dimension and pulled out some odd concerns about attitude, work ethic, and the fact that he's been quoted as saying that he's proud of the fact that he doesn't have any friends, etc. Many describe him as "quirky, or odd." Some describe him as a major pain in the ass. We will see. I'm guessing that it's somewhere in the middle. The concern that he'll need to accept a lesser role as the 4th/5th option and likely be expected to do some different things in practice, off the field, etc, isn't exactly my own invention...c'mon, now.

Coming into yesterday, I would've pegged him for the ultimate "anti-Patriot." Apparently, Belichick disagrees, at least enough to swap 4th/6th rounds picks in order to give him a chance here. It's a fairly low risk shot like we've seen with Haynesworth or Chad Johnson. He obviously has talent. Let's hope he makes the best of this chance. In the meantime, I may think twice about purchasing a jersey until next spring, that's all. Even a semi-productive season may not keep him here past one year.

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What does any of that have to do with saying he will have "additional blocking responsibilities"? That's really just not true. He isn't being converted from WR to TE. He blocked, and quite well in Chicago.
If he deserves the football he will get it. Brady has had non problem getting the ball to receivers who get open including Hernandez who was a 2nd TE catching a bunch of passes with Gronk and welker on the team.
i get that you dont like the guy and perhaps he dies have attitude issues but let's not pretend he is going to pout when we call a running play or expect 150 targets.

bennett will get his fair share of targets. no one should doubt that. Teams will attempt to keep edelman and gronkowski at bay with most of the coverage which leaves guys like bennett, lewis, amendola etc. with single or broken coverages.

Grabbed from Reddit:

Most Yards After Catch - TE Since 2013
Rob Gronkowski 1,208
Martellus Bennett 1,066
Greg Olsen 1,041

Galeb said:

As talented as Bennet is, he still has to get on the same page as Brady to be successful here. If he does, this offense will be scary.

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Defenses will still play them as if they're in the red zone, though. They need that intermediate to deep threat to work outside the numbers in order to loosen up the coverage. That's why I think we have one more move at WR coming. After that, the team can work on fixing the OL and RB positions through the draft with an injection of some young talent.

supafly said:

Thomas was on pace to have his best season statistically, when he broke his arm halfway through his second season. As you said, he was fitting in well and producing. Many forget that.

Part of the issue came when BB moved him to strong side and he openly questioned that in the media. He was gone when his attitude continued to spiral and he showed up late for practice during the famous snowstorm where they sent 4 guys home. After that year, he was released.

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Yes- for two seasons AD was pretty good. Over those 3 seasons he was paid a cash total of $23.7m. Worst ROI ever.

His physical skills also had erroded. AD had excellent quickness and speed. Even Rex Ryan worked him out in NYJ land and didn't sign him. Neither did Ozzie in BAL.

supafly said:

Part of the issue came when BB moved him to strong side and he openly questioned that in the media. He was gone when his attitude continued to spiral and he showed up late for practice during the famous snowstorm where they sent 4 guys home. After that year, he was released.

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Froob said:

Agreed. Thomas got faaar too much flak here.

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His career ended ugly which has unfairly overshadowed his positive contributions on the field the first two years. While it's not excuse for his behaviour one has to wonder how much the loss of leadership with the retirement of Harrison and Bruschi played into him losing it in 2009. That 2009 team had all kind of problems both on the field and off.

AndyJohnson said:

What does any of that have to do with saying he will have "additional blocking responsibilities"? That's really just not true. He isn't being converted from WR to TE. He blocked, and quite well in Chicago.
If he deserves the football he will get it. Brady has had non problem getting the ball to receivers who get open including Hernandez who was a 2nd TE catching a bunch of passes with Gronk and welker on the team.
i get that you dont like the guy and perhaps he dies have attitude issues but let's not pretend he is going to pout when we call a running play or expect 150 targets.

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No, it's not that I dislike him. I just openly voiced some concerns (where I actually used the term "minor") about his role here, and the fact that he may be seeing the ball less and blocking more than he's used to if we go to 2 TE sets more, like I assume they will. Obviously, he will fall further down the receiving options than he's been used to. That exchange was hashed out with Deus in a response or two.

The fact that I pointed out some attitude issues and deemed him the "anti-Patriot" thus far in his career for various reasons is irrelevant for why this should still be a successful trade. It's low risk, didn't cost much aside from the last year of his salary, and he's shown great talent on the field at times. The reality is that this is certainly a year to year move, though, and should be seen as such.

BelichickFan said:

This offseason sucks. Nothing happening.

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Don't cha just love BB? No 1st round pick? No problem. Nobody does trades any more? No problem. Nobody wants to sign with the Pats cause they're cheap? No problem. Brady & the Pats are in trouble after a less than stellar appeal hearing? No problem.

GO PATS! Getting excited for the season already!

Bears' Martellus Bennett: Jimmy Graham 'can't block worth (expletive)'

I don't think him blocking will be a problem