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Didn't see this posted....

Quote:

The sin: WRATH (otherwise known as vengeful feelings toward another)
The sinner: New England Patriots
Perhaps wide receivers Doug Gabriel and Troy Brown, and tight end Ben Watson will be able to fill the void left behind by Deion Branch. But clearly, the Patriots' passing offense is feeling the pains of the offseason beef that ended with a divorce from Branch. Say whatever you want about financial logic and rules. The bottom line: the Patriots have plenty of acreage under the salary cap and could have afforded to keep Brady's favorite target without destroying the precious balance of the franchise's checkbook. Instead, the team took a hard line stance and basically told Branch they didn't think he was worth what the open market would dictate.

Make no mistake, the Patriots took it personally when Branch held out. And the suggestion that he pursue a trade was a vengeful ploy that blew up in their face. It certainly wasn't the first financial low blow attempted, either (see: Lawyer Milloy's last-minute release in 2003). The reality is, every offseason there is some kind of tiff with a player who wants to be paid. Disagreements that tend to end the same way: with New England incurring its roster-trimming wrath and talent leaving in a huff.

In reality, the Patriots came with an unnecessary iron fist this offseason and alienated a valuable player. Branch was a Super Bowl MVP who also happened to be the team's most dependable receiving option, and whose impact was bigger than just numbers. You can bet New England's militant fallout with Branch has plenty to do with Brady posting arguably his least efficient four-game stretch in his career. And you can bet his loss will loom large when key plays are needed for a Super Bowl run, too.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

"And you can bet his loss will loom large when key plays are needed for a Super Bowl run, too."

Just reading that arrogant statement, I am reminded of the blessing's of God's love and his forgiveness of sin. Alleluia.

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Originally Posted by ClosingTime

Didn't see this posted....

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

Just what we need, more posthumous posturing about the Branch saga. It's a dead issue.

For all the junk in the papers about the Patriots 'lowballing' they offered just about the same money that Branch ended up taking from Seattle.

There was a personal vendetta against the ORG by Branch that has been well documented. The only reason he didn't take this supposed 'low ball' offer is because the Patriots wouldn't grant him an out from his current contract, they had written it as an extension to the existing deal without throwing out his final year of his rookie contract. This was a STARTING POINT THAT BRANCH NEVER COUNTERED.

The simple fact is that the Patriots, in order to keep Branch, would have had to not only over pay for the player, but would have also had to allow a player under a 5 year contract to renig on his deal after 4 years. This double whammy is a comprimise that the Patriots should not have given into, and they did not. Short term it will look like a debacle, longterm this was the absolute best possible outcome that the Patriots could have come to.

They couldn't have gotten Deion back regardless, because of his Vendetta over the 5th year. So instead of letting him go out empty handed, they got a first round pick for him, only trading him when they got exactly what they deemed was value enough to unload him.

This over spun story of our cap room and the apparent mis-management by the Patriots brass is silly and overblown.

I can't say that I'm surprised by how bad the article is though, after all it is from Yahoo sports.

my god DB was NOT jerry rice. He was NOT cris carter. He was a good player that will be replaced soon.

Gotta wonder why all the 'experts' aren't working for NFL teams sometimes. There it is, laid out in black and white. How could the Pats screw up so badly?!

Let this writer join Felger and others that seem to think that, since the cap space is available, feel free to overspend! Where's the harm?

Are they truly that stupid? For some reason they can foresee the potential problems caused by the Pats actions (guys leaving without even bothering to entertain offers from the Pats, free agents avoiding Foxboro, etc, all certainly possible, certainly with a certain type of player or agent), but fail to do the same from the other side, and completely disregard the ramifications down the road if they had capitulated to Branch and his agent. What player in their right mind would accept anything but a premium to re-sign with the Pats, knowing they'd beat any offer, whether or not the player was top 10 or top 20 at their position or not?

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Originally Posted by Box_O_Rocks

AMEN!!!

Well said Box_O_Rocks.....well said.

Jay

...and that's why Charles Robinson has always been worthless to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClosingTime

Didn't see this posted....

Probably because it's an old issue that no one here cares about anymore.

Well Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse Me

Quote:

Originally Posted by ClosingTime

Well Excuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuse Me

Just imagine the reception you'd have gotten with this post if we'd LOST to the Bengals. :D