Asante really DOES deserve better...

[Asante4prez]

As a huge fan of the Patriots, I am in a tricky situation on this. I want to sit here and pretend that Asante is asking for too much, but lets face the facts. The guy is a consistently productive cornerback coming off his best year yet and is a legitimately top cover corner in the league. I'm not putting him in that "shutdown corner" slot just yet cause he does have a lot to prove still. I think its an insult that the Pats will go out and spend (for once) on guys who haven't proved anything in our system (welker,washington,thomas..etc) but neglect to pay a productive player. With all this being said some players have gotten greedy with the patriots before (Law,Branch, Milloy..etc) and all of them in my opinion, deserved to be cut or traded. Pay up patriots! Because Asante is going to be cosistently productive for a long long time...

 

[BelichickFan]

Better than what ? We don't know what he's been offered or what he's asking for.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

In my opinion, Samuel has had one good year as a starter. His other years' on the team were ok because he was only on the field when the Pats were in nickel and dime situations. If he gets traded, it wouldn't bother me. Granted, he played extremely well in the playoffs, warranting a contract extension. But if he wants a ridiculous amount of money, it isn't worth it. If Samuel isn't signed by draft day, look for the Pats to draft a corner in the early rounds.

 

[Pats726]

As a huge fan of the Patriots, I am in a tricky situation on this. I want to sit here and pretend that Asante is asking for too much, but lets face the facts. The guy is a consistently productive cornerback coming off his best year yet and is a legitimately top cover corner in the league. I'm not putting him in that "shutdown corner" slot just yet cause he does have a lot to prove still. I think its an insult that the Pats will go out and spend (for once) on guys who haven't proved anything in our system (welker,washington,thomas..etc) but neglect to pay a productive player. With all this being said some players have gotten greedy with the patriots before (Law,Branch, Milloy..etc) and all of them in my opinion, deserved to be cut or traded. Pay up patriots! Because Asante is going to be cosistently productive for a long long time...

Wait a minute...this was his best year...BY FAR his best...but who is really deserving here... Briggs, Grant, Freeny.. THEY ALL have had 4+ solid years and they do deserve the big bucks...Asante?? Sorry he has had one and his others have been OK but not top dollar like these 3 other franchised players. Top cover??
I agree he is good..but it remains to be seen if he is in the "top cover" category. Excuse me?? 7 million is neglecting to pay a productive player?? Sorry...you sound like some troll from another board. I really wonder how much Asante would have gotten on the open market..more than 7 mill?? How much is he demanding?? Bailey, Bly, Clements money?? Sorry if he is asking for that..it is way way too much..

 

[Kdo5]

With a name with Asante4prez I think we can guess that you are biased in favor of Samuel.

 

[zarakotas5]

Everyone deserves better, but we get what we get. In the end, it all rounds off to what we deserve, for the most part.

Samuel MAY be coming into his own as CB. He was never an elite prospect, but a player with potential. He is still young and his play has progressed very nicely. It is quite possible that he will become/continue to be an upper tier CB.

That said, he's had one season that opened eyes around the league, mainly on stats. Being fortunate is not quite the same as manufacturing production. He has a long way to go before he is a true #1 CB. Think of a young slugger who hits 40 HR but pitchers know he can't lay off an outside curve. If can adjust, he'll keep it up. If he keeps taking his big cuts, the opposing coaches with duely instruct how to handle him and he'll strike out more often that not.

 

[Asante4prez]

im just saying the guy is productive and deserves a long term deal nothing more than that...He has gotten better each year...I'm saying in terms of "cover corners" hes steadily making a name for himself...Not everything a player contributes to a team shows up on the stat board. Geez

 

[nukin]

You can't really get much better then playing for the Patriots.

 

[skaIownsIyou]

what i dont udnerstand is....samuel had 10 or 11 int's...that was tied for most, next to champ bailey, he also had 2nd most tackles in the nfl (for dbs), 2nd to champ bailey.....

how the **** does he not get selected to the pro bowl??

still boggles the mind.....you're essentially tied as the best defensive back player, and yet you dont get any recognition, was samuel even in the talks for DPOY award?

 

[nukin]

what i dont udnerstand is....samuel had 10 or 11 int's...that was tied for most, next to champ bailey, he also had 2nd most tackles in the nfl (for dbs), 2nd to champ bailey.....

how the **** does he not get selected to the pro bowl??

still boggles the mind.....you're essentially tied as the best defensive back player, and yet you dont get any recognition, was samuel even in the talks for DPOY award?

Ohh boy don't bring up the P.B. words in these parts brotha.

 

[psychoPat]

Just 4 conversation ...
i'll assume that asante4prez is an intern in his agent's office.

4get it, 4prez.
I'd say there is a pretty good consensus among the sensible regulars here
that Asante is a real good CB.
We're glad to have him.
We want him here for a long time.

But he isn't going to win 3 more SBs in the era of Brady all by himself.
We buy into the team concept here.
Asante is worth to the Patriots very close to exactly what BB/SP think he is worth.

Play here at that (high) pay ... for a consistent shot at multiple championships ...
or produce a club that will send us a 1st this year ... plus!
... for your client.

 

[RhodyPatFan]

The guy is going to get paid as a Top 5 corner with the franchise tag. What more does he deserve a reach around from Kraft?

 

[danny88]

im just saying the guy is productive and deserves a long term deal nothing more than that...He has gotten better each year...I'm saying in terms of "cover corners" hes steadily making a name for himself...Not everything a player contributes to a team shows up on the stat board. Geez

He is acting selfish......

 

[Commander Shears]

I'm in the camp that thinks he just isn't good enough to merit elite corner money (regardless of last year's stats). So I just don't think the Pats should give it to him, but for the same reason, Asante would be crazy not to push for his big signing bonus NOW. His value has never been anywhere near this high and in my opinion, won't ever be again. Him playing under the tag is ideal for the Pats, but if he gets traded, the Pats would be selling high, and he would maximize his value. In and of itself, that's a win-win. But only if they replace him on this year's roster with something better than the CB equivalent of Reche Caldwell.

 

[Caspir]

im just saying the guy is productive and deserves a long term deal nothing more than that...He has gotten better each year...I'm saying in terms of "cover corners" hes steadily making a name for himself...Not everything a player contributes to a team shows up on the stat board. Geez

You already made a fool of yourself by saying the Patriots are spending "for once" but riddle me this. What exactly does he do that doesn't show up on the "stat board?"

 

[arrellbee]

As a huge fan of the Patriots, I am in a tricky situation on this. I want to sit here and pretend that Asante is asking for too much, but lets face the facts. The guy is a consistently productive cornerback coming off his best year yet and is a legitimately top cover corner in the league. I'm not putting him in that "shutdown corner" slot just yet cause he does have a lot to prove still. I think its an insult that the Pats will go out and spend (for once) on guys who haven't proved anything in our system (welker,washington,thomas..etc) but neglect to pay a productive player. With all this being said some players have gotten greedy with the patriots before (Law,Branch, Milloy..etc) and all of them in my opinion, deserved to be cut or traded. Pay up patriots! Because Asante is going to be cosistently productive for a long long time...

I'm not completely sure what your viewpoint is.

Samuel will be paid the 2nd to 3rd highest salary for a CB in the league. Is this not getting paid ?? ?? ??

Perhaps what you mean is that you think he should get a long term deal instead of a one year deal. But what about the fact that according to the agreement that HIS union negotiated with the NFL, the Patriots have a right to his services for one year under the terms of a franchise contract. So is your viewpoint that for some reason the players should not have to abide by the terms of their agreement with the league ?? Somehow or another, that doesn't seem like how contractual agreements work in the whole country. Do you want to throw out business and contract law ??

Perhaps you don't think the Players Association agreed to CBA terms that they should have. But the problem is, they did agree to it and that's now a legal structure that all players are bound to. So what Samuel is saying is that what he wants to do is not abide by the agreement that he is obligated to. Do you approve of that ?

 

[Asante4prez]

I love how defensive everyone gets just because I tried to start an football conversation.This is one of the main reasons I love being a pats fan, we stand by Pioli and Behlichick all the way...Once again, in case my words were taken out of context (which they seem to have) I would just like to add Asante hasn't proven much other than ONE fantastic year. With all that being said, the guy is developing into one hell of a corner and In my opinion, warrants a long term deal. The deal they offered him is absolutely fair and it does sound like he is being a bit greedy, but the guy wants to be a patriot for awhile and I just don't see how we can't work something out.

Remember, Adalius Thomas though he had a fantastic year playing alongside the unhuman skills of Ray Lewis has yet to play a down in a pats uniform yet fans didn't overly questioned the enormous deal the pats gave him. With all that being said, I have alot of faith in the best front office in the league and hope that after spending a bundle on a slot reciever like Wes Welker, they will shell out the dough to Samuel who is only getting better each year.

GO PATS!

 

[Cityofchampions33]

If Asante wants to stick with his "Get Paid" motto and be another overconfident *******, then that's fine, he can lose out on another ring. As I might have said, it is a priveledge to play for the Patriots, the salary cap-era's perrenial powerhouse.
He of all should know that he and anyone not named Brady or Billichick is despensable and he will be replaced if he is traded. He's seen Milloy, Law, McGinest, and others leave and we came within one decent half of football away from another ring (assuming teh bears played crappy again).
Not only that, but his self-evaluation seems to be somewhat of a gross-estimation of his talent. And no, I'm not forgetting the inetrceptions, but that means not a lot to me. Firstly, it shows what other QBs think of him (they need to throw at him in order for him to get any picks), and secondly, we all know what a weakness he was the year before and the coverage improvements he needs to make.
To get elite money, you need to prove you are an elite player. One eyar is not going to fulfill your "Get Paid" goal. Just accept the Franchise tag if your so confident and earn it by showing you can become a shut-down corner. If youw ant bailey, law money, make Law, Bailey plays.

 

[zarakotas5]

I love how defensive everyone gets just because I tried to start an football conversation.... With all that being said, the guy is developing into one hell of a corner and In my opinion, warrants a long term deal. The deal they offered him is absolutely fair and it does sound like he is being a bit greedy,...Remember, Adalius Thomas though he had a fantastic year playing alongside the unhuman skills of Ray Lewis has yet to play a down in a pats uniform yet fans didn't overly questioned the enormous deal the pats gave him....after spending a bundle on a slot reciever like Wes Welker, they will shell out the dough to Samuel who is only getting better each year.

I think you're getting blinded my stats, even though you've made comments to the contrary, my man. I like Samuel, but I think you should pay more attention to those things that don't show up in the box score.

Thomas' stats, while impressive, don't quite show that he has since surpassed the "unhuman skills" of Lewis. Thomas surely could've receive more elsewhere. Welker is a bulls-eye if thought of as our 2nd rounder used to bolster our less-than-stellar 2006 WR corps. Neither are remotely breaking the bank. Both had actual, every down type of play that surpassed Samuel if you watched them play.

Samuel has potential. Lots of it shined last year. But he also has a ways to go before we just hand him the keys to money truck, too.

 

[danny88]

I love how defensive everyone gets just because I tried to start an football conversation.This is one of the main reasons I love being a pats fan, we stand by Pioli and Behlichick all the way...Once again, in case my words were taken out of context (which they seem to have) I would just like to add Asante hasn't proven much other than ONE fantastic year. With all that being said, the guy is developing into one hell of a corner and In my opinion, warrants a long term deal. The deal they offered him is absolutely fair and it does sound like he is being a bit greedy, but the guy wants to be a patriot for awhile and I just don't see how we can't work something out.

Remember, Adalius Thomas though he had a fantastic year playing alongside the unhuman skills of Ray Lewis has yet to play a down in a pats uniform yet fans didn't overly questioned the enormous deal the pats gave him. With all that being said, I have alot of faith in the best front office in the league and hope that after spending a bundle on a slot reciever like Wes Welker, they will shell out the dough to Samuel who is only getting better each year.

GO PATS!

A bundle to welker? Please get your facts straight. Asante is acting selfish. He was decent until last year, DECENT. He is NOT worth a huge contract at this point. After his contract year lets see how he does before we throw a cash truck at him. He is coming off like an ******* right now. I hope we can get 2 first rounders for him. No one agrees with you here.