Bad game for Logan Mankins

[Deus Irae]

1) Caving in on Branch?? They didn't give him the money he wanted. Showing him the money that would be caving. They took a lemon situation and made lemonade out of it by getting a first round pick from the Seahawks.

Seymour -they did show him the money (new contract or was it an extension?). Probably because they realized he was worth it.

Assante Samuel: I don't believe that it is caving in by agreeing to not franchaise him as a tradeoff to making him happy and getting him into camp. It was a decent tradeoff for Pats when you realistically know you wont be resigning him due to his salary demands (not matching anywhere near your own).

So I will give you only 1/3. Plus look at Ty Law, Lawer Milloy, and others who have been shown the door when their salary (demand or actual) doesnt match their production (hello Adalius Thomas). Those and other situations (demanding Wilfork/ Ben Watson sign 6 year rookie contracts) doesn't sound like Pats FO caving in to me.

They caved on all 3, no matter how much lipstick you try applying to the pig. Branch got his deal in the same season, and the Patriots gave up their control of Samuel's rights, which led to him getting a huge contract.

 

[IcyPatriot]

The way I see it is does paying a guard $7 million or $8 million a year make you exponentially better than paying a few linemen that much combined. No guard on this team is going to earn tackle kind of money because then the tackles will want more also. No one player on this team will change the salary structure that's in place.

 

[SunnyDenmark]

They caved on all 3, no matter how much lipstick you try applying to the pig. Branch got his deal in the same season, and the Patriots gave up their control of Samuel's rights, which led to him getting a huge contract.

If Pats FO is caving in frequently on agents / players demands- why do they have one of the best records of getting rookies signed early and into camp on time?

You would probably see it as Pats 'caving in' to agents demands - so they sign early. I see it the exact opposite, that the agents know the Pats won't cave in wholesale - so they don't try to come up with unreasonable demands and outrageous requests. If you read comments by NFL insiders (National Football Post / Adam Scheftler, others)- Pats FO have a very tough reputation as negotiators.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

 

[spacecrime]

Hopefully, in a week or so he will have shown his resolve -but will also finally realize that $7 million/ yr is enough to 'feed his family' - and be respected as one of the top 10 guards in the game. I can't imagine him wanting to risk injury during the pre-season before signing a new contract.

I don't think that offer is still on the table. I think it was pulled after Mankins' rant. (If it wasn't, it should be pulled immediately. While Connelly may not be playing brilliantly, it just insn't worth $7 mil a year to go from Connelly to Mankins. THe bump in performance isn't worth $7 mil.

Spend the money on a stud DE, RB or OLB. That will make a huge difference in team performance.

Worth $7 mil:
Replace Maroney or Morris with a stud RB
Replace Ninkovich or Woods with a stud OLB
Replace any current de with a stud DE

Not worth $7 mil:
Replace Connelly with Mankins.

 

[Frezo]

IIRC the last words out of Mankins' mouth were, "Trade me." The better the oline plays, the closer Mankins gets to a sign and trade. If anything the game helped him. Mankins does not want to play for the Pats. If he did he wouldn't have missed this much time because he is a player and not a worm. As far as I know he's always been a good honest guy. He doesn't want to play here. We have get past this.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Great play last night by the entire offensive line. Not only did Connelly look good, but it didn't matter who they put out there, the O Line was dominating. That couldn't have been a happy discussion between Mankins and his agent last night.

I heard a talking head yesterday say, regarding Mankins saying the Patriots lied to him when they said they'd take care of him, that the contract offered to him would have made him either the 2nd or 3rd highest paid guard in the league.

I wish somebody would disrespect and lie to me like that.

Anyway, how about that offensive line? How about that running game?

It's a long season.

 

[Deus Irae]

If Pats FO is caving in frequently on agents / players demands- why do they have one of the best records of getting rookies signed early and into camp on time?

Veteran contracts and rookie deals aren't the same thing.

You would probably see it as Pats 'caving in' to agents demands - so they sign early. I see it the exact opposite, that the agents know the Pats won't cave in wholesale - so they don't try to come up with unreasonable demands and outrageous requests. If you read comments by NFL insiders (National Football Post / Adam Scheftler, others)- Pats FO have a very tough reputation as negotiators.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

Your argument was wrong, because you ignored players who'd gotten the team to cave. It doesn't somehow mean that the Patriots always cave or never cave. It just means that you missed 3 examples of when they did. 3 players held out and got major concessions from the team in order to return to doing their job (one even with another team).

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Your argument was wrong, because you ignored players who'd gotten the team to cave. It doesn't somehow mean that the Patriots always cave or never cave. It just means that you missed 3 examples of when they did. 3 players held out and got major concessions from the team in order to return to doing their job (one even with another team).

I wouldnt call it caving so much as finding a solution. I think the players assoc, would probably get involved to find some sort of resolution of middle ground that both sides can live with.

 

[Joker]

I was at that debacle in the Fens last night, so I missed the game until the replay tonight...so far it's going into the 2nd quarter. Neal has had some really devastating blocks...Dan Connolly is playing well also to this point.

Last night when I checked in I could have sworn I read "Connolly isn't very good.." and "Connolly is WILDLY inconsistent"...so far I have to wonder what the hell game is playing on YOUR TV's.

Maybe Connolly stinks it up in the 2nd quarter but so far he seems in synch with the rest of the O line and they are dominating on the ground.

But i have to ask the people making these statements...are you WATCHING the game on TV or do you just look at stats and game recaps and THEN make your broad, sweeping denunciations?

 

[Phoenix111]

Can't speak about Connoly because I flat out can't recall. But as the backups filter in on the o line later in the game, the line play degenerates in a hurry.

 

[Joker]

well..there's 3 minutes left in the first half..I saw Neal miss a block on their last drive that led to a Brady sack...Connolly made a nice seal block on a run by Taylor to the five...so far I haven't seen the hysterical responses I read last night occurring in this game. The O line actually looks pretty good...

 

[goheels22002]

Not to throw cold water on what i thought was a very good Oline performance but they will face much tougher tests that this undersized Atlanta unit that they also pushed around in a game last season

The only guy i thought struggled in anyway really was Vollmer in pass protection against that DE, the white guy (forgot his name). Seemed to struggle a bit with his quickness, but again really was pushing him around in the run game.

The Falcons were a pretty good test - smaller than some run-stopping defensive lines but lots of speed. The first unit mauled the KC Chiefs the week before and sacked old friend Matt Cassell twice. Granted, the Chiefs offensive line sucks big time but still a good comparison. Vollmer getting beat early by the speed was not a pleasant thing to watch, especially when Brady got his bell rung and fumbled. Connolly looked fine and showed nice mobility on the counter treys they ran with Fred Taylor. God I hope Taylor and Morris stay healthy for a change.

 

[Bostonian1962]

It is my position that you don't break the bank for freaking guards. You just don't. I keep reading where their offer to Mankins would have made him either the 2nd or 3rd highest player in the league. THAT is a fair offer. THAT means when they said they would take care of Mankins, that they kept their word and at least tried to do just that. Because he wants even more DOES NOT mean they lied to him. He's lying saying that.

O.K., so Mankins wants what $8M or $9M a season? Don't know, but if that is the case, the man is a moron. He's not worth it.

Mankins is better than Connelly, but if he thinks that he's worth paying that kind of money instead of Connelly and his $600,000 salary, he's dreaming. His view of his on worth is skewed. Maybe he'll get lucky and there will be more injuries, but screw him for holding his team hostage.

 

[Richard Camembert]

I was at that debacle in the Fens last night, so I missed the game until the replay tonight...so far it's going into the 2nd quarter. Neal has had some really devastating blocks...Dan Connolly is playing well also to this point.

Last night when I checked in I could have sworn I read "Connolly isn't very good.." and "Connolly is WILDLY inconsistent"...so far I have to wonder what the hell game is playing on YOUR TV's.

Maybe Connolly stinks it up in the 2nd quarter but so far he seems in synch with the rest of the O line and they are dominating on the ground.

But i have to ask the people making these statements...are you WATCHING the game on TV or do you just look at stats and game recaps and THEN make your broad, sweeping denunciations?

Yeh, it's the second unit and Larsen in particular (IMO) who had the rough night. They got better but Hoyer was running around a bit.

 

[captain stone]

That would...err...certainly help our depth on the OL.

You're right, of course, that trading Mankin$ would not help our OL depth, at all; but do you think that he will ever play for us again, after all that's been said (and that's just what we've read; imagine what's prob. been said behind closed doors)? I'm afraid I don't.

 

[Bostonian1962]

It is my position that you don't break the bank for freaking guards. You just don't. I keep reading where their offer to Mankins would have made him either the 2nd or 3rd highest player in the league. THAT is a fair offer. THAT means when they said they would take care of Mankins, that they kept their word and at least tried to do just that. Because he wants even more DOES NOT mean they lied to him. He's lying saying that.

O.K., so Mankins wants what $8M or $9M a season? Don't know, but if that is the case, the man is a moron. He's not worth it.

Mankins is better than Connelly, but if he thinks that he's worth paying that kind of money instead of Connelly and his $600,000 salary, he's dreaming. His view of his on worth is skewed. Maybe he'll get lucky and there will be more injuries, but screw him for holding his team hostage.

By the way, I didn't mean to say their offer would have made him the 2nd or 3rd highest paid player in the league. I meant to say 2nd or 3rd highest paid guards.

 

[crowell33]

It is my position that you don't break the bank for freaking guards. You just don't. I keep reading where their offer to Mankins would have made him either the 2nd or 3rd highest player in the league. THAT is a fair offer. THAT means when they said they would take care of Mankins, that they kept their word and at least tried to do just that. Because he wants even more DOES NOT mean they lied to him. He's lying saying that.

O.K., so Mankins wants what $8M or $9M a season? Don't know, but if that is the case, the man is a moron. He's not worth it.

Mankins is better than Connelly, but if he thinks that he's worth paying that kind of money instead of Connelly and his $600,000 salary, he's dreaming. His view of his on worth is skewed. Maybe he'll get lucky and there will be more injuries, but screw him for holding his team hostage.

This could be a bad week for Mankins. Mangold will sign a 5 year extension this week for in excess of $38 million with more than $20 million in guarantees. Like Mankins, Mangold is entering his second contract with two Pro Bowl bids. Like Wilfork, Mangold showed up, kept his mouth shout, worked hard and got his deal. Like Revis, Mankins sits home without a new deal. At some point, Mankins has to question why he didn't come into camp and work hard while negotiating like Mangold did.