Better off getting a Safety in the draft or in FA??

[PATRlOT]

Trade Wilson and Gregory.
Draft new safety, sign Ed Reed.

 

[MTM558]

I say sign the best FA Safety you can, but don't shy away from drafting a Safety in the draft. There are a lot of good prospects this year, and hopefully 1 will find their way to New England.

Even if that player doesn't start, he will add quality depth, will have a roll in Sub Packages, and can take over year 2.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

You can only do so much in a season. Looking at relative strengths and weaknesses, combining that with cap space and draft picks, I see it as a higher priority at S and WR, and can live with putting off OL and DL until next year if needed.

I see you saying this a lot. What about our performances last season makes you comfortable leaving the DL alone in the offseason? Just curious. Are you thinking Jones takes the reigns and becomes borderline all-pro? Not sure I'd be comfortable with leaving the edges alone even if he does skyrocket.

Armstead could well be a 3-4 DE, but he's not a 4-3 DE.

 

[JackBauer]

Trade Wilson and Gregory.
Draft new safety, sign Ed Reed.

Worst. Idea. Ever.

 

[JackBauer]

Armstead could well be a 3-4 DE, but he's not a 4-3 DE.

Why not?

ten char

 

[Ivan]

Draft a safety, if Bedard is right and McCourty turns into an elite safety next season then the Patriots are going to have a hard time signing him to a deal that compensates him at that level, which means they would lose both Reed (if they went that way) and McCourty in a couple of years and be in bad shape at the position. I think they can find another safety project in college and groom them to take over at safety in a couple of years and i actually have hopes that Belichick was right and Wilson is going to end up being a good player.

I won't be surprised if the Patriots go the way they did with the TE's and Mayo and sign McCourty early to a team friendly deal that gets him money now but still sets them up well down the road. That may be one of the major moves they make this offseason.


One thing is certain, this is going to be a fascinating offseason and we are going to find out if they are just going to stay the course or become more aggressive to finish off Brady's career.

 

[Ivan]

Trade Wilson and Gregory.
Draft new safety, sign Ed Reed.

For what, an 8th rounder?

 

[Deus Irae]

I see you saying this a lot. What about our performances last season makes you comfortable leaving the DL alone in the offseason? Just curious. Are you thinking Jones takes the reigns and becomes borderline all-pro? Not sure I'd be comfortable with leaving the edges alone even if he does skyrocket.

Armstead could well be a 3-4 DE, but he's not a 4-3 DE.

The Patriots were 6th in the NFL in defensive yards per rushing attempt, even with a rookie on one edge and Ninkovich on the other. The D-line, while not a dominant force, is not killing the team. The defensive secondary is killing the team. Not having enough healthy players in the receiving corps is killing the team.

Fix what's killing the team first. It doesn't do any good to fix a man's broken finger if you let him bleed out from a bullet wound in the process.

 

[mgteich]

And the team was first in takeaways.

I agree with your comments. We need to focus on the WR position and on the secondary.

To secure a solid DL prospect for free was great. Now we can focus on corners, safeties and wide receivers. As a side issue, I always presume that ERFA's and RFA's come back, so we will likely be adding Hooman, Fletcher and Ballard to our current roster.

The Patriots were 6th in the NFL in defensive yards per rushing attempt, even with a rookie on one edge and Ninkovich on the other. The D-line, while not a dominant force, is not killing the team. The defensive secondary is killing the team. Not having enough healthy players in the receiving corps is killing the team.

Fix what's killing the team first. It doesn't do any good to fix a man's broken finger if you let him bleed out from a bullet wound in the process.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

The Patriots were 6th in the NFL in defensive yards per rushing attempt, even with a rookie on one edge and Ninkovich on the other. The D-line, while not a dominant force, is not killing the team. The defensive secondary is killing the team. Not having enough healthy players in the receiving corps is killing the team.

Fix what's killing the team first. It doesn't do any good to fix a man's broken finger if you let him bleed out from a bullet wound in the process.

A healthy Gronk in this offense and it doesn't matter who is lined up at WR. That's a gamble, but it's less of a gamble than hoping one of your average edge guys turns into something above average.

No one is arguing about the run defense of the Patriots, but the d-line has more responsibilities than run defense, and the pass rush of the patriots is more than a broken finger. No doubt the secondary is a bullet wound. The pass rush might be a shrapnel wound just outside the femoral artery with the likelihood of infection.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I don't hate the notion of bringing in a guy like Reed, if the Patriots can free up more space than I think they'll be looking to, but I look at this team, and I see the cap space and just a possible Mankins restructure, and I see

Brady
Ridley
Gronk
Welker
Lloyd
Hernandez/Rookie WR3 taken in round 1 or very high in round 2
Solder
Mankins
Wendell
Connolly
Cannon

Ninkovich
Love/Amstead
Wilfork
Jones
Spikes
Mayo
Hightower
Dennard
Talib (or other quality man-to-man CB1)
McCourty
Rookie S taken in round 1 or very high round 2/Gregory

and I like that group, a lot.

Agree & will miss Herr Vollmer who will get a big payday elsewhere

So you're saying that to get 2 very high round 2 picks we trade down out of the 1st and trade our 3rd to get two high 2nds. Don't see a way to get the late 1st AND a very high round 2 unless we throw in a 2014 2nd which I would not like.

 

[Patsrock]

Here is the contract details of the 29th pick a S last year in 2012 draft

Vikings gave Harrison Smith a $3.6M signing bonus, $5.8M guaranteed | 1500 ESPN Twin Cities ? Minnesota Sports News & Opinion (Twins, Vikings, Wolves, Wild, Gophers) | Sportswire: Minnesota Vikings

Here is the breakdown

Harrison Smith Contract, Salaries, and Transactions

 

[supafly]

Nope. They should go spend 5-6 mil on a vet like Reed or Woodson next season

I'd much rather they spend a bit more and grab one of the up and coming safeties in the game like Moore or Byrd to solidify the position for the next 4-5 yrs.

If that isn't an option I'd be fine with taking someone like Reed for a 1-2 yr deal as a stopgap and immediate improvement, but that doesn't address the situation into the future unless Wilson (or a draft pick this year or next) really takes off enough.

Another option would be to snag a guy like K.Philips in free agency for the same price yet a longer term. Of course you have to hope that you're going to get the same level of quality, but I think it would improve the position regardless and have more of an eye towards the future.

Hell, any of these options would be fine and you wouldn't hear me complain. There's certainly a strong argument for taking a safety this year in the draft too, but that will depend on several factors; none of which we can predict as of yet.

 

[JackBauer]

My money's still on Kenny Phillips if we elect the FA route.

 

[supafly]

Trade Wilson and Gregory.
Draft new safety, sign Ed Reed.

Both Wilson and Gregory are at least better rotational and depth players than they've had in at least a few years. They both also offer starting capacity and have experience in that role too, although we'd all like them to be downgraded as the position is improved upon with McCourty and player x.

Wilson is actually still developing, so we really don't even have a good enough idea of what is there yet.

 

[supafly]

My money's still on Kenny Phillips if we elect the FA route.

Could be a very realistic option that would address the immediate and the future.

I would be very happy with that selection, and it would give us some damn rangy safeties with he and McCourty.

 

[supafly]

A) I note your endorsement of our OL, even without Vollmer. I seem to recall your needing better than Wendell and Connolly. I'm fine with them.

I personally am fine with these 2 if any one of the following situations occur:

1. The team retains Welker and continues the current offensive scheme

2. The team resigns Donald Thomas as a backup

3. They somehow strike gold on a capable free agent interior presence, although I would think that the chances of that are slimmer and that Thomas would be just as good of a choice in that case for the money.

I would think that the chances of at least one of these situations happening should be pretty good.

 

[Deus Irae]

Agree & will miss Herr Vollmer who will get a big payday elsewhere

So you're saying that to get 2 very high round 2 picks we trade down out of the 1st and trade our 3rd to get two high 2nds. Don't see a way to get the late 1st AND a very high round 2 unless we throw in a 2014 2nd which I would not like.

It depends on how close to the draft trade chart the trade would go.

Pick 59: 310
Pick 91: 136
Total = 446

Pick 45 = 450
Pick 46 = 440

They'd also have the 7th rounder to toss in a few extra points, if needed.

 

[Deus Irae]

A healthy Gronk in this offense and it doesn't matter who is lined up at WR.

That's simply not true.

That's a gamble, but it's less of a gamble than hoping one of your average edge guys turns into something above average.

Jones was looking very good early on even while also showing he had a long way to go. They just signed a CFL guy who might help the pass rush. A better secondary would allow the linebackers to blitz more, as well.

No one is arguing about the run defense of the Patriots, but the d-line has more responsibilities than run defense, and the pass rush of the patriots is more than a broken finger. No doubt the secondary is a bullet wound. The pass rush might be a shrapnel wound just outside the femoral artery with the likelihood of infection.

We disagree here.

 

[BritPat]

Trade Wilson and Gregory.
Draft new safety, sign Ed Reed.

Trade Wilson?

Really?

Thank the Lord you're not in any way shape or form even involved with the organisation.