Danny Woodhead = Non-expendable?

[randomk1]

It's not like he needed this game to prove anything. He has made plays for us all year long and Brady seems to trust him the most among his RBs.

What stood out immediately on one play was when Ridley subbed in for Woodhead he immedately failed at picking up a blocker.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

Woodhead is clutch. He can sprint for 15 yd 3rd conversions either by run or screen pass. He showed he can be counted on in bad weather conditions as well. He needs to be involved in RB rotations. He's even that much quicker when Hurry Up No Huddle is late in games & defenses are lookin for oxygen.

 

[TBradyOwnsYou]

Right now Woodhead is the greatest asset this offense has in the backfield and if we're smart we'll try to lock him up for at least 4-5 years.

 

[JackBauer]

I was a bit wishy washy on Woodhead's prospects beyond this season -- not because I don't like the guy, but because of all the other talent on the roster at the position. One thing that seems to be the case, though, that works in his favor is that in games where none of the other running backs seem to be able to do much/anything, Woodhead always seems to come through with the tough yardage.

After last night I'm definitely a believer, though. Gotta keep the guy around.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Woodhead offers way more in the hurry up offense in the form of draws and motioning to slot WR on LBs IMO.

That's why woodhead has been playing more...ridley is your slow down the game kill the other team kind of guy

 

[xlcjw72]

I was a bit wishy washy on Woodhead's prospects beyond this season -- not because I don't like the guy, but because of all the other talent on the roster at the position. One thing that seems to be the case, though, that works in his favor is that in games where none of the other running backs seem to be able to do much/anything, Woodhead always seems to come through with the tough yardage.

After last night I'm definitely a believer, though. Gotta keep the guy around.

Woodhead proves it every night the guy is a patriot he shows up to play even in the Superbowl talent don't mean **** jets choose McKnight over him and if the pats choose vereen over him they will be making the same mistake

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

 

[Off The Grid]

You...NOT Expendable, Uncanny Danny WoodHead!!

Oh my GOD.

That's from Second Blood, in case anyone's wondering.

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

I never considered him expendable to begin with and didn't agree with the posters who believed Vereen would be an instant upgrade.

Vereen has had a couple of moments here and there but hasn't come close to making Woodhead expendable IMO. Woodhead has once again proven to be the most trustworthy and versatile back they have. He has the trust of Brady and is a perfect fit for this offense. I never understood how or why Patriot fans wanted him replaced to begin with.

 

[Batman]

I never believed Woodhead was expendable, he is however upgradable but as is most of our roster outside Brady, Gronk and Welker. The price and availability of these upgrades differs I think Darren Sproles would be an upgrade but is not available and if he was his cost would be very high. They want to find out if Vareen or Demps is an upgrade if they're not I am ok with it we tried to get better not trying is worse than failing. Woodhead was only a jet because Mangini wanted him not Rex.

 

[borg]

Expendable????
The guy GETS IT. The problem Danny W has is........ the Pats rarely play from behind in catch up mode....But....when they are, Woodhead is on the field and he is a focal point of the offense....because he gets it....and the staff trusts him.
Lets rank RBs based on coaches trust......Woodhead ....everyone else.

Some people may not like how Woodhead gets deployed....Think back to last years playoff run when Ridley and Vereen didn't get a sniff and BJGE was....meh. Not Woodhead's fault BB went with him at crunch time.
The guy is solid, clutch, exciting, a team guy....everything you want from a player. Woodhead's only real issue is the horrendous haircut.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'd hardly call Woodhead expendable. If anything, I think we should be having this argument about Vereen. Vereen's future, at least IMO, is tied to what Demps is able to do as a pro.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

I'll admit after the Jets game especially I would have been okay with letting him walk and having Vereen/Demps assume his role going forth(not because of anything Woodhead did, I was just that impressed with Ridley/Vereen). But this guy truly is our new Kevin Faulk, already, and it took Faulk years to become what he was.

 

[ay-yo]

I'm sorry but this thread is ridiculous. Not one person has mentioned a little thing called the SALARY CAP. We have Welker, Volmer and Talib to pay and possibly others such as Arrington or Edelman. I love Woody and hope he is back but when you have a solid starter (Ridley), a competent back up (Bolden) and a young player who has flashed (Vereen) it makes letting go of Woodhead very logical. If you can save 2 mil per year by drafting a late round guy and letting Woody walk that could be the difference between Welker staying and Welker leaving. I hope I'm wrong but in the salary cap era you can't keep everybody and Woody is the logical choice to let go.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm sorry but this thread is ridiculous. Not one person has mentioned a little thing called the SALARY CAP. We have Welker, Volmer and Talib to pay and possibly others such as Arrington or Edelman. I love Woody and hope he is back but when you have a solid starter (Ridley), a competent back up (Bolden) and a young player who has flashed (Vereen) it makes letting go of Woodhead very logical. If you can save 2 mil per year by drafting a late round guy and letting Woody walk that could be the difference between Welker staying and Welker leaving. I hope I'm wrong but in the salary cap era you can't keep everybody and Woody is the logical choice to let go.

What on Earth has Vereen showed you thus far that would make you want to keep him over Woodhead?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I'm sorry but this thread is ridiculous. Not one person has mentioned a little thing called the SALARY CAP. We have Welker, Volmer and Talib to pay and possibly others such as Arrington or Edelman. I love Woody and hope he is back but when you have a solid starter (Ridley), a competent back up (Bolden) and a young player who has flashed (Vereen) it makes letting go of Woodhead very logical. If you can save 2 mil per year by drafting a late round guy and letting Woody walk that could be the difference between Welker staying and Welker leaving. I hope I'm wrong but in the salary cap era you can't keep everybody and Woody is the logical choice to let go.

Nobody's saying the Pats need to pay Woodhead $10M a year. But if they can sign him for a reasonable amount (YMMV on what that is), they should.

 

[PP2]

I'm sorry but this thread is ridiculous. Not one person has mentioned a little thing called the SALARY CAP. We have Welker, Volmer and Talib to pay and possibly others such as Arrington or Edelman. I love Woody and hope he is back but when you have a solid starter (Ridley), a competent back up (Bolden) and a young player who has flashed (Vereen) it makes letting go of Woodhead very logical. If you can save 2 mil per year by drafting a late round guy and letting Woody walk that could be the difference between Welker staying and Welker leaving. I hope I'm wrong but in the salary cap era you can't keep everybody and Woody is the logical choice to let go.

Woodhead is very valuable in that he is a very different type of RB. The 49ers easily handled Ridley but had so much trouble with Woodhead because his center of gravity is so low and he is one sneaky, shifty bastard. He is a change of pace back and you really need that in order to keep a defense off balance.

 

[randomk1]

Nobody's saying the Pats need to pay Woodhead $10M a year. But if they can sign him for a reasonable amount (YMMV on what that is), they should.

I don't see Woodhead asking for much and i seriously doubt he wants to leave NE. He has his specific role in this O and it fits his skillset. He may not find that somewhere else.

 

[Patradomous]

I think DW is a very competitive smart instinctive football player that loves crunch time.
I thought he should have been in SB MVP conversation if the Pats had won that game last year.

 

[borg]

As a reference point, Sproles signed a 4 year ('11-'14) $14 mill deal with $6 mill guaranteed averaging $3.5 mill/year. Skill set comparison....2/3s of Sproles touches are as a receiver while Woodhead is the opposite...2/3s touches as rusher.

The Sproles contract has some context...replacing Reggie Bush who was due to make $11.8 mill before being traded/renogotiated to Miami. Sproles signed one day after Bush's departure. If Sproles needed only one day to sign with NO, clearly the money was at the high end. And NO could feel good paying Sproles good money considering the $8 mill they just saved.
Bush signed for 2 yrs/$10 mill with Miami
As GM, I'd go 3 years/$7.5 mill for Woodhead with $2.5 mill as guaranteed bonus. This is easy

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Back in the day when the cap was only double digits Faulk got extended to a 6 year $15M deal. Towards the end he was a $2M expenditure they were still willing to fund because of the significant role he had carved out come what may. Woodhead hasn't quite ascended to that level, in part due to injury and in part due to the changes this offense has undergone in the 2 TE era. That said, he is definitely an asset they'd be wise to retain and plain foolish to let walk. He isn't going to command more than a 2-3 year extension probably at less than $2M per. The jury remains out on all the alternatives and the entire unit for that matter, all of whom are on cheap rookie deals for 2 more seasons. Retaining him and maintaining an inexpensive unit by all measures has nothing to do with retaining Welker or anyone else. Bill wasted a small fortune on guys like Fanene and Fells and Shiancoe and a host of veteran camp tryouts and a lot of previous whifs that resulted in a $20M dead cap hit this season. And yet we're headed to the playoffs with cap rollover to spare, so spare me the we can't afford an all in football player like Woodhead nonsense.

They'd be wise to do it now and retain even more cap flexibility going forward.