BradyManny
Pro Bowl Player
- Joined
- Mar 13, 2006
- Messages
- 11,103
- Reaction score
- 1,520
Reiss in his blog today came up with a 6 year 48 milli contract that he thought was good middle ground for both Mankins and the Pats.
I think he's right on for the number, in terms of Mankins value and public perception of him. Unfortunately, I think we'd be insane to pay him that. I take all metrics with a grain of salt, but I've yet to see one that shows Mankins as an elite guard - and most, in fact, show Neal as a more effective player, when he is healthy. I'd throw this out the window if it weren't backed up with my own eyes. Add to that, it also seems to be the prevailing wisdom of scouts anytime they offer up their opinion. He's not an elite pass blocker, and he was destroyed in SB42, despite apparently being our best O-Linemen. That game turned when Neal went out, and the O-Line couldn't quite make up for his absence, as has been the case many times.
Don't get me wrong. Mankins is a good player. But if he hadn't been a 1st round guard, and started a fad of taking guards in the 1st round, I don't think he'd have been to a Pro-Bowl yet, and I think we'd be talking about a Koppen-like extension rather than a record-setting guard type extension. He's one of the few players on the Patriots - or maybe the only - who I would categorize as "overhyped". The 1st round label gave him name recognition - and he's played well, but guards playing just as well can go largely unnoticed.
I don't want to see us break the bank for this guy. Save the $$ for Brady, try and re-sign Moss. Those are bigger priorities. We can get a comparable level of play for a fraction of the price.
I think he's right on for the number, in terms of Mankins value and public perception of him. Unfortunately, I think we'd be insane to pay him that. I take all metrics with a grain of salt, but I've yet to see one that shows Mankins as an elite guard - and most, in fact, show Neal as a more effective player, when he is healthy. I'd throw this out the window if it weren't backed up with my own eyes. Add to that, it also seems to be the prevailing wisdom of scouts anytime they offer up their opinion. He's not an elite pass blocker, and he was destroyed in SB42, despite apparently being our best O-Linemen. That game turned when Neal went out, and the O-Line couldn't quite make up for his absence, as has been the case many times.
Don't get me wrong. Mankins is a good player. But if he hadn't been a 1st round guard, and started a fad of taking guards in the 1st round, I don't think he'd have been to a Pro-Bowl yet, and I think we'd be talking about a Koppen-like extension rather than a record-setting guard type extension. He's one of the few players on the Patriots - or maybe the only - who I would categorize as "overhyped". The 1st round label gave him name recognition - and he's played well, but guards playing just as well can go largely unnoticed.
I don't want to see us break the bank for this guy. Save the $$ for Brady, try and re-sign Moss. Those are bigger priorities. We can get a comparable level of play for a fraction of the price.
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