FA WR: Reed highly unlikely to sign, no interest in Kevin Curtis

[patsfan-1982]

not signing reed, is ok by me. i don't think he is any good. but im not sure why they would not even look at kevin curtis, he has good speed and he is not. 40 like galloway, i think he would have been a nice sign. but oh will...


i guess the pats are going to draft. one or sign some vet that will be cut in the next few months.

 

[Kontradiction]

not signing reed, is ok by me. i don't think he is any good. but im not sure why they would not even look at kevin curtis, he has good speed and he is not. 40 like galloway, i think he would have been a nice sign. but oh will...


i guess the pats are going to draft. one or sign some vet that will be cut in the next few months.

Kevin Curtis is oft-injured. That's the only reason I can think of why we didn't sign him. I would have loved to see him on the team myself. But oh well...

 

[supafly]

not signing reed, is ok by me. i don't think he is any good. but im not sure why they would not even look at kevin curtis, he has good speed and he is not. 40 like galloway, i think he would have been a nice sign. but oh will...


i guess the pats are going to draft. one or sign some vet that will be cut in the next few months.

Yeah, that's what it's looking like. I'm guessing they'll do both--likely draft a WR certainly somewhere in rds 1-7, and also sign a seasoned vet. (maybe 2)

 

[makoute]

All of which is true, except ...

This off-season there is no cap, so there is no pressure to dump expensive veterans to clear cap room. There will, though, be space pressure when rosters are reduced. So ... (Yes, of course you'd like to have them earlier, but that may not be realistic.)

Or you can say that there is no pressure to cut someone who is still good, and won't hurt to keep around.

 

[mgteich]

Obviously, the patriots are waiting for Branch to be cut.

Or you can say that there is no pressure to cut someone who is still good, and won't hurt to keep around.

 

[Marqui]

Obviously, the patriots are waiting for Branch to be cut.

Does he have any gas left in the tank? I haven't watched him play in years.

 

[mgteich]

We'll see. He will be 31 on July 1, so it is not as if he's ancient.

Does he have any gas left in the tank? I haven't watched him play in years.

 

[supafly]

We'll see. He will be 31 on July 1, so it is not as if he's ancient.

I think his understanding of the offense can help him contribute very nicely still. Maybe he can provide Brady with a go-to guy in some aspects with the intermediate and underneath routes--basically contribute as a possession receiver more.

I think his overall speed and juking abilities have obviously taken a hit, but I think Belichick and Brady can still appreciate and use his strengths to our advantage.

I'm still holding out hope for this one.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Does he have any gas left in the tank? I haven't watched him play in years.

He has, of course, had serious injuries, but, two seasons ago, he gave a great performance (4 for 88 and 2 TDs) in a game that the Patriots just managed to win.

 

[Ring 6]

no....because weaknesses kill a team every time........stop being so euphoric

How is it euphoric to say we have weaknesses but other teams do too?
Won't the weaknesses kill the other teams in the division too, or does that only apply to us?

 

[Ring 6]

Andy, I suggest you start looking at "quarterback hit" totals for the Jets last season then compare them to the Pats. As for the Dolphins, if you watched any of their games last year, you would realize that Jason Taylor and Joey Porter were not what they used to be. Cameron Wake was by far their best pass rusher. Good thing for us that he sucks against the run.

OK, acording to ProFootballFocus the Jets had 50 QB hits, and the Patriots had 55.
Taylor and Porter had 16 sacks, Wake had 5.5. Why would wake play only 167 snaps if he was better than those 2, who played 354 and 333?

Again, if it involves the Pats it must be devastatingly bad, if it involves the Jets or Phins it might look bad but it really is good. Facts be damned?????
You didn't mention how our weakness at WR which 'we will be lucky to win 8 games' if we dont fix doesnt doomn those teams who are in worse shape at the position.

 

[Ring 6]

This is the offseason. It is time to addess weaknesses. We will address some before the draft, some during the draft, some between the draft and Training Camp, and some even after that (as injuries occur and players fail in camp). It is important to understand where there are perceived critical weaknesses so that we can better understand offseason moves.

DEFENSE
We have lost Green, expect to lose Thomas, and expect to re-sign Burgess (and/or perhaps sign Taylor).

I have posted that we have done extremely well in re-signing Wilfork, Bodden and Banta-Cain. I believe that our 2010 defense will be much better than that of 2009. I expect us to draft a DE like Odrick or Carrington and an OLB. This is normal transition.

So for me, we are fine on defense. We are in the last year of a major transition. The youngsters are almost all in place.

I didn't like last year's plan of dealing with th OLB and DE positions, ignoring the position in early free agency and in the draft, hoping that Jason Taylor would sign, giving up a 3rd and a 5th for Burgess and then trading away Seymour. Some think that this strategy was just fine. Maybe it was the best that we could do.
==================

OFFENSE
Posters have criticized every position but quarterback. Why is it bad to focus on the more serious NEED at receiver (WR and TE)? We have only one such serious need. We MUST address it, and we will.

There are many possible plans of attack. One is to hope that Welker will be back at 100% 9 months after an ACL injury. We saw the result of that plan for #3 receiver last year when we counted on Tate coming back and signed an ancient receiver in the meantime. Is it wrong to question repeating that strategy this year?

I have posted that I want Thomas in the first (or another reciever in the second if we can get Odrick in the first or choose to trade down) in addition to signing Branch. But then, perhaps I am just wishing and hoping and will be disappointed when Branch signs elsewhere. I have also said that I would trade for Olsen and/or draft ****erson.

The situaion at receiver is aweful at the moment. I see no harm in pointing that out. It is also quite solvable.
===============================

The post I was responding to indicated that we were division favorites right now, with no further additions of 2010 contributers. I don't believe this to be the case unless there are strong 2010 performances from Tate and Thomas and Burgess. After all, these three would indeed meet the need at WR and OLB.

I dont know why we wouldnt be the division favorite right now, since we won the division, and none of the other teams have improved, while we really haven't declined. It doesnt matter who the favorite is today, but it is ridiculous to say we can't be the favorite because of the gaping hole at WR, where we are the best in the division.
How about we look at how the Jets are pathetic on offense and lost the best player on thier offense from last year? Dont the weaknesses at QUARTERBACK, WR, RB make it unrealistic to call them the favorites when they were a .500 team that had a game handed to them and have done nothing to improve their team?????? Or are you saying the Fins are the favorite after going 7-9 and doing nothing to improve their team.
I have no problem pointing out the deficiencies in the Pats, or discussing how they are ill-equipped right now for a playoff run, but why would we pretend that lesser teams that have done nothing to improve somehow past us, just because we want to be gloomy?

 

[mgteich]

I have every confidence that we fill the gaping holes at WR, TE, and OLB/DE.

======================================
HAVE WE DECLINED FROM LAST YEAR?

Our weaknesses last year were production from the Z receiver, the Y receiver (receiving tight end) and the pass rush.
We haven't added any receivers except replacing Baker with Crumpler. We haven't added any pass rush.

Now we've lost Welker, Green, Watson and Burgess; and yet we haven't declined?

==================

HAVE OTHER IMPROVED?
Some would argue that both the jets and miami have improved. I would think that they are about the same, having lost and gained players.

CONCLUSION
We say that since the other teams haven't gained and we haven't declined, and that therefore should still be the favorites. The key difference is that over almost all the season we had Welker, a key player in our offense. Now, he's gone. Others have lost and added. We've lost and lost.

.we really haven't declined..

 

[Ring 6]

We've lost Welker and Watson and haven't declined?

We still are better at receiver than anyone in the division. We do not know when Welker will be back. Are you seriously telling me that Watson is a significant loss?

 

[Ring 6]

We've lost Welker and Watson and haven't declined?

Nice job not addressing any of the main points though.

 

[captain stone]

Yes. Bill should have signed the Drunk Murderer and the Coke head..

Sorry, but the Pats dumped Stallworth for a reason. As for Jones, he's over-rated..

While I do agree that I'd have liked to have signed another receiver, BB clearly believes that the players are either over-priced or the wrong fit.

As for Kraft thinking that more players will be made available in June, he could be talking about teams being at the 80 man limit and deciding to part ways with players.

There could also be nuances about the Uncapped year that we don't know about.

Maybe. As Fencer subsequently wrote, teams might wait until the last poss. moment to release players they would've released 3 months earlier. Unfortunately, anybody signed by the Pats at that point would be 3 months behind the 8-ball as far as learning the playbook is concerned.

If there's a current UFA WR whom Bill likes, he should sign him now so that the learning curve is not as steep as it already will be.

 

[Ring 6]

I have every confidence that we fill the gaping holes at WR, TE, and OLB/DE.

======================================
HAVE WE DECLINED FROM LAST YEAR?

Our weaknesses last year were production from the Z receiver, the Y receiver (receiving tight end) and the pass rush.
We haven't added any receivers except replacing Baker with Crumpler. We haven't added any pass rush.

Now we've lost Welker, Green, Watson and Burgess; and yet we haven't declined?

==================

HAVE OTHER IMPROVED?
Some would argue that both the jets and miami have improved. I would think that they are about the same, having lost and gained players.

CONCLUSION
We say that since the other teams haven't gained and we haven't declined, and that therefore should still be the favorites. The key difference is that over almost all the season we had Welker, a key player in our offense. Now, he's gone. Others have lost and added. We've lost and lost.

I disagree that our weakness from last year was WR and TE. We were among the best passing teams in the NFL. Its a nice excuse to say we should have had 3 or 4 probowl receivers.
I don't know how anyone could argue those teams improved, but thats the point. Everyone wants to isolate any potential Patriot weakness and ignore those of the Jets and Fins.