Free Agent analysis Belichick Era 2000-2006

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

This is an AWESOME post! I love this kind of stuff.

Okay, here's my take on this, using robertweathers' scale:

0- Bad signing (never made team or bad ROI)
1- Made a decent contribution (slightly less ROI than what was expected)
2- Was a solid contributor (ROI right on)
3- Superior Signing (Above and beyond ROI)

------------------------------------------
2000
Joe Andruzzi - 1
Aaron Bailey - Who?
Eric Bjornson - 0
Bobby Hamilton - 3
Jon Harris - (See Bailey, Aaron)
Antonio Langham - 1
Lance Scott - 0
Otis Smith - 3
Grant Williams - 0

The Skinny: Andruzzi gets a lot of pub because of the whole "9-11, brothers who were NYC fireman" and the "running out with the little US flags" thing. I always thought he was average to poor.

I loved Bobby Hamilton. He was the quintessential "Belichick guy". Don't be surprised if he ends up coaching under Belichick someday, ala Pepper Johnson.

Antonio Langham got burned plenty, yes, but he made some plays, too. Definitely better than "0". Not much better, but better.

Otis Smith belongs in the Patriots HoF.

Grant Williams was a stationary, neandrathal dufus.
------------------------------------------
2001
Je'Rod Cherry - 1
Mike Compton - 3
Marc Edwards - 2
Damon Huard - 1
Larry Izzo - 3+++++++
Marty Moore -0
David Patten - 3
Roman Phifer - 3
Anthony Pleasant - 2
Antowain Smith - 3
Chris Sullivan - 0
Mike Vrabel - 3++++++++++
Ken Walter - 0

The Skinny: Yes, this group won SB XXVI, but let's not let that cloud the fact that some of them were downright mediocre.

Let's go with the winners:

Izzo & Vrabel. Obvious. Pats' HoF.

Compton brought us attitude, much in the way Logan Mankins does now. They remind me of one another.

David Patten and Roman Phifer - WAY above solid. Patten was an absolute playmaker. Remember his three TD (throw, pass, catch) game @ Indy? Awesome!

Anthony Pleasant - Another Bobby Hamilton. Fit him for his hoodie. He'll be on some coaching staff one day.

Antowan Smith - A DEFINTE "3". Gave us WAY more than we deserved or expected from him. I loved that dude. Who ran harder in the "Snow Game" than #32?!?! Plus, I love the shots of him running and high-stepping, helmet in hand, out onto the field as AV's kick beats the Rams!

Ken Walter - Blech!
------------------------------------------
2002
Cameron Cleeland - 1
Scott Dragos - 0
Christian Fauria - 2
Chris Hayes - 0
Donald Hayes - 0
Rob Kelly - 0
Tom Knight - 0
Rick Lyle - 0
Steve Martin - 0
Ryan Phillips - 0
Daryl Porter - 0
Ratcliff Thomas - 0
Rich Tylski - 0

The Skinny: Holy c r a p! You ain't kidding. This class s u c k e d! One thing though - can you believe pretty-boy Christian Fauria turned out to be a better pick-up than Cam Cleeland?!?!? Go figure! That's like Rick Fox outlasting Reggie Miller.
------------------------------------------
2003
Chris Akins - 0
Larry Centers - 1
Michael Cloud - 1
Rosevelt Colvin - 3
Don Davis - 2
Brandon Gorin - 1
Rodney Harrison - 3+++++++++++
Russ Hochstein - 3
Sean McDermott - 0
Tyrone Poole - 1
Dedric Ward - 1

The Skinny: Harrison might be the greatest safety to ever play in the NFL and when he goes into Canton, he WILL wear the Pats colors. You watch.

Rosey Colvin, to me, is a 3. He is solid and starting with the Super Bowl against the Eagles, he turned the corner. Watch him thrive playing next to Adalius Thomas this year.

Hochstein has been Mr. Everything & Mr. Dependable for the Pats. A "3".

Dedric Ward - Once a Jet, always, a Jet!

------------------------------------------
2004
Josh Miller - 1
Keith Traylor - 1

The Skinny: Miller did his job. He punted. No big deal, really.

Traylor damn near ate us out of house & home. What a friggin' fat arse! But, in the end, he could just park that 400lbs of nubian flesh in the middle of the line and help out a little, I guess. Which reminds of another obese b a s t a r d, Ted Washington. Where is he in these lists? Wasn't he an FA?
------------------------------------------
2005
Monty Beisel - 0
Chad Brown - 0
Tim Dwight - 1
Antuan Edwards - 0
Doug Flutie - 0
Artrell Hawkins - 3
Victor Leyva - 0
Wesly Mallard - 0
Chad Morton - 0
Chad Scott - 1
David Terrell - 0

The Skinny - This class rivals 2002 in sheer mediocrity.

The only good thing about Monty Beisel is he forced us to go download pictures of his smokin' wife. No nip shots though. That s u c k e d!

Chad Brown, Doug Flutie, Chad Scott. Why were they even here?

David Terrell. Do you know I actually p i s s e d and moaned when we drafted Richard Seymour instead of Terrell? God, what was I thinking?!?!?

Tim Dwight never fulfilled his promise, IMO. Hard-nosed guy, and I like that, but you gotta do something!

Artrell Hawkins, on the hand, under promised and over-delivered.
------------------------------------------
2006
Reche Caldwell - 3
Jabar Gaffney - 3
Martin Gramatica - 0
Tebucky Jones - 0
Mel Mitchell - 0
Todd Sauerbrun - 1
Chad Scott - 2
Junior Seau - 3

The Skinny - The Gators (Caldwell, Gaffney) got us to the AFC Championship Game! They outperformed any reasonable expectations anyone could have had based on their God-given talent and production to that date.

Sauerkraut never was quite a "Patriot". Didn't act like one, didn't talk like one in the press. Sauerpuss is about one thing - himself. Plus, he's a punter that does juice. What's up with THAT? Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Chad Scott gave us something in 2006, unlike '05. So much so that I see his loss in Training Camp in 2007 as a MAJOR blow to our secondary.

Junior Seau came here and fell in love with us and we fell in love with him. When I see him play, I feel like I am watching NFL royalty!
------------------------------------------

 

[Flying Fungi]

What about Ted Washington, was he a FA pickup or did we get him via trade?

trade with CHI

 

[DaBruinz]

This is an AWESOME post! I love this kind of stuff.

Okay, here's my take on this, using robertweathers' scale:

0- Bad signing (never made team or bad ROI)
1- Made a decent contribution (slightly less ROI than what was expected)
2- Was a solid contributor (ROI right on)
3- Superior Signing (Above and beyond ROI)

------------------------------------------
2000
Joe Andruzzi - 1
Aaron Bailey - Who?
Eric Bjornson - 0
Bobby Hamilton - 3
Jon Harris - (See Bailey, Aaron)
Antonio Langham - 1
Lance Scott - 0
Otis Smith - 3
Grant Williams - 0

The Skinny: Andruzzi gets a lot of pub because of the whole "9-11, brothers who were NYC fireman" and the "running out with the little US flags" thing. I always thought he was average to poor.

I loved Bobby Hamilton. He was the quintessential "Belichick guy". Don't be surprised if he ends up coaching under Belichick someday, ala Pepper Johnson.

Antonio Langham got burned plenty, yes, but he made some plays, too. Definitely better than "0". Not much better, but better.

Otis Smith belongs in the Patriots HoF.

Grant Williams was a stationary, neandrathal dufus.
------------------------------------------
2001
Je'Rod Cherry - 1
Mike Compton - 3
Marc Edwards - 2
Damon Huard - 1
Larry Izzo - 3+++++++
Marty Moore -0
David Patten - 3
Roman Phifer - 3
Anthony Pleasant - 2
Antowain Smith - 3
Chris Sullivan - 0
Mike Vrabel - 3++++++++++
Ken Walter - 0

The Skinny: Yes, this group won SB XXVI, but let's not let that cloud the fact that some of them were downright mediocre.

Let's go with the winners:

Izzo & Vrabel. Obvious. Pats' HoF.

Compton brought us attitude, much in the way Logan Mankins does now. They remind me of one another.

David Patten and Roman Phifer - WAY above solid. Patten was an absolute playmaker. Remember his three TD (throw, pass, catch) game @ Indy? Awesome!

Anthony Pleasant - Another Bobby Hamilton. Fit him for his hoodie. He'll be on some coaching staff one day.

Antowan Smith - A DEFINTE "3". Gave us WAY more than we deserved or expected from him. I loved that dude. Who ran harder in the "Snow Game" than #32?!?! Plus, I love the shots of him running and high-stepping, helmet in hand, out onto the field as AV's kick beats the Rams!

Ken Walter - Blech!
------------------------------------------
2002
Cameron Cleeland - 1
Scott Dragos - 0
Christian Fauria - 2
Chris Hayes - 0
Donald Hayes - 0
Rob Kelly - 0
Tom Knight - 0
Rick Lyle - 0
Steve Martin - 0
Ryan Phillips - 0
Daryl Porter - 0
Ratcliff Thomas - 0
Rich Tylski - 0

The Skinny: Holy c r a p! You ain't kidding. This class s u c k e d! One thing though - can you believe pretty-boy Christian Fauria turned out to be a better pick-up than Cam Cleeland?!?!? Go figure! That's like Rick Fox outlasting Reggie Miller.
------------------------------------------
2003
Chris Akins - 0
Larry Centers - 1
Michael Cloud - 1
Rosevelt Colvin - 3
Don Davis - 2
Brandon Gorin - 1
Rodney Harrison - 3+++++++++++
Russ Hochstein - 3
Sean McDermott - 0
Tyrone Poole - 1
Dedric Ward - 1

The Skinny: Harrison might be the greatest safety to ever play in the NFL and when he goes into Canton, he WILL wear the Pats colors. You watch.

Rosey Colvin, to me, is a 3. He is solid and starting with the Super Bowl against the Eagles, he turned the corner. Watch him thrive playing next to Adalius Thomas this year.

Hochstein has been Mr. Everything & Mr. Dependable for the Pats. A "3".

Dedric Ward - Once a Jet, always, a Jet!

------------------------------------------
2004
Josh Miller - 1
Keith Traylor - 1

The Skinny: Miller did his job. He punted. No big deal, really.

Traylor damn near ate us out of house & home. What a friggin' fat arse! But, in the end, he could just park that 400lbs of nubian flesh in the middle of the line and help out a little, I guess. Which reminds of another obese b a s t a r d, Ted Washington. Where is he in these lists? Wasn't he an FA?
------------------------------------------
2005
Monty Beisel - 0
Chad Brown - 0
Tim Dwight - 1
Antuan Edwards - 0
Doug Flutie - 0
Artrell Hawkins - 3
Victor Leyva - 0
Wesly Mallard - 0
Chad Morton - 0
Chad Scott - 1
David Terrell - 0

The Skinny - This class rivals 2002 in sheer mediocrity.

The only good thing about Monty Beisel is he forced us to go download pictures of his smokin' wife. No nip shots though. That s u c k e d!

Chad Brown, Doug Flutie, Chad Scott. Why were they even here?

David Terrell. Do you know I actually p i s s e d and moaned when we drafted Richard Seymour instead of Terrell? God, what was I thinking?!?!?

Tim Dwight never fulfilled his promise, IMO. Hard-nosed guy, and I like that, but you gotta do something!

Artrell Hawkins, on the hand, under promised and over-delivered.
------------------------------------------
2006
Reche Caldwell - 3
Jabar Gaffney - 3
Martin Gramatica - 0
Tebucky Jones - 0
Mel Mitchell - 0
Todd Sauerbrun - 1
Chad Scott - 2
Junior Seau - 3

The Skinny - The Gators (Caldwell, Gaffney) got us to the AFC Championship Game! They outperformed any reasonable expectations anyone could have had based on their God-given talent and production to that date.

Sauerkraut never was quite a "Patriot". Didn't act like one, didn't talk like one in the press. Sauerpuss is about one thing - himself. Plus, he's a punter that does juice. What's up with THAT? Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Chad Scott gave us something in 2006, unlike '05. So much so that I see his loss in Training Camp in 2007 as a MAJOR blow to our secondary.

Junior Seau came here and fell in love with us and we fell in love with him. When I see him play, I feel like I am watching NFL royalty!
------------------------------------------

WOW. You think Andruzzi was average to POOR? That is insane. You do realize that Andruzzi wasn't making much over the minimum when the Pats signed him, yes? Andruzzi missed 8 games over 5 seasons. That's a lot less than Branch or some of the other players.

You definitely under-rate Damon Huard as well. He was brought to be a back-up QB. And he excelled at that. So much so that BB gave him the game ball in 2003 after the Pats win over the Colts. And Huard didn't take a snap during the entire game.

Josh Miller did more than just do his job. And I am amazed that you think otherwise.

 

[patsox23]

Andruzzi as average to poor is indeed insane - actually, let's give it an upgrade to "BAT$HIT INSANE." And in the same grouping you give extra props to Antonio Langham. JAY-zoo. I agree about Josh Miller, too. Oh, and Keith Traylor did a perfectly good job while he was here. And Ken Walter didn't end well here, but he did a solid job at least one of those years.

The rest was okay, but I skimmed it due to the Andruzzi thing.

 

[Lloyd_Christmas]

Great work!

My only changes:

Otis Smith - 3
Brandon Gorin - 2
Russ Hochstein - 3
Tyrone Poole - 2 (maybe a 3)
Josh Miller - 3
Rosevelt Colvin - 3 Doug Flutie - 1 (maybe 1.5 for the drop kick)
Jabar Gaffney - 3 (it is a bit early, but I think he ends up a 3)

Steven Martin - (-3) That guy really sucked!

 

[dryheat44]

Just for the f*ck of it...

When Chris Akins was here, he was one of our top Special Teams players. Certainly worth more than a zero.

I'd certainly give a guy who competently started as many games as Gorin did for us more than a 1. Hell, he's in commercials!

I guess Flutie could qualify for a two, since he did his job and scored 1 point. It seems high, but I don't think he deserves Brady's health held against him.

It appears the original list just considers players picked up prior to the season's starting.

 

[Rob0729]

WOW. You think Andruzzi was average to POOR? That is insane. You do realize that Andruzzi wasn't making much over the minimum when the Pats signed him, yes? Andruzzi missed 8 games over 5 seasons. That's a lot less than Branch or some of the other players.

You definitely under-rate Damon Huard as well. He was brought to be a back-up QB. And he excelled at that. So much so that BB gave him the game ball in 2003 after the Pats win over the Colts. And Huard didn't take a snap during the entire game.

Josh Miller did more than just do his job. And I am amazed that you think otherwise.

Yeah, I missed the 1 for Andruzzi. The guy was only one of about a half dozen starters to start on all three Super Bowl teams. He was always dependable even if he was unremarkable.

Huard was a key player on the scout team. He did an excellent job mimicing Manning and his presnap gestering by all accounts.

Also, Miller was great at getting the ball inside the 20. It screwed up his average punt, but I think in 2004 he had the most punts inside the 20 in the league.

 

[MDD]

Don Davis IMO gets a "3", the quintessential Patriot.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Let's analyze a few 2's and make a conclusion.

Flutie 2
Cloud 2
Colvin 2
Hochstein 2
Otis Smith 2

CONCLUSION - You must have gone to BC, or at least you ar a strong BC fan.

Flutie and Cloud were useless to the team. Colvin is an all-pro who was injured. Hochstein is capable (and has) started at two OL positions and has been critical to our OL success. O-T-I-S received pro-bowl votes and was part of our top duo of shutdown corners. My ratings, which include cost for these five are 1, 0, 3, 3, and 3

I'm indifferent to BC in all honesty. Flutie was short money and so was Cloud. The did no more or no less based on their $$.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Three points:

1) Great post. Thanks. The season must be near when we start to see threads like this.

2) Your work shows the volatility and risk associated with Free Agent signings and probably validates the traditional Patriot caution. For example, we all agree about the Class of 2001, but who could have known at the time that so many of these guys would eventually step up so big.

3) I think you're being too tough on Colvin (I know you're thinking about his injury) and Poole (who gave his all) and that just maybe you gave a little bit of a Boston pass to Doug Flutie (of whom I have been a great fan since his days at The Heights). Also, how isn't Otis a 3?

Good arguement with OTIS. Based on his $$ and his contributions, he could easily be a 3.

 

[RobertWeathers]

What about Ted Washington, was he a FA pickup or did we get him via trade?

Trade- Would have been a 3+!

 

[RobertWeathers]

Good catches. I totally forgot about these guys. I just went by Patriots.com. Maybe I should use Miguels thing

Charles Johnson-2
Torrance Small-0
Bert Emmanuel-0
Brian Kinchen-2
Jamil Soriano-0
Jamin Elliot-0
Victor Green -1
Sal Iasaia-2
Terrell Buckley-2
Vinny Testeverde-2

 

[PromisedLand]

I dunna know. Colvin's deal is a six years- $25.85 million. He doesnt make a lot of tackles and he's averaged about 6 sacks a season here. but I'm just not sure that hes exceeded ROI. Hes been a solid contributor. I like him and if he has a real good year, then I'd agree with him being a 3.

It depends on whether you are evaluating BB+SP at judging talent (etc. - all the things that determine a player's contribution to the team) or whether you are evaluating the results. No one could predict that Rosie was going to break his hip and miss most of 2003. It was to take him 2 to 3 seasons to come back from that rather unusual, freakish injury.

If you are trying to answer the question, "did BB+SP make a good decision in signing Rosie", it is not really pertinant to quote his sack average as a Patriot. Instead, look at the player he is now - over the past three seasons he has had 5.0, 7.0, and 8.5 sacks, respectively. He is now almost back to the level he was at when he left Chicago (10.5 sacks).

 

[RobertWeathers]

It depends on whether you are evaluating BB+SP at judging talent (etc. - all the things that determine a player's contribution to the team) or whether you are evaluating the results. No one could predict that Rosie was going to break his hip and miss most of 2003. It was to take him 2 to 3 seasons to come back from that rather unusual, freakish injury.

If you are trying to answer the question, "did BB+SP make a good decision in signing Rosie", it is not really pertinant to quote his sack average as a Patriot. Instead, look at the player he is now - over the past three seasons he has had 5.0, 7.0, and 8.5 sacks, respectively. He is now almost back to the level he was at when he left Chicago (10.5 sacks).

Good points. I did want to keep it fairly simplistic by using $$/contract length, production over term of the contract and overall value to the team.

Rosey is a tough one. He was a great signing at the time no question and his contract is pretty reasonble for a pass-rushing OLB. However because of the injury in 2003, an OK 2004 and decent 2005/2006s I just struggle in giving him the highest grade possible.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

WOW. You think Andruzzi was average to POOR? That is insane. You do realize that Andruzzi wasn't making much over the minimum when the Pats signed him, yes? Andruzzi missed 8 games over 5 seasons. That's a lot less than Branch or some of the other players.

You definitely under-rate Damon Huard as well. He was brought to be a back-up QB. And he excelled at that. So much so that BB gave him the game ball in 2003 after the Pats win over the Colts. And Huard didn't take a snap during the entire game.

Josh Miller did more than just do his job. And I am amazed that you think otherwise.

I can be a hard guy to please.

My wife says that all the time! LOL!

Andruzzi just never did it for me.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

Yeah, I missed the 1 for Andruzzi. The guy was only one of about a half dozen starters to start on all three Super Bowl teams. He was always dependable even if he was unremarkable.

Huard was a key player on the scout team. He did an excellent job mimicing Manning and his presnap gestering by all accounts.

Also, Miller was great at getting the ball inside the 20. It screwed up his average punt, but I think in 2004 he had the most punts inside the 20 in the league.

Was he on all three teams? I thought he was gone by the Eagles game.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Was he on all three teams? I thought he was gone by the Eagles game.

He was on all 3 and joined the Browns in 2005. Letting him go and making room for Mankins and Neal were solid decisions.

He was unspectatular no question. But his attitiude was excellent and was a solid contributor during the 3x SB run.