FWIW - Borges says Branch has agreement on contract with other team

[SVN]

i wont be surprised if the pats traded branch for less than 1st rounder if they think that branch wont come before week 10 and wont sign past next yr. They are always ahead in biting the bullet early and moving on instead of lingering on just because another team wont offer a 1st round pick. If some team offers say a 2nd rounder and player and BB thinks its all he can get as supposed to nothing till week 10 or next yr plus the add distraction to his team, he will pull the plug and trade him.

 

[BelichickFan]

None of their WR excite me, other than Evans (who they are not trading).

If I had to pick one WR to get back, I'd probably pick Josh Reed. He has been a disappointment for the most part, but he would be cheap, signed long-term, and seems the type of guy who would fit the Pats system better than most.

I don't want Peerless Price, or to get Andre' Davis back.

We would likely go the draft pick route and get a WR elsewhere - on a side note, I guess Andre Davis may not even make the team, he would be worth considering as a FA, not to trade for.

 

[Gopats!!!]

It would make sense to me if someone in the AFC East offered more money than us and a low round pick, knowing we wouldn't accept the deal. It would just create more acrimony between us and branch.

In addition, borges saying that us asking for a first when Stallworth was traded for much less shows how much we value branch is wrong (suprise). That is based on how branch and his "agent" view branch's worth. The Pats are like "Okay, if you are that awesome, a first shouldn't be a proble! "

Of course, he's not worth that much, so I really don't expect a first. A second from the bills would be great though!!! :singing:

The best would be for branch to sign, but that is looking more and more unlikely. I expect a trade, this year or next year. Worse case scenario, all the fines are enforced, branch holds out until week 10, then is franchised and traded.

 

[NE39]

I can't see the Steelers.

They probably like him as a player, but they aren't the type of team to pay big money (other than their own players).

Also, their philosophy has always been to build through the draft. I don't see them trading away picks on top of paying the contract.

 

[BelichickFan]

I can't see the Steelers.

They probably like him as a player, but they aren't the type of team to pay big money (other than their own players).

Also, their philosophy has always been to build through the draft. I don't see them trading away picks on top of paying the contract.

Agreed but the one new factor is Cowher might retire after this year so they may break a rule and make a play to go for it one more time before he leaves (if he does).

 

[Drewwho]

If your Tom Brady how angry are you???

Lost Givens
Soon to loose Branch

Signed for less (sure slightly less, but did not hold the Pats over a barrell to be the highest paid QB, which he could have easily demanded)

Brady is in his prime, this is a sad way to support him for all he has done - loosing both top WR's in the same off season is just brutal and disgusting!

 

[PatsSox363804]

Ok, of the AFC teams who really could use a receiver:

San Diego
Kansas City
Pittsburgh
Jacksonville

SD, KC, and Jax all being teams with a shot to win this year if things fall into place and adding Branch certainly wouldn't hurt, Pittsburgh being the team that wants to repeat, but they seem the least likely of the bunch given Branchs' salary demands.

 

[RayClay]

You know, what I would do if I was a rival GM (which includes just about anyone) would be to offer Branch a better contract than the Patriots, and then offer the Patriots less than what they would want (maybe a 2nd or something). It would really put the Pats in a bit of a bind because it would undermine their negotiating position with Branch, but they probably couldn't make the deal. The end result (from my rival GM perspective) is a team that has a worse relationship with one of their prominent players and diminished value of their assets.

The Patriots did take a risk with this strategy because it leaves them open to a bit of manipulation by other GMs ...

update: in other words ... what was said up above while I was typing ... only I would make the offer somewhat reasonable, just higher. If the Dolphins want to destroy their salary cap, the Patriots could let him go for a 7th just to kill a division rival ...

The Patriots have a player under contract who won't play. How could they have a worse relationship?

 

[NE39]

Agreed but the one new factor is Cowher might retire after this year so they may break a rule and make a play to go for it one more time before he leaves (if he does).

But the Rooney's set the philosophy, and I can't see them going for something like that.

I'd be shocked if it were the Steelers. Maybe more than any other team.

 

[BelichickFan]

If your Tom Brady how angry are you???

Lost Givens
Soon to loose Branch

Signed for less (sure slightly less, but did not hold the Pats over a barrell to be the highest paid QB, which he could have easily demanded)

Brady is in his prime, this is a sad way to support him for all he has done - loosing both top WR's in the same off season is just brutal and disgusting!

Let's wait and see what actually happens first

 

[dryheat44]

It would make sense to me if someone in the AFC East offered more money than us and a low round pick, knowing we wouldn't accept the deal. It would just create more acrimony between us and branch.

.

Interesting. PFT says the same thing.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

 

[Pats726]

Brady is in his prime, this is a sad way to support him for all he has done - loosing both top WR's in the same off season is just brutal and disgusting!

Sorry..Tom may be upset and I understand that but paying inflated prices for WRs isn't really getting it done...it's MORE like being exactly like many of the other losing franchises. If you wish for moves like that, then be a SKins fan or for some other team that throws the bucks away. Tom should be more upset at Givens and Branch for demanding inflated prices. THAt is what is disgusting.

 

[PatsSox363804]

Interesting. PFT says the same thing.

http://www.profootballtalk.com/rumormill.htm

I could see the Bills doing that, I doubt Mangini would and the Dolphins are set at receiver so it would be an obvious bluff.

 

[dryheat44]

If your Tom Brady how angry are you???

Lost Givens
Soon to loose Branch

Signed for less (sure slightly less, but did not hold the Pats over a barrell to be the highest paid QB, which he could have easily demanded)

Brady is in his prime, this is a sad way to support him for all he has done - loosing both top WR's in the same off season is just brutal and disgusting!

If I'm Tom Brady I'm pissed at my so-called #1 receiver, who has watched Brady, Vrabel, Bruschi, etc. sign for less than they could receive on the open market, yet demands the team to re-work his contract.

Make no mistake, the reason why the Patriots have been successful is because they have their draftees for a number of years on a rookie contract, allowing money under the cap to sign free-agents and extend their own free agents. Branch is trying his damndest to hurt the TEAM with his selfish attitude.

 

[Oswlek]

My thoughts:

* I cannot see NE tradiing Branch to Pitt because they are rival #1 right now. Nor can I see him going to Denver for similar reasons.

* I agree that NE will pull a trade if they feel Branch will just be a distraction all season. That is why the deadline was today, so they would give themsleves 26 hours to make whatever necessary roster moves as a result of the trade.

* The writer (I will never use his/her name just in case searches are done to see how much of a commotion is made) is a complete hack. If you think the tone of the article is bad, you should have heard some of the pregame banter yesterday. I could literally feel the animosity coming through. I am not kidding. The negative energy was overwhelming.

* I can see how Brady would be upset if Branch leaves, but I doubt it is going to be a major issue. Yes, Givens, Branch, Dwight and Davis are gone from last year, but as I recall, NE seemed to go pretty offensive in this past years draft.

* My take has always been that if Branch misses a single game, he will never don a Pats uniform again. I am leaning more and more towards him being a goner even before the season begins.

 

[Jimke]

Borges does have a good argument when he says that he is

surprised that more fans are not troubled over the player losses

the Pats have suffered.

I have been waiting since March to see the Pats adequately address

our needs at wide receiver and linebacker.

 

[marty]

The Patriots have a player under contract who won't play. How could they have a worse relationship?

Bingo!!!! Let's not complicate the matter much more than that. Pats have taken steps to resolve the matter, hopefully we'll all be done with this by end of today!

 

[RayClay]

Rather off-topic, sorry, but this line from that link, talking about the Giants game, caught my eye: Apparently Gostkowski kicked "a mindroasting 54 yard laser".

AaAAaaaaarghhh... my mind.... It's been.... ROASTED!

There's a Kenny Rogers quote in there someplace.

http://www.answers.com/topic/kenny-rogers-roasters
http://www.lyricscafe.com/r/rogers_kenny/krog12.html

I woke up this mornin' with the sundown shinin' in
I found my mind in a brown paper bag within
I tripped on a cloud and fell-a eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

 

[mgcolby]

Can't think of a better way to reach the 2000 post mark than to have it in a Borges bashing thread.

If you are Deion can you really take an offer from a divisional opponent serious (if in fact one of them made an offer)? If he does and then starts whining and complaining to the media he will make himself look like a bigger idiot as most fans would see right through that. Either way he is still a schmuck!

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Re: About the Borges article

It's a predictably bitter, spiteful rant that avoids lots of inconvenient facts. That's fine, that's Ron's (self-appointed) job. More shocking to me was this line:

"If anyone can honestly say (Childress is) a No. 1 or even a No. 2 receiver in an NFL offense, they are more optimistic than Mary Poppins."

This is nonsense. Mary Poppins was a loving but stern and practical childcare professional. Borges is presumably thinking of Pollyanna, a completely unrelated fictional creation. It's this sort of factual sloppiness that leaves readers mistrustful of the media. For shame, Ron.

Alas, darling lady, you focus on the stern practicality of the individual Mary Poppins as opposed to the story Mary Poppins, which indeed was horrifically optimistic to someone like the lamentable Mr. Borges, whom I suspect feels closer to the cheery Mr. Poe's optimism in his daily literary preferences. Our gloating Mr. Borges has at least given us the template we blind fans may use to shape our faith - Mary Poppins, the story of a banker foolishly shamed by his children's childish behavior, who recovers his own child-like enjoyment of a rich life, growing closer to his family in the process. We may rejoice again in a winning season, one clearly on track for the playoffs, even at this early juncture. We must remember our own stern and practical Mary Poppins paces the sideline in his hoodie, who yet knows what mysteries reside in his carpet bag of everyday tricks?

:singing: O let's go fly a kite, up to the highest heights, let's all go fly a kite. :singing: