Shmess, you know I don't usually beat up players, but the Guyton era is OVER.....and well it should be.
I applaud Guyton's efforts in having a 4 year Career coming in as an UDFA. I also believe that his contribution as a special teamer and backup LB has been worth the investment. HOWEVER.....we all know that Guyton's main value is to be the team's coverage LB in sub packages. He has the speed and quickness to excel at the position. Yet after 4 years of development, he JUST hasn't progressed.
Its one thing to have speed, its another to have "football speed". I've come to the conclusion (and I think so have the Pats) that Gary cannot translate his natural speed on to the field. Call it what you want, instincts, football intelligence, or whatever, Gary doesn't seem to have any. Add that to the fact he is a liability in the run game, not a good tackler, and hasn't shown up much on special teams, and you wind up with the inevitable conclusion that the Pats have to move on from Gary Guyton
Fletcher from what I have seen in his brief shots on the field HAS that instinct, so while he doesn't have the speed of Guyton, he is more likely to be around the ball when its thrown in his area. Tarpanian is another guy I think the Pats are looking at for that sub-coverage LB. Unfortunately it won't be until next year before we can make any evaluation on him.