Koppen not a Roster Lock?

[crowell33]

Today's Q&A with Mike Reiss - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

In yesterdays Q&A with Mike Reiss on Boston.com, Reiss stated more than once that he thought Koppen was not a lock for the 2009 roster. While Koppen's release would only save about 500K this season, it would free up over $4 million on the 2010 cap, which could be used for Mankins/Wilfork extensions. Al Johnson (950k cap figure) and Koppen both turn 30 this year.

I think Koppen is an iron clad roster lock for 2009, but I also think that Mike Reiss ( who I have a lot of respect for ) has his finger on the Foxboro pulse much more than I do. What say you?

 

[ivanfears]

Today's Q&A with Mike Reiss - Reiss' Pieces - Boston.com

In yesterdays Q&A with Mike Reiss on Boston.com, Reiss stated more than once that he thought Koppen was not a lock for the 2009 roster. While Koppen's release would only save about 500K this season, it would free up over $4 million on the 2010 cap, which could be used for Mankins/Wilfork extensions. Al Johnson (950k cap figure) and Koppen both turn 30 this year.

I think Koppen is an iron clad roster lock for 2009, but I also think that Mike Reiss ( who I have a lot of respect for ) has his finger on the Foxboro pulse much more than I do. What say you?

riess is a good reporter but has no inside info, its pure speculation just like everyone here, koppen makes the roster hands down, johnson was brought in for cheap injury insurance, if he was to be cut why wait until the training camp they can use the cap space now, if that was their plan

 

[crowell33]

riess is a good reporter but has no inside info, its pure speculation just like everyone here, koppen makes the roster hands down, johnson was brought in for cheap injury insurance, if he was to be cut why wait until the training camp they can use the cap space now, if that was their plan

As I said in my post, Koppen's release would only provide 500k to use now if released. The move would most likely be made with an eye on extending Wilfork or Mankins for 2010.

 

[ivanfears]

As I said in my post, Koppen's release would only provide 500k to use now if released. The move would most likely be made with an eye on extending Wilfork or Mankins for 2010.

i dont buy it , the center in the pats scheme is extremely important he makes all the reads for the other o lineman, why would they risk having al johson come in who has been injury prone, and have him replace koppen who belichick has heaped great praise on for never missing assignments, all this with brady coming of major knee surgery, makes no sense, trust me belichick wouldnt sharethis info with any press guy, and riess is included in that

 

[tanked_as_usual]

As I said in my post, Koppen's release would only provide 500k to use now if released. The move would most likely be made with an eye on extending Wilfork or Mankins for 2010.

they can extend wilfork and mankins without getting rid of koppen.......right now, the pats can be over the 2010 cap as much as they want

 

[ctpatsfan77]

they can extend wilfork and mankins without getting rid of koppen.......right now, the pats can be over the 2010 cap as much as they want

That's assuming, of course, that there will even be a cap in 2010. Their actions so far suggest they don't think there will.

 

[Jimke]

The offensive linemen that I expect to make the team are the

following: Kaczur, Koppen, LeVoir, Light, Mankins, Neal, Ohrnberger,

Vollmer, and Hochstein or Johnson.

 

[Gon_Trevil]

That's assuming, of course, that there will even be a cap in 2010. Their actions so far suggest they don't think there will.

Which is why the person you're quoting says they pats can be as far over the 2010 cap as they want

 

[BradyManny]

Koppen's a lock, IMO, but Johnson is a pretty good bet to make the squad, too. Koppen struggled quite a bit in SB 42 and had issues at times last year, struggled w the big guys. But overall, like the line as a whole, he is an above average player, and 2 milli ain't much.

 

[JoeSixPat]

Which is why the person you're quoting says they pats can be as far over the 2010 cap as they want

Even if there is going to be a cap next year, they don't have to be under the cap next season until.... well, next season.

Reiss' point may be that when Offensive Linemen's skills go, they can go very quickly.

 

[Nestapats]

I do think Koppen will be on the roster, but i think it's a fair point. I thought he was perhaps the worst of the 5 O-linemen last year and i think the position is very important. But he won't change it until it's necessary, the tightness and chemistry of these 5 are IMO also very important. So i'm sticking with Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal and Kaczur.

 

[BradyFTW!]

On one hand, I thought that Koppen was pretty bad at times last year. OTOH, I'd be pretty surprised if Belichick threw the O-line in flux like that, with no apparent replacement, with Brady coming off of his knee injury.

 

[mgteich]

This is the worst analysis by Reiss in some time. Why should we care about the effect on the 2010 cap at this point, especially since very likely won't be one? And why would we cut our starting center to save $500K of 2009 cap money?

 

[iapatsfan]

I have no problem with letting Koppen walk. He's a classic overachiever and gets overwhelmed by larger D linemen. I know Maroney gets a lot of grief, and justifiably so, but it sure seemed like Dan Koppen was part of the reason Maroney became a dancer behind the line of scrimmage. I don't know how many times I watched D linemen pushing Koppen into the backfield, forcing RB's to make moves just to get back to the line of scrimmage. He is a liability in the run game.

Also, I have no idea how the Pats can justify running a 3-4 without a proven pass rusher on the entire team. I understand the "In BB we trust" philosophy, but if this is not addressed before the season, I think we are in serious trouble.

 

[Deus Irae]

Mike Reiss:

My locks would be: Light, Mankins, Neal, Vollmer and Ohrnberger. I think Koppen and Kaczur will make it, but now that their salaries are in the $2m range, the performance must rise a bit from where it was last year. I don't think it was a coincidence that the Patriots drafted Vollmer, a tackle, in the second round and signed Al Johnson, a center, to a generous one-year, $950,000 free-agent deal. So I'm not putting either Koppen or Kaczur in the slam-dunk category yet. Players like LeVoir, Hochstein, Yates, O'Callaghan, Johnson, Bussey and Britt would be on my bubble.

.............

 

[stinkypete]

I have no problem with letting Koppen walk. He's a classic overachiever and gets overwhelmed by larger D linemen. I know Maroney gets a lot of grief, and justifiably so, but it sure seemed like Dan Koppen was part of the reason Maroney became a dancer behind the line of scrimmage. I don't know how many times I watched D linemen pushing Koppen into the backfield, forcing RB's to make moves just to get back to the line of scrimmage. He is a liability in the run game.

Also, I have no idea how the Pats can justify running a 3-4 without a proven pass rusher on the entire team. I understand the "In BB we trust" philosophy, but if this is not addressed before the season, I think we are in serious trouble.

Thomas is a proven pass rusher.

 

[iapatsfan]

Thomas is a proven pass rusher.

Actually he's not. He has 1 season of double-digit sacks in his career. Every other season of his career has been mediocre.

 

[Chris]

didnt they just sign him to an extension 2 season ago?

 

[Deus Irae]

Actually he's not. He has 1 season of double-digit sacks in his career. Every other season of his career has been mediocre.

When did multiple double-digit sack seasons become the definition/minimum requirement of a proven pass rusher?

 

[iapatsfan]

When did multiple double-digit sack seasons become the definition/minimum requirement of a proven pass rusher?

I didn't say it was. All I am saying is the Pats don't have a single guy that teams have to account for off the edge. I don't understand Pats Front Office people saying they think they can resolve the issue internally. Tully B-C has proven to be a JAG, Woods has never shown anything (I don't understand how anybody can even consider him a potential answer), Crable was not a sack in college and neither was Redd. If these guys were not pressure guys in college, why would anybody assume they're going to be anything while going against better competition? The Pats were terrible on third down last year (26th in the league), and I attribute the majority of that to their pass rush. How has their pass rush improved? Better yet, how has it not gotten worse with the loss of Vrable?