Logan Mankins Traded

[Mack Herron]

We haven't seen Gronk on the field yet but if the refs treat him like every other receiver has been treated he becomes nearly impossible to cover.

It's a scary thought considering he was impossible to cover before the rule change. Except in Carolina, of course.

 

[juny]

It's a scary thought considering he was impossible to cover before the rule change. Except in Carolina, of course.

Don't remind me of that game. That game (or the stupid fg penalty jets game) cost the Pats home field advantage in the playoffs.

 

[OhExaulted1]

I stated in another about how upset we would be when they cut Vollmer (Kelly et al. cut thread). Wrong guy but every bit as valuable. People thought it was funny. I wasn't joking.

 

[Marqui]

I stated in another about how upset we would be when they cut Vollmer (Kelly et al. cut thread). Wrong guy but every bit as valuable. People thought it was funny. I wasn't joking.

They didn't cut Mankins.

 

[OhExaulted1]

They didn't cut Mankins.

Close enough. If they traded SeaBass in the same manner would anyone have been any less surprised? Doubt it. He's hurt all the time and is now on the wrong side of 30 as well.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Exactly. Why wouldn't he be upset?

If I was Brady I would be furious as well. Revis said mood at practice was down..don't blame them.

 

[supafly]

Tim Wright was getting ripped by Lovie Smith in camp directly out in the media. He was likely to be cut, from what I know. We could have had him for nothing. Did we really get him and a 4th for one of the best guards in the NFL?

I disagree with your assessment that Tim Wright was likely to be cut.

I also think that you fell into the trap of overvaluing NFL trade value, which probably had Mankins as a 3rd round value just by himself.

I'm not terribly pleased at the thought of losing Mankins myself--but at the end of the day it will allow us to retain one or both of McCourty/Revis. The 4th round pick and acquisition of Wright are simply "bonuses" in my opinion.

 

[dales804]

Winning a few games cures any complaining or bad body language. The Patriots will be fine.

 

[supafly]

Winning a few games cures any complaining or bad body language. The Patriots will be fine.

I don't buy into ONE single word that Ben Volin tries to sell us....not one. Nothing.

If Brady got over losing his security blanket and best friend in Wes Welker, he'll manage to eventually move past the loss of Mankins. After all, he did play the first half of the SB year in 2011 without Mankins when he was holding out, and we still went 6-1.

I'm sure there will be some growing pains and that we'll all be groaning at times, but I doubt that Tom Brady is sitting around complaining about trading Mankins.

Let's hope that the OL pulls together, has a nice balance of running plays, and that Brady is able to get rid of the ball fairly quickly.

 

[dales804]

I don't buy into ONE single word that Ben Volin tries to sell us....not one. Nothing.

If Brady got over losing his security blanket and best friend in Wes Welker, he'll manage to eventually move past the loss of Mankins. After all, he did play the first half of the SB year in 2011 without Mankins when he was holding out, and we still went 6-1.

I'm sure there will be some growing pains and that we'll all be groaning at times, but I doubt that Tom Brady is sitting around complaining about trading Mankins.

Let's hope that the OL pulls together, has a nice balance of running plays, and that Brady is able to get rid of the ball fairly quickly.

I agree with you. When I saw the report was attributed to Volin, I laughed and closed the web page.

 

[1960Pats]

Haters will invent reasons and occasions to trash it anyway

You soccer fans can be awfully defensive.

 

[BradyFTW!]

We haven't seen Gronk on the field yet but if the refs treat him like every other receiver has been treated he becomes nearly impossible to cover.

As appealing as that sounds, I don't see the "if" part of that statement happening. I think the refs know that if the coverage rules are applied to Gronk, it'll basically just become a game of catch between him and Brady. I expect that the refs will let a lot more contact go against Gronk than they would against other receivers. For a cross-sport equivalent, think about how much contact defenders used to get away with when they were hacking away at Shaq in the paint. Same general principle.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Winning a few games cures any complaining or bad body language. The Patriots will be fine.

If Brady is getting hit a lot...he won't be happy!

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I don't know about 800 times, but I would not be surprised to see a much larger percentage of 3rd down plays be passing plays, even if they're short yardage.

Okay, short yardage passing just gives me hives. On the other hand, the math used to be "Only 3 things can happen on a pass play, and 2 of them are bad." But if predictions here of the emphasis can be believed, you now have to elevate penalties to a "thing" on pass plays... so 2 are good. Drastic change to the odds, to be simplistic...

I'd see it as a huge loss if we lose the ability to move the chains, or score, on the ground. Undoubtedly we come closer to that with the loss of Mankins. I definitely hope "plan A" isn't "pass for 2 yards."

 

[Mack Herron]

If Brady is getting hit a lot...he won't be happy!

It won't be the pass blocking he misses. What will piss him off is failing to convert rushing on 3rd and short.

 

[Marinlik]

I don't buy into ONE single word that Ben Volin tries to sell us....not one. Nothing.

If Brady got over losing his security blanket and best friend in Wes Welker, he'll manage to eventually move past the loss of Mankins. After all, he did play the first half of the SB year in 2011 without Mankins when he was holding out, and we still went 6-1.

I'm sure there will be some growing pains and that we'll all be groaning at times, but I doubt that Tom Brady is sitting around complaining about trading Mankins.

Let's hope that the OL pulls together, has a nice balance of running plays, and that Brady is able to get rid of the ball fairly quickly.

Incorrect. Mankins was not holding out in 2011. We got to the Super Bowl with Mankins playing 15 games. Only one he didn't play was the last of the regular season

 

[supafly]

Incorrect. Mankins was not holding out in 2011. We got to the Super Bowl with Mankins playing 15 games. Only one he didn't play was the last of the regular season

Thanks--I was thinking of the 2010 season, not the 2011 season.

Either way, a 14-2 season isn't too shabby either, even if they blew the playoff game to the NYJ. I believe they were still 6-1 in the 7 games that he missed.

I am not happy about the Mankins loss but it may have been necessary, and I don't think that it's something that they can't get past rather quickly.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-.../id/4766945/a-few-follow-ups-on-logan-mankins

So according to this information, the trade was made because the Patriots wanted Mankins to offer the team some cap relief and Mankins wanted the Patriots to honor the contract they signed.

They did. Asking him to renegotiate is certainly within their rights. Trading him is also part of the contract. What part of the contract did they not honor? If they didn't honor any part of the contract then I would assume they could be sued for breach of contract, don't you? Nobody forced LM to sign the contract he finally signed, which are not guaranteed. He could have 'stuck to his guns' and waited for a guaranteed contract but I would assume he would have been punching cows for a living instead of playing in the NFL for millions and millions of dollars.

 

[VJCPatriot]

It won't be the pass blocking he misses. What will piss him off is failing to convert rushing on 3rd and short.

That's the last thing I'm worried about. Brady is one of the best QBs in the history of the game at converting 3rd and shorts on the QB sneak.

Of course I'm worried about losing Mankins. Change can be a bad thing for chemistry and OL continuity. But maybe it was a necessary change. Mankins was always a beast at run-blocking but only mediocre at pass blocking.

With the NFL implementing new rules that favor the passing game, pass-blocking is going to trump run-blocking in importance for our team in 2014. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if we attempted a revamped 2007-style offense. Believe it or not, offensively I think we are going to be pretty close.

We don't have a Randy Moss. But we have a couple of additional weapons now with the emergence of Tyms, the acquisition of Wright, and the growing games of Vereen (poised for monster year), Thompkins, and Dobson. I also believe Edelman will have another 1,000+ season and Amendola should enjoy a bump in production as he continues to grow rapport with Brady. Lafell gives us another redzone threat and a fully healthy Gronk could terrorize the league, especially with the new rules in place.

Of course the question is who replaces Mankins. My query to OL followers would be, can we kick Cannon inside, and put Vollmer out there at RT? If so that gives us additional guard depth. If Cannon takes RG, then someone out of Devey, Fleming, Connolly might step up at LG?

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Of course I would be upset too. You just traded away the heart and soul of that OL, for no immediate improvement to this year's squad. (maybe some help next year in extending guys) Pats really should start thinking about going all-in for a season because once Brady is gone, cap savings and 4th round picks aren't going to bring in rings.

This is BS. LM couldn't block the Giants pass rush (Justin Tuck) to save his life. We all blame WW and others for the losses in the SB but LM was one of the biggest reasons we lost those games. A freakin' turnstile. Please, save the tears and the 'heart and soul' drama queen crap. If you think the Pats aren't going 'all-in' every year you are sadly mistaken. If you mean doing absolutely stupid and absurd contracts then you need to root for Dallas, Pittsburgh, and a few other teams that have mortgaged their present and future just to stay a step above mediocre. As for me, I'll stick with the hoodie, thanks.