My Gameplan for the Offseason

[mgteich]

TALIB
Obviously, I would favor a long-term deal with injury clauses. However, a franchise tag might be necessary.

NEEDS - NITPICK ADDITIONS
A) We need a #3 WR.
B) We need a #4 CB.
C) We need a punt returner.
D) We need an additional defensive lineman, certainly for next year.
E) We need a backup OG.

SOLUTIONS
A) I'm fine with re-signing Edelman and Arrington. I would also re-sign Thomas.
B) I think finding an immediate starting safety (better than Gregory) may be expensive. It is certainly worth a try. We should also sign additional corners to compete with Arrington and Dowling.
C) I will make ONE prediction. We WILL sign a free agent wr or 2 or 3 or 4 or 5 or 6. I am not opposed to using a top draft choice (and a late choice) in this solid draft for wide receivers.
D) The draft is about the future. I agree with drafting a RT who might start now and a WR.
E) We need to draft a defensive lineman. Cunningham, Ninkovich and Deaderick are all in their contract years.
F) This is great draft for safeties. We will draft one.

BOTTOM LINE
Major free agency resources are likely to be used on corners and wide receivers, and on the OL. THe draft will likely focus on DL, WR, S and OT.

Needs
---------
#1 CB
Starting quality S
#1 WR
RT
#3 CB

Solutions
------------
Franchise Talib
Veteran FA Safety
#1 Pick WR
#2 Pick RT
Resign Arrington
I would also re-sign Edelman

Comments
--------------
Talib is a solid Franchise candidate, good enough to put solid $$$ into but we don't have to commit long term to his volatile personality.

I'm convinced Gregory should be a #3 Safety not a #2. And I'm not buying Wilson as a good starter yet but if the coaching staff thinks he will be, all the better.

I don't have a name for the pick yet but it's a deep group of good WR this year and we will have a shot at one. Little Wes doesn't count, we need a big, fast downfield WR. I don't care if Brady has trouble with new WR, other QB get it done. #1 pick WR and Lloyd on the outside with Gronk and Hernandez inside with Ballard as a backup and Edelman able to sub in for different packages makes me very excited.

I'd love to get Vollmer back but I franchised Talib instead and we've done well in the second round at OT with Light and Vollmer.

Arrington is fine at a #3.

Definitely don't want to lose Edelman.

I think we can afford all that and largely fill the needs. I like Lloyd but he's a solid #2 type not the outside stud. I love Wes but with the other inside players we have I want to spend that money elsewhere. This will be blown apart if there's another big need for a starter I forgot but I don't think there is.

 

[Heisenberg]

I can't get on board with approaching next year with the focus of improving our offensive skill positions. Our core will certainly include Gronk, Hernandez, Lloyd, Ridley and Vereen. That's obviously in addition to Brady. I'd be happy to have him back, but Welker, or any other big money WR, is simply not a priority for me.

I think getting our D to elite, top 5 status would do more for Brady in his Golden Years than any big, physical receiver. Ideally, Cannon is ready to go at RT and Edelman is ready to play the slot full-time. He'll certainly never be as good as Welker but I think we've seen that he can be a decent slot receiver. Use the money it'd take to re-sign Welker and Vollmer on Talib, Byrd from Buffalo (if they don't franchise him), and Melton from Chicago. Imagine our squad with Jones, Wilfork, Melton, Armstead (if he pans out) and Nink as DT/DEs; Mayo, Spikes, Hightower as the feature LBs; Talib, Dennard, Arrington and Dowling at CBs; and McCourty, Byrd, Wilson and Gregory back deep. That is a championship level, athletic, hard-hitting D. Fantasy world stuff on my part bringing in Melton and Byrd? A little, but we can make it happen if we dedicate our cap space to D instead of O. Those would be my ideal signings, but even without specifically those players, my point remains that finishing the defensive overhaul that's been going on for years is essential. Field a D that can win us games on a consistent basis. Brady will put points up with Gronk, Hern, Lloyd, Ridley and whomever else we bring in.

We could then use our 1st and 2nd draft picks on an OL and WR. BPA thereafter. We're very close here, I just hope we decide to stack the D instead of the O. The Wild Card is Brady. He's been making offenses championship caliber his whole career. He doesn't need absurd weapons everywhere, he needs a great D to take the pressure off.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'd like Talib re-signed at a reasonable deal along with Vollmer. In free agency Jared Cook would make the tight end offense beastly...in the event Wes leaves...Hernandez, Gronk, Cook, and Ballard...defensive coordinators would have fun with that...

another guy is reed from U of FL.....hernandez clone....

reed
hernandez
gronk
ballard

best TE unit ever

 

[Kontradiction]

Assuming Welker is back, we don't need a #1 WR. He's it. We need a physical threat that can attack every level of the field to replace Branch with. That could have been Boldin back in 2010 but it wasn't. Our top need is a starting safety that can hit and hold his own in coverage. McCourty has a lot of range, but needs to be accompanied by an enforcer type in order to maximize what we get out of the safety rotation. I'd say that RG is more of a need than RT because I believe Vollmer will be back. Drafting a RG to throw Connolly back to center would be ideal. Outside of that, a cornerback (perhaps the Honey Badger late in the draft) and a coverage LB would be nice.

 

[JackBauer]

Drafting a RG to throw Connolly back to center would be ideal.

Connolly, to my eyes anyway, seemed like the weak link on the OL this year. Question is: should he be moved back to center, do they start him or Wendell? I think I'd almost prefer the latter at this point, as he seems to be really coming on.

 

[BradyManny]

Assuming Welker is back, we don't need a #1 WR. He's it.

I love Wes, and it hurts to think of him in another uniform. But McD & Belichick clearly had a vision for this offense in which he was not a key cog.

Now, injuries completely derailed their ability to implement and see the results of this offense, but the question is, are they willing to risk it and move on without him? Knowing Belichick, the answer is yes.

 

[Kontradiction]

Connolly, to my eyes anyway, seemed like the weak link on the OL this year. Question is: should he be moved back to center, do they start him or Wendell? I think I'd almost prefer the latter at this point, as he seems to be really coming on.

I'd rather have Connolly there, personally.

 

[Kontradiction]

I love Wes, and it hurts to think of him in another uniform. But McD & Belichick clearly had a vision for this offense in which he was not a key cog.

Now, injuries completely derailed their ability to implement and see the results of this offense, but the question is, are they willing to risk it and move on without him? Knowing Belichick, the answer is yes.

That vision didn't look very good at the beginning of the year.

 

[Ivan]

I love Wes, and it hurts to think of him in another uniform. But McD & Belichick clearly had a vision for this offense in which he was not a key cog.

Now, injuries completely derailed their ability to implement and see the results of this offense, but the question is, are they willing to risk it and move on without him? Knowing Belichick, the answer is yes.

You mean the plan that led them to under .500 for the first time in years?

That was an awesome plan, Brady loved it.

 

[JackBauer]

I love Wes, and it hurts to think of him in another uniform. But McD & Belichick clearly had a vision for this offense in which he was not a key cog.

Now, injuries completely derailed their ability to implement and see the results of this offense, but the question is, are they willing to risk it and move on without him? Knowing Belichick, the answer is yes.

For better or worse, I'm inclined to agree. At this point it will surprise me if Welker's services are retained.

 

[manxman2601]

another guy is reed from U of FL.....hernandez clone....

reed
hernandez
gronk
ballard

best TE unit ever

I prefer Nick Kasa. Aside from his hand size and experience, he's a Gronk clone. That doesn't mean he'll be a great TE like Gronk, but he has Gronk's size and speed and has shown he can catch the ball. He's only been playing TE a year and is a little raw but has big upside. Can be had quite a bit later than Reed.

 

[BradyManny]

That vision didn't look very good at the beginning of the year.

Agreed. And I was not a proponent of it at the time, nor am I really a proponent of it now.

The fact is, what deficiencies arose in our offense in the second half are largely addressed by the return of Gronkowski, but that doesn't mean we can't improve this offense this offseason.

I'll only argue that even though I don't like it, I can see the logic in it. All of the concepts that McD was going for - a TE-centric, versatile as can be, attack the fields in all areas, etc. - they all made sense. The problem was it did not jive with our personnel. Besides Gronk, Welker was the best weapon on the field, and putting him on the sidelines was beyond asinine. Edelman was not ready for the role he was thrust into, and Lloyd was not quite the guy we thought he was.

Now, looking at this offseason, with Lloyd somewhat cuttable, and Welker perhaps difficult to resign, I'm inclined to think McD takes the $15 million that would've been allocated to the WR position and approaches this offense fresh. Now, that very well might mean both guys are back after seeing what else is out there. At least one of them probably will.

But from a team-building standpoint, and just their approach, I expect McD & BB to view Hernandez & Gronk as the core, and its tabula rasa after that.

 

[Patsbacker]

another guy is reed from U of FL.....hernandez clone....

reed
hernandez
gronk
ballard

best TE unit ever

I love this line of thinking. It allows the "move" TE and Vereen/Demps to take Wes's touches if they don't re-sign him. My thinking on Cook is that he's the huge, fast, target you can throw it up to...sub 4.5 40 and a 41 inch vertical!!!

 

[IllegalContact]

I prefer Nick Kasa. Aside from his hand size and experience, he's a Gronk clone. That doesn't mean he'll be a great TE like Gronk, but he has Gronk's size and speed and has shown he can catch the ball. He's only been playing TE a year and is a little raw but has big upside. Can be had quite a bit later than Reed.

I would agree with you 100% except that we already have Ballard and he's even bigger than gronk and an already proven target. I'd like some redundancy on Hernandez so that the scheme doesn't have to change on personnel....kind of gives us 2 of each that way.....you have every TE usage available...you can go 2 big with gronk and ballard, you can go 2 smaller and basically do what the ravens did.

one thing many people have not talked about is the fact that the ravens 2 TE's (Pitta and ****son) offer their own matchup problems.....

 

[manxman2601]

I would agree with you 100% except that we already have Ballard and he's even bigger than gronk and an already proven target. I'd like some redundancy on Hernandez so that the scheme doesn't have to change on personnel....kind of gives us 2 of each that way.....you have every TE usage available...you can go 2 big with gronk and ballard, you can go 2 smaller and basically do what the ravens did.

one thing many people have not talked about is the fact that the ravens 2 TE's (Pitta and ****son) offer their own matchup problems.....

I can see that certainly. My only worry is that Reed will go to high to make the value really worthwhile - I don't really want to be spending a third rounder on a TE who may not see the field all that much.

If you think in terms of roster spaces, the better bet might be Kyle Juszczyk of Harvard. He's got really good hands and is a very strong lead blocker as a FB although not necessarily a LOS blocker. He doesn't have Hernandez's athleticism, but has much better hands. That would give us:

Gronkowski
Hernandez
Ballard (takes Fell's roster spot, backs up Gronk)
Juszczyk (takes Hoomanawanui's roster spot, serves as FB and backs up Hernandez)

 

[EwanSellars]

i want nick kasa more but would love juszczyk as well both would be great additions to the team in later rounds. BTW Nick Kasa said he wanted to be the next Gronk lets give him that chance and put him with
gronk

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

my gameplan? Pace back and forth until i can see the pats on the field again...ugh