I dunno...first..Amendola is OK. But he's no Wes Welker.
I'm not suggesting that he is as good as Welker. I'm just suggesting that I'd rather have Welker on the team now, as in 2013 and also 2014--but that by the end of next season he'll definitely be slowing down and adding age. Those factors show that he likely has a shelf life that will be much shorter than his new hopeful replacement.
Going by that alone, it's possible that Amendola (just about everyone's "next" choice...by far) was brought in not just for the present, but also for the future too. Obviously his health will be a concern, but he's much younger and is comparable on many levels.
I don't know if that had anything to do with it or not, but I'm just explaining the thinking behind the comment. I still agree with you that most of us would have rather had Welker for the next couple of yrs, but it's possible that Belichick made the move with thoughts of replacing Welker's production on a longer term scale.
There are lots of comparable guys out there with less of an injury history who they could have brought in IMO.
Not sure I'd agree with you there. Amendola already had experience in the JMcD system which is a major plus, and was often compared to likely be the next Welker. He's had 3/4 relatively productive seasons and no signs of any "nagging" types of injuries. Of course some players may be more prone to getting hurt no matter what, so that's the obvious downside and the concern that so many had.
I couldn't think of anyone else that I personally would have rather seen brought in to replace Welker, and to top it off we also retained Edelman--who has done fine playing the slot before. In all actuality, we went into the season with 2 slot targets who were younger, shifty, and could likely do much of what Welker did as long as they had the playbook and the timing down. The obvious drawback once again, is the health concern, but who would you rather have had playing the slot here?
Secondly (the bolded)...I think that is a MAJOR part of the problem WHY NOT pay them both? Brady deserves some $ invested in his receiving corps.
I think it's a slippery slope to try and argue against Belichick regarding salary cap decisions, based on his success in that area. He may not be the best scout, or GM on draft day, but his cap decisions have generally worked out well for the team not just for the present, but also the future. That's important b/c it allows us to remain competitive on a consistent basis.
There were 2 brand new long term pacts given to the TE's just last summer, and they were the #2 and #3 receivers in this offense. On top of that Amendola was given a nice long term pact too as the #1. That's good money right there to the top 3 receivers.
As another poster also pointed out, we've got a lot invested in the offensive line too. Mankins makes top dollar, a brand new long term deal was given to Vollmer, and Nate Solder is due soon to make more than both of them. They also pay Dan Connelly a very reasonable salary too. There are lots of areas where the team has sunk some nice money in, and generally Belichick hasn't chosen to pay 2 WR's top dollar deals at the same time.
