Over - Or Just the Start?

[Owl]

This thread is predicated on Pioli not being able to sign these players.
There are 3 players that most sports writers agree will be gone after this year because of the old "what I think I'm worth and what they think I'm worth." And we have one player who's mentioned more than once he'd like to play on the West Coast (Stephen Neal). The other 3 players, Graham, Koppen and Samuels, will leave at the end of the year, leaving us with compensatory picks. But, what if we bundled a Koppen, a Neal and, if necessary, even a 4th round draft pick, to a team like Arizona for a 1 next year and do likewise with Graham, Samuels and perhaps a 3rd. We might secure another first or at the least 2 seconds this year and 2 seconds next year total. How do we replace these players? Hochstein, Murc or even Kaczur move in to secure the O line, Dave Thomas moves in to replace Graham as a receiver and we can put Evans into motion to help out in blocking schemes.
Eugene Wilson moves down to Corner and it's between him and Gay as to who starts. Sanders moves in to replace Eugene Wilson.
I would appreciate hearing your opinions in one of three ways. (1) I agree with you; (2) I disagree with you but I'll tell you why and offer an alternative; (3) Owl, I think you're a complete idiot but I don't have time to explain why. I'm busy trying to find out who my real father is.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Neal toured the West Coast this past spring, he found he was allergic to losing. Before you figure on the Pats losing all the Free Agents, check out this note Albert Breer penned for the Herald.

http://patriots.bostonherald.com/patriots/view.bg?articleid=157303

It’s not that Heath Evans thinks the Patriots are outrageous.
Quite the opposite, really. The calm atmosphere Evans encountered in the locker room at Gillette Stadium with the Patriots losing, 17-7, to the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s season opener made the fullback wonder why more teams aren’t that way.
“Most of them - and it’s sad to say that in this league, because it’s such a great league - but you can sense a defeated attitude, even from the head coach on down,” Evans said yesterday. “And here, you don’t get that. I haven’t experienced that once here.”
It’s the kind of approach that spurs turnarounds like the Patriots’ 12-0 second half in the 19-17 Week 1 win over the Bills.
“It’s almost like laughing in the face of a hurricane,” said Evans, who played for the Seattle Seahawks and Miami Dolphins before joining the Patriots. “These coaches, they breed confidence. Last year, when I first got here from Miami, that was the major difference from every other team I’d been on.”

Calm also applies to the offseason.

 

[Clonamery]

(1) I agree with you; (2) I disagree with you but I'll tell you why and offer an alternative; (3) Owl, I think you're a complete idiot but I don't have time to explain why. I'm busy trying to find out who my real father is.

(3)......and it's not just my real Father.

Seriously, can we play a few games first? Can we let the FO operate when it's not in a vacuum? Let's give this drama time to settle(sp?) down and let's give this team a chance to perform and then assess what we have.

I just wanna kick back and see some football on the field for awhile.

 

[Digger44]

We already have two first round draft picks. Taking a third and fourh is almost impossile financially. Yes, we may have money right now, but that will be used wisely to secure or pay off current players. Two first round picks are tough enough to put under a cap. So what about packaging 4 first round picks to go higher? Still not cost friendly. I can't see it happening.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

The only one I'm worried about losing is Graham. I think Koppen will definitely be signed, and there's a better than even chance for Samuel as well.

 

[Dragda]

We already have two first round draft picks. Taking a third and fourh is almost impossile financially. Yes, we may have money right now, but that will be used wisely to secure or pay off current players. Two first round picks are tough enough to put under a cap. So what about packaging 4 first round picks to go higher? Still not cost friendly. I can't see it happening.

Yeah, we have enough young bodies as it is.

I know what I'm going to do: I am going to say In Bill We Trust three times in the bathroom mirror and go enjoy the season. We've won with no running game, no OL, no DBs, and many other plagues of catastrophe. I am holding off figuring that the Patriots system of not over-valuing is failing. I am willing to wait.

All things come to an end, obviously, but I still don't see the "end." I think we get a little more salary cap headroom to make some fairly big moves next year. I still think more noise will be made this year. They aren't going to let those cap dollars go to waste. I wonder if they can still do magic with NLTBE incentives with this CBA...