Patriots decline option on Wilfork - Vince is a free agent

[Ivan]

ok, come back and see us when the rest of our division is running 50x up the gut on us

Run defense is obviously important but what really matters is the ability to get off the field on 3rd down, and that was the biggest difference in this year's team. And it was no coincidence that the two best pass defenses in football were on the field for the super bowl. I love Vince but understand where the Patriots are coming from, and it looks like they handled it so well this time that he is fine with it. They will fix the run D the question is whether they can keep this secondary together. If they can I think they will be considerably better with another year under their belt.

 

[eom]

Run defense is obviously important but what really matters is the ability to get off the field on 3rd down, and that was the biggest difference in this year's team. And it was no coincidence that the two best pass defenses in football were on the field for the super bowl. I love Vince but understand where the Patriots are coming from, and it looks like they handled it so well this time that he is fine with it. They will fix the run D the question is whether they can keep this secondary together. If they can I think they will be considerably better with another year under their belt.

ok, I'll pass that note along to the 2009 patriots

 

[Ivan]

ok, I'll pass that note along to the 2009 patriots

You do that.

 

[RayClay]

Run defense is obviously important but what really matters is the ability to get off the field on 3rd down, and that was the biggest difference in this year's team. And it was no coincidence that the two best pass defenses in football were on the field for the super bowl. I love Vince but understand where the Patriots are coming from, and it looks like they handled it so well this time that he is fine with it. They will fix the run D the question is whether they can keep this secondary together. If they can I think they will be considerably better with another year under their belt.

Getting off on third down helps if you limit runs on 1st and 2nd. see colts. As far as the secondary goes, subtract one safety from it this year against any team with a good running back.

I personally think they might resign vince and am not surprised they didn't take that big bonus up. I predicted it. Hope we didn't blow a hole on one side of the defense trying to shore up the other.

If he's gone, I hope Branch doesn't revert to the guy with three starts in his first four years and becomes the leader.

 

[slash83]

ok, come back and see us when the rest of our division is running 50x up the gut on us

Don't get your panties in a bunch.

 

[Ivan]

Getting off on third down helps if you limit runs on 1st and 2nd. see colts. As far as the secondary goes, subtract one safety from it this year against any team with a good running back.

I personally think they might resign vince and am not surprised they didn't take that big bonus up. I predicted it. Hope we didn't blow a hole on one side of the defense trying to shore up the other.

If he's gone, I hope Branch doesn't revert to the guy with three starts in his first four years and becomes the leader.

I'm not by any means suggesting it is ok to have a b.tch defense like the Colts and get pushed around all day but I am saying that having a really good secondary is critical in today's NFL. I'm a huge Wilfork fan and want him back because I think he can still help in a run stuffer role with reduced snaps but this off-season the priority is keeping Revis and hopefully McCourty as well. If they keep those two I think they can make the moves necessary to have the best defense in the league next season as the defense would be almost completely intact with another season under their,belt. If they can keep these guys together they could become as good or possibly even be better than the 2003-2004 defenses, and if Belichick and Brady have a defense of that caliber the odds of them getting more rings out of this team are excellent.

 

[eom]

Don't get your panties in a bunch.

my panties are in a ****ing bunch the size of wilfork's lunch!!

 

[Patriots1364life]

If they dont bring him back then what about a guy like barry cofield?

 

[slash83]

my panties are in a ****ing bunch the size of wildork's lunch!!

Lol, but seriously losing Wilfork sucks but it's time to get younger, thankfully the draft is full of talented DTS.

 

[eom]

Lol, but seriously losing Wilfork sucks but it's time to get younger, thankfully the draft is full of talented DTS.

could we get a couple days grieving in to acknowledge the loss before we start making the audition tapes with hot young actresses?

 

[BelizePats]

the right way to go was to add a bunch of personal and team incentives to his deal and then when he hits every single one, when the team hits every one, pull the rug out and give him a big J/K!!?
that's the right way?

Yes, this was the right way to go. No bitter acrimonious back and forth in the press, or theatrics of cleaning out lockers. We don't need this and Vince doesn't need this. A clean break where we have 8 million in cap space and Vince is free to negotiate the best deal he can find. No hurt feelings, just a bunch of mutual respect and Vince comes back with his family when he's done playing to get entered in the Ring of Honor.
A day that I will make sure I come down to Foxborough for.

Like I said the first time. It's the right way to go. Sorry if I wasn't clear enough!

 

[supafly]

If they dont bring him back then what about a guy like barry cofield?

A guy like Cofield would be a fine choice to get some/most of the replacement production, although the price will obviously be one of the biggest factors. If things were similar, I'd rather just try and re-sign Wilfork again.

 

[supafly]

I hope that Wilfork's (perhaps temporary) loss doesn't preclude the FO from insisting that Mayo
restructures (IOW take a big pay cut). Mayo comes nowhere near close to justifying his cap hit.

The problem with that is that Mayo has no incentive to do so until he can pass a physical due to the guaranteed injury portion, and that is very unlikely to happen until May or so at the earliest.

Having Mayo take a pay cut now really won't help us out in the first couple of months of free agency, although someone said that they could potentially just push money into the future without it being a "real" pay cut, although I think that seems quite unlikely.

 

[New England Pride]

ok, I'll pass that note along to the 2009 patriots

If they don't show after 10 minutes I'd leave. Heard they aren't a very timely bunch.

 

[captain stone]

The problem with that is that Mayo has no incentive to do so until he can pass a physical due to the guaranteed injury portion, and that is very unlikely to happen until May or so at the earliest.

Having Mayo take a pay cut now really won't help us out in the first couple of months of free agency, although someone said that they could potentially just push money into the future without it being a "real" pay cut, although I think that seems quite unlikely.

Can they just release him then?

Either way, a significant portion of Mayo's cap hit needs to be off the books by the 10th.
He's simply not worth the money, not even 2/3s of it, or lower.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Can they just release him then?

Either way, a significant portion of Mayo's cap hit needs to be off the books by the 10th.
He's simply not worth the money, not even 2/3s of it, or lower.

He has an injury guarantee, so he will get paid 4.5 million, so cutting him now actually adds another $722,500 to his already 10+ million dollar cap charge (according to Miguel). So the answer to your question is "no" they can't, well I guess they could, but why would you when you would lose the player and increase his cap hit, plus still have to pay him 4.5 million dollars (said while holding pinky finger next to mouth).

 

[IllegalContact]

He has an injury guarantee, so he will get paid 4.5 million, so cutting him now actually adds another $722,500 to his already 10+ million dollar cap charge (according to Miguel). So the answer to your question is "no" they can't, well I guess they could, but why would you when you would lose the player and increase his cap hit, plus still have to pay him 4.5 million dollars (said while holding pinky finger next to mouth).

I would be thinking about getting him off the books for next year