Patriots - Home of the second chance

[JR4]

The Warfield signing is a shinning example of the Patriots willingness
to give players a second chance.

I am very proud of my team the New England Patriots for their demonstrated
willing to go the extra mile and give players a second chance. I'm sure other
fans feel the same way.
There was the so called malcontent Corey Dillion and the over the hill Rodney
Harrision and other vets who were cast aside by there previous teams. Now
there is Warfield, an alchoholic. This is a good thing and it warms my heart that
my PATs have this character.

 

[Digger44]

The Warfield signing is a shinning example of the Patriots willingness
to give players a second chance.

I am sorry, what do his shins have to do with it?

 

[Fanfrom1960]

I am sorry, what do his shins have to do with it?

One shining moment, you know, NCAAB's tournament theme.

 

[Pats726]

The Warfield signing is a shinning example of the Patriots willingness
to give players a second chance.

I am very proud of my team the New England Patriots for their demonstrated
willing to go the extra mile and give players a second chance. I'm sure other
fans feel the same way.
There was the so called malcontent Corey Dillion and the over the hill Rodney
Harrision and other vets who were cast aside by there previous teams. Now
there is Warfield, an alchoholic. This is a good thing and it warms my heart that
my PATs have this character.

Congrats on 1K....I agree..look at Phifer..Pleasant..others who were cut by other teams..or said to be done..

 

[DarrylS]

I also agree the positiveness and good character of this team is contagious, and if one guy comes in and pollutes the atmosphere he will be gone, giving Warfield a second chance is a very good thing..

 

[patriotsrule]

If I remember correctly, Terrell Owens never broke the law unlike Eric Warfield. If we are going to give players a second chance, they might as well be good ones. I mean, the Patriots aren't running a rehab center for average cornerbacks are they?

 

[patsfan55]

If I remember correctly, Terrell Owens never broke the law unlike Eric Warfield. If we are going to give players a second chance, they might as well be good ones. I mean, the Patriots aren't running a rehab center for average cornerbacks are they?

he was very mediocre as a number one
but thats not what were asking of him
at most were prob asking him to be the nickleback

 

[JR4]

I also agree the positiveness and good character of this team is contagious, and if one guy comes in and pollutes the atmosphere he will be gone, giving Warfield a second chance is a very good thing..

Some guys when given a second chance, really appreciate it and give you
that extra effort like Rodney. Put three or four guys like that on a team and
it is contagious ... that extra effort. It bring new energy to the team.
So PATs get something money can't buy ... because they are willing to give a
player a second chance.

 

[Remix 6]

heres from a chiefs fan

Here's the scouting report on Warfield, from a guy who's seen lots of him:

STRENGTHS:
-He's better for the Pats' system. He's always been a zone corner, but with Gunther Cunningham's system, was asked to play a lot of press coverage
-He has the ability to cover any wide receiver in the league and shut him down.consistency out of him than Vermeil did.
-He's outstanding in run support. A huge reason why KC's run D upgraded so much over the past year.
-He's a ballhawk. For a team that generated a pretty lousy pass rush, he's usually consistently good for about 4 INTs a year. That should improve, with the Pats' pass rush

WEAKNESSES:
-Attitude. He's not a cancer. But he has a few issues. Obviously, the DUI suspension was a big one. I tend to think that if Warfield didn't miss the first 4 games, the Chiefs could've been in the playoffs
-Attitude: laziness. He makes a lot of great plays, which I think are worth it, but he has a bad habit of also giving up sometimes and giving up a huge play as a result
-Health: he's never missed significant time. But he's had back issues, which were a huge reason for lapses in his play a few years ago


I would've liked for the Chiefs to have kept Warfield. I like the guy. And I think he got a bad rep, playing for the Chiefs. I tend to think he can improve with better coaching--the Chiefs were lousy at grooming cornerbacks with Peter Guinta as their D-backs coach and Gunther Cunningham (sorry to say) not having a clue how to use his corners, including Pat Surtain. They can probably teach him to be consistent and to keep his attitude in check. Overall, you guys made a great move.

Then again... I also raved about Monty Beisel, and boy was I wrong on that one. Sorry about that one!

 

[MoLewisrocks]

There are all manner of problems a player can have and a lot of factors go into the decision to sign a potentially problematic player. A player who can potentially embarrass the franchise is one issue, a player who can poison a clubhouse is another. It is up to the club to decide what they can and cannot tolerate going forward. But a player who is one infraction away from being suspended for a year if he manages in any way to violate the league's substance abuse program - that's a real concern and it's out of their control if it happens. I caught the very tail end of Felger's show today and that was his concern - Warrick is one and done from here on out.

 

[Pats726]

Then again... I also raved about Monty Beisel, and boy was I wrong on that one. Sorry about that one!

You may NOT have been..if one was looking for Beisel to all of a sudden change positions and get it all in one year...I think that was a way way too high in expectations. If one looks at how Bruschi made a transition..it didn't happen immediately either..so thinking MB would was rather ridiculous. IN a year or so with patience, he may be OK...time will tell. But I think many fans are not understanding the transition time needed and wishing it be immediate.

 

[AzPatsFan]

You may NOT have been..if one was looking for Beisel to all of a sudden change positions and get it all in one year...I think that was a way way too high in expectations. If one looks at how Bruschi made a transition..it didn't happen immediately either..so thinking MB would was rather ridiculous. IN a year or so with patience, he may be OK...time will tell. But I think many fans are not understanding the transition time needed and wishing it be immediate.

Beisel was brought in for one job, and was thrust into another. He was originally supposed to be a third ILB learing the coverage position for a possible stint at regular duty alongside a experienced pro in his secoond/third season with the Pats. Instead he was thrust in to the posiiton of primary first string run defender and play caller. Impossible as it was demonstrated, sometimes who have to jump in and sink or swim. and try to do the best you can.

 

[groundgame]

Congrats also on Post#1000!
At $725K per year for 2 years and no draft picks given-up: Warfiled worth the risk and much better value than the Law and Woodson options out there.

 

[arrellbee]

heres from a chiefs fan

Here's the scouting report on Warfield, from a guy who's seen lots of him:

STRENGTHS:
-He's better for the Pats' system. He's always been a zone corner, but with Gunther Cunningham's system, was asked to play a lot of press coverage
-He has the ability to cover any wide receiver in the league and shut him down.consistency out of him than Vermeil did.
-He's outstanding in run support. A huge reason why KC's run D upgraded so much over the past year.
-He's a ballhawk. For a team that generated a pretty lousy pass rush, he's usually consistently good for about 4 INTs a year. That should improve, with the Pats' pass rush

WEAKNESSES:
-Attitude. He's not a cancer. But he has a few issues. Obviously, the DUI suspension was a big one. I tend to think that if Warfield didn't miss the first 4 games, the Chiefs could've been in the playoffs
-Attitude: laziness. He makes a lot of great plays, which I think are worth it, but he has a bad habit of also giving up sometimes and giving up a huge play as a result
-Health: he's never missed significant time. But he's had back issues, which were a huge reason for lapses in his play a few years ago


I would've liked for the Chiefs to have kept Warfield. I like the guy. And I think he got a bad rep, playing for the Chiefs. I tend to think he can improve with better coaching--the Chiefs were lousy at grooming cornerbacks with Peter Guinta as their D-backs coach and Gunther Cunningham (sorry to say) not having a clue how to use his corners, including Pat Surtain. They can probably teach him to be consistent and to keep his attitude in check. Overall, you guys made a great move.

Then again... I also raved about Monty Beisel, and boy was I wrong on that one. Sorry about that one!

Thanks for taking the time to give us some thoughts from a KC fan perspective !!

It is encouraging to look for the possibility that Warfield might make a solid contribution to the Pats. Fans that follow the Pats are familiar with the scenario where the Pats bring in a fair number of 'possibles' and then sort thru them in training camp/preseason - while we fans are enthusiastic about each such signing, many of them turn out to not have as much potential as we had hoped and they fall by the wayside before the final roster. We can hope that Warfield will be one of those who make it and contribute.

Again, thanks for the comments !!

 

[arrellbee]

heres from a chiefs fan
......
Then again... I also raved about Monty Beisel, and boy was I wrong on that one. Sorry about that one!

I had really high hopes for Beisel when the Pats signed him. And there are a number of fans here who still hold out hope that Beisel could get more effective with experience and be a solid contributor in the Pats defense. My own perspective is that your thought is probably closer to case. In my observations, Beisel's lack of effectiveness was as much or more due to some serious fundamental shortcomings for a linebacker role.

Probably the best way for us to assess Beisel is to look at the last games of last year in slo-mo where he got a significant number of reps - so that was after a whole season of coaching and Belichick practices and game reps.

He made one decent play. When Willie got sealed inside on an outside run around the offensive right side, Beisel slid over from his inside spot and made the tackle after a gain of 4 yards. Since there was no block to interfere with Beisel's movement, my suspicion is that Ted J or Tedy would have slid over and stopped the run for little gain or even a loss. Just my impression.

On the first play that Beisel was in he was late getting to a gang tackle on the defensive right side - but he threw his hands up in celebration.

On the couple times when a blocker got into the backfield and took on Beisel, he was basically blocked back 5 yards out of the play and just stopped without even trying to shed off of the block and or even head toward the runner..

On one play on a run around the left side of the O-line, Beisel got to the runner as Colvin hooked around behind the end and caught the runner by the foot. As the runner is stretching out to get an extra yard, Beisel actually stands up straight and HOPS behind the runner in order to avoid contact. I've never seen anything so ridiculous even in Pop Warner football.

On one play where Beisel moved on the snap up behind Wilfork, the runner hit the gap right beside Wilfork. Beisel not only did not ram sideways and tackle, he just stood there as the runner went thru the gap and was finally brought down after a couple yards. Beisel never even tried to tackle the runner at any time.

On a goal line stand, the runner hit the line just to the right side of Beisel. Not only didn't he ram over to hit the runner (he had a chancer to force the guy sideways short of the goal line), he actually moved parallel to the runner while the runner crossed the goal line. I'm hard put to remember a greater dud of a non-effort. There was another play almost exactly the same in the middle of the field on another drive.

I slo-mo'd all of his plays in that game and other than the one tackle I mentioned first, he was an absolute bust as far as any contribution.

I can't imagine, after a season of coaching and practices, that if he was so fundamentally opposite to what a linebacker is all about (much less a Belichick one), that any additional amount of time could ever get him even close to being even a marginal linebacker.

 

[ilduce06410]

not really an over the hill gang

Some guys when given a second chance, really appreciate it and give you
that extra effort like Rodney. Put three or four guys like that on a team and
it is contagious ... that extra effort. It bring new energy to the team.
So PATs get something money can't buy ... because they are willing to give a
player a second chance.

IMHO the teams of the past 5 years have had several unifying characteristics.
i mean, they're almost all 'leaders', smart, play in pain, a little mean. but it's more than that.
players like dillon, rodney, antowain, jarvis green, pass, givens, koppen, vrabel, stephen neal, even bruschi have had a hance here to SHOW WHAT THEY CAN DO.
there are a number of high-pedigree players, e.g. ben watson, richard seymour, wilfork and warren, who would have been seen as stars from day 1. but bruschi, he could've been seen as a tweener, and be out of football today. vrabel was well-regarded, but still a fringe player in pittsburgh. antowain was all done. neal would be in WWE somewhere. dillon and rodney were troublemakers, but dillon especially had never had a chance to show his talent and theirselves as men. they watched givens closely enough to be impressed.
it's certainly not the raiders' renegades, or redskins' over-the-hill-gang.
but is definitely a ''second chance' teams. there must be a better expression.

 

[Pats726]

Beisel was brought in for one job, and was thrust into another. He was originally supposed to be a third ILB learing the coverage position for a possible stint at regular duty alongside a experienced pro in his secoond/third season with the Pats. Instead he was thrust in to the posiiton of primary first string run defender and play caller. Impossible as it was demonstrated, sometimes who have to jump in and sink or swim. and try to do the best you can.

TJ's retirement really put the Pats in a bit of a bind...

 

[ilduce06410]

a telling point

TJ's retirement really put the Pats in a bit of a bind...

shows how unique he was among LBs in the league.
many times i watched him move in at the snap and stop an OL in his tracks, then pursue and get in on the tackle on the side of a field.
a brick wall who could move.
and this is a player patriots 'disrespected' a few times in his cxareer -- with contracts, with starts and playing time (which was evidently important to him).
for all the contact he gets headaches, etc.
wish him well.