Pats give Branch permission to seek Trade

[Miguel]

Ok, Miguel, if that isn't how you remember it, would you care to offer an example or should we just take your word for it?

Walter Jones in 2003. in 2002??? Emmitt Smith in 1993.

Branch didn't miss a game because he was coddled through pre-season. And, since you can't predict what would have happened in 2004 had Neal not crashed into Branch, its a pretty lame excuse.

How many players in the NFL would not suffered the same injury that Branch did if Neal had crashed into them??

Miguel, how many of them suffered major injuries?

That is my question. You make it seem like Branch who did not miss a game in 2005 is likely to suffer an major injury.

I guarantee you those players had their value drop. Heck, even TY LAW's value wasn't what he thought it was when he signed with the Jets.

I am not arguing that the players' value did not drop. I am arguing that the likelihood of Branch suffering a major injury that would cause his value to drop is not
high as you contend. One player (Ty Law) does not make up 50% of the league.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

That would jive with my earlier hypothetical diabolical BB version of why this may have happened. No one has indicated that the Branch side played the classic pay me or trade me card, which usually is the run up to the the permssion to seek a trade move. So was this a request from a man they haven't had any contact with in months since he skipped the whole counterproposal portion of negotiations in favor of we'll play for peanuts if you let us go thereafter, or a shot across the bow the Branch faction never saw coming on the heels of Lelie having to pay to be traded out of Denver to a team where he will still be... a #3.

Yesterday on the pre game show Jonathan sounded like this was a Belioli initiated move to initiate some form of resolution for what they perceived as a totally stagnant process.

 

[Miguel]

Walter Jones in 2003. in 2002??? Emmitt Smith in 1993.

Also Orlando Pace in 2004. Maybe also in 2003.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Yesterday on the pre game show Jonathan sounded like this was a Belioli initiated move to initiate some form of resolution for what they perceived as a totally stagnant process.

Precisely what I'd surmised here yesterday. Who not make this move given the TOTAL intransigence of The Twig and his Rosenhaus wannabe agent?

Nothing was happening. The Twig was on a STATED course to missing 10 games. What's to lose?

If The Twig gets a good offer better than the Pats' generous top 15 $6.3M but not a much more say $8+M offer his agent led him to believe he was 'worth' the Pats have a negotiating window to ply Deion. I think it's safe to say that Deion will NOT get close to a top 5 WR $ offer. And that will change someone's perspective.

 

[arrellbee]

Thanks for the observations, Miguel, putting things into perspective.

Following is previous post by Miguel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DaBruinz
Except, Miguel, you are forgetting one of the big things about players who have missed training camp and then gone into the season after missing a game or two. Almost every single one of them has gotten injured.



If you say so, that's not the way I remember it.

Quote:
And Branch isn't exactly the Man of Steel.

Branch did not miss a game in 2005. The only games that he missed in 2004 were caused by Stephen Neal crashing into him.



Quote:
In fact, to my knowledge, no franchise player has been signed by another team in the last few years. So, I doubt that Branch would get signed.

You must not be including those players who did a sign and trade like Tebucky and John Abraham.


Quote:
And the likely-hood of him getting injured is at least 50%.


How many players played in the NFL last season?? About 1600 to 1700.
How many of them suffer an injury that would cause their 2006 FA value to drop?? I would not doubt that 50% of NFL players suffer an injury during the season. The question is how many of them suffer an injury so severe that it would cause their FA value in the next year to significantly drop.

 

[Pat_Nasty]

Precisely what I'd surmised here yesterday. Who not make this move given the TOTAL intransigence of The Twig and his Rosenhaus wannabe agent?

Nothing was happening. The Twig was on a STATED course to missing 10 games. What's to lose?

If The Twig gets a good offer better than the Pats' generous top 15 $6.3M but not a much more say $8+M offer his agent led him to believe he was 'worth' the Pats have a negotiating window to ply Deion. I think it's safe to say that Deion will NOT get close to a top 5 WR $ offer. And that will change someone's perspective.

I would love this move if it were handled slightly differently. Had the Pats FO privately told Chayut he had a week to find a trade suitor for his client, perhaps it may have worked.

By making it public as they did, and suprising Branch + his agent with it, the move is essentially a strong-arm tactic. In my eyes, the ideal result of any negotiations ploy should be getting Branch to sign a reasonable extension with the Pats, and I don't see how publicly taking him down a few pegs will achieve this.

Suppose Branch, as the Pats FO obviously believes will happen, is unable to find someone willing to come close to the $8 mil/year he thinks he can get. Do you think a player who's displayed his level of intransigence will slink back to the Pats w/ his tail between his legs? Or is it more likely that he will feel sandbagged + "disrespected," and feel yet more morally justified in his holdout? Isn't this the kind of "power play" that could turn the situation ugly, and provoke a Ty-law kind of "I'm don't want to be a Patriot anymore" statement?

 

[Miguel]

M: All Branch needs is one team.
_____________________________

S: One team to pay him as a top-5 WR while simultaneously pleasing the Patriots with what they give up? Yeah, that's not expecting too much.

Expectation met.