Pats match offer with Sauerbrun

[patsgo]

Didn't we just give Miller a 100K bonus? Thi seems weird. Maybe we'll trade him to Denver for a 6th or 7th now. That would be funny.

i think they wanted Sauerbrun all the time they paid Miller 100k bonus as insurance in case someone overpaid sauerbrun and they didnt want to match sauerbrun has the stronger leg, good sign it helps our special teams

 

[MoLewisrocks]

If that's true,that there's a poison pill,I'm mystified why BB matched.

I think that deal stipulated he couldn't be transition or franchise tagged either (not that I could picture doing that with a punter). So count me among the mystified since Sauerbraun has never been a great clubhouse presence and can be a real pain in the butt when he's unhappy. And he made it pretty clear his heart belongs to Shanny...

 

[37Harrison]

Last year Miller averaged 43 yards/punt with a net of 35.8
Last year Sauerbrun averaged 40.8 yards/punt with a net of 30.7

In 2005...
Miller avg. 45.1 yards/punt with a net of 38.3.
Sauerbrun avg. 43.8 yards/punt with a net of 38.

Looks like Miller has had the stronger leg as of late and I believe he is more accurate than roidboy as well.

Just moving this to the next page because it seems as though there are plenty of people that think Sauerbrun has the stronger leg and don't read all of the posts.

Stats say otherwise.

 

[Isaac]

The contract he signed with denver had a no-trade clause in it.

True, but usually these clauses are no-trade without player permission, so Sauerbrun could probably okay a trade to Denver (which he likely would do so happily).

Or they keep him and have two good punters for camp at minimal risk.

 

[DaBruinz]

hes got a very strong leg and really came on at end of season

Even in the play-offs, Sauerbrun was out-kicking the coverage some. But, he was doing better than he had in the regular season.

Still prefer MILLER over Sauerbrun. Miller, at least, holds on kicks, though Sauerbrun provides back-up on kick-offs.

 

[DaBruinz]

Catches me by surprise too, I figured Miller was our guy and thanks to Sauerbrun for bailing us out last year.

Can we trade him to Denver for a 2008 #6 pick or something ?

There is a no trade clause in the contract. Unless Sauerbrun waives that clause (which he'd probably do to go to Denver), we're stuck with him.

 

[BelichickFan]

There is a no trade clause in the contract. Unless Sauerbrun waives that clause (which he'd probably do to go to Denver), we're stuck with him.

If he can waive it for a specific team then we might still be able to trade him - or maybe we can trade Miller to Denver

 

[Metaphors]

Last year Miller averaged 43 yards/punt with a net of 35.8
Last year Sauerbrun averaged 40.8 yards/punt with a net of 30.7

In 2005...
Miller avg. 45.1 yards/punt with a net of 38.3.
Sauerbrun avg. 43.8 yards/punt with a net of 38.

Looks like Miller has had the stronger leg as of late and I believe he is more accurate than roidboy as well.

Lies, damn lies and statistics...Sauerbrun had 10 punts in 2006 and one was returned for a TD. I wouldn't call that overly significant. Miller's 2005 was abnormally good while Sauerbrun's was below his norm. Sauerbrun has the stronger leg (regardless of the stats you cherry-pick to say otherwise) but he has questions in the "control" categories like return TDs and Inside-20 vs. touchback.

Maybe BB will give Sauerbrun a chance to get his "control" together in TC. Maybe Miller's injury raises more questions than BB is comfortable with. Whatever the reason, I'm not losing any sleep over this development.

 

[zippo59]

Are you thinking what I'm thinking?

Two punter formations.

Count on it.

 

[cstjohn17]

This is strange, it seems like a lot for a punter. Plus we have two on our practice squad, so much for building from the trenches....

We could get one of the top college punters for a lot less with one our 6th round picks.

Example - I looked for 2 seconds, found this guy listed as a 7 round UDFA, from NFLDraftScout

Name: Brandon Fields
College: Michigan State Number: 8
Height: 6-5 Weight: 239
Position: P Pos2: K

"The Toledo, Ohio, native ranks second among NCAA I-A active punters with his 45.0-yard career average. His career punting average also ranks No. 2 on MSU's all-time list and No. 3 in Big Ten history (tied with Ohio State's Andy Groom, 2001-02), trailing only Iowa's Reggie Roby (45.5 avg., 1979-82) and former Spartan Greg Montgomery (45.2 avg., 1985-87). "

Per Reiss:

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/

"The Patriots have matched the Broncos' free-agent offer to punter Todd Sauerbrun.

Last Tuesday, the Broncos and Sauerbrun agreed to a one-year contract that could be worth up to $1.4 million with incentives. The Patriots had seven days to match the offer, as part of a first right of refusal."

Interesting....I thought they were done with this guy....

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Has anybody thought of the fact that the Patriots might just be trying to get a pick out of Denver for Todd?

I mean Denver wants Todd, Todd wants Denver. It would be dumb to just let him walk away when you have the option of picking up another pick on the way. Even if its a 4th or 5th its still an extra pick.

 

[zippo59]

Remember how Denver blocked Javon Walker from coming here? Well consider it payback.

 

[DaBruinz]

i actually think sauerbrun has the stronger leg. i was very disappointed with miller last year.

Why were you disappointed with Miller? It wasn't Miller's fault he got injured in Buffalo. Prior to the Buffalo game, the Pats punt coverage was phenomonal, allowing something like 3 yards per return.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=3730

Even after the Buffalo game, the Pats were still only allowing 5.58 yards per return.

The Minnesota game was the only bad game, punt wise. And most of that was the coverage.

In the 3 games AFTER Minnesota, Miller had 4 returns for 21 yards. A whole whopping 5.25 yards per return.

If you look at the 16 punts outside the Minnesota game, the Pats and Miller allowed a measly 5.5 yards per return.

In all honesty, can one really complain when a Punter only has 18 returns on 43 punts? In comparison, Walter and Sauerbrun had 11 returns on 26 punts. Just for Comparison, Donnie Jones of Miami had 85 punts but had 49 returned. Atlanta's Mike Koenen is the best punter in terms of returns in that he's only had 25 returned on 76 punts.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

Remember how Denver blocked Javon Walker from coming here? Well consider it payback.

How did they block him?

 

[zippo59]

How did they block him?

They wouldn't let him get on the plane.

 

[SeanBruschi54]

They wouldn't let him get on the plane.

I dont believe that at all. I think the real story was that if he left on the plane then the deal would be off the table forever.

So instead he signed.

 

[zippo59]

I dont believe that at all. I think the real story was that if he left on the plane then the deal would be off the table forever.

So instead he signed.

I heard that they held him up there long enough that his meeting here lapsed. I'm not saying they physically restrained him or anything. But I heard it was more than just them saying that if he left they would retract their offer.

 

[PatsDparty]

Remember how Denver blocked Javon Walker from coming here? Well consider it payback.

Don't think it's really blocking a player when they actually end up signing him to a contract. Were the Pats blocking San Fran cuz we didnt want Adalius to leave without a contract? That's the goal when you have a player come in, to get a contract done.

 

[zippo59]

Don't think it's really blocking a player when they actually end up signing him to a contract. Were the Pats blocking San Fran cuz we didnt want Adalius to leave without a contract? That's the goal when you have a player come in, to get a contract done.

Denver did nothing wrong or illegal, but Walker's original plan was to have a visit with them and then come here for a visit. Well they made sure it stopped there.

 

[mgteich]

OK, then why do think one the best teams at using cap money in the league would spend over a million a year on a punter (for Sauerbrun or for Miller) when they could get one of the best college punters for next to nothing?

This is strange, it seems like a lot for a punter. Plus we have two on our practice squad, so much for building from the trenches....

We could get one of the top college punters for a lot less with one our 6th round picks.

Example - I looked for 2 seconds, found this guy listed as a 7 round UDFA, from NFLDraftScout

Name: Brandon Fields
College: Michigan State Number: 8
Height: 6-5 Weight: 239
Position: P Pos2: K

"The Toledo, Ohio, native ranks second among NCAA I-A active punters with his 45.0-yard career average. His career punting average also ranks No. 2 on MSU's all-time list and No. 3 in Big Ten history (tied with Ohio State's Andy Groom, 2001-02), trailing only Iowa's Reggie Roby (45.5 avg., 1979-82) and former Spartan Greg Montgomery (45.2 avg., 1985-87). "