One thing that has been ignored in this thread is that Law has a good relashonship with Mangini, and not as good a one ( not bad necessarly) with BB. So he said he wanted to be on a good team, who wouldn't? Did he ever say that he would rather be on a good team than be on a team that would give him more money? Law does not have to be about the Patriots first, why should he? To say he should be would be wrong. Free agents have a right to look at all offers and go to the place that they feel is the best situation. Could be money, coaching, teamates, location, winning, or a combination of things.
Law actually did intimate that, said last week he (finally) had enough money so his family was not a concern, he could retire tomorrow and he'd be fine. Said he HAD to be back on a winning team, couldn't take losing any more. Although he did then throw in the caveat that he still wouldn't play for nothing...believes he has 3-4 years left and can play at a high level...:blahblah:
One of the first acts of Mangini upon being signed in NY was to cut Ty Law prior to his option bonus that would have triggered the balance of his deal coming due.
I think at some point Ty and the Poston's became enamored of FA and playing 1-2 years of phony long term deals. Those have actually allowed him to average $6M per for the last 3 years which according to each team he played for represented an overpayment compared to his performance. He had the ten pick season in NY, but as late as November even Herm was complaining about his penalty yards and the FO seemed disappointed with his lack of concrete veteran leadership skills. On leaving KC he expressed disappointment on playing with young talent who just lacked the experience to back him up in his game.
It's a little unusual for a veteran player to have the full blown visit complete with workout and physical and leave a facility without a contract unless one wasn't offered or the player is still looking to gauge his market. That's what happened with Thomas who signed in Dallas after his visit here. Dallas was presented an offer to trump and the did. Because KC dragged their feet on his release Ty was flying under the radar aside from being rumored to be interested in returning here. Maybe he needed a favor from an old friend to create/jumpstart a market.
When he left the Meadowlands the other day his first call was another old pal, Steve Burton (who did his moving exist interview in the car on the way out of town when he left here in 2005...) who was on air on WEEI. The message was he had a great visit but he was NOT going to sign a contract just yet, the Patriots were intersted in him but he did not know if there was TIME to get a deal done. Hint, hint, show me some money... It's really almost comical since we were the first to show him some money last time out and he ended up shopping our offer for three months until he could find someone in KC willing to trump it by $500K up front. This year it seems he wants a contract pre draft, maybe because the draft is fairly deep at his position.
Ty's ego and his underlying need to tie $$ to respect were always his undoing. He's toned down the rhetoric, but at the end of the day he is what he is, a guy who needs attention and who gets more of it in FA than in season these days. Holley said the other day that he just can't run at all any more. Whether that's his own take or something he's hearing from his buddy Michael Smith or numerous NEP contacts he didn't say. Herm doesn't run a very tight veteran ship so conditioning could be a factor. Mangini reportedly runs nearly as tough a ship as the master, and there would likely have to be a solid reason <$$> for Ty to take a deal there given their recent struggles as opposed to here where winning is nearly a given. But Mangini may want him as much to help re-shape his locker room dynamic as anything and therefore be willing to re$pect him. His own vets aren't real keen on him, so he's bringing in a group of overpriced outside vets who are beholden' to him because he overpaid for them.
Bill doesn't need Ty to lead, he knows better. He'd just want him to play. And he could provide him with some pass rush and safety help that knows how to cover an aging playmakers back. It's easy to say he should go for whatever he wants, but the fact - or frustration - is that is what he said he wants.
