Reiss' Patriots Mailbag

[Afam]

the level of discourse on this forum has gotten so bad I'm about to delete my bookmark.

*sigh*

Ha Ha. It hasn't gotten that bad for me to delete mine.

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Talib signing was an upgrade from last year?

He means that we resigned him as opposed to letting him go. Misworded it. but our secondary is in better shape. Dennard another year under belt. Wilson teaching the young S/SS what to do will be great. As Mccoury will go though TC back there and Talib here a full year. An improvement

 

[Jimke]

For this to be a good free agency, Vollmer has to be re-signed (very unlikely)
and a couple of wide receivers have to be signed/re-signed. Tom Brady's
well being is in jeopardy if Cannon is the right tackle. Forget about Sanders,
Pittsbugh won't let him go even if he signs an offer sheet which is very unlikely.

No significant free agents are going to be picked up after June 1st. This date
no longer means very much. With regard to the draft, we picked a poor year
to have very few picks. I'm sure we can draft a couple of good players if we don't trade away the picks.

 

[VrabelJr]

For this to be a good free agency, Vollmer has to be re-signed (very unlikely)
and a couple of wide receivers have to be signed/re-signed. Tom Brady's
well being is in jeopardy if Cannon is the right tackle. Forget about Sanders,
Pittsbugh won't let him go even if he signs an offer sheet which is very unlikely.

No significant free agents are going to be picked up after June 1st. This date
no longer means very much. With regard to the draft, we picked a poor year
to have very few picks. I'm sure we can draft a couple of good players if we don't trade away the picks.

I thought the overall grade of this year's draft is considered well below average?

 

[grux]

This team didn't improve themselves one bit. All they did was replace Welker with Amendola.

Talib for a full season and Adrian Wilson are going to improve our defense.

 

[Ivan]

There is obviously a long way to go but there is also a real element of crapshoot with the rest of it after free agency because counting on possible trades, releases, or available draft picks means counting on fortune, and they shouldn't be doing that. it is very possible that Belichick has a plan that he is certain will come together, but right now there is an abundance of veteran free agent talent that they can sign and lock in and it is the best free agent market in terms of cost in memory, so not using their resources when they can make certain moves doesn't make much sense. I don't see any mega deals out there and feel like they could get Vollmer, Edelman, and one of the pass rushers done in the next week if they wanted and still be in a position where they have some financial flexibility.

 

[Nunchucks]

Cannon will be the rt if seabass is not resigned.

 

[Ivan]

I thought the overall grade of this year's draft is considered well below average?

I have no idea about that but this is the most mundane draft class I can remember. That in no way means the league can't find many good and great players in it but the Patriots resources are limited, and that may have been by design, because they have grades and ratings on it well in advance and play it in that regard. They should still be able to get really good prospects in the first couple of rounds and fill needs at WR and DB if they wish, or go line on either side of the ball. If they can meet most of their needs prior to the draft then they should be able to seal the deal that weekend. their depth is pretty good already so that shouldn't be much of a concern.

 

[RIpats88]

I sure HOPE that bill isnt done with semi-big signings for the WR corp..


sure our defense got somewhat better with the additions of Talib/Wilson

BUT


right now our starting WR's are Amendola who while talented is injury prone...and Jones...a guy who was the #3 WR on the freaking bills!

if Lloyd isnt brought back we are in trouble at that position..

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

Talib for a full season and Adrian Wilson are going to improve our defense.

this..plus they still may get a vet pass rusher and more help in draft

 

[ausbacker]

Please don't lecture me. Hind your own advice. I left the names of talib, wilson out for a reason. Yes they are upgrades but not pieces that are going to bring us a superbowl. That should be our goal. Brady left money on the table so we can spend it on AMD, Wilson and talib. Not

Brady restructured the deal to keep the Patriots competitive. Without that restructure, it's unlikely the team can offer extensions to the identified players. That's something you would be wise to remember next time you feel like complaining about the MO. Furthermore, there's 3 stages of team building yet to be completed. How about waiting for those to unfold (as has been pointed out)?

 

[hwc]

With Danny Amendola, Gronkowski, and Hernandez, I think it's a stretch to say the Pats are in big trouble at receiver. That's a pretty good nucleus and a LOT of catches.

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Vollmer. The question there is whether or not he's ever going to be able to play with his back problems. The Pats know a whole lot more about his limitations than any of us do. Chances are that's a chronic situation and, if it is, you don't want a big dollar long-term contract. If the back is an issue, the Pats would probably rather wait and get him on a 1-year deal. It's not like other teams seem to be beating his door down with offers early in free agency. I have heard that he's even gotten a whiff of interest.

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Leon Washington is a big addition to this team. The Pats haven't had a kick return threat in a long time. And, Belichick has a proven track record of getting good production from veteran 3rd down back types (see Kevin Faulk).

 

[Don Kipines]

With Danny Amendola, Gronkowski, and Hernandez, I think it's a stretch to say the Pats are in big trouble at receiver. That's a pretty good nucleus and a LOT of catches.

----------

Vollmer. The question there is whether or not he's ever going to be able to play with his back problems. The Pats know a whole lot more about his limitations than any of us do. Chances are that's a chronic situation and, if it is, you don't want a big dollar long-term contract. If the back is an issue, the Pats would probably rather wait and get him on a 1-year deal. It's not like other teams seem to be beating his door down with offers early in free agency. I have heard that he's even gotten a whiff of interest.

---------

Leon Washington is a big addition to this team. The Pats haven't had a kick return threat in a long time. And, Belichick has a proven track record of getting good production from veteran 3rd down back types (see Kevin Faulk).

+1.


Amendola, Gronk, Hernandez, Ballard, Vereen and Washington are all threats in the passing game. And they have a good running game. And laugh if you want about Donald Jones, but he's an upgrade over Deion Branch, who was our #4 guy last year, #3 after Edelman got hurt.

They have a long time to sort this out. For one, Edelman will probably be back. There are some injured guys they may be waiting on (like David Nelson). There's the draft. And most importantly, they're going to upgrade the defense. They'll sign someone like Abraham or Freeney, which will be significant.

I like what they're doing. They shored up two major weaknesses from last year already, their return game and their secondary. Add some pass-rush and an X receiver and you've offset any drop off from Welker and Vollmer. Something tells me that with $15 m in cap space and a draft, they'll be able to address those two gaps.

BTW Will Svitek is a pretty capable player. He's not Vollmer, but he's better than some of the guys we've had at right tackle over the years, including Kaczur.

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Yes because herding anyone who disagrees with you into their own corner leaving all the people who refuse to question the FO to gloat how good the team is based off regular season records promotes discussion.

Might as well ask the mods to ban all the dissenters and then turn the forum into a BB Kraft shrine where people can pay homage.

Dissenters are fine. Irrational stupidity isn't. OBTW, I could give a FF if you never agree with me. I'm sure we have common ground on some things but your defense of those who clearly define the old saw about "being quiet rather than opening your mouth and show how dumb you are" is not one of them.