Samuel won't report to minicamp; vows to holdout until week 10

[upstater1]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Well if he says he's not showing up until Week 10, he's not playing for us again because we'll trade him before that happens.

Sucks because we'll be a lesser team - but we might have three #1s at this rate

Here's a question. What if he's cut before he can sign the franchise tender in week 10?

What team will have money left on their salar cap to sign him at that point? Will he play for short money? Or will he not play this season at all? Then, having taken a year off, will he get the $8 million he's looking for? Or will teams be more likely to offer him $6 million (never mind the fact that you have to pro-rate the loss of $8 million this year into his next contract).

Not a very good scenario for Asante. He better hope some desperate team has plenty of cap space so late in the season.

 

[Remix 6]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Id say trade him for Lance Briggs, or trade him for a number 1 and then turn that number 1 for lance briggs.. Samual is no Branch he has no leverage this yr.. He is getting a 8 mil raise for 1 yr..

-Briggs said he doesnt like 3-4 defense
-Hes holding out himself..if we aint paying Asante..why pay Briggs?
-Last year's performance was better than Deions in regular season..post season both were great

 

[QuiGon]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Odd, I was under the impression that every NFL player wanted to play in NE for the greatest coach in the world, AND play for peanuts. Huh, weird. So much for the "Patriot way"

Actually, there's a noticeable trend that you can see... Players without rings want to come here. Players with rings want to leave and pursue greener pastures elsewhere.

 

[patsgo]

if he doesnt report you can look at it this way, samuel came to camp and blew his knee out, we move on, or you can look at it we lost samuel and graham in free agency and we sign everyone we did , ill take that, we are really not that bad, gay, possibly wilson, and i think james is servicable, scott has never embarresd himself either merrweather can play corner to, what the patriots cant do is to give him a crazy contract and then he goes back playing like his first 3 years, this is make or break year if he plays at a high level hell deserve the money, but i think its a big gamble after one above average year especially the crazy money hes talking, let him sit

 

[spacecrime]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Draft picks are overvalue in March, players are overvalued in August especially at key positions like CB.

excellent point.

 

[rabthepat]

Maybe he can go to the Seattle Seahawks and team up with Branch. If he don't like it here let him hit the road.

 

[spacecrime]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Odd, I was under the impression that every NFL player wanted to play in NE for the greatest coach in the world, AND play for peanuts. Huh, weird.

Not every player, of course. I don't think you were under that impression at all. I think you are just trying to be a jerk. (And succeeding.)

Players that want to play for a winning team and have a shot at the SB want to come here. Players who care more about money than football go to loser teams.

The Pats aren't the only team to lose money-first players, nor are they the only team to hold the line at spending outrageous money for great but not outstanding players. Add to the list the Colts, Steelers, and Eagles. Compare the winning record of these teams plus the Pats over the last 5-6 years to the rest of the league.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Admittedly you need to find a team willing to trade the pick and pay the money but, like with Seattle, when the season's about to begin the teams show added urgency.

Draft picks are overvalue in March, players are overvalued in August especially at key positions like CB.

That's it in a nutshell if push in fact comes to shove.

One think I always love being able to count on from this team is the tempered, realistic assessment articulated by the leaders on this team. They find a way to balance supporting a fellow player with always having the organizations back.

"If he doesn't come, we have to move on," said nose tackle Vince Wilfork. "I would love to have him here, but on the same token, we have to move on."

Linebacker Tedy Bruschi was asked if he pays attention to Samuel's situation or if he's able to block it out.

"You pay attention to it, because he's a teammate of yours, and a teammate of yours that helped you win football games and you want him back, to help you to continue to win football games," he said. "That's all you can really think about. There is nothing you can really say or do to remedy the situation at all. It's between him and the organization."

Added safety Rodney Harrison, "Asante has enough experience to realize that this is a business and it's not personal. Coach [Bill] Belichick and Mr. [Robert] Kraft, they're going to do what is in the best interests of this team.

"At the same time, we do miss Asante. He's a good guy, a great player, and we miss having him back. Hopefully, in the near future, they can work things out and he'll be here."

About sums it up.

 

[fair catch fryar]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

I'm only half-kidding, but it would be sweet to trade him to Detroit. He could replace Dre' Bly, get his $$ and never be heard from again in the Detroit wilderness of lost football souls, and the best part we could get a top 3 pick. I know it'd never happen, but it's nice to dream.

 

[PatsMyBoyz!]

if he doesnt report you can look at it this way, samuel came to camp and blew his knee out, we move on, or you can look at it we lost samuel and graham in free agency and we sign everyone we did , ill take that, we are really not that bad, gay, possibly wilson, and i think james is servicable, scott has never embarresd himself either merrweather can play corner to, what the patriots cant do is to give him a crazy contract and then he goes back playing like his first 3 years, this is make or break year if he plays at a high level hell deserve the money, but i think its a big gamble after one above average year especially the crazy money hes talking, let him sit

Wilson could really step it up this year-he worked out here instead of wherever he usually does and having Rodney back could bolster him even more.
Also the Pats seemed very prepared for this. Looking at our defense in general we'll be ok without him,and if the Pats manage 2 1st rounders out of the deal then the future is getting addressed as well.

 

[tombonneau]

I think this is just posturing by Samuel at this point. I just don't think that sitting out until Week 10 is realistic, and he knows it. A year out of football and removed from his best season, fetching $8MM in 2008 might not be as easy as he thinks.

Obviously NE is a better team with him, but they are still good enough without him.

So if he does take his ball and go home but tries to report Week 10, and NE is say 9-1, do you think that BB rosters him, or would he just suspend him?

What are NE's options at that point? And what are their ramifications for AS? Would he not accrue a season?

 

[BelichickFan]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

I'm only half-kidding, but it would be sweet to trade him to Detroit. He could replace Dre' Bly, get his $$ and never be heard from again in the Detroit wilderness of lost football souls, and the best part we could get a top 3 pick. I know it'd never happen, but it's nice to dream.

I'd take Detroit's #2 in 2008 and 2009 in a second.

 

[mgteich]

I've never expected Samuel to play for us this year. Whatever we get is a gift from the league for allowing us to franchise a player after he fulfill his contract.

 

[Rob0729]

Samuel is way overrated. Look at his year. It wasn't nearly as great as his 10 INTs sugguests. First, he started the year as our #2 CB. Hobbs covered Lee Evans, Javon Walker (except for that 80 yard TD pass that Samuel and I think it was Chad Scott gave up), and Coles. It wasn't until Hobbs broke his wrist did Samuel move into the left CB spot. I wouldn't be surprised if Hobbs won that spot back outright even if Samuel shows up to camp.

Second, Samuel gave up a lot of big plays. Even against Chicago where he got three INTs, he gave up just as many big plays to Berrian. Why do you think Grossman kept throwing it in his direction eventhough he got a couple of INTs. As I stated he gave up the back breaking TD pass in the Broncos game. There were other games he gave up big plays.

Third, the guy was considered average at best as late as midseason last year. Anyone who talked about him getting franchised around November of last year were ridiculed. More people thought the franchise tag was better suited to be used on Daniel Graham. Somewhere in late December he went from an average player to a shutdown CB. I don't think you can trust a player who has an abnormally great career year in a contract year.

I don't want to trade for Briggs. He is a 4-3, Cover 2 LB. I think he would do horribly transitioning to our defense. The Cover 2 is based on small fast LBs. Our defense is built on bigger, stronger, and smarter LBs. I feel Belichick would rather find a smaller DE and convert him to a LB than get a Cover 2 LB and plug him into our system. I can't see Briggs being nearly as good in our defense as he was in Chicago. But I would take a first rounder for Briggs in a hearbeat.

 

[PATRIOT64]

If we could trade him to a team who trades one of thier top Inside Linebackers to us and adds a #1 pick next year then that is more than enough for the overrated Samuel IMO

 

[mgteich]

Patriot players are never overrated, until AFTER they leave the team. You must think he's gone.

Samuel is way overrated. Look at his year. It wasn't nearly as great as his 10 INTs sugguests. First, he started the year as our #2 CB. Hobbs covered Lee Evans, Javon Walker (except for that 80 yard TD pass that Samuel and I think it was Chad Scott gave up), and Coles. It wasn't until Hobbs broke his wrist did Samuel move into the left CB spot. I wouldn't be surprised if Hobbs won that spot back outright even if Samuel shows up to camp.

Second, Samuel gave up a lot of big plays. Even against Chicago where he got three INTs, he gave up just as many big plays to Berrian. Why do you think Grossman kept throwing it in his direction eventhough he got a couple of INTs. As I stated he gave up the back breaking TD pass in the Broncos game. There were other games he gave up big plays.

Third, the guy was considered average at best as late as midseason last year. Anyone who talked about him getting franchised around November of last year were ridiculed. More people thought the franchise tag was better suited to be used on Daniel Graham. Somewhere in late December he went from an average player to a shutdown CB. I don't think you can trust a player who has an abnormally great career year in a contract year.

I don't want to trade for Briggs. He is a 4-3, Cover 2 LB. I think he would do horribly transitioning to our defense. The Cover 2 is based on small fast LBs. Our defense is built on bigger, stronger, and smarter LBs. I feel Belichick would rather find a smaller DE and convert him to a LB than get a Cover 2 LB and plug him into our system. I can't see Briggs being nearly as good in our defense as he was in Chicago. But I would take a first rounder for Briggs in a hearbeat.

 

[ClevTrev]

I'd take a first rounder for Samuel in a heartbeat if it looks like he's going to be wearing a ski mask during contract negotiations. If this thing becomes protracted, trade him to the highest bidder and start picking up other teams' CB training camp cuts to add depth. They've already added Tory James and signed Gay, so in a sense, they've already started buying insurance at this position. They'd be wise to get more.

 

[mtbykr]

the article says he didn't show up to the golf thing today, but dale n holley said he showed up....they started talking comparing his situation to seymore's

 

[Rob0729]

Patriot players are never overrated, until AFTER they leave the team. You must think he's gone.

Sorry, just working on my material for when he gets traded or sits out the first regular season game. I want to be in regular season form in my "Samuel is overrated" rants by then.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: poor samuel, he feels mistreated..wont report

Trade what? He's a free agent.

You mean sign him and trade 6 weeks of him?

By Trade, they mean agree to some compensation OTHER than the 2 1st round picks that are stipulated by the CBA. To do this, Samuel would sign a 1 year deal with the Pats and then be traded for said compensation. After being traded, the new team would rip up the contract and give him a new one.