I guess its about time for my rebuttal. First let me say that I am happy that Asante is reporting in a few days. It will give us great depth now in the secondary and eventually allow Merriweather to go back to safety where we will have a great, flexible and deep 4 man safety corps that could be the best in the league. That means you can do a lot of things on defense that we couldn't do, scheme wise, the last few years because of all the injuries back there.
That being said, I stand by what I originally wrote. You CAN'T know football and thing that Samuel can come back after this exhibition game and with 10 practices be at close to 100% readiness for the first 3 games. Especially since by this time, contact will be severely limited. You CAN'T know football if you don't understand that being in physical shape and football shape are two ENTIRELY different things.
Why do you think they go to TC anyway. Do you think its merely for tradition sake?
Tell me if practice isn't important, why are BB team's better at the end of season than at the begining. Football is a game of practice and repetitions. Samuel not only missed TC, he missed ALL of the mini camps, passing camps, meetings, etc. So much of the work that USED to be done in TC is now done in those OTAs in the "off season". That's whay TC now seems less intense with fewer 2 a days, and less hitting.
Being familiar with the terminology helps, but it doesn't replace all those reps. It doesn't help with your timing and getting used to game speed. So don't think that he'll be the elite CB for the first quarter of the season. Including the OTAs, he's already more than 5 weeks behind. It doesn't replace the time the team spent in meetings and film study.
My complaint with Samuel is, again, that he is being paid at the level of the top 3 CBs in the league. There are likely only 2 other CBs in the league getting more money to play this year. If he came back 6-10 days ago, I'd not be talking like this, but right now he is getting paid to be an elite CB and that is NOT GOING TO BE POSSIBLE for the first 3 or 4 games.
Now MGteich wrote a great post stating the opposite position. Let me address it directly.
Originally Posted by mgteich
As all others in their rookie contracts, Samuel thought that playing hard LAST year earned him a fine long-term contract from among the teams that he chose to negotiate with.
That's not entirely true MG, its not like they sprung this "Franchise" tag on him over this off season. When he signed his original contract he knew being franchised was a possibility (a remote possibility 4 years ago, and one he would have been thrilled to have, at that time). So don't be so dramatic with your tale about the poor indentured servant who thought his time was up only to be told he had to go back to the plantation.
He didn't sit out like Seymour and Branch. He played his butt off to get the best free agent contract possible. His reward from the patriots: a denial of free agency, a franchise tag and a take it or leave it contract offer.
You are right MG, he deserves to be rewarded and the Pats did. In fact this year he will be paid more than 18 time MORE than what he made last year. Now he gets is to now be PAID as one of the best CBs backs in the league. What a screw job the Pats put on Samuel. Throw me a towel, a tissue isn't going to do it.
ON this point, you get an A+ in spin, but a D in reality. Also don't forget that he was offered a LT deal that was more than realistic based on his 4 year history of production, which would have given him EVEN MORE upfront money than he's getting now. The Pats didn't just slap the franchise tag on him, and leave him hanging...as you imply
We're patriot fans. We have no issue with our team using every method they can within the CBA to get the best for the team. HOWEVER, IMHO we shouldn't whine when a player uses what little leverage he has.
Maybe you are right here, MG. The fans shouldn't whine. However the TEAM should. Because they are the ones who will write the game checks knowing that they are getting a lot less than what they are paying for...at least for the first 3 or 4 games
BOTTOM LINE: Don't let my rant make you forget that this is GOOD news. As someone said earlier the circle is now complete. The offense will be slow in putting it together, but the defense, even with a sub par Samuel, should be one of the top 3 defenses in the league from the start, and one that will get stronger as injuries take their tolls on teams that are not as deep as we are...and Samuel gets his legs under him.
AND that's how I feel even after 10 pages of posts.
