Speculation:Patriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr contract

[slash83]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Wonder if they take another look at Goldson.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Kenny Phillips, for one. Moore and Byrd, though I'm fairly certain they'll be priced out of the Patriots' range. Also plenty of quality prospects in the draft.

Kenny Phillips intrigues. Any guess what he'll go for?

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Kenny Phillips intrigues. Any guess what he'll go for?

Honestly I haven't a clue...

 

[MossWelkowski]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Considering they've enjoyed sustained success and been to two Super Bowls since that time...kind of a dumb thing to say.

That's not to say they haven't made their fair share of FA/draft blunders, but I still trust this FO and their methodology over any other in the league.

Considering their defense has been in the bottom 5 the last 5 years....

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Considering their defense has been in the bottom 5 the last 5 years....

Your arguments aren't well served when you just make things up out of whole cloth.

 

[Triumph]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Honestly I haven't a clue...

Finally something we can agree on.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Kenny Phillips intrigues. Any guess what he'll go for?

No to Kenny Phillips. We already have a very good coverage safety back there. Let's get a hard hitter than isn't a liability in coverage.

 

[captain stone]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Two words: Will, Moore.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Finally something we can agree on.

Considering you've been wrong in every exchange I think we've ever had, I'll allow you to take solace in your delusions.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

No to Kenny Phillips. We already have a very good coverage safety back there. Let's get a hard hitter than isn't a liability in coverage.

Disagree, Kontra. We have one of the biggest & toughest front 7's in the league and we beat the hell out of people in the run game. We don't need a guy in the box.

I'd take two Devin McCourtys back there should they exist (okay...so this statement is muddled by the fact that he has a twin brother in the NFL, but you get the point...)

And even better, Phillips is long enough to cover TEs - and TE coverage has been a real issue for us, and will continue to be as long as we have the 3 big, punishing LBs we have.

Besides, how many hard hitters who aren't liabilities in coverage are out there? Two cover safeties is easier to acquire.

 

[mgteich]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Obviously the question is whether he is franchised and what he might cost if he is not. I wanted him with one our top seconds in 2009, but it may be too late. Obviously (to me), I'd rather have Moore at $7M a year than have Reed at $5M.

However, Belichick might think that Wilson or this year's draftee will be our future starter and that we simply need a one-year patch. If the future is Moore and McCourty, it is not even clear that we would draft a top safety.

Two words: Will, Moore.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Disagree, Kontra. We have one of the biggest & toughest front 7's in the league and we beat the hell out of people in the run game. We don't need a guy in the box.

I'd take two Devin McCourtys back there should they exist (okay...so this statement is muddled by the fact that he has a twin brother in the NFL, but you get the point...)

And even better, Phillips is long enough to cover TEs - and TE coverage has been a real issue for us, and will continue to be as long as we have the 3 big, punishing LBs we have.

Besides, how many hard hitters who aren't liabilities in coverage are out there? Two cover safeties is easier to acquire.

I agree with this. Phillips would be an excellent addition at (I gather) a reasonable cost.

I wouldn't mind if they choose the draft route, either.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Disagree, Kontra. We have one of the biggest & toughest front 7's in the league and we beat the hell out of people in the run game. We don't need a guy in the box.

I'd take two Devin McCourtys back there should they exist (okay...so this statement is muddled by the fact that he has a twin brother in the NFL, but you get the point...)

And even better, Phillips is long enough to cover TEs - and TE coverage has been a real issue for us, and will continue to be as long as we have the 3 big, punishing LBs we have.

Besides, how many hard hitters who aren't liabilities in coverage are out there? Two cover safeties is easier to acquire.

The coverage issues with TE's are mostly the fault of the LB's. There are prospects in the draft who were hitters in college and weren't liabilities in coverage like Chung. Give me guys like Elam or Swearinger over Phillips, who is McCourty 2.0. Their skills would not complement one another very well. Putting together a Reed/Pollard type of safety tandem would be ideal. Go familiarize yourself with the safety prospects in the draft and I guarantee you that your opinion changes.

 

[JackBauer]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

The coverage issues with TE's are mostly the fault of the LB's. There are prospects in the draft who were hitters in college and weren't liabilities in coverage like Chung. Give me guys like Elam or Swearinger over Phillips, who is McCourty 2.0. Their skills would not complement one another very well. Putting together a Reed/Pollard type of safety tandem would be ideal. Go familiarize yourself with the safety prospects in the draft and I guarantee you that your opinion changes.

I don't think that necessarily obviates the point that they already have physicality in the front seven, and that adding a safety like Phillips would help in TE coverage even if they stand pat at LB.

I'd much rather draft a WR in the first and sign Phillips than expend a first on Elam and...?

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

I agree with this. Phillips would be an excellent addition at (I gather) a reasonable cost.

I wouldn't mind if they choose the draft route, either.

Same here - and it seems weird saying this about the best free safety ever to play the game, but I don't know if Ed Reed solves our problems as much as a young, long, athletic safety could.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

I don't think that necessarily obviates the point that they already have physicality in the front seven, and that adding a safety like Phillips would help in TE coverage even if they stand pat at LB.

I'd much rather draft a WR in the first and sign Phillips than expend a first on Elam and...?

To me, there are only two WR's that I would take a look at in the first. The first one is Cordarrelle Patterson, who will probably long gone by the time we're up. The second is Tavon Austin who will probably be gone as well.

Phillips is a coverage safety that could be a liability against bigger, more athletic and physical offenses. We have a safety just like him in McCourty. McCourty has a lot of range, but he's not exactly someone you like to see coming up and taking on the run as a last line of defense. Phillips is that same way. Putting them together would mean putting two guys together whose skills don't compliment one another the way a safety duo like the two that represented each Super Bowl team did.

Keep McCourty. He has range. Draft that physical safety prospect with the first pick and there will still be plenty of WR's left in the second round that can come in and contribute right away.

EDIT: And yes, I'm aware that we have a physical front seven. What I want is a physical secondary to go with that front seven. Let's get someone that is going to de-cleat those opposing possession receivers and set a tone over the middle. In all, I want the most physical defense that we can possibly get.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

The coverage issues with TE's are mostly the fault of the LB's.

I would agree with this up until the move of McCourty to safety and the increase in playing time for Dennard (and/or the acquisition of Talib, depending on your POV).

I believe there was a change in our coverages from that point forward, and we saw Gregory either roaming the middle of the field in zone or covering the TE in man. In both playoff games he played man against a TE a lot. He was great against Houston, then exposed vs. Baltimore.

When we play cover-2 - which it seemed like we were in a lot to start the year, then we see Mayo or Spikes or Hightower trailing a TE and getting burnt. But the boost of talent in our back end - and I would argue most notably the move of McCourty to safety - allowed us to play more aggressive coverages and get a safety on a TE, instead of dropping two safeties deep.

There are prospects in the draft who were hitters in college and weren't liabilities in coverage like Chung. Give me guys like Elam or Swearinger over Phillips, who is McCourty 2.0. Their skills would not complement one another very well. Putting together a Reed/Pollard type of safety tandem would be ideal. Go familiarize yourself with the safety prospects in the draft and I guarantee you that your opinion changes.

Fair enough - I concede I don't know what is out there this April. I love the idea of going younger there, so, as long as the prospect is there, I have no objection. Reed is a quick and easy way to improve the position. Phillips, IMO, would probably improve it more. I can buy that a rookie could even improve it and then some, and leave money to boot. But no matter how they approach it, coverage would be my top priotiy.

 

[Kontradiction]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

I would agree with this up until the move of McCourty to safety and the increase in playing time for Dennard (and/or the acquisition of Talib, depending on your POV).

I believe there was a change in our coverages from that point forward, and we saw Gregory either roaming the middle of the field in zone or covering the TE in man. In both playoff games he played man against a TE a lot. He was great against Houston, then exposed vs. Baltimore.

When we play cover-2 - which it seemed like we were in a lot to start the year, then we see Mayo or Spikes or Hightower trailing a TE and getting burnt. But the boost of talent in our back end - and I would argue most notably the move of McCourty to safety - allowed us to play more aggressive coverages and get a safety on a TE, instead of dropping two safeties deep.

It depends on what the personnel packages were. I'm not going to go bat for Gregory because he was absolutely terrible when covering the TE's. But against the Ravens, Flacco first started finding his groove by hitting his TE's and RB's over the middle of the field, who were matched up against our LB's. Then he found Boldin and it was all over from there.

 

[tonyto3690]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

Forget dreams of Moore. There is no way that the Falcons let him go. They'll find a way to resign him.

This goes back to my thread about Spikes/Hightower in regards to current discussion. Love hightower as a prospect but with both of them on the field we have a lot of difficulty stopping TEs and RBs. I'm not sure what we can do besides play a lot more zone blitz but they will always be a liability when on the field together. We need well rounded guys, not one dimensional run stuffers.

If we're going to continue to play a trio of Mayo-Spikes-Hightower, we need to get a pass rush first DT next to Wilfork and ask Wilfork to one gap more. It just doesn't make sense to have 6 of our 7 starters in the front 7 be run stopping first guys in a pass first league.

 

[BradyManny]

Re: Speculationatriots will try to lure free agent Ed Reed with a 5 million/yr cont

It depends on what the personnel packages were. I'm not going to go bat for Gregory because he was absolutely terrible when covering the TE's. But against the Ravens, Flacco first started finding his groove by hitting his TE's and RB's over the middle of the field, who were matched up against our LB's. Then he found Boldin and it was all over from there.

It's tougher to improve our coverage at LB. Those guys are a strength on this team, and their weakness in coverage needs to be made up elsewhere. Again, we could get a real cover LB (or maybe Fletcher is it?) and start getting Spikes & Hightower off the field even more. But as I said in the LB thread, I'd hate to take Hightower off in the nickel, I think he has pass rush and blitz potential.