The official "Branch is dead to me" thread.

[njpatsfan]

I have loved Deion from the first game I saw him in. I always loved the fact that he could succeed despite his size. Like many here, I always thought he was a good guy.

But I have had enough. The recent revelation that Branch rejected a May Patriots offer worth more than $6 million a year, without any counteroffer, has turned me off completely. Worse, Branch and his agent have made no counteroffer because they feel that $6 million a year is "stratospheres apart" from what Branch is "owed".

In my opinion, someone who holds out - holds out after being offered a pretty favorable deal - is the very epitome of the "me first" player. In essence, the player is saying "F*ck you all, I'm getting mine". When NFL players say (of another player's contract issues) "it's just business", they aren't just talking about the relationship between said player and the FO - they are ALSO talking about the relationship between said player and his TEAMMATES. In cap physics, lots of money extorted by a single player impacts ALL the other players. It is the very antithesis of what we have come to expect from people who don the Patriots uniform.

I reject the attitude of several I've heard on this board, who say, in essence "Just give him what he wants - I don't care". I, for one, remember the crappy pre-Belichick teams that were handicapped by poor cap management. We ran out of cap money LAST year, hurting our ability to get quality replacements. I say, Never Again.

I also reject the contention that it's "all the agent's fault". Sure agents are scumbags. Sure, we've got one here (Chyut) that rivals the Postons for bottomfeeder(s) of the year. Is he getting bad advice ? Absolutely. But to reach the point we are at, where he hasn't even directed his agent to make counteroffer, and where his actions are hurting the team, the blame is 100% on Branch.

Branch may sign tomorrow. I will root for him and cheer when he makes a great play. But he will never be "Deion" to me again.

R

 

[Underoath]

be mad at the Patriots organization for being cheap, i dont know how much cap room they have, but i'm almost positive they have PLENTY. he will probably catch anywhere from 75-100 balls this year, and to still be in his rookie contract while doing that is ridiculous. he deserves more money, whether you think he should be asking for it or not.

 

[Pats726]

"Branch is dead to me" NOT YET..but close...

I agree..I do NOT want to give into him..I think what he has done smells pretty bad..from the "Poor Deion" tour to the no-class no show at the Charity golf tourney to the demanding of the Patriots to NO franchise him. Sorry..getting OLD very quick..and like stale food..smells pretty bad quick.
I will not say that yet..but I know the Pats WILL at some point move on and when they do that, I will follow them with their judgement. I keep hoping he'll get some sense, but I think it drained away when his expanded so much.

 

[BelichickFan]

I'm with you, buddy, the guy is just a greedy d!ck. He was always one of my guys, especially with the stuff with him calling his high school coach to thank him on the way to the SB. It turns out he's just a phony with a big smile.

F YOU Branch. When he comes back I'll root for him but not in the same way.

 

[BradyisGod]

be mad at the Patriots organization for being cheap, i dont know how much cap room they have, but i'm almost positive they have PLENTY. he will probably catch anywhere from 75-100 balls this year, and to still be in his rookie contract while doing that is ridiculous. he deserves more money, whether you think he should be asking for it or not.

Wow, what a myopic view.

Aside from this year, the Patriots have always spent to the cap, so the assertion that they are cheap is pure garbage.

As for what he will do this year, to catch 75-100 balls, he has to show up to play.

And what does being on a rookie contract have to do with ANYTHING? If Reggie Bush goes out and breaks the rushing record this year, should they renegotiate right away to give him more money? Also, as Reiss points out in his article, has Deion given any money back when he didn't play for 9 games?

Is Deion a good talent and a good find by the Patriots? Yes. But does he deserve more money now? No. He can get more money next year when he becomes a FREE AGENT.

 

[Underoath]

the Patriots have PLENTY of cap room right now, why not resign him and give him more money? it makes no sense...seriously,if they resign him and give him what he is asking for, he'll be happy, brady will be happy and they still probably have plenty of cap room...if they dont resign him, you have a disgruntled WR (if he even plays) and if he doesnt play, a QB without his #1 and #2 receivers from last year...doesn't make ANY sense.

 

[Flying Fungi]

the Patriots have PLENTY of cap room right now, why not resign him and give him more money? it makes no sense...seriously,if they resign him and give him what he is asking for, he'll be happy, brady will be happy and they still probably have plenty of cap room...if they dont resign him, you have a disgruntled WR (if he even plays) and if he doesnt play, a QB without his #1 and #2 receivers from last year...doesn't make ANY sense.

EXACTLY

and THEN...maybe we can petition the league to rename the team to the New England Colts...!!

on second thought, I'm all for fiscal responsibility and building the 2006 NEPatriots in the same fashion as the 2001, 2003 and 3004 NEPatriots...

...how did they do again...?

 

[PATSNUTme]

the Patriots have PLENTY of cap room right now, why not resign him and give him more money? it makes no sense...seriously,if they resign him and give him what he is asking for, he'll be happy, brady will be happy and they still probably have plenty of cap room...if they dont resign him, you have a disgruntled WR (if he even plays) and if he doesnt play, a QB without his #1 and #2 receivers from last year...doesn't make ANY sense.

Have you read the offer that the Patriots made to Branch's agent? Damn fair offer, more than I ever thought that they would.

Look guys we have not even played a preseason game yet - let's not jump off bridges yet. Ok- a few of you can.

Even Moe Green understood - it's not personal,it's just business.

 

[mgcolby]

be mad at the Patriots organization for being cheap, i dont know how much cap room they have, but i'm almost positive they have PLENTY. he will probably catch anywhere from 75-100 balls this year, and to still be in his rookie contract while doing that is ridiculous. he deserves more money, whether you think he should be asking for it or not.

You obviously don't understand anything about the patriots or their management of the salary cap over the past several years.

Thanks for playing!

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Ahhhh, I still like Deion. Amazes me people take this **** so personally.

 

[Pats726]

the Patriots have PLENTY of cap room right now, why not resign him and give him more money? it makes no sense...seriously,if they resign him and give him what he is asking for, he'll be happy, brady will be happy and they still probably have plenty of cap room...if they dont resign him, you have a disgruntled WR (if he even plays) and if he doesnt play, a QB without his #1 and #2 receivers from last year...doesn't make ANY sense.

You are myopic...and obviously one who has little understanding of what the Patriot FO does and has done. Frankly, the way the twig and his mouthpiece have been acting and saying, I think the Patriot's offer is VERY fair!! To pay him MORE is downright foolish...he's NOT worth it..I really don't care whether he is happy or not..he's shown how classless he and his agent are..Behavior like that DOES NOT get rewarded!! you reward crap bevior like that and then every player will do the same..SORRY if you believe what you do..go cheer for the Colts or some other loser team.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Yes, the Pats have been a little greedy with their money but they are being smart with it. Deion has yet to show the ability to exceed 1,000 yards recieving and more than 5 Td's in a single season. You say "they spread the ball around, so it's hard to for a reciever to surpass that". Yes, but Brady says that he Branch is his main target, so what happens when his main target isn't open? He goes to his next option. I think in the end, if Branch wants his money, he needs to show it on the field by getting open more often. I think he is a fantastic reciever and does great things when he has the ball, however, he tends to fade in and out of games week to week. Look, teams double team Steve Smith week to week and he stills gets his yards. That is what Deion Branch needs to bring to the table. Bottom line, if Branch had 1,400 yards and 10 td's, a deal would have been knocked out when the season ended.

 

[Willie55]

Screw him, drop dead Branch. To not even come back with a counter-offer is ridiculous. That's what negotiating is all about.

 

[SVN]

i would be surprised if this doesnt get worked out one or the other. I mean Ty Law called BB a liar and what not , and there he was playing in the season with a wide smile..well until he get hurt.
The business side of it is all hidden from us and all we hear is what mike reiss or felger or their sources. This must be pretty normal for the parties involved. That said , from what i have seen and heard of deion in the past, which is very minimal, i think its the agent trying to make this worse than it is.

 

[Underoath]

Yes, the Pats have been a little greedy with their money but they are being smart with it. Deion has yet to show the ability to exceed 1,000 yards recieving and more than 5 Td's in a single season. You say "they spread the ball around, so it's hard to for a reciever to surpass that". Yes, but Brady says that he Branch is his main target, so what happens when his main target isn't open? He goes to his next option. I think in the end, if Branch wants his money, he needs to show it on the field by getting open more often. I think he is a fantastic reciever and does great things when he has the ball, however, he tends to fade in and out of games week to week. Look, teams double team Steve Smith week to week and he stills gets his yards. That is what Deion Branch needs to bring to the table. Bottom line, if Branch had 1,400 yards and 10 td's, a deal would have been knocked out when the season ended.

he had 998 yards last year...

 

[Patjew]

Branch may sign tomorrow. I will root for him and cheer when he makes a great play. But he will never be "Deion" to me again.

Well-put. I feel much the same. There is probably culpability on each side, but the Pats management has been proven correct over and over again and have the success to show for it. I'll trust them on this.

 

[maverick4]

Calm down, everyone. For some reason, given past quotes, I think these are all attributable to decisions or suggestions by Branch's inept agent.

If Branch re-signs, is Deion really 'not going to be Deion to you' anymore? Give me a break.

I think the 'thanking his HS coach before the superbowl' Deion is much more accurate than the things we've heard about Deion over the past week.

These remind me of the Nomar Garciaparra spear campaign that happened, and it made me sick to hear all these bandwagon fans say Nomar was dead to them. Just use your heads and don't believe everything you read in the papers, people!

.

 

[PatsWorldChamps]

be mad at the Patriots organization for being cheap, i dont know how much cap room they have, but i'm almost positive they have PLENTY. he will probably catch anywhere from 75-100 balls this year, and to still be in his rookie contract while doing that is ridiculous. he deserves more money, whether you think he should be asking for it or not.

BS. branch and his agent were HAPPY with the contract they negotiated/signed... if he got a fat contract with a big bonus, then blew out his knee, he sure as hell wasn't giving money back... if i ran the pats, DB would play out his rookie contract, then be franchised next year... 2 years, $8M total, and NO risk to the pats... how's that for DB? not so good... so take the $6M/year offer, and stop looking like a d.i.c.k.h.e.a.d to the fans that cheer you on/pay your salary... how many of your fans make $6M/year?

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

Nomar smear campaign? Ah, numerous players have confrimed Nomar sulked like a baby until he got his ticket out of town.

As for Deion being dead to me? Not quite yet, but he is starting to really piss me off. The failure to counter offer when a team offers your a new deal WHILE STILL UNDER CONTRACTshows a complete lack of any good will, and/or a bad bit of management by an agent for his player. I'd like to think Branch must realize that with each passing day his options become fewer and fewer. BB will not cave, ESPECIALLY now, after a prolonged boycott. The further it goes the more likely it becomes Branch will play for the last year of his rookie contract AND be franchised in the spring, costing him millions in the process while enduring an aggravating year or two in the prime of his career. Cripes, if they had come back at $6.5/year Deion would have snagged an extra $1.5mil, saving his pride and making him a free agent before he was 30. A free agent who could have been looked at as a leader, who maybe would have more SB records/MVP's to his credit. Instead his hard headedness is most likely costing Branch big money, damaging his reputation, limiting his future options and possibly his legacy as an NFL great. Yup, his agent really has Deion on the right track...

 

[PromisedLand]

I'm not mad at Deion. Nor am I mad at the team. It's just business as usual, and it will work itself out. Now, if he were to turn down a perfectly good offer to go play for the Colts, that would be different.