Thoughts to Ponder

[pats1]

You are way overstating what I meant. I don't think we would have to pay Branch so much that it would hurt our ability to have a strong team. But some room under the cap would allow us to throw a bundle at Seymour and also enough to sign Branch to avoid him getting to FA like Givens is. There comes a time when you have to pick out a few guys to pay and Branch is one of them to me.

I'd still rather secure Givens now under the inflated cap, and retain the 1-2 combo. Then, adress Branch this time next year. Therefore, you're keeping the 1-2 combo, allowing with probably Graham and Watson, and then Brady, for another 3-5 years.

 

[BelichickFan]

I'd still rather secure Givens now under the inflated cap, and retain the 1-2 combo. Then, adress Branch this time next year.

In theory I agree but "addressing Branch" will be a lot harder if we pay too much to Givens.

 

[spacecrime]

Again, you can have two of the best players as your two most important players, but if there's no competent supporting cast, it's worthless. I thought we'd know that, as fans of the Patriots and all...

What do you mean no supporting cast? Youk got a crystal ball to see the Sept 2006 roster?

We got plenty of supporting cas, and will pick up what we need.

In 2001 we picked up 17 veteran minimum guys who made a great supproting cast, but none of us were bragging about them as they wer signed one by one. About the only guys we paid good money to was that stupid CB Shaw and the two WRs from Philly (Charles Johnson and who? Torreance?)

Don't confuse spending big money with supporting cast.

 

[363839]

If it's true as rumored that the cap will go up to 120 million, then
couldn't we get all those guys signed ?

 

[flutie2phelan]

In theory I agree but "addressing Branch" will be a lot harder if we pay too much to Givens.

p1 will correct me if i'm wrong. But i think he meant something like:

Branch will cost 100-something percent of what Givens costs.
WHATEVER Givens costs now ... and whoever pays it to him ... next year Branch will still cost 100-something percent of that ... whoever pays it to him.

We can let David get away ... but that won't reduce the cost in '07 of keeping Deion.

The Patriots don't establish the market value. We merely elect whether or not to bid. In both cases.

 

[Chevy]

Just curious

Now, I know jack about the cap except that it's a magical thing .. ....

But, would something like this work?

 

[BelichickFan]

We can let David get away ... but that won't reduce the cost in '07 of keeping Deion.

As Miguel said a few weeks ago, giving Givens a big contract would very likely make signing Branch more difficult as it would give the agent a higher floor as a starting point.

I'd love them to sign Givens and Branch back as long as the money's right. But not Givens at the expense of Branch.

 

[borisman]

I think getting bigSey signed is priority #1, even though he's not a F/A. Getting him signed will leave the Pats with a better idea of whom they can afford to extend/sign/re-sign.

My belief is they have a restructured deal in place with Willie and are just waiting for the new CBA to become official. Otherwise, they'll cut him and try to sign him later.

AV should be next. If he doesn't sign for about $2M then you can probably wave bye-bye.

Givens is looking for a payday and will have to settle for one elsewhere, like Patten did last year. Coincidently, the Redskins have shown interest in Givens.

With Dillon the only cap casualty next year, they can afford to wait on the other players.

 

[ilduce06410]

no, branch isn't a classic #1 WR

Branch is not nearly as important as Brady but they gave Tom a monster deal which will cost others. Although Branch isn't a true #1 WR he's the #2 most important guy on the offense to me.

i'm not even sure i can define a #1 WR, but it seems clear to me branch isn't.
there would be a need for a # 2 who could also hurt the opponent. like randle el.
right now defenses can't concentrate. branch or givens will hurt them. then they Definitely have to worry about watson/graham up the middle.
there is a SYNERGY betwen branch and givens. they've been practicing togater, freburary, march, april, for years. you can tell that someof brady's 7-yard slants and quick outs. are passes he's thrown TO GIVENS, TO BRANCH, for years hate to lose that.

 

[ilduce06410]

seymour more key than branch/givens together.

I'd still rather secure Givens now under the inflated cap, and retain the 1-2 combo. Then, adress Branch this time next year. Therefore, you're keeping the 1-2 combo, allowing with probably Graham and Watson, and then Brady, for another 3-5 years.

it's gotta be taken care of first. i don't see any other salary equity issues on the D.
THEN AV, cause a PK's 3-pointers affect maybe 3 games a year.
the the WRs.
i suspect our gold-inlaid QB may say something or 2 about this duo he's thrown 1,000s of balls to. that may affect the cold hard equation.

 

[Pats726]

Maybe hate to lose it...but I do not think there's a way they keep both...sad but I don't see it happening. So which would you rather have?? I too would like them both..but if I had to choose, I'd take Branch..although it is a tougher decision than many may think. I just see it as Branch will be easier to keep esp if they get something done this year. Which is easier to replace?? Not sure..I do think they will try to find a few you g receivers..but this year?? Maybe not in the draft...one never knows though.

 

[ilduce06410]

do branch & givens together.

In theory I agree but "addressing Branch" will be a lot harder if we pay too much to Givens.

yeah, branch's doesn't come up till next year, but....
i keep thinking about doing them together. those two seem pretty tight. the stuff about a firewall between negotiations is BS. they know. it gets givens to compare himself to BRANCH, not hines ward. it exploits their high regard for each other, and their desire to stay together.
they'll still get good money. there won't be as much acrimony.
it's probably la-la- land stuff. but i keep thing about it.

 

[JD10367]

When it comes to AV, Willie, and Givens, it's simple: the Pats will set a line that they won't cross, and if these guys get offered more than that in FA, they're gone. End of story.

What that line is, we don't know. How much these guys will get offered remains to be seen. And whether any of them takes a Troy Brown-like hometown discount also remains to be seen (although I think it's a slim chance that Willie or Givens would take a hometown discount).

Part of the problem for the Pats is that the league is now full of coaches who know what these guys can do, and will throw money at them. I wouldn't be surprised if all three of them are wearing Cleveland brown, Jet green, or the Dallas star by training camp time...