It is on short supply... on both ends of the spectrum. There are people here who ***** and complain whenever the Pats don't make a move on whatever free agent is available. There are also people here who can see no wrong in the Pats not making enough moves to retain those free agents that could help at positions of dire need. We've seen both today.
What I don't agree with here is calling anybody that was not happy about the Boldin signing (or lack thereof) a chicken little, bandwagon fan, or any of the above. That is simply not the case. Those names should be saved for the people who just wanted to see any move no matter who is was or how much he cost.
In my opinion, the Pats need to be players in this free agency period. There are simply too many holes on this team to fill through the draft alone. Even if we DID try to fill those holes through the draft, it is highly unlikely that this team would be able to compete at a high level in the 2010 with those rookies. We might have a slam dunk of a rookie here or there, but it simply would not be enough. I would think that much is obvious. The hole that I most wanted to see filled through free agency or trade this offseason was WR. There seemed to be an abundance of talent available at that position which the Pats could use to upgrade Aiken and Stanback. However, for reasons which are now being cited to be about the money, we passed up on what was the best #2 receiver available this offseason, that being Anquan Boldin.
Now, if what Mort is saying is true, and it was about the money and the length of the contract, then people are right in being upset about this move not being made. Boldin could have very easily become a Patriot today and no matter what rinky dink excuse you want to throw out there (wants to be a #1, injury prone... highly overblown, 30 years old, his girlfriend's cousin's sister's uncle's best friend's cousin's brother through marriage slapped a woman in 1965 so Myra probably wouldn't want him, etc.) he would have made this receiving corps, even without Welker, one of the best in the NFL. Now, because the front office apparently didn't want to act, he is in a Ravens uniform playing for the team that blew us out in the Wild Card round of the playoffs last season. Because the team waited, Walter has been re-signed by the Texans. So basically what we are left with now is T.O., Brandon Marshall, Antonio Bryant, Derrick Mason, and a slew of decent receivers such as Kassim Osgood. For our sake, I sincerely hope we sign one of them.
The bottom line is that today two teams in the division, our top competition, made moves to make themselves better. The Dolphins got a prized ILB while the Jets picked up a CB to go along with Revis. Meanwhile, the Pats re-signed some of their own. What we've done is good... to an extent. However, we still aren't even in neutral. While Wilfork, Neal, and TBC may be back, Faulk is still without a new contract and Welker, for all we know, may not be the same guy next season if he even gets on the field before Week 10. In effect, we are still a couple of steps back from what we were prior to the Wild Card game against the Ravens. The division is better than it used to be and we can't afford to sit this one out.
In closing, I don't believe it makes sense to say that anybody who was upset about the Boldin non-signing is not a "real fan". On the contrary, I think it makes people "real fans" to want to see the team get better.
