Schefter: Branch to New England for 4th round pick

[Uncle Rico]

I hope the Pats have done their due diligence on this one where Branch's knees are concerned. Otherwise, the Pats just tossed a 4th away.

I believe the deal isn't official until he passes a physical.

 

[upstater1]

I read 30 pages of the thread last night, but not the rest so I don't know if this has been mentioned yet but a big factor in the 4th must be ownership.

The Seahawks held out because they wanted some return on the 1st round draft pick from a few years ago. They paid a premium to the Patriots and were demanding a premium in return.

And if they didn't get it, Mr Microsoft has more than enough dough to eat Branch's contract. They could just dump him after the season. So they held out for a 4th. They would have taken a 6th from any other team I bet.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

If you're done with your snot-bubbling tantrum: I can't speak for the other 399 posts, but I've been advocating a return to this kind of Offense louder than anyone, as my Signature would've told you, had you the capacity to read it.

That doesn't mean that Branch is worth anywhere near what we paid, a point which obviously eludes you.

Ahhh, well........no

Name one "4th round bust"?

Where did you hear Branch is only worth a 6th? Tooth Fairy, two horned unicorn? Charlie Casserly?

Who has done more medical evalutions Patriots or "The Grid"? Who is better at determining if Branch can still play, Pats or "The Grid"?

The team you claim to root for wanted a wide receiver with a specific set of skills and has proven he can play on the NFL level. In fact, it was actually with the same team you claim to root for. How exactly, that can't be worth a 4th is beyond logic.

 

[PowerRunRevival]

I believe that Branch eventually becomes our number one receiver (in that he plays the number one position on the outside, not skill wise).

I think this is a great move and I expect some decent numbers from Branch.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

I believe that Branch eventually becomes our number one receiver (in that he plays the number one position on the outside, not skill wise).

I think this is a great move and I expect some decent numbers from Branch.

Wes Welker is his number one reciever.. Check that, Brady will be back to the open reciever... Brady now can spend his time to spread it around rather than keeping 81 happy...

 

[PowerRunRevival]

Wes Welker is his number one reciever.. Check that, Brady will be back to the open reciever... Brady now can spend his time to spread it around rather than keeping 81 happy...

Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I said in quotes was an attempt to explain that I meant at the spot the number 1 receiver customarily lines up in. Since Wes lines up in the slot I don't count him as the #1 receiver in the sense that I mentioned previously. If that isn't more clear just forget I said anything.

 

[TrueBeliever]

The great social scientist (i.e. comedian) Larry Miller once talked about people who get married, get divorced, and then marry each other again: "That's like finding sour milk in your fridge and saying, 'Well, maybe if I put it back in the fridge for a few days...'"

But seriously, if Deion can get his head back in place and worry about production, let's give it a shot, what have we got to lose at this point?

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. What I said in quotes was an attempt to explain that I meant at the spot the number 1 receiver customarily lines up in. Since Wes lines up in the slot I don't count him as the #1 receiver in the sense that I mentioned previously. If that isn't more clear just forget I said anything.

No your clear, i knew where you were going ... I just think now its back to the 02-06 Brady, which will be a guy who does not have to keep a diva reciever happy...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Two points:

(1) According to a tweet from Jason La Canfora, the Pats owe SEA whichever fourth ends up being higher (i.e., likely DEN's pick for Maroney).

(2) As someone noted elsewhere, part of the reason, I think, the Pats had to cough up a 4 here was that this was basically the only chance the Seahawks had to recoup some of their losses on the original Branch trade (a first was clearly overpaying).

 

[The Boston Patriot]

What a waste of a fourth round draft pick. Burnt toast with bad knees.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Well, there's your problem right there.

Belichick also said Maroney would be an important contributor for us this season.

He also talks up win less teams as fantastic.

Maroney has turned out to be an important contributor for us this season. He netted us another 4th so we could trade for Deion Branch after flipping the downside back nine of Moss to the Viqueens for a 3rd after getting the most we could out of the 4th we spent on him...

 

[pencilneckgeek]

Having read through almost all of this thread, :ugh: a few thoughts that may not add to the compelling back-and-forth. First,

But it's a 4th rounder!!!!!! Just think of all the mock players I could mock draft with that before the Patriots trade it for a 2012 3rd!!!!!!!

This post did not get enough credit. Supply and demand here. We have lots of 4th round picks and not enough wide receivers who are adept at making the route adjustments that Brady expects of his receivers. Ergo, we paid more of our high-supply asset for our high-demand asset. I'd rather overpay for Cameron Wake, but I digress.

I'd trade a 4th for Branch for veteran leadership and to ensure Slater never sees an offensive snap.

This is something I've been wondering at. With Moss their best run blocking WR (when he tries), will Slater see more time or can Branch/Tate fill that role nearly as well as Jackie Jr.?

People are saying that Branch has been effective this year.. Umm.. I didn't realize that an 8.6 YPC was being effective... Especially when your career avg is 12.6..

That stat does suggest that Branch has lost his downfield speed, at least compared to the young guns on Seattle. However, he does have the 2nd more receptions on the team (13), and most of them (8) have gone for first downs or touchdowns. Another precise route-running 3rd down receiver isn't a bad value for a 4th.

Branch and a 3rd for Moss and a 4th.

Actually, it's Branch and a 3rd for Moss and a 4th and $1M, which is the difference in the remaining salary between Moss and the overcompensated Branch. The deal-killer when we're looking at extending players is always the signing bonus. Seattle paid that for Branch, and his $6M next year is not guaranteed. He gets $3.75M from the Pats this year. If he performs, he can restructure his deal to make more than that $6M, but I doubt we keep him at that rate, given the number of younger, likely more effective, cheaper targets Brady has at his disposal.

Is the 4th rounder worth it? I'll use my 20-20 hindsight to make that call. It's a reasonable gamble, certainly better than the flyer they took on Burgess.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

What a waste of a fourth round draft pick. Burnt toast with bad knees.

Clearly Bill did this just to keep the armchair geniuses in the peanut gallery who know way more about this stuff that he and Tommy do spinning their squeaky wheels... I mean what possible logic could there be in trading away a pick in the 100 range in a shallow draft for a player who knows the system well enough to snag a superbowl MVP and who was desperate to get the hell away from a west coast offense being run by the corpse of Matt Hasselback and back to the sight adjusted offense run by his HOF mentors so he can salvage the remainder of his career... You'd think we had 6 picks above the 100 to play with or something...

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Branch shooting his way out of town occurred 4 years ago, and the divorce was all about $$, not his play or anything else. It may still bother a few fans but it was no factor in this decision. I only hope we get at least 1 more year out of him beyond this season to justify giving up the pick (which will be the higher of our two 4th's).

He will be productive for us, I have no doubt. He didn't do more in Seattle because Hasselback's no better than an average QB and their offense in general is bad. You don't have to run 4.4 to be effective - he has great hands and is very smart reading defenses.

As far as health, Branch has played in 18 straight games.

 

[DW Toys]

Belichick trading for a WR shows he clearly didn't believe that.

Let's see.........we could have had Bolden (I predict at least 7 catches for him and one TD Sunday. Oh by the way.....WASN'T HE A FOURTH ROUNDER TO THE CARDS FROM THE RAVENS????? Branch or Bolden, Branch or Bolden? Tough choice? Major F.O. FAIL!

How about Santonio Holmes for a fifth? Brandon Jackson nobody here wanted. He only caught five on us with a very inconsistent QB....the shame of it all. Bet he still winds up leading the league in receptions in 2010.

How about the other Seahawk receiver who got away...T.J. Instead of Branch? No brainer.

If Moss was not in our future, they should have dumped him and taken T.O. for a couple years. Yep T.O. is way better than Branch. He has been a pretty good soldier the last couple years.

Well we now have three wide receivers under 5'10" (please don't give me any crap that it does not make a difference) and by the way again, I hope Gronk can do some deep fly patterns. Welker did benefit from Moss. How will peg leg Mr. "The Pats suck I am bustin out!" Branch help. They must be building a camp fire in Foxboro so before practice BB can introduce Branch again and lead them in a "Kumbayah" sing around.

Moss has 4 TD's for 2010 already. He had 13 last year in an off-year for Brady. Tell me if DB is going to do 9 TD's to at least break even? Nyet! So Felger and Borges and the rest of the idiots who say Moss was not a major positive factor in our offense, go pound sand. You got your wish. You little smurf guy WR is now home. Moss was supposedly Team disruptive but yet Branch craps on the Pats and he comes back for a fourth rounder with one good leg? Nice job F.O. Yea!

One more thing. You are right Disco. He has no faith in Edlemen, Price or Tate. He has no faith he can actually choose a WR in the Draft. And he is right. Moss, Welker, Stallworth and even Gaffney were pick ups. In the BB Draft era, who would you consider a successful BB WR Draft pick?......and.............no! Branch had one good year and he blew us off.

DW Toys

 

[upstater1]

I defended Deion then and I'll defend him now.

Given this country's problems with health care, and his needs for his child, I have no qualm with him trying to maximize his paycheck. He's the one guy that deserved to go for the max he could get, damn all the rest. Back then, there was no provision for insuring people with special needs. There was no guarantee that he could find that insurance post-career. The NFL is squabbling over this issue right now. He could easily set himself back a huge chunk of money just to make life for his child comfortable.

If you were in Deion's shoes, would you honestly have done any different? Those of you who are parents, I'm especially interested in your point-of-view.

 

[upstater1]

Let's see.........we could have had Bolden (I predict at least 7 catches for him and one TD Sunday. Oh by the way.....WASN'T HE A FOURTH ROUNDER TO THE CARDS FOR THE RAVENS????? Branch or Bolden, Branch or Bolden? Tough choice? Major F.O. FAIL!

How about Santonio Holmes for a fifth? Brandon Jackson nobody here wanted. He only caught five on us with a very inconsistent QB....the shame of it all. Bet he still winds up leading the league in receptions in 2010.

How about the other Seahawk receiver who got away...T.J. Instead of Branch? No brainer.

If Moss was not in our future, they should have dumped him and taken T.O. for a couple years. Yep T.O. is way better than Branch. He has been a pretty good soldier the last couple years.

Well we now have three wide receivers under 5'10" (please don't give me any crap that it does not make a difference) and by the way again, I hope Gronk can do some deep fly patterns. Welker did benefit from Moss. How will peg leg Mr. "The Pats suck I am bustin out!" Branch help. They must be building a camp fire in Foxboro so before practice BB can introduce Branch again and lead them in a "Kumbayah" sing around.

Moss has 4 TD's for 2010 already. He had 13 last year in an off-year for Brady. Tell me if DB is going to do 9 TD's to at least break even? Nyet! So Felger and Borges and the rest of the idiots who say Moss was not a major positive factor in our offense, go pound sand. You got your wish. You little smurf guy WR is now home. Moss was supposedly Team disruptive but yet Branch craps on the Pats and he comes back for a forth rounder with one good leg? Nice job F.O. Yea!

DW Toys

TO a good soldier.

Having watched Bills games weekly last year, as this guy castrated his QB in the huddle, talking over him while the play was being called, angry all the time, I can say he was anything but a good soldier. He pulled the same BS in the Patriots-Cincy game.

 

[JackBauer]

If only they had taken your advice and traded for Adam Carriker, all would be well in the world.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Clearly Bill did this just to keep the armchair geniuses in the peanut gallery who know way more about this stuff that he and Tommy do spinning their squeaky wheels... I mean what possible logic could there be in trading away a pick in the 100 range in a shallow draft for a player who knows the system well enough to snag a superbowl MVP and who was desperate to get the hell away from a west coast offense being run by the corpse of Matt Hasselback and back to the sight adjusted offense run by his HOF mentors so he can salvage the remainder of his career... You'd think we had 6 picks above the 100 to play with or something...

Mo

It seems you have overlooked the fact that this will now allow the crowd who wanted to return to Weis era offense the chance to cry we aren't "2007" anymore.

It's always refreshing to hear the complainers complain about something different.

 

[Leave No Doubt]

Clearly Bill did this just to keep the armchair geniuses in the peanut gallery who know way more about this stuff that he and Tommy do spinning their squeaky wheels... I mean what possible logic could there be in trading away a pick in the 100 range in a shallow draft for a player who knows the system well enough to snag a superbowl MVP and who was desperate to get the hell away from a west coast offense being run by the corpse of Matt Hasselback and back to the sight adjusted offense run by his HOF mentors so he can salvage the remainder of his career... You'd think we had 6 picks above the 100 to play with or something...

Voila:rocker: "west coast offense run by the corpse of Matt Hasselback" LOL It's true too.