Will we resign Asante Samuel?

[Patfandango]

Thanks for the franchise clarification, Miguel. I thought 4 M /year sounded too low. Reiss cited the Brian Williams contract in Jax as the benchmeark 32M ove 5 years with 10M up front. That sounds about right and I think fair for Samuel. IMO, what you see is what you get with Samuel. Overall, he's consistent and every now and then he has a terrific game (like last sunday). He is not a shut down feared CB but he's good enough and currently our best. If he wants top 5 money, I'm guessing they let him walk.

 

[RayClay]

Kind of makes you long for the days when everybody thought he stunk.

Seems like only weeks ago.

 

[ilduce06410]

PatsChick you got tha point right there

It really all depends on if Asante wants to stay here or go for the highest bidder. The Pats will probably offer decent money but there will be higher offers and probably closer to home(south)for him. IMO he's gone next year.

BB/SP continue to believe it's their system, not the players, that make the difference.
Asante Samuel will have to accept playing for, say, 75% of his market value to stay with our team. that's still good money, "feed my family" money. but it is, however, an insult to an athlete who measures his level of respect by the size of his contract.
BB/SP don't seem to have the kind of persona(s) that lead players to stick with them for low money. they seem to be most attractive to good players, veterans, who don't have a ring (junior, rodney, corey, a couple others). their class "A" players (not AA like seymour) don't seem to feel any loyalty for the team that helped them get to where they are (Matt Chatam, Andruzzi, Givens, Bobby Hamilton, Mruczkowski, Milloy, Greg Robinson-Randall, Damien Woody).
sooner or later that's GOT to bite them in the butt.

 

[Patfandango]

Mruk is still with us, off and on. None of those players had great careers post Patriots. Woody has been OK and Greg Spires did well and Branch may do well this year. Overall, we've made good decisions on setting value correctly. So I trust the FO and enjoy sipping the Koolaid.

 

[Pawn512]

A franshise tag is expensive, but it is also low risk. There is no bonus and no commitment beyond one year. In addition, it effectively makes next year another contract year, which can do wonders for productivity. Even at about $8 million, it may be worth it. Asante would likely miss training camp but once the real games start the financial incentive is too strong to stay out.

 

[Brady'sButtBoy]

Yep, I still agree that Samuel with be franchised even with the $8mil figure. He won't get a long term deal from the Pats at that number but the franchise deal only hangs them up for one year while they work out what to do next - like train the superstud DB they draft with that extra 1st rounder next spring.

of course, the other half of my brain tells me that the difference between Chad Scott and Samuel while evident, isn't worth the $6mil+/yr required to keep Asante around. Hmmmmmm....

 

[ATippett56]

If the Patriots are unable to re-sign Asante Samuel, I expect the New England Patriots to use one of their 2007 first round draft picks on a cornerback. Even so, the cornerback position will be very thin next year on the New England Patriots roster considering Randall Gay is injury prone.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Yep, I still agree that Samuel with be franchised even with the $8mil figure. He won't get a long term deal from the Pats at that number but the franchise deal only hangs them up for one year while they work out what to do next - like train the superstud DB they draft with that extra 1st rounder next spring.

of course, the other half of my brain tells me that the difference between Chad Scott and Samuel while evident, isn't worth the $6mil+/yr required to keep Asante around. Hmmmmmm....

I agree on drafting a superstud db.... they can get a better player than samuel down the road for alot cheaper money. If they are going to spend 5-6 million a year I think they should go after a free agent lb and use the two #1's for cornerbacks or a cb or safety. Unless there is a steal at lb at their drafting position like Wilfork, their best value is cb, but we also don't know who might fall on the board and they've never drafted on need as top priority.

I think Chad Scott was doing pretty well before he moved to safety. He was very sound.

And let's be careful of overvaluing Samuel. There's alot of panic sounding off like when the Sox get swept by the Yanks and they say the season is over. Samuel could continue to impress or he could come down to earth.

 

[mcbee]

I agree on drafting a superstud db.... they can get a better player than samuel down the road for alot cheaper money. If they are going to spend 5-6 million a year I think they should go after a free agent lb and use the two #1's for cornerbacks or a cb or safety. Unless there is a steal at lb at their drafting position like Wilfork, their best value is cb, but we also don't know who might fall on the board and they've never drafted on need as top priority.

I think Chad Scott was doing pretty well before he moved to safety. He was very sound.

And let's be careful of overvaluing Samuel. There's alot of panic sounding off like when the Sox get swept by the Yanks and they say the season is over. Samuel could continue to impress or he could come down to earth.

1st round 'stud' CBs often bust. I don't know why exactly, but they do. I think the FO is good at picking DB talent in general. Except for Guss Scott and Dexter Reid. They were turds.

But alot of it is experience...Samuel has it and a draft pick wouldn't. It's too much to expect a draft pick to come in and play that well right away, I would think. Although Hobbs has played OK...he hasn't not played well due to not understanding the system, IMO.

Anyway, what I don't get is where the money goes if they don't spend it? They have alot of cap space this year and only at 77M or something next year (albeit with no rookies signed and no TBC, Samuel, Graham, etc.). So they have a huge amount of cap space to play with. A $30M 5 year contract with the last year at 8M is only 4M a year really.

So I think they could sign him to a good contract, almost as much as someone else would. If they offered him a contract like that tomorrow, how many people could turn down a signing bonus check for 6-8M or so? Bird in the hand factor.

I don't think he's THAT great, but interceptions are very important and he seems to have learned how to get them better. The pats could proably bring another CB up to speed, but it just takes a while. They don't have the luxury of time...without Samuel it's GAy, Hobbs, and the punt returning rookie. And maybe a 30 something chad scott. Not good.

Maybe Wilson could play CB and they could pick up another safety verteran in the offseason. They're a little cheaper than CBs.

 

[Sean Pa Patriot]

Samual , hopefully has 8 to 9 more games as a patriot, but that is about how much he has left..

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

1st round 'stud' CBs often bust. I don't know why exactly, but they do. I think the FO is good at picking DB talent in general. Except for Guss Scott and Dexter Reid. They were turds.

But alot of it is experience...Samuel has it and a draft pick wouldn't. It's too much to expect a draft pick to come in and play that well right away, I would think. Although Hobbs has played OK...he hasn't not played well due to not understanding the system, IMO.

Anyway, what I don't get is where the money goes if they don't spend it? They have alot of cap space this year and only at 77M or something next year (albeit with no rookies signed and no TBC, Samuel, Graham, etc.). So they have a huge amount of cap space to play with. A $30M 5 year contract with the last year at 8M is only 4M a year really.

So I think they could sign him to a good contract, almost as much as someone else would. If they offered him a contract like that tomorrow, how many people could turn down a signing bonus check for 6-8M or so? Bird in the hand factor.

I don't think he's THAT great, but interceptions are very important and he seems to have learned how to get them better. The pats could proably bring another CB up to speed, but it just takes a while. They don't have the luxury of time...without Samuel it's GAy, Hobbs, and the punt returning rookie. And maybe a 30 something chad scott. Not good.

Maybe Wilson could play CB and they could pick up another safety verteran in the offseason. They're a little cheaper than CBs.

2005

Rd Sel# Player Pos. School
1 6 Adam Jones CB West Virginia
1 8 Antrel Rolle CB Miami
1 9 Carlos Rogers CB Auburn
1 23 Fabian Washington CB Nebraska
1 29 Marlin Jackson CB Michigan
2004

Rd Sel# Player Pos. School
1 8 DeAngelo Hall CB Virginia Tech
1 10 Dunta Robinson CB South Carolina
1 25 Ahmad Carroll CB Arkansas
1 28 Chris Gamble CB Ohio State
2003

Rd Sel# Player Pos. School
1 5 Terence Newman CB Kansas State
1 11 Marcus Trufant CB Washington State
1 28 Andre Woolfolk CB Oklahoma
1 30 Sammy Davis CB Texas A&M
1 31 Nnamdi Asomugha CB California
2002

Rd Sel# Player Pos. School
1 5 Quentin Jammer CB Texas
1 17 Phillip Buchanon CB Miami
1 26 Lito Sheppard CB Florida
1 21 Nate Clements CB Ohio State
1 22 Will Allen CB Syracuse
1 24 Willie Middlebrooks CB Minnesota
1 26 Jamar Fletcher CB Wisconsin

2000

Rd Sel# Player Pos. School
1 15 Deltha O'Neal CB California
1 23 Rashard Anderson CB Jackson State
1 24 Ahmed Plummer CB Ohio State
1 7 Champ Bailey CB Georgia
1 10 Chris McAlister CB Arizona
1 23 Antoine Winfield CB Ohio State
1 26 Fernando Bryant CB Alabama



I'd say the bust to production ratio is half and I think that is true of any position. I'm confident if there is a guy there the Pats will trade up a few spots to get him or trade down as not to overvalue him.

 

[Hamtown]

Asante, no doubt is developing into an excellent player for us. But I must sound in by saying that the PATS under Mr. Kraft & BB are a team that values committment to team. So if Asante, as I think he is, is a true PAT and is playing for the team then we will resign him. If not then he will hit the bricks. My intuition says he will be a PATRIOT next year. My brain tell's me that PATRIOT players should be humble, committed, loyal, and appreciative when negotiating a PATRIOT's player contract or they may go "bye-bye", no matter how big they are. We shall see..............