Schefter: Pats sign Brandon Lloyd

[Rob0729]

Any chance the Patriots might have been interested in Manningham but decided to go with Lloyd because it's only 3 years 15 million (12 guaranteed) ?

Because Manningham signed pretty quick after and only got 2 years, maybe Belichick wanted to do 3 for 15 and 49ers did 2 for 14 or 16 (not sure how much it actually is worth)

More likely if the two are related, the 49ers wanted Lloyd and after they lost out on him they went to plan B. The 49ers were reported to be in the running for Lloyd, but most people felt it was more of a ploy by Condon to drive up his price. This might mean the interest was real.

 

[serifyn]

The Patriots have been burned plenty of times bringing in free agents nobody know anything about but the tape they got on them.

Last year Bill brought in Haynesworth and Ochocinco, well Haynesworth was indeed proven to be worthless and they found out that Chad cant read a playbook.

Lloyd is the safest signing they could have made, Mcdaniels will run that offense and he knows him well. it is the same reason why Daniel Fells will probably be the 3rd Tight End on this team soon.

 

[Keep Up With The Joneses]

Mike Wallace was my first choice, but Lloyd with this contract is an absolute steal. Best signing in a long time. Bad news for every other secondary in the league. This is going to be a ridiculous offense.

 

[DaBruinz]

Mark Barron, Harrison Smith, George iLoka... are all good..

Safety position is deep in the 2012 draft. So is WR. I;m sure we'll pick a FS/SS, and a WR..

WOW. Clearly you must be talking about some alternate universe because the safety class in this one is actually pretty weak.

 

[DaBruinz]

I watched pretty much every game of Harrison Smith's career, and I gotta say, I have no idea why people think he is good.

Smith has potential. He has some fixable issues. But most college players do.. The big thing is that people see upside in him.

 

[Deus Irae]

It is crazy to think that in any way Lloyd is better than Moss was in 2007. But I do think that the 2012 team, assuming Waters and Light return, has a chance of threatening the all-time scoring record. I don't think Lloyd will suddenly add 800 yards of passing for Brady, and I think that it is more likely that Lloyd's stats are culled from other players', but I think he'll open the field up and the Pats will be far more efficient. I also expect Ridley and Vereen (if he stays on the field) to be explosive out of the backfield. This could be an all-time great offense in 2012.

Keep in mind, however, one key difference between the 2007 and 2012 teams: defense.

The 2007 team had one of the best defenses in the league:

- #4 in scoring defense
- #4 in yardage defense
- #9 in takeaways

So the 2012 team needs to do a lot better than what it did this past year in order to give the offense the help it needs.

I've been one of the biggest Lloyd proponents around. He was my #1 realistic choice (with the dream choice #1 of Wallace). I think he'll bring a lot to the team. When you look at what the Patriots can line up 5 across, you see 4 studs and a maybe

Welker
Lloyd
Gronk
Hernandez
Rookie WR/Gonzalez/Branch/Johnson/etc...

Which is a pretty darned good group and could be even better if the Rookie WR option turns out to be a stud. The Patriots should have a very easy schedule this year, too, which should help a lot. Also, unless FA/draft changes things significantly, the AFC powerhouses are in decline, and the playoff road should be an easy one again.

Even before FA began, I was talking about this team going back to the Super Bowl. I think this first week of FA has made that an even more likely scenario.

I'm just not going to buy that "Lloyd > Moss" nonsense.

 

[DaBruinz]

The Patriots have been burned plenty of times bringing in free agents nobody know anything about but the tape they got on them.

Last year Bill brought in Haynesworth and Ochocinco, well Haynesworth was indeed proven to be worthless and they found out that Chad cant read a playbook.

Lloyd is the safest signing they could have made, Mcdaniels will run that offense and he knows him well. it is the same reason why Daniel Fells will probably be the 3rd Tight End on this team soon.

It's not that Chad Johnson can't read a play-book. And it's dumb for people like yourself to say such a thing. The issue is reading the defenses the same way Brady reads them and doing so without having to think it through.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Chad going forward. I know he said he wanted to re-do his contract so he can stay, but I've not heard that it actually happened..

 

[Ring 6]

I'm more concerned about his behavior in the locker room. He wants the ball, but Brady isn't going to put up with him demanding it, that is for sure.

That said, I like the signing.

When has Brady ever had a conflict with one of his receivers over how much he throws to him?

 

[Betterthanmost]

I have always viewed Lloyd as the player with the best hand to eye coordination in the league, now I get to see him consistently. Will be interesting and I hope it does not turn out like Ocho.

 

[Snake Eyes]

When has Brady ever had a conflict with one of his receivers over how much he throws to him?

If it does happen I think the receiver will soon learn to keep his mouth shut.

 

[NEGoldenAge]

When has Brady ever had a conflict with one of his receivers over how much he throws to him?

If the Pats weren't so tight lipped, we would probably have a much better idea. There were whispers that there was a rift with Moss at the end.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

It's not that Chad Johnson can't read a play-book. And it's dumb for people like yourself to say such a thing. The issue is reading the defenses the same way Brady reads them and doing so without having to think it through.

It will be interesting to see what happens with Chad going forward. I know he said he wanted to re-do his contract so he can stay, but I've not heard that it actually happened..

???

I thought he's doing it, and playing for something like the stick of gum that comes in a pack of Topps cards.

Maybe I bought the rumor rather than the news.

But let's play ultimate-fantasy-what-if...

What if... Ocho and Brady really are just not on the same page, but after a season in the system Ocho can play big (not huge, I'll take Deion-Branch level)

Then add in, what if... Brandon Lloyd's last year is a reliable production indicator (I think that is a decent bet)

Then add in, what if... Gronk/Hernandez don't have any injury-related dropoff? (I assume drop-off related to schemes adjusting to them)

Then add in, what if... they manage to keep Welker too?

So in other words, what if all the upsides happen? That gives you three deep (or deep-ish) threats, not 1 (Ocho, Lloyd, Branch instead of Branch...)

Huge versatility w/Welker in the slot or at X or Z + the TEs

And the only question is whether we can keep Super Mario off Tom twice a year

Okay, just felt like getting all giddy in the off-season... can't be a curmudgeon all the time.

If every domino falls the right way this could be a very fun offense to watch. But you know how it is -- Ocho isn't Ocho anymore, Lloyd's last season was an aberration not the baseline -- Gronk comes back but not all the way back -- someone gets injured or re-injured...

But hell, I'll worry 'bout that in September

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

If the Pats weren't so tight lipped, we would probably have a much better idea. There were whispers that there was a rift with Moss at the end.

The only thing we have is the fact that Brady stopped targeting Moss for throws and that the two, once frequent animated conversationalists off the field while waiting on the D stopped talking to each other. Other than that...

 

[Lansdowne]

If the Pats resign Light and Waters, and the Pats stay relatively healthy, this will be the best offense the league has ever seen.

I'll agree with "best passing offense" but the running offense was solid but uninspiring with Benjarvus Green-Ellis leading the way. If we had a Curtis Martin or Ray Rice type in the backfield it would really change everything. I'm hoping that's what we have in Shane Vereen or Stevan Ridley.

 

[ivanvamp]

I've been one of the biggest Lloyd proponents around. He was my #1 realistic choice (with the dream choice #1 of Wallace). I think he'll bring a lot to the team. When you look at what the Patriots can line up 5 across, you see 4 studs and a maybe

Welker
Lloyd
Gronk
Hernandez
Rookie WR/Gonzalez/Branch/Johnson/etc...

Which is a pretty darned good group and could be even better if the Rookie WR option turns out to be a stud. The Patriots should have a very easy schedule this year, too, which should help a lot. Also, unless FA/draft changes things significantly, the AFC powerhouses are in decline, and the playoff road should be an easy one again.

Even before FA began, I was talking about this team going back to the Super Bowl. I think this first week of FA has made that an even more likely scenario.

I'm just not going to buy that "Lloyd > Moss" nonsense.

Since Lloyd, unlike Ocho, knows the offense, he can stay in when they go to the no-huddle. Go with Vereen (who is explosive and is apparently an excellent pass-catcher as well), Lloyd, Welker, Gronk, and Hernandez, and on every play you can run the full gamut of offensive options: bombs, screens, outs, power runs, sweeps, traps, draws, slants, curls, play-action, line up 2TE on the line, or move Vereen to a receiver slot and go empty backfield....everything, without ever changing personnel. It's going to be an absolute friggin' nightmare for opposing defenses. As effective as this team was this past year, the one thing opposing Ds didn't need to account for was the deep pass, really, because the receivers when the Pats went no-huddle were Welker and Branch, neither of whom are really effective going deep.

Now, every single eventuality and square inch of the field needs to be accounted for and defended.

If they can just shore up the defense (which they've already done some work on that), then this team is going to be unbelievable.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I think we're past "Llyod > Moss" and it's whether "Lloyd > Branch" or more like "Lloyd > Ocho" or "Lloyd > Underwood"

Good upgrade, good price. Fantasy upside outcome = steal. Reality outcome = TBA, as always.

 

[Bella*chick]

Why do we even have to discuss Lloyd being better than Moss? The offense is a bit different now, has more options, and Lloyd will be able to be a productive member. That is all that matters!

 

[Deus Irae]

Since Lloyd, unlike Ocho, knows the offense, he can stay in when they go to the no-huddle. Go with Vereen (who is explosive and is apparently an excellent pass-catcher as well), Lloyd, Welker, Gronk, and Hernandez, and on every play you can run the full gamut of offensive options: bombs, screens, outs, power runs, sweeps, traps, draws, slants, curls, play-action, line up 2TE on the line, or move Vereen to a receiver slot and go empty backfield....everything, without ever changing personnel. It's going to be an absolute friggin' nightmare for opposing defenses. As effective as this team was this past year, the one thing opposing Ds didn't need to account for was the deep pass, really, because the receivers when the Pats went no-huddle were Welker and Branch, neither of whom are really effective going deep.

Now, every single eventuality and square inch of the field needs to be accounted for and defended.

If they can just shore up the defense (which they've already done some work on that), then this team is going to be unbelievable.

My hope, and I'm probably starting to beat a dead equine at this point, is that the team will draft a WR with one of its top picks, and that WR will be a burner (or Branch clone as option b) who can become the WR3 this season. If that happens, you've got

Lloyd (Middle-deep)
Welker (Line-short)
WR3 (Middle-deep or Short-middle as option b)
Gronk (Short-middle)
Hernandez (Line-short-middle)

Doing that would allow for the versatility of Hernandez to really impact opponents, as he could be put in the backfield, motioned from the backfield, or put as a TE, and I don't think there's a team out there that could consistently cover a group like that.

At that point, it would become "get to Brady or die" for opposing defenses, much like 2007.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Yeah and it does worry me that BJGE is leaving. It's really hard for a RB to become "the man" in NE, but something like 600 carries, no fumbles? Come on, that's gonna hurt. It's another dimension in those games where people think they can just beat the team if they get Brady dirty. Of course the thing to do is get him enough time to dink & dunk 'em to death in the screen game anyhoo. It almost seems that at the highest level you always end up with a tough low-scoring game, where the question is whether you're moving the ball against a team that has pressure. But how do you look at a team that you know can't stop the longer pass, and say "no no, let's practice our screen game in real time." The goal's always to win this game, and getting long-ball-shy just to be ready for those situations sounds dumb.

Just thinking out loud... I am casually dialed-in at best, just ignore...

 

[PatsFanInVa]

But just to be clear: I know I'm not smarter than BB -- I am, however, smarter than Dan Snyder and/or anyone he hires. They turn into instant idiots the moment they come to D.C.

God, us Pats fans got it good.