Eagles put CB Samuel on trading block....

[fourhour]

My apologies, buddy. I don't roam these parts as much and it's hard for me to tell sarcasm. Mea culpa, good sir.

Why so? I liked reading your posts.

 

[Deus Irae]

You're misrepresenting my argument. I'm not trying to excuse Welker. Any time a pass hits you in the hands, you should catch it. However it's not fair to put all the blame on him for that. O'Brien noted as much and Bedard pointed out that Welker rarely had to make those types of catches throughout the course of the season. That was a bad throw by Brady. He could have hit Welker in stride. There might have been a big hit but Welker has taken those hits God knows how many times. That fateful play was a combination of a bad throw by Brady and a missed opportunity by Welker. The dropping of the Butterfingers in public combined with the attitude of some of the people on this board is a bit much.

I'm not misrepresenting you. I'm saying that Welker should have made the catch and that it's time to move on. It's done.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

A little update on Asante's contract. He is due $21.5M over the next two seasons, although he is reportedly willing to restructure to facilitate a trade. I assume that is restructure as in he gets his remaining money and you add dummy seasons... in Asantespeak.

Mac's Football Blog: Eagles CB Asante Samuel Willing To Restructure Contract To Facilitate Trade

 

[Triumph]

***ante?

No thanks.

 

[Triumph]

Welker should have had the catch. Let's move on.

Brady should have thrown the ball more to Welker so he did not have to twist to the right.

 

[Triumph]

I'd rather draft a CB. Preferably out of the SEC where they are already battle tested against speedy receivers that run good routes. Brandon Boykin, I'm looking at you. A Pats type of player that saw time in all three phases, is an excellent return man, a solid tackler, and excels in man coverage. He would look great with a Flying Elvis on his helmet.

Im ready to finally fix the pass defense.

 

[Triumph]

You're misrepresenting my argument. I'm not trying to excuse Welker. Any time a pass hits you in the hands, you should catch it. However it's not fair to put all the blame on him for that. O'Brien noted as much and Bedard pointed out that Welker rarely had to make those types of catches throughout the course of the season. That was a bad throw by Brady. He could have hit Welker in stride. There might have been a big hit but Welker has taken those hits God knows how many times. That fateful play was a combination of a bad throw by Brady and a missed opportunity by Welker. The dropping of the Butterfingers in public combined with the attitude of some of the people on this board is a bit much.

Mangini broke down the play to perfection.

Welker was expecting the ball inside the hash marks (seam route) and Brady had to throw outside the hash marks because the Safety Phillips was closing in and may have intercepted.

Extremely difficult catch for Welker to make: twisting, jumping up and falling backwards. A physicist dissected the play and the laws of physics were against Welker making that catch.

 

[Kontradiction]

Why so? I liked reading your posts.

Different job where I'm not sitting in front of a computer all day and am on the road more often. Most of the time now, I'm posting from my iPhone.

 

[Kontradiction]

Mangini broke down the play to perfection.

Welker was expecting the ball inside the hash marks (seam route) and Brady had to throw outside the hash marks because the Safety Phillips was closing in and may have intercepted.

Extremely difficult catch for Welker to make: twisting, jumping up and falling backwards. A physicist dissected the play and the laws of physics were against Welker making that catch.

The laws of physics were clearly against him but it DID hit him in the hands. Ideally, Welker would have made the catch. But, alas, he didn't.

 

[Deus Irae]

The Tennessee Titans, according to a league source, have at least some interest in Philadelphia cornerback Asante Samuel, who is reportedly being shopped by the Eagles.

Titans have some interest in Eagles' CB Asante Samuel

 

[PatsGirl2011]

What corner on the Pats roster is better than Samuel?...I am just asking

 

[Kid~Brady]

What corner on the Pats roster is better than Samuel?...I am just asking

Exactly. I know he has his downfalls but he is better than anyone on our team currently. We really can't be too choosy right now.

 

[supafly]

What corner on the Pats roster is better than Samuel?...I am just asking

By "better" there are several different variables. One of the most important is value vs the cost of the player. I would certainly argue that ALL of the current CB's are 'better' than Samuel in that regard. We have young, fast, cheap CB's (2 of whom are extremely high draft picks), a slot CB who tied for the NFL lead in INT's last year, and a possible diamond in the rough type signing from the Raiders practice squad in Sterling Moore.

Do you really think that Belichick is going to pay the ridiculous demands of Samuel and his currently overinflated contract?

It's possible that ALL of our current CB's offer more versatility than Samuel, at least in the way that Belichick wants his secondary players to be able to fill in other areas when needed, or when injuries occur. One of the bigger aspects to the improvement of the upcoming yr's secondary is the play of the safeties, so it's really not entirely about our CB play anyway.

It could certainly be assumed that most or ALL of our CB's listen better, and at least try to do what's asked of them vs a guy like Samuel who freelances (remember who cost us the SB in 2007 on his blown coverage/assignment of David Tyree) and thinks he's too good to pay attention to the coaches.

It could definitely be argued that ALL of our current CB's are better tacklers than Asante Samuel...actually I would bet money on it; especially since he seems to shy away from contact.

It could be seriously debated that ALL of our CB's are tougher in terms of being able to play through injury, but some may see that as a stretch.

I would have to say that at least 2-3 of our CB core can definitely play more physically than Samuel.

Since coverage is what Samuel excels at (actually, jumping routes--which can also burn him too), I would say that he has that edge over anyone that we currently have to this point, seeing as how McCourty regressed from his 2010 form last year; but there are a lot of factors that go into choosing a player in the secondary besides just coverage.

 

[supafly]

Exactly. I know he has his downfalls but he is better than anyone on our team currently. We really can't be too choosy right now.

He's not better than 'anyone on our team,' he's better in SOME areas. There are also some where he lacks any kind of better play altogether.

If you really actually think that out of all the CB's in the NFL, that Belichick would choose to pay Asante Samuel ridiculously overpriced money at a position that he's never overpaid at before, then I don't know what you're thinking.

"We can't be too choosy?" Are you serious? Why? Being 'choosy' has put this team at an elite level for the past 11 years now.

The return of Dowling, the potential for Arrington to play in a slot role that's much better suited for his skillset, and a full season from Moore should be a huge talent upgrade...especially when you consider that the lack of an adequate safety was more of the problem than anything else anyway.

There's also the possibility of McCourty returning to something closer to 2010, a full season from Chung at safety, an upgrade at the other safety position, the addition of a vet in Allen, and possible high draft picks.

The position of secondary isn't nearly the 'need' that some people think it is, when compared to some of our other positions on defense.

 

[Deus Irae]

He's not better than 'anyone on our team,'...

Yes, he is or, rather, he was last year, and by a very wide margin.

 

[supafly]

Yes, he is or, rather, he was last year, and by a very wide margin.

With all due respect Deus, you didn't finish my sentence.

He's better in 'some' areas.

He also is worse in some areas.

Seeing as how his pay would be at the very least 7+ million, he's not coming here.

I have a feeling that Belichick looks at him and sees many more flaws than some posters here, but that's just my thought.

 

[voluntarysaftey]

With all due respect Deus, you didn't finish my sentence.

He's better in 'some' areas.

He also is worse in some areas.

Seeing as how his pay would be at the very least 7+ million, he's not coming here.

I have a feeling that Belichick looks at him and sees many more flaws than some posters here, but that's just my thought.

There's two different points.
1. Would the Patriots pay him more than every other team? Probably not
2. Excluding money & age, would you want a current Patriots CB over Samuel? If anyone says yes, they're not being rational/logical. Samuel is a better CB overall than anyone the Pats have had since Samuel left.

BB thought enough of Samuel to Franchise him and pay him that 8million year. BB just didn't think enough of Samuel to give him 8mil multi year.

To say that he's better in some areas/worse in other areas is nitpicking -- you could say that about anyone. Welker is better in some areas, worse in other areas. Moss was amazing in some areas, and horrible in other areas.

 

[supafly]

There's two different points.
1. Would the Patriots pay him more than every other team? Probably not
2. Excluding money & age, would you want a current Patriots CB over Samuel? If anyone says yes, they're not being rational/logical. Samuel is a better CB overall than anyone the Pats have had since Samuel left.

BB thought enough of Samuel to Franchise him and pay him that 8million year. BB just didn't think enough of Samuel to give him 8mil multi year.

To say that he's better in some areas/worse in other areas is nitpicking -- you could say that about anyone. Welker is better in some areas, worse in other areas. Moss was amazing in some areas, and horrible in other areas.

Your thoughts are valid, but generally as a member of the secondary (at a ridiculous price), I would think that Bill Belichick looks for the kinds of players that pay attention, do what they're told, control themselves from freelancing, and actually, ummm...tackle.

The majority of our CB's may not have some of the natural ball hawking skills that Samuel has, but it seems as though they have a lot of things that are also considered 'better' depending upon your defintion.

I would think that not freelancing and tackling would be 2 key areas that are rather important in the secondary, but that's just me.

 

[Avenger]

There's two different points.
1. Would the Patriots pay him more than every other team? Probably not
2. Excluding money & age, would you want a current Patriots CB over Samuel? If anyone says yes, they're not being rational/logical. Samuel is a better CB overall than anyone the Pats have had since Samuel left.

BB thought enough of Samuel to Franchise him and pay him that 8million year. BB just didn't think enough of Samuel to give him 8mil multi year.

To say that he's better in some areas/worse in other areas is nitpicking -- you could say that about anyone. Welker is better in some areas, worse in other areas. Moss was amazing in some areas, and horrible in other areas.

I'd take Dowling over Samuel

 

[voluntarysaftey]

Your thoughts are valid, but generally as a member of the secondary (at a ridiculous price), I would think that Bill Belichick looks for the kinds of players that pay attention, do what they're told, control themselves from freelancing, and actually, ummm...tackle.

The majority of our CB's may not have some of the natural ball hawking skills that Samuel has, but it seems as though they have a lot of things that are also considered 'better' depending upon your defintion.

I would think that not freelancing and tackling would be 2 key areas that are rather important in the secondary, but that's just me.

The problem is we might have good tacklers, but they aren't good at preventing the receiver from catching the ball.

I think Bill is okay with smart/controlled freelancing. Ty Law is the best patriots example -- he had the ability to make the qb think the receiver was open by drifting away from the receiver, and then to jump the route. None of our current cb's have that ability -- all they can do is try to stay on the receiver as close as possible.
Or when a great LB reads the QB to drop into coverage -- that's also freelancing, but its based on an educated guess.

Whereas dumb freelancing might've been the reason merriweather isn't here.

I think Samuel falls somewhere in the middle.