Can we afford Donnie Edwards?

[carolinatony]

Is he worth it?

KO OLINA, Hawaii – It has long been a foregone conclusion that 2006 was linebacker Donnie Edwards' last season as a Charger.

Neither the team nor Edwards' side officially said as much, however, until yesterday.

But with free agency looming, Edwards' agent confirmed yesterday the sides have not talked and that Edwards will leave when the free-agency period begins next month

 

[mikiemo83]

I think I remember Brady talking about how smart a player he is after he intersepted him and how he disguised coverages well - so I hope so as a fill in for the kid we draft 1st day this year unitl the new rook gets it

 

[dryheat44]

For the third consecutive year, I recommend we sign him. If we had him instead of Alexander on the field, we would have soundly beat the Colts.

Ok course, this is only if we don't get Adalius.

 

[ironwasp]

He must be on the target list, you'd have thought. I see him doing a great job for us.

 

[PromisedLand]

The Coast to Coast Pipeline - Harrison, Seau, Edwards?

 

[Patriot Missile]

I've wanted him for a couple of season's now too. He's still a very good player and hope he decides to come here. I just can't seem to see the FO throwing big money at a 31? year old LB. I'd like to see atleast fair value thrown his way though.

 

[SoCal Bong]

I definitely wanted him last off-season but was clearly in the minority. I still want him now for the record. Smart player and a good-character guy off the field too.

 

[Digger44]

I've wanted him for a couple of season's now too. He's still a very good player and hope he decides to come here. I just can't seem to see the FO throwing big money at a 31? year old LB. I'd like to see atleast fair value thrown his way though.

who the heck is the front office?

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

If we can get him on the cheap, I'm all for it.

SD has to cut him first. I wouldn't trade picks for him.

 

[jcdavey]

we don't have to cut him, he's a UFA in march

i hope you guys get him too, cause i know you're going to win your division again and i expect donnie will have his typical donnie year and net us a 3rd round comp pick in the 08 draft regardless of wherever he goes.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

we don't have to cut him, he's a UFA in march

I didn't know Colts CB Harper was a UFA either.

Redzone has got to update their FA page.

http://www.theredzone.org/2007/freeagents/

Just found out that Tom Condon is his agent.

 

[jcdavey]

i really hope you guys get him but i'll tell you straight up why i don't want him

he's basically a saftey playing ILB

he's probably the best pass coverage LB in the nfl, but he gets dragged alot on tackles, his run defense isn't great.

that combined with him wanting to be paid like a top MLB, and his age (33 and he's going to be 34 in april) , made me and i'm sure AJ Smith , want to go with matt wilhelm taking his place or possibly a LB we draft who beats out wilhelm and dobbins in training camp.

the thing that soured the front office on donnie is him trying to restructure his contract every offseason for the past 3 years.

Donnie claims a dying john butler promissed him that he'd tear up his contract yet butler apparently never told AJ Smith his best friend who took over for him as GM, about this verbal agreement, it's a pretty whacky story.

the guy does get a crapload of tackles though and he will prevent the big runs , but unless NE uses him alot differently than sd did, he's not a guy who will get tackles for losses, he only had 1 all of last season.

in my opinion the type of contract he is looking for at his age goes against the pats philosophy and i'd expect him to go to like dallas or the redskins, but i just hope wherever he goes it yields us a 3rd round comp pick in the 08 draft, the only reason i can see it being NE is they have had success with ex chargers.

 

[mgteich]

You've asked two unrelated questions.
1) Yes, we can afford to sign Edwards or any any free agent.
2) The value depends on the price. He certainly has the ability to upgrade the patriots.

Is he worth it?

KO OLINA, Hawaii – It has long been a foregone conclusion that 2006 was linebacker Donnie Edwards' last season as a Charger.

Neither the team nor Edwards' side officially said as much, however, until yesterday.

But with free agency looming, Edwards' agent confirmed yesterday the sides have not talked and that Edwards will leave when the free-agency period begins next month

 

[NE39]

I like Edwards and I think he brings skills the Pats need at LB, especially against the pass.

However, his agent is Tom Condon, who the Patriots have not had a great relationship with since they basically forced Ben Watson to fire him to end his contract holdout. Condon wouldn't cave on giving them a 6th year on his rookie deal.

 

[jcdavey]

I like Edwards and I think he brings skills the Pats need at LB, especially against the pass.

However, his agent is Tom Condon, who the Patriots have not had a great relationship with since they basically forced Ben Watson to fire him to end his contract holdout. Condon wouldn't cave on giving them a 6th year on his rookie deal.

yeah, sd hates condon too, he's not as insane as the postons but he's a real bastard just the same

 

[TeamPats]

How come no one is talking about Cato June? Listen I hate the Colts as much as the next Patriots fan but he is a good to great coverage ILB who was 5th in the NFL last year in tackling. Sounds like a good LB to throw in to maybe spell the aging Bruschi and get Vrabel back outside.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

How come no one is talking about Cato June? Listen I hate the Colts as much as the next Patriots fan but he is a good to great coverage ILB who was 5th in the NFL last year in tackling. Sounds like a good LB to throw in to maybe spell the aging Bruschi and get Vrabel back outside.

June has been overrated ever since making highlight INTs in the 1st half of the 2005 season. Truth is, he's too undersized for the Pats and many of the big runs teams had against Indy in 2006 were on Cato's side.

Contrary to popular opinion, the Colts won't have a problem replacing him.

 

[Digger44]

How come no one is talking about Cato June? Listen I hate the Colts as much as the next Patriots fan but he is a good to great coverage ILB who was 5th in the NFL last year in tackling. Sounds like a good LB to throw in to maybe spell the aging Bruschi and get Vrabel back outside.

You need to learn the set up the 3-4 def and the cover2 def. June is a solid player in the cover2 but could not make the transition to the 3-4. Remember Monty Biesel? He makes June look small. Monty is 6-3 240 lbs, June is 6 and 225. He is not built for our def.

June is also an OLB. In the 3-4 def the OLBs on both sides must be skilled enough to rush the passer, stop the run, and drop into coverage. June would not be able to get around his blocker or make the tackle on a RB who is coming full speed. His pass coverage would be fine.

You can't just switch a OLB from a cover 2 to the inside of a 3-4. The results would be a very poor run defense.

I hope that helps.

 

[unoriginal]

If they think Donnie Edwards can be Roman Phifer, the Pats'll sign him. If not, they're clearing grooming Eric Alexander for that job.

 

[BradyManny]

If they think Donnie Edwards can be Roman Phifer, the Pats'll sign him. If not, they're clearing grooming Eric Alexander for that job.

Grooming Alexander? Have you read/heard this? IMO, he's a special teamer and nothing more. They used him out of necessity in the Colts game. ILB is a position we must spend $$ on. There are plenty of options out there this offseason, with 25 mill cap space, you have to come into next season with something better than Eric Alexander as your ILB.