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....good, in my opinion. But then I'm usually optimistic.
This is just an attempt to gather my thoughts concerning what has transpired the last 2 weeks. Somethings might have been mentioned in assorted individual threads, but might have been lost in the sheer volume of traffic. As usual pardon me for any redundancies.
1. Lost Welker, gained Amendola. This move is a crushing blow or a good move with a question mark, depending on how you choose to view it. If you look at it by pure production its a crushing blow. You've lost a significant portion of your passing game, and replaced it with someone who hasn't come close to matching it.
I choose to look at it on a skills basis. That is if you look at just the skills DA brings
to the table, I think you will find they match up very well with Welker. On a per game basis
DA's numbers are quite similar to Wes', and in some areas are even better. The end result of course will be told in how many "per games" Amendola manages to play.
Bottom line - If you want, you can choose to believe the Pats got a younger, bigger, faster
version of what they lost. Someone who seems to get open just as well. Run good routes, has better hands (at this point of his career) and is just as productive when he gets on the field.
If he's healthy there is no question in my mind this will turn out to be a slam dunk of a
good move. If he's not, then it will deserve to be 2nd guessed to the nth degree. Its as
simple as that.
2. Its a pet peeve of mine that I keep hearing in the media that the Pats wanted to keep
Wes Welker, "at their price". I keep wanting to scream back, " No...at EVERYONE's price"
The fact was that all the offers that Wes got were close enough to the same price that they weren't materially different. All of them were essentially 2 years and $12MM of easily makable income. IMO, the Denver deal was the worst of the 3 because it can throw him out on the street in 2014 for no other reason than he's taking too much of the cap.
In all likelihood Wes is either going to end up being a FA next year, or at best, suffer the
indiginty of having to take a pay cut to remain with the team. That wouldn't have happened if he had taken the Pats deal
3. I always cringe a bit when I hear athletes say, when they are in contract negotiations, "I
leave that up to my agents". You only had to see that "WTF happened, deer in the headlights " expression on Wekler's face, at his Denver introduction, to see the fallacy of that strategy.
Players have to learn that agents don't always have THEIR best interests at heart. Too often these days the big agencies represent multiple players who can be competing for the same job. Or the agent might have a special interest to direct a player to a certain team, that is NOT the player's best interest. He might owe the GM a favor, or getting this player to a certain team becauseit helps another client get where he wants. In other words too many incestuous relationships in today's agent world.
You would think that with the kind of mental toughness a player has to have just to make it this far, they would be diligent enough to take a more proactive role in the course of their careers.
4. As happy as I am that Volmer was resigned, you also have to recognize that he is the 2nd significant health risk that the Pats have signed this off season. There is no question that a healthy Volmer can have a significant positive impact that goes well beyond his own play.
I have banged the drum of a Cannon/Volmer right side to point of being annoying, so my postion on that issue is crystal clear. Plus if that were to come to pass, the advantages of having both Connolly and McDonald, (2 proven solid starters) as depth, puts the Pats way ahead of most of their rivals. Now the Pats no longer have to rely on having Nate Solder's back up being either a JAG who hasn't played in 2 years,(Svitek) or a prospect who hasn't played at all (Zuvi) Now the Pats have the luxury of having Solder's back up being one of the top RT's in the league. If Cannon can become the RG that I envison, this OL can potentially become the best OL of the BB era.
But there is also the dark side of this. Why were the Pats the only team that seemed to give Volmer serious consideration. Why did an all pro RT, who can play both sides take a lot less than an average RT with a funny name from BC? Could it be that Volmer signed here because no one else would touch him with is current back condition. That he signed here because he wouldn't have passed anyone else's physical. That this is a very front loaded deal that recognizes that in all likelihood his back is going to blow up in 2 years. That he signed here because the staff here can manage his back condition, like they did last season, where he back was an issue all year, yet he managed to play 88% of the offensive snaps and miss only one game.
These aren't fun questions to ask, but I hope someone in the media does.
5.I think a very valuable lesson can be learned from what was perhaps the most shocking
signing of the off season thus far. Kyle Arrington's. While it was not that surprising that'
Arrington was picked up again. What WAS surprising was how much the Pats paid him. It was as surprisingly high, as Welker's contract was surprisingly low, maybe even more so. Most people here, including myself, expected that if he returned at all, it would be a contract barely above minimum scale. One of the 3-4 years for 5MM kind of deals.
Clearly the Pats, and the rest of the league (because its unlikely the Pats were bidding against themselves) think that Arrington is a LOT more valuable than we do. Maybe when you look at the film, he really is that good as a slot corner. Maybe when you look at the film, he's not as bad as we think as an outside CB.
So maybe what Kyle Arrington truly is, is an above average slot CB (which is really a starter
these days), a decent injury replacement on the outside, as well as being an excellent special teamer. So if you look at it that way, paying all that money really shouldn't be that surprising. The only thing wrong would be OUR evaluation of the player.
This is just an attempt to gather my thoughts concerning what has transpired the last 2 weeks. Somethings might have been mentioned in assorted individual threads, but might have been lost in the sheer volume of traffic. As usual pardon me for any redundancies.
1. Lost Welker, gained Amendola. This move is a crushing blow or a good move with a question mark, depending on how you choose to view it. If you look at it by pure production its a crushing blow. You've lost a significant portion of your passing game, and replaced it with someone who hasn't come close to matching it.
I choose to look at it on a skills basis. That is if you look at just the skills DA brings
to the table, I think you will find they match up very well with Welker. On a per game basis
DA's numbers are quite similar to Wes', and in some areas are even better. The end result of course will be told in how many "per games" Amendola manages to play.
Bottom line - If you want, you can choose to believe the Pats got a younger, bigger, faster
version of what they lost. Someone who seems to get open just as well. Run good routes, has better hands (at this point of his career) and is just as productive when he gets on the field.
If he's healthy there is no question in my mind this will turn out to be a slam dunk of a
good move. If he's not, then it will deserve to be 2nd guessed to the nth degree. Its as
simple as that.
2. Its a pet peeve of mine that I keep hearing in the media that the Pats wanted to keep
Wes Welker, "at their price". I keep wanting to scream back, " No...at EVERYONE's price"
The fact was that all the offers that Wes got were close enough to the same price that they weren't materially different. All of them were essentially 2 years and $12MM of easily makable income. IMO, the Denver deal was the worst of the 3 because it can throw him out on the street in 2014 for no other reason than he's taking too much of the cap.
In all likelihood Wes is either going to end up being a FA next year, or at best, suffer the
indiginty of having to take a pay cut to remain with the team. That wouldn't have happened if he had taken the Pats deal
3. I always cringe a bit when I hear athletes say, when they are in contract negotiations, "I
leave that up to my agents". You only had to see that "WTF happened, deer in the headlights " expression on Wekler's face, at his Denver introduction, to see the fallacy of that strategy.
Players have to learn that agents don't always have THEIR best interests at heart. Too often these days the big agencies represent multiple players who can be competing for the same job. Or the agent might have a special interest to direct a player to a certain team, that is NOT the player's best interest. He might owe the GM a favor, or getting this player to a certain team becauseit helps another client get where he wants. In other words too many incestuous relationships in today's agent world.
You would think that with the kind of mental toughness a player has to have just to make it this far, they would be diligent enough to take a more proactive role in the course of their careers.
4. As happy as I am that Volmer was resigned, you also have to recognize that he is the 2nd significant health risk that the Pats have signed this off season. There is no question that a healthy Volmer can have a significant positive impact that goes well beyond his own play.
I have banged the drum of a Cannon/Volmer right side to point of being annoying, so my postion on that issue is crystal clear. Plus if that were to come to pass, the advantages of having both Connolly and McDonald, (2 proven solid starters) as depth, puts the Pats way ahead of most of their rivals. Now the Pats no longer have to rely on having Nate Solder's back up being either a JAG who hasn't played in 2 years,(Svitek) or a prospect who hasn't played at all (Zuvi) Now the Pats have the luxury of having Solder's back up being one of the top RT's in the league. If Cannon can become the RG that I envison, this OL can potentially become the best OL of the BB era.
But there is also the dark side of this. Why were the Pats the only team that seemed to give Volmer serious consideration. Why did an all pro RT, who can play both sides take a lot less than an average RT with a funny name from BC? Could it be that Volmer signed here because no one else would touch him with is current back condition. That he signed here because he wouldn't have passed anyone else's physical. That this is a very front loaded deal that recognizes that in all likelihood his back is going to blow up in 2 years. That he signed here because the staff here can manage his back condition, like they did last season, where he back was an issue all year, yet he managed to play 88% of the offensive snaps and miss only one game.
These aren't fun questions to ask, but I hope someone in the media does.
5.I think a very valuable lesson can be learned from what was perhaps the most shocking
signing of the off season thus far. Kyle Arrington's. While it was not that surprising that'
Arrington was picked up again. What WAS surprising was how much the Pats paid him. It was as surprisingly high, as Welker's contract was surprisingly low, maybe even more so. Most people here, including myself, expected that if he returned at all, it would be a contract barely above minimum scale. One of the 3-4 years for 5MM kind of deals.
Clearly the Pats, and the rest of the league (because its unlikely the Pats were bidding against themselves) think that Arrington is a LOT more valuable than we do. Maybe when you look at the film, he really is that good as a slot corner. Maybe when you look at the film, he's not as bad as we think as an outside CB.
So maybe what Kyle Arrington truly is, is an above average slot CB (which is really a starter
these days), a decent injury replacement on the outside, as well as being an excellent special teamer. So if you look at it that way, paying all that money really shouldn't be that surprising. The only thing wrong would be OUR evaluation of the player.
