Steve Gregory released

[everlong]

I see several people want A. Wilson cut. Based on what? We have yet to see how a healthy Wilson can play.

Perhaps it would be better to see what the guys has before cutting him? I know that is not in keeping with message board post.

As far as I know he was healthy before getting hurt last preseason and was pretty awful. He looked slow and old but worse he was physical. That said I'm up for giving him another shot but I doubt he makes the team.

 

[TriplecHamp]

You might as well call BB stupid for starting the guy for two years.

I'm not interested in compromising with your inaccurate assessment of a two-year starter who had a career high in tackles (in 14 games with a broken thumb) being a "100-percent liability in run support." He was not. Did he get beat on occasion because he's not the second coming of Rodney Harrison? Certainly. Let's cross our fingers that Harmon will be at least as good as Gregory this coming season. That apparently is the plan.

BB isn't stupid for starting Gregory for two years, hes made attempts to upgrade in guys like Tavon Wilson and Adrian Wilson but neither has worked out at this point. IDK why you keep mentioning Harmon as if he's been pegged as the heir apparent to Gregory's majestic throne. His skill set is much closer to that of a larger McCourties than Gregory's. These things called free agency and the draft are opportunities for BB to significantly upgrade the position and this year the depth is there (in the draft) to do so. Id expect somebody who's been here for years and has a basic understanding of football like yourself to at least understand that tackles are not a metric of how good a safety is in run support. Where those tackles come from is a much better measurement.
I have seen far too many piss poor angles taken by this undersized/underwhelming safety and so has BB. Again, lets see where Gregory is starting next year and how he does if he's not playing with a top 8 corner and top 4 safety. Again lol at this broken thumb excuse you keep throwing out there for him. Playing with a broken thumb as a safety doesn't effect the angles you take, its not the same as a QB/receiver/trench player who actively use their hands on every single play.

 

[JackBauer]

I'll say this again and then let it go because it's questionable whether I'm getting what I think is an important point across in this discussion vs. the "Gregory sucks" canard:

(1) BB's first priority in letting Gregory go was saving money on the cap, NOT because he "sucks" or in anticipation of a huge upgrade in play at his position.

(2) He figured he could kill two birds with one stone by playing someone much cheaper already on the roster (likely Harmon), a rookie, or (longshot) Adrian Wilson (whose contract I'm unsure of so don't quote me). Again, NOT because he expects great improvement over Gregory's play but because he believes that whoever succeeds him POTENTIALLY can perform somewhere around the same level, MAYBE even better with time, while saving the team money. Consequently, I highly doubt the team has designs on signing a high-priced veteran free agent for strong safety, assuming one even exists that might fit the bill.

I think both of your postulations assume facts not in evidence. And the great thing is the Patriots don't need to sign a high-priced veteran to improve on Gregory.

 

[shmessy]

Gregory sucks. Plain and simple. One of his bad angles cost the Pats home field in the AFC. He's an ok 3rd or 4th Safety.

Wrong.

The Pats were missing 3 WR's and had a full stable of RB's against a weak Miami run D whose main strength was pass rush.

McDaniels/Brady inexplicably going 55 pass-22 run that day lost home field in the AFC.

That game was 24-20 and the playcalling was a brainfart that had far reaching consequences for playoffs.

Should have been an easy win, but the bad angle by Gregory on that one play was not what turned the whole ball of wax.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Bill is going after an upgrade! YES BILL

Not surprising. Gregory has two up and coming young guys behind him - Wilson and Harmon. Plus he was pretty mediocre as a starting safety. That position needs an upgrade.

I'm also hoping we hear Talib is resigned soon. I'm hoping it's a 3 year deal.

 

[Tunescribe]

I think both of your postulations assume facts not in evidence. And the great thing is the Patriots don't need to sign a high-priced veteran to improve on Gregory.

My "facts not in evidence" offer reasonable conjecture based on this roster move and what the current roster offers as remedy, along with a reasonable assessment of whatever might come (or not) via free agency/draft at safety. If you can do better, have at it.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

I'm not sold on Pryor as a 1st rounder.

I went back and reviewed his highlights just to make sure; this guy is incredible. I haven't seen a safety this explosive since Sean Taylor. I was incing watching the tape as some RB or WR comes prancing out of the backfield just knowing he is going to get blown up.

I see the mocks having him go at 22 or so, but I think he will go around 10 or so, unless the there is some serious flaw that does not show up in the highlights tape (we need a low-lights tape). Please Calvin, punch a cop...

A defensive backfield of McCourty, Pryor, Dennard, Talib, and Collins would be sick, but it is not going to happen.

 

[JackBauer]

My "facts not in evidence" offer reasonable conjecture based on this roster move and what the current roster offers as remedy, along with a reasonable assessment of whatever might come (or not) via free agency/draft at safety. If you can do better, have at it.

You stated that "BB's first priority in letting Gregory go was saving money on the cap, NOT because he "sucks" or in anticipation of a huge upgrade in play at his position."

Aside from having no possible way of knowing what BB's primary motivation(s) were, the fact that they didn't ask Gregory to come back for less money suggests that BB considers Gregory replaceable and, in fact, BB anticipates upgrading play at his position (I'd even say it's likely BB figures to hugely upgrade play at his position; of course that depends on his ability to properly assess his replacement).

You also assume that BB doesn't envision vast improvements at the position but instead is planning on satisficing with Harmon or a rookie (I won't even consider A. Wilson as I don't think he makes the team). Of course, it's reasonable to think BB considers Harmon as offering a great improvement over Gregory, just as it's reasonable to think BB can find a safety in the draft who offers a great improvement over Gregory.

In sum, it makes no sense to look at this move and conclude that BB is already resigned to safety play roughly commensurate with Gregory's. In fact I think the alternative is more likely to be the case: that BB is clearly unsatisfied with with safety play and is going to make significant moves to upgrade the position.

 

[Tunescribe]

You stated that "BB's first priority in letting Gregory go was saving money on the cap, NOT because he "sucks" or in anticipation of a huge upgrade in play at his position."

Aside from having no possible way of knowing what BB's primary motivation(s) were, the fact that they didn't ask Gregory to come back for less money suggests that BB considers Gregory replaceable and, in fact, BB anticipates upgrading play at his position (I'd even say it's likely BB figures to hugely upgrade play at his position; of course that depends on his ability to properly assess his replacement).

You also assume that BB doesn't envision vast improvements at the position but instead is planning on satisficing with Harmon or a rookie (I won't even consider A. Wilson as I don't think he makes the team). Of course, it's reasonable to think BB considers Harmon as offering a great improvement over Gregory, just as it's reasonable to think BB can find a safety in the draft who offers a great improvement over Gregory.

In sum, it makes no sense to look at this move and conclude that BB is already resigned to safety play roughly commensurate with Gregory's. In fact I think the alternative is more likely to be the case: that BB is clearly unsatisfied with with safety play and is going to make significant moves to upgrade the position.

Harmon didn't show enough last season to supplant Gregory, so it's yet to be seen if he can match Gregory's performance let alone improve upon it. Expecting a rookie to show immediate improvement at the position is a tall order, especially where Gregory had enough command of the defense to call signals. The bottom line is whether BB commits significant resources to the position via high draft pick or free agency. We shall see.

 

[YearbookCurfew]

Does this mean no more Butt Fumble return TDs?

 

[Keyser Söze]

Gregory is trash, if that means I'm an idiot for noticing the obvious than so be it. Just because he didn't **** up every play doesn't mean he can tackle and is good in coverage. I'm sick of settling, just improve where we need to.

 

[DaBruinz]

After 13 years on this board, you'd think that nothing would surprise me anymore. We've now got people in here who know damn well that no one learns this defense over-night. No one. And people refused to acknowledge that as a reason that Gregory took some bad angles in his first year.

What happened this year? Gregory was one of the strongest players on defense to start the season and was a LEADER on this team. He was making plays. The number of bad angles he took was down significantly. Then he got hurt. And the defense crapped the bed. And while that happened, Mayo and Kelly also went out. So the team never really recovered even after Gregory came back.

You all seem to have missed that numerous players tweeted how Gregory helped them. How he taught them and was like a second coach on the field. And, if you honestly stop and think about how the team played both with and without Gregory last year (without bias) you'd admit that the team defense was better with him than without him. People also seem to have forgotten that Gregory was the one wearing the Green Dot for the first few games and Mayo only took it when Gregory went down.

Now, does that mean he can't be upgraded? No. He can definitely be upgraded. But so can Talib, Ninkovich, Arrington, and even McCourty. The reality is that whomever is brought in will go through a similar learning curve as Gregory, whether it be a rookie or a Vet.

So, this idea that Gregory some how sucked and that was the reason he was cut is what doesn't actually have any substance to it. You don't start a guy at Safety and give him the Radio in his helmet to direct your defense if he "sucks". Sorry.

Gregory has been cut with no ill between him and the team. Let's leave it at that and see what the Pats do to improve the Left Safety position.

 

[Keyser Söze]

I never thought I'd see Bill start a CB every game who was a ST scrub with another team, there is a first time for everything.

 

[Sciz]

I never thought I'd see Bill start a CB every game who was a ST scrub with another team, there is a first time for everything.

Are we still talking about Gregory here? Because that'd be a blatantly incorrect evaluation of Gregory's Chargers career.

 

[JoeSixPat]

After 13 years on this board, you'd think that nothing would surprise me anymore. We've now got people in here who know damn well that no one learns this defense over-night. No one. And people refused to acknowledge that as a reason that Gregory took some bad angles in his first year.

What happened this year? Gregory was one of the strongest players on defense to start the season and was a LEADER on this team. He was making plays. The number of bad angles he took was down significantly. Then he got hurt. And the defense crapped the bed. And while that happened, Mayo and Kelly also went out. So the team never really recovered even after Gregory came back.

You all seem to have missed that numerous players tweeted how Gregory helped them. How he taught them and was like a second coach on the field. And, if you honestly stop and think about how the team played both with and without Gregory last year (without bias) you'd admit that the team defense was better with him than without him. People also seem to have forgotten that Gregory was the one wearing the Green Dot for the first few games and Mayo only took it when Gregory went down.

Now, does that mean he can't be upgraded? No. He can definitely be upgraded. But so can Talib, Ninkovich, Arrington, and even McCourty. The reality is that whomever is brought in will go through a similar learning curve as Gregory, whether it be a rookie or a Vet.

So, this idea that Gregory some how sucked and that was the reason he was cut is what doesn't actually have any substance to it. You don't start a guy at Safety and give him the Radio in his helmet to direct your defense if he "sucks". Sorry.

Gregory has been cut with no ill between him and the team. Let's leave it at that and see what the Pats do to improve the Left Safety position.

I don't disagree, but there were also plenty of hair pulling and face plant moments involving Gregory this season.

Now does having pressure up front help the secondary? Yes, we all know it does. And was Gregory often playing out of his natural position? Again, yes.

So no disrespect to Gregory - but Belichick has simply determined that an upgrade is needed (at least, I'm hoping to see one brought in)

This could simply be a situation where Belichick has simply determined that he can't continue with Gregory as the starter - and he then does a player a "favor" by cutting him, letting him catch on with another team and earn more rather than undermining his market value by pressuring him to accept a role as a backup with a pay cut.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Are we still talking about Gregory here? Because that'd be a blatantly incorrect evaluation of Gregory's Chargers career.

Arington.....

 

[Sciz]

Arington.....

Ah yes. Can't pass up an opportunity to bash Arrington any time somebody barely mentions him.

 

[All22PatsFan]

Ah yes. Can't pass up an opportunity to bash Arrington any time somebody barely mentions him.

Don't get me starting on the narrative that Arrington can't play outside CB.

 

[Tunescribe]

I don't disagree, but there were also plenty of hair pulling and face plant moments involving Gregory this season.

Now does having pressure up front help the secondary? Yes, we all know it does. And was Gregory often playing out of his natural position? Again, yes.

So no disrespect to Gregory - but Belichick has simply determined that an upgrade is needed (at least, I'm hoping to see one brought in)

This could simply be a situation where Belichick has simply determined that he can't continue with Gregory as the starter - and he then does a player a "favor" by cutting him, letting him catch on with another team and earn more rather than undermining his market value by pressuring him to accept a role as a backup with a pay cut.

Or, it could be a case of Belichick determining first and foremost that an upgrade in the salary cap situation was needed, anticipating that a cheaper/younger player could at least maintain status quo in Gregory's stead.

Gregory is trash, if that means I'm an idiot for noticing the obvious than so be it. Just because he didn't **** up every play doesn't mean he can tackle and is good in coverage. I'm sick of settling, just improve where we need to.

Let me guess: you play fantasy football. Right?

 

[Keyser Söze]

Or, it could be a case of Belichick determining first and foremost that an upgrade in the salary cap situation was needed, anticipating that a cheaper/younger player could at least maintain status quo in Gregory's stead.

Let me guess: you play fantasy football. Right?

never in my life, don't know how to play. I played CB/SS for 13 years, not at an NFL level but I can spot a bad player like Gregory rather easy.