NFL Free Agency Thread

[DaBruinz]

Not sure if you're agreeing or disagreeing with me here that there were circumstances why Wallace did not post the same numbers in 2013 as he did the previous year. Roethlisberger missing nearly a quarter of the season and Wallace missing other games when Roethlisberger was healthy seems to be a pretty good explanation for why those numbers fell off.

The issue I have is this idea that Wallace's stats dropped because of outside influences and not him. Fact is that Wallace's numbers have dropped because his play has dropped. Were there some other factors? Yes. But not nearly what people are making it out to be. It doesn't explain the 300 yard drop off.

Furthermore, people seem hell bent on ignoring the fact that Wallace is, essentially, a Sandlot football guy. That's what made him so effective in Pitt. Because, once Ben broke the pocket, it was "Heave and Hope".

 

[Todd Bradley]

You are saying we need to be active so far in FA to solve the problem that when Gronk, Edelman and Amendola were all out, we were weak at receiver.
That is a function of players being injured, not roster building. No team can build a roster that has no weakness when all the starters in a unit go down.

Rishard Matthews sucks. I wouldn't have paid 2 million a year much less 5. Sanu and Jones we paid more than double their real value. Signing them would be a mistake.
Forte was not going to come here. He wants to be an every down back, and we have Dion Lewis.

You're making no sense and I don't think you understand the point you yourself are trying to make.

Players get injured, you need to account for that. Telling me you can't build roster depth based on past injury history is absurd. You absolutey can and you absolutely do. Why else did we carry 4 tight ends last year at the start of the season?

For the last time, I'm asking to grab talented depth at WR. A veteran like Boldin and a solid #3 like Kearse is not destroying our cap. Not a bit.

 

[jah]

So they have 2 RBs who are very good at catching..i have no idea about Robinson

I kind of remember Robinson being able to catch some passes, but I might be stereotyping him as a former Saint. According to his stats, I seem to be wrong. Looks like the Jets are going for Ivory v2.

 

[Ring 6]

Why are you moving onto a different question. Isn't this about why Forte chose the Jets.

It was money, if it was playing time he would have chose I dunno.. a Canadian team.

Not moving on at all.

Forte wants to be an every down back.
I assume he eliminated Minnesota from his list, as well as St Louis, Pittsburgh, and Tampa to name a few.
He also eliminate the Patriots because he will not be an every down back with Dion Lewis on the roster, he would share the role. That is common sense, Lewis would get plenty of reps, probably half of them.

Bilal Powell isn't taking reps away from Forte.

So while his choice of teams may, in fact, have come down to money, the Patriots were not among the teams on the list he was choosing from.

Your last sentence was just stupid.

 

[AvocadoIceCream]

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Matt Forte would not consider the Patriots a team he wants to come to because he wants to play every down, and the Patriots have Lewis.
You are saying he would want to come here because he would be worse than the players we have so he'd be happy being a backup??????????

You think if the Pats were willing to pay him that much, he was coming here to be a back up? LOL

I'm saying they have more interest in Lewis getting most of the reps, and anybody else who's cheap getting the majority of the carries.

If your theory is that the Pats were willing to pay him that much, then you can't tell me they were going to make him a back up.

"hey Matt, yeah we want you for 4-5 mil a year, but ideally you'll be backing up Lewis..."

No, that's wrong. Bottom line is, if the Pats were willing to go to that price like you said they were, then your theory that Forte wanted a bigger role is incorrect. At that price, he'd be the feature back. Every down back. Lewis would have a smaller role.

But that's not the case, because they wouldn't pay Forte that much, and sure as hell wouldn't pay him that much for a smaller role than he has now

 

[DaBruinz]

Bill is in Alabama right now getting ready for the draft. And caserio was at Rutgers.

Caserio was also at Northwestern. He helped run that Pro-Day..

 

[primetime]

The issue I have is this idea that Wallace's stats dropped because of outside influences and not him. Fact is that Wallace's numbers have dropped because his play has dropped. Were there some other factors? Yes. But not nearly what people are making it out to be. It doesn't explain the 300 yard drop off.

Furthermore, people seem hell bent on ignoring the fact that Wallace is, essentially, a Sandlot football guy. That's what made him so effective in Pitt. Because, once Ben broke the pocket, it was "Heave and Hope".

I'm not ignoring that. In fact, I've specifically said in every post about Wallace that, while Miami and Minnesota were not great fits, it is very likely the Patriots are not a good fit either. He needs a team like the Ravens, and if he regains his form he'll be extremely dangerous there.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'm basing it on common sense. Forte has been an every down back, and wanted out of Chicago when Lankford emerged. Why would he choose a team with a guy who will take playing time away from him?
I'm sure BB would have loved to have him and would have paid that in a heartbeat, but you can only offer, you can't make them accept.

your 'facts' are sketchy at best.......Forte is no longer with the Bears because the Bears had no interest in extending him.....he wanted to stay in Chicago, but the Bears did not want him.

going 'all in' with a 30 year old RB who has averaged 300 plus touches per year for 8 years is flat out stupid

 

[Wheelman]

Manning to Sanders. Did you not watch the AFCCG? Denvers o-line wasn't the greatest yet he tossed it up and Sanders got it. That's what the Pats need. To say different is wrong at best.

That play and Manning running it for a 1st down still makes my blood boil! It was going to be a f*cking pick! And how the **** do you let a handicap sex offender run away from you like that. For f*ck sakes! dsfli;sd;lhfdslkjsadhfkdslhsdlkfjhslkfsjdf

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Denver Broncos' receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught tampering with PatsFans.com's own @Uncle Rico

Emmanuel Sanders has a specific quarterback in mind

 

[Ring 6]

You're making no sense and I don't think you understand the point you yourself are trying to make.

Let me go slow so you can understand.

A team has a limited amount of cap space. They must have starters at all positions, and they must have specialists. They must have backups, but rarely are backups starting caliber on any team at any position, because there is a cap.

When teams sustain injuries, they get weaker at those positions.
They do not get weaker because they 'didn't plan for it'. They got weaker because they cannot afford starting caliber players as backups, not to mention those players won't want to come to a team where they are backups.
If you are good enough, you overcome the injuries and still win with some lesser players on the field. Aside from a putrid OL, the Patriots were just that.

Players get injured, you need to account for that. Telling me you can't build roster depth based on past injury history is absurd. You absolutey can and you absolutely do. Why else did we carry 4 tight ends last year at the start of the season?

What position are you going to weaken to have expensive depth at WR? That's the only choice. So next year when a different position gets injured you will be railing all offseason about having twice as many starters as needed at THAT position.

For the last time, I'm asking to grab talented depth at WR. A veteran like Boldin and a solid #3 like Kearse is not destroying our cap. Not a bit.

Kearse is going to cost 8 million a year.

We need to sign players. The argument you are making, that the players we need to spend the most money on are the ones who will play if Gronk, Edelman and Amendola get hurt, comes with the consequence that you choose to hurt the talent that is out on the field at a different position in order to have depth at WR. What happens when the position you weakened gets injured?

Or are we just going to pretend that we can get whoever we want and there are no consequences to the rest of the roster?

 

[crownontherocks]

Appearing on NFL Network's Free Agency Frenzy, Aditi Kinkhabwala reported the Browns will waive or trade Johnny Manziel by the end of this week.

There you go donkeys or jets

 

[Ring 6]

I kind of remember Robinson being able to catch some passes, but I might be stereotyping him as a former Saint. According to his stats, I seem to be wrong. Looks like the Jets are going for Ivory v2.

He is a backup, this years ridley for them

 

[DaBruinz]

Then you'd be wrong wouldn't you. In fact there has been praise in his hands and route running. He developed as he matured. Look it up.

I guess I could say the same about you and facts. Is that fair?
DW Toys

Who has praised Wallace about his route running? His bum-chum Big Ben? Yeah. There is a real unbiased guy..

Sorry, but I'm not wrong about Wallace. Wallace wouldn't have done squat with the Pats.. Just like Chad Jackson and Chad Johnson.

No. It's not fair to say about me and facts. I use them. You ignore them. You always have and never once admitted when someone corrected you..

 

[Brady_to_Moss]

More Sanu from Bengals fans:

Glad he gets his money, but other than a few wildcat plays, I can’t remember a time where I thought “boy I’m glad that guy’s on The Bengals”. He’s a nice guy, a team first guy from what I know, but he’s at best a #3 WR. He had his chance a few times (Marvin Jones injury, AJ Green injuries) to step up and be a #2, never did it though.

Exhale Pats fans!

 

[BadMoFo]

Brad Biggs ?@BradBiggs 3m3 minutes ago


Plan is for Akiem Hicks to visit #Bears tomorrow.

That's usually a good sign.

 

[Froob]

Denver Broncos' receiver Emmanuel Sanders caught tampering with PatsFans.com's own @Uncle Rico

Emmanuel Sanders has a specific quarterback in mind

WOW Ian he lets Rico go just like that?

 

[DaBruinz]

Big woop! The Draft class this year is awful.
DW Toys

This year's draft class is deep in areas that the Patriots need it. The O-line and D-line. And, if you don't think the Patriots need O-line (tackles in particular) and D-line (depth at DT and DE) then you are beyond help.

 

[Ring 6]

your 'facts' are sketchy at best.......Forte is no longer with the Bears because the Bears had no interest in extending him.....he wanted to stay in Chicago, but the Bears did not want him.

going 'all in' with a 30 year old RB who has averaged 300 plus touches per year for 8 years is flat out stupid

Don't think I said "fact". Since I do not know Forte personally, how could I.
Forte has always been an every down back. He wanted out of Chicago, regardless of whether they executed the transaction of not.
Its just common sense that an every down back looking for a new team would rule out teams he has to share the job on.
Whether the Patriots would be interested or not is moot, because they never had the chance to be.

By the way I agree wear and tear is an issue, but at this point in the NFL 4 mill a year is chump change, worth risking that the wall wont be hit too soon.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Adam Caplan ?@caplannfl 36s37 seconds ago
Two more visits for #Patriots today: RB James Starks and TE Clay Harbor.