In Retrospect, How Do You View The Collins Trade?

[TomPatriot]

Addition by subtraction.

I certainly didn't realize it before Lombardi spoke out about the trade.

 

[Tunescribe]

I see no choice but to defer to BB's judgment on this move. BUT, Collins was a play maker who was a force when on his game, and those kinds of players can be difference makers in the playoffs. I just hope this defense doesn't wilt under pressure in the playoffs.

 

[FortressX]

In light of the Vikings/Zimmer fiasco it was necessary.

 

[MassPats38]

My position hasn't changed. The defense relies on people playing a role, and any reluctance to play the designed role hurts the scheme. If Collins wasn't going to play the designed defense and wouldn't change, then he needed to go as there were obvious plays when his play hurt the defense this season. And no way could he sit on the bench in a contract year and not cause issues on the team.

With that said, I liked him as a player and would have been happier if he fixed whatever was ailing him in order to remain a part of the defense. That level of talent with a willingness to accept coaching would have been awesome. When he has been on, he is a tremendous asset.

 

[nabwong]

I see no choice but to defer to BB's judgment on this move. BUT, Collins was a play maker who was a force when on his game, and those kinds of players can be difference makers in the playoffs. I just hope this defense doesn't wilt under pressure in the playoffs.

Serious question. Do you remember any plays that stood out in the superbowl against seattle made by collins? I can't remember any.

On the flip side, I remember how the Broncos TEs and RBs were getting open in the AFCCG last year. Just wondering if i'm having selective amnesia.

 

[Tuck]

Collins was way too inconsistent when he was with New England but I don't think that alone explained his departure. He looked to me like he had put a little weight on this year and didn't quite have the same speed he had last year and whiffed on a bunch of tackles. The fact he only netted a conditional third or whatever it was leads me to believe others around the league saw the same thing.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I disliked it then and I still dislike it now.

Collins was and remains a very good player.

The biggest test for the defense is still to come.

Collins remains a very athletic player. Doesn't mean the same thing as good. There are plenty of athletic guys, but football requires more than just athletic ability.

Collins was a very good player, but he wasn't this year. And he certainly hasn't done anything in Cleveland to make me regret him leaving.

If Collins was on-board mentally, then sure, I would think the D isn't as good without him. But it's clear he wasn't, and at that point, he's as useful on the field as playing your 10th-string QB. He was a liability, a huge hole compromising the D, and all the athletic ability in the world doesn't make up for that.

 

[mihap]

Hightower, Kyle Van Noy and Shea seem to have done a fantastic job and have brought an extra level of physicality to the position. True, Jamie was an incredible physical specimen, but it seem that Bill wanted to go in a different direction, maybe with a harder edge.

I agree that right now pats defense look great, but can we wait till they face proper offense like Packers, Falcons, Steelers or (Kansas/Seahawks(both have to have great day))

In preseason i didnt think of Collins as high priority, for me it was Hightower, Bennet, Butler. So i wasnt shocked that Collins was traded. But i didnt except this bacuse everyone was hyping him. For me Hof player is player who contribute on regular basis, every game plays 100% and doing few mistakes especially in critical moments. But i cant say that for Collins( Lynch caught pass in Sb and old Owen Daniels with forehead abused him last year). That is not high level play, where every mistake counts. I know that people make mistake, but two important games. Not like it.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Collins was responsible for russell wilson's big run at the end of the first half of the super bowl. That of course led to a touchdown.

 

[RobertWeathers]

I see no choice but to defer to BB's judgment on this move. BUT, Collins was a play maker who was a force when on his game, and those kinds of players can be difference makers in the playoffs. I just hope this defense doesn't wilt under pressure in the playoffs.

You could argue that Collins's best playoff games were blowout wins vs Indy.

Other than those hes been serviceable to lackluster.

The man on man coverage on Owen Daniels vs DEN was pathetic.

 

[Tunescribe]

Serious question. Do you remember any plays that stood out in the superbowl against seattle made by collins? I can't remember any.

On the flip side, I remember how the Broncos TEs and RBs were getting open in the AFCCG last year. Just wondering if i'm having selective amnesia.

Collins led the defense in both games with eight tackles each time. Against Denver he had two sacks and three tackles for losses.

 

[Wax Frog]

Hard not to like the move now. Van Noy is nowhere near the athlete Collins is (and I'm not sure there is another in the NFL), but he's more disciplined and does his job.

To extend my perhaps-silly analogy, BB would rather have a decent spoon that knows it's a spoon and does spoon things than an amazing spoon trying to be a Ronco WTF-o-matic (or maybe he was always a Ronco WTF-o-matic and BB hoped he'd turn out to be a spoon ).

 

[condon84]

Our defense is still susceptible to swing passes to RBs which Collins used to eat up and keep yards gained to a minimum. We haven't played an offense that take advantage of that but I'm sure the Steelers and especially Andy Reid's offense will do so if we do play them.

 

[PittPatriot]

The is looking good.
How much are we buying into the whole, "we have yet to face a playoff bound QB yet" talk?
I feel like the naysayers who will only accept Baltimore, Seattle, or Pittsburgh to have the top defense will use this logic to not go all-in with our Defense.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

I liked Collins. I'm surprised how good our defense has been without him. Disappointed that all we got was a 3rd rounder. That won't help our playoff run this year.

I don't know why Collins attitude changed this year. Drugs, alcohol, personal issues, ego? Who knows. But he was undoubtably a big time player for us the past few years. He was one of those rare players on defense that could take over a game. Remember him against the Texans earlier this year. Against the Colts in the playoffs a couple seasons ago.

and it always seemed like him and Donta Hightower could get to QBs on demand. Basically anytime we needed a sack just dial up Collins or Hightower. I don't see that happening anymore, BUT our DLine is getting it done much better now with Flowers emerging so we don't need to blitz.

 

[hambone1818]

As always, the team is greater than the sum of its parts. Collins was and is supremely talented but he seemed to regress this season and wasn't pulling in the same direction, for whatever reason.

I would have rather seen Patricia/BB get through to Collins and convince him the best approach for everyone involved - the team, Collins as a player, Collins as a professional - was for him to trust the coaching, work hard, keep his head down, 'do your job' type stuff, because this defense is better with an elite difference-maker like Collins. BUT, that obviously didn't happen, so the second best option is to cut your losses and the other LB's to fill in. Unfortunately for Collins, he's now languishing in the barren wasteland of Cleveland and he's probably lost millions in FA earnings because of it.

The team has recovered from a bit of a mid-season dip and I think the Collins trade (and Sheard inactive) were necessary actions to get to this point. I just wish it hadn't come to that, because Collins is immensely talented. But I'm happy with the way it's worked out because this defense is playing incredible and it seems everyone is on the same page and playing fantastic team defense.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

I wonder how much this had to do with BB trading Collins.



October 22nd Collins has a new hairstyle.
You've got to see Jamie Collins' new haircut







October 31st Collins is traded
Patriots trade linebacker Jamie Collins to Browns - Sportsnet.ca










Has anyone made this connection before? Let's face it, BB is old school and values team above individual. The Patriot Way is about the team as a whole, NOT individuals. All Patriots who have stayed on the team a long time have been clean cut and humble.


Although the Pats were probably already thinking about parting ways with Collins after the season, his wacky haircut looks like it was the last straw. As minor as it may seem, Collins wacky haircut looks like it was the last straw. may have been seen as sign of wanting attention, me-first, trying to stick out and be a personality, an act of rebellion and individuality.


Is it a coincidence that he got traded a week later? I know it was right before the trade deadline but the trade seemed very abrupt. No rumors or leaks, and basically we took whatever we could get for him. He was probably worth more than a 3rd but its hard to get that when you're quickly trying to offload someone.

 

[Deus Irae]

My guess is that this is a lot closer to Lawyer Milloy than to Richard Seymour.

Seems to have held up...

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Don't look at the transaction as a trade or at an individual. Instead it was a move to correct askew team dynamics aimed towards making team defense better. That seemed to work.
No matter how we do it, if this team defense manages to cover RBs on wheel routes better, TEs somewhat and running QBs like Wilson better this post season, the move was a good one.

 

[Danger Zone]

To extend my perhaps-silly analogy, BB would rather have a decent spoon that knows it's a spoon and does spoon things than an amazing spoon trying to be a Ronco WTF-o-matic (or maybe he was always a Ronco WTF-o-matic and BB hoped he'd turn out to be a spoon ).

There is no spoon...