PATRIOTS TRAINING CAMP Monday Patriots Training Camp Thread 7/29

[Ring 6]

Those bad teams at least usually have an established starter and a known coach. And they were in on several big name players and essentially were overlooked. The only name that lingered was the tackle that people were leery about (his name escapes me). Would have been nice to maybe sign him, but I’m not mad about it.

Other than that, I can’t think of anybody notable they truly missed out on. As we heard, they inquired on pretty much everybody. Not to mention, I’d rather have them splurge after they get their feet back under them rather than waste a year of somebody under contract.

There were many free agents better than what we have that could have helped the team. We went bargain basement. I just can’t be happy coming off a 4 win season with over 100 million to singing free agency and leaving over 40 mill on the table and justifying it as we order vault and nobody wanted our money. Other than Ridley, who we were outbid on (and went to a team with no legit QB and a new cus h by the way) what big money serious offer did we even make?we signed cheap guys who at best are borderline starters.

 

[Ring 6]

You say that, but who did you think they had a shot to sign and didn’t attempt it or cheaped out on? I can’t think of anybody. It’s not like it was a deep or memorable free agent class, by any means.

They had a shot to sign every free agent, or trade for them. Many players changed teams. Do you really think there weren’t any free agents this year?

 

[n1997y]

Pretty sure I heard they spent the 4th most cash this offseason, they have close to 90 players on the roster now and there's nobody out there on the free agency wire worth spending on. Who exactly should they sign?

Judon.
Godchaux.

 

[Ian]

There were many free agents better than what we have that could have helped the team. We went bargain basement. I just can’t be happy coming off a 4 win season with over 100 million to singing free agency and leaving over 40 mill on the table and justifying it as we order vault and nobody wanted our money. Other than Ridley, who we were outbid on (and went to a team with no legit QB and a new cus h by the way) what big money serious offer did we even make?we signed cheap guys who at best are borderline starters.

They had Hopkins and play in a bad division. Ridley even admitted that the idea of playing with him swayed him because he believes he can be the difference maker and make them competitive. The Patriots had no one with that effect on their roster. That and the fact Tennessee has no income tax, which Kraft also alluded to.

 

[Ring 6]

You say that, but who did you think they had a shot to sign and didn’t attempt it or cheaped out on? I can’t think of anybody. It’s not like it was a deep or memorable free agent class, by any means.

Free agents or trades.

First this is the Titans. If they could sign all of these guys why couldn’t we? They are no better at Qb and have a brand new coach but they signed
Ridley
Tony pollard
Tucker Boyd
Lloyd Cushenberry (12 mill a year ol)
L’Jarius Sneed by trade
Chidobe Awuzie
Kenneth Murray
Jamal Adams

We could have provably gotten all of them with the 43 mill we have left by outbidding Tennessee, or at least most of them.

 

[Ian]

They had a shot to sign every free agent, or trade for them. Many players changed teams. Do you really think there weren’t any free agents this year?

Again, the good ones didn’t want to come here. Had Bill remained the coach, maybe that wouldn’t have been the case. But at the same time, they drew a line in the sand a year ago and didn’t sign Hopkins and paid Parker instead. That was a massive error, and honestly crushed any shot of Mac or even Zappe for that matter having any real shot last season.

But with no big name coach or player, that’s significant. I mean, the team doesn’t really even have anyone to really market or get people excited when it comes to their marketing. It’s bad right now, at least until someone (or hopefully a few guys) emerge on offense.

 

[Ring 6]

They had Hopkins and play in a bad division. Ridley even admitted that the idea of playing with him swayed him because he believes he can be the difference maker and make them competitive. The Patriots had no one with that effect on their roster. That and the fact Tennessee has no income tax, which Kraft also alluded to.

Then he needed to pay more rather than be left standing when the music stops with a barrel full of cash and no players. What good does kraft saving money do us when we lose because he wouldn’t spend it?

I can’t believe you used the state income tax excuse.

 

[Zuma]

So you agree they are not trying to win now and refuse to spend? There is no reason to not bring in good players you can afford. You are predicting a SB win in 2025?

I agree they spent to retain good players and the goal is always to win as many games as possible. Wolf and the team are building from within…similar to Green Bay. We are going to kick butt in 2-3 years!

 

[Ring 6]

Again, the good ones didn’t want to come here. Had Bill remained the coach, maybe that wouldn’t have been the case. But at the same time, they drew a line in the sand a year ago and didn’t sign Hopkins and paid Parker instead. That was a massive error, and honestly crushed any shot of Mac or even Zappe for that matter having any real shot last season.

But with no big name coach or player, that’s significant. I mean, the team doesn’t really even have anyone to really market or get people excited when it comes to their marketing. It’s bad right now, at least until someone (or hopefully a few guys) emerge on offense.

In hindsight it would have been a waste because we had no Qb. It’s becoming more and more apparent Kraft won’t pay top $ for players and belichick was constrained and fought it because it’s worse with him gone.

They had 100million to address that with and didn’t.

 

[Ian]

Then he needed to pay more rather than be left standing when the music stops with a barrel full of cash and no players. What good does kraft saving money do us when we lose because he wouldn’t spend it?

I can’t believe you used the state income tax excuse.

He said it, and I’m sure the agents absolutely inform the players of their actual potential earnings. And it’s a real issue that I’m sure certainly works against them, unfortunately. They even said they offered to make up the difference, but all things considered, he wanted to play with Hopkins there.

But again, they were a bad team with too many question marks. I get it…it stinks, but I get it. As I said, they’re a young team that needs a year to play together and build some momentum before anyone is going to what to jump back on this train. It just is what it is.

 

[Ring 6]

I agree they spent to retain good players and the goal is always to win as many games as possible. Wolf and the team are building from within…similar to Green Bay. We are going to kick butt in 2-3 years!

We will be starting over again in 2-3 years. A serious team doesn’t have a 100 million opportunity to rebuild and leave 43 of it on the table because they want to suck and hope they have good drafts.
If the goals was to win as many as possible why is there 43 mill unspent?

 

[Ian]

In hindsight it would have been a waste because we had no Qb. It’s becoming more and more apparent Kraft won’t pay top $ for players and belichick was constrained and fought it because it’s worse with him gone.

They had 100million to address that with and didn’t.

Couldn’t. The guys they wanted and they really felt would help them chose elsewhere. I know it’s hard to believe, but based on the reports, that’s what happened. You can’t just overpay because the repercussions can cause other issues.

We’re already seeing it play out with Barmore’s contract, and they didn’t even hit a level close to what they would have with Ridley, which I can only imagine that ripple effect.

 

[n1997y]

I can’t believe you used the state income tax excuse.

I can’t believe you think state income tax is not a significant factor.

 

[Ring 6]

He said it, and I’m sure the agents absolutely inform the players of their actual potential earnings. And it’s a real issue that I’m sure certainly works against them, unfortunately. They even said they offered to make up the difference, but all things considered, he wanted to play with Hopkins there.

But again, they were a bad team with too many question marks. I get it…it stinks, but I get it. As I said, they’re a young team that needs a year to play together and build some momentum before anyone is going to what to jump back on this train. It just is what it is.

He says it but must people knew it was a bs excuse.
It affects half of the game checks. What is mass state tax? 6%. So offer him 3% more than Tennessee and it’s even. We have 43 mill doing nothing what’s a 3% bump gonna matter?

Tennessee off season disproves your argument. They are a bad team without a legit qb and a brand new hc. They broke the bank and players came running.

 

[Zuma]

We will be starting over again in 2-3 years. A serious team doesn’t have a 100 million opportunity to rebuild and leave 43 of it on the table because they want to suck and hope they have good drafts.
If the goals was to win as many as possible why is there 43 mill unspent?

“Wolf and the team are building from within…similar to Green Bay”.

Rookies are cheap… I mean that’s not news. Wolf and team are going to evaluate the players in 2024 and will replace the sucky ones with high-priced free-agents in 2025.

You can’t replace players if you haven’t seen how they perform with the Patriots. Some players are getting old, some are getting 2nd chances. These players may be the 1st to be replaced in 2025. Embrace the future.

 

[Ian]

He says it but must people knew it was a bs excuse.
It affects half of the game checks. What is mass state tax? 6%. So offer him 3% more than Tennessee and it’s even. We have 43 mill doing nothing what’s a 3% bump gonna matter?

Tennessee off season disproves your argument. They are a bad team without a legit qb and a brand new hc. They broke the bank and players came running.

They offered him more, he turned it down. They would have had to way overshoot it, and I would have to absolutely say that Calvin Ridley is not worth that kind of money.

And no, Tennessee had significantly better offensive players on its roster and a well known established OC for its head coach. Not a no name guy that people outside this region absolutely do not know the name of.

Again, I get that it’s easy to jump on the “they’re cheap” train, but it is what it is. And that money will be much more meaningful when it comes to possibly acquiring/extending someone next offseason when they have a better sense of what they really have on offense.

I don’t feel like spending for the sake of spending makes sense, especially if you couldn’t get the guy(s) you felt would help the team when they chose elsewhere.

 

[Zuma]

And that money will be much more meaningful when it comes to possibly acquiring/extending someone next offseason when they have a better sense of what they really have on offense.

 

[Ring 6]

Couldn’t. The guys they wanted and they really felt would help them chose elsewhere. I know it’s hard to believe, but based on the reports, that’s what happened. You can’t just overpay because the repercussions can cause other issues.

We’re already seeing it play out with Barmore’s contract, and they didn’t even hit a level close to what they would have with Ridley, which I can only imagine that ripple effect.

The guys they wanted were the cheap ones. Why not?
Sneed, Ridley, Williams, pollard, Boyd, Henry, Samuel, Beckham, fuller, Tyron smith, kinlaw, reddick, rankins, Jeudy, z smith, Devon bush, queen, Nixon, Diggs, Schultz, Hunter, okudah, Davis, Cleveland, armstead, marquis brown,peat, James, Wilkins, Dupree, Brian burns, Shaquan , huff, white, Eckler, biadasz, Armstrong, Luvu, chin, swift, Keenan Allen, Everett, byaird, reader, Robertson, Jacob’s, McKinney, Aaron jones, cashman, greenard, Mooney, hunt, Lewis, clowney, a Robinson , jewell (those 4 took Carolina’s money) , chase young, Matthieu, Jonah Williams, Murphy-bunting, jones, Jonah Jackson, white, Williams, curl, Floyd, gross-matos, Elliot.

That’s a lot of players that would have improved this team, and a lot went to not so good teams.

 

[Ring 6]

They offered him more, he turned it down. They would have had to way overshoot it, and I would have to absolutely say that Calvin Ridley is not worth that kind of money.

And no, Tennessee had significantly better offensive players on its roster and a well known established OC for its head coach. Not a no name guy that people outside this region absolutely do not know the name of.

Again, I get that it’s easy to jump on the “they’re cheap” train, but it is what it is. And that money will be much more meaningful when it comes to possibly acquiring/extending someone next offseason when they have a better sense of what they really have on offense.

I don’t feel like spending for the sake of spending makes sense, especially if you couldn’t get the guy(s) you felt would help the team when they chose elsewhere.

Why would they have to “way overshoot” it. Ridley is worth a lot more than money sitting in krafts pocket.

It’s not easy to jump on “they’re cheap” it’s painful. But it’s reality. We always thought we were smarter than everyone else by not paying but in reality we were way smarter then everyone else by winning without being able to pay.

This was a 4 win team with the goat coach. There are hundreds of players who could help this team.

Don’t even pretend they are going to spend it next year. They already have 78 million in cap space.
I know if feels better to think there is a positive answer, but there isn’t. Believe me I am devastated by where this franchise is but I can’t lie.

If a rookie HC and a 27th ranked offense that lost its best player is a no brainer for a free agent, we may be headed towards some 0-17s.

 

[Ring 6]

“Wolf and the team are building from within…similar to Green Bay”.

Rookies are cheap… I mean that’s not news. Wolf and team are going to evaluate the players in 2024 and will replace the sucky ones with high-priced free-agents in 2025.

You can’t replace players if you haven’t seen how they perform with the Patriots. Some players are getting old, some are getting 2nd chances. These players may be the 1st to be replaced in 2025. Embrace the future.

Every team gets rookies. If you are good with not fielding a competitive team do you can test young guys out and hope you get lucky I don’t know what to say.
There is no logic in not sending money in 2024 so you can out bad players on the forms and then spend it in 2025.

We saw how they performed last year. We had 100 million to sign players we left 43 mill in krafts pocket.

It sound like you think we are tanking

Why would you tank when you could have brought in 100 mill of players.