Player Signing OFFICIAL - Gonzo signed to extension

[RobertWeathers]

The big loser here is Adam Schefter. He was reporting as of yesterday that the two sides were far apart, the Pats weren’t anywhere close to Witherspoon’s contract, and the Pats were considering pulling out negotiations all together. This is egg on his face.

Don't worry Slippery Schefter will do his typical spin and absolve himself of any inaccurate reporting.

 

[203Pat]

I don’t know where his numbers fall in line with anyone else's and I don't care. I am just glad it's done. Hopefully Maye's next year is a little smoother.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

post deleted

 

[JoeSixPat]

Much has been said about how Vrabel likes to play zone, and Gonzo is a man corner, but they played a lot of man in the playoffs when the competition was at its toughest. I do kind of think that playing so much zone actually saved Gonzo's body from getting too beat up. He's prone to getting hurt but he generally had a fine year and he was 100% locked in playing his best football of his career when it counted. So, we may get frustrated at times when they're paying big bucks to Gonzo but yet in zone during the regular season, but there is likely a method to the madness.

For what it's worth, more zone defense may help in run defense as well, since that could be a bit of a sore spot this year.

Yes, I do think it's a game to game decision depending on the competition. If needed Gonzo can shut down their leading WR - but against lesser competition in the regular season, zone makes more sense.

So he's fully up to the task of playing man D but it's just wiser (and potentially healthier) to play zone depending on the situation.

I think Gonzo preferred to play man because like it or not CBs are judged by how many INTs they get and there's less opportunity when playing zone - but that's no longer a concern given this contract. He'll play what they want him to play.

Ultimately I know no team can afford to have a Top 5 or even Top 10 player at every position when it comes to free agency.

But if I were limited to 2 positions where we'll be paying top dollar for the top players, for me that would be QB and CB - and that's what we have, or will have when they extend Maye next season.

 

[TommyD4207]

That is some cheap dead cap after 2027.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

Like I always said....everything was based on IFs. IF it was true that Gonzo was asking all these crazy things, then trade him. IF he was going to be a distraction.

As far as Kraft being cheap, the worst I'd say is sometimes his spending is REACTIONARY rather than PROACTIVE. Ideally, you'd like your owner to be on top of things before they become a true issue. BUT once he is made aware of something, he seems to have no issue spending top dollar.

And don't forget that Kraft COULD have continued negotiating with other states to get sweetheart deals when it came time to build a new stadium. Please name another owner who paid for practically the whole stadium on their own. HE COULD HAVE GONE ELSEWHERE. True, initially, he did look for investment from Massachusetts. But this is the same guy who maneuvered himself to buy the team to prevent them from leaving. He likely never seriously considered moving. I think it's fairly obvious he used Connecticut to get some concessions from Massachusetts. But he still ended up paying for the then CMGi Field on his own.

 

[TommyD4207]

I don’t know where his numbers fall in line with anyone else's and I don't care. I am just glad it's done. Hopefully Maye's next year is a little smoother.

Let's hope.
Gonzalez' "cheap" year is 2027 (cap-wise), that wasn't an accident.

 

[h0c2000]

It took almost 25 years to get a second 100M contract and not one of those contract extensions was for the GOAT?

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

He'll pitch a fit in 4-6 yrs when the kid (no longer a kid) leaves via free agency.

Patriot for life.

All that plastic surgery work is starting to make him look like Al Davis

 

[Uptown]

I wonder what was it about the Goddell extension that finally got Gonzo’s deal finalized…

 

[Ring 6]

Yes, I do think it's a game to game decision depending on the competition. If needed Gonzo can shut down their leading WR - but against lesser competition in the regular season, zone makes more sense.

So he's fully up to the task of playing man D but it's just wiser (and potentially healthier) to play zone depending on the situation.

I think Gonzo preferred to play man because like it or not CBs are judged by how many INTs they get and there's less opportunity when playing zone - but that's no longer a concern given this contract. He'll play what they want him to play.

Ultimately I know no team can afford to have a Top 5 or even Top 10 player at every position when it comes to free agency.

But if I were limited to 2 positions where we'll be paying top dollar for the top players, for me that would be QB and CB - and that's what we have, or will have when they extend Maye next season.

Actually I think there are more ints in zone than man, all things (mostly pass rush) equal.
Zones can disguise coverage, always have defenders around for tipped balls there are more likely to be guys underneath in the throwing lanes to tip passes.

 

[Zoomnbyu]

What are the sports-radio fellas gonna discuss now? The game?

This might be the best post of the thread.

 

[Ring 6]

That is some cheap dead cap after 2027.

That’s cash not cap

 

[JoeSixPat]

It took almost 25 years to get a second 100M contract and not one of those contract extensions was for the GOAT?

Well at that point, unlike Bledsoe's 10 year contract, few QBs wanted to be locked in for 10 years at the same salary - and of course you needed that much time to get to $100 million given that top tier QBs were making $10 mill a season then.

Really funny in hindsight that as soon as Bledsoe signed that contract Brady was making his move - but again, like all the other players, you see 4 year contracts - not 10 years like Bledsoe, which was a huge outlier in length and value at the time.

 

[Sect140]

How about a betting pool?

How many minutes after kickoff does the first post show up in the GDT proclaiming the season over and the sky fallen?

Or should the units be seconds not minutes?

If they lose the coin toss they will be saying the seasons over.

 

[Huckleberry1]

@upstater1 @Vindicate ,

The other thread got locked.

And I think we all were essentially saying the same thing: We need middle class players, we need to draft well, and we should not overpay middle class guys (relative to big money deals).

The first priority was building a good starting team in all 3 phases, depth comes after that. They are barely a year and a half into the rebuild, and they started with the worst roster in the league. They have come a long ways since Vrabel took over. Next offseason will need a big QB contract, a focus on the linebackers, both off the ball and Edge, as well as further development of the ones they have. Then depth can be addressed more fully.