After Cassel/Vrabel trade, Pats go on shopping spree in free agency

Belichick going into the draft with maximum flexability vs keeping a QB who may and probably has already peaked in his career ... it was a great move by Belichick ... as usual. Much over reaction in this forum even though Belichick has said the draft is just one piece of the overall puzzle. We still have the draft and some depth from training camp cuts to go

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

VJCPatriot said:

This year's free agent signings has been very, very impressive for the Pats. It's pretty obvious that this is maybe their best offseason since 2001. And that's BEFORE we even get to the draft. These are exciting times for Pats fans.

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Right, it gets even better when you realize we have 4 picks in the first two rounds!!

Why does this thread have 3 stars?

ausbacker said:

Agreed Deus, i was more giving rise to the fact that some people flew off the bush saying the Patriots pulled the trigger to early and could have gotten more for Cassel + Vrabel (which we may have) and that the Patriots looked silly. The move the Patriots made didn't bother me in the slightest for several reasons mentioned elsewhere.

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"flew off the bush." Love that expression.

Any disappointment and/or bewilderment I had after that trade has settled into satisfaction that, indeed, BB knew what he was doing and got the best deal he could. TE, RB, DB, now WR, all addressed before the draft.

Now for an OL, DB and a couple of LBs on April 24, and we'll all be fine and dandy.

IcyPatriot said:

Belichick going into the draft with maximum flexability vs keeping a QB who may and probably has already peaked in his career ... it was a great move by Belichick ... as usual. Much over reaction in this forum even though Belichick has said the draft is just one piece of the overall puzzle. We still have the draft and some depth from training camp cuts to go

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Icy, no offense, but thanks for pointing out the really, really obvious. Like really obvious. (I think that might become a catch phrase around here.) :singing:

Hard to judge Cassel. I hope he does well, but the idea of keeping him never made a heck of a lot of sense with me (In BB We Trust, but that kool-aid would have been hard to swallow). Once again, the Pats have managed to make solid, low-risk signings to bolster the roster, taking pressure off draft day. Nice.

DaBruinz said:

The best part about all the players they've signed is that none of them were TRUE UFA... They were all cut by their previous teams.

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..... and mostly low-risk, high reward too signings too. That's kinda been the beauty of this OS so far. Nothing really flashy, but certainly a lot of chin rubbing, and saying "Yeah, he could really work out here". Round out 1-2 thin spots (not holes really) and we got ourselves a team

mayoclinic said:

Only a few weeks ago, many on this board were essentially taking the opinion that we couldn't afford to go after any signings in FA, but merely needed to address our own FAs and go after extensions. A few weeks before that, many were debating whether we would actually franchise Matt Cassel. So we've gone from tremendous uncertainty to a nearly complete roster in about 5 weeks. Very impressive. Of course we have failed to extend any of our major players, but I think you have to give the FO the benefit of the doubt and assume that they would never sacrifice the core of the team without a solid long-term plan.

There are very few major holes in the prospective roster at this time. Safety could use a bit more depth and possibly an upgrade over Sanders. LB could still use some attention. But we have essentially gone from a team with no cap space and a number of big holes to a team which is stronger than 2008 in almost every area extremely quickly.

I hope Scott Pioli is doing as well in Kansas City.

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:yeahthat: Well said

After the pats front office traded Cassel/Vrabel, I expected them to focus on extending Wilfork and build throug the draft. As it is right now, they've addressed most of the team's weakness with the draft just around the corner.

What do all the people who were gutted after trading Cassel for a 2nd say now?

i wasn't gutted after the trade just suprised. what would i saynow? wait another 24 hours more and we may have got denvers number 12. but heind sight is 20/20 and personally i think the pats offseason to date has to be top 2 or 3 of all teams we are looking pretty sweet going into the draft. i think its going to be really good to look at what plays out 1st day

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

spacecrime said:

We bask in the brilliance of your hindsight. Thank you for gracing this forum with your astute ability to predict the past with unerring accuracy.

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10 characters

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

ausbacker said:

astute posters mentioned early that the Patriots were going to go on a spree this off-season, more likely targeting big name free agents, rather than the savvy and lewd targeted needs acquisition spree we've gone on.

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Dang, I can't believe I missed all the lewd acquisitions...

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

Bring Back Antowain! said:

No offense, but thanks for pointing out the really, really obvious. Like really obvious.

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on another note, I already have next week's lottery numbers picked out and have decided to go play golf at Pebble Beach next week.

....is there a more less thought out post?

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

From Felger

A: I want to hit on Marc’s prediction that the Pats will “pocket the majority of that freed up cap space.” Although I wouldn’t put it in those terms, I would also advise against holding your breath for a flurry of free agent signings. And get ready for the spin. You’re going to hear an awful lot this year about the salary cap constraints put on teams as the NFL heads into an uncapped year in 2010. Some of the loopholes teams were allowed to use in the past (pushing cap dollars off to the next year through the use of “not likely to be earned incentives,” for example) are not in play this season. So to be safe, the “smart” teams are going to leave themselves plenty of room under the cap in case of emergencies late in the year. Bank on the Pats being one of those teams. Then there’s the economy, the looming CBA battle and the Patriots’ prominent position among fellow NFL owners. Would the Krafts want to set a bad example by spending lavishly as the league enters a downturn and a tough labor negotiation kicks off? Probably not. I think the decisions the Pats make this offseason will be as driven by finances as anything. It’s going to be all about the money this year, folks.

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So Felger thought it was all about banking the cap space.

Quoting someone like Felger isn't the same as quoting someone with great forethought, but Felger is one reason there's no harm in the OP's statement.

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

PatsFan37 said:

From FelgerSo Felger thought it was all about banking the cap space.

Quoting someone like Felger isn't the same as quoting someone with great forethought, but Felger is one reason there's no harm in the OP's statement.

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If Felger played baseball, he'd account or ZERO home-runs.

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

Deus Irae said:

Had the deal been done 24-36 hours later, the "spree" would have been the same. The only possible loss, assuming reports regarding dates of signing are correct, would be Baker. I'm not going to wade into the whole "But...." thing again, I'm just pointing out the signing dates.

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Yes and no. There were other offers on the table, the fact that they weren't signed by that day doesn't change the fact that they could have been and couldn't be without the trade. That would be a great thing for the rep of the organization. "OK, you accepted our offer, we will get back to you when we have the cap room".
In any event, there was absolutely no reason to wait 24-36 hours, because there was absolutely no reason to believe anything would change.
You are suggesting the right thing for BB to do was to stall 24-36 hours for no apparent reason with nothing to visibly gain at the cost of the TE he wanted to sign, hoping that in those 24-36 hours an offer that wasn't close to on the table would magically appear?
We both know that
A) this makes no sense and
B) the only reason you make it up is to support your preconceived belief that BB acted in the best interest of Scott Pioli and the Chiefs instead of the best interest of the New England Patriots, which essentially everyone who has paid attention to BB feels is a ludicrous thing to assume

jsull87 said:

i wasn't gutted after the trade just suprised. what would i saynow? wait another 24 hours more and we may have got denvers number 12.

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may have, may not have, but don't lose track of hte chronology. bb had a deal in place with kc when denver/detroit/tampa all jumped into the act. he would have had to renege on the agreement, which i don't think he would have done with anyone, but he certainly wouldn't have done it to a guy he respected.

the biggest surprise to me was vrabel. i know bb prefers to get rid of a player a year early rather than a year late, and this (among other of his philosophies) has seen the partiots become the team of the decade, but I still will miss vrabel.

but then, i thought i would miss milloy and 2003 turned out okay.

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

JSn said:

If Felger played baseball, he'd account or ZERO home-runs.

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Quite a few errors in the field, too. :singing:

spacecrime said:

but then, i thought i would miss milloy and 2003 turned out okay.

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The last time we missed the playoffs were 2002, and we made big changes before winning 2 straight. Belichick is completely re-tooling the D after not making the playoffs this year.

Forgot to add Banta-Cain to the list. He's going to be a ST star this year.

maverick4 said:

The last time we missed the playoffs were 2002, and we made big changes before winning 2 straight. Belichick is completely re-tooling the D after not making the playoffs this year.

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It's funny but it makes you wonder how valuable those extra few weeks are for setting yourself up for the draft and free agency and so on.

Re: After Cassel/Vrabel Trade, Patriots Became Huge Players in FA

Deus Irae said:

I'm not going to wade into the whole "But...." thing again, I'm just pointing out the signing dates.

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That's good because :

"The source, who was involved in the trade discussions, says Belichick aggressively pushed Cassel upon McDaniels from the onset. McDaniels may have allowed loyalty to cloud his judgment and entertained Belichick's proposals far too long.

But according to the source, not one of the many trade offers that swung through Dove Valley came close to pushing the Broncos into striking a deal."

Klis: New twist in Broncos' soap opera - The Denver Post

Your little scenario of Belichick pushing the panic button is just not true.