Patriots to meet with Nick Fairley

Was he ever actually good?

borg said:

It is incredible…BB and his magical powers. He can eliminate fans' memories of garbage vets that washed out in the Pats system.

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Not sure I get where you are going with this? Are you saying BB gets too much credit? That we should hold it against him for signings like Monty Beisel and Chad Brown?

Is he suppose to be 100% on with all his free agent signings? Maybe I'm just interpreting your post wrong?

Froob said:

Was he ever actually good?

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In college...

He had a couple solid years in the NFL earlier.

I hope they sign him. It is rare to see the Pats overpay, with the exception of Ocho, when they take a chance on these guys. Also, it is rare to see BB not move quickly on when one of these guys is done.

Clearly not all of these signings will work - but you never get a hit without swinging at a pitch. Fairley seems to be worth a swing if the price is right.

Froob said:

Was he ever actually good?

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His best years were in 2012 and 2013 playing alongside Suh. Injury shortened season in 14. He never really lived up to his potential as a high draft pick but did shine at times. I wouldn't put it past him to be productive as a rotational player which is exactly what this team needs. Has the skills but let's see the motivation.

The Haynesworth experiment went about as poorly as it could and it did nothing to derail a near Super Bowl season so why not try again?

Meeting at the owner's meeting? I could see Crapdell walking by and whisper to Fairley..."If you sign with them, I will fine you so hard." Then Crapdell walks away smiling.

Patriot Missile said:

Not sure I get where you are going with this? Are you saying BB gets too much credit? That we should hold it against him for signings like Monty Beisel and Chad Brown?

Is he suppose to be 100% on with all his free agent signings? Maybe I'm just interpreting your post wrong?

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Borg doesn't want Belichick to be right 100%, that would leave him with nothing to whine about.

TBR said:

Another former 1st round pick

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My first thought when i read this on yahoo five min ago.

Ivan said:

I see this as the benefit of losing guys like Ayers, Casillas, Hicks, Talib, etc..... It has to be obvious to players and agents around the league that New England is the best place to go when your career is faltering and you want to get it back on track and make some money before it is over prematurely. I'm guessing the lack of big money long term offers has Fairleys agent advising him that taking a short term deal in New England and playing well is his best hope of getting a longer deal with significantly more money. I would like like to see a two year deal because the Patriots have major deals to get done this coming season but if one year is all they will do that's ok.

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Agreed, I even said something similar in other thread, this may become a pattern, so many players that worked out here that were on their way out of the league. The last that didn't work out so well was Sopoaga but that was more of a desperate move, something needed to be done at the time, teams were running all over our D#.

he has been anywhere from sucky to mediocre

but if he comes here, he will be awesome

No one can honestly say they got super excited when Branch signed here, and he's had a similar career as Fairely.

I trust that if he signs here, he'll either become a beast like Beanch and Hicks did...or he'll get cut "Fairely" quick.

Sorry, couldn't resist that pun.

He was efficient last year in a limited role, not unlike Easley. Now the money just needs to make sense for a limited role like that, which means less than the $5 million that Fairley made last year and Hicks is making this year.

Ivan said:

Borg doesn't want Belichick to be right 100%, that would leave him with nothing to whine about.

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And he isn't the only one.. Several people on here are like that. It's actually pretty pitiful on their part that they think they know better than a 6 time SB winner. Which i'm sure they'll retort "Brady", yet he's the one that took him in the draft and then told the $100m QB to take a seat on the bench.

JMC00 said:

And he isn't the only one.. Several people on here are like that. It's actually pretty pitiful on their part that they think they know better than a 6 time SB winner. Which i'm sure they'll retort "Brady", yet he's the one that took him in the draft and then told the $100m QB to take a seat on the bench.

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I was guilty of that at one time....I will not make that mistake again

JMC00 said:

Alan Branch and Akiem Hicks wave back

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Branch didn't have motivation issues, he had health and life issues. Akiem hicks just "wasn't very good" which turned out to be, just not utilized correctly.

Completely different situations, moss is closer, but that was more a case of an incredible player being bored wasting his life on one of the worst teams in history.

You can never have too many big bodies up front. I actually think he would be an upgrade over Hicks who alot of people really wanted to keep.

yes please

1 year deal, play well get paid next offseason. resurrect your career with us

Marqui said:

In college...

He had a couple solid years in the NFL earlier.

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In college he was absolutely amazing, so the natural talent is definitely there. I don't think I have ever seen a national championship team that was such a two man show as when Auburn won the national championship. Cam Newton appeared to be a one-man offense and Farley was a one-man wrecking machine on defense, he looked like a man among boys. To tell the truth, in college it was difficult to tell who was the best, most dominating player between the two.

However, he never really took a step up in the NFL. In college he was simply stronger and quicker than everybody else, but in the NFL he was inconsistent. Plus, plenty of off-the-field incidents. I don't think his work ethic is exactly Bradyish.

Todd Bradley said:

No one can honestly say they got super excited when Branch signed here, and he's had a similar career as Fairely.

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Fairley is much more of a disruptive penetrator than Branch who's mostly just a run stuffer. Fairely's career has been more like Hicks' before he came here.