Asante goes off on Bill/Pats organization

venecol said:

I wasn't clear, there are two separate opinions.

1. There were veteran FA that came here to collect rings;

The other opinion is that:
2. I wonder how many elite players he can bring here now. Not mid-tier guys, because that's his specialty. The team lacks talent.

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Who? This is what I keep asking. Who did he bring in?

I still have nightmares of Asante’s big drop he claims was “too high” over his head. That game was one sick joke of how many times the Giants were trying to turn the ball over but the Pats D couldn’t capitalize. I was prematurely celebrating while the ball was traveling into Samuel’s hands.

I initially predicted back then that Bill wouldn’t be pay big bucks to Samuel since he came up small in the biggest moment. But it turns out Samuel wanted to leave in 2006 and Bill probably didn’t even attempt to offer him another contract.

upstater1 said:

I just remember the Philly reaction to him being burned a lot. He could always jump a route and make an INT, but he gave up a slew of TDs. When he found out the Eagles didn't want him, he went on a tirade against Andy Reid and Joe Bannon.

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This. He wasn’t that good in Philly. I watched him a lot to see if it was a mistake letting him go and it wasn’t. He’s never been a true “lockdown” CB, only a route jumper.

As fans it’s good we can cheer for the jerseys on Sunday without hearing the majority of things that go on behind the scenes.

It’s pretty clear that Belichick can be a huge prick and does things that piss a lot of players off. Fauria on the radio a few months ago said that if you weren’t one of Belichick’s favourites he would bench you as you got close to hitting contract incentives, and vice versa if you were one of his favourites he’d put you in a better position to get those incentives. He recalled Kevin Faulk being really pissed off that as he got closer to an incentive his playing time was cut.

upstater1 said:

Yes, I mean, if there's a Gilmore in the future who gets their top offer from the Patriots, I don't think he's going to reject it.

Again, the only one I can think of who we might miss out on in the future is someone like Revis. But so be it. I can't think of any others.

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I would agree. Pats aren't a SB team now. Revis was being chased by the Broncos for similar $ as well but chose the Pats. I actually think the reason was he wanted to be on the east coast. I'd need to confirm that.

robertweathers said:

"Asante produced here but there is one play he didn't make that top players normally do".

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Boom. Mic drop

Boomer B said:

As fans it’s good we can cheer for the jerseys on Sunday without hearing the majority of things that go on behind the scenes.

It’s pretty clear that Belichick can be a huge prick and does things that piss a lot of players off. Fauria on the radio a few months ago said that if you weren’t one of Belichick’s favourites he would bench you as you got close to hitting contract incentives, and vice versa if you were one of his favourites he’d put you in a better position to get those incentives. He recalled Kevin Faulk being really pissed off that as he got closer to an incentive his playing time was cut.

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Which is why I want to know the real reason why Butler was benched and threw away the SB. It wasn’t really a “football reason” IMO. I hope the real reason was much better than just a BB power play.

upstater1 said:

Who? This is what I keep asking. Who did he bring in?

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James Harrison for one, and others just like him.

I will never understand the pure hate our fanbase has towards Asante. Our d held the Giants under 20 points. Our legendary offense didn't show up. A corner, not wr, dropped the ball. Other defenders dropped the ball that game as well. Mankins played like garbage etc. If he had held on to the ball he would be regarded as one of the best cb we have ever had but a single drop erases the consistent ballhawking plays from everyone's memory.

Asante was more of a ninja than cb and was special. Rewatch old games and you will see he was never a detriment for us when it came to tackling as well. He used that same burst showcased at jumping routes to deliver hit stick like tackles that were awesome. At the end of the day I wish we had kept him. It would've probably been cheaper to just pay him than the scrubs we had to go through such as Deltha O'neal, Chad Scott, Willhite etc. It literally took years to replace him. I don't care how he played with the Eagles, he was important to us and I think he was right to value himself the way he did.

I get it. We don't overpay. Yes our results speak for themselves but if I was a player I would be on Asante's side. I feel like we get over on players more often than not. If I was in Edelman shoes, I would've held out for top dollar around 2015. It took Edelman awhile to become elite but once he did I don't think he has sniffed elite money and now he is old. Combine the fact that we can't draft wrs, Edelman could have had us by the balls worse than Branch did.

We are the team where vets come to play one solid year and then get paid somewhere else. That is going to change until we get another franchise qb. Our luster is gone. I'm nervous/excited to see what kind of players we attract when we are just an ordinary franchise. Once covid is under control, we will see how BB truly rebuilds without Brady.

upstater1 said:

He rated his abilities higher than we did. He was not as good as he thought he was. Clearly, his play in Philly showed that.

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People here were insisting he was a top tier DB. I was in what was a distinct minority of posters who didn't consider him a top 10 guy.

Asante goes off on Bill/Pats organization​

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That's not going to help with recruiting

sb1 said:

Which is why I want to know the real reason why Butler was benched and threw away the SB. It wasn’t really a “football reason” IMO. I hope the real reason was much better than just a BB power play.

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It wasn't a football reason. Clearly, Bill being his typical spiteful pr*ck self.

Probably my least favorite player to ever wear a Pats uniform. The guy flat out sucked. Was beyond frustrating to watch. Probably the worst 10 pick season in the history of the NFL, for every pick there was at least 2 plays where his guy was running free down the field because his dumbass bit on a double route.

He can go eat a bag of Richards.

Oh and he should of caught that ****ing ball...18-1. Thanks Asante!

When you start your career with 2 SB wins and a few plays from 4, I'm sure there are folks out there who might think they're "the man" and get bitter when management doesn't see it the same way. Asante seems like one of those guys. You would hope that his ringless years thereafter would give him perspective to re-evaluate his earlier view, but that takes humility. Not sure he has much of that.

Regards,
Chris

DropKickFlutie said:

The last good CB we ever drafted before McDaniels screwed up our CB/WR drafting system.

.

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He’s really the only really good CB Bill drafted. Logan Ryan is in the category of good enough. Ditto with Hobbs although he had a very bizarre problem having good coverage then finding a way to fall down as the ball got closer to he and the WR. McCourty doesn’t count as he struggled at CB, despite his INT total, but found his niche at S. Darius Butler could've been on the good enough list had Bill not tried to play him on the outside and give up on him so early. Dennard showed promise year 1 until he fell off of a cliff year 2.

Deus Irae said:

That's not going to help with recruiting

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Yeah. This off-season is going to be brutal. There are a ton of ex-Pats players that are making the rounds to bash Bill. Not to mention Gronk who is probably texting everyone he knows telling them not to come to NE.

And as if things could not be any worse, WEEI posted these comments from Hunter Henry today:

“I think obviously, you’ve got to look at it financially,” he said. “I would be lying to you if I (said), ‘I’m not even going to look at the money,’ or anything like that. That’s part of it. That’s part of our job and everything. But I don’t think it’s all about that.

“I want to play somewhere where there’s a good quarterback. That’s huge for our position. It makes things a lot easier. … Playing with a good quarterback always makes things better. You’ve got to look at both. You’ve got to look at some of the financial stuff but not dive too deep into it that you go chasing it, because I also want to play with a good quarterback.”

Even if we offer the most money, it will still be a challenge to sign top skill players without the QB.

1960Pats said:

I actually jumped off my seat in celebration as the ball went through his hands. I guess that puts me in the "was a sure fire int" camp.

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Same I won’t forget that

BB is old school and has not adapted to the ways that the modern player wants to be treated.
Put yourself in the position of a valued UFA who has multiple suitors with similar deals on the table.

Why would you want to come to NE? perhaps if you thought BB and staff could improve your game so you get more $$ for the next contract.
Brady in the past was the draw. Now that he is gone, why subject yourself to the whims of a grouchy old guy?

venecol said:

James Harrison for one, and others just like him.

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Harrison did nothing for us. This is what I'm asking. Who are the others? I'm talking about guys that came i and helped us. We had a lot of Joey Galloways, Chad Ochocino's, James Harrison's. But these players were not helpful. I still say Revis is the only impactful player who came who is in the category of wouldn't have come if the Patriots weren't Super Bowl contenders. Rodney came after a non-playoff year, remember.

TheRainMaker said:

He’s really the only really good CB Bill drafted. Logan Ryan is in the category of good enough. Ditto with Hobbs although he had a very bizarre problem having good coverage then finding a way to fall down as the ball got closer to he and the WR. McCourty doesn’t count as he struggled at CB, despite his INT total, but found his niche at S. Darius Butler could've been on the good enough list had Bill not tried to play him on the outside and give up on him so early. Dennard showed promise year 1 until he fell off of a cliff year 2.

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I wrote last week that the team has struggled drafting DBs much more than it has struggled with WRs, but I certainly would've taken Logan Ryan over Asante Samuel if I had to start a team.