Absurdly Early (December 1) 2010 Offseason and Mock

[BillBelichickFan79]

I wanted Spiller to enter the draft last year so we could get him in round 2, but he's played his way to a 1st round pick this year. I thought he was the perfect replacement for Faulk b/c he is probably the best receiving RB in college football. They throw the ball to him a ton at Clemson on screens, wheel routes, etc. and he's got a great set of hands. They even line him up at WR sometimes. Not to mention he's the type of homerun threat a Chris Johnson is out of the backfield. He can take it all the way anytime he touches the ball, in the receiving game or the running game. I wouldn't be shocked to see him run in the 4.2s at the combine.

Unfortunately, I can't see us spending a 1st round pick on a guy to replace Faulk when we have other areas of need like OLB, DE, and OG. We definitely need a top flight pass rusher. So we'll probably see the Pats take a run at Noel Devine or Dexter McCluster or someone else who will go mid rounds like MayoClinic has been saying. Although we did need help at OLB at last year's draft and didn't get a pass rusher and were "supposedly" high on Percy Harvin in the first round. So maybe we would spend a 1st round pick on Spiller if he fell to us, but I doubt it.

I'd like to see us add a bigger power guy as well. Guys like Blount from Oregon, Montario Hardesty from Tenn, Roy Upchurch from Bama, and Andre Dixon from UConn are a few guys I like in the mid to late rounds of the draft. I like Allen Bradford too but I think he will stay another year at USC. I want to see us get younger at the RB position. I love Maroney and think he's great, but I don't want to rely on one guy. I'd rather spend some picks injecting young legs into the backfield than spend money on guys like Morris and Taylor who have a lot of mileage and are more injury prone at this point in their careers.

 

[doesntmatter1]

We all know how much belichick loves to draft TEs, but for the love of god someone has to make him stop. He is overly too picky at this position. He had one of the best blockers and a pretty good reciever in graham and let him walk. Then stephen spach wasn't bad and he let him go and i still dont understand trading thomas. There was also that tight end number 85 that was said to have made constant circus catches and was later picked up by the bills. He needs to stop wasting draft picks and make it work with undrafted free agents(punishment for wasting a 5th round on smith) like myers on the ps.

 

[mayoclinic]

I wanted Spiller to enter the draft last year so we could get him in round 2, but he's played his way to a 1st round pick this year. I thought he was the perfect replacement for Faulk b/c he is probably the best receiving RB in college football. They throw the ball to him a ton at Clemson on screens, wheel routes, etc. and he's got a great set of hands. They even line him up at WR sometimes. Not to mention he's the type of homerun threat a Chris Johnson is out of the backfield. He can take it all the way anytime he touches the ball, in the receiving game or the running game. I wouldn't be shocked to see him run in the 4.2s at the combine.

Unfortunately, I can't see us spending a 1st round pick on a guy to replace Faulk when we have other areas of need like OLB, DE, and OG. We definitely need a top flight pass rusher. So we'll probably see the Pats take a run at Noel Devine or Dexter McCluster or someone else who will go mid rounds like MayoClinic has been saying. Although we did need help at OLB at last year's draft and didn't get a pass rusher and were "supposedly" high on Percy Harvin in the first round. So maybe we would spend a 1st round pick on Spiller if he fell to us, but I doubt it.

I'd like to see us add a bigger power guy as well. Guys like Blount from Oregon, Montario Hardesty from Tenn, Roy Upchurch from Bama, and Andre Dixon from UConn are a few guys I like in the mid to late rounds of the draft. I like Allen Bradford too but I think he will stay another year at USC. I want to see us get younger at the RB position. I love Maroney and think he's great, but I don't want to rely on one guy. I'd rather spend some picks injecting young legs into the backfield than spend money on guys like Morris and Taylor who have a lot of mileage and are more injury prone at this point in their careers.

You and I are in complete agreement on this, as well as a lot of other draft related issues.

 

[BillBelichickFan79]

You and I are in complete agreement on this, as well as a lot of other draft related issues.

Great minds think alike

 

[mayoclinic]

Great minds think alike

BTW, Jonathan Baldwin looked very good for Pittsburgh yesterday from what few highlights I saw (didn'[t get to see the game - would have liked to see how Romeus looked). Can't believe they let the game get away, though.

 

[BritPat]

We all know how much belichick loves to draft TEs, but for the love of god someone has to make him stop. He is overly too picky at this position. He had one of the best blockers and a pretty good reciever in graham and let him walk. Then stephen spach wasn't bad and he let him go and i still dont understand trading thomas. There was also that tight end number 85 that was said to have made constant circus catches and was later picked up by the bills. He needs to stop wasting draft picks and make it work with undrafted free agents(punishment for wasting a 5th round on smith) like myers on the ps.

Erm, we haven't drafted a TE for four years......

If anything it's the FA's (Pollard, Smith, Spach, Kranchick) and UDFA's (DeVree, Stupar) that haven't worked out, whilst the (relatively low) number of Draftees have (Grahambo, Brick hands and Dave Thomas).

Looking at that he should draft more TE's and not pick them up off the street.

And I'd definitely take Jermaine Gresham next April.

 

[mayoclinic]

Erm, we haven't drafted a TE for four years......

If anything it's the FA's (Pollard, Smith, Spach, Kranchick) and UDFA's (DeVree, Stupar) that haven't worked out, whilst the (relatively low) number of Draftees have (Grahambo, Brick hands and Dave Thomas).

Looking at that he should draft more TE's and not pick them up off the street.

And I'd definitely take Jermaine Gresham next April.

I'm not sure I'd say that Dave Thomas "worked out" for us.

Jermaine Gresham and Aaron Hernandez are the two most interesting TE prospects. Both should go in the first 2 rounds, and Gresham probably in the first. I personally would prefer to address other needs that early in the draft. But I could see BB going that way, if Watson leaves.

 

[BillBelichickFan79]

BTW, Jonathan Baldwin looked very good for Pittsburgh yesterday from what few highlights I saw (didn'[t get to see the game - would have liked to see how Romeus looked). Can't believe they let the game get away, though.

Yes Baldwin looked did very good. He made a nice play at the end when Pitt went in where he recognized the zone coverage and cut off his route and just sat down and the QB found him. Plays like that are very telling about a guy and his recognition skills in reading defenses and adjusting to coverages. I wasn't able to catch the whole game either, just saw the last few minutes. But from what I've seen from Romeus throughout the season, I like him. He's not as explosive as a Derrick Morgan or Dunlap but he's still a solid player.

I also like Jermaine Cunningham on Florida as a mid round pick. I don't think he gets the recognition b/c he plays with Dunlap and a loaded Florida team. At 6-3 250 I think he's a good candidate to make the transition to 3-4 OLB. He's a pretty explosive pass rusher and has dropped into coverage a few times this year, but he struggles a little against the run so that's his downfall.

That 2011 WR class really does look great. I know it's a long way off, but I can't help but think about it with such enticing talent

 

[mayoclinic]

After the Miami loss, the picture for this season looks even murkier. The Pats are probably going to end up around 10-6 and at best the #4 seed in the AFC, and do not look like a serious contender right now. And if that happens, it has significant implications for the offseason, especially in an uncapped year:

1. The Pats would be picking around 20-21 in each round. That makes trading up much more feasible than picking in the 28-32 range.

2. If the Pats don't make it as far as the AFCCG, then we won't finish as one of the "Final 4" teams. The rules for signing free agents are somewhat less restrictive for the next 4 teams, including allowing 1 FA over $4.9M even if we don't lose any FAs of our own, and signing any number below $3.25M. That means the Pats could potentially resign Wilfork, Mankins, Gostkowski, Watson and Bodden and still go out and sign some veteran FAs to fill in areas of need.

Given this, I would suggest an offseason that looks something like this:

1. Sign UFA OLB Shawne Merriman, San Diego. Merriman has been slow to come back from his knee injury but is showing some signs of life. He's only 25 and is 6'4" 268# with a terrific motor. He's had some distracting issues and it's likely SD will let him become a FA. His down year might allow us to sign him for somewhat reasonable money - maybe something like 4 years for $20-24M, as a guess. Merriman would provide a veteran pass rushing 3-4 OLB.

2. Either re-sign Leigh Bodden or sign UFA CBs Richard Marshall, Carlos Rodgers, or Dunta Robinson.

3. Draft:

- Trade up in the 1st round to the 10-15 range to get ILB Rolando McClain. He's just too good to miss out on. If McClain is gone, depending on what happens with the CB situation CB Joe Haden may also be worth a trade up.

- 2A: OG/C Maurkice Pouncey, OG Mike Iupati, or OG/OT Gabe Carimi
- 2B: Ether DE/OLB Jason Pierre-Paul or Greg Romeus, or 3-4 DE Cameron Heyward or Allen Bailey.
- 2C: RT Joseph Barksdale or Gabe Carimi.

- Trade Matt Light to KC for their early 3rd round pick and draft DE/OLB Jeremy Beal or Austen Lane (if a 3-4 DE taken at spot 2B), or DE Corey Wootton or Adrian Clayborn (if a 3-4 DE/OLB taken at spot 2B).

That would leave us with a new 3-4 DE, two DE/OLBs (Shawne Merriman and a rookie), one interior lineman and one RT, plus either re-signing Leigh Bodden or signing an interim CB.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

2. If the Pats don't make it as far as the AFCCG, then we won't finish as one of the "Final 4" teams. The rules for signing free agents are somewhat less restrictive for the next 4 teams, including allowing 1 FA over $4.9M even if we don't lose any FAs of our own, and signing any number below $3.25M. That means the Pats could potentially resign Wilfork, Mankins, Gostkowski, Watson and Bodden and still go out and sign some veteran FAs to fill in areas of need.

Given this, I would suggest an offseason that looks something like this:

1. Sign UFA OLB Shawne Merriman, San Diego. Merriman has been slow to come back from his knee injury but is showing some signs of life. He's only 25 and is 6'4" 268# with a terrific motor. He's had some distracting issues and it's likely SD will let him become a FA. His down year might allow us to sign him for somewhat reasonable money - maybe something like 4 years for $20-24M, as a guess. Merriman would provide a veteran pass rushing 3-4 OLB.

Good news: If 2010 is uncapped, Mankins and Gostkowski are RFAs.

Bad news: So is Shawne Merriman, unless they just let him walk.

 

[BelichickFan]

One thing to have some fun with on occasion is to remember we could easily Franchise and Trade Wilfork. Not that I like the idea of losing him but if you want a McClain, or similar, on the team it's not as unrealistic as it might seem.

Depending on what his market is, with Faulk being a UFA I'd look into Reggie Bush who's said to be leaving N.O. Sign him to give a little offensive spark and we could really load up on defense throughout the draft. We're going to have to replace Faulk sometime.

 

[eagle eye]

Now that Golden Tate has declared himself he is the guy I want here. He is one tough mofo who can play WR but for me I like the idea of him in the Faulk role. He has played RB and he is an excellent route runner also. This guy would light up our offense again.

Free agency is going to be huge this year too and with such a deep draft its the most important year coming up for a while. The Patriots are in position to put themselves right back at the top of the game with some big moves and a good draft.

 

[BillBelichickFan79]

One thing to have some fun with on occasion is to remember we could easily Franchise and Trade Wilfork. Not that I like the idea of losing him but if you want a McClain, or similar, on the team it's not as unrealistic as it might seem.

Depending on what his market is, with Faulk being a UFA I'd look into Reggie Bush who's said to be leaving N.O. Sign him to give a little offensive spark and we could really load up on defense throughout the draft. We're going to have to replace Faulk sometime.

I was just thinking about signing Reggie Bush 15 minutes ago, that's so weird

I think Bush is the perfect guy to replace Faulk. Great at catching the ball out of the backfield and a homerun threat everytime he touches the ball. You could even line him up at WR in the slot on a few plays. Moss Welker Tate Bush would really look sick on offense. He would also be valuable on special teams where he could return punts. I don't like risking Welker back there he's far too important.

The only thing is that I don't know how much Reggie will want in terms of dollars and how much BB would be willing to pay. If they took care of this via free agency, as you said, they could load up on some defensive playmakers and o-line guys in the draft.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

No thanks to Reggie Bush...