branch traded

[Jacky Roberts]

It's fun watching you all shed a tear today. :rocker:


You will all miss Branch. Now I hope Seattle goes to the Superbowl, so you'll only get a 31st or 32nd pick.

Actually, I think we'll be getting the 31st AND 32nd pick, fishboy.

 

[spidey2559]

We got what we asked for.

Now for this season, and this season alone will be Brady's greatest challenge.

His challenge will be know as the man who "only throws perfect passes".

Because with the group of receivers we have, with only Gabriel and Jackson as glimmers of hope, NO WIDE RECEIVERS WILL EVER BE WIDE OPEN!!!!

If this two tight end gimmick doesn't work, Dillon and Maroney are done for....and so will our chances for Super Bowl Miami.

We must be careful for what we wish for....you might actually get it.

 

[Pats726]

according to EVERYONE the Pats were not prepared to go beyond their initial offer because that would be considered "caving." I didn't make this up.

But...IT doesn't matter..there was NO COUNTER OFFER with Branch.. OR did I miss that some how...your lesson makes NO sense at all..and is out of touch with what happened..

 

[jefmblrd]

While I'm sorry to see him go, because he's a clutch reciever, I'm so glad it's over. I'm so sick of hearing about it. Let's hope it's a decent number one.

 

[CrazyDave]

We got what we asked for.

Now for this season, and this season alone will be Brady's greatest challenge.

His challenge will be know as the man who "only throws perfect passes".

Because with the group of receivers we have, with only Gabriel and Jackson as glimmers of hope, NO WIDE RECEIVERS WILL EVER BE WIDE OPEN!!!!

If this two tight end gimmick doesn't work, Dillon and Maroney are done for....and so will our chances for Super Bowl Miami.

We must be careful for what we wish for....you might actually get it.

Gee, you're gettin me depressed.

 

[feelthepain]

No where did I say we were perfect. We have had some busts, Terrell, Biesel, etc The current front office has done very well. The strategy also limits these failures, as they are players that are not at the core. We do not have a revolving door at the QB position for example.

This is called interpret what you read! Or in layman terms, reading between the lines. Since you don't come out and say the word "perfect", but elude to the fact that the Pats FO is without fault, it doesn't take a genius to come up with a comparable conclusion and that was mine. So before you accuse someone of putting words in your mouth, you could make your opinion a little less open for debate!! Try this, say what you mean and mean what you say.

Again, where do I claim its mistake proof? Please in our discussions do NOT put words in my mouth.

Again, paragraph A: line 1.

Any team that makes a run like ours, and all of the teams you mention qualify, have to be a bit lucky. But if the Pats weren't good, very good, even, luck alone would not help them win one championship, let alone 3.

Awsome, you "had" a great team, nowhere did I dispute that, but your team isn't great now, good yes, great, no! Between the loss of talent which for some reason Pat fans always think they will recover from and maybe a bit of bad luck for a change it's usually what happens when teams take that downward turn from elite to good to garbage. It's the same pocess when your descending as when you're ascending, only the oposite obviously!

No matter what love affair you have with every move the Pats make and no matter how bad you want it to happen, your team will not continue to be the team to beat, it will end and my guess would be sooner rather then later. Not because I'm a division rival, but because it's just the way it is, other teams improve and maybe the luck is in their favor for a change. You also don't take into account desire, you can only maintaine the highest level of competition for so long before it becomes to tough to maintain.

If we were losing Branch to FA next year, and we got a #1, are we not rebuilding for the future, so we can sustain?

maximizing value.

Getting a first for Branch was a tremndous value for the Pats, however if the Seahawks have another post season like last year that #1 may as well be a number 2, sure a high two is still a great pick to have, but there is no guarantee the pick you make will be anything special. Brady loved Branch and the they played well together, that loss has to count for something. The loses are not always going to be in the Pats favor, and you still say nothing about the loss for this season. Pat fans are the only fans allowed to never think anything bad can come of the moves their team makes. Your team has had a nice three year run, but to think your team has something special that no one else can figure out is just blind faith, nothing more. BTW the Pats suffererd their first loss in the playoffs with the BB/Brady combo, that's an important fact.

 

[Va_Pats_Fan]

This is called interpret what you read! Or in layman terms, reading between the lines. Since you don't come out and say the word "perfect", but elude to the fact that the Pats FO is without fault, it doesn't take a genius to come up with a comparable conclusion and that was mine. So before you accuse someone of putting words in your mouth, you could make your opinion a little less open for debate!! Try this, say what you mean and mean what you say.

I did. I discribed the system only. You assumed as a fan I was blindly following the bandwagon. I made no reference whatsoever to the system being perfect. You jumped to that conclusion for me...

If you want to stick to the "interpret" arguement, you should get better at it

Perfect no, but tell me that the FO hasn't been one of the best ones in the league lately, and if you do, your out on that island all by your lonesome...

Awsome, you "had" a great team, nowhere did I dispute that, but your team isn't great now, good yes, great, no! Between the loss of talent which for some reason Pat fans always think they will recover from and maybe a bit of bad luck for a change it's usually what happens when teams take that downward turn from elite to good to garbage. It's the same pocess when your descending as when you're ascending, only the oposite obviously!

Opinion, which is fine. Its a 16 game season, greatness is measure over time, and not in one game. Do you believe the fins season is over because they lost the first game..of course not.
Loss of talent seems to be the mantra of everyone, but no one talks about the gain of talent that we have drafted. Last year, two of the better OL'men taken in the draft, this year a top running back and a (potential) good reciever. Three years ago, a top TE. Our D line is made up of #1 picks (and young!).
You still miss the point, its a moving target, never static, always dynamic. Its a constant recharging of the team. Since the salary cap era started no team has mastered this as well as the Pats have in the Kraft and BB era. Yes, they make mistakes, but others make more. Milloy is a case in point. We dumped 10M in cap space, lost nothing in skill, and the Bills lost as they spent alot, and got little. At that time, and after the first butt kicking we got, it was the end of the world...for a week.

No matter what love affair you have with every move the Pats make and no matter how bad you want it to happen, your team will not continue to be the team to beat, it will end and my guess would be sooner rather then later.

Your half right. There will be a time when we will be again competing for the #1 pick. I've been through the lean years, and the good years, and the lean years will come again. But as long as Brady is healthy, and BB is coaching, we'll be in the hunt. I think later then sooner.

Getting a first for Branch was a tremndous value for the Pats, however if the Seahawks have another post season like last year that #1 may as well be a number 2, sure a high two is still a great pick to have, but there is no guarantee the pick you make will be anything special.

but its not a number 2. Yes it may be a low first round, but if we had taken the hawks 2nd round, it would be a pick in the 60's, and not in the high 20's. The higher the pick, the better, always.

Brady loved Branch and the they played well together, that loss has to count for something. The loses are not always going to be in the Pats favor, and you still say nothing about the loss for this season.

There are two ways a fan can look at this. Short term and long term. Short term, yup it hurts. As a fan, I wanted to see the pats do anything they could to keep Branch. Throw the bank at him. Long term, I know thats the wrong thing to do. The goal here is to gain long term stability. To make the playoffs every year. Once there, its a whole new season (as you pointed out, we have done very well when we get to the playoffs). If we pay off branch, what about when Watson contract is one year from completion, Mankins?, etc. All of a sudden, we have everyone wanting a huge raise before thier contract is up.

Yes it hurt to lose him, but bottom line is it had to be done. We are better for it in the long run.

 

[ATippett56]

We got what we asked for.

Now for this season, and this season alone will be Brady's greatest challenge.

His challenge will be know as the man who "only throws perfect passes".

Because with the group of receivers we have, with only Gabriel and Jackson as glimmers of hope, NO WIDE RECEIVERS WILL EVER BE WIDE OPEN!!!!

If this two tight end gimmick doesn't work, Dillon and Maroney are done for....and so will our chances for Super Bowl Miami.

We must be careful for what we wish for....you might actually get it.

Have a little faith weedhopper! The New England Patriots will be a running team this season, not a pass happy version of last year.

 

[feelthepain]

We are better for it in the long run.

I disagree, there comes a time when you lose a core player and it's not a good thing. BB made a few shrewd decisions in the past and they worked out, but you lose talent for Brady and he will feel the effect. You can choose to believe that Tom Brady is the only reason your team was successful and thats fine, that's your choice. I however feel that the talent around him is just as important as he is. There are a lot of very good accurate QB's in this league that are capable of making good decisions at critical times, but they also seem to have a lot of talent to help them in making those decisions.

Example:

Peyton Manning- Marvin Harrison/ Reggie Wayne

Trent Green- Tony Gonzales/ Eddie Kennison

Carson Palmer- TJ whosurmomma/Chad Johnson

Jake Plummer- Javon Walker/Rod Smith

Byron Leftwhich- Ernest Wilford/Matt Jones

Jake Delhome- Steve Smith/Keyshawn Johnson

Matt Hasselbeck- Darell Jackson/Deion Branch

Now obviously thats not every team in the league, but you can't say that the only reason those QB's are good QB's is because they themselves are the only talent on the team. Obviously players like Steve Smith, Marvin Harrison and Rod Smith have enormus talent and do their part in making those QB's successful. You can say the same for Branch, sure Brady is a very smart QB, but not smarter then Manning or Green and Brady's very good at what he does, but BB makes it easy for him to do that.

Branch will be missed more then Pat fans want to admit, and thats understandable because they've become accustom to being spoiled. Well thats just too bad, all good things must come to an end. The Pats aren't without talent, the have Watson and Jackson, who I believe has the ability to be an elite WR, but having the ability and proving it are two different things.

We can go back and forth forever, but at some point you Pat fans will not be able to backup what you say and every time you lose talent it's just another chance you won't recover from the loss. Your run has been a good one, but the time has come to watch someone else talk the talk. It's not always about the talent, but the system and just like everything people figure you out and you lose your edge. IMO, the Pats have reached that crossroad.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Excuse me? Brady has won the Superbowl when Troy Brown was his best receiver and he had a tight end named Wiggins.

The true "core" of the Patriots starts with Brady.

I won't deny that losing Branch hurts. But Brady has always managed to win without "elite" receivers.

Right now the Pats will have to lean more on their tight ends for the passing game. And that's alright because Graham is capable and Watson is a gamebreaker.

Gloat all you want. We'll see the true ramifications of this move as the season progresses.

Bottom line, the Pats got rid of a distraction who was refusing to show up for his job and they have another first round pick they can use to "reload" next season.

 

[feelthepain]

Excuse me? Brady has won the Superbowl when Troy Brown was his best receiver and he had a tight end named Wiggins.

The true "core" of the Patriots starts with Brady.

I won't deny that losing Branch hurts. But Brady has always managed to win without "elite" receivers.

Right now the Pats will have to lean more on their tight ends for the passing game. And that's alright because Graham is capable and Watson is a gamebreaker.

Gloat all you want. We'll see the true ramifications of this move as the season progresses.

Bottom line, the Pats got rid of a distraction who was refusing to show up for his job and they have another first round pick they can use to "reload" next season.

Excuse me, Brady didn't win anything, the Patriots won those three SB's. You always want to give it to Brady, but in none of your SB victories did you win by more the 3 points, so if you want to get technical, Adam Vinitari won three SB's not Tom Brady and we all know Adams gone too, BTW if Adam Vinitari misses just one of those kicks, you wouldn't have three SB victories..so what does Brady have to do with that? Since when did Brady line up on defense??? Never, and since you need offense, defense, and ST to make it throught the regular season and playoffs to have the chance to win a SB, then you can't give Brady all the credit!! Your SB victories weren't a result of Brady's spectacular play, they were a result of smart play calling, good defense and timely breaks. Brady was a big part of the wins, but so was the rest of the Pats team on both sides of the ball and coaching staff.

 

[mgcolby]

Excuse me, Brady didn't win anything, the Patriots won those three SB's. You always want to give it to Brady, but in none of your SB victories did you win by more the 3 points, so if you want to get technical, Adam Vinitari won three SB's not Tom Brady and we all know Adams gone too, BTW if Adam Vinitari misses just one of those kicks, you wouldn't have three SB victories..so what does Brady have to do with that? Since when did Brady line up on defense??? Never, and since you need offense, defense, and ST to make it throught the regular season and playoffs to have the chance to win a SB, then you can't give Brady all the credit!! Your SB victories weren't a result of Brady's spectacular play, they were a result of smart play calling, good defense and timely breaks. Brady was a big part of the wins, but so was the rest of the Pats team on both sides of the ball and coaching staff.

Do yourself a favor and go back through the 03 and 04 opening day starting lineup on offense and defense for the Patriots and then go and look at our starting lineup for the Superbowl. Not to mention the Carolina and Philly were really good teams and the Rams were an offensive powerhouse. Injuries led to those margin of victory except in the 01 superbowl when the pats beat a more talented team.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Did anyone watch the late game last night? Do you require any more proof that you are in serious trouble if your best and highest paid player is a WR!

Wideouts can easily be taken out of the game, either by double coverage, or pass rush (see last night). It was a little difficult for Brooks to get the ball to Moss while he was running for his life!

Moss is the best WR in the league and he was not factor.

Deion is going to a very good team, and he will have a decent year, but he is simply not worth the money he wanted (along with voiding the last year of his contract, and setting that bad precedent). Loyalty has led the Packers to the state they are in now. And bad contract decisions have led to Tennessee being in it's current shape. The Pats have gotten a great deal here, they moved Branch to the NFC West, and brought back a 1st rd pick. Wait until Gabriel and Jackson it the field before crying about the shape of the Pats WRs.

 

[Pattie]

I'm glad the stalemate was ended. I'm glad Deion got his money but I'm even happier that Seattle was stupid enough to give up their number one pick in the 2007 draft. Pioli and Belichick made the best of a bad situation and helped the future of the franchise. Do I think we'll struggle more without a Deion Branch in the receiving corp? Yes. Definitely. But I also feel the Patriots will benefit, as a team, in the long term and that's what I believe Belichick and Pioli strive for. Not just making the team competitive *this* year but for years to come. I've also heard complaints that it'll be a low first round pick. Ladies and gentlemen it's still a first round pick that can be used or packaged to move up in the draft. We have needs at WR, Linebacker etc so why not look to the future. Besides, we don't know what will happen to Seattle this year. What if they're riddled by injuries/suffer bad luck. The Patriots sure did last year. *Nothing* is guaranteed in this league. The first week of the season many of the "darlings" of the pre-season picks fell flat on their faces. And what if Branch suffers an injury? You just never know. I'll say it again, no matter what happens this year getting two first round picks is a huge benefit to the team in the long term and while Mangini didn't fall for the bait Seattle was dumb enough to. Enough said.

 

[Patriotic Fervor]

I disagree, there comes a time when you lose a core player and it's not a good thing. BB made a few shrewd decisions in the past and they worked out, but you lose talent for Brady and he will feel the effect. You can choose to believe that Tom Brady is the only reason your team was successful and thats fine, that's your choice. I however feel that the talent around him is just as important as he is. There are a lot of very good accurate QB's in this league that are capable of making good decisions at critical times, but they also seem to have a lot of talent to help them in making those decisions.

Example:

Peyton Manning- Marvin Harrison/ Reggie Wayne

Trent Green- Tony Gonzales/ Eddie Kennison

Carson Palmer- TJ whosurmomma/Chad Johnson

Jake Plummer- Javon Walker/Rod Smith

Byron Leftwhich- Ernest Wilford/Matt Jones

Jake Delhome- Steve Smith/Keyshawn Johnson

Matt Hasselbeck- Darell Jackson/Deion Branch

Now obviously thats not every team in the league, but you can't say that the only reason those QB's are good QB's is because they themselves are the only talent on the team. Obviously players like Steve Smith, Marvin Harrison and Rod Smith have enormus talent and do their part in making those QB's successful. You can say the same for Branch, sure Brady is a very smart QB, but not smarter then Manning or Green and Brady's very good at what he does, but BB makes it easy for him to do that.

Branch will be missed more then Pat fans want to admit, and thats understandable because they've become accustom to being spoiled. Well thats just too bad, all good things must come to an end. The Pats aren't without talent, the have Watson and Jackson, who I believe has the ability to be an elite WR, but having the ability and proving it are two different things.

We can go back and forth forever, but at some point you Pat fans will not be able to backup what you say and every time you lose talent it's just another chance you won't recover from the loss. Your run has been a good one, but the time has come to watch someone else talk the talk. It's not always about the talent, but the system and just like everything people figure you out and you lose your edge. IMO, the Pats have reached that crossroad.

Hey, guys, if you've never seen the phenomenon before, this is someone whistling past the graveyard!