Colts sign Deion Branch

[Brady6]

Or maybe you are just overreacting. You seem to be the one who wants confrontation. How many times have you said you were done posting?

I'm not looking for confrontation, I've been respectful in all my posts. I come back because I want understand the why, it interests me to know why fans of the Patriots would defend Branch either way.

 

[Brady6]

Aren't most of those defenders on IR?

McCourty, Dennard, Talib, Gregory, Arrington are all players he practice against last season.

The only players on IR are Wilfork, Spikes and Mayo. They're all front 7 players.

 

[Patsrock]

I'm not looking for confrontation, I've been respectful in all my posts. I come back because I want understand the why, it interests me to know why fans of the Patriots would defend Branch either way.

I just don't care when a player is a free agent where he signs. Especially year after he last played for the team I follow. Anyone who follows the Pats can tell you about as much that Deion can tell the Colts. The defense is not the same calls, offense ostensibly not the same calls. Teams change up year to year.

 

[Adam Seward]

Brady 6- sound off.

He got another chance to play ball. Let that sink in, ANOTHER CHANCE TO PLAY BALL. You really think ole Deion is thinking "Well Bill thinks I should hang em up, Im gonna sit this one out"..?? He is a COMPETITOR, Id be disappointed in anything less than him taking the opportunity, especially against the team that had wr turmoil to start and counted him out.

If anything, he gets Andy in key with a few solid 2 minute drill snaps and thats that. As a 4th(?) wr on that team thats all theyll likely need him to do and hes always had a knack for making the catch, finding the first down and squeezing out of bounds.

If he hurts us fine, he earned it. No need to be petty over him jumping aboard to play the game he loves for likely the last time. On a nice stage no less!

 

[Brady6]

If he hurts us fine, he earned it. No need to be petty over him jumping aboard to play the game he loves for likely the last time. On a nice stage no less!

That is actually my primary issue with the entire situation is Deion has not earned it, he has done nothing to justify him being part of the NFL playoffs. He did not attend OTAs, training camp, participate in any practices or regular season games. In my opinion players should not be able to play for the first time in the playoffs, that will set a precedent that older players can sit around and then sign on in January for a chance to earn a Super Bowl ring.

 

[1960Pats]

Oh sure, several of those 3 million miles worth of flights I have been on were saved by an emotional gun-wielding pilot.

Yet again, someone has to use the never before seen scenario where an emotional gun-wielding pilot uses his weapon or has it taken away and someone else takes down a plane. Please show me one example of that scene taking place. Btw, the same bs argument was used to disarm our commercial pilots prior to 9/11. How did that work out?

 

[1960Pats]

One thing I've learned being on both ends of a gun is that it might be a constitutional right but there are a great many people who should not be allowed to carry a firearm. In fact, even in my gun carrying circles, I'd say over 50% of them shouldn't be allowed to carry

How many of those people have taken down a commercial airliner? I'm not even sure that's possible with a pistol.

How many of them have killed someone?

It's sadly obvious to me that 9/11 would have been avoided if our pilots were not disarmed. Can we at least agree on that?

 

[1960Pats]

Brady 6- sound off.

He got another chance to play ball. Let that sink in, ANOTHER CHANCE TO PLAY BALL. You really think ole Deion is thinking "Well Bill thinks I should hang em up, Im gonna sit this one out"..?? He is a COMPETITOR, Id be disappointed in anything less than him taking the opportunity, especially against the team that had wr turmoil to start and counted him out.

If anything, he gets Andy in key with a few solid 2 minute drill snaps and thats that. As a 4th(?) wr on that team thats all theyll likely need him to do and hes always had a knack for making the catch, finding the first down and squeezing out of bounds.

If he hurts us fine, he earned it. No need to be petty over him jumping aboard to play the game he loves for likely the last time. On a nice stage no less!

I don't understand why it's petty for a Pats fan to be unhappy with Branch joining Indy. I'm not happy for him one bit.

 

[dales804]

Aren't most of those defenders on IR?

I was just answering his question. I don't think anything Deion tells them will really help. Maybe I'll be proven wrong.

 

[Kontradiction]

McCourty, Dennard, Talib, Gregory, Arrington are all players he practice against last season.

The only players on IR are Wilfork, Spikes and Mayo. They're all front 7 players.

Welker practiced against all of those guys too. That seemed to help the Broncos a lot, especially after we spotted them 17 points.

 

[PrairiePat]

If it makes the Pats change a bunch of audibles or other signals, it's been worth it for Indy.

That said, it's a slimy move, one that brings the Jets or Dolphins to mind. I wouldn't have expected it from the Colts.

As for Branch, he's always been a bit of a $$ chaser, this is probably just a cash grab for him. Hard to blame him for it.

 

[BradyManny]

If Deion Branch has any impact on this game whatsoever I will be ridiculously shocked. He's a body, and they needed a body. Deion Branch likes football, and they offered him money to play football. That's all there is to this.

If we had cut him last week after he'd been playing all season and they scooped him up, maybe there would be something to the conspiracy theories and whining. But as it is, he offers nothing in terms of competitive intelligence, and I'll assume that had nothing to do with his signing.

 

[Kontradiction]

If Deion Branch has any impact on this game whatsoever I will be ridiculously shocked. He's a body, and they needed a body. Deion Branch likes football, and they offered him money to play football. That's all there is to this.

If we had cut him last week after he'd been playing all season and they scooped him up, maybe there would be something to the conspiracy theories and whining. But as it is, he offers nothing in terms of competitive intelligence, and I'll assume that had nothing to do with his signing.

Eh, he'll offer them something, I'm sure. But it more than likely won't be anything that they couldn't have picked up by watching game film of the Pats otherwise.

 

[BradyManny]

Eh, he'll offer them something, I'm sure. But it more than likely won't be anything that they couldn't have picked up by watching game film of the Pats otherwise.

This. The past 16 games of tape is much more valuable than anything Branch has to offer.

 

[primetime]

This is the thread that keeps on giving.

 

[Sicilian]

I can see a number of scenarios where I would be upset that a player did this, none of which apply to Branch:

- If he had played his entire career for the Patriots, I would look at it differently. That would feel a little cheap to me.

- If he had just played for them earlier this year, but somehow forced his way out of town (pouting, bad teammate, etc). Then he looks like an *****.

- If he had been retired for years and was clearly past the point of possibly playing.

- If he was coming into a position where the Colts weren't in need of on the field depth (if he was the backup long snapper, this would feel different).

As it is, he's a player that spent two relatively short stints with the team, separated by years elsewhere. He is nowhere near the Branch of old but it's not like he's 50 and belongs nowhere near the league. He wants to play and the Patriots didn't want him. Now he has an opportunity to jump into a playoff situation (whether he takes advantage and actually sees the field not withstanding), and people think he owes the Patriots to stay home?

Good for Branch. I wish him no luck on Saturday, but have no problem with him jumping on an opportunity he may never see again in his lifetime.

 

[SalemPats]

He's getting 50K and probably won't play for a weeks work. That's a good salary for the year

 

[PP2]

He's getting 50K and probably won't play for a weeks work. That's a good salary for the year

He's getting 50k to do something he loves doing. Who would turn that down? Loyalty is overrated in professional sports.

I would be VERY surprised if he was active for the game.

My thoughts are that this is a move that isn't going to hurt the Colts. Sure the calls, and audibles have changed, but not the timing of the offense and I think this is what they had in mind when they signed him.

My guess is that he will just play on the scout team and they'll have him run zone and man routes that he ran in NE and try and they'll try get the DB accustomed to that, or at least have them get a feel for how the short routes are run when they play man or zone.

 

[Raymond]

That is actually my primary issue with the entire situation is Deion has not earned it, he has done nothing to justify him being part of the NFL playoffs. He did not attend OTAs, training camp, participate in any practices or regular season games. In my opinion players should not be able to play for the first time in the playoffs, that will set a precedent that older players can sit around and then sign on in January for a chance to earn a Super Bowl ring.

Now you've gone completely off the deep end.

 

[Patjew]

Yet again, someone has to use the never before seen scenario where an emotional gun-wielding pilot uses his weapon or has it taken away and someone else takes down a plane. Please show me one example of that scene taking place. Btw, the same bs argument was used to disarm our commercial pilots prior to 9/11. How did that work out?

Nah but this is not the place for it.