Do we 06 offseason all over again?

[fair catch fryar]

It would make sense in order to take advantage of having Brady where he is at. Honestly, I would really like to see BB go all in on defense and put together a D that could be scary for a 2-3 year period. Besides resigning Welker and adding another quality WR, it's amazing what a defense that can consistently get off the field in 3-6 downs would do for the offense. From Wilfork, Mayo Spikes, McCourty, and Chung I believe that the core is there, with a few more rookies and FA veterans to take that next step.

 

[DonBlackmon55]

It would make sense in order to take advantage of having Brady where he is at. Honestly, I would really like to see BB go all in on defense and put together a D that could be scary for a 2-3 year period. Besides resigning Welker and adding another quality WR, it's amazing what a defense that can consistently get off the field in 3-6 downs would do for the offense. From Wilfork, Mayo Spikes, McCourty, and Chung I believe that the core is there, with a few more rookies and FA veterans to take that next step.

Brady at best has 3 years left provided he can keep healthy and keep his arm strength until age 38.

If BB wants another shot at SB he has to do it now and go for broke while the window is there. We have no idea AB(After Brady) what lies at QB position, hopefully Mallett carries the torch !

 

[Fencer]

Sign Welker. Push to get at least one more good WR -- we need 3 good healthy receivers, so we'd better have at least 4 good receivers on the roster. OL, RB, and QB will all be fine.

Sign Carter. Regretfully let Wright leave due to health and Anderson due to being outbid. Let Ellis leave and keep Warren dangling. Hope Cunningham finally breaks out, but don't rely on it.

Wilfork, Carter, Love, Deaderick, Pryor, the ILBs, and Ninkovich isn't a bad start to the Front 7. In particular, it includes 3 Pro Bowlers, which is more than most teams have in the group. But more talent will be needed.

And then there are the DBS ...

 

[ctpatsfan77]

A lot of people continue to overlook the draft class payment that's necessary this off season. If you budget the rookies to be anywhere between 5-7 million, that automatically adjusts the Patriots disposable spending to 13-15 million down from the reported 20.

As others have pointed out, it will come down to how the Patriots restructure contracts.

ATM, it should be no more than $5M (since the Pats only have six picks in the first four rounds).

 

[Banjo]

Randy Moss for a 4th round pick? if that wasn't highway robbery, I don't know what is. that kind of trade is never gonna happen again

 

[ATippett56]

2012 New England Patriots wide receivers:

Wes Welker - franchise tag, for now anyway
Brandon Lloyd - 3 yrs/$15 million at most
Deion Branch - veteran minimum
Julian Edelman - under contract
2nd or 3rd round draft pick (preferably 3rd round draft pick)

The New England Patriots defense definitely needs to upgrade the free safety position in unrestricted free agency.

 

[stevedogc]

2012 New England Patriots wide receivers:

Wes Welker - franchise tag, for now anyway
Brandon Lloyd - 3 yrs/$15 million at most
Deion Branch - veteran minimum
Julian Edelman - under contract
2nd or 3rd round draft pick (preferably 3rd round draft pick)

The New England Patriots defense definitely needs to upgrade the free safety position in unrestricted free agency.

Id bring in Eddie Royal via FA as well. Has been productive at times. Knows McDaniels system. Good return guy and should be had for little money.

 

[Patsgofor4]

In the new CBA, teams can use any unused cap space in one year and apply it towards the next year. This mean that the Pats cap number can be even higher IF the team wants it to be. I believe that they were 6+ million under the cap this year.

From the new CBA:
(v) Carrying Over Room. A Club may "carry over" Room from one League Year to the following League Year by submitting notice in writing signed by the owner to the NFL no later than fourteen (14) days prior to the start of the next League Year indicating the maximum amount of Room that the Club wishes to carry over. The NFL shall promptly provide a copy of any such notice to the NFLPA. The amount of Room carried over will be adjusted downward based on the final Room available after the year-end reconciliation.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The offense needs a playmaker at RB and WR. Once again the Giants did not respect the Pat's ability to make plays in the running game and that hurt them a little. Sign WW to a 3 year deal front-loaded and Branch. Squeeze another year out of Waters. The likelihood of Brady playing even better than he has these past couple of seasons is slim to none.

IMO the priority is defense and when they think they have enough, get more.

 

[signbabybrady]

Exactly.

1. Dump Stinko, Branch.
2. Re-sign Welker, Sign Colston(prefer him over Lloyd who has 1 great season, and 1 decent in 9 years).
3. Draft 2 receivers - I would even say swing for Michael Floyd or Jeffrey, and pickup a late rounder 5-7

Colston-Welker-Floyd-Edelman-Underwood-Late round Draftee.

In a passing league this team is in desperate need to have other weapons to take the pressure off TE duo. Defenses then need to respect the run.

Why let branch walk when your 5th option is Tiquan?
My preference would be
Welker
Lloyd or Colston or any other Vet
Branch
Edelman
Draft pick or another vet

That's 5 I bring back Tiquan for camp and another rookie and even another vet but unless they beat out branch or we carry 6 they are camp fodder.

 

[signbabybrady]

As to the team as whole I think like most the priority should be on D.

But let's start on O. Priorities here should be Welker, Waters, BJGE, vet WR, and added depth on the interior line (very much determined by who stays connolly,koppen,waters). I would say Light is important too but we have his replacements already and I don't see him leaving.

Onto the D I would love Carter and Anderson back. But regardless I think priority should be a stud 5 tech DE and a Stud Safety. If you lose Carter and Anderson then you need the olb/DL pass rusher. After that CB would be ideal too. Really I think you could use help at all levels DL,Lb,cb, and safety.

 

[UofApatsfan]

Id bring in Eddie Royal via FA as well. Has been productive at times. Knows McDaniels system. Good return guy and should be had for little money.

The only productive season Eddie Royal had was with Shanahan. He was horrible w/ McDaniels. I wouldn't want him either way but having McDaniels doesn't make him any better of a target.

 

[rfournier103]

Yes and no. "Yes" in that we go after Robert Meachem or Marques Colston. Especially Colston. Despite his previous knee problems, he's the top reciever on the top passing team. He'll cost us, but him AND Welker, and the TEs should be too much offense for anyone to handle.

I think the current RBs are worth keeping. Green-Ellis, Woodhead, and continue to develop Ridley. Faulk may retire, but unless a free agent too good to pass up comes a-knockin', I think another RB could be had in the mid to later rounds in the draft. The offensive line may need some younger blood, too. Use one of the draft picks on a solid lineman, just to keep the line in good shape.

On the "no" side, we still load up, but on DEFENSE. No more of this trading down for value crap. We draft the best defensive players we can, and put the Patriots in good position on defense. Many of the pieces on defense are already in place, and with a good draft and maybe a free agent here or there, the Patriots could have a defense that could keep them winning into the post-Brady era.

 

[sieglo]

Great production, but he plays an awful lot of his games in a dome, and he might be a product of the system. He makes me nervous.

The Pats could sign the best wide receiver in the league and he could end up as a complete failure in New England.

Why?

Because of the way the NE offense is designed. Not every wide receiver has the smarts to pick it up and be effective in it. Physical talent and success on another team is not a reliable predictor of success in New England.

So EVERY wide receiver acquisition is a big risk for the Pats.

 

[signbabybrady]

The Pats could sign the best wide receiver in the league and he could end up as a complete failure in New England.

Why?

Because of the way the NE offense is designed. Not every wide receiver has the smarts to pick it up and be effective in it. Physical talent and success on another team is not a reliable predictor of success in New England.

So EVERY wide receiver acquisition is a big risk for the Pats.

I don't completely agree with this. Obviously a lot of truth to it but i think a certain level of talent superceeds it I don't care how dumb Fitzgerald could be he would work. Heck Ocho in his prime probably would of worked. For all the talk of Moss' football smarts he still only ran a few routes.

I think when talent is close they go with the smarter of the two leaving less reps for the other and creating the problem but if talent is so far above they will get enough reps to grasp it.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I mean think about it. The last time we were this close BB just said screw it lets load up.

We went out and grabbed the top LB in the market.

One of the top WR's available.

A big blocking TE

Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

What are the odds we do something similar with roughly being anywhere from 20 to 30 million (based on possible cuts) under the projected cap.

It is very possible we can keep Wes Welker and sign a top tier FA and some mid level guys along with our draft picks.

Thoughts?

We really weren't close in 2006 although many fans here swore we were fine at WR and could statistically prove that we didn't need any more of a deep threat than Reche Caldwell's 8 yard average. Belichick obviously disagreed brining in Stallworth followed by Moss and the results were clear.

This season the team won through teamwork over talent and skill. Belichick may go after some of the more expensive high profile free agents, but he won't kid himself that there is any guarantee they will perform or mesh well with the team.

He'll cut a big expensive cap hit if he thinks an undrafted free agent has better upside to help the team. So regardless of whAt moves he makes in the offseason don't necessarily expect that to be the same team you see come the playoffs.

 

[UofApatsfan]

The Pats could sign the best wide receiver in the league and he could end up as a complete failure in New England.

Why?

Because of the way the NE offense is designed. Not every wide receiver has the smarts to pick it up and be effective in it. Physical talent and success on another team is not a reliable predictor of success in New England.

So EVERY wide receiver acquisition is a big risk for the Pats.

Thank you. Between the design of the offense, the fact Brady has never been a good deep ball passer, and the intangibles (blocking) that are expected out of every receiver on the team, breaking the bank on a receiver unproven in New England is a big risk.

People are also overreacting because the superbowl is the game fresh in their minds and they're forgetting that it was indeed the superbowl. Even with arguably the most important part of the offense not named Tom Brady playing on one leg and being effectively useless, the offense was still a dropped pass Welker catches 95% of the time away from being good enough to win the superbowl, and people are talking about what they have at receiver like they're the Cleveland Browns and have no receiving threats at all.

They potentially lose 6 starters on offense (Welker, Branch, BJGE, Connolly, Light and Waters). If they manage to retain all of them, then they only should go after a low risk upgrade at receiver who gives Brady another weapon.

 

[RobertWeathers]

The team's chances of getting back to the Super Bowl (and winning it) are improved if they add top-level talent on defense and functional talent on offense.

Three Super Bowls in 4 years has proven this to be true.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Good question SB54.

I think a lot depends on how the Pats coaching staff and organization reads Brady's ability to come back from this and give them another one or two seasons at the highest level.

If they think he will, then I'd load up and come out all guns blazing for another run or two.

If they think that his mind and body are starting to turn to his business ventures and golf courses, then they'll take a longer horizon in their decision making.

Brady has been knocked around on the field a lot in the last few years. The only record that matters that he doesn't have is Bradshaw and Marino's four rings. He's now had two pretty good swipes at the fourth ring and come up short both times.

Does he feel like he can get last Sunday out of his system and go for it again or are private jets and the good life without getting the snot knocked out of him every week for six months of every year starting to look good to him? There's only one person who can answer that question and I doubt he's reading this board or my posts.

 

[BPF]

My FA wish list:
Pierre Garcon, WR or Dwayne Bowe, WR or Mike Wallace, WR

Dashon Goldson, S or Michael Griffin, S

Carlos Rogers, CB or Cortland Finnegan, CB or Brandon Carr, CB

Red Bryant, DT

Cliff Avril, DE

Big priorities to re-asign are: Connolly, Welker, Anderson, Carter. The rest including BJGE can wait till later on in the process after seeing how FA and the draft shake out.

Figuring out what to do with Hoyer who is a RFA and signing Love to a long-term deal even though he's a ERFA.