Kraft Needs to Back Mayo With His Wallet

[upstater1]

Kraft is right that they need to build through the draft. They haven't spent money on many prior draft picks because they weren't worthy. This season do you guys feel they should spend on Owenu (who probably wants T money) and Dugger who could score big deals?

Look at the optics though. More good players we drafted but haven't signed. When people say the Patriots don't keep their own, we have to remember that when they were here, players like Trey Flowers and Jamie Collins played great. When they left, not so much.

The guys we did keep from the previous 10 years were kept on smaller deals, James White, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Shaq Mason, Deatrich Wise, J'waun Bentley.

The one who stands out as "should've kept" him is Joe Thuney.

 

[Pape]

Look at the optics though. More good players we drafted but haven't signed. When people say the Patriots don't keep their own, we have to remember that when they were here, players like Trey Flowers and Jamie Collins played great. When they left, not so much.

The guys we did keep from the previous 10 years were kept on smaller deals, James White, Logan Ryan, Duron Harmon, Shaq Mason, Deatrich Wise, J'waun Bentley.

The one who stands out as "should've kept" him is Joe Thuney.

Tom Brady, Joe Thuney, Trent Brown (the '19 version), Ted Karras, Danny Shelton, Chris Long, Malcom Brown, Trey Flowers, Kyle Van Noy... Etc.

 

[JohnJH]

I'm all for wisely spending whatever money is needed. But, it has to be on players that not only have the demonstrated talent, but are also not too close to 30 when they're signed. And, that they also fit in with what the team wants to do on offense, defense, and special teams. Also, the right coaching staff (coordinators, assistant coaches, etc.). Lastly, we NEED to draft well, both in this draft and the next few drafts to come.

 

[TommyD4207]

And equally importantly, there's a cap floor. For 2024 to 2026 combined, teams must have cash spending equal to at least 90% of their cap space for those three years (it used to be 89%).

200 million is the magic number.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

Karen Guregian wrote an interesting article, linked below... I encourage you all to read it...

Karen Guregian: Robert Kraft needs to back Jerod Mayo with his wallet

Giving Jerod Mayo a chance to succeed means the Patriots can no longer be among the lowest cash spending teams.

www.masslive.com

I agree with this. If there are free agents (ours or theirs) who are worth the investment, pay them... It was disappointing to read that the team wasn't going to try and re-sign Michael Onwenu... We made the huge mistake last year by not retaining Jakobi Meyers... Can't let missed opportunities become the modus operandi under Mayo like it was under BB... That was a cardinal sin by BB - not rewarding his own players for great play... Drove me crazy to see talent walk out the door over minimal dollars when viewed over the full term of their new contracts

A teams willingness to pay players makes them more attractive to free agents... We've had a rough time attracting free agents in part due to the teams fiscal conservitity...

Not saying we have to go out and overspend, but we gotta put some lipstick on the pig at some point... Onwenu & Henry should be first in line...

Onwenu deserves a second contract... We have to break the chain of not rewarding our home grown talent... Henry deserves a new deal... He's stepped up into a leadership role, and has put forth tremendous effort on the field (why some of you are dismissive of his game is beyond me), more than enough to warrant a new deal...

Time to hit it in free agency... We don't have the luxury of picking over the remains of day three in free agency looking for the diamond in the rough...

And in order to do that, Kraft does indeed have to "open his wallet"

Time for the Patriots Organization to be players, not wallflowers

Who is to blame? Who was the cheap skate? Kraft or BB? What incentive did BB have for being so cheap unless it was a directive or incentive driven for bb in his own contract? We blame BB but Im leaning towards Kraft

 

[*ChungFu*]

Who is to blame? Who was the cheap skate? Kraft or BB? What incentive did BB have for being so cheap unless it was a directive or incentive driven for bb in his own contract? We blame BB but Im leaning towards Kraft

When it was working we gave BB the credit so, he's okay with the blame.

 

[Pape]

Who is to blame? Who was the cheap skate? Kraft or BB? What incentive did BB have for being so cheap unless it was a directive or incentive driven for bb in his own contract? We blame BB but Im leaning towards Kraft

I think, and this is all conjecture, that they, Kraft/Minions & BB developed a pay scale based on cap percentages, and applied it to player negotiations... If the player was outside of that "performance zone" (for lack of a better term), they let them walk... and i don't think there was much deviation from it at all, with only a few notable exceptions (Tagging Thuney for example)

so who is to blame? If my conjecture is correct, Both i would say... but ultimately, the buck stopped with who? Bill.

Mayo has to break that... or at the very least redefine the parameters of cap allocation

 

[TommyD4207]

Who is to blame? Who was the cheap skate? Kraft or BB? What incentive did BB have for being so cheap unless it was a directive or incentive driven for bb in his own contract? We blame BB but Im leaning towards Kraft

We're going to find out.

 

[Foxypats]

Kraft has been cheap in the past, not sure he will change his philosophy.

 

[Salsalife]

 

[skinnydog]

Was there any doubt we are gonna spend huge this year?

By what do you mean spend huge. They have so many holes on offense where they have no viable player on the roster that, it will “look” like they are spending a lot just by filling out the roster.

 

[Ring 6]

And what the owner sets as their budget is proportional to their actual commitment to winning.
Can you win with less? Sure, but it's a hell of a lot harder.

If we start the season with a cap of somewhere around 200 million, and not 224 million, we'll know where Kraft's loyalties actually lie these days.

It’s not a matter of spending to the cap, they have always done that. But it’s the overall contracts.
You can sign a guy to 2 years and 12 mill and have him count 6 mill against cap or you can sign a guy to 6 years 80 mill with a 30 mill SB and count 6 mill against the cap.

What we are going to learn this year, and going forward is why we operated the way we did. People think because Belichick took economics in college 50 years ago that he had more input in the budget than the owner who has owned and operated businesses for 50 years.
We have a comparative ton of cap space, so if we outbid teams for the highest paid guys we will know that past spending was belichick driven but if we do what we have normally done in seasons with cap space (shorter deals to lower level guys) then we will know that belichick operated under a budget that was provided to him and had to make the best of it.

 

[Ring 6]

Agreed. It wasn't a lack of money.

Worse. It was an unwillingness to spend the money (on him). That philosophy needs to change.

Jacobi Meyers isn’t a difference maker.

 

[Ring 6]

Who is to blame? Who was the cheap skate? Kraft or BB? What incentive did BB have for being so cheap unless it was a directive or incentive driven for bb in his own contract? We blame BB but Im leaning towards Kraft

The question is whether it was strategic, ie, overpaying one player costs you others, and if that guy fails it strangles your cap. Or whether it was the best way to stay under a restrictive budget.

 

[Pape]

Jacobi Meyers isn’t a difference maker.

And you don't even realize what he did here.

You're an idiot.

 

[Ring 6]

And you don't even realize what he did here.

You're an idiot.

I saw every play he played here. He wasn’t special.

GFY

 

[Pape]

I saw every play he played here. He wasn’t special.

GFY

and you never noticed what made him special...

proof positive from your own mouth that you are an idiot

 

[Ring 6]

and you never noticed what made him special...

proof positive from your own mouth that you are an idiot

Because he isn’t special.
800 yard WRs who struggle with yac and getting in the end zone are not special.
Especially ones that give away a game with a stupid lateral.

 

[holyredeemer]

Because he isn’t special.
800 yard WRs who struggle with yac and getting in the end zone are not special.
Especially ones that give away a game with a stupid lateral.

No one said he was special. That’s why he didn’t receive special money. Every team needs specialists like him though. Dependable, team first ballers that just keep their head down and play. Would’ve preferred JM over Jump Ball Parker. Always injured, not dependable. Especially after KB went down. Myers would’ve been nice to have and moved the chains a bit more than JJSS, that’s a guarantee.

 

[Pape]

No one said he was special. That’s why he didn’t receive special money. Every team needs specialists like him though. Dependable, team first ballers that just keep their head down and play. Would’ve preferred JM over Jump Ball Parker. Always injured, not dependable. Especially after KB went down. Myers would’ve been nice to have and moved the chains a bit more than JJSS, that’s a guarantee.

he moved the chains for us Holy. look at his conversion numbers, they tell the story about why he was special on this team.

Is he the best receiver? no. But he was the best one we had. It was a mistake to let him walk. Especially because he was home grown. It sends the message hard work pays off when guys like that are extended. Huge misfire by us not bringing him back. And its partly why people said BB lost touch with the players. They were busting their hump for what exactly?