And yet Martin still rushed for over 1,000 yards in that era while missing games. From what I've read, Bob thought he had Martin cornered as a restricted FA therefore force Martin to take his lowball offer. Meanwhile, Parcells was under the impression Martin was staying until he got wind that Martin was unhappy. Also, Parcells also knew about their cap situation and crafted the "poison pill" with Tannenbaum. I'm surprised the NFL didn't outlaw that deal since Parcells had knowledge of their cap situation.
Although Martin leaving sucked, what we're really mad about was the lack of replacement. What if Fred Taylor dropped in the draft and NE took him instead of Robert Edwards? We're not having this conversation. What if NE took Randy Moss? One year later the Colts seemed crazy to trade Marshall Faulk for a measly 2nd round pick. They took Edgerin James which I think that exercise was pointless. Champ Bailey should've been the pick. While Robert Edwards stats were in the ball park of Martin, there still seemed to be a drop off.