LeGarrette Blount to Visit Steelers

[Kontradiction]

Agents can't wait forever for a team to offer their client an offer.
The Patriots seem to be ignoring most of their own free agents.

It's time to... panic!!!

The team, by virtue of both addition and subtraction, has gotten better this offseason. Let me detail it for you.

Improvements by addition:
1. Revis replaces Talib.

2. Browner replaces Dennard.

3. Dennard moves to nickel CB, Arrington and Ryan to dime.

4. Edelman re-signed.

5. Brandon LaFell signed, giving us another red zone target.

Improvements by subtraction:

1. Wendell gone, forces team to upgrade C position and improves interior pass protection.

2. Talib gone, no need to hinge our hopes in the AFCCG by a CB that either gets too injured to return or is not willing to play through injury. Also, please see Revis signing.

3. Gregory gone, forces team to upgrade at SS (hopefully putting a hitter back there that actually compliments McCourty instead of putting a much lesser version of himself next to him that can't tackle and takes bad angles).

On top of this, there are still viable FA's out there at positions of need that we can bring in on top of a loaded draft at most of the positions of need. So WTF are panicking about right now?

 

[breakin]

What do you think the perception of Blount would be right now with Pats fans if Blount's games from week 17 vs the Bills and the 1s round of the playoffs vs the Colts happened in Weeks 1 & 2?

His season was pretty much 15 average unremarkable games then 2 huge games followed by a quiet game in the AFCCG which likely had more to do with Pats being behind and moving away from the Running Game.

My point is basically that because Blount happened to have his 2 impact games in 2 of the last 3 games of the season it is recent in the memory and people have an elevated view of him and what he brings to the table.

If he had those 2 impact games to start the season and we sit through 16 more games of him being more or less a non factor then i dont think anyone cares about re-signing him.

If the contract is right then i dont mind bringing him back. If he wants to get paid then i would look elsewhere and feel confident that it is the right move.

 

[strngplyr]

What do you think the perception of Blount would be right now with Pats fans if Blount's games from week 17 vs the Bills and the 1s round of the playoffs vs the Colts happened in Weeks 1 & 2?

His season was pretty much 15 average unremarkable games then 2 huge games followed by a quiet game in the AFCCG which likely had more to do with Pats being behind and moving away from the Running Game.

My point is basically that because Blount happened to have his 2 impact games in 2 of the last 3 games of the season it is recent in the memory and people have an elevated view of him and what he brings to the table.

If he had those 2 impact games to start the season and we sit through 16 more games of him being more or less a non factor then i dont think anyone cares about re-signing him.

If the contract is right then i dont mind bringing him back. If he wants to get paid then i would look elsewhere and feel confident that it is the right move.

Blount only had 4 games under a 4.0ypc average (two of which were his first 2 games in a Patriot's uniform).

He had 8 games over 4.5ypc.

5 of those were over 5.0ypc.

4 of those were over 6.0ypc (6.5, 7.1, 7.9, 9.4).

We run a RBBC system in New England, Blount had a lot of very impactful games for this team. He's a perfect 1-2 combo with Ridley.

Moreno on the other hand, who seems to be the other option, has 9 games UNDER 4.0ypc and his only 100 yard rushing performance came against New England, when, to most, it looked like New England conceded the run to keep Peyton from attempting to pass

 

[breakin]

The numbers dont tell the full story. The 6.5 ypc game was against the Broncos where he had 2 runs for 13 yards with 1 fumble. That was a bad game for Blount yet you point to the 6.5ypc as an "impact" game.

 

[JMC00]

Put any NFL proven back in the Patriots system and they'll do reasonably well. Sammy Morris in the Brady-less 2008 had by far his best season in the NFL.

Laurence freaking Maroney was good for a period of time in the Pats system.

But my whole thing with Moreno vs Blount comes down to one thing.

Moreno 60 rec 584 yards 3 TD
Blount 2 rec 38 rec (32 yards on 1 rec)

Pats need a guy that can run but also if Vereen happens to miss some games they're not sitting there with Brandon Bolden as the pass catching back.

And if anyone says Moreno had a fluke season catching the ball, in 2010 with McDaniels as the head coach and Kyle Orton as the QB he had 37 rec on 48 targets for 372 yards and 3 TD.

I lean Moreno if it is Moreno vs Blount.

 

[supafly]

Put any NFL proven back in the Patriots system and they'll do reasonably well. Sammy Morris in the Brady-less 2008 had by far his best season in the NFL.

Laurence freaking Maroney was good for a period of time in the Pats system.

But my whole thing with Moreno vs Blount comes down to one thing.

Moreno 60 rec 584 yards 3 TD
Blount 2 rec 38 rec (32 yards on 1 rec)

Pats need a guy that can run but also if Vereen happens to miss some games they're not sitting there with Brandon Bolden as the pass catching back.

And if anyone says Moreno had a fluke season catching the ball, in 2010 with McDaniels as the head coach and Kyle Orton as the QB he had 37 rec on 48 targets for 372 yards and 3 TD.

I lean Moreno if it is Moreno vs Blount.

Quite a valid point, JMC00. It's possible that we could end up improving upon the situation if/when Blount leaves, but I'm guessing that he ends up staying on a cheaper 1.5m dollar deal myself.

I'm not too concerned about it though, like you said.

 

[supafly]

You were dead on!... until that last paragraph. There is absolutely no chance the Steelers give Blount 2 million. As I posted over in the free agency thread that you guys have runnin' right now, I'd be surprised if he ended up with us next year. He'd provided needed depth and would be effective as a change of pace, short yardage 'Back, but there are RBs later in the draft that could provide the same thing for 1/4 of the cost.

Unless he's willing to play for a little above the vet minimum, I'd be surprised if he ended up with us next year. As you said, his role would be limited as Bell is the... well, Bell cow.

To be honest, I'd be surprised if anyone gives Blount more than 1.5m myself, but my thoughts were in response to a poster who brought up the aspect of him possibly getting more than Ben Tate's 2/7 deal--which I think would never come close to happening.

I would see LeGarrette Blount's value to be anywhere from 1.25 to 1.5, so yes--you're right that anything near 2m would be too much. I tried to convey much of the same thinking in the fact that I felt 2m would be too high still, but it's possible that it came out incorrectly.

I don't think PIT could get away with anything less than about 1.25m myself, especially since they have basically nothing outside of Bell now. As you said, they could bring in a rookie for about 500k, but he'd be unproven and much more of a gamble.

 

[ATippett56]

Comparative contract value:

James Starks - Green Bay Packers - 2014 Player Profile - Rotoworld.com

James Starks' two-year deal with Green Bay has a base value of $3,165,626.

He got a $725,000 signing bonus, the only guaranteed portion of the contract. 11.5 percent of the deal is tied up in per-game roster bonuses, which Starks will only get if he's active for games. It's a smart move by GM Ted Thompson, arguably the savviest contract negotiator among NFL general managers. Starks will return as Eddie Lacy's handcuff, safely out in front of Johnathan Franklin.

 

[wizwor]

Improvements by subtraction:

1. Wendell gone, forces team to upgrade C position and improves interior pass protection.

2. Talib gone, no need to hinge our hopes in the AFCCG by a CB that either gets too injured to return or is not willing to play through injury. Also, please see Revis signing.

3. Gregory gone, forces team to upgrade at SS (hopefully putting a hitter back there that actually compliments McCourty instead of putting a much lesser version of himself next to him that can't tackle and takes bad angles).

These are not improvements. I'll reserve judgement on the separations until I see what the team does to address the subtractions. Nothing any of these players did makes this team better without them. If you want to say Talib's money signed his replacement, fine, but the team as it is constituted is not better than the team as it is constituted plus Talib.

More obvious for Wendell and Gregory who have, thus far, been replaced by the next best option on the roster.

 

[PatsBoy12]

People keep talking about Riddleys explosiveness, and his speed, and yada yadda yadda.

All i saw last year was Riddley continuing to do what he does(be average at best) while blount would break off 40-50 yard runs every couple of games, while matching and often times having a higher YPC.

If we wanted someone who could hammer out a steady 4 ypc and not much more we could have kept lawfirm, at least at that point he could hold on to the ball.

Average at best, huh? Then I guess you weren't watching the same games as most of us were . . .

 

[supafly]

These are not improvements. If you want to say Talib's money signed his replacement, fine, but the team as it is constituted is not better than the team as it is constituted plus Talib.

Wait...are you trying to say that our team isn't improved with Revis over Talib? You lost me here. Even the addition and retention of Edelman/LaFell should be considered an improvement at WR as well.

Aqib Talib was a former shell of himself after week #4 last year. After week 4 he was allowing QB completion rates in the mid 60 percent (about 2/3 of every attempt was a completion), with ZERO interceptions, and much missed time due to his chronic hip injury.

Up until week #4 he had 4 interceptions, was allowing QB completion rates in the high 30 percent bracket, and was a prime candidate for DPOY. Many will claim that it was due to injury--but even so, that doesn't make it any better.

Revis is obviously a major upgrade over Talib, and Brandon Browner is an excellent addition to the secondary as well. Yes, we certainly improved in the secondary moves, and definitely in the WR moves as well.