Paper Says Mawae has Visited Foxboro

[patpatriot]

Word!

The Pats offensive line has been overrated the past 3 yrs. They havent' been great, nor bad. Just good enough. The fact that Brady gets rid of the ball so quick and moves around the pocket as well as he does makes them look better then they are. I personally am getting sick of all those people out there who were saying last yr. was a fluke for the offensive line. It wasn't. Those rookies did great and at times played better then the guys they filled in for IMO. I know the O-Line is going to be getting better, but back to the topic of the thread. Signing Mawae would not hurt at all. It wouldn't sacrifice the development of any of the young guys at all. He would provide leadership and bring in a nasty attitude to that line. Yr. in and yr. out Brady is forced to quickly get rid of the ball and move around way more than he should to avoid sacks. Let's not annoint these young guys as the next COLTS OL. And, let's stop blaming it on injuries. The same thing is going to happen this yr. someone is going to get hurt and with Mawae we will have added depth in case that happens. NOBODY is freaking out because of the fu**ing Broncs game. It's just the truth and the way it is. Hell, we are probably going to lose ashworth and neal. So don't give me that rosey glass crap that things won't be the same next yr. Cause they won't be and this team needs to be ready. Whether it be by signing Mawae or Runyan or someone else...I honestly don't care. We just need to get a little more nasty. That's all.

Holy Mackrel Holy Redeemer, what you said! Let's look at it this way; this year, there is a good chance we are going to lose Neal (he's young with an upside and he wants his money..period). next year we are probably going to lose Koppen (see previous sentence).

Now we could pony up market rate deals for them but are they really that good? Or do we need that money more to resign our few genuine star players? One way to go is as you described; hook up some more talented older (nastier) vets short time while we draft their relacements. Koppen takes Neal's place this year. The center we draft this year is getting ready to take Mawae's place next year or shortly after that.

I agree that signing Runyon may block the development of Kazur as a tackle in the short term. Ideally you would like to take a promising young player and let him learn one position. Moving him to Guard may set back his development but our staff seems to emphasize position flexibility so it might be better to see if he can be a Guard There is also the matter of that nasty rumor to the effect that Bellichek was upset about something he did or didn't do. Maybe even to the extent of benching him in the Denver game. Maybe it's nonsense but who knows?

 

[patpatriot]

Is he now?

Agree aith AZpats. If we do sign Kevin M it should be at the vet min or just slightly above.

Dan Koppen is considered as on of the best young centers in the NFL. Providing his injury has healed, he is our starting center. Kevin would be a gaurd. He is not a good shotgun center and has admitted that he doesn't like playing a shotgun. Brady spends more time in the shotgun than the Jest Qb's ever did.

I've heard conflicting reports but none of them place Koppen in the top 10 centers in the league. Does anyone have the facts on how good this guy is? I know for a 5th rounder playing for short money he is good but compared to LCB or even Mawae is he even in the same ballpark? I don't know, do you?

 

[Joker]

If...and this is a big if...Mawae was signed, HE'D play center. Koppen most like would move to right guard

 

[jczxohn1]

If...and this is a big if...Mawae was signed, HE'D play center. Koppen most like would move to right guard

Agree, but they might swap on shotgun downs. Since no one has mentioned it, I would just love to see Mawae playing next to Mankins for one year. Our backs would love it, too. Everyone has commented on how Tommy has been hurried, but just as big a factor has been the lack of respect for our running game.

 

[AzPatsFan]

I honestly can't think of a single reason that I wouldn't sign Mawae to a short contract for low $, low bonus, and incentives.

I can't think of a single reason I wouldn't do the same for a guy like Runyon.

You simply can never have enough quality guys in the trenches on both sides of the ball.

I would not give either big $ deals at this point in their careers.

Besides we need a veteran O-lineman to retire in camp, and right now we don't have any candidates. The entire line is under thirty.

 

[patsfan13]

You guys are all wet!! Last year Bill and Scott added two first day players to an O-line that had won three Superbowls in four years.

Yeah, they suck allright. Suuuure!!!

The rookies had predictable growing pains and both starting tackles and the starting C ened up on IR. So the line struggled. The RBs were banged up all season too.

That was LAST YEAR.

The rooks aren't rooks any more and the wounded are back and you guys want to throw the baby out with the bathwater. There is no need to panic.

The O-line is stronger that in three Super bowl runs right now, and adding an end of the line pro for a year or two for additional depth is only a minor change. Meanwhile you Chicken Littles want to scrap everthing; demand we draft a Guard(?!?!??) on either the first or second round; or get into a bidding wear for a probowl center.

Y'all are the ones smoking the crack, not Bill and Scott, IMHO.

AZ you and pats 1 have hit the nail on the head. Injuries happen we had a bunch, if we are a little bit luckier with injuries, this could be an excellent unit.

I remember Phil Simms talking about the success of the Giants in the 80's he mentioned that continuity on the OL was as important as has loads of talent. We have a group that can grow together into a formidible line.

I am cofortable going into next year with Light, Mankins, Koppen, Neal, & Kaczur as our starters.

 

[patsox23]

The Pats offensive line has been overrated the past 3 yrs. They havent' been great, nor bad.

Right. So who has been saying otherwise? How are they "overrated" when the vast majority of us think the OL has been "good" and "solid" the last three years. I just can't buy your premise.

 

[IcyPatriot]

How can anyone say this line is good and solid when Brady had less time to throw the ball this year than last year. Just from appearance it looks like he had at least 1/2 second less to throw the ball.

We have gotten better in the run blocking and screen blocking but Brady got hammered this past year. He could easily end up injured this year with the same line back...and the middle was the weakest. Every team was sending 1 guy and then a delayed guy though the hole all year....right in Brady's face.

All the experts say we need this and we need that when I see our highest priority is protecting our HOF QB and giving him more time to throw.

 

[maverick4]

re

FBN,

I think that people are agreeing with you on some of your points, but that you have to take into account last year’s situation.

The Patriots lost their starting left tackle and starting center early in the season. They had to plug in two rookies to start immediately. That is why last year's line had problems.

People are saying that next year will be more similar to 2004’s O-line than 2005’s line. Light and Koppen will be back, and the two rookies will have more experience.

I feel neutral about acquiring Mawae, but even if we don’t, I think we’ll have a strong starting 5 in September.

 

[smg93]

what am i missing here? how did the link between signing Mawae and re-doing our whole offensive line happen? Can't we sign Mawae and keep the majority of the existing unit? Isn't it possible anymore to just add talent without overhauling the unit?

 

[minvardar]

If we have such an excellent line why do we need to keep DG in the backfield to block most plays? I am not saying our line is bad, we have some good young players who are improving. But you know what, I would take Runyan and Mawae in a second. Not only for what they could bring to the field still (Mawae more than Runyan), but they can teach all these young guys a thing or two. Kind of like Rodney Harrison teaching the secondary.

I could actually see signing both of them for 2 years each. They both want to win Superbowls now. What better place to be? Then we have a deep O-line and if Koppen decides not to sign we would have Mawae to play the second year and we could try to find a new center. Koppen has already stated in the past he would not mind playing for the Eagles. They need a center at the moment. If they pick up a one year replacement look for them to go hard at Koppen next year.

 

[Julius]

I have always been a big fan of Mawae and would love to see him leading sweeps out of the backfield next year. I don't think the guy is dirty he just plays real hard just like Harrison. I think he would bring attitude to the o line. This is the same deal that got us Harrison one injury riddled year and the team gives up on a hall of fame player. There loss is our gain. While we are at it why not sign Junior Seau to replace Chad Brown.

 

[patsfan13]

How can anyone say this line is good and solid when Brady had less time to throw the ball this year than last year. Just from appearance it looks like he had at least 1/2 second less to throw the ball.

We have gotten better in the run blocking and screen blocking but Brady got hammered this past year. He could easily end up injured this year with the same line back...and the middle was the weakest. Every team was sending 1 guy and then a delayed guy though the hole all year....right in Brady's face.

All the experts say we need this and we need that when I see our highest priority is protecting our HOF QB and giving him more time to throw.

Some of us feel the le problem was that we had lost 3 of our starters including out starting LT. This would decimate any OL in the league. The line proformed well given the injuries.

When you combine that with the improvment we should see from Mankins and Kaczur, going from their rookie to 2nd season, this will be a better than good line. I have no problem adding Mawae for the right price.

 

[Garbanza]

Didn't Mawae have great difficulting excuting the shot gun last year? Since the Pats use the shot gun formation a lot - what good is Mawae to teh Pats at Center? My guess is that this "interview" was a courtesy call on behalf of BB and Pioli.

 

[Feep_FLA]

I'd take Mawae AND Runyan in heartbeat for 1 to 2 year deals. It's a no-brainer. Bring some old-school hard-nosed football attitude to a pretty good group we have now. Sign em Bill & Scott..... sign em! :rocker:

 

[jczxohn1]

Didn't Mawae have great difficulting excuting the shot gun last year? Since the Pats use the shot gun formation a lot - what good is Mawae to teh Pats at Center? My guess is that this "interview" was a courtesy call on behalf of BB and Pioli.

When Woody played center, he alternated with Compton on shotgun snaps. It's been done before.