Pats claim WR Michael Floyd

[RobertWeathers]

Let any drinking man in here who's never gotten behind the wheel after a few too many cast the first stone...

As someone who royally ****ed up about 20 years ago and took out a utility pole head on no skid marks and totalled an 85 Grand Marquis (yes, I know I could've killed someone or myself - I was alone in the car on my way home from Northeastern), perhaps this will be Floyds wake up call... It was mine....

I had one as well in my early 20s. No arrests and no lives impacted. Very lucky.

I can sympathize with Floyd being stupid for getting behind the wheel even though he thinks, 'hes fine'. I get it.

If he has an alcohol problem that is a whole different issue. Can't relate there. Just hope people can help him before it costs him his career.

 

[irishfanatic]

Some more comments on the comments:

1. Just to sum up the ND connection value: Having played for Charlie, Floyd has SOME familiarity with the semantics (language) and route running concepts that still exist in Foxboro. To put it in perspective, it's like going to school in France for a couple of years and you pick up the local language and become pretty fluent in it. Then you come back home for 4 years, and don't speak a word of French, and then suddenly you get sent to France again. When you land at Orly on Friday, the language seems familiar, but its not like you are as fluent as you once were. However picking it up again will be a LOT easier than if they sent you to China instead. In other words, it's not much, but it's something.

2. I am not worried at all about him being suspended THIS year. Roger can't do anything until the DUI is finalized in court. That could take months. That being said, a 2-4 game suspension is DEFINITELY in Floyd's future next season. But for this season suspension won't be a factor.

3. Far from being a threat to team harmony, I think Floyd will be welcomed in the Pats locker room. This just shows the team how committed the FO is to winning it all this season. Think about it. If you were in that locker room, who do you want out on the field with you when you need to make a play, Griff Whalen, or Michael Floyd. They know they are thin at WR, and the FO found the best guy possible to add some depth and were willing to commit some significant $ in doing it. Besides by ALL accounts Floyd is a very good locker room guy, well liked by his team mates.

How long he's here will be dependent on how Floyd behaves and how quickly he learns, and what he does on the field, but as far as the locker room accepting him, the leadership will accept him as long as they think he is working hard to make the team better....period.

4. Assuming he stays in Foxboro this weekend the Pats have just over a month to get him ready to be a competent part of the receiving corps for the playoffs(the rest of this week, 2 games, a bye week, and game week). I think it is reasonable enough to think this coaching staff can create a package of plays that he can run in that time. Again he is familiar with the language and concepts that are run here.

5. Upside - IF he likes his 2 month experience here and is willing to sign a one year incentive laden prove it deal here, it would be a huge coupe for the Pats. With DA and Edelman entering their 30's and showing signs of slowing down, getting a guy with Floyd's talents, speed, size and age would fill a huge need.

a. The AZ guys Reiss talked with said that pre season Floyd was talking about looking for Julio Jones money after this season. Well obviously THAT's never going to happen, but if his eye are too big, or someone wants to overpay if he does well here, then there is the comp pick advantage. (not that it guaratees we get one, but it would help)

6. The downside - None, unless you think the $1.3MM will significantly keep us from signing anyone with the 70 odd Million we will have under the cap next season.

I didn't think this would happen. First I thought some one lower would claim him. I did beleive the Pats would "kick his tires" but only if he became a FA, and he'd probably go elsewhere. I was wrong not to think the Pats would be so proactive here. They are clearly taking advantage of a player who put himself in a bad situation, just like LGB's experience in Pittsburgh. We can only pray it works out nearly as well.

As usual, excellent summation. The thing I do not understand is how so many other teams did not claim Floyd. Is it short sightedness on their part? It certainly was not because of a moral issue imo.

 

[DarrylS]

Good move.. low risk, possibly high reward.

Comments on the comments, the whole "Patriot Way Nearer to God" crap is just crap and not a creation of BB/Patriots/Myra... the media came up with this whole shtick to try to label how the Patriots find guys who flounder in one system, but flourish here. Guys who were individuals on other teams, became team first guys here.

For the grace of god I never got busted nor engaged in any carnage during my drinking days, but who here has never gotten behind the wheel at various degrees of impairment??..

These are young men with lots of money, young men with lots of money sometimes make mistakes.. welcome Michael Floyd.. how did this guy pass waivers and get to the NEP??

 

[mgcolby]

I had one as well in my early 20s. No arrests and no lives impacted. Very lucky.

I can sympathize with Floyd being stupid for getting behind the wheel even though he thinks, 'hes fine'. I get it.

If he has an alcohol problem that is a whole different issue. Can't relate there. Just hope people can help him before it costs him his career.

White Russians???

 

[RobertWeathers]

White Russians???

Nah man I had too many Miller Genuine Drafts. Walter and I did a little too much celebrating at the bowling alley after we beat Jesus in the finals.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Sounds like the Pats had more than just Weis with some good G2.

Mike Reiss ESPN Staff Writer
Patriots CB Logan Ryan says he trained with WR Michael Floyd in Phoenix for the last few offseasons and is excited to welcome him to the team. "He's a good guy. I'm sure he's hungry for a second chance," he says.

 

[patsbrasilpatriotas]

If he's productive, the WORST case scenario is that we bought a compensatory pick for U$ 1.2m. That's a great deal IMO

 

[BTTA]

The problem is that it was a mistake that could have cost somebody there life and that is unforgivable. A very selfish and inconsiderate decision. He is fortunate that he is not doing any jail time. Drink drivers are very very dangerous to public safety.

Him being addicted to it is HIS problem. Nobody held a gun to his head and said drink it. Alcohol is poison and should be avoided at all costs. I have seen it destroy families and that is why I never have and never will drink it. Damaging your body and paying for it at the same time lol how intelligent, not to mention how vulnerable you are when you are drunk. I hate this signing. We had big vince leave pulling people from car wrecks and now we got this punk passed out drunk on the intersection with the engine running being a huge threat to public safety... absolute madness. The cops should gave got him out of the car and beat his ass for being an ass or I hope they did.

Clearly you've been hurt by this issue. I wish you and yours a full healing and hope you can enjoy the holidays. You are right that we shouldn't look the other way.

We made the deal with the devil about auto use a long time ago, and as a country need to look away from the results in order to keep our daily lives intact. 38K dead, 4.4M injured in just 2015. That's the equivalent of massive ground war, ongoing, forever. And it doesn't include the costs in lost productivity (for the victims and their families), health care costs everyone pays, auto insurance premiums everyone pays, etc.

The biggest issue now isn't impaired driving from substances, it is distracted driving from the use of devices.What had been a downward trend has suddenly exploded upward. I don't think we want the police to beat the crap out of everyone they see on the phone while driving.

In terms of Floyd, as in all celebrities, there is a real possibility that his presence in the Boston area will reduce impaired driving due to the attention it will draw, and the possibility of him learning something and making amends publicly. There is some value in having high profile people fall into the same holes the rest of us fall into. Let's hope the guy has a full awakening through his being employed in New England, as a receiver and as a member of society.

 

[IllegalContact]

Well it's a low risk pickup on a talented WR who was drafted #13th in the 1st round a while back and also put up 1,000 yards receiving a while back.

It's totally a reclamation project but really if he turns it around, it's another BB saves a career type of story.
Now it's all up to Floyd to wake up and take advantage of this opportunity.
He just went from a team on the verge of missing the playoffs to a team that is contending for the title and is currently the #1 seed in the AFC.

no more a reclamation project than someone like Bennett

some places, it's just hard to give a ****

 

[aluminum seats]

The thing I do not understand is how so many other teams did not claim Floyd. Is it short sightedness on their part? It certainly was not because of a moral issue imo.

Good question, would really need to go on a case-by-case basis. The teams who had the first crack at him are out of the playoffs, and likely didn't see the need the pay a guy a million+ for 3 meaningless games. Then you get into teams that feel they're set at WR or otherwise just don't see a fit.

Definitely a surprise someone didn't pick him up, though. I wonder if there's a little follow the leader, we-don't-want-to-look-bad-because-this-guy-made-a-mistake-not-that-we-really-care-but-we-like-to-be two-faced-sanctimonious-weasels-now-and-then. Or something like that.

 

[moosekill]

As usual, excellent summation. The thing I do not understand is how so many other teams did not claim Floyd. Is it short sightedness on their part? It certainly was not because of a moral issue imo.

Well, remember, basically 1/2 the teams are realistically out of the playoffs so that leaves you with 16 teams not 32. Then you have to look at his cost for the last three games and ask is he better than what you currently have on your team and if so is he better enough to be worth $1.?? million for those three games? Then there were the articles written about his lack of effort in practice, and the DUI. Lots of possible negatives at a relatively high price, my guess is other teams were figuring no one would grab him through waivers and they would try and sign him as a free agent at a lower price. The Patriots have a need for a wide receiver, have cap space available, and don't pay much attention to what other people think about their decisions.

 

[Kontradiction]

I'm actually shocked the Titans didn't pick him up. I would have thought that would have been a no-brainer for them but I guess not.

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

 

[IllegalContact]

As usual, excellent summation. The thing I do not understand is how so many other teams did not claim Floyd. Is it short sightedness on their part? It certainly was not because of a moral issue imo.

several reasons:
1 - out of the playoffs and it doesn't matter
2 - don't have the cap space
3 - are all set at WR
4 - coaching staff would not be able to implement into the offense at this point of the season, so why bother
5 - didn't think anyone was going to claim him
6 - phony ******** morals

To me it's the perfect storm.......the kid knows how things worked out for other player of questionable character when they come here.....Branch, Bennett, Blount ...... the chances are high that a contract year second lease on life will give the pats the very best Micheal Floyd there can be....the incentives for him can not be higher

The Cards have fallen from being Super Bowl contenders to early golfers...the kid was a good teammate....

Again, this is such a no brainer.......waiting for haters to cry 'not fair'

 

[jimnance]

..welcome Michael Floyd.. how did this guy pass waivers and get to the NEP??

Floyd has more drops than TDs this year. He's caught a pass on only 47% of targets this year- the 2nd worst % in the NFL.
He's basically sucked this year. But still a potentially great pickup. He HAS been a very good wr in the nfl. Hes still fairly young- not like all his skills or speed have eroded.He's been playing on a very dysfunctional team with a bad qb.
That's one reason he wasn't picked up. But timing is everything. He's gonna be a fa. There's only 4 games left. That rules out all but playoff contending teams. Of all the contenders, who else needs a wr? BB was smart. I think a lot of teams were interested and were waiting for him to clear waivers so he could be signed cheap. So BB swooped in and scooped him out. The $ is a drop in the bucket. A major need was filled. If Pats make SB he'd likely be #5 on the depth chart behind danny. But he'll help the Pats GET there. Also gives both team and floyd a trial period to see if its a possible fa signing in off season.
You'd think floyd will be highly motivated given all his circumstances. A couple weeks to get up to speed, play miami game+maybe some in jets game) be ready to contribute in playoffs.

 

[DaBruinz]

The problem is that it was a mistake that could have cost somebody there life and that is unforgivable. A very selfish and inconsiderate decision. He is fortunate that he is not doing any jail time. Drink drivers are very very dangerous to public safety.

Him being addicted to it is HIS problem. Nobody held a gun to his head and said drink it. Alcohol is poison and should be avoided at all costs. I have seen it destroy families and that is why I never have and never will drink it. Damaging your body and paying for it at the same time lol how intelligent, not to mention how vulnerable you are when you are drunk. I hate this signing. We had big vince leave pulling people from car wrecks and now we got this punk passed out drunk on the intersection with the engine running being a huge threat to public safety... absolute madness. The cops should gave got him out of the car and beat his ass for being an ass or I hope they did.

WOW. Sanctimonious much. Clearly, you are a saint and everyone should be held to your ridiculous standards..

BTW, he wasn't SIGNED.. He was claimed off waivers.. Clearly you don't understand the difference.. But hey.. you're a saint.. So having the facts wrong doesn't matter..

 

[luuked]

several reasons:
1 - out of the playoffs and it doesn't matter
2 - don't have the cap space
3 - are all set at WR
4 - coaching staff would not be able to implement into the offense at this point of the season, so why bother
5 - didn't think anyone was going to claim him
6 - phony ******** morals

To me it's the perfect storm.......the kid knows how things worked out for other player of questionable character when they come here.....Branch, Bennett, Blount ...... the chances are high that a contract year second lease on life will give the pats the very best Micheal Floyd there can be....the incentives for him can not be higher

The Cards have fallen from being Super Bowl contenders to early golfers...the kid was a good teammate....

Again, this is such a no brainer.......waiting for haters to cry 'not fair'

I certainly hope he signs a one year deal to rebuild his stock here...

 

[n1997y]

Couple of things. First, the DUI. Found at an intersection, at something like 2:30 AM on the night after a game. How drunk was he? Haven't seen a BAC reading. Could there be extenuating circumstances? How much was alcohol and how much was fatigue? Did he take any of the many OTC painkillers that are common and NFL approved, but warn against taking with alcohol and have drowsiness as a side-effect?

As for the waiver claim, BB has shown success in the past with problem cases, and is secure in his job to a degree that other coaches are. He can afford to take the chance. I like it. Hope it works out.

 

[Love The Drake]

could also see Mcdaniels lure him away where ever ever he lands.

 

[PatsDeb]

Hmmm. Curious tactics my dear Belichick. I guess this means Griff was still a whiff, Amendola might not be coming back (I know they are different players with a different skill set, but it appears we need a body at WR), and maybe this is sort of to replace Gronk with the "best" big body out there? Lay off the booze Mike and you might have just hit the jackpot.