Peter King on Mayo and Cassel

[ctpatsfan77]

A few highlights from his MMQB column on Cassel:

For once, 2009 will have some real quarterbacks on the open market. "It's too early to really tell,'' said close-to-the-vest agent David Dunn, who could have three guys out there to tantalize quarterback-needy teams. Matt Cassel will be on the market in February unless Tom Brady's rehab is a disaster -- which no one expects right now. [Kerry Collins yada yada yada Derek Anderson yada yada yada] The problem with forecasting this group is so much can change in the next two months, but the one thing we do know is that, barring an upset, Cassel would be the first true free-agent quarterback with an intriguing upside and a strong full-season résumé and no tags on him in years. Maybe ever.

9. My Matt Cassel team of choice: Wherever Josh McDaniels coaches next year. If the Pats' offensive coordinator doesn't get a job, which would surprise me, then the quarterback-neediest team with cap room.

And one on Mayo:

If Jerod Mayo doesn't win the Defensive Rookie of the Year, there shouldn't be an award.

:agree:

There's actually a lot of Pats stuff in the column, and the only truly negative stuff is on Watson's inexplicable fumble.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

Maybe Peter should think about why QB never make it to the open market without being tagged and then take a step back on his thinking process about why he wouldn't be tagged.

 

[maverick4]

Peter King is a grade-A moron who is a Gossip QUEEN. A barometer of the idiots.

 

[rsd]

I am now even more thoroughly confused after reading Peter King (which should be considered a non-surprise I suppose).

Write this down: The only way they'll tag Cassel is if Tom Brady's knee rehab takes a major turn for the worse, to the point the Pats don't feel confident Brady will be ready to start the 2009 season. That's it. Because the NFLPA won't allow teams to franchise players if they have no intention of keeping them, the Patriots won't be able to franchise Cassel if they intend to trade him. So, barring a Brady setback, expect Cassel to be a free-agent and end up making $9 million a year with (pick one) Minnesota, Detroit, San Francisco, St. Louis or whatever team Josh McDaniels coaches in 2009, should he be fortunate enough to get a head-coaching job.

What the heck is he talking about? Anyone have a clue? What about Jared Allen last year? God I hate the media.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

I am now even more thoroughly confused after reading Peter King (which should be considered a non-surprise I suppose).

What the heck is he talking about? Anyone have a clue? What about Jared Allen last year? God I hate the media.

He may be trying to say they could file a grievance for taking away negotiating rights on the free market but with Brady's knee situation that's a non starter as Cassel clearly has more value than a "backup QB" to the Patriots.

 

[rsd]

He may be trying to say they could file a grievance for taking away negotiating rights on the free market but with Brady's knee situation that's a non starter as Cassel clearly has more value than a "backup QB" to the Patriots.

How do you prove intent though? It's such a flawed argument he is trying to make.

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

How do you prove intent though? It's such a flawed argument he is trying to make.

I agree with you. I could see them making a case, though, if Brady weren't hurt and we tried to Franchise Cassel as he simply wouldn't have $14M value as a backup given the probability of Brady getting hurt.

However, with Brady's major injury and setback a reasonable case could be made that Cassel has a decent chance to be the Patriots' starting QB if he's still on the team in September.

(this would be a good reason not to leak too much good news on Brady's recovery )

 

[PatsFan2]

This is the reason why i don't like or listen to Peter King.

My Matt Cassel team of choice: Wherever Josh McDaniels coaches next year. If the Pats' offensive coordinator doesn't get a job, which would surprise me, then the quarterback-neediest team with cap room.

Josh McDaniels Head Coach are you kidding me.:wha:

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

Josh McDaniels Head Coach are you kidding me.:wha:

I could see it either way. We're a little below average in scoring despite losing Brady, Maroney, Morris, Jordan. Not bad if we'd known Cassel and BJGE would be playing such a huge role. And young, offensive minded coordinators always seem to be favored. Add in all those years under Belichick; plus, I hate to say it but the Jesters rebound under Mangina will get the "young Belichick protegee" thing going again.

So I think he has a lot going for him outwardly. I highly doubt he's ready though. However Belichick clearly trusts him, sometimes not even watching the offense, instead talking to the LB on the bench when our offense is out there.

 

[maverick4]

This is the reason why i don't like or listen to Peter King.



Josh McDaniels Head Coach are you kidding me.:wha:

McDaniels = The next Norv Turner

 

[VrabelMayeWin]

I am now even more thoroughly confused after reading Peter King (which should be considered a non-surprise I suppose).

What the heck is he talking about? Anyone have a clue? What about Jared Allen last year? God I hate the media.

Kind of sad for King when Pro Football Talk makes more sense than he does :

ProFootballTalk.com - PATS WON’T SWEAT NFLPA ON CASSEL

"Besides, the fight is one that Cassel and the union can’t win. Absent Brady being declared game-ready in February, the Patriots easily can satisfy the good-faith intention requirement by tendering $14 million or so to Cassel in order to squat on his rights for the coming year as an insurance policy against Brady not being ready."

 

[JSn]

National Football Post's Andrew Brandt gets into this in a much more intelligent way:

The National Football Post | Monday Money Matters

Excerpt:

Even with Tom Brady making eight figures, the Patriots would be wise to apply the Franchise Tag to Cassel, a tag price that will be determined in February — the amount was 10.7M in 2008, likely to be slightly above that in 2009. The Patriots are currently showing 101M of Cap charges for 2009 with an expected Cap of 123M, so they will have the room to use the tag.

The application of the Franchise Tag, although Cap heavy for the off season, would allow for the following: (1) retention of a quality quarterback while Brady continues his rehabilitation with the team monitoring his progress, (2) no cash outlay of funds until September, allowing cash, if not Cap flexibility, and (3) the ability to listen to trade offers and potentially consummate a trade that could bring players and/or draft picks to the Patriots (at which point a new deal would be made between Cassel and the trading team).

Assuming the Patriots and Cassel could not agree to a contract that would satisfy both parties, there is some real value in placing a tag on Cassel…………

 

[alamo]

How do you prove intent though? It's such a flawed argument he is trying to make.

If the Patriots move to free up cap space by trading a franchised Cassel quickly (i.e. March 1st) then there will be a grievance. If they wait two months after franchising him, i.e. until a week before the draft, they can make a legit case they were waiting to see on Brady and no grievance.

 

[Deus Irae]

This is the reason why i don't like or listen to Peter King.



Josh McDaniels Head Coach are you kidding me.:wha:

Teams wanted to interview him last season, because he's thought to be talented. That's not going to stop just because a bunch of internet geeks decide that they don't like the guy, especially with the job being done down in Atlanta by Dimitroff and the resurgence of the R-A-T-S.

 

[alamo]

National Football Post's Andrew Brandt gets into this in a much more intelligent way:

The National Football Post | Monday Money Matters

Excerpt:

Apparently the only guy who has done the math on the cap is Miguel, Brandt gets it as wrong as everyone when he says 11M. Which makes me take everything he says with a grain of salt.

 

[JSn]

Apparently the only guy who has done the math on the cap is Miguel, Brandt gets it as wrong as everyone when he says 11M. Which makes me take everything he says with a grain of salt.

What's 11 Million in reference to?

 

[SVN]

also offers this

Two thoughts on the phantom holding call against Mike Vrabel that led to a late Jets touchdown instead of a late Jets field goal: After the Pittsburgh-Seattle Super Bowl, the league office made a big deal of telling officials to call what you actually see, not what you think must have happened based on the body movements of apparently fouled players; this was a classic case of an official thinking he saw holding instead of actually seeing it. Now, if the call had been illegal contact, seeing that Vrabel's contact was on the border of the five-yard bump zone, you might have been able to live with that.

But don't moan about the call, Pats fans. Had the Jets kicked a field goal to go up 27-24 with 3:30 to play instead of scoring a touchdown there, New England would have kicked the tying field goal with eight seconds left on fourth-and-one from the Jet 16 instead of Matt Cassel throwing the incredible touchdown pass to a diving Randy Moss with a second to play. So instead of going to overtime tied at 31, the teams would have gone there tied at 27.

this is why hypotheticals bother me. if the jets had kicked a FG , what is to say that everything might have played out the same way.? In the first place wont there be more time left since the jets scored a TD later after 2-3 plays ?

Goat of the Week

Ben Watson, TE, New England. Easiest call of the week, and I don't care that Watson came back to score a touchdown later in the game. His huge mistake just after halftime was the most decisive bad play of an important game.

The Patriots, down 24-6 with two minutes left in the first half, drove to score a touchdown just before halftime, and were shredding the Jets' defense with a no-huddle scheme on their first possession of the third quarter. Now, I'd never give a guy the Goat of the Week if he was stripped of the ball. But Watson, getting tackled at the Jet 22 after catching a pass from Matt Cassel, never had the ball touched. He simply dropped it, and the Jets recovered.

Instead of the game being 24-20 with 25 minutes to play and the momentum clearly on New England's side, Watson coughed up this huge chance. The Patriots, despite rolling to a 269-yard second half, never could pass the Jets.

hard to disagree.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Watson's epic drop was only eclipsed in the recent Pats Hall of Shame by Patrick Pass's notable drop in the open. Not a good guy to compared with, Ben.

 

[JSn]

Watson's epic drop was only eclipsed in the recent Pats Hall of Shame by Patrick Pass's notable drop in the open. Not a good guy to compared with, Ben.

Anyone see Daniel Graham catch that game-winner in the Denver game?

 

[alamo]

What's 11 Million in reference to?

Brandt said "a tag price that will be determined in February — the amount was 10.7M in 2008, likely to be slightly above that in 2009. "

14M is not in my book "slightly above" 10.7M.

And as Miguel has demonstrated, franchise tag calculations are not some secret, as long as you know the top 5 QB salaries you can figure it out, and Miguel has done so. Will only change if one of the top five (Manning, Brady, Palmer, Rodgers, Favre) restructure before the end of the season.