Samuel: The Pats 'don't care' about players

[DaBruinz]

i think though there is a difference between being cost-conscious and unreasonable. sometimes the pats are a bit unreasonable. i mean wasn't the whole point of dumping seymour to get more $$ for wilfork? what's taking them so long?

No. The whole point of trading Seymour wasn't to free up money to sign Wilfork to an extension. That may be your misguided interpretation, but it was clearly not what the Pats had planned. Also, since you seem to have just started following the NFL, the NFL year isn't over. So the Pats are still bound by the current salary cap. And since they used all the money from this year on contracts, they have to wait until the SB is over before they can officially sign Wilfork to a new one.

 

[Joker]

The 2 down vs 3 down thing is used by to justify stiffing the player of his cash. Is Wilfork a 2 down player in an attacking 4-3? Hell, no.

In a 3-4, the NT is the player who handles the point of the attack, particularly against the run. If that's not worth top money, no player on defense is worth top money.

just like to know, for clarity's sake..."is used by"...yeah, OK..used by who..the Pats?...other clubs??..all clubs?

and beyond that, how in blazes is Wilfork going to get "stiffed"? If he doesn't like what the Pats offer him he moves on to a contract he DOES like. He'd be getting "stiffed" if the market was 9 million for NT's and he signed a contract with the Pats for 5 or 7 million...THEN you could say, the Pats "stiffed" him...otherwise it just sounds like YOU are of the OPINION that the Pats(I think you mean the Pats but I can't really be sure because of your omission) are a cheap organization and looking to "stiff" players headed into free agency.

 

[Nikolai]

I guess Daniel Snyder cares more about his players than any other owner in the NFL.

 

[Deus Irae]

just like to know, for clarity's sake..."is used by"...yeah, OK..used by who..the Pats?...other clubs??..all clubs?

and beyond that, how in blazes is Wilfork going to get "stiffed"? If he doesn't like what the Pats offer him he moves on to a contract he DOES like. He'd be getting "stiffed" if the market was 9 million for NT's and he signed a contract with the Pats for 5 or 7 million...THEN you could say, the Pats "stiffed" him...otherwise it just sounds like YOU are of the OPINION that the Pats(I think you mean the Pats but I can't really be sure because of your omission) are a cheap organization and looking to "stiff" players headed into free agency.

The missing word is "people". It's a generic, and it would apply to anyone trying to low ball Wilfork's worth.

 

[tuckeverlasting]

I think BB and Vince Lombardi belong in the same sentence when it comes to winning...but not in the same text book when it comes to "dealing with people." Lombardi's prime was near 45years before BB's - so tolerance for things has to change. Lombardi was considered for the Vice Presidency by President Nixon (briefly). He was a cultural icon and beloved human being. His ability to mold men and deal with people is legendary. What part of that reminds you of BB?

yeah, lombardi treated the players so well that when jim ringo brought an agent with him to negotiate his contract, lombardi got up , left the room for five minutes, came back and told ringo he'd just been traded to philly. that's how lombardi dealt with people.

 

[vyrago]

Seymour, Samuel, Law, Johnson. It seems like alot of players that leave us wernt very happy with the way they were treated. It doesnt help our reputation when Free agency comes around.

Yes and the opposite tack does so well for the Redskins. They get 'em all, but what they don't get is championships of any kind.

 

[TrueBeliever]

I think BB and Vince Lombardi belong in the same sentence when it comes to winning...but not in the same text book when it comes to "dealing with people." Lombardi's prime was near 45years before BB's - so tolerance for things has to change. Lombardi was considered for the Vice Presidency by President Nixon (briefly). He was a cultural icon and beloved human being. His ability to mold men and deal with people is legendary. What part of that reminds you of BB?

I sincerely apologize. In the future I will make sure my posts meet your high quality standards before having the unmitigated gall to state my opinion.

 

[TrueBeliever]

I guess Daniel Snyder cares more about his players than any other owner in the NFL.

That's a +1 right there.

 

[upstater1]

I guess Daniel Snyder cares more about his players than any other owner in the NFL.

LOL, that sounds like a mighty fine signature quote for this thread.

"Dan Snyder cares about you. Give him your tired, your sick, your poor, your wretched. Let him feed your family."

 

[upstater1]

yeah, lombardi treated the players so well that when jim ringo brought an agent with him to negotiate his contract, lombardi got up , left the room for five minutes, came back and told ringo he'd just been traded to philly. that's how lombardi dealt with people.

Let's see if people can deal with these kinds of facts. People here often mistake dealing harshly with complaining players or players late for practice or media members who will slant the story with how someone deals with people on a more personal level. We've heard from Jim Brown about Belichick's work with the downtrodden, and we know Belichick has a lot of personal friends and supporters in the community who do not fawn over him for his football work, but the media story on him is negative simply because he sees reporters as an impediment to what he's trying to achieve.

It may not be smart to take on the media because they are vindictive, petty and often very tomase (that's my generic adjective for unprofessional media), but it may well be that Belichick deflects a lot of crud coming from players and heaps it onto himself, thereby promoting a more unified locker room.

People's brows rippled this year when Adalius went off because we hadn't seen locker room dissension in a decade in Foxboro. That's largely because of the way Belichick handles the media.

 

[upstater1]

I wonder how Ted Johnson feels about the last sentence of your post.
I don't it's about not paying them what they want...it's what they deserve. Wilfork deserves to get paid like a top 3 NT in the NFL. He may want more, but give him a deal that he deserves, he'll be happy.

How much does a top 3 NT make?

Albert Haynesworth is a DT, and the Skins used him as a DE in some 3-4 configurations. Definitely not a NT.

Casey Hampton
Haloti Ngata (5 year contract at $2 million a year)
Tommie Harris?
Pat Williams? (6.5 million a year)
Kevin Williams (6.5 million a year)
Kris Jenkins (just signed a contract last year for $6 million a year)

I'd say you need to come up with what you think Wilfork deserves before telling the Patriots what they should offer him. Should they offer him Tommie Harris or Haynesworth money (even though a lot of people seem to think those are contracts inflated to make the agents look good, and that there's no real beef there) or should he get Kris Jenkins, Marcus Stroud, Pat Williams money? Even considering he played for a 6th year at 1/2 the cost he would have otherwise if he had, say, Ngata's contract, then you can make up the 3 million he lost with the 6th year by tacking a million or less onto the 6 to 7 that Jenkins and Williams signed for.

Will that do it? That makes Wilfork right and doesn't have him complaining about his 6 year contract anymore.

We're talking 7.5 million to maybe 8 accounting for a cap rise next year.

 

[Zeus]

NFL players are young men who make a tremendous amount of money for playing a game. For the most part, they have been star athletes through high school and college. As a result, they are accustomed to being treated like royalty. I don't think it's unfair to say that many have outsized egos and can, at the same time, be terrifically insecure.

Given all of this, it's not the least bit surprising that players who don't get their way (perhaps for the first time in their athletic lives) feel mistreated. There's no question that the Patriots were willing to pay Samuel handsomely for his services; enough that he could have been financially secure for life. He wanted more and that's fine. He's concluded that the team didn't care about him - he's entitled to his feelings but realistically, the only way the team could show him that they did care would have been to give him what he wanted. Anything short of that means they don't care. Okay ...

To think that the Patriots are the only team in the league that has players who feel mistreated is patently absurd. Every single player in the NFL (and all of the other major professional sports) feels that they are worth more than they are being paid. It comes with the territory. Samuel's feelings about the Patriots (as well as those of Law, Milloy and others) prove exactly nothing.

As for Wilfork, let's see how it plays out before we jump to any conclusions. The team has told free agents that nothing is going to happen until February. With the labor/salary cap situation as muddled as it is, this is the only approach that makes sense.

I like Wilfork as a player and he seems like a pretty good guy. I hope he stays around, but if he doesn't, life will go on.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I wonder how Ted Johnson feels about the last sentence of your post.
I don't it's about not paying them what they want...it's what they deserve. Wilfork deserves to get paid like a top 3 NT in the NFL. He may want more, but give him a deal that he deserves, he'll be happy.

Ted Johnson was a victim of the system (not Bill's, the NFL's) and his own desire to continue playing at any cost. He admitted withholding information from doctors and trainers for years. When he finally decided to retire, the team didn't ask him to return the substantial roster bonus he'd just been paid in March because I guess they felt he'd earned it...

We already know by his own admission that Vince feels the 2009 average of the top 5 DT's in the league, which is what a NT is...a DT, is just okay money for a guy like Vince. What he wants,again by his own admission, is the most money he can possibly get. He would be OK with that coming from us, or from a Florida team or likely from any team willing to pay it to him. Which means the last sentence of your post is effectively a crock born of your own naivete.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

I'm waiting for the mediots to contact Jim Plunkett for his thoughts on Tom Brady.
Wake me when the mediot's "Former Player Whiney Tour" has ended. It's all so irrelevant.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

NFL players are young men who make a tremendous amount of money for playing a game. For the most part, they have been star athletes through high school and college. As a result, they are accustomed to being treated like royalty. I don't think it's unfair to say that many have outsized egos and can, at the same time, be terrifically insecure.

Given all of this, it's not the least bit surprising that players who don't get their way (perhaps for the first time in their athletic lives) feel mistreated. There's no question that the Patriots were willing to pay Samuel handsomely for his services; enough that he could have been financially secure for life. He wanted more and that's fine. He's concluded that the team didn't care about him - he's entitled to his feelings but realistically, the only way the team could show him that they did care would have been to give him what he wanted. Anything short of that means they don't care. Okay ...

To think that the Patriots are the only team in the league that has players who feel mistreated is patently absurd. Every single player in the NFL (and all of the other major professional sports) feels that they are worth more than they are being paid. It comes with the territory. Samuel's feelings about the Patriots (as well as those of Law, Milloy and others) prove exactly nothing.

As for Wilfork, let's see how it plays out before we jump to any conclusions. The team has told free agents that nothing is going to happen until February. With the labor/salary cap situation as muddled as it is, this is the only approach that makes sense.

I like Wilfork as a player and he seems like a pretty good guy. I hope he stays around, but if he doesn't, life will go on.

For a loner and a man of few words, Asante had a hellacious ego and tremendous insecurity. He believed he should have been recognized as an elite talent out of HS, let alone college, and his mission from the day he was drafted in the 4th round became to prove the league, and us, wrong. In his mind, Philly has done that, ergo they care and we didn't. He will no longer feel that way about Philly on the day they ask him to take a paycut or move on...and they will. It is what it is.

 

[neuronet]

I remember sitting down and watching him jump that route, leap into the air, letting the ball hit his hands and as it did I jumped up and begain celebrating the 19-0 season. Then one of my friends in the crowded room let me know that he dropped it.

Long story short, Asante Samuel can fornicate himself with a rusty ice pick.

Right on, brother.

Hey, for a Newburyporker you ain't bad rolleyes I'm from Amesbury, living in NC right now. I flew up the weekend of that Super Bowl to watch it with family in South Hampton (NH). The flight home Monday morning was torture.

Asante can blow me.

 

[PittPatriot]

I sincerely apologize. In the future I will make sure my posts meet your high quality standards before having the unmitigated gall to state my opinion.

My bad. Didn't mean to come off that way...

 

[102 Pat]

Maybe I'd care about Samuel if he could of caught that INT in SB 42 or helped Harrison on the helmet catch.

 

[Tunescribe]

The flight home Monday morning was torture. Asante can blow me.

Cry me a river. I flew home from Phoenix that day seated next to a f*cking Giants fan; could not wait for the connecting flight. Now THAT was torture at 30,000 feet.

I agree with your sentiments about Asante, however. Screw him.

 

[TrueBeliever]

LOL, that sounds like a mighty fine signature quote for this thread.

"Dan Snyder cares about you. Give him your tired, your sick, your poor, your wretched. Let him feed your family."

You sure won't have to worry about Super Bowl rings getting in the way.