mgteich said:
I suppose you guys prefer Gay, Poole, and Chad Scott who didn't play injured to Starks who risked the rest of his career to play injured. There is no question that Starks was very injured when he played. As I said at the time, I think we would have gone 2-6 or 3-5 without Starks. He played because he was the best we had, and the best available. Of course, we all are free to disagree with Mangini's, bb's and pioli's judgement on the matter. Starks was physically very limited in what he could do out there. IMHO, it is a credit to Mangini and to Starks that our defensive backs held together well enough to win those first four games.
Starks will come back. IF HE IS HEALTHY, I expect him to start, be cut, or perhaps negotiate a minimum contract to be a backup (seems unlikely).
BTW, if Starks isn't at least the nickel, I would suggest that we difinitely need to sign another corner.
Risked the rest of what career? Sorry but I'm not buying. The only voice we've heard on the extent and nature of any injury is Duane's. BB isn't inclined to play players who are injured to the extent that their career's are in jeopardy. Neither is the medical staff. BB certainly admires the ones who can suck it up and play hurt, and rightly so, but there is a difference between hurt and injured in that respect. I also don't buy Mangini and BB were handcuffing this defense early, I believe they were handcuffed by the inability of many to execute fundamantally sound basic defense. As TJ noted was also the case in 2000, and again in 2002, when the coaches eventually had to dumb it down to the players comfort level until they were ready to absorb and execute more complex schemes.
For the record, Duane's career went down the crapper the day he left the cozy confines of the mighty Ravens defense and signed for the big payday with Arizona. Why he floundered there is anyone's guess, as Rodney opined on WEEI the day after he was IR'd, but he did. Obviously he was a player BB hoped would benefit from a change of scenery and a return to a defensive oriented team with lots of veteran support. It didn't work out too well, but I got the distinct impression that Rodney realized it wasn't going to even before he went down.
In 8 NFL seasons Starks has
played in 94 games
62 in 4 years in Baltimore
32 in the 4 years thereafter
made 25 Interceptions
20 in 4 years in Baltimore
5 in 4 years thereafter (and none as a Patriot)
defensed 73 passes
53 in 4 years in Baltimore
20 in 4 years thereafter
I for one sense an emerging pattern here. I also think that rather than Starks being the team guy who played injured because we needed him, BB simply was forced to play him and stick with him because there was no available alternative. They didn't want to rush Hobbs because of his potential, and Poole, Gay and others weren't available.
Duane didn't participate in the Patriots off season conditioning program after we traded for him. He prefers to train in Miami with Shockey and the rest of the U of M training cult. BB didn't get to see much of him aside from mini camps until he appeared for TC. I think a decision on the secondary going forward will have been made before he is mandated to show up again.
I greatly doubt he will be back. Cutting him will save $3.5M on the cap that can be better spent on another CB (and we need a few because I think they are done waiting for Poole too), or something else equally useful. I also think Duane probably dislikes playing for us almost as much as most of us dislike having to watch him play. And I got the sense his teamates are at best ambivalent about his future.
