This is my plan and I'm sticking to it

[part-timer]

Taking my first steps into this years draft/off season thread. The first moves in free agency as I see it will be to lock up our own…First we must see to locking up Talib, then Hooman, and Fletcher. Hooman and Fletcher will be cost effective and are reasonable backups. Next from out side the organization I would like to sign quality back ups for areas of need, TE and DE. Here I would peruse Scott Chandler and Jared Alen as I see them at a reasonable rate. Lastly I find that Edelman will be far to expensive for what he brings to the table. You must realize that Amendola, Boyce, T j Moe, also provide the same skill sets. So financially and personnel options will make it prohibitive to sign Edelman to that 5-7 Million dollar range that he will easily command. The 7 mill that will have gone to Edelman will cover the costs of all the free agent mentioned to sign minus Talib. So you get Hooman, Fletcher, Chandler and Allen for the price of Edelman.



Now moving into the draft as I see the board and the priorities in needs…I find our most glaring need is the weakness and ageing interior DL. This being an area where we need an impact player, and starter I would not pick any lower than our pick 29. My pick at 29 is Rashede Haseman. Bringing in a quality DT help prepare for VW’s retirement and allows us to release a few pricy veteran back ups, aiding the cap. Kelly and Sopoaga, count as over 4.656 mill.



The second most glaring problem comes on offence…The paring of Wendell and Connolly is atrocious…they are going to gat TB killed. Both WERE adequate back up but neither were starter quality, need less being over paid to the tune of 4 mill. First I would release Connolly out right and make the move of Cannon to RG leaving a need for a starting quality C. This being said I see taking Weston Richburg with our second round pick. With the starting OL in place our only consideration being as depth. Maybe Wendell will come back at a back up pay scale….But in cutting Connolly we save 3 Mill…added to the savings at DT (4.656 mill) we are now at 7.656 MILL.



And the last glaring hole on this team is at SS, not that the team hasn't tried to address itBut I think we need to take another swing….We definitely need a young hard hitter…

With the 3rd pick I would make the move for Deone Bucannon. This move makes a necessary couple of cuts possible. Both A Willson and S Gregory combine for 4.05 Mill…that combined with the previous cuts bring the cap relief to a total of 11.706 mill.



So far we have upgraded our 3 weakest areas and still saved 11.706 Mill on the cap



Next in an area of strength I would look to upgrade depth wise at LB… with the loss of Spikes, and Fletcher being our top back up, I would pick Christian Jones with the 4th pick to continue the habit of fresh young LB’s moving threw the system. So we are well protected in the area if we get hit with the injury bug and lose to starting LB’s again…..Quality free agent LB’s are hard to find and afford…



Currently I believe we have no 5th, so we move on to our pare of 6th rd picks…but before that I’ll take a snap shot of areas covered…



At DT we now have: VW, Rashede Haseman, Sealver Siliga Cory Grissom, and Chris Jones.

At Safety we now have: Mccourty, Deone Bucannon, Harmond and T Wilson, Ebner

At CB unchanged: Talib, Dennard, Ryan,Arrington,

At LB we have: Mayo, Hightower, Collins, Fletcher and Jones.

At DE: Jones, Ninkovich, Allen, Armstead, 24 players



So far that D does not look bad going into camp… on to the O…



First off I believe Blount will have competitive offers and even if we lose him we still are in fine shape with Ridley, Vereen, Bolden, and Develin, but it would be nice to keep him.



Next I do not see TE as a glaring need as the media seems to guess….We have one of the premier TE’s in the game with Gronk. Hooman proved to be an adequate back up. In signing Chandler you also have a young successful combination TE But I would take a flyer on a late pick in the H back move TE. With the 7th pick I would take Richard Rodgers as a developmental prospect…



At WR I believe all the parts are here as we really loaded up last year with both size and speed. with startes Dobson, Amendola, Boyce, Thompkins, making the second year jump. Being challenged by more size by Mark Harrison and Greg Ortin, and the speed of T.J. Moe. I do NOT see any contract considered in this area over 3.5 mill per year for 1-2 years.



At QB if Mallott cant get us at least a 3rd I see him remaining with the team and possibly getting the original pick tag next year. If by chance we get a sucker I mean taker we will find a vet back up…



Lastly the offensive weakness that effects both the run and passing game. Although we are strong and deep at the OT spot with Vollmer, Soldier, Cannon in a pinch and the current back ups in competition with draft pick Cornelius Lucas for the last OT spot.



Now we move to the heart of the problem….the interior OL of which we only have one starting quality player….In starting Cannon at guard we are getting the BEST four OL men on the field at the same time. So we are left with the heart….the C position has NO quality options…In avoidance of signing a high priced FA would chose to get a starting quality pick in the draft…. Which would require at least a second rd pick, that being Weston Richburg C…

Also with my last pick a 6th would look for competition on the IOL with Russell Bodine G/C. As I see it with Connolly and Wendell starting and the rest of the competition UN able to supplant them we need new completion….





QB: TB, Mallott

TE: Gronk, Chandler,Hooman,Richard Rodgers

RB: Ridley, Vereen, Bolden, Develin

WR: Amendola, Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce, Mark Harrison, T J Moe, Slater…

OT: Soldier, Vollmer, (Cannon in emergency), Best of Josh Kline and Cornelius Lucas and Markus Zusevics…

C: Weston Richburg, plus best of Wendell (if he takes back up pay), and Chris Barker

G: Manikins, Cannon, plus best of Josh Kline, and Russell Bovine

49 players not counting STs



More significant cap savings with cuts resulting from this roster:Bequette .440 mill, White .645 mill, DJ Williams .645 mill, and Forston .57 mill for a total of 2.3 mill added to the earlier savings of 11.706 gives a total cap savings of just over 14 mill…



This cap savings is equivalent to the signing price of all my FA’s…Talib,Hooman, Fletcher, Allen and Chandler….



I also believe both VW and Mankins will be asked to rework their contract to hopefully get cap relief to extend players like Mccourty…



WE may also get compensatory picks for Welker and Chung…



This is my plan and im sticking to it…….till the parameters change…..

 

[Armchair Quarterback]

Um.......No

 

[manxman2601]

Mayoclinic's going to like this.

 

[50-yard-line]

You didn't upgrade DT by cutting Kelly. Guy's a beast.

If he can come back from that injury (and it didn't sound that serious, so I think he can) the Pats will be glad to have him.

 

[dales804]

Clearly you put thought into this and came up with what seems like legitimate options. That's more than can be said for a bunch of posts around here.

To me the biggest needs are OL, DL, TE and S. You've addressed all of them with free agents or picks. I like the idea of Chandler, too. I'm okay with NE going after any of the positions I listed with their first pick except for TE. I just think they can get more impact from the other positions at that spot.

 

[ashley]

Hageman at our first pick would be great. I think with your plan our team would definitely be improved, especially defensively. I don't know if financially it would be possible though. You've improved our SS position which is a must as well.
The one thing I am hoping for is for us to re-sign Edleman. I am hoping that's possible but he should be option number two right after Talib. I also think we are going to need to draft a stud tight end, a real good goal line threat. Overall, I think you did a really good job!!!!

 

[Brady6]

WR: Amendola, Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce, Mark Harrison, T J Moe, Slater..

Not one of those receivers played more than 12 games in 2013.

I do not think Thompkins will be on this team in 2014. He was this years Justin Francis.

Harrison and Moe are UDFAs that didn't even participate in a training camp yet.

We would have Amendola, and Dobson who both limped through the second half, and Josh Boyce who finished the year on injured reserve.

 

[varjao]

Lmfao on Mallott

I strongly endorse draft a TE on the 1st round

 

[Ring 6]

Taking my first steps into this years draft/off season thread. The first moves in free agency as I see it will be to lock up our own…First we must see to locking up Talib, then Hooman, and Fletcher. Hooman and Fletcher will be cost effective and are reasonable backups. Next from out side the organization I would like to sign quality back ups for areas of need, TE and DE. Here I would peruse Scott Chandler and Jared Alen as I see them at a reasonable rate. Lastly I find that Edelman will be far to expensive for what he brings to the table. You must realize that Amendola, Boyce, T j Moe, also provide the same skill sets. So financially and personnel options will make it prohibitive to sign Edelman to that 5-7 Million dollar range that he will easily command. The 7 mill that will have gone to Edelman will cover the costs of all the free agent mentioned to sign minus Talib. So you get Hooman, Fletcher, Chandler and Allen for the price of Edelman.

Jared Allen alone will cost more than Edelman in 2014 cap hit. Chandler will be more expensive that it seems you are figuring as well.

Now moving into the draft as I see the board and the priorities in needs…I find our most glaring need is the weakness and ageing interior DL. This being an area where we need an impact player, and starter I would not pick any lower than our pick 29. My pick at 29 is Rashede Haseman. Bringing in a quality DT help prepare for VW’s retirement and allows us to release a few pricy veteran back ups, aiding the cap. Kelly and Sopoaga, count as over 4.656 mill.

If Wilfork and Kelly are healthy and we also have Jones, Siliga, Armstead and Vellano I don't see DT as a need.

The second most glaring problem comes on offence…The paring of Wendell and Connolly is atrocious…they are going to gat TB killed. Both WERE adequate back up but neither were starter quality, need less being over paid to the tune of 4 mill. First I would release Connolly out right and make the move of Cannon to RG leaving a need for a starting quality C. This being said I see taking Weston Richburg with our second round pick. With the starting OL in place our only consideration being as depth. Maybe Wendell will come back at a back up pay scale….But in cutting Connolly we save 3 Mill…added to the savings at DT (4.656 mill) we are now at 7.656 MILL.

It would worry me to rely on a 2nd round rookie to start at C. Cannon is an interesting issue. The team seems to see him solely as a T.

And the last glaring hole on this team is at SS, not that the team hasn't tried to address itBut I think we need to take another swing….We definitely need a young hard hitter…

With the 3rd pick I would make the move for Deone Bucannon. This move makes a necessary couple of cuts possible. Both A Willson and S Gregory combine for 4.05 Mill…that combined with the previous cuts bring the cap relief to a total of 11.706 mill.



So far we have upgraded our 3 weakest areas and still saved 11.706 Mill on the cap

Didnt you spend this on Allen, Chandler, Hooman, and Fletcher?

Next in an area of strength I would look to upgrade depth wise at LB… with the loss of Spikes, and Fletcher being our top back up, I would pick Christian Jones with the 4th pick to continue the habit of fresh young LB’s moving threw the system. So we are well protected in the area if we get hit with the injury bug and lose to starting LB’s again…..Quality free agent LB’s are hard to find and afford…

a mid round draft choice for depth at LB sounds smart.

Currently I believe we have no 5th, so we move on to our pare of 6th rd picks…but before that I’ll take a snap shot of areas covered…



At DT we now have: VW, Rashede Haseman, Sealver Siliga Cory Grissom, and Chris Jones.

At Safety we now have: Mccourty, Deone Bucannon, Harmond and T Wilson, Ebner

At CB unchanged: Talib, Dennard, Ryan,Arrington,

At LB we have: Mayo, Hightower, Collins, Fletcher and Jones.

At DE: Jones, Ninkovich, Allen, Armstead, 24 players



So far that D does not look bad going into camp… on to the O…



First off I believe Blount will have competitive offers and even if we lose him we still are in fine shape with Ridley, Vereen, Bolden, and Develin, but it would be nice to keep him.

I think the money isn't there within this plan.

Next I do not see TE as a glaring need as the media seems to guess….We have one of the premier TE’s in the game with Gronk. Hooman proved to be an adequate back up. In signing Chandler you also have a young successful combination TE But I would take a flyer on a late pick in the H back move TE. With the 7th pick I would take Richard Rodgers as a developmental prospect…

I agree it should not be looked at as a weakness, but could be looked at as a huge strength if a capable #2 is teamed with 87.

At WR I believe all the parts are here as we really loaded up last year with both size and speed. with startes Dobson, Amendola, Boyce, Thompkins, making the second year jump. Being challenged by more size by Mark Harrison and Greg Ortin, and the speed of T.J. Moe. I do NOT see any contract considered in this area over 3.5 mill per year for 1-2 years.

I'd like Collie back. I'd draft one anywhere it is BPA. I would be fine with this group if they and Gronk all stayed healthy, but fear what would happen if they don't.

At QB if Mallott cant get us at least a 3rd I see him remaining with the team and possibly getting the original pick tag next year. If by chance we get a sucker I mean taker we will find a vet back up…

I think the trade market doesnt exist.

Lastly the offensive weakness that effects both the run and passing game. Although we are strong and deep at the OT spot with Vollmer, Soldier, Cannon in a pinch and the current back ups in competition with draft pick Cornelius Lucas for the last OT spot.

You can never draft enough OL.

Now we move to the heart of the problem….the interior OL of which we only have one starting quality player….In starting Cannon at guard we are getting the BEST four OL men on the field at the same time. So we are left with the heart….the C position has NO quality options…In avoidance of signing a high priced FA would chose to get a starting quality pick in the draft…. Which would require at least a second rd pick, that being Weston Richburg C…

There should be capable veterans who can step in that we can sign pretty cheaply to start. Interior OL on the backend of their career are not expensive. I wouldn't spend a 2nd on a C. History says as many good ones come from day 3 as round 2.

Also with my last pick a 6th would look for competition on the IOL with Russell Bodine G/C. As I see it with Connolly and Wendell starting and the rest of the competition UN able to supplant them we need new completion….

Again, you can never draft too many OL.

QB: TB, Mallott

TE: Gronk, Chandler,Hooman,Richard Rodgers

RB: Ridley, Vereen, Bolden, Develin

WR: Amendola, Dobson, Thompkins, Boyce, Mark Harrison, T J Moe, Slater…

OT: Soldier, Vollmer, (Cannon in emergency), Best of Josh Kline and Cornelius Lucas and Markus Zusevics…

C: Weston Richburg, plus best of Wendell (if he takes back up pay), and Chris Barker

G: Manikins, Cannon, plus best of Josh Kline, and Russell Bovine

49 players not counting STs



More significant cap savings with cuts resulting from this roster:Bequette .440 mill, White .645 mill, DJ Williams .645 mill, and Forston .57 mill for a total of 2.3 mill added to the earlier savings of 11.706 gives a total cap savings of just over 14 mill…

You wont gain any money with those cuts, because someone else counts in their spot.

This cap savings is equivalent to the signing price of all my FA’s…Talib,Hooman, Fletcher, Allen and Chandler….

I think your moves, paying the draft class, and accounting for what is needed in reserve for ps, in season moves, etc would have you with less than 10mill to spend at this point, and that might get you Talib and Allen but maybe not.

I also believe both VW and Mankins will be asked to rework their contract to hopefully get cap relief to extend players like Mccourty…



WE may also get compensatory picks for Welker and Chung…



This is my plan and im sticking to it…….till the parameters change…..

Nice effort.

 

[supafly]

You didn't upgrade DT by cutting Kelly. Guy's a beast.

If he can come back from that injury (and it didn't sound that serious, so I think he can) the Pats will be glad to have him.

You don't consider a torn ACL too serious?

 

[mgteich]

I don't expect either Wilfork or Kelly to be ready to start the season. That being said, I would still expend Kelly.

You don't consider a torn ACL too serious?

 

[BradyFTW!]

You don't consider a torn ACL too serious?

On the spectrum of injuries that can end a guy's season, IMO torn ACLs are no longer 'that bad'. They suck, but they're so common that surgery and rehab have progressed to the point that you can be confident that guys will come back at 100% more often than not.

I would be much, much less concerned about a torn ACL than a ruptured Achilles, for example. Even with Kelly being a big dude and on wrong side of 30, if I'm the Pats I wait and see what he looks like in TC. Unless he looks completely done, I'd probably keep him. They don't save a lot by cutting him, compared to his production if he's healthy.

 

[kennyb]

You don't consider a torn ACL too serious?

Not compared to an achilles.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Interesting thoughts. I don't agree with all your moves but I agree that Talib is pretty much a must sign if he will settle for anything reasonable. Our whole defense gets worse without him. It's a domino effect. When you have that #1 corner, then everyone else can settle into their roles. We saw clearly against Denver that Dennard is a strong #2 but he can't pull off #1 duties.

I don't think Jared Allen is going to come cheap. He's an older player now, but with his rep, he is going to get big bucks from someone. I have a feeling that the VW era might come to an end next season. And Kelly will probably be gone as a cap casualty as well.

I'd really, really like to keep Edelman as he has been Brady's only reliable weapon. And DA is an injury waiting to happen. However the more I think about it, if Edelman leaves for a 7m+ contract with someone else, I can live with it. Because I believe it may open up more opportunities for Dobson and the other youngsters to develop in year 2. It's just a really scary thought for Brady to have no proven guys to throw to.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Next I do not see TE as a glaring need as the media seems to guess….We have one of the premier TE’s in the game with Gronk. Hooman proved to be an adequate back up. In signing Chandler you also have a young successful combination TE But I would take a flyer on a late pick in the H back move TE. With the 7th pick I would take Richard Rodgers as a developmental prospect.

I agree with a lot of what you wrote (and disagree with some), but I do think that this point warrants some clarification. It all depends on what type of offense the Patriots want to run. If they plan on running a lot of 3WR, 1TE packages, then they're pretty much fine at TE but need better/more WRs. If they plan on running a lot of 2TE packages, then they need another starter-caliber TE.

Whatever the case may be, they definitely need to upgrade somewhere. It's just a question of where the need is most pressing, and that will be dictated by what kind of offense they want to have going forward. My guess would be that in an ideal world, they'd love to be able to operate out of the 2TE, because when you have Gronk plus an additional TE who's a good receiver, you can basically force the defense to declare what it's going to stop (via the personnel that it puts on the field), then do whatever they aren't equipped to handle.

The upside of being able to run a 2TE base, imo--which requires having two starter-caliber TEs--is too appealing to ignore.

 

[gobesmug]

Excellent plan. It is very similar to my own.

Jared Allen has been my top FA target. Allen and Jones on opposing sides would make this Def, a top 5 right away. Hopefully Allen has gotten sick of playing for bad teams, and decides to take a pay cut.

 

[50-yard-line]

You don't consider a torn ACL too serious?

There are a lot of factors involved (I don't have an ACL in my left leg - tore it in the 70's...they realized it in the 90's). For a running back or wide receiver, it used to be a really tough injury because mentally, you have to regain confidence, particularly when you're accelerating.

But if it's just the ACL now, they get on it with so many new techniques.

Kelly's was partially torn - and it's the second time he's been through this. He rehabbed with the team docs and insists he's not finished what he started in coming here. He knows what he's up against, so the mental part shouldn't be an issue. Also, he's been rehabbing it for months now already.

If he had fully torn it, and taken out the MCL, too, I think he would retire. (Is that what Bowman did in the NFCCG, by the way? His injury looked gross.)

But with just an ACL, he shouldn't lose straight-ahead push. Like I said, I don't have one in one leg and in my mid-50's I can still dead-lift 400 without pain. From my experience, where the trouble happens in that kind of injury is in open space, cutting and accelerating. I won't play outfield anymore, particularly on a less than stellar field, but if we had a pick-up football game, I'd be happy to line up in a three-point stance and go shoulder-to-shoulder with someone.

Now, the Achilles tear, on the other hand...that one really concerns me with VW, especially after reading Mayoclinic's excellent analysis on it and hte potential loss of straight-ahead drive power. I'm scared that Vince is done and I really don't want that awesome guy to have to go out like that.

Kelly? He will be back, I think and hope.

 

[supafly]

On the spectrum of injuries that can end a guy's season, IMO torn ACLs are no longer 'that bad'. They suck, but they're so common that surgery and rehab have progressed to the point that you can be confident that guys will come back at 100% more often than not.

I would be much, much less concerned about a torn ACL than a ruptured Achilles, for example. Even with Kelly being a big dude and on wrong side of 30, if I'm the Pats I wait and see what he looks like in TC. Unless he looks completely done, I'd probably keep him. They don't save a lot by cutting him, compared to his production if he's healthy.

Obviously the time period will be a very key issue, and I question whether we can reasonably expect him to return for the beginning of camp myself, although one can hope.

I'd be counting about 9 months of recovery for him to return at the beginning of August, so let's hope that he can return AND there's a proper contingency plan in place just the same.

Not compared to an achilles.

I wasn't making an comparisons to anyone else's issues, so I'm not quite sure why we're comparing Kelly's injury with other ones?

The bottom line is that a torn ACL surgery and recovery is normally considered a "serious" type of injury. It also happened sometime in late October/early November to boot, unless they previously somehow knew about his torn ACL and were miraculously hoping that it would heal 4-5 weeks later, which is obviously extremely doubtful to say the least.

That would mean that if we're expecting a reasonable recovery period of 8-10 months for a big guy on the wrong side of 30, we'd be lucky to have him back sometime during training camp. I would imagine they'll need to see something in training camp to make a proper determination, so we'll have to hope that he recovers quickly and efficiently. There's certainly no guarantee that he'll make this kind of recovery by the beginning of August either, so I suspect they'll cover their bases either way.

 

[supafly]

My guess would be that in an ideal world, they'd love to be able to operate out of the 2TE, because when you have Gronk plus an additional TE who's a good receiver, you can basically force the defense to declare what it's going to stop (via the personnel that it puts on the field), then do whatever they aren't equipped to stop.

The upside of being able to run a 2TE base, imo--which requires having two starter-caliber TEs--is too appealing to ignoring.

Not only that, but it also allows us a good option at improving the receiving group, even if it's not at WR. Seeing as how WR is typically the kind of position that Belichick doesn't target too much in free agency (in terms of anything worth a damn), due to the cost and unknown area as to whether or not they'll definitely pick up the system, I see the acquisition of a rookie TE as a very reasonable and cost efficient addition to the receiving corp.

Some may agree, some may not--but I think that we have an increased percentage of being able to develop TEs at a quicker pace as opposed to rookie WRs. That may be due to the fact that they don't have quite as many of the finer nuances in terms of assignments and complications, and may have something to do with the fact that they are able to have their responsibilities added a bit more as the season progresses and they find comfort in our offense. I can't say that is 100% true or not with any certainty, but that's just my feeling.

Either way, I think many of us are fully on board with a higher pick TE. One way or another the position of TE needs some immediate upgrading one way or another.

 

[varjao]

I don't remember hearing about Tommy Kelly surgery. Did he go under the knife?