What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCKS!!'

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

What move of the cutdown to 53 made you not too happy today or in the previous days in total?

 

[Sciz]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Nothing really makes me mad, but of those listed, I wish Dowling's career would have gone differently, more like his college career where he was constantly nagged by injuries but only missed significant time in one season.

 

[mgteich]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

None of the above.

I am fine with all the transactions. As is everyone, I was surprised by some. If you really are looking for a WTF reaction, it is that we have a roster of 52 players with 6 RB's.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

None of the above.

I am fine with all the transactions. As is everyone, I was surprised by some. If you really are looking for a WTF reaction, it is that we have a roster of 52 players with 6 RB's.

I know people say taking the ball out of Brady's hands is suicide,but lets face it,Brady isn't getting any younger and he needs to end the task of having to carry the whole team on his shoulders at 36 years old.

The time has come for an even more increased running game than it has been in previous years....we may not be a team with a Smashmouth offense like the Steelers,but this team can be a dynamic rushing team as we have loads of talent back there and solid depth should injuries mount.

With a well established rushing game,hopefully an improved defense and Brady being Brady...this team can be better equal on talent all over the roster than they have been for many years now where-as the team was top heavy on offense and was lacking on defense.

 

[Ozymandias]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

I'd say Mesko getting cut. All the other moves were essentially inevitable. Mesko was a surprise as I didn't expect it, but business is business.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

I'd say Mesko getting cut. All the other moves were essentially inevitable. Mesko was a surprise as I didn't expect it, but business is business.

It was a shocker for most of us, but it saved approx. 1 million dollars, so I wouldn't exactly say "damn, that sucks!"

Probably just as importantly, we now don't have to deal with Mesko being a FA next season as he was represented by Athlete's first and David Dunn (Welker and Hernandez).

 

[ausbacker]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Mesko was a "hmmmmm" moment for me. Now, given that qualification, it's not that concerning a move if BB feels Allen punted as well as Mesko and comes at a fraction of the cost.

Outside of that, nothing is particularly surprising or unexpected.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Nothing really makes me mad, but of those listed, I wish Dowling's career would have gone differently, more like his college career where he was constantly nagged by injuries but only missed significant time in one season.

Yeah the loss of Dowling and A.Wilson to injuries took away any chance at seeing some additional depth in the secondary, aside from the addition of Ryan and Harmon as our draft picks.

Those 2 were the decisions that I didn't like the most. Getting rid of BOTH Fells and Ballard would likely be my #2 gripe, but I can certainly understand it.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Mesko was a "hmmmmm" moment for me. Now, given that qualification, it's not that concerning a move if BB feels Allen punted as well as Mesko and comes at a fraction of the cost.

From all of the speculative media reports, it seems that many feel that Allen is not as good as Mesko, especially with his struggles with directional punting and pinning opponents inside of the 20--which Mesko was very good at; but the decision to save 1 million dollars was worth taking a gamble on.

My biggest concern is the place kicking/holding factor, so hopefully we don't have too many issues with that aspect too.

Also Mesko was obviously a FA after this season and we'd have to have made a very tough business decision where we may not have had a viable replacement like Allen after the year was over. On top of that we'd be dealing with David Dunn and Athlete's first, and after the rough Welker negotiations and the strong armed refusal to pay Aaron Hernandez (Dunn's biggest 2 clients from NE), we may have had enough from him at the moment.

 

[SVN]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Not much.Mesko is a sad cut. Otherwise Iam just as worried about our pass defense and pass rush as last year which is not a good sign if doesnt improve this yr.

 

[Joker]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Look,I was AT the camps last month and I wrote right here..."this guy Ryan is outkicking Mesko by ten yards and hang time"....I was with Tunescribe for one practice and we were sitting at the 50 yard line watching them kick from the 20...I don't know how you people got the impression that Mesko and Allen were even...the fact is, the argument I heard was ":Mesko is too good at directional kicks and putting the ball deep without it going to the end zone. THAT was the argument for Mesko. Now it's because of money?

I believe Allen outkicked him and the staff went with the best punter...period.If you want to continue with this million dollar boogey man, feel free...we'll all find out soon enough just how big Allen's leg is...

 

[Fencer]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Mesko is a great and amusing guy, and a better punter than Allen. So that one was strictly business.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Look,I was AT the camps last month and I wrote right here..."this guy Ryan is outkicking Mesko by ten yards and hang time"....I was with Tunescribe for one practice and we were sitting at the 50 yard line watching them kick from the 20...I don't know how you people got the impression that Mesko and Allen were even...the fact is, the argument I heard was ":Mesko is too good at directional kicks and putting the ball deep without it going to the end zone. THAT was the argument for Mesko. Now it's because of money?

I believe Allen outkicked him and the staff went with the best punter...period.If you want to continue with this million dollar boogey man, feel free...we'll all find out soon enough just how big Allen's leg is...

None of the reports that I have read are disputing Allen having a stronger leg, but they all have stated that he wasn't anywhere near Mesko's league in terms of directional punting and pinning the opponent inside of the 20. Therefore most of the TC reports stated that Mesko was indeed ahead in the race due to those very important aspects.

If you definitely feel that those reports state that "Allen was the better punter" then that's up to you and of course I always respect your opinion, but saving 1 million dollars and not having to worry about Mesko being a free agent after the year probably definitely came into the equation.

They apparently saw enough in Allen that they felt that it was worth saving that kind of money and shoring up the position for the future, but it's also thought of by many that he still has a lot of work to do in terms of fine tuning his skills. I'm sure it will likely prove to be a fine decision in the long run, even if there are some growing pains in the first half of the season or so.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Mesko is a great and amusing guy, and a better punter than Allen. So that one was strictly business.

From what I understand he also was heavily involved in community and charity work in the area, so he really represented himself and the team in a very positive manner.

You can hardly blame them for saving money that is that significant and not having to deal with the FA period next season where a 2 time Ray Guy award winner may not be around again.

I think a lot of these moves are always made with an eye on saving cap space, and just in the past couple of days we've added a couple/few million to that "10 million dollar plus" figure that we already were aware of. How else do you explain a move to get rid of a much better inline blocker in the mold of Fells just to keep a less talented player in Hooman? I think sometimes they are willing to sacrifice a bit of the talent if they don't feel that the player's value is what he is currently owed or being paid.

The good news is that Belichick has built a very competitive team once again while also putting themselves in a great situation for next year and the immediate future. If the Fanane money can be recouped it will only be more of a bonus at this point, and most importantly the Hernandez money has already been factored into the new salary cap figure that will help during the offseason once again. You've got to absolutely love that aspect of things.

 

[Joker]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Hooman went and renegotiated his contract for LESS. Did you look at Fells production last year? THAT was monetary.

I think Mesko's agent had a lot to do with them moving to Allen. They TAUGHT Mesko the skills he uses to directionally kick. They will do the same with Allen and hopefully get a much BIGGER leg in the process. It's not about Mesko's a great guy and the dirty Pats screwed him because they're cheap. It's business and it makes business sense as well as pure athletic sense.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Hooman went and renegotiated his contract for LESS. Did you look at Fells production last year? THAT was monetary.

That renegotiation only furthers my point that it was all about sacrificing some talent to save money. This is the report as of today, which states that he wouldn't have made the team otherwise, but since they saved some decent money by only having to pay 650,000 instead of Fells' ridiculous pact, it was a no-brainer:

"It appears Hoomanawanui has slashed his salary from $1.323 million to $650,000. He likely would have been cut if not for the "restructuring." Hoomanawanui surprisingly appeared in 14 games last season, but won't catch many passes behind Rob Gronkowski and Zach Sudfeld."

Regarding Fells, he was definitely considered to be a much better blocker at the traditional inline position, which doesn't equate to many catches, so production isn't a factor at all. It's not like Hooman is going to outproduce Fells in any production, nor blocking skills.

Either way, I believe that they sacrificed a bit of their blocking to save some money--which is what they do and how they stay successful in terms of managing the cap.

I think Mesko's agent had a lot to do with them moving to Allen. They TAUGHT Mesko the skills he uses to directionally kick. They will do the same with Allen and hopefully get a much BIGGER leg in the process.

I hope you're right, and I'd assume that you are. Like I said, I'm sure it will be a great move even if they have to work through some growing pains during the rookie campaign. Lots of money saved and they have their guy for the future to boot.

It's not about Mesko's a great guy and the dirty Pats screwed him because they're cheap. It's business and it makes business sense as well as pure athletic sense.

I hope you don't get that from my comments, as I would never suggest something about the team being "dirty and screwing him (or any player for that matter)." I don't get the impression that anyone is suggesting that on any level whatsoever, so I assume that you're just making sure that is well understood to everyone.

I'm simply claiming that the reason they are ahead of the curve both now and in the future is because they always factor the cap into their decisions and these two examples are prime ones to see that.

 

[Joker]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

nah...I'm always guilty of being unclear...what I was referring to was the collective "Pats are cheap!!!" cries of distress whenever someone in the organizations farts. I think a kid who has been acknowledged to have the best leg in college can live up to kicking the ball on 4th downs without suddenly giving up hundreds of "sky falling!!!!!" runbacks. In fact, with his hang time, we should get MORE fair catches than with Mesko...time will tell. They let Vinitieri walk amidst the same hue and cry...how'd THAT work out?

 

[ATippett56]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

The good news is that Belichick has built a very competitive team once again while also putting themselves in a great situation for next year and the immediate future. If the Fanane money can be recouped it will only be more of a bonus at this point, and most importantly the Hernandez money has already been factored into the new salary cap figure that will help during the offseason once again. You've got to absolutely love that aspect of things.

The following New England Patriots will be unrestricted free agents in 2014:

Blount, LeGarrette
Washington, Leon
Edelman, Julian
Hoomanawanui, Michael
Wendell, Ryan
Svitek, Will
Ninkovich, Rob
Cunningham, Jermaine
Spikes, Brandon
Fletcher, Dane
Talib, Aqib
Cole, Marquice
Aiken, Danny

» Over the Cap- New England Patriots 2013 Salary Cap and Contracts

» Over the Cap- New England Patriots 2014 Salary Cap and Contracts

The New England Patriots have already incurred approximately $8.5 million in dead money for the 2014 NFL Season.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

nah...I'm always guilty of being unclear...what I was referring to was the collective "Pats are cheap!!!" cries of distress whenever someone in the organizations farts. I think a kid who has been acknowledged to have the best leg in college can live up to kicking the ball on 4th downs without suddenly giving up hundreds of "sky falling!!!!!" runbacks. In fact, with his hang time, we should get MORE fair catches than with Mesko...time will tell. They let Vinitieri walk amidst the same hue and cry...how'd THAT work out?

Definitely agreed. I'm just lauding their efforts once again in regards to the management of the salary cap and pointing out some examples (although opinionated--to be fair) where they don't feel that a specific player offers the same "value" as what his pact is currently paying him. This rings true especially if a potential replacement player is close enough to "ready" to take over, as I imagine both Hooman and Allen are. I'm not necessarily meaning to downplay the athletic aspect of it, although I do feel that there are some chances taken here and there for sure; most of which I agree with when the finances are factored.

I'm hardly worried about Allen on any level whatsoever. I am slightly more concerned with the TE situation, but I also realize that the decision was basically a no-brainer at the same time. Fells just wasn't worth keeping around, especially when Hooman can be had at a fraction of the cost.

I'm very impressed with their cap management once again, and we'll all be happy when the free agency period rolls around again next year in terms of being able to retain some important players, along with taking a chance or two on some UFA's from other teams. Unfortunately, while it doesn't look like this past year was a great haul at the moment in terms of FA's (aside from Kelly and maybe Washington), it also should be remembered that it's one collective action--so we did pick up players via the draft, via trades, via the free agent period, and via other teams' cuts.

 

[supafly]

Re: What move in the final 22 players gone off the roster made you go 'DAMN THAT SUCK

Tippett-

The FA's that need to be retained don't look much different from any other year to be honest. I see a couple/few core players that we'd all like to keep and a whole bunch of bit players. Of course some of the players we would like to see retained such as Spikes may not be done, just the same as any other year.

Either way they are at least 12-13 million under the cap at the moment, and that isn't even taking into account the possibility/probability of the cap increasing by another couple of million, nor the situations of possibly recouping some money from the Fanane and Hernandez situations. It also doesn't account for any restructures or extensions, as Wilfork certainly comes to mind. It's quite possible that we will be 15-18 million under the cap yet again.

The extension of a guy like McCourty even comes into play, as does signing other FA's from other teams per usual.