Why the Branch situation turned out worse than Milloy

[ilduce06410]

Bad Moon Risin'

Did I miss something or wasn't Branch unders contract..Gee..should the FO think everyone with a contract is a scumbag like Branch?? Didn't they draft Jackson..or did I miss that one. Wasn't Dillon injured for most of the game?? Guess I missed it...

IMHO the branch situation (negotiating contract extension before beginning of walk season) was to be expected.
as i recall that was what heppened with milloy. now with givens. hail, franchises can cut players at will, even though there's a contract in force. i believe that's the case with milloy. patriots didn't TRADE him, they CUT him. rendering his SIGNED CONTRACT contract null and void for its last year. there is no provision on the CBA that binds franchises to honor a signed player contract. and they exercise that situation. as i recall the nfl and the nflpa just did a contract extension, and apparently "status quo" on this point was agreed to by both parties.
branch is no more a bad guy on this than the patriots. if they can walk away, so can he.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

One very simple reason. The Pats didn't buy insurance for their egg. And when the egg broke they ended up with yolk all over their face.

Let's look back to Milloy please. That year the Pats did the smart thing. They signed Rodney Harrison. At first the press was puzzled that they had two starters signed to the same position. But the Pats FO said ostensibly they were going to play the "Big Nickel" so both guys would start. But don't you think in the back of their minds they were thinking of Harrison also as insurance?

And when Milloy's contract situation didn't work out... guess who stepped up? That's right Harrison. And we won the superbowl that year if I recall correctly.

Looking back on the Branch mess though the Pats never made that crucial insurance move. Javon Walker was available if the Pats had done a little talking. So was the Saint's Donte Stallworth. And now it looks like Walker and Stallworth are off to have 1,000 yard seasons.

The Pats FO KNEW that Branch was in a contract situation. They also KNEW that they had no proven depth behind him. The Pats FO should have KNOWN better and should have prepared for the worse by shoring up that position.

As far as I know Chad Jackson might turn up better than Deion Branch... NEXT YEAR. But with him limping around and a rookie in this offense to boot doesn't help us NOW.

I'm sorry but I gotta hold the Pats FO accountable... not for not giving in to branch's contract demands but for FAILING to INSURE a position, WR, that would be vital to Tom Brady's success (and ergo the Pats offense) this season.

Good points, but I am sure that's why they tried to sign Jevon Walker this offseason and Derrick Mason last offseason.

Branch just p i s s e s me off!

What a dikk!

ADPF

 

[Pats726]

Re: Bad Moon Risin'

branch is no more a bad guy on this than the patriots. if they can walk away, so can he.

If you believe that u are an idiot...Branch gets fines for what he did...BECAUSE he was wrong..did the Patriots get fined for that?? NO because THAT is part of the CBA..I guess u know squat about that..very much so...If you belive Branch is a good guy..I hate to think what values U have..

 

[ctpatsfan1]

Re: Bad Moon Risin'

IMHO the branch situation (negotiating contract extension before beginning of walk season) was to be expected.
as i recall that was what heppened with milloy. now with givens. hail, franchises can cut players at will, even though there's a contract in force. i believe that's the case with milloy. patriots didn't TRADE him, they CUT him. rendering his SIGNED CONTRACT contract null and void for its last year. there is no provision on the CBA that binds franchises to honor a signed player contract. and they exercise that situation. as i recall the nfl and the nflpa just did a contract extension, and apparently "status quo" on this point was agreed to by both parties.
branch is no more a bad guy on this than the patriots. if they can walk away, so can he.

ah but the difference is the player walks away with whatever portion of the SB he got that was prorated over the remaining years on his contract.

Hypothetically lets say a guy signs a 5 yr deal with a 5 million SB and gets cut in yr 3......he gets to keep the $2 million that applies to yrs 4 and 5, hence getting paid for not being on the team.

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

And when Milloy's contract situation didn't work out... guess who stepped up? That's right Harrison. And we won the superbowl that year if I recall correctly.

My take's a bit different. Rather than Harrison stepping up, I think it was Geno who stepped up big time given that he was a rookie and he switch positions from a CB. Harrison was going to start regardless of whether Milloy returned or not. You're right in comparing the Milloy situation to that of Branch for they too strike me as being eerily similar. However, Geno as a rook was able to step up, switch from his natural position and contribute big time from Week 2 to the SB. Chad Jackson, who's in a similar position to that of a rookie Wilson's, has had problems getting on the field. Not that you're implying such, but these two situations hardly occurred by design, and Geno's contribution to the team during his rookie season was extraodinary. IOW, I really can't see that the brass' offseason strategy was to lowball Branch and planned on replacing his production on the team with a rookie while sitting on a $10+M dollar salary cap cushion for the sake of sitting on a $10+M dollar salary cap cushion.

Also, don't forget, following Wilson's solid rookie season as a safety, BB and SP still went hard after John Lynch when he was a free agent. Lynch narrowed it down to the Pats, Jets (the Herm connection) and Denver with the Broncos finally winning out. So, it seems to me that while the Pats brass were confident during both the Milloy and Branch negotiations that they'd return to the team, BB and SP were thrown serious curveballs that resulted in the two players departing with their respective positions having been weakened considerably.

Forgot to mention that it's only Week 3 and as such I'm not writing off Chad Jackson and the passing game just yet. He may prove to be this year's Wilson. If and when that happens, and with Gabriel getting more comfortable with the playbook at the second receiver spot, the passing game's back in business.

 

[soxpatsbscs]

Pats are losing players left and right to Denver, as well as games. There is a reason for this and I think it's the Pats refusal to pay players their worth. I agree that the FO has made complete errors in judgement and their lowballing is biting them, but I think their biggest failure is in the secondary. They not only let Law go, but they completely failed in getting solid CB's. Hobbs is OK, but Asante is a joke. A bad joke. They have already given up big plays, as they did last year, and will continue to.

 

[Wotan_the_Wanderer]

Pats are losing players left and right to Denver, as well as games. There is a reason for this and I think it's the Pats refusal to pay players their worth. I agree that the FO has made complete errors in judgement and their lowballing is biting them, but I think their biggest failure is in the secondary. They not only let Law go, but they completely failed in getting solid CB's. Hobbs is OK, but Asante is a joke. A bad joke. They have already given up big plays, as they did last year, and will continue to.

Other than Lynch and Cedric Cobbs, the latter being a player the Pats cut, I really can't recall other players the Pats lost to the Broncs. Also, the Pats brass did pay Colvin market rate in addition to one Rodney Harrison. Last but not least, I totally disagree with your assessment on Asante. True, he's not Ty Law of yester years, however, he's hardly the bum you make him out to be. Though he's not in the top echelon of CBs in the league, he a very solid corner who's playing for the Pats at a bargain rate. The salary difference of $4-$5 million per year aside, I'd take Asante over, say, Smoot.