7-29-05 Training Camp Begins

Ok here goes, brace yourselves.

Richard Seymour.
$4.8 MILLION signing bonus when he signed his rookie deal.
$2.8 MILLION BASE salary this season with attainable escalators that
can total nearly 4million.
He has made $8.8 million so far, not including what he could make this
season.

Yes it is NOT fair to the players the way that the league is set up. The team can cut you at any time and not have to pay you anymore, but if you 'outperform' your contract you don't get a raise. That's life in the NFL Seymour you blankety blank blank.

I seem to recall a playoff game in the snow last year against one of the highest scoring offenses ever in which Seymour couldn't play. No touchdowns and only 3 points later, the Pats were victorious with Jarvis Green filling in for "Big C 93" (lame nickname too). Same for the Pittsburgh playoff game, no 93 and a win. Let me also remind you that Seymour played sparingly in the superbowl.

How badly do you think Tedy Bruschi wants to be on the field right now?
How about Ted Johnson? Maybe Seymour should be sent to a real job for a year instead of playing football. Let him bust his ass 8-10 hours a day, worry about feeding his kids, paying his mortgage and wonder if he'll ever get to retire.

We didn't need him last year and we don't need him now. My proposal is to trade him to San Francisco for 2 first round picks. Let him make 800 trillion billion dollars and go 2-14 or 1-15 for the next 4 years. Losing shouldn't matter as long as he's got his money.

The Pats are on the verge of football immortality this season. No team has EVER won 3 superbowls in a row. EVER! They could quite possibly win 7or8 of 10 superbowls. What the hell they've already got 3 out of 4. Brady is not even in his prime, Pioli is locked up long term, the D line won't be in it's prime for 2-3 more years. There is no reason why any player on that team, like Seymour, that has made more money than they can spend should do anything to impede the progress of the threepeat. Get in line or get the hell out.

How did leaving for a big payday work out for Damien Woody?

I'd rather be....

7-27-05 The wide receivers & tight ends

Let me begin by wishing the best to Matt Clement.

The WR's & TE's COULD be an area of strength and depth for the Pats offensively. It may also turn out to be the weakness because there are a lot of question marks. I'm going to go against most of what I've heard about these two positions. I'll try to present the facts, what the 'experts' say and then let you know my take.

The #1 wide receiver without question is Deion Branch. With his quickness and great hands, not to mention coming off a super bowl MVP season, he is ready to take his place among the leagues elite players. Most of the writers will tell you that this is the year that Branch emerges as a pro bowler. As fast as he is, as good as he is getting open, he is of no use if he can't stay on the field. Big question marks here for me. I see no evidence that this guy is a durable, reliable receiver that will play 16 games and have 80-100 catches. I sincerely hope he proves me wrong.

Givens is slated as the #2 guy and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Normally that bodes well, as guys playing for a contract have career years. It should be an interesting season for he and the Pats. If you remember, he complained last year that the Pats were intentionally taking him out and not using him as much because he was going to be a restricted free agent, accusing the team of trying to drive his price down. Who knows what really happened, but watch for Givens to walk at the end of this season no matter what.

The battle in camp will be to for the #3 and #4 spot, then to make the team as the 5th receiver. Inside edge to be the #3 or 'slot ' receiver has to go to Troy Brown. Why wouldn't it. He knows the offense, Brady has the utmost confidence in him and his most productive years came as the slot receiver. Many of the talkshow guys have been high on David Terrell and expect him to be the slot guy. However, the guys that have been to the minicamps will tell you that Terrell looks slow running his routes, just plodding along. As much as Brady would like to re-connect with his former college teammate, if the guy is too slow to get open, Brady won't throw to him. Tim Dwight and Bethel Johnson are the same player. Both are very fast and have punt and kick return ability. Both were just placed on the 'PUP' list (Physically Unable to Perform) so they are both injured to some degree. It was thought that Dwight was just brought in to push Bethel to his potential by puttin ghis job on the line and the Dwight would be the easiest to cut from a salsry cap standpoint. Hard to say what will happen with them now that they are on the PUP. Second year player PK Sam from Florida State should be kept in kind. Everything I read about him says he's matured and learned a lot since missing his entire rookie season and has been electric on the field. I think this guy will play the role everyone expects of Terrell and will end up as the 2 or 3 receiver by the end of the season. Just a hunch.

With the tight ends again come the injury concerns. As great as I think Watson will be, he has to get on the field. As good as Graham has been he missed a few games last year as well. The hope is that Watson will push Graham and Graham will have fewer drops this season. You know, I really had a negative mindset about Graham coming off last season, but when I recently watched the 2004 season highlights on NFL network, he had a pretty damn good year and played an integral role in the teams success. IF Graham and Watson can stay healthy this offense could be VERY scary. The FAT guy from 790 the score said that the Pats might have the highest scoring offense in the league! wow.
Word out of Foxborough is that barring injury, they will keep only 3 tight ends. Christian Fauria is the fan favorite to be the 3rd guy, but people in the know have Jed Weaver penciled in as the 3rd TE because Belichick likes his size. Oh yeah, Mr Irrelevant, the last pick in this years NFL draft is also a TE, but really, what are the odds for that kid?

7.26.05 It's my birthday.......

It's my birthday and that puts me at the same age as Tedy Bruschi. In fact, I'm so old that only 9 Patriots are older than I and that includes the kicker and punter!

I'm not even sure if I can remember what position I'm supposed to preview today. Runningback, I think.

You'd better hope that Corey Dillon stays healthy because it won't be pretty if he misses significant time. Obviously we should pencil him in as a 1500 yard and 6-8 touchdown guy. (I'm one year older than Dillon)

Kevin Faulk has always been a good 3rd down back because he blocks and catches very well. He's also affective carrying the ball 4-5 times a game, but don't ask him to carry it 20-25 times, he just can't take the punishment. (3 years older than him)

Patrick Pass -FROM is a given to make the team - again. He is the only 'fullback' the team has on the roster, but more imporatant to the team are his special teams skills. (4 years)

Bill Belichick has always said good things about the size and instincts of Cedric Cobbs. (he's not even born in the same decade as me) Cobbs is entering his 2nd season and I for one and hoping for big things from him this year. The main problem he has is the shitty system he played in at Arkansas. All he was asked to do in the passing game was run one of two routes. That's just a little bit different with the Pats. On ANY given pass play, he will either have to block the End, Block the blitzing linebacker, the blitzing safety or corner, the defensive lineman that penetrates, or run one of 20, (no exageration) 20 pass routes depending on what he reads as the defensive coverage. Hey, no problem right?

I'm not even sure he's worth mentioning unless Faulk goes down, but Chad Morton is also on the roster. He is a punt and kick returner who really wants to be a running back. Good luck with that. I personally don't think he's going to make the team. And yes, I'm way older than him too. (4 years, but who's couting)

7-25-05 part dieux

Kudos to the men in suits in Foxborough. Once again, EVERY rookie was signed on time for camp. NO other NFL team has all of their picks signed. NO other NFL team has their #1 pick signed, though I'm told that the 49ers are on the verge of signing #1 overall pick Alex Smith. The ONLY draftee who was NOT signed in time for camp in the history of the Belichick/Pioli era was Ben Watson. Watson had a bad agent that was out to make a stand against the Pats. Watson fired his agent and signed the deal the Pats were going to give him from the beginning. Speaking of Ben Watson, my soon to be favorite Patriot....

6ft 3 260lbs
4.4 40 yard dash
535lb bench press
570lb squat
40 inch vertical leap
10 inch hands (don't go there)

Here is what a recent article by Michael Felger of the Boston Herald had to say:

"The play didn't count, coming during a simple seven-on-seven drill performed in shorts and helmets at a minicamp in June, but it still said it all.
On the snap of the ball, tight end Ben Watson burst off the line, running past the linebackers in coverage in a matter of seconds. A moment later, Watson turned back to find a laser from Tom Brady headed for his thighs. Not breaking stride, Watson grabbed the ball, split the safeties and sprinted into the end zone.
If the ``Cover-2'' (aka ``Tampa-2'') is the most common coverage scheme in the NFL, and if the best way to defeat that deep-safety alignment is by throwing deep down the middle, then the Pats just may have a system-breaker in Watson.
Like any player possessing the size of a tight end and the speed of a receiver (Tony Gonzalez, Jeremy Shockey), Watson has the physical tools to present huge matchup problems for defenses. Linebackers and safeties aren't athletic enough to stay in stride. Corners are often too small. On paper, it's the perfect scenario."

Of course, he's got to stay healthy, but doesn't the thought of it make you grin from ear to ear?

7-25-05

The Quarterbacks...

What more can be said about Tom Brady. He really 'gets' it. Not only is he the winningest QB in the NFL, but he also understood that if he wants to remain competitive he woul have to take a reasonable discount. Good for him, better for the Patriots.

One NFL scout wrote that the biggest weakness on this team last year was at backup QB. He continued to write that it is not the case this season. Doug Flutie is a capable backup to come in for 2-3 games should Brady go down. I'm not one of these 'Flutie is the greatest' fans, but I also agree that we are much better off with Flutie than with Davey.

No one knows what to write about Davey. No matter how well he does with the team this preseason, he's probably gone next year. Hopefully he will play well and the Pats can trade him for a draft pick before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season.

Matt Cassell might turn out to be the steal of the draft. He may have won the heisman last year, but he couldn't beat out Matt Leinert. He may have won the heisman two years ago but he couldn't beat out Carson Palmer. He may well be the best quarterback you've never seen play. Word from around the Pats is that this guy is the real deal. Can you think of another QB they took in a late round that turned out to be pretty good?

Tomorrow the Running backs and if I get bored maybe the Wide Receivers and Tight Ends.

The Beginning...

...and on the 8th day God created the New England Patriots. Welcome to my Pats Blog where you will find facts, rants, rumors and anything else Patriots I can cram into (or out of) my head. With training camp nearing, I will begin with a position by position blog daily. Stay tuned tomorrow I will preview the Quarterbacks because it's a no-brainer and therefore an easy place to begin.