Thanks for the feedback regards to the 2006 needs, you all made cogent points. I am still holding to my contention that they MUST get WR help. As things stand now, they have only Branch and Bethel Johnson (who WILL get cut) under contract. Rumors around the league have givens getting big bucks, similar to what Buress got from the Gmen and what Mason got with the Ravens, 4-5 million per for 5-6 yrs. No way the Pats are coming up with that dough, especially when they have Branch entering the last year of his contract. If givens is worth 25 mil, what's Branch worth? The major players for Givens are those that know him, Crennel, Saba and Mangini. The only thing that might force the Pats to bite the bullet on Givens is the lack of free agents available. I have seen four names specifically linked to the Pats. They are Jurevicious, who the Pats tried hard to get when he left Tampa, Peerless Price, who they know from Buffalo that is a good #2 but awful #1 WR, and Brandon Lloyd from San Fran, who has the size speed and ability to potentially be a #1 but may fly under the radar for the mere fact that he's never had a legit QB, also Keenan McCardell who Belichick also coveted before he went to SD via free agency last time.
Tow other intruguiging free agents that might command big bucks are Randal El from Pitt and Reggie Wayne from Indy.
None of those guys fills the need for a return specialist. The only returner in the top 10 that is available is Quincy Morgan from Pitt. He only had something like 9 catches all year though.
A far as your comments on O-Line, the Pats have NEVER gone out and signed a name free agent at O-line. They draft lineman form Big Time college programs and develop them over time (Light, Goren, Koppen). When they get a free agent it he is a guy that no other team wants (Andruzzi, Ashworth, Hochstein) I don't think that they'll draft a lineman too high. IF they just re-sign Neal and Ashworth they'll be fine at O-line. You gotta figure the two rookies are no longer rookies, then add in the return of Light and Koppen.
At CB it is too hard to tell. Here are some free agent names to consider:
DeShea Townsend and Ike Taylor from Pitt, Nate Clements from the Bills, ray Mickens of the Browns and WIll Allen from the GMen. Don't forget Ty Law, who had more INT's than the entire Pats D this year, he'll be a cap casualty in NY.
At Safety there are a few more to consider: Adam Archuleta from St Louis, Corey Chavous of the Vikes, Tank WIlliams from Tenn. Also, don't forget about old friend Malloy, who will also be cut this year.
There seem to be a few decent names at LB also:
Cato June, David Thornton. Gary Brackett and Rob Morris all from Colts, Julian Peterson of SF - he's in the mold of McGinest it would be great to see the Pats go get him, Warrick Holdman from Wash.
For a full list of free agents visit the red zone dot com.
That's all I have time for right now. Next week I'll try to post some stuff about the draft.
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2 comments:
hello its Mr. Anonymous #1 again. I think givens was a great asset to our team, a great #2 WR and a nice target for brady. unfortuantly Mr. Tom is right, we cant afford him. but some names on that list really stand out to me. Jurevicious is an awesome player and i hope we have chances of pulling him in. Keenan Mcardell is a quiet guy who made big plays in SD and could be a nice vet replacement for Troy Brown. Wayne is out of the question, but the Pats may have a chance of getting Ty Law back. Now, about this kick returner nonsense, you gotta be kidding! "I think an under-rated need is that of a return specialist. A guy to JUST return kicks and punts effectively." what kind of garbage is that! how many games are decided by a kick returner? how many points are scored by a kick returner? how many teams with great kick returners have won the super bowl? besides dante hall, no one even thinks about the kick returner! thats like saying "what we really need is an expert at holding the ball for a kickoff on a windy day" ok, so maybe we need a guy who can hang on to the ball during a big hit, but i dont belive i have ever heard the cliche "Kick returners Win Championships". if you ask belicheck i think he'll tell you he has bigger fish to fry than a kick returner. puh-lease. we have a far greater need for someone in our secondary.
The Patriots will look to improve in any facet that they can. You may believe that a kick return specialist isn't important, but you will NEVER convince me otherwise. Who fumbled in Denver? Troy Brown on a PUNT. Ellis Hobbs on a KICK RETURN. When the pats won their first superbowlit was big plays on special teams. For example, Troy Browns punt return for a TD at Pittsburgh. Do you think field position is NOT imprtant in the playoffs? Denver had to go a total of 25 yds for 24 points. YOu don't see the advantage of starting every drive from the 35 instead of the 25? Do you realize how much more successful offenses are the shorter their drive is? I never said it was the #1 need going into this off season so I don't know where you get off telling me that secondary is of greater imprtance. I merely said a returner is an area that needs improvement. How many guys did Belichick have in camp last year to tryout as a returner? HMMMM....
Tim Dwight, Chad Morton, Ellis Hobbs, Cedric CObbs, Andre Davis, Troy Brown, Kevin Faulk, PK Sam.
I really don't mind a disagreement, I just think that in this case you've over-reacted to what I posted. If you think what I write is 'garbage' then 'puh-lease' don't read it.
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