Here is a look at the Pats situation, just in case things were unclear... http://www.profootballweekly.com/PFW/The+Way+We+Hear+It/WWHI/2007/wwhi2230.htm Salting the wound After crushing Super Bowl loss, Patriots face challenge in keeping franchise at elite level By Matt Sohn Feb. 6, 2008 After a demoralized Patriots team trudged back into their University of Phoenix locker room following their shocking Super Bowl loss to the Giants, they proceeded to shed themselves of their identities as Patriots. Off went their helmets and team-embroidered insignia and on went their street clothes. For many of them, it will be the last time they ever take off their Patriots-issued uniforms. Since the Bill Belichick-Scott Pioli machine started calling the shots in Foxborough, Mass., the Patriots have been thought of as an organization that?s always a step or two ahead of the curve. They always seem to be able to make smooth transitions from one season to the next. But the way we hear it, the Pats face a stern test in keeping their club humming this offseason. Perhaps no organization has as many marquee players in the unrestricted free-agent pool as the Patriots do, and the task of re-signing all of them, while also fortifying other positions of need, is virtually impossible. The questions begin at wide receiver, where three of the team?s four leading receivers hang in the balance. Randy Moss and Jabar Gaffney are both free agents, while the club holds an option on Dont? Stallworth. Among the outstanding quartet of pass catchers, only Wes Welker is assured of being in New England in 2008. First, the most obvious move. The Patriots will not pick up Stallworth?s option, which is reportedly valued between $6 million and $8 million. While one of the league?s more dangerous receivers after the catch, the first-year Patriot never could get on track, falling behind Welker and Gaffney in the WR pecking order. All indications point to Moss coming back. Even though he?ll turn 31 on Feb. 13 and the Patriots are reluctant to shell out primo money to players that old, Moss? sensational 1,493-yard, 23-TD season served as notice that he could very well remain among the top receivers in the league for at least a few more seasons. That being said, there?s a strong possibility he?ll be offered more money by more desperate teams, but that his desire to stay with the Patriots will trump the greater financial windfall he will be privy to elsewhere. ?Randy?s a lot smarter than people give him credit for,? one team insider told PFW. ?He knows that his legacy and getting into the Hall of Fame will be decided based on the end of his career and whether he can add a Super Bowl title or two. He knows that his best chance comes with Tom Brady.? A less likely option would be to franchise Moss, which would count $7.85 million against the anticipated $116 million salary cap in 2008. Gaffney is the prototypical role receiver whom the Pats would like to have back but won?t overextend to re-sign. Star CB Asante Samuel won?t be as accommodating as Moss. Samuel is free to test the market due to a clause in the franchise tender he signed during training camp that stated the Patriots will not franchise him a second straight season if he satisfied certain preconditions. Samuel and Oakland?s Nnamdi Asomugha are the unquestioned headliners of the free-agent CB crop, and both will demand top dollar. Multiple sources have confirmed to PFW that New England would be putting itself in a serious salary-cap bind if it coughs up the cash for Samuel, so it seems increasingly unlikely that Samuel will remain in Patriots colors next season. The problem with Samuel walking is that the Patriots are going to be in a world of hurt in their secondary. Ellis Hobbs may very well be the most quotable Patriot in the locker room, but he falls short in his primary job description of covering receivers. Being taken to task by Giants WR Plaxico Burress on his Super Bowl game-winning TD reception epitomized Hobbs? shortcomings. Venerable S Rodney Harrison, 35, had a better season than most believed he could at his age and will likely honor his contract, which runs through next season, but he can?t be expected to provide superior pass coverage at his age. Linebacker presents another set of challenges. Aging ILBs Tedy Bruschi and Junior Seau are both free agents and are unlikely to be signed to anything more than one-year contracts ? if they don?t retire. ESPN?s Sean Salisbury stated that, prior to the Super Bowl, Seau told him that the game?s outcome would go a long way in determining whether he?d return, an omen that bodes well for the Patriots. But neither Bruschi nor Seau is the player he once was, and the Pats need to look to other free agents to beef up the position. The team has precious little depth, and Belichick has traditionally been reluctant to build the position through the draft. The Super Bowl flop ensured a long offseason in New England. But at least the front office has plenty on its plate to keep it occupied.
what do you guys think about Gaffney as a role reciever...his father played for the Jets...is pretty dependable...
Don't schedule the funeral just yet. They just won 18 fuggin games, came within the stain in your shorts of winning them all, they clearly are favorites to win the AFC East, if not the whole AFC at this point. Pains me to say, but . . .
the pats are like a wounded bear. we gotta go for the kill while the bears wounded. if we give it time to heal, it could come back and kill us!!
Bears repeating: After crushing Super Bowl loss, Patriots face challenge After a demoralized Patriots team trudged back into their University of Phoenix locker room following their shocking Super Bowl loss to the Giants...
I say we see a reunion of Chad Pennington to Randy Moss in green uni's again, and bring Samual with him.
While that seems to be the truth,how do you come back from such a defeat mentally? Its usually the mentality of the team, loss of players and injuries that take their toll on the team next year. Plus lets hope Tom Brady is on the cover of Madden next year!!! These ingredients are why these teams collapse. I can see it happening considering the locker room leaders may retire, they won't resign half the team due to philosophy of not overpaying (they completely underpaid for every FA signing and trade this year), and losing top players to FA... If all goes wrong, they may only win 7-9 games next year.
If you break it down position by position they aren't facing huge losses this year: WR: Stallworth will surely be cut, but I think theres a decent chance he signs a new contract for about face value and comes back. If need be Chad Jackson can fill this role. Gaffney is a solid #3 but I think he's one of those guys who is made to look better than they actually are by a great qb. From what I've heard Randy Moss say and from what I've heard Brady and other insiders from the Pats say, Moss loves it there and I'd be shocked if he didn't return. With the exception of Deion Branch in '06, the Pats have a history of resigning guys that they don't have an easy replacement for and Moss is certainly one of these guys. Linebackers: Colvin may be cut due to his high cap hit next year (8 million or so), AD is good and Vrabel will also be around, and I'd be surprised if both Bruschi and Seau don't return. I think Pierre Woods could be do a solid job next year if called upon in case one hole needs to be filled. Secondary: Samuel is the most questionable guy in terms of a possible return on the entire roster in my mind. He's going to want a ton of money and I think he's worth it but the Pats usually are hell bent on not overvaluing players. It's a cointoss but I'll say he stays just because of the same thing with Moss and the Pats not letting guys go that they can't replace. Hobbs gets shit on far too much. He had a solid game with a pick in the Super Bowl and most of the plays during the year that he looked bad were actually safeties fucking up and not being were they were supposed to be. That article's statement that the gw touchdown "epitomized Hobbs? shortcomings" is insane. The Pats blitzed both safties and nobody broke the line. Manning was able to throw pressure free to a 6'5 dude and he faked an inside route which Hobbs had to bite on because he had no other help. Hobbs is a solid corner, not Samuel but solid. And if needed Merriwether can fill Harrison's shoes next year. The o-line, d-line and special teams are all set with only a few small exceptions. And, don't forget that the cap is estimated to rise 7 million next year , so I think the Pats won't have quite as much trouble finding the cap room to sign all these guys as they would have had it been the same. With the 7th pick this year this team will be damn good next year. Probably not 18-0 good, but the assumption that this dynasty's fall is imminent couldn't be further from the truth.
The Pats will still be a contender for a while BUT I see this loss as their Diamondbacks momemt. Just like the Yanks post '01 teams will now realize they can beat them and have no fear of them. Just like '01 when AZ outplayed the Yanks but it appeared the Yanks would win, the giants outplayed the Pats but it appeared the Pats would win until some fluky plays went the other way. The Yanks have still been very good in most years but haven't been the same since, I think that happens w/ the Pats going forward.
Yep, that was the Yankees "Jump the shark" moment when Rivera gave up the game winning single against the D-Backs.
Decline? Maybe. The thing is that N.E.* is in an easy division. Lets be honest here. Who in the division is going to challenge them? Miami? They're in complete rebuild mode. Buffalo? They always seem to find a way to screw up. The Jets? We're in rebuild mode also. If N.E.* can't get 7 wins out of these 3 teams, then they have more serious problems than are being discussed. As for me, I LOVE the fact that they are keeping their LB's one more year. Memories of Mo and Marvin fill my mind. The Giants showed how to beat N.E.*. A punishing ground game (early to soften up the D) and a crushing pass rush. Despite all the hype, Brady has a tendency to fall apart in face of a fierce pass rush. Get to him and their offense falls apart. What's odd is that this year was the first year that I felt that N.E.* had a superior team as compared to all their other Superbowl teams. I guess we'll have to see how the off season plays out.
We aren't in rebuilding mode, we aren't far away from being a competitive team again. Let's not forget that since '02 we have been an every other year team. In '02 win division, '03 win 6 games, in '04 missed the title game by a FG, '05 win 4, '06 10-6 back to the playoffs, '07 back to 4 wins. Miami is awful but they have to get better, Buffalo is always mid of the pack and we will be alot better. The division isn't nearly as good as the late 90s-early '00s but it will definitely be better next year.
Rebuild mode? Lets see, we need help on the offensive line (Guard and Tackle), Defensive line (Nose Guard), Linebacker (outside pass rusher), Secondary (shutdown Corner-back to pair with Reves), Wide Receiver (a 6'5" burner, a fast deep threat, or a combination of both), Quarterback (have you REALLY been satisfied with the play of ours?), Punter (Ben's too inconsistent)... No disrespect but that sounds like a rebuild job to me. Now we can get away with some of the players we currently have, add a few and be competitive but I want a Superbowl and unless we address most (if not all) these needs, we're not going to get there.
This is not the 80s NFL, rebuilding doesn't take 5 years. A year ago we were coming off 10 wins and we can just as easily win 10 next year w/ some tweaking. The Giants were expected to be bad this year and then started 0-2 and were on the verge of 0-3, they had what seemed like alot of holes then all of a sudden they started playing well. Most teams need help in as many area as we need help in but we don't need to be great at every position. We need an upgrade on the OL at RT and LG, we need more consistent QB play(I thionk thgat will come w/ a better OL), the D was very good the 2nd half. We have a good secondary, we have a really good group of LBs, we could use some DL help but so could most teams. We aren't far away from being a playoff contender. This isn't the 1989 New York Jets, we have alot of good pieces in place.
I agree that we do have some young talent and some solid players at a few positions. My primary concern is the two things we really need. #1. Help on the Offensive line. #2. A Pass Rush. The Giants played smash-mouth football with N.E.* in the Superbowl. They were able to get a surge at the point of attack that allowed their BIG back to crash into their smaller LB's and Secondary, wearing them out so that they were somewhat ineffective later in the game. It also allowed the Giants to control the clock and to keep N.E.*'s offense off the field. Our offensive line is ,well, offensive for lack of a better word. We got no surge at the point of attack all season. How often on a 3rd and short did we have to try trickery instead of just driving it home? We need at least two (2) more players on the line. Improving the offensive line will improve the overall play of the entire offense though I still would like a tall WR (6'5" with speed) and a deep (we haven't had one since Westly Walker) threat. Now on the defensive side of the ball, the Giants had a relentless pass rush. They were able to get pressure not only from the outside but up the middle into Brady's face. Because Brady wasn't able to step up into the pocket, a lot of his throws were off target. Our team, as currently configured, is incapable of doing that. The first thing we need is a space-eater in the middle. A guy that will take up two (2) blockers and hold his position on every play. That will, not only, free up our inside linebackers so that they can start to make some plays, but it will improve our ability to stop the run. Too often, our linemen were driven 3 to 5 yards down field on running plays. We have to get some bodies in there that will prevent this form happening. Next we need a pass-rusher. Somebody that we can move around and cause problems for the opposing offense. We MUST be able to get to the QB and get to him on a consistent basis. I'm not saying sacks, but just pressure and hits. In all the years I've watched and played the game, I've never seen a QB that, when under pressure, consistently played mistake free football. Now the media would like us to believe that Brady cannot be rattled but we have seen otherwise. I will go as far to say that when he is consistently pressured, he turns back into that 6th round draft choice that he was instead of some All Time Great Superstar. Now I know that I've been focused on N.E.* but they are the team we must get by in our division. If we are able to fix those two problems that I mentioned, we will be, as you have said, competitive. Now the big question is who can we get to fill those holes in order to fix these problems. That's why I'm using the word "Rebuild." When you have to replace 2 to 3/5ths of the offensive line, 1 to 2/3rds of the defensive line, and 1/4 to 1/2 the Linebacker core, to me, that's a major rebuild. Can it be done in one off season? I don't see why not but in all honesty, I feel that we're still 2 to 3 years away. Hopefully, the front office proves me wrong.
I really think this season and the 18-1 record is proof positive the Pats are on the decline. Can not wait to that declining roster and overrated coaching staff gets the easiest schedule in the league next year..................... I predict bad things for them. I say they will go at least 17-2 or 16-3.............................. what a horrible drop off.
Yeah, but Pitt took a big step back, and everyone knows the officials stole that game from Seattle...
