well, to be honest, you do know your football and i can respect that... i will not contend that the draft is loaded from mid 1st to 2nd in terms of talent...that just another reason why they should have kept their pick...Welker isnt a 2nd rd talent by any means...he doesnt scare many people... if the talent is the same in the 2nd rd as in the mid 1st and on, why would any team ever give up two 2nd rounders for a first when there isnt a huge difference in talent...no team except the Lions ....excuse me, Matt Millen, is stupid enough to do so...who even has two 2nd rounders? ( besides us) not to mention, its becoming increasingly popular for players to turn down the predictable backloaded contract which means the players get squat down the road...there has to be some of the money in the front of the contract... the pats no longer have 30 million...i would estimate around 15 million tops...and with Bruschi and Brown on the ropes, that can only cause more open holes in their roster, with now a large lump sum going to retain Samual and signing Thomas and Welker...imagine the choas if these pickups dont work out...do all FA signing work out the way they wanted...all those who though the Redskins were prepped for a good year this year..raise your hands
I am sure it is worth a good amount. But, it will be anywhere near 38 million. They can evaluate talent over there so I am sure for them whatever the number they feel this guy is a good Troy Brown replacement. We will have to wait to see what the guaranteed figure is. Either way it will be higher then usual due to the free agent market. Everyone is spending big money for players. If the jets go after someone ecpect them to have the same fate. I would agree with you 100 percent if the draft was not loaded with wr's and de's. They can split one of the two first rounders into several second rounders. They are also getting picks for Adam in the mid rounds. The draft is so deep in wr's you can get first round talent in the second round. Then they still have a first rounder to use. For them giving up a "extra" second rounder, to a guy who in there opinion is the next Troy Brown makes sense. As Jackson showed you it is hit or miss with rookies. They have watched this guy for awhile and think he is a good fit for there system. To be fair, wess played in a bad situation down in Miami. The guy is a classic patriots slot reciever / versatility pick up.
I meant 30 mill when they started. Be fair, the redskins is a total different situation. All these moves are filling holes in a already established system. Wess is the Brown replacment I was talking about. I think they are going to go after Patrick Willis to replace Brewski. That would be bad. The talent is the same outside the top of the top wr's. Johnson and co being the top of the top. After those guys you the mid to late first round talent can be had in the second round. Rice, Gonzalez etc etc,
Are we this scared of Wes Welker? Come on, he's a fine slot receiver, and he might be a decent starter. He'll be a pain in the ass to play against, but he really isn't that good. I'm pretty happy that NE is dealing a 2nd round pick and a lot of money for a guy like Welker..
the skins were established...a 2nd round playoff team the previous year... good only knows how players will develope in the nfl...these days its a crap shoot...the Pats are putting their future in jeopardy with these signings...maybe not so much this year, or even next year, but rest assured if they keep up these contracts, their decline is very near...
I agree.. My point was good old Corey proclaimed that he wanted to be a feature back and not take a back seat to Maroney. He declined on the 8 - 10 carries the pats projected him to have. I do not see him taking a pay cut. he could have gotten 4 mill in NE. If it was about the money and he takes a pay cut he is fool. But, like I said he could be lying and just wanted out of NE without the being cut.
i think you are 100% right on...Welker is nothing more then a pest...hes nothing that defenses will fear, and can be contained on ST...since we have one of the best ST in the NFL...and with the contract he was given, all i can do is smile:beer:
You have a point. But the pats are not losing anything. They know what they are getting with Welker. ready to go with nfl expierence. They have two first rounders which they can use in a million different ways. As much as I hate Bellidick, he can evaulate talent like a bastard ( for his system) 1 first rounder equals two second rounders. As for the money, we have no clue how much the actual number will be. With pill contracts there is so much dead money you dont know until the guaranteed money is announced. I think this is a smart move for them. He is going to be a far better player in the NE system imo. They did not offer him a deal to be "the man", or to scare teams. They offered him a deal because he has the skill set of a Young Troy Brown. They still have two huge chips in 2 first round picks. Not anything to worry about, but not something to ignore is all I am saying!
You need to calm down, now you are getting worked up over Wes Welker? A very, very poor man's wayne Chrebet? Come, they'll be giving up a pick and overpaying a medicore return man and #3 WR. I can't wait until BJ Askew signs w/ the Pats tos ee the fear from everyone on the board.
We are not signing a wr we dont need one. Some of you folks are obsessed with the pats and its kinda of sad. This is good news the pats still dont have a #1 wr
My thoughts too ,don't know about desperate though. BB must certainly be troubled to do all this in FA. With this influx of FAs coming into the Pats I hope it upsets any equilibriam that they they might have. On a different note , Welker was a fans favouite in Miami , so this will not go down well at all.
These are not a desperation move at all. Again, the patriots had 29.5 million dollars this year. Every single one of these most recent moves fills a hole. Dillon left, they went out and got Sammy Morris. A guy who had 135 yards against them this year. He is a short yard specialist and a good replacement for Corey Dillon. Perfect to stick behind Maroney and Faulk. He makes 2.5 million less the Dillon also. Graham wants huge money, so they sign Kyle Brady for his blocking abilities. They have David Thomas ( who was a rookie last year) out of texas, with great hands and speed. They also have the all purpose te in Watson who is a very gifted athlete. They saved a lot of money there. K Brady is there to do one thing, block. Troy Brown is 37 years old. So they go out and grab Wes Welker. Who has the exact same skill set as a young Troy Brown. They are not going to pay anywhere near 38 million for him. That deal is so backloaded with dead money it is not even funny. All it was meant to do was not allow the fish to match it. Guaranteed money is all that matters. It will be good money, but no where near what the total number says. Drafting a guy to do welkers job makes no sense(when they have 2 first round draft picks) When you have a guy you have played against, see alot of upside in, who is 25, with nfl time under his belt. A rookie could work out or be a total bust. Buzz around the nfl is that this guys is a steal for a second rounder. He did have 68 catches and 700 yards in that mess in Miami last year. I would think Tom Brady may bring out this kids true potential better then Joey Harrington. Welker is a versitle kick returner, and slot reciever. Perfect replacment for Troy. Welker has huge upside in that system. Essetionally they have a free second round pick as one of the two first rounders = 2 second rounders. Lastly in this past AFC championship game there aging lb core was exposed. They went out and got the best replacment you could get. Do not give me the bullshit that Thomas was not a huge addition to that defense. He is 29 years old, and just entering his prime. He also allows Vrabel to play outside where he is most effective. Thomas can play 5 different defensive positions! Every single one of us would be going nuts if he was a jet. Lastly they got Asanti Samuel for 7 million this year. Look how much Clements just got. Every move was calculated to improve or fill holes. Just because they did a lot in a short time means nothing. They got all these players for cheaper then they would if they waited. A thomas could have gotten alot more then 7.5 mill this year. If a team has 29.5 million bucks in cap space and they fill holes they are not desperate, lol. They where one play away from another superbowl. Calling them desperate is not accurate. They still have at least 9 mill in cap space. That is more then some top teams had to spend when this all started. If the jets where going after fa's people would be singing a different toon. As for not having a top wr yet, they still have two first round draft picks to adress that. They can trade one for an established stud, or they can do what I think they are going to do. Trade down and draft Sidney Rice and Anthoney Gonzalez, then go after that beast of a lb Patrick Willis to sure up the lb position for the next 10 years.
ok. In order of the bolded parts 1) Welker can easily turn out to be a bust. He was just this shifty guy that nobody recognized as a threat. He doesn't do anything exceptional that warrants this contract or a second round pick. He's like a nice play but he wont bolster that WR. Welker simply does not scare you and you might as well get a pure return specialist at round two like the jets did with Jmil 2) That just doesn't make any sense. It's not like they can trade down for 2 second round picks for that. And if they could, it would be low second round picks that would do nothing for them. And even if you meant theoretically, it doesn't matter 3) comparing to nate clements does nothing for your argument. The nate clements deal was just retarded and no other team would pay nearly that amount. Asante Samuel would get around 7 mil a year if he were signed to a long term contract considering he came off just one big year and can easily be a one hit wonder. So that wasn't any major gain. 4) Uh, no he wouldn't have. He would have gotten around 8 mil a year considering his age. They didn't really get him for a super cheap price or anything a lot cheaper than they would've gotten him if they waited. If teams like the 49ers were willing to give him significantly more money they would have done so. 5) ok i've heard this over and over again and this just pisses me off. Why don't you think to the games before that for a second. Wild Card round: quirky backward pass play and the jets could've tied it. Divisional: a one in a million fumble Int that would've ended the game. Not to mention a missed FG from a pro bowl kicker. AFC Championship - they deserved to lose that game. They blew a serious lead. They are not the same team they used to be as evident by them getting absolutely shredded up by LT. And signing A thomas will NOT help that run defense considering he is more of a pass rusher. 6) First of all, they won't be able to trade one of those picks for an establsihed stud. Unless you defined established stud as someone like rod smith or santana moss. Furthermore, this draft in terms of WR is very very top heavy. It's CJ, Jarrett and maybe ted ginn jr and then everybody else. Meachen or Dwayne Bowe haven't shown anything outstanding that can seriously improve the Patriot's porous receiving corps. 7) Patrick Willis is a Jonathan Vilma like player. He's a smaller guy that is a quality tackler. But wait, what happened to all this shit about how JVil is too small to play on the inside of a 3-4 linebacking core. And if he were such a "beast" he would go much higher in an already fairly weak draft class. Plus, drafting him wont bolster that linebacking core for 10 years. You need at least 3 quality linebackers to run a 3-4. Let's see what happens to that hobbling linebacking core in 3 or 4 years. Sorry for the length, but i had a lot to say. You can just skim each argument to get a jist of it.
How much is Welker actually going to make? No one knows. A backloaded poisen pill deal looks like all this cash, and in reality it is not. If they gave him 10 mill gaurenteed over 6 or 7 years, that is not a huge deal.
