New England Patriots Discussion

[Nalej]

Yea, if its not expensive, I'd like him on the team. Chung can't always stay healthy so having someone else who can lay the wood back there would be nice.
Just look it how our D turned it around when Chung and Spikes came back.

[Jvig43]

Spikes really impressed me when he came back last year. He hit the holes hard and made alot of nice plays for us. Also count me in on the signing Landry, and hell I say bring back Sanders bandwagon. We need help at safety big time and I think both of these guys could be had for relatively cheap and may not be top tier safeties but they would be a huge upgrade for us there.

[Vaylor]

Signing Donte Stallworth huh? That is odd. Still need to draft a WR.

[Razor]

I like the signing on Stallworth. We only got rid of him because of his $6 mil roster bonus prior to the 2008 season. He had a pretty underrated season in 2007 imo.

[Vaylor]

Wow Robert Gallery as well.

[Razor]

Originally Posted by Vaylor

Wow Robert Gallery as well.

Haha, I knew it! BB was jizzing himself when talking about Gallery when he was in the draft. Too tempting for BB to resist the urges I guess lol

[nepg]

Big fan of the Daniel Fells signing.

[Blackluck]

Landry to the Jets.

[RWills]

This has been a very good FA for us, building depth making this a more consistent team.

can't wait for the WR battle at TC

[descendency]

Originally Posted by Razor

He had a pretty underrated season in 2007 imo.

He started as the 2 and finished as a 5. That's pretty damn bad.

[Razor]

He caught 46 balls for 697 yards and three TDs. Some of those catches were pretty damn spectacular. IIRC he was the number four for most of the season which was fine with the ones in front of him (Moss, WW and Gaffney). He knows the system and has speed. I like it.

[Nalej]

Free Agency
B.LLoyd WR
D.Stallworth WR
A.Gonzalez WR
M.Slater WR/ST*
R.Gallery OG
D.Fells TE
D.Connolly*

T.White* LB/ST
M.Harrison DT**
J.Fanene DT/DE
T.Scott DE/OLB
S.Gregory S
M.Cole CB

*Resigned
**RFA


I'm pretty happy with the depth we've gained. I'll admit though, I was hoping to see 85 around. Hoping after a RS season and an offseason he would eventually show a little bit.
I heard he was open to restructuring and I thought that was in the works but with all these WR moves, I'm not sure he makes the team now.

L.Landry signed with the Jets. So now I'm down for M.Barron or H.Smith(my preference) on draft day.

What's the compensation for Harrison? Same round?

[Matthew Jones]

Marcus Harrison last played for the Patriots (for one day), so we'd be compensating ourselves.

[Matthew Jones]

Here's what I've got for the 53-man roster projection if the season were to start today (free agent additions or re-signings in italics):

QB:

1. Tom Brady
2. Brian Hoyer
3. Ryan Mallett

RB:

1. Stevan Ridley
2. Danny Woodhead
3. Shane Vereen

FB:

1. Spencer Larsen

WR:

1. Brandon Lloyd
2. Donte' Stallworth
3. Deion Branch
4. Julian Edelman
5. Anthony Gonzalez
6. Matthew Slater

TE:

1. Rob Gronkowski
2. Aaron Hernandez
3. Daniel Fells

OT:

1. Nate Solder
2. Sebastian Vollmer
3. Marcus Cannon
4. Matt Kopa

OG:

1. Brian Waters
2. Robert Gallery
3. Nick McDonald

C:

1. Dan Connolly
2. Ryan Wendell

DT:

1. Kyle Love
2. Myron Pryor

NT:

1. Vince Wilfork
2. Ron Brace

DE:

1. Jonathan Fanene
2. Brandon Deaderick
3. Alex Silvestro

SLB:

1. Rob Ninkovich
2. Trevor Scott

MLB:

1. Brandon Spikes
2. Dane Fletcher
3. Niko Koutouvides

WLB:

1. Jerod Mayo
2. Tracy White

CB:

1. Devin McCourty
2. Ras-I Dowling
3. Kyle Arrington
4. Sterling Moore
5. Will Allen
6. Marquice Cole

FS:

1. Steve Gregory
2. Malcolm Williams

SS:

1. Patrick Chung
2. Josh Barrett
3. Sergio Brown

K:

1. Stephen Gostkowski

P:

1. Zoltan Mesko

LS:

1. Danny Aiken

Inactive list:

WR Wes Welker (holdout)
OG Logan Mankins (P.U.P.)

Missed the cut:

QB Mike Hartline
FB Eric Kettani
FB Lousaka Polite
WR Britt Davis
WR Chad Ochocinco
WR Tiquan Underwood
OT Kyle Hix
OT Matt Light - projected retirement
OG Donald Thomas
DT Marcus Harrison
DT Mike Wright - projected retirement
DE Jermaine Cunningham
LB Aaron Lavarias
LB Jeff Tarpinian
LB Mike Rivera
FS Ross Ventrone

Free agents:

RB Kevin Faulk
RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis - Cincinnati Bengals
C Dan Koppen
DT Gerard Warren
DE Andre Carter
DE Mark Anderson - Buffalo Bills
DE Shaun Ellis
LB Gary Guyton
CB Nate Jones
CB Antwaun Molden
FS Bret Lockett
SS James Ihedigbo

Some notes:

- Trading Brian Hoyer would free up a roster spot and allow the Patriots to go into the season with two quarterbacks on the active roster and one on the practice squad, possibly Hartline.

- BenJarvus Green-Ellis' return would prompt the Patriots to carry four running backs in the roster. The Patriots tend to like having four at a time so drafting another runner or adding one via free agency is a possibility. Lousaka Polite is signed but a fullback seems unnecessary most of the time.

- Branch and Ochocinco are probably out of luck for next season. New England should release Ochocinco as soon as possible in order to allow him to find a team for 2012. Anthony Gonzalez will most likely be battling with Tiquan Underwood, but Gonzalez has much better hands.

- The offensive line is very difficult to figure out. Matt Light should retire (or be cut), but Brian Waters will hopefully be back next season. Donald Thomas was someone I wanted to include on the final 53-man roster, but faces stiff competition from Matt Kopa and Nick McDonald, who are more versatile. The Patriots may not look at offensive line as heavily as expected in the draft after signing Robert Gallery.

- Myron Pryor will most likely be competing with Marcus Harrison for the backup DT job; Pryor has struggled to stay healthy but is the better player and should beat out Harrison. Signing Jonathan Fanene likely signals the end of the Shaun Ellis experiment; Mike Wright should retire as well due to his concussions. Ron Brace gets a roster spot for now because the Patriots lack a backup nose tackle but shouldn't get too comfortable. Pryor could also be replaced in the draft if the Patriots want more durability. Gerard Warren remains a possibility.

- Alex Silvestro makes the roster while Aaron Lavarias is a tough cut. That will be a roster battle to keep an eye on. Jermaine Cunningham will likely be out unless he really impresses in camp. Andre Carter is likely to be back and will take a roster spot if he is; Mark Anderson looks like he'll chase the money out of New England.

- Trevor Scott should provide depth for Rob Ninkovich but could be cut as well. It may be excessive for New England to carry Jeff Tarpinian, Tracy White, and Niko Koutouvides all on the active roster so that is a position to monitor. Gary Guyton seemingly has no shot of returning.

- The secondary has nice depth and versatility as well as a lot of special teams contributors. James Ihedigbo is constantly rumored to be a re-signing priority, but aside from his special teams contributions he probably doesn't deserve a roster spot. Steve Gregory and Patrick Chung are locks to make the roster while the reserves should be more nervous. Right now Josh Barrett would fill the rover role but it seems like New England is looking to upgrade.

[descendency]

Nice work.

The only spots I disagree with are Ron Brace, Alex Silvestro, and one OL. I can't see either of those guys making the roster and the Patriots carrying 10 OL into the season seems a bit much. Those have to be major bubble spots.

Obviously, FA isn't done (especially after a day like today) and the draft isn't over.

I've got a sneaky suspicion that Chad Ochocinco makes the roster if he's on the team after the draft.

[Vaylor]

Originally Posted by descendency

Nice work.

The only spots I disagree with are Ron Brace, Alex Silvestro, and one OL. I can't see either of those guys making the roster and the Patriots carrying 10 OL into the season seems a bit much. Those have to be major bubble spots.

Obviously, FA isn't done (especially after a day like today) and the draft isn't over.

I've got a sneaky suspicion that Chad Ochocinco makes the roster if he's on the team after the draft.

Why must you say such hurtful things!

[descendency]

Originally Posted by Matthew Jones

He would easily make the team but I'm concerned about his durability/steroids.

Our safeties are terrible, but his durability (and the fact that he's clearly on something), as well as his added weight and the fact that he's coverage liability make me happy he's with the Jets.

[descendency]

Originally Posted by Vaylor

Why must you say such hurtful things!

I'm kind of a Chad fan. He's clearly pissed that his career looked over last year. I kind of hope he does get a second chance. Maybe he really is done and should be cut, though.

[Ravens1991]

Have you guys heard about the Pats giving up their first in an attempt to sign Lardarius Webb? I heard that on the Radio today.

[Matthew Jones]

Originally Posted by Ravens1991

Have you guys heard about the Pats giving up their first in an attempt to sign Lardarius Webb? I heard that on the Radio today.

Haven't heard of it, would be extremely surprised considering the depth at CB this year.

[RWills]

All of this filling out the roster with steady vets makes me think that they are maybe going for a trade up to get a playmaker. Who would be your top 5 trade ups?

1. Claiborne
2. Blackmon/Floyd
3. Ingram
4. Cox
5. Brockers

[RWills]

Now you know why they signed Gallery....

ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss reports Patriots LG Logan Mankins underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL after the Super Bowl.

that hurts, he should be back for playoffs

[descendency]

Mankins may be PUP'd, though, he may also be IR'd.

It really depends on his recovery.

Gallery was signed because he came cheap and our guard situation wasn't rock solid anyways (Waters is considering retirement and Mankins had surgery)

[Nalej]

Mankins.... nooooo.....

At least now I feel a bit better about him getting owned out there in the Super Bowl

[RWills]

Here, this sounds much better.....

One source tells Reiss that Mankins played through the partial ACL tear, not realizing the extent of the injury. Already considered one of the toughest players in the game, Mankins was listed on the injury report with a "knee" going back to Week 16. Although the Pats are hoping for a training camp return, veteran Robert Gallery has been brought in for insurance. The good news is that the ligament may not have been 100 percent torn, and linemen often return at a faster rate than skill-position players.