Patriots offseason thread

[hugepatsfan]

Young scares me too, but we took Moss and talib and created success with them.

I'd rather take a shot at Devery Henderson though. No off field issues, probably will be cheap, faster and a true deep threat. He won't be a possession receiver that will catch 50 balls for you, but if he can stretch the field with 25-30 catches and 18 YPC that would be a huge help. Although he might just be a year too old to be effective

Moss is an all time great that obviously had something left. Talib is a proven top notch CB whose issues were off the field. Young is an unproven punk whose issues are ON THE FIELD. I don't see that happening at all.

Henderson would be a nice addition if he wasn't expensive. Not sure Brady throws the deep ball well enough where we should add WRs that are pretty much deep route only players though.

[BradyIsTheMan12]

Moss is an all time great that obviously had something left. Talib is a proven top notch CB whose issues were off the field. Young is an unproven punk whose issues are ON THE FIELD. I don't see that happening at all.

Henderson would be a nice addition if he wasn't expensive. Not sure Brady throws the deep ball well enough where we should add WRs that are pretty much deep route only players though.

Getting another bigger target at receiver would probably make more sense than getting a burner like Henderson. When Gronk isn't on the field that presence is sorely missed, and adding a receiver that can get through press-coverage and box out defenders may be a good idea.

[RaginRondo17]

Ballard is going to be huge next year IMO, you think some of the 3 TE sets with Gronk-Hernandez-Fells/Hoomanawanui was scary adding a target like Balllard...can it be September yet. Hopefully he can bounce back after the year off.

[bagwell368]

Getting another bigger target at receiver would probably make more sense than getting a burner like Henderson. When Gronk isn't on the field that presence is sorely missed, and adding a receiver that can get through press-coverage and box out defenders may be a good idea.

How about a modern version of Harold Carmichael? That would be nice. 67 for 1116 and 9 TD's in an era that was about 55% as much in terms of throwing as nowadays. 6' 8" possession wide....

[dynasty7961]

There is a report coming out that the Patriots could target Ed Reed. It sounds like the Ravens are going to let him hit FA. We all know how much BB loves him. What do you guys think the odds are? Would you like it? I think he's just what we need back there

http://nesn.com/2013/01/report-patri...es-on-defense/

It’s no secret that Patriots coach Bill Belichick is a giant fan of Ed Reed. From Belichick musing with Tom Brady about Reed’s defensive skills in A Football Life to the lovefest that Reed gets every time Belichick is asked about him before a Ravens game, it’s obvious that Reed is among the players Belichick most admires, if he’s not the favorite. Now, there’s a chance that Reed could actually play on a Belichick-coached team (and not just in the Pro Bowl). Peter King of Sports Illustrated said Sunday night during the Pro Bowl that the Ravens will likely let Reed become a free agent in March, opening the door for the Patriots and Belichick to make a move. Of course, much of this depends on the Ravens’ cap and defense situations, and the Patriots’ scenarios. While New England is entering the offseason with more than $18 million in cap space, the Pats also have about two dozen players who have become free agents, including wide receiver Wes Welker, cornerback standout Aqib Talib and other key players. Reed would likely only switch teams if he could get a good payday, and the Patriots are not likely to bend over financially for a safety whose best days are behind him. But Belichick loves what Reed can do not only as a player but also as a tactician. Belichick has long shown interest in Reed’s smarts, and bringing in the veteran playmaker could lift the rest of the Patriots’ struggling defense, even if Reed can’t take all the snaps. After the Patriots made the most of veteran safety Rodney Harrison‘s contributions on their way to their three Super Bowls a decade ago, bringing in a safety who has dominated for years wouldn’t be a bad idea. As fantasies go, this is a dream for Belichick and Patriots fans. But it’s a dream that’s closer to reality than some may have thought.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2013/01/report-patri...es-on-defense/

[rollins94]

There is a report coming out that the Patriots could target Ed Reed. It sounds like the Ravens are going to let him hit FA. We all know how much BB loves him. What do you guys think the odds are? Would you like it? I think he's just what we need back there

http://nesn.com/2013/01/report-patri...es-on-defense/

wow, im honestly suprised to hear baltimore would let him walk at this point, but without knowledge of their cap situation, it might make sense given the need to offer flacco a massive contract (lol).

still strikes me as more of a pipe dream, especially given that we need to resign other guys like vollmer and talib, not even counting welker who most think is gone, but given that reed will likely want a 1-2 yr deal, it will probably come with a decent AAV. the ravens playoff run certainly has/ will drive up his price abit as well. that being said, resigining talib and bringing him aboard would really upgrade the secondary and represent a big investment in the defense cap-wise a lot of people have been clamoring for. would help a lot in playoff time as well when his savvy and ballhawking might reduce the amounts of points TB and co have to put up to win, which is a growing concern. with both talib and reed, there is no reason not to expect our secondary to be top 10 in the league, and that would likely cause a big jump in overall defense as well.

im a big reed fan, but there a lot of reasons this might not happen. Maybe reed takes a pay cut to come here, but I doubt it. Hes a surefire HOF who will likely have a few other teams (Indy comes to mind) open their wallets wide for a player and leader of his caliber.

[hugepatsfan]

If/when BAL loses in the SB and BAL is torn apart in the offseason, I can see Reed taking less to come here and try for that elusive ring. My question would be how him and McCourty match up. I really don't think money would be an issue at all to be honest.

[PatsSoxKnicks]

If/when BAL loses in the SB and BAL is torn apart in the offseason, I can see Reed taking less to come here and try for that elusive ring. My question would be how him and McCourty match up. I really don't think money would be an issue at all to be honest.

McCourty is good against the run and in this pass heavy league, I think you need 2 safeties who can cover.

[PatsSoxKnicks]

A lot of people aren't going to like this and say its an excuse but its true- injuries were a big reason we lost in that game and why we have not won a SB in the last few years (11 and 12, 2010 was a younger team that just wasn't ready).

Don't believe me? Well consider that the Niners defense has had 12 players play 90% of their snaps this year. 12 players. Yup. And other than Justin Smith getting dinged up, their D has been entirely healthy for the whole year and they'll probably end up winning the Super Bowl. Now imagine if you take out just 1 of those players? How good is their D? Seeing as how their base D (+ Culliver) always plays, their backups would be tremendously inexperienced (and probably not that good either) and yet, they've been fortunate enough to not have those injuries. God forbid, they lose someone like Willis or Bowman and that team is not at all the same. That was true when Justin Smith went down as well. Injuries do in fact play a role in the NFL and sadly, we've been beaten up at the wrong time of the year with some pretty big injuries. It's unfortunate but I think we all know having a 100% Gronk in the SB last year or in this years game, would've made a huge difference.

With that said, this team is still coming along. We're one of the youngest teams in the NFL and many of our younger guys should continue to get better. The issues I see with the team:

1) We could use another taller receiver, someone who can go up and get the ball. Once Gronk went down, we lost that element of our offense. Ballard is a guy who can help with that (he's 6-6') but getting another guy would be a good idea. If this tall receiver can get downfield, that'd be a plus as well.

Other then that, our offense is pretty set. We just need to be healthy when the playoffs come around.

On defense, if we re-sign Talib, I like our corners. However, we could use another one for depth. While Arrington was good in the slot, we don't want to be an injury away from him having to play on the outside where he gets roasted. The guy who really got victimized in the AFC CG was Cole (5-5, 67 yards allowed, 157.9 QB rating against in the game). We do not want to be in a situation where we have to rely on someone like Cole in any capacity, so we could use another corner. Dowling will be coming back but at this point, expecting him to be healthy is a risk not worth taking.

The other guy in the secondary who was victimized in the AFC CG was Gregory (4-5, 54 yards allowed, 151.3 QB rating against in the game). He'd be a nice guy to have as a backup but I'm hoping the Pats upgrade from him. He's a bit inconsistent and can sometimes take bad angles. And as a safety, I'm not all that confident in his ability to cover well.

In addition, the Patriots badly need a linebacker who can cover. The Pats gave up 64 yards a game to TEs this year, which was the 3rd worst total in the league. Per Football Outsiders, the Patriots ranked 29th in DVOA at defending TEs this year. In addition to that, the Patriots gave up 51 yards a game to RBs in the passing game, which was the worst total in the league this year. Again, per FO, the Patriots ranked 23rd in DVOA at defending RBs in the passing game this year. Usually teams put a linebacker on the RBs and TEs, with safeties sometimes covering the TE. Well the Pats don't really have a safety that can matchup with TEs nor do they have a linebacker who can really cover. The Pats need to address both these areas, so I would say we look for 2 cover linebackers and a safety, so we have some depth there.

The other area where we were weak was defending "other WRs" (per Football Outsiders) but that takes into account the whole year and when we traded for Talib and inserted Dennard in, we were much better in that area.

Finally, we could obviously still use a better pass rush. Jones being healthy and improving should help but an additional pass rusher is a must.

Honestly, the Pats are pretty close to being a complete team, we just need to address a few weaknesses- mainly depth in the secondary and a LB/Safety who can cover TEs and RBs. We could also use another pass-rusher or 2. Offensively, another bigger receiver and thats about it.

The Pats are VERY close, we just need to pray for good health at the end of the year and that our younger guys continue to improve as well as some fine tuning to address depth, the pass rush and covering RBs/TEs.

[PatsSoxKnicks]

BTW, if someone wants to question our guys always being injured, I'd agree with that. While injuries do happen in the NFL, we are usually one of the more injured teams in the league, specifically in the secondary, where we rarely have above average health. Most of the time, we're one of the most beat up secondaries in the league.

Football Outsiders looked at this in this post:
http://www.footballoutsiders.com/ext...iots-secondary

The Patriots ranked better than 26th in defensive back AGL (Adjusted Games Lost) only twice over the past eight years.

I have no idea why this is but its pretty crazy that we've had only 2 seasons since 2004 where our secondary hasn't been in the bottom 5 in health.

[lucic17]

Just a thought dont kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!! But would anyone consider a Aaron Hernandez for Roddy White trade. With tony gonzalez retiring and our need for a big body receiver i could see this working for both teams. I know roddys not a spring chicken anymore but he should have a few good years left. And Aaron would fill in nice for Tony Gonzalez. Thanks in advance for not killing me!! And interested to hear everyones thoughts.

[penuch]

I want reed pretty badly. I think having him would be great for our secondary.

[B'sCeltsPatsSox]

There is a report coming out that the Patriots could target Ed Reed. It sounds like the Ravens are going to let him hit FA. We all know how much BB loves him. What do you guys think the odds are? Would you like it? I think he's just what we need back there

http://nesn.com/2013/01/report-patri...es-on-defense/

Wouldn't surprise me if the Pats do go after him. Belichick's said several times in the past that he's the best FS to ever play the game and if you've seen Belichick's "Football Life" BB and Brady were literally giving him fellatio lol.

A lot of people aren't going to like this and say its an excuse but its true- injuries were a big reason we lost in that game and why we have not won a SB in the last few years (11 and 12, 2010 was a younger team that just wasn't ready).

Don't believe me? Well consider that the Niners defense has had 12 players play 90% of their snaps this year. 12 players. Yup. And other than Justin Smith getting dinged up, their D has been entirely healthy for the whole year and they'll probably end up winning the Super Bowl. Now imagine if you take out just 1 of those players? How good is their D? Seeing as how their base D (+ Culliver) always plays, their backups would be tremendously inexperienced (and probably not that good either) and yet, they've been fortunate enough to not have those injuries. God forbid, they lose someone like Willis or Bowman and that team is not at all the same. That was true when Justin Smith went down as well. Injuries do in fact play a role in the NFL and sadly, we've been beaten up at the wrong time of the year with some pretty big injuries. It's unfortunate but I think we all know having a 100% Gronk in the SB last year or in this years game, would've made a huge difference.

With that said, this team is still coming along. We're one of the youngest teams in the NFL and many of our younger guys should continue to get better. The issues I see with the team:

1) We could use another taller receiver, someone who can go up and get the ball. Once Gronk went down, we lost that element of our offense. Ballard is a guy who can help with that (he's 6-6') but getting another guy would be a good idea. If this tall receiver can get downfield, that'd be a plus as well.

Other then that, our offense is pretty set. We just need to be healthy when the playoffs come around.

On defense, if we re-sign Talib, I like our corners. However, we could use another one for depth. While Arrington was good in the slot, we don't want to be an injury away from him having to play on the outside where he gets roasted. The guy who really got victimized in the AFC CG was Cole (5-5, 67 yards allowed, 157.9 QB rating against in the game). We do not want to be in a situation where we have to rely on someone like Cole in any capacity, so we could use another corner. Dowling will be coming back but at this point, expecting him to be healthy is a risk not worth taking.

The other guy in the secondary who was victimized in the AFC CG was Gregory (4-5, 54 yards allowed, 151.3 QB rating against in the game). He'd be a nice guy to have as a backup but I'm hoping the Pats upgrade from him. He's a bit inconsistent and can sometimes take bad angles. And as a safety, I'm not all that confident in his ability to cover well.

In addition, the Patriots badly need a linebacker who can cover. The Pats gave up 64 yards a game to TEs this year, which was the 3rd worst total in the league. Per Football Outsiders, the Patriots ranked 29th in DVOA at defending TEs this year. In addition to that, the Patriots gave up 51 yards a game to RBs in the passing game, which was the worst total in the league this year. Again, per FO, the Patriots ranked 23rd in DVOA at defending RBs in the passing game this year. Usually teams put a linebacker on the RBs and TEs, with safeties sometimes covering the TE. Well the Pats don't really have a safety that can matchup with TEs nor do they have a linebacker who can really cover. The Pats need to address both these areas, so I would say we look for 2 cover linebackers and a safety, so we have some depth there.

The other area where we were weak was defending "other WRs" (per Football Outsiders) but that takes into account the whole year and when we traded for Talib and inserted Dennard in, we were much better in that area.

Finally, we could obviously still use a better pass rush. Jones being healthy and improving should help but an additional pass rusher is a must.

Honestly, the Pats are pretty close to being a complete team, we just need to address a few weaknesses- mainly depth in the secondary and a LB/Safety who can cover TEs and RBs. We could also use another pass-rusher or 2. Offensively, another bigger receiver and thats about it.

The Pats are VERY close, we just need to pray for good health at the end of the year and that our younger guys continue to improve as well as some fine tuning to address depth, the pass rush and covering RBs/TEs.

I agree with all of this, especially the cover LB part. I really like the starting core but they all are no more than mediocre at best in coverage and so many check downs to RB's and TE's on 3rd downs lead to 1st downs this season because of that.

[bagwell368]

Just a thought dont kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!! But would anyone consider a Aaron Hernandez for Roddy White trade. With tony gonzalez retiring and our need for a big body receiver i could see this working for both teams. I know roddys not a spring chicken anymore but he should have a few good years left. And Aaron would fill in nice for Tony Gonzalez. Thanks in advance for not killing me!! And interested to hear everyones thoughts.

I just took the kill shot. First thing to do is examine the cap hits on the respective teams, and the needs,a nd the replacement issues.

No.

[mooz]

Just a thought dont kill me!!!!!!!!!!!!! But would anyone consider a Aaron Hernandez for Roddy White trade. With tony gonzalez retiring and our need for a big body receiver i could see this working for both teams. I know roddys not a spring chicken anymore but he should have a few good years left. And Aaron would fill in nice for Tony Gonzalez. Thanks in advance for not killing me!! And interested to hear everyones thoughts.

Not going to kill you but that would basically be like trading Hernandez for an older, less dynamic, more expensive Hernandez. Hernandez can play outside the numbers just like Roddy White can but he can also line up as a TE, which Roddy White can't. There's not much reason to do this trade.