oh man and it goes on and on.......are we now actually debating if thomas makes the pats better or not? this is a riot
NE has ZERO HOF players on Defense right now. The only guy from the ttile teams is probably Ty Law. Bruschi has been the face of the D and he is nto a HOFer. NE doesn't have a Ray lewis or an Ed Reed.
ed reed isnt a HOF yet. potentially but not yet. on another note, this is about thomas. so because you dont think theres any potential HOF'ers on the pats d, your implying we made a good move by not pursuing him? as if he wont make defenses worse than the ravens better? whether or not he benefited from the talent around him. he was the 2nd best if not the best player on that d last year aside from Reed.
Ed reed is on his way to the HOF. When you join a discussion late you should really go back and review all that has been said. I said we made a good move by not getting him b/c Championhip teams don't overspend on FAs, it's a formula the Pats mastered. I said they are more talented today but that doesn't make them better. NE has been great largely b/c they have been a great TEAM. Now alot of those core Championship players have been shipped out or lowballed in negotiations and now they are overpaying for a FA. They are in desperation mode trying to recapture the title years just like the Yankees this decade. Baltimore has had a few hot FAs in the past that people have overrated b/c they have played well for a great D surrounded by great talent. When they leave they have struggled. Kim Herring, Duane Starks, Edgerton hartwell, Gary Baxter, Will Demps,... i know everyone on the board is a big fan and they follow football closely, do all of you guys pay attention to what happens in FA? Do you see the teams every year that are aggressive never seem to win anything? and do you notice how the teams that sit back and make wise choices after building through the draft are the ones that win?
So U R saying that because we have laid backed the last 38 years is the reason we have not won a SB championship? Do I understand you correctly?
thats fine i get where your coming from. but just because theyre straying away from their formula and trying to make up for talent lost, doesnt mean it wont equate to success. now are they overpaying? yes ill agree. but at the same point its very likely that the cap continues to rise within the next 2 years. the aggressive teams dont have the coaching or GM that the pats do. thats where the fact theyre straying from formula doesnt seem too stupid. im not saying its a lock theyre making great moves. but if i was a pats fan you wouldnt hear me complaining. good point about the lack of production for former Raven FA's. but youd have to think someone with the physical talent of Thomas being coached by Belli. and the fact the pats front three is damn near unstoppable. there will be little if any fall off in production. maybe in sacks. but even then youll see a good portion of run stops from him.
FA has only been around 15 years or so, we haven't laid backed in all those years. do you miss the years when we overpaied for onnie Lott, Leonard marshall, Erik Howard, Dexter Carter, Neil O'Donnell, David Williams, Steve Atwater, Eric Green, etc... It might work but the other we know worked and we have seen other teams ty the high priced FA route and that hasn't worked. I am happy NE is straying from their Championship formula. if it works I'll tip my cap, I have admired NE for many years now w/ the way they condusct business in regards to the draft and FA but I think they are making mistakes so far this year and I am happy. In 1995 Bill Belichick coming off a divisional playoff loss in Cleveland thought his team was a player away so they broke the bank for Andre Rison. 5 wins later and BB was out of a job. I think thomas COULD be a big time player in NE, I also think he could be a bust. For me there are too many risks invovled to give up $20 mil guaranteed. I want as close to a sure thing as possible if I am investing that type of $ and cap space. if I was a Pat fan I'd be happy and trsut their FO but I happen to like the new direction. Maybe it still works out for them but I know the other way has worked and we don't know if this new way will work so I am happy to see them try it.
I posted the link and actually Peter king says it's $22 mil in guaranteed money but of course Peter is such a Pats homer he says it was a bargain and that Thomas settled for $22 mil.
Obviously a player is going to look better when surrounded by great players, but that doesn't mean they aren't a great player. You are kidding yourself if you think that the Patriots D won't be better with Adalius Thomas. As for the players you mentioned that moved on from BAL -- Baxter: Injured for the only two seasons post-BAL (was brought to CLE by the former Raven GM Savage) Hartwell: Injured for the only two seasons post-BAL Herring: Played with the Ravens from '97 - '00 the on the 2001 Super Bowl team for the Rams, signed a deal with Bengals, hurt shoulder Starks: Played with Ravens from '97-'00, played two injury-plagued years with ARI (including torn ACL) Demps: Signed with NYG after missing end of 2005 season with partially-torn ACL, recorded 100 tackles playing all 16 games in only post-BAL season. Yeah, the guys haven't done much, but it is not like they were complete busts and were released for (lack of) performance.
Everything I have seen says he got 24 mil for the for the first two years of the deal and the signing bonus is undisclosed. Either way it is a great deal for the PAts that makes them even more talented than us than they were when they knocked us out of the playoffs.
yeah but that might seem more like bad luck being that most of their lack of return on the transaction was due to severe injury.
your post made it sound like the guys crapped the bed which just isn't true unless you want to fault them for getting injured. (my mistake, that was the year the lost to the Pats...corrected)
1 guy, maybe 2, ok i'll give you 3 but 6 players leave them and get hurt? Something seems weird, i wouldn't want to roll the dice w/ that luck.
Junc, while Peter King is rather pro-Pats, read his MMQB article today for the stats and contract figures on Thomas. (Intersting note: Colvin's deal in 2003, based on per year comp is a high percentage of the salary cap than Thomas') http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/03/04/thomas/index.html
You're in denial. Thomas can play a number of positions and most importantly, he can cover slot receivers and fast tight ends (specifically Dallas Clark). The middle of the field killed the Patriots all season. Thomas is a versatile player right out of the Willie McGinest mode. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/peter_king/03/04/thomas/index.html
So, now you are saying the Pats shouldn't have signed Thomas because, since 2001, 4 players on the Ravens defense that signed elsewhere had serious injuries?
I am not indenial. if the Pats passed on him all the Pats fans would be crowing "we never sign high priced FAs, we get the most out of mid level FAs" but now that you break the bank it's the right move. have the Pats ever made a wrong move under BB? All I know is they have a proven formula of succes and this offseason they are straying from it and I couldn't be happier.
Count me in that crowd as well, the Pats are resembling the Yankees with this move and I'm happy for it.
