You're wrong. They built their core through the draft and were patient and skilled enough to do so. Once that core is established then they can compliment the lineup with FA's like Thomas. People like you criticized them for letting Ty Law, Adam V, Willie McGinest, David Givens, and Deion Branch go...Now they have the cap room to sign Thomas and accumulate 2 1st round picks. They paid the price by letting those guys walk and now their reaping the rewards. You think you have the Patriots formula figured out but you are in the dark..
I didn't criticize them for letting Law go or mcginest but vinatieri came back to bite them. W/o him Indy doesn't get to the ttile game and maybe NE wins that game. Also, they are about to pay Wes Welker what they could have gotten Branch for- who would you rather have? The pats were built through the draft and w/ less expensive FAs, now they are breaking the bank for a 30 year old w/ 1-2 good years and are about to give up a 2nd rounder for a 33 WR and medicore return man. yep they are making all wise decisions. i know ti's hard to believe but the Pats are allowed to make mistakes and they are making them right now.
You base everything you say on rumors and speculation. If you did not, you would know half the things you say are false. Branch makes 37 million under contract. Wes Welker is not going to make 38 million. For the last time, it is a poisen pill deal. The funny thing is at this stage it is just an offer sheet. It is backloaded with dead cash, why do you contantly ignore this fact? See the Seattle/Vikings deal last year. Welker is not going to make anything close to that money! Btw, he is much better then you are making him sound. He has a ton off upside. He played in a hell hole last year and still managed to be a good player. He is the perfect replacement for Troy Brown. A young player with a great moter, good hands, and explosive speed. 2 words, Tom Brady. He is going to be throwing the ball now, not Joey Harrington. I do not care if you are Reggie Wayne, if you are playing for a terrible team in a bad situatin you are not going to be a superstar. Any unbiased football fan can see Welkers potential ( for what they want to use him for). The pats did not let Branch "walk". He held out while under contract, and they got a first round pick for him ( giving them 2). Branch then went on to Seattle to make 37 million, and do nothing for them. Letting Adam go did not cost them at all. Gloskowski proved to be a perfect replacement for Adam, and had comparable numbers to "the great one" Which kicks did Glowskowski miss that cost them, the answer is none. Any kicker could have made the kicks Adam made in those playoff games, lol. he missed 2 from 30 yards against the pats this year. Which 60 yarder did Adam kick to win a game? I thought he was making routine kicks, in his range. To claim if the pats had not let Adam go, the colts might not have won the superbowl , because there kicker would have missed the kicks is laughable. Thomas is 29... The pats are not breaking the bank for anything. Read the article below off SI.com. Look at the cap hits, they are miniscule. Thmoas will never see the last two years of that deal, that is why teams "back load" contracts. The team had 29 mill in cap space. they still have 14 left. You dont watch much football other then jets games do you? This was a great deal for the pats. They are going to get 5 mill more when Teddy and Brown retire next year. They have PLENTY of room. Lastly, the pats are already an established (superbowl caliber) team. The 2001 pats, are like the jets. Not the 2006 pats. They are filling slight holes, to put them over the top. They already have a core. What a homer!!! - SI.com "One guy might have been underpaid in Lunatic 2007 Market Dollars: Adalius Thomas. He signed with New England for five years and $35.00 million. The breakdown, according to Management Council documents obtained Sunday night: • Signing bonus: $12 million in 2007. • Option bonus: $8 million payable in 2008, applied for cap reasons in equal $2 million increments in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. • Salaries: $900,000 in '07, $900,000 in '08, $1.9 million in '09, $4.9 million in '10 and $5.9 million in '11. • Workout bonuses: $107,000 annually if he participates in the Patriots' offseason workout program in Foxboro. • Cap numbers: In succession, beginning this year, $3.4 million, $5.4 million, $6.4 million, $9.4 million, $10.4 million. I say "might have been underpaid" because there is always a danger that a unique, great player in one system might not translate to that kind of player in another system. But I'll go on record saying this is a tremendous signing -- for both sides, not just the Patriots. Thomas gets what he wants, staying in the Eastern Time Zone (he did not want to move to California), playing with an annual contender, working under a coach who obviously is an imaginative defensive strategist and playing for a team that isn't a sideshow. The Patriots get what they want, signing a versatile 29-year-old linebacker (mostly) to buttress a rapidly aging unit, adding a perfect locker-room influence, and leaving" - SI.com
LOL, I guess if you hit peoples heads with a brick enough you win an argument............ Thank god I have the obtuse one on ignore.
NFL contracts are all non-guaranteed, so the patriots almostcertainly offered a medium range salary, some guaranteed money and a huge last year or 2 which he'll never see, guys get deals like that all the time then get cut before the big money comes due, look at horn, arrington, etc. Additionally by the same stroke Thomas never sees the last 2 years of that deal if he isn't playing extremely well.
really, how about richard seymour, he's only been a top 5 D-Lineman in the league for about 6 years, Vinateri is probably a lock, harrison has a pretty good shot, McGinest is a borderline guy,
Haha, I am not a pats fan. I just look at things objectivley. That is a very good pick up for them. The lack of nfl contract knowledge is shocking.
keep telling me the pats D ws better than Baltimore's D. You are an idiot, go back into hiding, I had more fun before I saw you asinine posts. I was talking about defense. Harrison has a shot but he's gone, law has a shot but he's gone. They don't have a Ray lewis or Ed Reed. What are you talking about? i was making the point about guarnteed money to you over the weekend. I just mentioned the deals welker was rumored to geta nd what Branch got. Welker also NOW cost NE a 2nd and 7th rd pick- for a mediocre 3rd WR and below average return man. NE has had a bad offseason so far. it's amazing, if NE does nothing but sit back and collect mid level FAs they are geniuses and the teams that sign high $ FAs are idiots but now that NE does it they are geniuses and the teams that don't are morons. for the millionth time show me the Championship teams that had hig priced FAs????
It is cool to be objective but I guess he thinks it is fun to be the biggest most useless jackass on this forum.
Harrison is still on the team, and richard seymour is one of the best D-linemen of his era, how many other teams have 2 hall of famers on D?
Not many and NE isn't one of them. Even if Harrsison is back he is not playing at a high level anymore. Stop trying to latch on to me in hoeps that people might know who you are.
