this maybe true.. i was under the impression he was a RFA . pats made him offer. and instead of going through 7 day contract match. just outright traded for him.
The text messages from free-agent wide receiver Donte' Stallworth to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, began enthusiastically on the first night of his visit to New England, after Patriots quarterback Tom Brady happened by Stallworth's table at a Boston restaurant on March 5 to preach the team's gospel. By the next day, as Stallworth was meeting in Foxborough with Pats officials, the texts to Rosenhaus revealed a man whose mind was made up. I want to be here. Let's get it done. I don't want to leave here without a contract. It should surprise no one that prime free agents would want to join a franchise that has won three of the past six Super Bowls. What is unusual is that they'd take less money to play for one with so much salary-cap room. And it's stranger still to see the Patriots playing the free-agency game as aggressively as coach Bill Belichick plays defense. In their eight years of team-building, Belichick and vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli have mostly been bargain-basement shoppers: The 20 free agents who formed the bedrock of the first championship team (such as linebacker Mike Vrabel) came from the lower and middle echelons. But in the first 11 days of free agency this year the Pats signed five players off other rosters, including Stallworth, the Philadelphia Eagles long-ball threat, and linebacker Adalius Thomas of the Baltimore Ravens, the best linebacker on the market; traded for the Miami Dolphins' productive receiver-return man Wes Welker; re-signed three of their own free agents; and placed the franchise tag on cornerback Asante Samuel, all but assuring that the 2006 NFL coleader in interceptions (10) will be in New England for at least one more season. "I'm stunned," says a rival scout. "But it just goes to show you -- anytime you think you've got the Patriots figured out, they go and do something no one expects." New England's flurry of activity doesn't signify a shift in philosophy. Rather it was the result of a perfect storm of team needs, available players, available cash ($23 million under a salary cap of $109 million) and a more conservative approach by teams such as the New York Giants and Jets, the Green Bay Packers and the Carolina Panthers that are usually aggressive bidders. "Believe me, we've made a lot of calls the first day of free agency every year," Belichick said last Friday. "This year was just different. We pursued guys we needed, and they wanted to come." Belichick's linebacking corps looked old and slow when the Indianapolis Colts racked up 32 points and 311 yards in the second half of the Pats' AFC title-game loss. So they signed Thomas to a five-year deal at an average of $7 million a year, the same salary that three guards received in this off-season of NFL largesse. The 6'2", 270-pound Thomas is so versatile -- with Baltimore he could line up on the D-line and even in the secondary -- that some teams feared he might be less productive strictly as a linebacker. "We change what we do lots of weeks," Belichick says. "We're a game-plan team. For us, a player can't have too much versatility. We'll find a way to use him." I LOVE PETER KING :breakdance:
Why ddo Pats fans feel the need to rub everything in our faces?? This thread didnt involve you in the least. :gpc:
No, now I can only speak for myself, but what I am saying I don't give a crap what the Pats do. It is totally irrelevant to the Jets. And what exactly does this have to do with the topic being discussed in this thread?
BAHAH! The Dolphins did good? Are you kidding me? Paying for an overpaid moron on the down side of his career that might miss the first two games of the season and then not adderessing any of their offense problems. Forget it, I'm not intrested in any BS grades from Fox.
Sorry but that is a load of crap. He was better than any Free agent RB that was available. He has everything to do with free agency. It was a sign and trade. If we could not sign him we do not get him. Enough it was completely similar to the Welker deal. Do I need to draw a diagram?
u need to draw one for urself. jones was under contract. he couldnt just sign to any team he wanted to. yes he got a extension with but thats it. he ws never a FA. was willis Mcgahee a sign and trade? cause he was under contract too and signed a extension when he got delt.
It was a sign and trade during the FA period. Look up any sports service and look up the best moves during the FA period this is in the top 3 in all of them. It was a Free Agency move. You can say to everyone how it was not a free agency move and you will still be wrong so go ahead!
Who cares what they say. The thing they realize is you build your team through the draft not free agency. These writers are idiots because they think if you dont solve all your needs through free agency that you didnt do well. Free Agency is for filling minor holes or maybe one big need. You dont go out and sign 10 starters. Thats not how it works.
You use free agency to the best of your abilities. You then back that up with a good draft. It is just as dumb to bank you will solve ALL your issues through the draft (if you have immediate needs). No draftee is a sure thing. If you are an established team already built through the draft, you use fa to fill immediate holes while you draft for the future. It is a mix of both. You use every tool to get better that you can. A strong fa showing can only strengthen a strong draft. Both need to be used effectivley..... A young team like the jets does not get into fa as much. We dont have many players retiring or being poached by other teams. We are not at the moment "contenders" so we can afford to have patience. We also do not need certain pieces for a established "unit". We are still building the "unit".
The funny thing about this article.....Wasn't all the pundits that was saying this was an exceptionally WEAK FA market? So if it was a weak market then how can they grade?? hmmmmmm...beats me! Peace The Mezz
I wonder what those clowns are saying about our Haynes and TouiIneedtolearnhowtospellhisname signings I dont get how crappy Leonard davis signing is good Clements is a shitty signing he is the highest payed defensive player is he even a top 5 CB? last yr the redskins made Archuleta the highest payed safety and we saw how that worked out? SHITTY and he wasnt even a top 5 safety AD is a good signing but we dont really have the risks to take a bust. yeah we are 20 mil under but Pennington got incentives down to ~16 cotchery and thomas extensions down to ~13.5 other option bonuses and incentives down to ~11 we made cuts up to ~13 draft picks will cost 6 mil down to ~8 jones and coleman are about 3 of that so 5 mil left over all the mini signings(poteat, barnes, tuoi, 2 lineman, haynes) 3 mil we probably have 2-4 mil left over still Barrett and Mc Cariens cuts are big savings I think I have the site of the top 10 Fa's for 05 and 06 I will try to take the franchise guys out if it.... but these lists are pretty shitty and you cant sign more than 3 guys at 6 mil per yer it just kills the cap as you see we are done with FA unless one big name comes up
http://scout.scout.com/a.z?s=149&p=9&c=12&nid=83&lnid=83&yr=2007 shows top 10 UFA's to change teams:note not my rankings 2006 UFA's that changed teams(some of these are cuts well maybe most of them are) 1. bentley 2. brees 3 edge 4. TO 5. Will Witherspoon 6. Law 7. Woodson 8. D Howard 9 Randel EL 10 J Peterson 2005 1. Hayward 2. Simon 3. Law 4 Rolle 5 P Williams 6 Wahle 7 Rivera 8 Mason 9 Dyson 10 Hartwell as you see the top 10 is pretty hit or miss
