Wishful thinking. I was hoping for two pats. Samuel and Graham. Now that Samuel is out of the question, would Graham be good TE to go after? I know no one want the Jets to look like the pats. But those two signings would have made the draft so much easier. Less stressful for fans for sure. Offseason is still young.
I think Graham would be a great addition. He is still young and is a very well rounded TE. Having Graham, Baker, Coles and Cotchery on the field together would be great. The biggest downside is that he will cost a bunch of money. Probably at least 4 mil a year for 5 years. He is by far the best FA TE available and there is no great TE available in the draft.
no knock on baker but it would be a huge pick-up on offfense. brady loves graham and since belichek loves letting receivers go, we should get him.
He would be a good pick up for his blocking ability, he's a great run blocker. As a receiver, he's virtually equal to Baker, if not better.
I consider him a slightly better version of Baker. Of course, Baker if used more by us would be one of the better TEs in football, so thats a great thing. I would love to see Graham on this team. Having two TEs with good to great all around skills could be deadly. ESPECIALLY since we have a QB who relies on short, quick passes. The fact that he'd be a plus in the running and pass blocking game only helps make his case.
I have always felt that Baker was very overrated by jet fans. He would be a great #2 TE though. I think Graham is a perfect fit. We need help in the redzone, he is a great runblocker (something we need) and he is a good reciever. This guy would make a ton of sense and would be very happy if we signed him.
I think Graham is being over rated here, not Baker. Granted, Graham is a better blocking TE, but it's not a large gap either. As a reciever, an arguement can be made that Baker is actually better. Taking a look at the stats for both from 2005 and 2006 combined... Graham- 23 games- 37 receptions- 470 yards- 5 TD's Baker- 24 games- 49 receptions- 569 yards- 5 TD's Baker is just as good in the red zone. He's a LOT cheaper. If Graham was that good, why does it appear that the Pats have been planning for his departure since last year's draft when they took the kid out of Texas, Dave Thomas, in the third round? I'll pass.
I haven't seen a single Pats fan say Graham is anything less than a great blocker. Even the biggest Baker fan would say he's "solid" at best. The Pats are always planning for the future, they knew Graham would hit the open market and probably get a contract that was more than their budget allows them to give him. That, and they always want as many TEs as possible for that offense.
I think Becht was a great blocker, and I think Graham is very good, but a notch below. I'd say Baker is slightly above average... so to me, that isn't a huge gap.
you also gotta remember that the pats have a lot invested in former 1st rounder ben watson. watson is more of the pass catching threat whereas graham seems to be in there more for running plays.
graham is by far the best blocking TE in the league. plus he can catch the ball and make bigplays as well. AAAAANNND he knows new englands offense better than anyone else except for brady
In addition to his red-zone and run blocking help, one other reason I would want to go after Daniel Graham is that I think there is a very small likelihood that he would 'bust.' He's still in his prime at 28, knows the division, and Mangini knows him. He's only getting to FA because Ben Watson is even better. I think we should front load the 5-6 year deal it will take to sign him. Another reason to like Graham is that he is most definitely available as a FA. The Pats franchised Samuel, and I don't think they will pay Graham the ~4mil it will cost to backup Watson, considering Dave Thomas and Garrett Mills were drafted last year. One more thing...this is nothing to take away from Chris Baker and his absolutely amazing contract. I can't belive another team didn't sign him away from us for more money. BUT, Graham is more of a known commodoity and will cost a lot more in this market. I still think it is worth it.
He is by far the best blocking TE in the league? He's better then Becht? He's better then Heath Miller? I could probably name 10 other tight ends I would rather have as blockers then him. That being said he has the speed and the ability to go down the field and make plays that few tight ends have. And he is also a solid blocker. But I don't think he's a great player, he is injury prone and he does drop a lot of passes. I would love to get him because he would change our offense but he does come with some negatives.
I'm with you here, for sure. He's probably in the top ten as far as blocking TE's in the NFL go, maybe even push top five, but "by far" is a gross over rating. Generally, most people don't know who the best blocking TE's are, because most of them aren't good recievers. Again, I'll take Baker over Graham as a reciever by a short margin, and Graham as a blocker by twice that much. Does that make him worth 4 mil? Hell no. We aren't talking about an all pro here.... he a nice TE, that's it. NE knows it... I think Tangini does too. Yeah, Watson is the guy, but that isn't why they are letting Graham walk. He's not lived up to what NE hoped he would be. With all the two TE sets NE uses, if he was all that, they would sign him. They won't.... they drafted Dave Thomas to replace him.
He is widely regarded as the best blocking TE, yet you fail to realize it. He's an average blocker who can't catch and is always hurt since he plays for the Patriots, right?
You can't just say that "he is widely regarded as the best blocking TE" without at least showing us something. He's a good blocker, but there's no proof (unless you show otherwise) that he's anything more besides it being your own opinion. It's a fine opinion to have. I think he's one of the better blockers in the league, but the best?
