I wonder if the Patriots being so aggressive in free agency has to do with Tom Brady being so upset about letting Branch get away. I remember seeing a press conference with him where he was clearly upset by the fact that the Pats weren't spending money to keep good players. I don't remember if he specifically mentioned it or not, but he took a much lower salary to allow the team to sign other good players. I do remember that he wanted to know why they weren't spending any of the salary cap money they had. I'm guessing that this did play a role in their recent aggression. He may have specifically went to the FO and said you start spending money or I'm out, or they recognized his frustration and wanted to keep him happy so they threw him a couple of bones (Thomas, Welker). I'm not saying this is the only reason they're doing what they are, but I'd be willing to bet it is part of the equation.
Kraft might feel the Patriots reign may be coming to an end, so he is signing more big players and making a few final runs...
This is just impatience at its best. The Patriots should have spent more last year on reasonable signings but they were cheap. Now they are making up for it by overpaying. Bad move by them and it will hurt them soon.
How is this move going to hurt them,this just put the NE defense #1 in the AFC..If the Jets had signed him it wou;d have been a different story,quit being a homer and call it what it is,a great signing plain and simple.
Agreed, but someone you'll still find a way to split with us, because we refuse to stop AFC East runningbacks from anywhere but Florida.
You have to admit, they are straying quite a bit from their successful formula so far this offseason.
last time i checked the games played on the field and theyre just boosting the talent. cap space might only be growing larger within the next few years, and worst case scenario they cut a few journeymen to replace with rooks. either way they could end up nabbing another trophy before it comes back to haunt them. and thats all that really matters.
