only he lets welker, vollmer and lloyd walk too.

though he tries to sign talib (i sign or tag)

of all the pieces needed in fa and draft, he and i differ only at one possition, adding a top pass rusher which i put at priority 1. he doesnt address at all.

otherwise he has, wr/cb in rd 1, wr. cb in rd 2 (i have both of these IF WE get a pss rusher in fa, which is my preference [otherwise i go pass rsuher in rd 1 and cb/wr in rd 2 adn 3]), and offensive tackle in rd 3 (since he lets volmer go).

for free agents he has stretch the field x receiver as #1 priorty (i have as tied for #2 priority after pass rusher).he says get the best one on the market (AND draft one in rd 1 or 2).

FA'S followed by rac z receiver, cb, and dl

he starts wilson at strong safety  saying you dont draft a guy at 48 to be a nickel back (to which i reply, it dosnt matter where you draft him , it matters how good he is. if he aint good enough, you need a better safety).

There is debate on whether releasing Lloyd would cost the Pats $500k in cap space or in it would save them $3mil. Lets go with the latter. If you let Lloyd go you have to replace him. Right now Slater is the only WR signed for next season so you have $3mil who would you suggest you can get for that price to replace Lloyds production?

I'd let Lloyd go.

He isn't the right man for the job.

 

PatsEng - my point exactly. As for the best x receiver in FA - who!!! And you are competing against teams like Miami who have a ton of cap space so said receiver isn't coming cheap. 10M/yr is likely for someone like Wallace who personally I do not think is worth it - his 2012 numbers were pretty pedestrian and while 2010 and 2011 were great, he also benefited from having a QB who extends lots of plays allowing his receivers 5 seconds to break open and is known as more of a gun slinger than Brady has ever been. To me he has all the markings of a very expensive FA bust.

I think probably a good comparable to Lloyd is Miami's own Hartline who is looking for 10M/yr - he will not get that but someone is going to pay him 5+M/yr which is a lot more than Lloyd is costing the Pats.

As for Welker - the comparable is Amendola - who has only been on the field for 12 games in the last 2 years. Problem for slot guys is the pounding they take, and Welker's ability to stay on the field is amazing. Not saying the Pats should sign him at any price, but ... I really like Edelman and want him back, but he has the same problem as Amendola - he has not made it through 16 games in any of his 4 seasons.

Many are saying cut Lloyd, and who will you be replacing him with?  

I think he will be substantially better with another year in our system and working with Brady, he dropped a lot of easy TD's either because he was caught by surprise or was so wide open (anyone remember game one?).  

You can't let Welker and Lloyd go without a real solution.

In response to wozzy's comment:

Agree completly, there isn't much out there better, far too many questions.

Looks like every reporter is following OPs footsteps. Why can't you write a single thread without saying i brought up earlier in another thread :)

Health is the biggest problem with the WR/TE group.

Can Gronk, Hernandez, Ballard, Edelman(if they sign him) all stay healthy?

IF Gronk and Ballard man the TE spots. Then you have Hernandez and Llyod playing WR. If they sign Edelman you have another. If they want a stretch the field type they could even resign stallworth. If they work something out with Welker then you have him also.

The offense did not have Ballard (better than both Fells and Hooman). They lost Gronk(Again), lost Hernandez for a bunch of games. Lost Edelman for almost half the season. He started the season, can play outside not just slot.(much better than Branch at this point in their careers) Lost stallworth after bringin him back for one game.

Their weapons would be much better simply by staying healthy for a whole season and progressing and growing together as a unit.

If they let both Welker AND Lloyd walk then you are getting rid of BOTH WR's that were able to stay healthy and on the field all season long. Does that seem like a smart move to you?

Drafting a WR is great in theory and if they do(need some youth added for sure), I prefer they do it in the 2nd not the 3rd. They are picking at the end of the round as always and doing it at the end of 3rd is like a 4th and the WR's down there do not often give you much. Yes I know there have been some late WR picks that have worked out but the law of averages are not on your side. ..and it has not worked for the Patriots lately.

The bigger problem still is, as always, Brady getting his new to the system or young WR's in his circle of trust. Having to go after Llyod, Branch(again), Stallwoth(again), and Gaffney(again) and trading for Salas (who they unfortunatley could not slide past the league for a week) are glaring examples of how difficult they think it is to find a WR that will work in their system without having prior experience in it.

Which is the exact question when the Patriots consider Jennings or Bowe. Neither of whom are "young". Certainly younger than Branch and Welker however. They have been very successful in the league but would they be in the Patriots system? The Patriots have already seen the likes of Joey Galloway, Chad Johnson, and Donald Hayes as examples of players being successful elsewhere but not as a Patriot. Jennings has his own durability concerns and he is not "big/tall" like reactionary fans are calling for.

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If both walk we should get someone in the FA and draft...

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how about Mike Wallace?

 

Lloyd and Welker production in regualr season = 192 catches and 2000+ yds. Please tell me where the Pats are going to replace that in FA and given their draft pciks and needs. And don't say just Gronk and Hern being healthy - the TEs already had over 110 catches combined in 2012, so even if they increased that to 160 you still need to find 150. 

Just replacing Welkers production is going to be hard enough if they do not resign him, and replacing Lloyds production has to be done for 3.5M or less, the maximum cap savings by cutting him.

While I understand the disappointment with Lloyd given the overblown expectations coming into the year, the contract they signed with him was very team friendly and he lived up to his 'cost' Compared to Welker who was earning more than double his money, he was a huge bargain. And compared to all the other WR brought in since Moss, he is also a huge bargain. He may not be a star #1 receiver, but he isn't being paid like one either.

In response to wozzy's comment:

agreed

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In response to ClarkGriswold's comment:

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Just another reporter throwing you know what against the wall. It's the slowest time of the football year but they still have to produce. What Fantasy!

In response to ClarkGriswold's comment:

Wishful thinking on Hartline, I don't think there's a chance he'd take that. Miami is reportedly pretty high on resigning him (and they have a ton of cap room) and I've read he wants an average of close to 6 a year.

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Who is out there on the FA market or in the draft that will immediately come in here and replace Lloyd?  Wallace?  Bowe?  Other?  Those guys are break the bank type of receivers.  I think year 2 of Lloyd could be better than year 1.  He isn't a YAC guy but he runs good routes and moves the sticks.  He isn't an outside guy but he can do more than your average possesion-type receiver.  With Wlker a big question mark and with BB's recent success (lack of) at finding guys to fit right away, I don't think cutting Lloyd is an option.