Salary cap check

Hey Mike,
Anything new with Bodden or Springs?
Do you think the Pats will go after a guy like Dre' Bly?
What about Andre' Goodman?

We should focus on resining players.

Please sign a Peppers to the team with all of that cap space! The Patriots must have some kind of big move to counter the trade of Cassel and Vrabel.

I might be in the minority that believes the Cassel-Vrabel trade was a good call. Vrabel showed he just doesnt have IT anymore. Now go make a deal for Peppers!!!

Mike:

What other players on the roster can expect to have their deals reworked in order to make them cap friendy this year and next? I would think that Seymour is a good place to start but there's Faulk, Jarvis Green, Adalius Thomas or Matt Light that could perhaps be looked at. Cutting Green and Faulk would give them over $5 million extra room.

Why is Fred Taylor worth $3 million plus bomus this year? He's a part time player for crying out loud.

If the 'www.patscap.com'-numbers are correct, the well known defensive linemen consume about 21.2 mil. in cap space (9.8 Seymour, 5.4 Green, 3.8 Waren, 2.1 Wilfork ). Now Wilfork will command more and then there is big Adalius Thomas D with 6.4 mil while the highest cap number for a defensive back is 1.7 mil. (Hobbs). Ok, there are probably enough people that think, Hobbs shouldn't even get this, but the difference in used cap space between the defensive backfield and the defensive line is stunning. If this line with all that money spent can't be effective without a solid defensive backfield then the Pats should at least try it using more money on at least 1-2 solid defensive backs and take some time to examine those defensive line contracts.

Any estimates as to how much cap space is needed to sign (at least) the first 4 picks as they currently stand (1 1st / 3 2nd)? My point is, they don't necessarily currently have $15m in cap space to completely use on free agents. Just wondering how much has to be kept in the bank for the draft picks. Depending on what else they do in free agency, this will give us some idea as to what else they may have to do as far as restructurings & cuts in the coming months.

Cutting Faulk would be one of the dumbest moves ever!

I agree with VG, and I'll take it a step further. The D Line is completely over-rated, they can stop the run for the most part, but thats all they can do. For the type of money they take up, they should be able to pressure the passer too, they can't. I don't see them resigning Seymour, his play has gone downhill, and please don't give me the crap about the double teams, I watch the games, he hardly ever gets doubled anymore. His skills have eroded and I blame it all on putting him in at fullback a few years ago, he's never been the same since that knee injury.

Seymour is the major ripoff

The fact that they're spending $9.8m on him but won't pick up a CB worth more than $2m per year is ridiculous

some of this money is going to resign Vince "point blank" Wilfork.

so I am not sure how much more will be availble to sign someone like a Peppers.

would I like both ? Sure but you know BB is going to try and lock down the big man long term.

how does the math add up here???
Cassel - 14.59 million
Vrabel - 4.3 million

The deal with Kansas City should have freed up $18.89 million up alone...

Vrabel, with an over 4 million charge against the cap, was done here. It's the way it is now a days.
Fast move to free up $ for signing others, had to do it.
Consider this, what's Belichek's next position? I'd bet on HC of the KC Chiefs, reuniting him with Pioli and Cassel - a team on the way to winning it all in 2 - 3 years. Pats don't win the SB next year, Bill to KC. You heard it hear first!

the patriots should take there time and get some good cornerbacks because the deffence always is tired at the end of games and i thnk they should sign marvin harrison for the loss of gaffney or maybe grabing a QB would be smart they should probibly sign peppers as well but its only the first three days of free agency

Cornerback, cornerback, cornerback. This team does not have one solitary bona fide NFL calibre starting corner. If they still believe that Ellis Hobbs is worthy of a starting CB position then they all must be on some sort of bongo juice.

Sign one, maybe both, of the free agents they have been looking at. Secondly, drat a potentially solid one, and my pick is Sean Smith out of Utah. He, IMO, can be an immediate starter, and a solid performer. He should be available with the 34th pick.

Vrabel, with an over 4 million charge against the cap, was done here. It's the way it is now a days.
Fast move to free up $ for signing others, had to do it.
Consider this, what's Belichek's next position? I'd bet on HC of the KC Chiefs, reuniting him with Pioli and Cassel - a team on the way to winning it all in 2 - 3 years. Pats don't win the SB next year, Bill to KC. You heard it hear first!

sign ray lewis.....making this move would speak for itself. move bruschi over to play old and put lewis at mlb. this would reunite thomas and lewis, putting two of those four good linebackers back together from the baltimore days

some of you guys...well..lets say it`s hard to understand what you are talking about. BB will look at the teams`s NEEDS as well as the BEST this draft has to offer. so, IMO i`d look for BB to go after corners, safeties, offensive and D-linemen and linebackers.. tthat means probably no QB`s, RBs or WRs to the pats in this draft..unless BB sees a real steal..perhaps WR..unlikely but possible..

some of you guys...well..lets say it`s hard to understand what you are talking about. BB will look at the teams`s NEEDS as well as the BEST this draft has to offer. so, IMO i`d look for BB to go after corners, safeties, offensive and D-linemen and linebackers.. tthat means probably no QB`s, RBs or WRs to the pats in this draft..unless BB sees a real steal..perhaps WR..unlikely but possible..

Peppers was franchised. They can't just sign him unless you want them to lose 2 first round draft picks as compensation. If they were to acquire Peppers it would most likely be through a trade, but that seems highly unlikely at this point.

Mike Allen: Sean Smith vastly underperformed at the combine and isn't worth the 34th pick of the draft. yes he is the only cornerback around that spot with size but he is not a player. The guy would be a great 3rd round pick or maybe our last second but that is way to high for that guy. Sean Smith doesn't have the quickness and change of direction ability that Billy B looks for in his corners. He'd make a decent safety somewhere but I'm not overly impressed.

Seymour underperformed in 2006 and 2007, when he was injured. I
thought he had a pretty productive 2008, when he was healthy. I believe
he led the team in sacks (7 or so). That's pretty good considering that
the DL in the 3-4 does not focus on sacks. Seymour's contract is up
after next year. I'd like to see the Patriots resign him, but I'm not sure
that they will. I expect that Wilfork has a higher priority. I think we're
spoiled with this DL and will notice as soon as one of the starting
3 is gone.

Lets Trade Seymour and our last 2nd round pick to Carolina for Peppers. Clears some cap room and gives us a passrush. Taking another 9M off the books would make allot of room to sign Peppers and Wilfork for the next 5 years.

Hey guys....

THE PATRIOTS ARE NOT GETTING JULIUS PEPPERS SO STOPa.

Sorry to disappoint but its NOT HAPPENING unless you want to give up a first and second and that wont even get the job done probably. We dont have the money for him considering we have to resign Mankins and Wilfork. Also hes never playin LB before. Thats a HUGE risk to take isnt it??? I think so.

The Pats need to keep the "D" line in tact. Fact is, Vrabel was an overrated pretty boy that looked good from studying Belicheat"s video. Same for Harrison and Bruschi. Adalius Thomas, Wilfork and Seymour are the foundation. Good riddance to Vrabel and his neatly trimmed pretty boy beard. Hope you get a few cherry pick TD's in KC. Bring in some new talent to build on!

COULD PATRIOTS MAKE BID FOR PEPPERS?
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal : Sunday, March 1, 2009 3:36 PM
Now that the Patriots have cleared Matt Cassel's cap number, what will they do with it? Some of the money will surely go to their secondary. They re-signed solid young safety James Sanders to a three-year deal Sunday, and have met with cornerbacks Leigh Bodden and Shawn Springs.

But New England may still have a larger move up their sleeve. They have four first-day draft picks to work with, which gives them flexibility for a possible trade.

Put this post under logical but wild speculation, but Panthers beat writer Darin Gantt thinks that trade could be for Julius Peppers. This has been a whisper on many lips for weeks.

Peppers wants to play for a 3-4 team, and said he had a few NFC teams and one AFC team in mind. Many believe the AFC squad was New England. Peppers' versatility would be an absolute perfect fit for Bill Belichick's defense. The one-time coach of Lawrence Taylor would know how to maximize Peppers' unique skill set.

The Patriots were hamstrung by Matt Cassel's cap number, and the Panthers are in the same boat with Peppers. New England may be the only team with the ammunition to pry Peppers away.

Any news on Bodden or Springs?

IN DEFENSE OF ELLIS HOBBS:

1. Great return man. If the Hobbs-critics are too dumb to figure this out, you guys need to find your own web site. Preferably one with large print... maybe pretty pictures too. I'd start at PBSkids.org and if that is too complicated worky your way down.

2. Plays every down AND special teams. Guess what? A guy that plays every down, including special teams, usually against the top opposing receivers, throws up on the side line from exhaustion, is gonna get beat sooner or later. Ellis Hobbs played extremely well when we had Asante Samuel. It's clear he cannot play at the same level, but Asante is one of the better corners in the league.

3. Where's the help? On both the safety and D-line side the Patriots dropped off in 2008. Honestly, when you see a play like Jabar Gaffney dropping a perfect touchdown pass after his defender falls down, I'll agree 100% there's an issue. [what's reche caldwell up to these days, by the way?]. Hobbs is not guilty at that level. He's had to face some great player and has performed well. Not perfect, but few corners can make that claim.

So -- there's no doubt that Hobb's stays on the roster, even if we added Dre Bly and 1st round CB.

I think the Pats should make a move to try to sign Laverneus Coles, I think he would be a great replacement for Jabar Gaffney and he would be a great compliment to Moss and Welker. What about Ray Lewis at middle linebacker he could help groom Mayo and sure up the linebacking corps.

cut seymour.

hasn't earned his pay in years.

This uncapped year/lockout is getting in the way of a lot of things. Even though I don't really see how the lockout is a real threat, will they really stop the NFL in this economy? Anyways, In 2010 Neal, Mankins, Kazcur, Seymour, Wilfork, and Hobbs contracts are up. You can get rid of Kazcur, but I would like to see everyone else back (the next person to lose is Neal but he's also the cheapest). They currently have $65 million in cap number for 26 players, and if there isn't an uncapped year you're looking at maybe a $130 million. Seymour, Wilfork will be $10/year and Hobbs will be close $7?. Mankins will get $5/year. There is $32 more for $97 for 30 players. The worst thing to do would be to add Peppers, unless there is an uncapped year, then I would do it and at worst make the deal one year friendly (which the lockout threat would help).

Also, I can not believe the Seymour bashing on here. There is not a better 3-4 DE in football..

It's Peppers or nothing else. Peppers will not warrant a 1st and 2nd round pick because you can't tell me he's more valuable than a 26 yr old QB who just went for a 2nd rd pick. Take a flyer on him and jettison Seymour after this year since he's the most overrated player in Boston sports history.

MATT: Thanks for the new information on Sean Smith and his performance at the combine. And, you may be right, but I, for one, really dont put that muchyu stock into a combine where guys are running around in shorts instad of full pads, etc. But, again, your opinion on Smith may be correct. I, however, think he will end up being a solid starting CB in the NFL, especially in today's changing game and the matchups required against the WRs of today.

In either case, as of this writing, the Pats do not have a legitimate STARTING cornerback of legitimate NFL quality. For whatever reason, they have let this position slide out of control. They need CB activity now. If they are serious about going with Hobbs, again, as a starting corenr, they are only asking for trouble.

Hey Mike Allen:

I appreciate you posting back and i don't put a whole lot of stock in the combine either but some guys it exposes as not great athletes. I have done some research on Smith and would take him with either 47 or 58 but 34 is just to early. I love the draft and cant get enough of it especially draft talk. Pity me but i think Alphonso Smith is one of the best corners in the draft. He is soooo short though haha. Vontae Davis would be nice too.

I agree our secondary is atrocious and we don't have a legit starting cornerback. Im really hoping Malcom Jenkins falls to us at 23. Im done with Hobbs. He would be a great or shall i say fabulous nickel corner but he has been playin out of position for the last two years. We need some serious help. Im hoping the sign up the brittle Sean Springs because he can still play and will help. Leigh Bodden is a decent player but not for the money it will probably cost us.

I say screw free agency and use those 16 mils to draft me 5 Jerod Mayos...

ahhh if only it were a perfect world hehe

Cut Seymour, rework Wilfork, sign Bodden and Springs and deal with LB in the draft. You would have $25 mil to get it done not counting potentially cutting Hobbs.