McKenzie breaks ground with contract

After reading that and not understanding a word, I really hope he can make the team next year for the amount of time spent on this =)

This is an absurd article, Mike. You are comparing, financially, peanuts to coconuts. There is such a concept as moral symmetry. Meaning, the Bernie Madoff's of the world should be held to the same strict sentencing guidelines as a petty bankteller stealing thousands from a small credit union. To suggest Kraft should receive a moral pass for his treatment of Vince, because of this puny contract for McKenzie, is hypocracy and pandering at its worst. Good luck in your future PR job for the Pat's and the Kraft empire.

Mike,
Please explain the split contract limits in the NFL CBA. I was under the impression that there were minimum salaries for players based on years of experience and not on whether they were on the active roster or IR. I thought the Pats were one of the few teams that offered split contracts for slightly more than minimum when on the active roster and less when on IR. Your article seems to indicate this is standard in the CBA. Please explain.

JJ
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Instead of drafting McKenzie in the second round, Belichick should have drafted Mualuaga in the second round. That mistake will come back to haunt the Patriots this year and for the next few. Sometimes Belichick gets a little too cute with his picks- and with his trades. Looking at the haul that the Broncos received for Cutler, Cassel and Vrabel should have netted more that a second round pick. It should have been a first this year and a third next year. Or two seconds. And taking a gamble on McKenzie when Mualuaga was out there in the 30s... Bruschi isn't getting any younger. Nor is Belichick...

Well since the pats didn't take McKenzie in the first round I have no idea what the hell you are talking about... If you are going to be a know it all at least get the facts right. Dope

Well since the pats didn't take McKenzie in the second round I have no idea what the hell you are talking about... If you are going to be a know it all at least get the facts right. Dope

JR,
If you want to come across as a know it all then perhaps you should at least make sure you have the facts straight. McKenzie was a third round draft pick. Also regardless of what you think, though I am skeptical that you possess the ability to think, the Cutler trade and Cassell / Vrabel trades were not on an equal footing. I would love to elaborate but it seems that you have already determined in your mind that you are correct despite many logical reasons to the contrary.

JR, you're an idiot. McKenzie was drafted with a 3rd round compensatory pick.

JR: McKenzie was drafted in the 4th round not the second. They passed on Mualuaga because he was only a 2 down linebacker. As for your Denver comment remember that nobody wanted Cassell. The only interest was from the Chiefs and the Broncos.

McKenzie was drafted in the third round, long after Rey Maulauga was picked by the Bengals.

JR, McKenzie wasnt drafted in the second round. your argument would hold clout except he was drafted 97th overall, in the compensatory picks of the third round.

JR,
McKenzie was drafted #97 in the 3rd round. Your comparison to Mualuaga is not valid.

Bill, Kraft does not need a moral pass for his treatment of Vince Wilfork. Kraft and the Patriots haven't done anything immoral to Wilfork. Its a shame Wilfork and Pats haven't been able to agree to terms on a new deal. I'm sure Kraft, and Belichick would LOVE to have Wilfork under a long term contract. The sides have not been able to agree yet on the numbers for that contract, so it hasn't happened yet.

More good Pats 2009 karma going down. Can't you just feel the vibes from the Dalai Lama's earlier appearance at The Razor?

Given reports of McKenzie's desire and talent, he should be a factor beginning next summer. Nice job by ChrisG on the details and larger perspective.

McKenzie was picked in the third round, not second JR. I thought he was a decent pick at that point. Hard to predict ACL injuries.

JR, I too like Rey Maualuga, but honestly he is a second string LB on a mediocre Bengals team - great agression and speed - but poor coverage and recognition skills. Who would you have exchanged for him in the Second round? Butler? No way - he may be the steal of the draft. Chung? With Rodney Harrison gone, Chung is going to be a big factor in coming years - as it is - he is a pretty good Safety. Better than the Safety drafted before him in the first round, Delmas - who reminds me of a less impressive Meriweather. Brace? Again - No way, you need a backup to Wilfolk, and this guy is going to play significant minutes this year. Vollmer? He may be one of the better linemen drafted this year, and he can help protect Brady. So all you are left with to comtemplate, is if the Patriots should have drafted Maualuga, versus Mckenzie, but you are comparing a second rounder to a late third rounder. If you look at McKenzie on film, this guy is a beast -- a la Jerod Mayo. Better coverage skills than Maualuga, great hips, great character, and a tackling machine. If Mckenzie comes back 100% he is going to be one heck of a LB. So I think your criticism is unjustified and quite frankly BB is better than all us at judging talent - so I defer to the hooded one on this.

Wow, JR, thank you for your insightful commentary. I was under the misguided impression that Belichick actually knew what he was doing. I have to admit to being a bit disillusioned right now but in time I will come to feel nothing but gratitude towards you, I'm sure.

Could you let me know one thing, though? How was NE going to get Mualuaga with the 97th pick (the one they used in the 3rd round to select McKenzie) when Rey went at 38, just six picks into the 2nd? I mean, I'm sure that you have some brilliant insight that I can't get my head around, I just can't quite get it.

Hey Bill:

"To suggest Kraft should receive a moral pass for his treatment of Vince"

Since when is disagreeing with an employee about his value a "moral" offense? Or am I unaware that Kraft kidnapped Vince's family and is cutting off a finger for every day he lets pass without signing on the dotted line?

If so, then I apologize.

Don't you people DARE criticize Mike Reiss. You're lucky to have him and this blog. He is one of the best beat reporters in the country. Stop being disrespectful little ingrates. You know who you are. You're a bunch of parasites.. You're WORMS!!

Hold on Bill, let me get this straight. You are complaining because Big Vince might have to wait till next year to cash his lottery check? What a hardship for him and his family. Is he not under contract and will be making $2.2 mil this year? For some reason I think he'll be just fine.

As far as McKenzie is concerned he suffered a season-ending injury in rookie camp and the Pats owed him his "fair" slotted deal. And, guess what they signed him to his "fair" slotted deal and a chance at more. It might be a couple of weeks later than the Pats' other draft picks signed but that's because there wasn't the urgency to get him onto the practice field. But guess what, it's August 2009 and he won't be on the field till sometime in 2010 so it's a pretty good deal for the kid and sets a precedent. That's all Mike was pointing out.

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Someone needs to go to Bill and JR's houses and take away all of their sharp objects.

The byline on this article is Christopher L. Gasper, not Mike Reiss.

All y'all just need to read karnak's insightful post and you'll see exactly why the Pats took who they took.

Taking a quick break from commenter-on-commenter crime, it's nice to see the Pats give McKenzie a chance to recoup some lost wages from a bad break. I was looking forward to seeing what his contribution would be on the field. Here is hoping he heals well and comes back at full strength next year. And now back to our regularly scheduled bickering. ;)

Billy Barty. I used to love watching that little dude. haha. That's awesome.

McKenzie will the Bruschi's replacement after he retires. I think it's pretty obvious he has lost a step, or two, from last season. I don't expect to see a lot of him on the field playing this season. We all hope, and maybe even expect, our Patriots to will it all this season. That would be great for Bruschi, to be able to retire in style with a 4th championship ring.

And who here was saying Maualuga is fast? He runs a cougar hair under a 5 sec 40. That's Tom Brady numbers, LOL. That's not fast.

Anyway, two days till Friday's game. Yeeeeehhhooooo!

hey everyone,
chris gasper wrote the blog entry, not mike. even though it's "reiss's pieces", he's not the only one who contributes.

People here are so stupid sometimes, it's sickening.

Hey JR, McKenzie was the Pats 2nd pick of the 3rd round. If you are going to complain about the moves the Patriots make, at least make sure you have your facts correct!

So,as I understand this deal,, the party of the first part agrees to work for the party of the second part in order to recoup some of the money that the party of the second part did not have to pay the party of the first part because neither one of them had a party until the party of the third part entered the scene and suggested that the part of the second party agree to pay the party of the first part a certain sum of money that the party of the third part could take as his part of the deal.
Now, all that being said, the party of the fourth part...................oh hell, never mind.

People- it was a ***typo***. And, people, Mualuaga is a player. Watch.

Belichick isn't right 100% of the time. He's a genius, yes. Omniscient, no.
If Cassel was worth $63m, then he (and Vrabel) should have netted more than a second round pick, ok?!

And I saw Mualuaga play in college and in a pre-season game (against us). With all of the stockpiled picks we have, we could have traded up from the third round to get him, easily. It was a mistake. You'll see. Linebackers get hurt. Teams that can't stop the run get trampled. We are awfully thin at ILB. Maybe the 4-3 is the answer, perhaps because it's our only option at this point.

JR, Read posting #16. Then let me repeat this - Rey Maualuga is not starting on the mediocre Bengals team. He is a backup, his pass coverage skills - or lack of - is part of the reason he is not playing every down and why less heralded LB's are playing in front of him. McKenzie by all accounts is a much better coverage linebacker, excellent football IQ and a great character guy. I think we have ALL seen Rey play in college, big time hitter, excellent run stopper. I would love to have him in the game just to smack Rex Ryan on the sidelines. But with the passing offenses in the NFL, a linebacker must also be a good cover guy, that is why I was so stoked with McKenzie with the Pats choose him. Look at McKenzie closely on film, he really does remind you of Jerod Mayo, maybe not as fast, but every bit as quick, great leverage and very fundamentally sound.

As for the trade to KC for Cassell and Vrable, time will tell. Right now it seems that Pioli got the better of this deal. But keep in mind that the QB franchise tag was like a millstone for the Pats front office, they could not sign any players from free agency until they got Cassell off of the books. Tough situation.

I hear you JR... I'm still pissed that Belichick took Richard Seymour over David Terrell. OK, Seymour may have anchored three SB winning D-lines, but Terrell is destined for the HOF. I really wish we could get the super team of Carroll and Greir back in position to make these decisions. After all, 5' 2" first rounders like Chris Canty never did get a fair shake here.

On second thought, I'm starting to suspect that although he isn't perfect, this guy Belichick might have a clue what he is doing. If you really are a Pats fan, you would do well to appreciate this era as it will not last forever.

JR,

A typo is when you mistakenly enter wrong digit, but the essence is still correct. That isn't what happened here. And if you feel that NE should have traded up that is fine. Considering how well Pryor and Edelman have done - as well as how confident the team seems to be in Ohrnberger/Bussey, I'm not sure I would trade McKenzie and one or two of those guys for Mualuaga.

Frankly, this is shaping up to be the best Patriots draft in quite some time. And that doesn't even count McKenzie and Tate who are future flyers. You do realize that a lot more than 10 draftees become good players, right? You can't get them all.

How many of you are going to correct JR by saying that McKenzie was taken in the 3rd round? There, I've done it again. I trust Bill. I'm so looking forward to the season.

JR, Maualuga was probably the dumbest LB in the entire draft. Yeah, maybe he could have helped the Patriots D - after five years when he finally learned their playbook.

But the point of Gasper's post didn't have anything to do with "who the Patriots should have drafted." It's about how this organization, that still has a reputation for being cheap with players, made a very generous offer to an injured rookie so he can benefit in the future. And if you don't know McKenzie's story it's one of the most heartwarming stories in the entire league. He's a good player, clearly a great guy and just might be a force for this team for many years.

JR, Maualuga was probably the dumbest LB in the entire draft. Yeah, maybe he could have helped the Patriots D - after five years when he finally learned their playbook.

But the point of Gasper's post didn't have anything to do with "who the Patriots should have drafted." It's about how this organization, that still has a reputation for being cheap with players, made a very generous offer to an injured rookie so he can benefit in the future. And if you don't know McKenzie's story it's one of the most heartwarming stories in the entire league. He's a good player, clearly a great guy and just might be a force for this team for many years.

JR (#30) and before:

You argue that the Cassel-Vrabel trade was a bad deal because, as you say, the Patriots "should have netted more than a second round pick". Your understanding of the business side of the game appears to be the issue. Cassel was a free agent, and the Patriots were supposed to get NOTHING for Cassel. So they used the franchise tag -- a very risky move because it GUARANTEED Cassel $14.5 million. Vrabel under his contract would have been GUARANTEED an additional $6 million, more or less, after the first snap of the regular season.

So what did the Patriots get for Cassel and Vrabel? Not just one draft pick, as you argue: they got one of the best value picks in the draft, plus over $20 million in cap space. They used this cap space to then sign an extension for Sanders, sign Bodden, Springs, Lewis, Burgess, oh... and one other guy who happens to be named Fred Taylor. They also used the money to sign all of their draft picks. They could not have done that without the $20+ million cap space created by the trade, in which they also acquired, again, one of the best value picks in the draft.

The National Football League isn't like little league where the only goal is to keep good players and get rid of bad ones. Were Cassel and Vrabel good? Absolutely! Were they worth more than $20M, plus one of the best value picks in the draft? Absolutely not, especially when you look at what the patriots added with that $20M.

I still have memories of 2005, when we lost Ted Johnson and Tedy Bruschi and then got trampled by the Chargers and everyone else. Running a 3-4 and being thin at ILB is a BAD idea. Mayo is a stud, but Bruschi is aging. And to think that Guyton and Alexander are ready for prime time is folly. People can believe what they want: I believe that we are dangerously thin at ILB and would have benefited by drafting Mualuaga or keeping Vrabel. As for whether Ray is dumb, Channing Crowder scored a 30 on his wonderlich and he doesn't appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer. He can play ILB though... Anyhow, I'm taking names here- and when we need an ILB this year I'm going to call you people out, as sheep.

That article is inchoherent. I read it and I have no idea what you are talking about.
How could a writer offer up that piece of **it.
I have no idea how you can give the Pats a pass on the Wilfork contract.
As if this other kid has anything to do with that?
You have lostme on this one Mike

JR, that's an easy bet to make when the team was already short on LBs and its 3rd round LB tears an ACL in training camp.

We all agree that Patriots are too thin at LB, but who are we going to cut to create the cap and roster space to fill that gap?

JR, I seem to recall NE drafting an ILB. How is NE in any different a position had they drafted Rey and he blew out his knee?

Or is the great Rey Mualuaga impervious to inury?