Pats receive 7th rounder for Thomas

Shameful!

...and a bag of peanuts.

Not a good move if you ask me.... a 7th rounder ???? That's a JOKE

Mike,
Any chance we can get a list of all the people who have been cut since 4 this afternoon?

Speechless. :(

7th rounder-- ridiculous-- that guy had more value to the Pats than that-- wonder what Billy B is thinking -- Vrabel and Cassel, overpaying for burgess and Lewis, and now this-- makes no sense

Really?

has bill gone nuts. a 2011 sevenh rounder thats like free

So they gave and lost a 5th for Smith and got a 7th for Thomas? I'm very confused! Didn't BB say this was the most competetive bunch of TE'S he's seen?

that's all? seems kind of ridiculous, especially since they wasted a 5th rd pick on alex smith. doesn't seem like the pats at all.

What a deal the Saints got. Do you think this was a cap move Mike?

Really? That's it?? Great use of that third round pick a couple years ago...

So much for this being a position of strength. Chris Baker, perpetually injured Ben Watson, and poor man's Kyle Brady Michael Matthews

We have 0 FBs on our roster now.

Based on this I am guessing he was going to be cut, so they threw his name out there a bit before they did so and New Orleans knew they were down the waiver list and just gave a 7th to get him.

Really surprised though and disappointed. Hopefully it works out. His Patriot career will be defined by that stupid personal foul that cost us the Colts game.

I guess we'll miss pioli more than I thought...

Great move! Got something instead of just releasing him...

actually, i guess this only makes sense if the pats end up giving that pick to the giants for michael matthews

I'm looking forward to tomorrow for the analysis to start. A 7th round pick is essentially worthless. Was this guy going to make the team otherwise?
I'm also looking forward to the season to see whether BB & his new brain trust made good decisions at QB, LB, CB/S, and TE. My early take is that the offense will be fine as long as TB is leading it but the defense will have trouble getting off the field before giving up points.

Bagoon, don't forget to add giving a 5th for Smith and then releasing him to your list.

Seems like just yesterday Bill was saying this was the best TE competition he'd ever had. Then he cut Tyson DeVree, cut Alex Smith and traded David Thomas, a guy with 3 years in the system for a #3/#4 guy who will see our playbook for the first time tomorrow.

Either that competition went south in a hurry after Bill made that comment, or he was playing with us.

HUH? They should have at least received a 2010 5th rounder;a 2011 7th is ludicrous;and now they have no fullback or H-back.

I don't really get this one....Thomas was a 3rd rounder & we get a 7th for him in 2011...& Alex Smith gets released when we gave up a 5th rounder in 2010 to get him with 4 tightends already on the roster at that time??!!

I don't see this as good player/draft management...Bill seems to be scrambling for some reason with no difinative direction.....hope there's a method behind all this madness as I sure don't see it!!!

Who is the guy who replaced Pioli?

Insignificant. The TE is only used for blocking and Red Zone situations in this offense. They were lucky to get anything for Thomas.

pioli just cut pollard who was not even on the bubble.hmmm payback

Moves today so far make no sense at all.

the question is how much involvement did Pioli have in the 2006,and 2007 drafts? These were the 2 worse drafts in recent history. The 2008 draft is all Bill B and we dont know how that will pan out for another year or 2.

Personally I am glad Pioli is gone, he should have been fired based on the 2006 draft alone.

laurence maroney
chad jackson
dave thomas
garret mills

Holy Sh!t that's a bad draft.

What the duece?

Michael Matthews nfl. bio notes that he plays fullback in addition to tight end/

Michael Matthews nfl. bio notes that he plays fullback in addition to tight end/

ESPN is reporting that the Pats traded for Giants TE Michael Matthews...

The coaching staff has lived with guys like Thomas for a thousand hours or more, have watched hundreds of hours of video, watched them in games and consequently know all of their skills and flaws. You guys might have gone to a practice or two and watched a couple of pre-season games on your small TV but you're convinced that you know better than the coaches. Send in your resume, you might have a career in football.

thinking about this a little bit more now, it kind of makes sense (maybe not from a draft pick point of view unless the 7th rounder goes to the giants). david thomas is a similar player to chris baker, though not as good. relatively sure handed, can block a bit, and overall fundamentally sound. there's no sense in keeping thomas, especially since baker had a promising preseason and will likely be used as a security blanket and red zone option. watson can come in during spread formations and use his athletic ability to stretch the defense (hopefully he doesnt drop so many passes this year). finally, matthews is a situational blocking tight end for jumbo and goal line packages. for everyone that wonders what the patriots are doing without a fb, ask yourselves one question: do they really need one in the spread offense they run? and when they do have short yardage situation, they can just plug a big body back there like they have in years past.

Not a good move. I was thinking a 5th rounder would be about right. How do you trade your #2 TE and #1FB for a bag of peanuts?

hmmm...all the the "in bill we trust" fans must have gone away for labor day weekend.

Geez, there sure are a lot of experts on here. He's a 3rd string tight end that might get 5 catches this year. Obviously they saw nothing in his potential, so at least they got something in return.

Im surprised everyone is saying this was a bad deal for the Pats... We get a 7th rounder for a player that was just going to be released. Besides, Thomas is in the LAST YEAR of his contract so he isnt worth more than a late round pick considering he's a UFA in February

miss pioli? he was the one drafting all of these busts.

How about the fact they kept. Thomas away from the F-----g Jets who need a tight end. They can have Smith, He stinks

On second thought...Good riddance. I remember that bone-head play in Indy.

Not good value for a useful tight end who can catch and block. Why not cut Watson instead? Disappointed.

Just because the Pats give up a draft pick for a player doesn't make it a gurantee they stick around. Just as they choose a 5th rounder in the draft does it give that an automatic roster spot. They made a move, created competition, evaluated the player and decided that it wasn't a fit. They got another pick for Thomas, traded out of the division and gave themselves a chance to evaluate another player down the road. They saw something in Mathews, obviously. He brings versatility and quite frankly, the H-Back is overated in the Pats system since they play out of the shotgun so much. Smart move coach.. Always thinking..

Obviously the guy was going to be cut anyways, so why not get something for nothing.

I guess 4 super bowl apperances in 10 years, missing the playoffs just twice in the last decade and the 2007 perfect regular season record really demosntrate that BB doesn't know what he's doing in the salary cap era.
Oh and than there's that 704. winning percentage the highest in the NFL
over the last decade. Fire him.

Here is a list of the Patriots' 7th round draft picks under Belichick. Players who made an impact are asterisked.

2000 - Casey Tisdale (DE), *Patrick Pass (FB)

2001 - Owen Pochman (K), T.J. Turner (OLB)

2002 - Antoine Womack (RB)

2003 - Spencer Nead (FB), *Tully Banta-Cain (LB), *Ethan Kelley (DT; remained in the league until 2008 while making two starts and appearing in several games each season for the Browns as a second team defensive lineman)

2004 - *Christian Morton (CB; remained in the league until 2008, making one start and playing in several games for the Falcons, Panthers, and Redskins; recorded 23 career tackles and 1 interception)

2005 - *Matt Cassel (QB), Andy Stokes (TE)

2006 - *Willie Andrews (CB; eventually made the 53 for special teams play and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in Week 7 of the 2007 season)

2007 - Oscar Lua (LB; placed on IR as a rookie), Mike Elgin (C)

2008 - No Picks

2009 - *Julian Edelman (WR), Darryl Richard (DT)

Conclusion: 7th round picks have not been entirely "worthless" for the Patriots; to the contrary, several of them have made the final roster or gone on to make an impact in the NFL. The Patriots appear to have regular success drafting in the final round.

Particular notice goes to Tully Banta-Cain, Matt Cassel, and Patrick Pass, who won three Super Bowl rings with the Patriots as a starting fullback.

The jury is still out on Edelman, who has looked good as a wide receiver and special teamer, and Darryl Richard, who could make the practice squad.

This is the first time that I have complained. The Pats trade a core 4 special teams guy who also can play 2 offensive positions for a seventh round pick. Doesn't make a lick of sense especially with this being Watson's last season. Watch Thomas' career take off with the Saints, they already have the QB.

I'm impressed with everyone that knows player personnel better than Bill. It's amazing all the geniuses here that could build a super bowl team.The only good Dave Thomas I knew founded Wendy's. The one that played for the Patriots wasn't a good enough blocker and we don't need another Wide receiver.

People, look at David Thomas' career stats and then tell me the Pats could have got anything more than a 7th rd pick? Give me a break. Stop inflating a player's value for no reason.

When I first read this I was like....WHAT?!?!?!. I think I/we as fans may have had Thomas rated higher in our minds than he actually proved to be in the eyes of the coaches. I read this as the Pats were going to release him anyway. In the spread offense they don't need all those TEs. They had 5 in camp and I think that was for competition and not an indicator of how many they'd keep or release. I think they achieved what they wanted. They got Chris Baker who showed he's an upgrade. Now if only Watson can stay healthy. The kid they just picked up from NYG I'm guessing is an excellent blocker. He doesn't need a whole lot of time in the play book since his job is very simple.....block.

I was surprised about this trade. But whenever I see them doing something that shocks me....I know it's because they know things that I don't. I am disappointed with the failure of Alex Smith after giving up a 5th rounder, but hey, it's an inexact science and for the most part the Pats are best run organization in the entire NFL...if not all sports. They make far more correct moves than bad ones. Don't complain too much guys.....we are very fortunate. And Oh BTW....most prognosticators are picking the Pats to win the Superbowl this year. Smile and let the games begin.

This is just the first step in bringing in another QB. Garcia just got released. Don't you think BB is still a few steps above everyone else in making decisions for this team? Believe me... Garcia's now the frontrunner over Feeley, since Vick won't count among the 53 on the roster, Phily's going to hang on to him until week three.

I guess that means that we get another worthless season out of Ben (lots of potential) Watson.
WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING PATS?

Belichick just never could forget that stupid personal foul penalty Dave Thomas got against the Colts last year which cost the Patriots the game. He barely played after that game last year and he gets cut this year. Pretty funny.

Everybody is talking about this guy like he's Tony Gonzalez. The choices were cut him, so some team could pick him up for free, or trade him for whatever they could get.

thank you #50...well said...and you saved me a lot of typing. you guys all realize that we are freakin out over a 3rd tight end....i think we are going to be okay here

I think we had to have a spot for a 3rd QB, had to get one
somehow. Bring back Vinny!!!!!

Surprising, 7th round pick?

Maybe BB has us all fooled and traded Dave Thomas (from the Wendys commercial) for a useless 7th round pick

If they were going to cut him after acquiring Matthews, then a seventh round draft pick is better than nothing.

For that matter, he'll probably be injured by week 5, so it will be worthless to the Saints as well.

7th rounder is worthless? Short memories or stuck up armchair qb's?

In Bill we trust.

he's really athletic for a TE. however, his blocking was sub par and he has had some injuries. physically we may think he should be better than a 7th rounder but production wise, what has he done? alex smith was a bigger disappointment. a 5th round pick down the toilet.

Pioli was more important than any of us thought...Apparently.