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Official AT 2013 NFL Free Agent Tracking, Draft, and Offseason Happenings Thread

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AMDZen said:
I honestly have no idea how you can be excited about that. The idea was to move on from the older back that was Michael Turner and give space to Jacquizz Rodgers who really came out last year. I expected Atlanta to draft someone to compete with him but that was it.

Instead you replaced one aging running back for another.
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I agree, AMDZen. I think I replied to the same comment--Jackson has been on a steady and clear decline over the previous 2 seasons. Perhaps that is due to a poor Rams OLine (but I doubt it--he has had huge success with far poorer Rams teams previously)

I think he's just aging, and the toll of carrying that crappy team for many seasons is finally showing. It's possible he'll have one good honeymoon season with Atlanta--fading backs tend to do that--but it probably won't go beyond that.

But hey, if it helps them get to the SB, so be it. I still think they're better off pushing Rodgers, though.
 
SunnyD said:
God I hope not. Buffalo already dealt with one shell-shocked QB (Trent Edwards). Kolb proved nothing in his time with AZ other than when push comes to shove, he's fragile both physically and mentally.
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Yea I agree hes not going to help teams that are down and need help else where, like the Jets and Bills. If he went to a team with a good line and running back he could do ok. If he stays healty of course.

Either that or a backup for a Brady/Ryan/Flaco etc... type. But I doubt he take that type of pay cut and be backup again.
 
Am I the only person that is on Tech's side re: Welker?

not from this being an issue of the Pats unwilling to pay what he wants, but that these organizations tend to make these decisions that while they seem rash to the fans and the media, they have a much closer notion of what is going on with these players.

meaning: they are betting on Welker being past his prime, and the cost of keeping him for one or more seasons is not expected to return the desired value. You see it all the time in baseball and football, player released at the top of their game or dealt to another team, that player suddenly turns out to be a flop going on out.

I'm not Pats fan--far from it--but to me, this is one of those situations where the wisdom in the deal probably won't be seen until the next 2 seasons.

Granted, Welker is probably going to the perfect situation for him: Manning simply doesn't have the deep arm that he used to before surgery, and a guy like Welker, if Manning can depend on him like Brady did, is likely going to fit in nicely with a QB that will have to be increasingly reliant on the slot and short pass situations.
 
zinfamous said:
Am I the only person that is on Tech's side re: Welker?
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Not having paid attention to the thread much or Techs in general 😛 ...

My take on Welker is that it was a stupid move. First and foremost, who was the most consistent and reliable target that the Patriots had for the better part of 6 seasons? You'd have think they learned their lesson when they dicked around with Dion Branch, and then Randy Moss (though arguably Moss's situation was slightly different) - but the impact that losing those players had was blatantly obvious when it happened.

Then look what happened when they tried to replace those losses. Stallworth was mediocre at best. We're still waiting for that breakout performance from Lloyd two seasons later. The only other talent on the roster resembling consistency is Aaron Hernandez (Gronkowski - yes, but he's proving not to be durable).

My take:

Is Welker a product of the system in New England, yes.
Is Welker a tier 1 WR talent, yes.
Will the Pats suffer because of losing Welker, you bet.

I had a discussion with a friend about this topic, and I put it to him this way: Yes, Welker is a product of of the Patriots system. Brady definitely made him better, but at the same time he consistently made Brady better to. When you take Welker out of the equation, you're taking away pretty much a guaranteed 80-100 receptions for 1000+ yards and about 10 TD's on the season from Brady's stat line. Who, exactly, are you going to count on to replace those numbers? Not a single WR brought in over the last 5 years in New England has been able to take in the system and step up in the same way Welker has.

Simply put, Bellichick's system in place for WR's is brutal. Welker had it down, and he was a rare talent. Not a single WR coming from another team has put up even "good" numbers in their first year with the Pats comparatively speaking. Not even when Branch came back from Seattle... it took him two years to get back in rhythm.

Good luck Pats, you better hope Edelman is up to the task.

PS - I think the Pats let Welker walk more because they're bitter about two particular season-ending drops more than anything else. Welker was absolutely right to leave imho.
 
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SunnyD said:
Not having paid attention to the thread much or Techs in general 😛 ...

My take on Welker is that it was a stupid move. First and foremost, who was the most consistent and reliable target that the Patriots had for the better part of 6 seasons? You'd have think they learned their lesson when they dicked around with Dion Branch, and then Randy Moss (though arguably Moss's situation was slightly different) - but the impact that losing those players had was blatantly obvious when it happened.

[snip]
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I actually agree with all of this, which is the point of my comment. All of this looks dumb to those of us on the outside. It looks really dumb. We can point to all the paper and history we want to argue how utterly dumb this is, but we won't really know until we see what happens on the field.

Either the Pats are gambling that he hasn't much left going forward, or maybe there is some internal animosity--and if that is true, then even with talent, it could be bad for the locker room.

again: that's why we play the game.

otherwise, we just let the paper tell us things, like: the Broncos of 2012 were the greatest team ever, with pre-ordained rights to a Superbowl ring and really should not have been insulted by having to actually play the games to get that ring, right? Losing to any team was impossible for them. Completely impossible! In fact, they are the 2013 Superbowl champs! I mean...I know some here believe that to be true. 😉
 
AMDZen said:
I know I deserve some of it, a lot of it really - but frankly I feel it has gone overboard. Not that any of them care, they'll continue to belittle me to make themselves feel better about their mediocre lives and mediocre teams. I'm sure 5 years from now I'll still see assholes with my quotes in their signatures 😛

At least the fame I have now, even if its for the wrong reasons, is still more then most of them will ever have 😛

Everyone had a vendetta against me the second the Broncos won the biggest free agent signing in the history of free agency, and wouldn't have been happy unless the Broncos failed last season. We still have a great 2 year window here to get it done, that's a lot more then can be said for most teams in the NFL.

Even if I hadn't been as boisterous as I was, everyone would be calling me out regardless. I know that to be true, because I was getting shit early in the season last year where I made it very clear that I didn't think the Broncos would make the super bowl last year, that it would be this year. Every comment I made was analyzed and scrutinized by the same people who are trolling me now. I have zero regrets. It is what it is.
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To be honest you spelled your doom when you were saying Tebow was a good QB. That was like 2 years ago. You only had 2 months to get bashed after that playoff game. Your 2 months of getting ragged on does not = 2 years of foolish football talk.
 
@Dan_Hope
Actually, @_ErikaLeigh reporting #Patriots finalizing terms on deal with John Abraham. I think Abraham's better than Freeney at this point.

Not a bad addition if true.
 
The Pats made the best move they could. I did just read that Welker came back to the Pats to see if they would match, but that the Pats had already agreed to terms with Amendola.

The Jets are a perfect example of why the Pats were right. The Jets were a top notch team threatening to get to the Super Bowl and three years later they may have, as of this moment, the least talent of any team. The Jets overpaid for free agents, then overpaid to keep their talent. In football 3 years is a lifetime. Now the Jets got old and have no up and coming young players and have salaries like Sanchez they are stuck with.

The Pats philosophy is its better to let a guy go a year early than a year late. And it has worked remarkably well. The history is undeniable. And lets face it, Welker wasn't happey with the Pats and vice versa. Plus the Pats still have the best short passing game in football with Gronk and Hernandez.

As for "poor Tom Brady" who gave up salary, well, he didn't. He still will get the same amount just a different times. And Toms "security blanket" was never Welker, it was the big stud offensive lienemen that gave him the best protection in the game. And you can bet some of his money is going to pay for that.
 
Personally, I like the addition of Welker to the Broncos. Thomas, Decker and Welker along with Tamme? I'd run that entire fantasy lineup all year (in fact I ran Thomas AND Decker both as starters in one league last year for most of the year, and pretty much won because of it).

Will Welker's addition help the Broncos? Yes, but I'm not terribly sure how much. Look at what I just posted for their starting lineup. Peyton had awesome success with Thomas, Decker and Tamme alone. This just gives him one more target, to which he invariably spreads things around a lot already.

Will Welker get 110 receptions for 1100 yards and a dozen TD's like he did in NE? Doubtful. I think he'll be lucky to get 60 catches for 600 or so yards and half a dozen TD's. But in a Peyton Manning system... that's pretty damn good numbers.

The long and the short of it, numbers-wise, Welker did just fine with his contract. It's not a long term deal, but we also don't know if Welker actually wants to play more than a couple more years. Plus it's giving the finger back at the Pats for treating him like shit (contractually) for the last two seasons, despite what he gave to the team in terms of production.

The Pats? They're taking a gamble on Amendola. Talented WR, great in the slot especially. A lot of comparison to Welker in that role (though imho not as agile and much better at running deeper routes) - but he's already proven he's not as durable. And as I said, barring this guy having Welker's brain, you can pretty much write off his production this season. So the Pats should be banking on Hernandez, Gronk (if he's healthy) and hopefully Lloyd getting with the program (finally). Gee, that sounds an awful lot like last year's gameplan, and how'd that work out...? (Hint: Go look at Welker's stat line for the season)
 
Chiefs sign Geoff Schwartz. Good lineman.
@PFF
And the Chiefs walk away with one of the bargain signings of the week. Geoff Schwartz signs with them
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And Jake Long has left St. Louis without a deal after being there for 3 days.
 
Imported said:
@Dan_Hope
Actually, @_ErikaLeigh reporting #Patriots finalizing terms on deal with John Abraham. I think Abraham's better than Freeney at this point.

Not a bad addition if true.
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Pats also signed Donald Jones, WR from Buffalo. They also have Freeney and Adrian Wilson in today for a looksee.

In regards to Welker, NE supposedly offered 2yr for $10mil but with incentives could reach $15. But Welker thought the incentives were too hard to reach and his agent told them they were going to look around.

With Amendola available and before waiting for Welker to get back to them, signed him on Tuesday. Thus, when Welker got the Broncos deal and came back to the NE to ask them to match, it was already too late.

It sucks to lose him especially to the Broncos but nothing can be done about it now. If the Pats can resign Volmer, Talib, add another pass rusher and SS; they can draft a speedy WR in the draft where there is supposed to be a number of them.

Adding Leon Washington solves their Return issues. And if they resign Edelman, him and Amendola could catch 80 balls between the two. The key will be keeping Gronk and Hernandez healthy for a full season. Having Ballard as a 3rd TE should help if he's healthy.
 
Patriot haters love the off season when they can rag on them. Then the season starts and the Pats just win.
Year after year after year....
 
techs said:
Patriot haters love the off season when they can rag on them. Then the season starts and the Pats just win.
Year after year after year....
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I don't like the Patriots, but I respect their way of business and how they've built their teams in the past. Its a reason they've been so dominant.
 
Imported said:
Interesting that Talib is still unsigned.
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I guess clubs are still not convinced he has turned over a new leaf. Hopefully he has to take a one year deal with the Pats to prove it.

btw the Pats are having a nice free agent period so far. Adding a pass rusher was a huge deal for them. Now if they can get a cornerback and o lineman they will be set.
 
Imported said:
Interesting that Talib is still unsigned.
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Well, Talib's agent was hoping to score big for Talib and hoping to get close to the franchise number for CBs. But the flood of CBs and based on what they've been signing for, he's probably going to try and hold out as long as possible in hopes that some team will get desperate and over pay.

NE doesn't over pay and hopes he'll get desperate and sign a team friendly deal. We'll see who bluff loses.
 
Man.. sometimes Twitter reports and what not make me laugh. Some are trying to connect the dots of Julian Edelman following @49ers and @AnquanBoldin recently as a sign he's coming to us.
 
Emmanuel Sanders coming to NE for a visit. With the Steelers at the cap, they could sign him for cheap and only give up a 3rd round pick for him.
 
This is the wildest free agent signing period ever.
It will take a while to get it into my head who is playing for who when the season starts.
 
Capt Caveman said:
Emmanuel Sanders coming to NE for a visit. With the Steelers at the cap, they could sign him for cheap and only give up a 3rd round pick for him.
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Steelers secondary is getting thin. If Sanders leaves that going to hurt. William Gay coming back which I think he sucks it going to be bad for the Steelers.
 
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