12/21/24
March 05, 2015
SportsFilter: The Thursday Huddle:
A place to discuss the sports stories that aren't making news, share links that aren't quite front-page material, and diagram plays on your hand. Remember to count to five Mississippi before commenting in anger.
Yeah - on the one hand, I like the "don't overpay anyone" system for its results, but when you watch guys like Devin McCourty and Vince Wilfork put on other jerseys, it's hard to not to hate it. Even the guys who bloody hate the Pats with a fiery passion like those guys.
I also remember the year when Wilfork was hurt, and thinking about that D minus McCourty (and no real free agents that replace Revis, McCourty and Wilfork with equivalents out there) it's easy to see the Pats slip a lot this year. Brady's not quite as able to throw the team on his back, and some version of that leaky Pats D is really going to make it tough to compete against the elites of the NFL.
posted by dfleming at 11:16 AM on March 05, 2015
Did I miss something about McCourty signing elsewhere? It will be interesting to see what happens with Mayo as he'd seem an obvious candidate for a pay cut.
posted by yerfatma at 02:19 PM on March 05, 2015
I think it is assumed McCourty will sign elsewhere after the Patriots opted not to franchise him (franchising the kicker instead), but the Patriots could obviously re-sign him.
posted by holden at 02:46 PM on March 05, 2015
Yeah - when they didn't franchise him, it meant the Pats were going to have to do a big-dollar, longer-term deal with a guy in the secondary which they pretty rarely do. Plus - Jason's been working on him to come to Tennessee, who's got the cap room.
It's entirely possible that they work some magic with all three in the next few days (and Mayo and Solder on lower cap extensions, although Mayo's got an injury guarantee which means they can't get him below $4.5m guaranteed until he passes a physical which is a few months out), but I'm not optimistic with a shallow pool of talent in all three positions once they hit the open market that the Pats will be able to make it work.
posted by dfleming at 03:29 PM on March 05, 2015
The Pats are going to have to work whatever kind of magic they can to put the best possible secondary on the field at all times.
The Bills just acquired Matt Cassel.
posted by beaverboard at 03:40 PM on March 05, 2015
Yeah - when they didn't franchise him, it meant the Pats were going to have to do a big-dollar, longer-term deal with a guy in the secondary which they pretty rarely do
Oh, I didn't see it that way at all. Given safety is all of a sudden a premium position and there's not much in the draft or free agency, I thought the Pats used the franchise tag on Gostkowski because the hit for a kicker is much lower and because they do intend to resign McCoutry to a long-term deal that works for both sides. Could be he walks but I don't think so. It's not as though players see the franchise tag as a sign of respect; some take it as an insult.
posted by yerfatma at 08:00 AM on March 06, 2015
I like your rationale yerfatma - McCourty was also publicly in favour of the franchise number (it's higher than all but two safeties in the NFL, I believe), which to me seemed like a bit of a peculiar negotiation move.
posted by dfleming at 08:57 AM on March 06, 2015
Football Outsiders expect Gostkowski's franchising to lead to McCourty hitting Free Agency.
Meanwhile, the Bills traded for Cassel and then traded for the opportunity to give LeSean McCoy a third of their cap space.
Our division might be the Patriots + three clowns punching themselves in the face, but I hope Rex never leaves.
posted by Mr Bismarck at 10:07 AM on March 06, 2015
I was thinking the same yesterday. Even though Rex's Jets were the Pats' toughest opponent, I'd like him to hang around. The truck, the tattoo, the crazy stuff makes football a little less corporate.
posted by yerfatma at 11:20 AM on March 06, 2015
Pats have released Vince Wilfork. I know it's a daggone bidness and all and I've tried to get to get used to these brisk, unsentimental moments over the years, but haven't quite mastered that skill yet.
Now going off to the closet to look for my trusty old Lawyer Milloy crying pillow.
If you ever find yourself taking part in a victory parade, for goodness sake remember and savor every linear foot of it.