Pats tell Deion Branch to s*ck it.

[MikeVic]

Wasn't there some commercial with Brady and his o-line... involving some credit card?

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Originally Posted by TroyF

The Seahawks will win that division by three games over the Cardinals and by 6+ over the Niners and Rams.

I am glad you were wrong here; because it means good things for the Pats. I just never believed after the first few weeks that Seatle was going to cruise. They in fact did lose half (3) of their divisional games. And with a loss in Tampa it could very well mean tying the Rams for the division but getting in on the tiebreaker. That would mean they were one Josh Brown long last second miss away from being 7-9 and out of the playoffs.

Judging by the tiebreakers it looks as if the first rounder from Seattle for Branch will be no worse than 22 or 23 (it could have been even if better if not for playoff teams being dropped below all non-playoff teams with the same record). If the Hawks were to actually lose in Tampa (a real possibility) no doubt some of the 8-7 AFC teams will win and that pick could start coming in at around 19-20. This is a very good deal for trading Branch [I'm not saying I wouldn't still want him at a lower contract, but since it got to the point that he was gone for sure, getting as low as a 19th rounder was a great deal in my opinion].

[Galaril]

It is all irrelevant since either the Ravens or the Chargres are going to CRUSH the this Pats team. No Belicheck "coaching magic".

[jeff061]

How does gaining a 1st round pick become irrelevant due to what happens in the playoffs this year?


I think you've been hanging around Troy to long.

[Galaril]

Sorry, misread the topic thought it was just about how Branch sucks. It is relevant that the Pats get 1st rounder for him. I am sure he will come back. Branch sucking is the least of the Seahawk's problems. The O-line is not helping matters.

[stevew]

I am secretly hoping that the Seahawks make a superbowl run, and lose. Hopefully to the Jets.

[rkmsuf]

Man, too bad the Pats don't have Branch.


BTW, major knee surgery...out at least nine months.

[MikeVic]

Pats should tell Randy Moss to s*ck it too.

[rkmsuf]

I think they are going to tell Stallworth to s*ck it. Probably not Moss.

[molson]

Originally Posted by TroyF

The Patriots will regret not paying him the money if he does indeed leave.

I think they're at peace with their decision, actually.

[molson]

It's kind of funny how all the Pats fan in this thread we glad to see that the Pats didn't overpay Branch, while everyone else said they'd regret it.

[BishopMVP]

Ehh... we were certainly hurt last year by our WR corp (I wouldn't have minded seeing Branch out there on 3rd down vs. the Colts), and I'm not sure we didn't overpay Stallworth last offseason. You can't predict the injuries Branch has had since or a Randy Moss being available on the cheap. So I'd say overall it's a great job by the Pats looking long-term, but it did hurt short term.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Ehh... we were certainly hurt last year by our WR corp (I wouldn't have minded seeing Branch out there on 3rd down vs. the Colts), and I'm not sure we didn't overpay Stallworth last offseason. You can't predict the injuries Branch has had since or a Randy Moss being available on the cheap. So I'd say overall it's a great job by the Pats looking long-term, but it did hurt short term.

I don't see 3.6 million as overpaying for Stallworth. He was quite good this season, and seems like a decent #2 WR (would be a poor #1 on some teams even). Any lack of production from him this year speaks more to how good Welker and Moss was than to how bad he was. At least in the games I watched, Stallworth made many many quite good plays and was worth his money.

He is not however worth the amount he would be owed next year if the option was picked up which is why he likely is gone.

[ISiddiqui]

Originally Posted by molson

I think they're at peace with their decision, actually.

It's because they had to go out and buy other recievers with that money. They absolutely did regret it in the playoffs last year, but the Pats are good in that they can see where they make mistakes (not resigning Branch) and rectify them (getting Moss and Welker).

[rkmsuf]

No way they are this good on offense if they kept Branch.

Talk about cashing in and being largely irrelevant. Same with Givens. Pats are two for two there.

[molson]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

It's because they had to go out and buy other recievers with that money.

And those "replacement" receivers are far better than Branch, was my point. I imagine they wouldn't be in New England if Branch stayed.

I guess they could have used him in the AFC Championship game - though he probably would have been injured by then.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by molson

And those "replacement" receivers are far better than Branch, was my point. I imagine they wouldn't be in New England if Branch stayed.

I guess they could have used him in the AFC Championship game - though he probably would have been injured by then.

He was irrelvant in that game too pretty much. They were killing the Colts. Suddenly then couldn't stop Indy.

[Butter]

Man, I can't wait until the Patriots slip up even ONE time. I may have to wait until next year... or even a couple of years from now. But I am going to dance on the franchise's grave when the dynasty finally dies. And I'll be sure all of you Pats fans who are annoying about it know it (notice I didn't say all Pats fans... just the annoying ones).

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by Alan T

I don't see 3.6 million as overpaying for Stallworth. He was quite good this season, and seems like a decent #2 WR (would be a poor #1 on some teams even). Any lack of production from him this year speaks more to how good Welker and Moss was than to how bad he was. At least in the games I watched, Stallworth made many many quite good plays and was worth his money.

He is not however worth the amount he would be owed next year if the option was picked up which is why he likely is gone.

Ahhh.... if it's an option/roster bonus in the contract that makes sense. I remembered the initial numbers but not the specifics. Still, what's surprised me is that Gaffney has surpassed Stallworth on the depth chart.

rkm/molson - If you're implying they wouldn't have gotten the WR's this offseason, then maybe you're right. But I don't see any noticeable difference between Branch and any WR other than Moss. I don't see how you could say he's any worse than Stallworth, Gaffney, Chad Jackson or Troy Brown and I even think he could do Welker's job almost as well. And again, you can't predict injury, so while I was against both re-signings, the injuries suffered just after they left is largely luck.

[Passacaglia]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Ahhh.... if it's an option/roster bonus in the contract that makes sense. I remembered the initial numbers but not the specifics. Still, what's surprised me is that Gaffney has surpassed Stallworth on the depth chart.

rkm/molson - If you're implying they wouldn't have gotten the WR's this offseason, then maybe you're right. But I don't see any noticeable difference between Branch and any WR other than Moss. I don't see how you could say he's any worse than Stallworth, Gaffney, Chad Jackson or Troy Brown and I even think he could do Welker's job almost as well. And again, you can't predict injury, so while I was against both re-signings, the injuries suffered just after they left is largely luck.

He may not be any worse than those guys, but I'm assuming he was asking for way more money? Plus, didn't they get a 1st round pick out of this deal? Hot damn!

[rkmsuf]

I just think Branch is/was way overrated in general. Obviously the Seahawks disagreed but injury wise and production wise it's hard to justify big money for him. IMO.


Heck, 800 year old Bobby Engram outplayed him. Branch is a good player and gets hurt a lot, nothing more, nothing less.

[stevew]

It's funny reading some of the thread now, knowing that the Patriots probably wouldn't have been able to franchise Branch after the 2007 season anyways. I guess maybe they could have played ball with him or Samuel, but most certainly I would have franchised Assante after 2007.

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

Ahhh.... if it's an option/roster bonus in the contract that makes sense. I remembered the initial numbers but not the specifics. Still, what's surprised me is that Gaffney has surpassed Stallworth on the depth chart.

rkm/molson - If you're implying they wouldn't have gotten the WR's this offseason, then maybe you're right. But I don't see any noticeable difference between Branch and any WR other than Moss. I don't see how you could say he's any worse than Stallworth, Gaffney, Chad Jackson or Troy Brown and I even think he could do Welker's job almost as well. And again, you can't predict injury, so while I was against both re-signings, the injuries suffered just after they left is largely luck.

I might be wrong as I don't follow the Pats, but I do watch many of their games since I live in the area, but I don't see that Branch and Walker are the same type of receiver. To me, I view Moss/Stallworth and Branch all having a similar role in receiving. Obviously Moss is heads and tails better than Stallworth or Branch which has made both of them irrelevant. Walker has the role that I believe Troy Brown used to have and just like earlier in the Pats "dynasty" run where Troy was often a valuable part of the receiving corp, Walker has done the same thing this year in picking up all of the across the middle stuff.

Obviously Moss/Walker is an upgrade over Branch/Brown (Even though Troy Brown is still on the team, he really doesn't have the same ability or role as a few years ago due to age). The interesting question I think is which would have been better if the Moss trade had never occured.. would you take Branch/Brown over Stallworth/Walker? I think I would choose the second of the two even if assuming Brown was in his prime of a few years before.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

He was irrelvant in that game too pretty much. They were killing the Colts. Suddenly then couldn't stop Indy.

We convert that 3rd and 4, we win the game. I don't care if we scored 34 pts early on, anytime you're up 20 and lose, it's partly on your offense.

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Man, I can't wait until the Patriots slip up even ONE time. I may have to wait until next year... or even a couple of years from now. But I am going to dance on the franchise's grave when the dynasty finally dies. And I'll be sure all of you Pats fans who are annoying about it know it (notice I didn't say all Pats fans... just the annoying ones).

Just make sure you wait a little bit before crowing... the first SB looked like a fluke the year after, this Branch thing looked bad last year, and then there were the Lawyer Milloy, Willie McGinest, Ted Washington, Adam Vinatieri decisions, all of which had people crowing at the time. I'm sure if we cut Rodney Harrison this offseason people will be saying that hurts our defense tremendously when I'm pretty sure on the field James Sanders is a better player right now. He certainly is in coverage.

Originally Posted by Passacaglia

He may not be any worse than those guys, but I'm assuming he was asking for way more money? Plus, didn't they get a 1st round pick out of this deal? Hot damn!

Getting the 1st round pick was icing on the cake, but he (at least originally) wasn't asking for much more than Stallworth, Moss or Welker (who we gave up a #2 for, essentially moving up 40 spots) got this season, he just wanted long-term guarantees (and clearly he did what he should have done, get his money before he was injured) we were not prepared to give. And my main point is that people are going overboard with just how good out current WR's are and how bad Branch is.

[rkmsuf]

It's a pretty remarkable run as far as former NE players. Can't think of any that have gone on to be all that relevant.

Milloy
Law
Givens
Branch
McGinest
Ted Washington
Fauria
Dillion
Daniel Graham
Gabriel
Banta Cain
Bethel Johnson
Dan Klecko
Damien Woody

[gstelmack]

I think McGinest is doing exactly what he went to the Browns to do: help mentor the young guys. He didn't jump for money like Branch, Milloy, Law, Givens, Graham, Vinatieri, and Woody did.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

I think McGinest is doing exactly what he went to the Browns to do: help mentor the young guys. He didn't jump for money like Branch, Milloy, Law, Givens, Graham, Vinatieri, and Woody did.

Still, he's allegedly out there on regular downs. But yes, he was a little different.

[st.cronin]

Originally Posted by molson

It's kind of funny how all the Pats fan in this thread we glad to see that the Pats didn't overpay Branch, while everyone else said they'd regret it.

Guess you didn't read my comments.

[st.cronin]

dola

Does anybody else think the Pats might use their 1st round pick on a WR (DeSean Jackson, maybe)?

[molson]

Originally Posted by Butter_of_69

Man, I can't wait until the Patriots slip up even ONE time. I may have to wait until next year... or even a couple of years from now. But I am going to dance on the franchise's grave when the dynasty finally dies. And I'll be sure all of you Pats fans who are annoying about it know it (notice I didn't say all Pats fans... just the annoying ones).

Of course - it will all come crashing down eventually. From my point of view, there's an urgency to enjoy it as much as humanly possible when it's going on. That might be a small part of our annoying nature.

[molson]

Originally Posted by BishopMVP

. I don't see how you could say he's any worse than Stallworth, Gaffney, Chad Jackson or Troy Brown and I even think he could do Welker's job almost as well. And again, you can't predict injury, so while I was against both re-signings, the injuries suffered just after they left is largely luck.

I don't think Branch is any worse that any of those but Stallworth and Welker. Stalloworth would have put up HUGE numbers if he had been with Brady any season before this one. And Welker is obviously the perfect complement to Moss. I would have loved for the Pats to be able to keep Branch for more reasonable money. But in a salary cap league, overpaying a guy is far worse than not having him at all.

[BishopMVP]

Originally Posted by molson

I don't think Branch is any worse that any of those but Stallworth and Welker. Stallworth would have put up HUGE numbers if he had been with Brady any season before this one. And Welker is obviously the perfect complement to Moss.

Stallworth has been steadily losing time to Gaffney as the season went on. When he came in, I thought he might have better numbers than Moss and certainly than Welker, but it seems he doesn't fit our offense/mesh well with Brady. And he's not the first talented WR that hasn't.

Originally Posted by st.cronin

dola

Does anybody else think the Pats might use their 1st round pick on a WR (DeSean Jackson, maybe)?

It's Belichick, so he could do anything, but I doubt it. I think they've learned their lesson from the Bethel Johnson/Chad Jackson picks and have started realizing, that like at LB, veteran WR's fit in better than rookies. The learning curve for the offense is long enough that 1st round WR's are overpaid and overvalued. I could easily see them taking Davone Bess or Dexter Jackson later on though.

[Vince]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

It's a pretty remarkable run as far as former NE players. Can't think of any that have gone on to be all that relevant.

Milloy
Law
Givens
Branch
McGinest
Ted Washington
Fauria
Dillion
Daniel Graham
Gabriel
Banta Cain
Bethel Johnson
Dan Klecko
Damien Woody

I don't really think that Banta-Cain is particularly any worse now than he was on the Patriots.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Until Brady and Belichick leave, the Pats dynasty will live on. It will crash down when they are gone.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

As for Branch, I think you have to say that certain guys are prone to injuries. Branch is one of them, and one reason why paying him $39 million ($23 million in first 3 years) was not a good idea at the time.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by Vince

I don't really think that Banta-Cain is particularly any worse now than he was on the Patriots.

he certainly didn't deserve a raise

[jeff061]

Keeping in mind we also got a 1st rounder for Branch. I don't know how anyone in their right mind could think that wasn't a complete win.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Man, too bad the Pats don't have Branch.


BTW, major knee surgery...out at least nine months.

Ummm you are not actually happy about a player getting injured are you?

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

Ummm you are not actually happy about a player getting injured are you?

I'm giggling like a school girl dancing around the may pole.

Or put another way, my nads are pumped.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

I'm giggling like a school girl dancing around the may pole.

Or put another way, my nads are pumped.

Good. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings

[rkmsuf]

Surely you didn't think I cared what Deion Branch did with the rest of his life.

[miami_fan]

Originally Posted by rkmsuf

Surely you didn't think I cared what Deion Branch did with the rest of his life.

I really could care less. I, like you, am just looking for some consistancy. Earlier this year, there was talk that is "inhumane" to revel in a player's injury. Like I said, just making sure there are no misunderstandings *shrug*

[Synovia]

"Getting the 1st round pick was icing on the cake, but he (at least originally) wasn't asking for much more than Stallworth, Moss or Welker (who we gave up a #2 for, essentially moving up 40 spots) got this season, he just wanted long-term guarantees"

Thats absolutely incorrect.

Branch wanted 7M+ a year. They offered him an extension at 6M a year and he didn't want it. He wanted Reggie Wayne money. Welker and Stallworth are making LESS COMBINED than Branch wanted.

[rkmsuf]

Originally Posted by miami_fan

I really could care less. I, like you, am just looking for some consistancy. Earlier this year, there was talk that is "inhumane" to revel in a player's injury. Like I said, just making sure there are no misunderstandings *shrug*

I love injuries. Would love it if Merriman fell down some stairs and Phillips got caught in a combine.