2016 - 2017

[BigKen]

Tough way to end the season, but the biggest weaknesses were exposed by the Denver Broncos in the AFCCG.

So where do the Patriots go from here? What needs to be done to get to Super Bowl LI?

First, Belichick need to find some offensive linemen. Primarily tackles. To make room, he needs to dump Marcus Cannon and Cameron Fleming. Cannon is no better than a lump of clay. He gave up three sacks today and looked like a pile of shit doing it. Cameron Fleming was no better watching Damarcus Ware take a straight shot at Brady. Vollmer cannot play left tackle. He's a good right tackle but just can't hold up against the speed rushers to his left side.

Second, the teams needs a big wide receiver. Edelman, Amendola and Martin got pummeled today and not having a big, fast downfield receiver severely hurt the Patriots.

Third, Get another good running back, a Curtis Martin type who has speed and some power. Not sure Lewis can come back and be the RB he was before he blew out his knee.

Fourth, time for Bob Kraft to start looking for his next head coach. BB is starting to get a bit old and the Patriots need to start looking to the future. In my opinion, Josh McDaniel is not the guy to take over the Patriots.

Brady has a couple of good years left if the OL can protect him. Take advantage of those few years and not get him killed.

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Would love to see them get another corner. With Solder back moving Cannon or Flemming inside might help? It used to be their strength. A big WR that can take the top off would be a nice pick up. Especially, if he could return kicks/punts.

 

[BoiseMike19]

I know it sucks, but nothing to hang your heads about your team this year guys.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

I didn't watch the game today; taped it to view later (if the Pats won). It went just about as badly as I thought it could go. The Pats had absolutely no running game (Steven Jackson definitely has nothing left in the tank) and the offensive line play was about as bad as I've seen all season. Brady was lucky to be standing at the end, let alone in a position to tie the game with a 2 point conversion. That said, it was a feat to get as far as they did with all the injuries. The returning players were definitely not anywhere near 100%. I said before the game that I felt the NFC winner would take the Super Bowl and I still feel that way. No offense to the Broncos, who played a great game, but I feel the Panthers and Cardinals are just too much for them. So, what do the Patriots do for next year? First, get one or two quality offensive linemen, either in the draft or free agency. Second, get a durable, reliable running back (not Blount) and put together a solid running attack. Third, get a big, fast wide receiver to open up opposing defenses. The Pats haven't had someone like that since Randy Moss left. As for who to get rid of, Marcus Cannon tops my list. He looks like a football player but certainly doesn't play like one, especially against edge rushers. Also, say bye-bye to La Garrette Blount, who is a free agent anyway; Scott Chandler, who has forgotten how to catch a football; Alan Branch, who looked good this season but will be too expensive to keep; Jerod Mayo (unless he is willing to sign a minimum contract with incentives), unfortunately he has just lost too much through injuries; Nate Ebner and/or Tavon Wilson, there are just too many safeties on the roster; and Cameron Fleming, especially if BB can add two or three solid offensive tackles. There will be a lot of talented players coming off IR for the 2016 season, so things will hopefully be looking up.

 

[TP76]

Cannon is a guard playing out of position.

 

[BigKen]

The Patriots drafted two outstanding guards in 2015. Shaq Mason was as good as anyone yesterday playing Right guard. Josh Kline was also excellent at left guard. Hate to say it but Brock wasn't getting out of his snap to in the middle. I think his injuries have slowed him down.

Solder and Vollmer are not the answer going forward. Both have had injuries the past two years and as age creeps up, the injuries increase and linger longer.

The Pats have to swallow hard and get a couple of solid free agent tackles. Rookies will not be the answer. Trying to integrate two rookie tackles into the offense could worse than what we saw yesterday.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

The Pats did really good with the guards they drafted for this season. With Scar as an advisor, I trust they can get at least one solid tackle in this year's draft, even without a first round pick. Picking up a vet at tackle is also a good idea. A few years ago, they signed Will Svitek who was a solid contributor. The Pats still need to beef up the ground game so that Brady doesn't need to throw 50 times a game. Also need that big home run receiver they miss since Randy Moss left. Too bad that the Pats were so banged up at the end of the season. It might be them going to the Super Bowl.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

The Pats did really good with the guards they drafted for this season. With Scar as an advisor, I trust they can get at least one solid tackle in this year's draft, even without a first round pick. Picking up a vet at tackle is also a good idea. A few years ago, they signed Will Svitek who was a solid contributor. The Pats still need to beef up the ground game so that Brady doesn't need to throw 50 times a game. Also need that big home run receiver they miss since Randy Moss left. Too bad that the Pats were so banged up at the end of the season. It might be them going to the Super Bowl.

As far as big receivers, I see both Dobson and LaFell gone.
LaFell was great last year but nonexistent this year.
Dobson has been on hot and cold or injured his entire career.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

I'd be willing to give Brian Tyms a shot. He's 6-3, 210 and didn't look too bad in his brief time with the Pats. He was with the Browns out here in NE Ohio and ran into trouble with taking a prescription drug for, I believe, asthma and was suspended. He'll be coming off IR for the 2016 season. Also, I really like Braxtom Miller in the draft. He was a running QB at Ohio State and switched to WR for his senior year to make room for other QB's and fill a hole for his team. Miller is 6-2, 210. With his background at QB, he sounds kind of like a bigger version of Edelman.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

Just heard BB signed 7 practice squad players to the roster as futures. Notable among the missing were Montee Ball and JJ Worton. Ball obviously did not make a positive impression and Worton had an altercation at a local bar. Too bad, RB and WR are two positions of need.

 

[BigKen]

One player that the Patriots should really go after is Josh Norman of the Carolina Panthers. He's a free agent and refused to sign a long term contract with the Panthers.

 

[BigKen]

Top 20 2016 Unrestricted free agents

1. Von Miller, Denver Broncos linebacker: Miller has been one of the best overall defensive players in the league since he was drafted. He's as strong stopping the run as he is coming off the edge. There's no way the Broncos will let him hit the market.

2. Josh Norman, Carolina Panthers cornerback: There's nothing like having your breakout season in a contract year. Norman has been the best cornerback in football this year and is a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. He's not going anywhere.

3. Muhammad Wilkerson, New York Jets defensive end: Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams were splashy draft pick additions, but Wilkerson is still the best defensive lineman on the Jets. New York has played hardball in negotiations thus far with Wilkerson, but the franchise tag has to be an option here.

4. Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears wide receiver: He might not be the most refined receiver in the league, but few are better at catching deep balls. He's fourth in the league in receiving yards-per-game and topped 1,400 yards in 2013.

5. Cordy Glenn, Buffalo Bills offensive tackle: True franchise left tackles are awfully hard to find. That's why he's a strong candidate for the franchise tag.

6. Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants defensive end: He's still disruptive despite playing with a club over his injured hand. There has to be a chance JPP will only get better as he learns how best to play with his disadvantage, and the ceiling here is tremendous. Still, he has struggled to wrap up opposing running backs. Can he finish plays?

7. Eric Berry, Kansas City Chiefs safety: Berry has come back from his cancer scare better than ever. Strong safety play is hard to find and Berry has the versatility teams are looking for.

8. Malik Jackson, Broncos defensive tackle: Like Norman, he's having a career year in a contract season. It's hard to find interior pass rushers like Jackson just entering his prime.

9. Olivier Vernon, Dolphins defensive end: The other Dolphins pass rusher opposite Cameron Wake has dialed up a lot of pressure over the last three years, even if he doesn't always finish the play with a sack. He's clearly an above average pass rush starter, which is going to make him a very rich man. Expectations are he'll leave Miami, who can only afford to pay so much on their defensive line.

10. Doug Martin, Buccaneers running back: He won't make the same money as the guys listed above (and below) him here because of the position he plays, but no one has helped their value more this season. Martin has gone from an afterthought to the No. 2 rusher in the NFL.

11. Bruce Irvin, Seattle Seahawks linebacker: He isn't a defense-changing talent, but he's also better than you think. Irvin is a quality versatile starter.

12. Russell Okung, Seahawks tackle: Even if Okung is only an average starter, he's going to get paid in this market. If he makes it there.

13. Eric Weddle, San Diego Chargers safety: Weddle has a skill set that tons of teams are looking for to shore up the back end of their defenses. His age (30) works against him, but few safeties have been better over the last five years.

14. Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback: This season has not helped Bradford's value, yet there would be no shortage of teams willing to give Bradford a try if the Eagles don't want to re-sign him.

15. Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins quarterback: Replacement level starting quarterbacks are worth plenty, and that appears to be Cousins' floor. At worst, he's a poor man's Andy Dalton with room to improve over time. He has more value to the Redskins than anyone else.

16. Matt Forte, Bears running back: One of the league's most complete backs has not shown many signs of age yet. Perhaps he should be paired with another quality option, but there's no doubt he could upgrade many backfields.

17. Andre Smith, Cincinnati Bengals right tackle: How will Smith react to getting paid big bucks (again)? While his career has included some ups and downs, Smith has often been a top-shelf starter.

18. Danny Trevathan, Broncos linebacker: Trevathan is a three-down linebacker entering his prime that can hold up in pass coverage. We're big fans of his skill set and he's just the type of above-average starter that gets paid like a superstar in free agency.

19. Janoris Jenkins, St. Louis Rams cornerback: He's steadily improved each season in the league and now is a playmaking starter.

20. Brock Osweiler, Broncos quarterback: It's hard to imagine John Elway letting his promising young starter hit the market, although this will be a tricky contract to pull off.

 

[BigKen]

2016 Free Agent Tackles

Russell Okung LT 28 SEA TBD $7,280,000 UFA
Andre Smith RT 28 CIN TBD $6,362,500 UFA
Donald Penn LT 32 OAK TBD $5,400,000 UFA
Joe Barksdale RT 27 SD TBD $2,095,000 UFA
Khalif Barnes LT 33 OAK TBD $1,750,000 UFA
Mitchell Schwartz RT 26 CLE TBD $1,645,267 UFA
Kelvin Beachum LT 26 PIT TBD $1,553,474 UFA
Cordy Glenn LT 26 BUF TBD $1,548,012 UFA
Don Barclay RT 26 GB TBD $1,542,000 UFA
Byron Bell RT 27 TEN TBD $1,475,000 UFA
Bobby Massie RT 26 ARI TBD $1,471,433 UFA
Ryan Harris LT 30 DEN TBD $1,420,000 UFA
Chris Clark RT 30 HOU TBD $1,400,000 UFA
Jake Long LT 30 ATL TBD $1,275,000 UFA
Mike Adams LT 25 PIT TBD $1,127,525 UFA
Kelechi Osemele LT 26 BAL TBD $1,064,595 UFA
Eric Winston RT 32 CIN TBD $950,000 UFA
Donald Stephenson LT 27 KC TBD $844,375 UFA
Sam Young LT 28 JAC TBD $795,000 UFA
Bradley Sowell LT 26 ARI TBD $760,000 UFA
Benjamin Ijalana LT 26 NYJ TBD $760,000 UFA
Jamon Meredith RT 29 GB TBD $745,000 UFA
Rob Havenstein RT 23 LA TBD $721,822 UFA
Chris Hairston LT 26 SD TBD $685,000 UFA
Bryce Harris RT 27 ATL TBD $660,000 UFA
Austin Pasztor G 25 CLE TBD $660,000 RFA
Tom Compton G 26 WAS TBD $660,000 ERFA
Alvin Bailey G 24 SEA TBD $587,000 RFA
Matt Tobin G 25 PHI TBD $586,668 RFA
Ryan Schraeder RT 27 ATL TBD $585,668 RFA
Matt McCants RT 26 OAK TBD $585,000 RFA
J'Marcus Webb RT 27 OAK TBD $585,000 UFA
Mike Remmers RT 26 CAR TBD $585,000 RFA
Charles Brown LT 28 DAL TBD $550,588 UFA
Ryan Jensen RT 24 BAL TBD $510,000 RFA
Tyler Polumbus LT 30 DEN TBD $481,764 UFA
Nick Becton LT 25 CHI TBD $447,352 RFA
Tony Hills LT 31 NO TBD $447,352 UFA
Tavon Rooks LT 25 KC TBD $435,000 ERFA
Jordan Mills RT 25 BUF TBD $427,058 RFA
Byron Stingily RT 27 PIT TBD $427,058 UFA
Cameron Fleming G 23 NE TBD $360,000 ERFA
Jeff Adams G 26 HOU TBD $353,823 RFA
Carter Bykowski LT 25 MIN TBD $333,000 ERFA
Kelvin Palmer RT 25 ARI TBD $318,000 ERFA
Mitchell Van Dyk LT 25 PIT TBD $318,000 ERFA
Ulrick John LT 23 MIA TBD $255,882 ERFA
Jeff Linkenbach RT 28 SD TBD $103,235 UFA
LaAdrian Waddle RT 24 NE TBD $103,235 RFA
Darrian Miller T 22 CLE TBD $102,352 ERFA
Kaleb Johnson T 22 CLE TBD $76,764 ERFA

 

[Yankee Traveler]

I'd be willing to give Brian Tyms a shot. He's 6-3, 210 and didn't look too bad in his brief time with the Pats. He was with the Browns out here in NE Ohio and ran into trouble with taking a prescription drug for, I believe, asthma and was suspended. He'll be coming off IR for the 2016 season. Also, I really like Braxtom Miller in the draft. He was a running QB at Ohio State and switched to WR for his senior year to make room for other QB's and fill a hole for his team. Miller is 6-2, 210. With his background at QB, he sounds kind of like a bigger version of Edelman.

How fast is he?
Smart?
Will he last till 3rd round, I can't see BB taking him with his first pick.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

Hard to tell about Miller's draft position. I have seen him listed as anywhere from mid third to mid fourth round. As for speed, he is not a track star but is very quick and athletic. He was a running QB as a junior at Ohio State and started the beginning of the season. He switched to WR because OSU had two solid players at QB, one of whom was the starter on their championship team after Miller went down with a leg injury (he was fine physically this year). I have seen him play several times and he reminds me a lot of Edelman, except bigger and faster.

 

[redseat]

What do people think about Rishard Matthews or Travis Benjamin? Both are decent deep threats and have good hands... Worth a shot?

 

[NWPATSFAN]

How fast is he?
Smart?
Will he last till 3rd round, I can't see BB taking him with his first pick.

Has he had any knee surgeries? If not no way BB drafts him.

 

[CreepCreep2014]

I don't think we are going to see much movement in the OL and WR like most want. I can see BB bringing in a vet Swing OL to replace that garbage can in Cannon and Fleming. I think Kline/Wendell/Waddell/Andrews will be the backups. Solder, Jackson, Stork, Mason, Vollmer to start. Not be shocked to see BB draft an OT to replace Vollmer next yr. Solder is not going anywhere this yr and neither is Vollmer. Unless NE trades Solder/Vollmer, I can't see them bringing in a big name OT.

Still don't see NE going hard after a WR in this FA class. Apparently LaFell was hurt all yr, and cutting him saves them no money. You can't just cut Amendola. So what are they going to do? JE, Dola, LaFell, Martin, Dobson, Harper, Givens, Tyms. BB will not break the bank on a WR. Guys to look at are Sanu, Jones, Holmes. These guys make sense. Maybe draft a guy too.

The big moves will be for a RB (Ivory, Morris, Forte), DT (Hicks or Draft), LB (McClain and Draft),TE (Dwayne Allen, L.Greene) However, I think Chandler will be back, reports are he was hurt all yr.

I keep seeing NE will not sign Hicks. I am not sure why they would not. He is only 25 and played awesome for us. If NE is going to create the cap space when they cut guys, you mean to tell me they can't afford him? He played well in this system and is young, you keep guys like that. Branch won't be back after 2016, so give him more money then. Be nice to see Brown, Hicks, Branch, Easly, on this DL.

 

[BigKen]

Johnathan Kraft is taking over more of the team operations and he's not going to let Belichick completely run the team. There have been a lot of mistakes over the past three years and many of them belong to BB. Many people may not agree, but the game is changing is so are the players. Bill has been around for nearly forty years and 2017 is not 1977. I just finished watching "Invincible" about 10 minutes ago. The story of Vince Papale, the 30 year old bartender who made the Philadelphia Eagles in 1976 and played for three years. One of the most outstanding moments in the film was when head coach Dick Vermeil tells the team on the first day of training camp..."The next three weeks of two a days will separate the men from the boys." Just looking at the helmets and pads in that movie is a huge statement on mush the game has changed.

I predict that there will be some shocking changes. I'll predict that Cannon, Fleming, Scott Chandler, L. Blount, C. Jones, B. LaFell, Devlin, Mayo, Fletcher, Harper, S. Jackson, B. Vareen, King and M. Williams are all cut or gone.
I also predict that Chandler Jones will be traded during the draft if he does not sign a contract extension. That will put Collins and Hightower on notice that they could be going elsewhere if they don't resign. Third round draft picks are not enough to replace them if they sign elsewhere.

The salary cap will increase this year and with 15 players being let go giving the Pats nearly $10M more, Bill will make a play for Alshon Jeffrey or Malcom Floyd to give Brady a wide receive who plays outside the numbers. I also predict that he will sign a veteran OT who can play the left side. Solder has been an injury problem the last two years and it's imperative that the Pats not go through another year trying to switch linemen to positions they don't normally play.

J. Kraft is young enough and smart enough to know that BB is in his football golden years and that it may be time for Kraft to make the most unthinkable decision of his life, talk BB into retiring or move on looking to the next ten years.

 

[ohiopatsfan]

Getting back to Braxton Miller, he missed all of the 2014 season with a shoulder injury. To my knowledge, he has not had any problems with his knees. The way his stock is rising, Miller may not last long enough for BB to draft him anyway.