The Jason Taylor effect - does this hurt the Patriots?

by MaPatsFan on May 13, 2009 6:40 PM EDT in News Comment 13 comments

After months of speculation, the great JT guessing game came to an end, reports the Sun Sentinel:

Jason Taylor, a six-time Pro Bowler, rejoined the Miami Dolphins today.

Taylor's agent, Gary Wichard, said the defensive end/linebacker signed a $1.5 million, one-year contract, which includes $400,000 of easily earned incentives.

For months, many of us Patriots fans have had "Hmm..." moments when thinking about the possibility of Taylor joining the Patriots. A constant thorn in our side, Taylor had wrought havoc in the NE backfield prompting Matt Light and Tom Brady to practially do an Irish Jig when he departed for Washington. Belichick, who has a history of picking up players who have given him fits, proclaimed his respect for Taylor and Taylor reciprocated. That set the stage for a courting that has finally ended. Why it ended is anyone's guess, but Taylor's statement smacks of a classy guy telling the truth:

"My heart has always been in Miami and so I'm truly excited to call myself a Dolphin once again,'' Taylor said in a statement. "I was presented with a number of different opportunities, but in the end the combination of this being the best situation for my family, my love for this community and my tremendous loyalty to a great organization made this an easy decision."

Yep, seems like the truth to me. If he's contemplating retirement, wouldn't this be the place to do it? I would think so. And, as he says, he's closer to his family and the community that embraced him from the start.

In Patriots changes by position: Outside Linebacker, we combed through the position and current roster and speculated, but I'm curious: could Jason Taylor have been the pass rusher we so sorely needed? Where do we go from here?

Now, there's a dark side to all of this: JT's back in the AFC East. That's not good. Realistically, Matt Light just had an "Oh crap" moment; Taylor is a handful and then some. How does this affect the Patriots? Maybe he got old. Maybe he did too many Salsas on Dancing with the Stars and he's gone soft. Yeah, maybe...

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we're happy to have jt

back in miami. it just wouldn’t have seemed right for him to be in ne. it would have been like vrabel or bruschi ending up in miami. just wouldn’t feel right.
sorry if i mispelled those names. lol

by ncfinfan on May 13, 2009 6:54 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Got the names right!!

Do you think Taylor will retire after this season?

Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on May 13, 2009 6:57 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I think there's a great possibility the Pats dodged a bullet

JT was a great player, but had a serious injury last year and is not getting younger. Your team doesn’t need (more) injured, aging players on D. He would have been a sympathetic favorite and incredible leader, no doubt, but there are probably better options out there.

How can you not love a team that does this?

by LovinBlue on May 13, 2009 7:52 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

that injury could

be a problem. hopefully it’s healed. but as a lifelong dolphin fan, i had to pull for him to come back. he belongs in miami the same way brady belongs in ne.

by ncfinfan on May 13, 2009 9:22 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm surprised

I thought the Patriots would sign Taylor in June (after the OTA’s were complete) and then plug him in on third downs (and the occasional second and long situations), save his legs and maximize his effectiveness and his stamina for a long season.

Still, I don’t think the Patriots had to have him and while they seemed open to the possibility of adding him to the roster, clearly they didn’t see him as a “must have” acquisition or they would have made such a good offer he couldn’t have refused. Two thoughts: 1) maybe Belichick is convinced that Taylor just doesn’t have it anymore and would not have been a significant upgrade over Vrabel 2) maybe Belichick knows something we don’t about Woods/Crable/Banta-Cain/Redd and what he thinks he’ll get from them this year.

Taylor would have been nice to have, but he was hardly essential to their 2009 plans.

by ProfessorTodd on May 13, 2009 7:56 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Taylor left the skins and lost 7 MILLION to be back in Miami..

He could have stayed with the redskins.. they have outright said they wanted him to stay.. but he decided he did not want to be there and left. The Pats did go after him.. and JT told his agent to let the Dolphins know that money didnt matter.. as long as they wanted him he would be there. I also found this on one of the news stories about this:

“Bill Belichick called Wichard and also tried to get Taylor’s signature on a contract that included many more digits than the one he signed with Miami.”

shrugsI Maybe he just really felt Miami and the Dolphins were “home”

by MainePhinFan on May 14, 2009 2:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Nail on the head

Maybe he just really felt Miami and the Dolphins were "home"

I think you’re 100% on this. If the tables were turned and Vrabel were looking around after his KC contract was up, I’d suspect he’d want to end his career in NE.

Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on May 14, 2009 8:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's really not about the money...

If he did take less money to stay near home, props to Taylor.

by Danno11 on May 13, 2009 10:48 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't surprise me

However, I’m curious to know how they’ll utilize him in Miami. Isn’t Joey Porter currently occupying his spot? I was under the impression that they both play the same side on the OLB spot, and if either one of them is to move, they won’t be as effective. I may need a Dolphin fan’s perspective on that one.

by NESilver on May 14, 2009 1:21 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

JT is a DE, not a LB

so both jason and joey will be all set.

by patriotguy on May 14, 2009 2:51 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

DE in a 4-3

Taylor was a DE in the 4-3 employed by the Dolphins until last year. Had he joined the Patriots he projected as an outside linebacker, and I would assume he would have that role with the Dolphins as well in their new 3-4 alignment.

by hythlodaeus on May 14, 2009 3:35 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Defensive Player of the Year

I believe in 2006 he was playing OLB in the 3-4 alignment they employed that year, not DE, under Nick Saban. That was when he won DPOY. With the Dolphins in the 3-4 again, Taylor and Porter would be looking to occupy the same spot because that’s where they’re both comfortable. You move Porter and he won’t be as effective as before (see: 2007).

Jason Taylor is both a DE and an OLB, depending on the scheme that is run.

by NESilver on May 14, 2009 5:39 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs