New England Patriots Links 1/27/10 - Matt Light Says Team Needs To Toughen Up

Matt Light talked with ESPN's Mike & Mike in the morning about his injury and the disappointing end to the Patriots season.

“As players, we all talked about it after the game. We were in the locker room and there were a lot of guys hanging their head and it’s a tough situation,” Light said. “We know we have good guys, quality players. But we have to be a more physical team, a mentally tougher team. We have to be guys that act like we’ve been there and done it before.”

Ian Rapoport converses with some potential Patriots targets including Michigan OLB Brandon Graham.

“I love watching the Patriots,” Graham said. “They’ve been winning most of the years and coach Bill Belichick – I just want to have a conversation with him, just to talk to him. When he’s on the field, he seem like he doesn’t say much. He seems like a nice guy, though. I keep hearing good things about him.”

I told Graham of the Patriots love for Michigan linebackers, whether Shawn Crable, Pierre Woods or even Prescott Burgess. He already knew.

“Pierre Woods was just telling me, ‘Keep going and everything’ll take care of itself,’ ” Graham said. “He didn’t want me to worry about it, because when I talked to him last year, he just gave me some insight and said the Patriots love a high-motor guy. ‘Keep running to the ball and don’t stop.‘ ”

Erik Scalavino explains why the Patriots can't re-sign Brady now, with the entire signing bonus hitting this year so his future years' salary cap hits won't be so high.

Because that's not how the salary cap works. When a player is awarded a signing bonus, he typically receives the lump sum right away. For accounting purposes, however, that number is divided by the number of years of the contract. The resulting figure is called the "prorated" portion that is applied to the player's salary cap number each season.

For example, if you sign a 5-year, $20 million contract, $10 million of which is your signing bonus, you would get your $10 million up front, along with your salary for that year, whatever that number is. However, your cap number for each of the five seasons would be your salary for that year, plus $2 million (the prorated portion of your signing bonus).

So, as you can see, giving Brady a huge signing bonus in an uncapped year wouldn't help the Patriots alleviate their salary cap burden. What they might be able to do, in your example, is give Brady (or any other player, for that matter) hefty sums in other kinds of bonuses (workout, roster, makeable performance goals, etc.) that aren't prorated.

TEAM TALK

• Ask PFW, Part I: Potential personnel moves.
• Ask PFW, Part II: Contracts and the cap.
• Erik Scalavino looks at where the Patriots stand at Linebacker.

LOCAL LINKS

• Mike Reiss notes Matt Light overcame a dislocated kneecap and some damage to his MCL.
• Chris Gasper feels it would be a disaster for Tom Brady to begin the 2010 season without a new contract in place.  It's way out of whack, especially when compared with the Manning brothers, Philip Rivers and Matt Cassel.
• Ian Rapoport notes Wes Welker is still awaiting knee surgery, 23 days since the injury.
• Albert Breer gets former "Belichick-U" grad Jim Schwartz opinion on the next Patriots coordinators.
• Christopher Price presents a snapshot of where the team stands at Defensive Backs: Kyle Arrington, Leigh Bodden, Darius Butler, Pat Chung, Brandon McGowan, Brandon Meriweather, James Sanders, Shawn Springs, Terrence Wheatley, Jonathan Wilhite.
• Mike Reiss answers his weekly reader mailbag in his usual insightful manner. Draft strategy, trades, schemes and the search for coordinators top the topics.
• Mike Reiss notes the latest mock drafts have the Patriots picking Clemson OL/DE Ricky Sapp, Florida LB Brandon Spikes, Penn State DL Jared Odrick and Texas OL Sergio Kindle at number 22.
• Mike Reiss comments on Dean Pees' longtime connection with Ravens head coach John Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Greg Mattison.
• Ian Rapoport notes the old band (with a different leader) is back together in Kansas City. I admit to having wanted Weis and Crennel back here again.
• Ron Borges breaks down his argument that by the slimmest of margins, he gives QB of the decade to Peyton Manning because he calls his own plays.
• Boston Herald Patriots Notebook: Wes Welker is waiting for surgery, but will still host his second annual youth football camp May 22-23 for kids 7-14; It looks like free agent Ben Watson and the Patriots will part ways after six seasons; Oregon's LeGarrette Blount could be an intriguing option for the Patriots at running back.
• Jeff Howe notes that the Jets now have the depth to challenge the Patriots for years to come.
• Jerry Thornton breaks down the Boston fan bases.

NATIONAL NEWS

• Tim Graham (ESPN) Matt Light says Pats must get tougher. (8.15 min. video)
• Sporting News Offseason priorities: AFC East. Patriots need to improve the pass rush.
• The Heath Evans Foundation is teaming up with the Brees Dream Foundation to raffle off a Super Bowl XLIV package.  Click on the link to help a former Patriot raise money for a good cause.
• Tom E. Curran breaks down the good, the bad and the ugly for the Patriots defensive line.
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Could Tebow really save the Bills?
• Michael Lombardi (Nat'l Football Post) Give Tebow time to grow: Can we let Tim Tebow practice before jumping to conclusions?
• Tim Graham (ESPN) Reports out of South Florida suggest Joey Porter won't be with the Miami Dolphins in 2010. Off-field baggage doesn't translate into on-field production.
• Tony Pauline (SI) Senior Bowl practice report: Day 1 and Day 2.
• Wes Bunting (Nat'l Football Post) Ten impressions from Day 2 Senior Bowl North practice, and ten more from Day 2 from the South practice.
• Peter King (SI) MMQB Mail: Notes on OT, the Colts, 12-men penalty and an explanation.
• CBS Sports CBS invites more advocacy ads amid Tim Tebow furor. Tebow's ad recounts the story of Pam Tebow's pregnancy in 1987. After getting sick, she ignored doctors' recommendation to abort her fifth child and gave birth to Tim, a Heisman Trophy winner.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Tebow ad highlights trend toward allowing advocacy spots.