Transaction Updates: Patriots Making Moves
by Richard Hill on Nov 9, 2011 3:24 PM EST
in New England Patriots News
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PrintThe Patriots have been making recent headlines for their transactions. A little while ago, they released disgruntled cornerback Leigh Bodden (who is still out of a job). This week, they've made even more moves.
Released:
DL Albert Haynesworth - Haynesworth was one of the rotational defensive tackles. He was the only player to generate consistent pressure from game to game, but for every great play, he seemed to take off the next couple snaps. He had words with defensive line coach Pepper Johnson and, like Randy Moss after last season's Vikings game, a player does not mess with a Patriots coach.
TE Dan Gronkowski - Da Gronk was the blocking tight end, but the health of tackle Sebastian Vollmer has allowed the Patriots to slide tackle Nate Solder to tight end in run blocking schemes.
DB Malcolm Williams - Williams was the Patriots' 7th round pick and has been on-and-off the practice squad roster as of late.
IR:
S Josh Barrett - Unfortunately, Barrett has been placed on the IR with a calf injury. Depth is a major concern in the Patriots' secondary, especially at safety, and this move is troublesome. Hopefully he recovers and can contribute next season.
Signed:
These moves are extremely important as the Patriots enter the most crucial portion of their schedule. With the Jets coming up, as well as a game against the Eagles, the Patriots need to step up and stay in charge of the AFC East. Hopefully the additionsare just short term fixes as the Patriots starters get healthier and ready for the home stretch.WR Tiquan Underwood - Underwood spent part of the preseason with the Patriots and should add additional depth as a receiver. He's a speedster who could possibly be sent down the field on a few snaps, but will more likely be asked to contribute in the return game. The Patriots have struggled and they need better field position for the offense.
LB Niko Koutouvides - Koutouvides also spent part of the preseason with the Patriots and impressed with his time on the field. While Tracy White is a better special teams player, Koutouvides provides stronger depth as a linebacker and should see time due to the injury of Brandon Spikes.
DB Sterling Moore - Moore is signed from the practice squad and will most likely be asked to play safety to provide depth in the secondary, especially due to the injury of Patrick Chung and the IR of Josh Barrett.
LB Mike Rivera - Rivera is signed to the practice squad and has fantastic LB size at 6-2, 252 lbs.
S Ross Ventrone - Of course Ventrone is involved. Back to the practice squad.
CB Josh Victorian - Victorian is another player who has been on-and-off the roster. He's back on the practice squad.
*) The return of Brandon Deaderick and Ron Brace allow for the departure of Haynesworth. Kyle Love will most likely assume the starting role next to Wilfork, as Wilfork and Brace hold down one tackle spot and Love and Gerrard Warren protect the other.
*) Underwood is necessary as Julian Edelman looked unimpressive against the Giants and Wes Welker's neck is in too much question to put him on special teams. Matthew Slater and Danny Woordhead are uninspiring as a returnmen, as is Stevan Ridley. Devin McCourty is too important to have returning kicks. Moving down the line, the Patriots need a player who can move the ball. #Brandon Tate.
*) Koutouvides should be a short term fix as Spikes heals. I would also like to see Jeff Tarpinian get a chance to see the field.
*) While Dan Gronkowski didn't see a pass in his direction all season, he still had that potential to be an outlet. Using Nate Solder as an extra blocker seems to limit the Patriots in their match-ups as he's only going to be a blocker, allowing defenses to adjust accordingly and drop more players into coverage (on passing plays).
*) The Patriots are going to have to spend a draft pick or two on the safety position in the upcoming draft. This is just absurd.
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With the way this economy is going? Plz, that guy is.........
WINNING!!
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
Can we stop with the special teamer stuff?
They aren’t even that great, and we have too many of them. White, Koutouvides, Underwood, Tarpinian, Slater. Now through in potentially Moore, maybe count Brown. That’s 5-7 guys eating up roster spots on the 46 that end up being called upon when guys go down, and they aren’t ready for it. Not a slight at White, but it’s tough to expect guys to hop off the pine and contribute at a complicated position.
It’s gotta be easier to teach special teams than linebacker, and I’d like to see more versatile players who can actually do both. Not to mention, our special teams hasn’t even been that great – bad, actually.
/rant
Don't under estimate the importance of special teams play.
Between kickoffs and punts, the ST units will be on the field for on average ~16-18 snaps a game (a little more than that for the Patriots) – and those are some of the most high game-value snaps as well since they are either change-of-possession plays that determine the critical starting field position of each drive or scoring plays (FGA & XPA) that directly put points on the scoreboard. Mistakes on ST are huge and very, very painful. Big plays on ST are similarly of huge positive value.
Consider that NE has almost as many punt & KO return yards as rushing yardage so far his season.
Being a ‘starter’ on ST is almost as important as being a ‘starter’ on one of the offensive or defensive units.
NBA Officiating - Corrupt? Incompetent? Which is worse? Does it matter? It sucks.
rarely are the ST downs for both teams eventful except as they relate to the kicker / punter performance. with all of BB’s insistence and focus on the ST – what can we say about them. outside the kicker/punter – THEY ARE NOTHING SPECIAL
Just the eyeball test can tell one that outside that kicker/punter/LS for BOTH teams of every game throughout season, the rest of the ST aint no big deal except occasionally. if they were so very very very very important, people would be complaining about their performance and BB’s incompetence in that area.
How often does a ST blocked a point after TD – very very very rarely
How often does a ST blocked a FG – very very very rarely
Which players make or break a PAT or FG – the LS, holder and kicker
Do you think any special teams can pin the opponent inside the 10 yard line without good punter – NOPE
Do the stats of a ST correlate with WINNING and LOSING teams – ABSOLUTELY NO
ST is more about having at least lunch pail talent and more importantly adequate coaching, preparation, practice and game plan.
Teams will as a GENERAL RULE live and die on their offense and defense, not the ST.
PLEASE – NO MORE GLORIFYING SPECIAL TEAMS except the kicker/punter/LS unless we are going to glorify that guy who mops the floor of the patriot locker room ( imagine if Brady slipped on floor resulting in back injury)
While ST does seem to be of a bit too much value
The Chargers have a pretty good argument to make about ST being important. I don’t remember if they even made the playoffs that year with the #1 ranked offense and #1 ranked defense because their ST was so bad that it cost them games.
by indy pats fan on Nov 10, 2011 12:34 AM EST up reply actions
Well, if you consider starting field position a ST stat...
…which it totally is, then it absolutely relates to winning and losing. Can’t pin the team deep without a good punter nor without a good overall unit.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 2:40 AM EST up reply actions
as a Steeler fan that witnessed the 2009 season
i can absolutely assure you, Special Teams is very very very very important
This message will self destruct
GIMME FOOD GIMME FRIES GIMME SAMMICH ON THE SIDE - James Hetfield
Even Jet fans will agree with us on this. lol
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
I know I do
Our special teams definitely has given us an advantage and to minimize the importance of the entire unit is kind of silly in my opinion.
"I just build our guys up. If it's trash talking that I believe in our football team, then, yes, I agree with that statement. I'm the biggest trash talker there is." Rex Ryan
by OldJetsFanatic on Nov 10, 2011 9:43 AM EST up reply actions
Haynesworth just got claimed by Tampa Bay
That means the Bucs will be picking up the remainder of his salary. Even better.
Keep the faith!
Yeah. I'd like to know what actually happened there.
Did he hate playing in the slot? Was he doggin’ it? Too much money? I doubt we’ll ever find out, but can’t help but be curious.
bodden defended the highest percentage of passes in secondary. did the stats and tape both lie. he said that he did not want to leave. he couldn’t have tried out for kc with injuries. i think the thing that keeps teams from taking him is his salary.
Bodden will have to pass through waivers to become a free agent, and the team that picks him up will be responsible for the rest of this year’s salary. Bodden, 30, is in the second year of a four-year, $22 million contract.
-——————————————
He passed through waivers.
Pats have to foot this year’s bill and, if a team signs him, he gets to double dip with the Patriots salary and the new salary.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 2:41 AM EST up reply actions
Makes some sense since McCoy is out for the year.
It will be interesting to see how he does.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
that sucks, I really liked that kid since I saw him crying on the draft day
his looks like a good sport
Thad Castle: Which one of you assholes stuck his finger in my asshole?
I think he had injury issues last year too.
Hope he overcomes them, but this isn’t a good sign. Of course there have been players who were oft-injured early in their careers and then came back fine (Matt Schaub, Darren McFadden). I hope McCoy is one of those.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
Thanks for the roster-moves update Rich
I had started a list to keep track, but this is much better.
Keep the faith!
So...who is going to be "Eric Moore 2011"
Thad Castle: Which one of you assholes stuck his finger in my asshole?
serious Co-Sign, Eric Moore with Andre Carter would be nasty
Eric Moore did quite a lot in a few games, rather him than Ellis
Molden, Adams, Moore, Brown, Ihedigbo
A veritable Who’s Not of NFL defensive backs.
Belichick should be ashamed of himself.
To be fair...
…Sanders, Meriweather, and Page have all started and have since been benched, while Butler and Wilhite are in extreme reserve roles (and Wilhite has been seeing less and less time).
At the same time, the defense i believe would still be better than it is now if at least two of those guys were still here.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
Agreed for the sake of depth.
I feel like Sanders/Meriweather would at least add continuity next to Chung, if not anything else (and I don’t think they’d be an upgrade at all).
I’d feel more confident with Butler as the #3 CB instead of Adams, and I’d feel better with Sanders as the #2 S instead of Moore, but that’s because of injuries. At the time of the transactions, I wouldn’t take Butler or Wilhite over McCourty, Bodden, Dowling, or Arrington. I wouldn’t take Meriweather/Sanders over Chung, Ihedigbo, Barrett, or Brown. I’d say Brown is on the same level as Meriweather and Sanders (and I consider them of lower quality than average), but I can totally agree with the Week 1 roster.
Looking back with injuries is brutal, but I wouldn’t change the Week 1 defensive back roster (unless it involved bringing in a completely different safety).
I agree with a lot that you wrote but one i think is complete lunacy is that Brown is the equivalent to Meri.
We will just agree to disagree their. But to me that is completely out of bounds.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
Meriweather is awful.
No way around it. Even though Brown is a lucky-to-be-considered-mediocre safety, Meriweather is a detriment to whatever defense he plays on. PFF has him as a bottom 3 safety over the past two years, with only Antrel Rolle and Charles Godfrey as worse safeties. That’s pretty consistently terrible.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 2:49 AM EST up reply actions
Antrell Rolle
is not a bad safety
Taylor Price will be the starter by the end of the season (Said before Training Camp)
Fine, but then it might be a problem of misevaluating talent.
BB was the guy who had control of the draft when all those guys were drafted (well, Sanders and Meriweather were when Pioli was still there). He’s either to blame for picking bad players, or for badly coaching them. My guess is it is the former, and that he just doesn’t have the eye for talented players who fit, or Pioli (or Dimitroff?) meant more than was thought.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
Defenses change, as do the personnel needed.
I think the loss of the veterans in 2009 (Bruschi, Vrabel, Seymour, Harrison, even Hobbs) forced Belichick to change his defense simply because he didn’t have the necessary personnel. He lost his enforcers and leaders on defense and he had to start from scratch. Lack of forward preparation? Yeah. Self-imposed? Definitely, with the trades of Vrabel and Seymour.
Still, he had to rework the defense in order to put some semblance of a team on the field and he did the best he could- and that involved a shift in defensive identity. He couldn’t trust his cornerbacks or his safeties, and his linebackers were extremely inexperienced. As a result, they all dropped a little further back in coverage to create a “bend-don’t-break” type of defense, instead of a smash mouth veteran defense with the savvy to face a veteran offense. He needed to limit his risks and the defense is still trying to figure itself out.
He forged his 2009 defense on the fly and his 2009 draft was supposed to be a continuation of the 2008 defense- which it couldn’t be due to the personnel turnover. As a result, since the transactions were prior to the new defense, not all the drafted players fit the bill. In reality, only the 2010 and 2011 players were selected specifically for this type of defense. I think there’s promise with Spikes, McCourty, and Dowling. The only top defensive player who has disappeared is Jermaine Cunningham and that’s always been a head-scratcher. I’d give the defensive players another year to fully pull itself together before calling the scheme off.
If anything, I’d question the coaching ability to maximize the talent on the field, and not the talent of the players. It seems as if the cookie-cutter approach doesn’t let players shine their strengths.
I was thinking that since very few of these drafted NE players that got cut have really done much on their next team
it might be more talent evaluation.
Also, how many years is his process supposed to take. If we use 2009 as the first year of the new defense, we are at year 3. At some point there should be some improvement. The defense is getting weaker each year. It is hard for it to come together either if he is relying on Philip Adams, James Ihedigbo, and even guys like Guyton.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
Oh, I agree.
But I think 2010 is the first real draft for this defense. 2009 was a remnant of the 2008 defensive style. Look for him to solidify the front line (DL) and back line (S) in this next draft and things will seem to fall better into place. If that doesn’t happen, then there are definitely questions with the talent evaluation and process.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 2:50 AM EST up reply actions
Wait how is there not already questions about the evaluations?
Butler, Wheatley, Bodden (free agent) McKenzie, Crable, Meriweather, Tate, Brace, and now even Cunningham can’t find a place on the league’s worst defense. All these guys picked no lower than the 3rd round and BB picked some of these players over guys that were certainly better players like Tate over Wallace and Cunningham over Dunlap. I think if we still had Pioli would not be as bad.
Taylor Price will be the starter by the end of the season (Said before Training Camp)
WIth every bad draft pick, I can name good ones.
Brace, Pryor, Love, Mayo, Spikes, (cunningham we have to see more of), Hernandez, Gronkowski, Solder, Deadrick, McCourty, Price, etc.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
If you take another successful team such as the Steelers
the Pats have more draft picks still on the team since 2006 (22 v 21). That doesn’t figure in the undrafted ones. I think the draft results are slightly overblown. Maybe the quality isn’t as great as it could be but it isn’t an utter mess.
Dude do you really wanna play that game
Because if we had as many good picks as bad than we would have the league’s worst defense. I mean I acknowledge he has picked some good players in that area and near the end of the draft, but the only real Difference makers I can think of that he drafted on defense lately were Spikes, Mayo, and Chung. McCourty was a difference maker last year, hopefully he can return to that next year (b/c this year just isn’t the year).
Taylor Price will be the starter by the end of the season (Said before Training Camp)
Well...
…Wheatley, McKenzie, and Crable were all too injured to see the field (and they let McKenzie leave because they had such absurd depth at linebacker). Meriweather played four years. I already explained that Butler was drafted for a different defense. Bodden was making waves in the locker room. Tate wasn’t a defensive player. Brace is having an impact and is playing well when he’s healthy- last season his arm literally fell apart.
Cunningham is a conundrum, but he wouldn’t be playing over Carter anyways, but yeah, he’s a miss so far.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 10:17 AM EST up reply actions
That doesn't excuse missing those picks
I mean there is no excuse for drafting that can’t make plays on the ball regardless of what defense you are playing so Butler. bust.
Meriweather was no a good safety for us and he is certainly not worth a 1st round pick. Bust
All the guys that BB spent a 2nd round or 3rd round draft choice
on that contributed very little/nothing to the team because of injury or not being good enough start over TBC or Gary Guyton. Bust
As for Brace he isn’t playing to his 2nd round pedigree, and isn’t really a big part of the defense which is what he was suppose to be. He is really inconsistent to say the least. Semi-bust. I mean just compare him to the good 2nd round players we have on the team that we all know are hits by BB. Spikes, Mayo, Chung, Vollmer.
Taylor Price will be the starter by the end of the season (Said before Training Camp)
Ah.
In that case, totally. I still think they got a good run out of Sanders for his value and Meriweather was okay for a couple seasons. Butler was a disappointment, but he plays a style more akin to the finesse coverage of Asante Samuel, instead of the run stuffing power coverage of McCourty and Arrington.
Chung and McCourty have been good additions and Dowling looked promising, and those are the most recent prospects (alongside Butler). The defense definitely shifted after the exodus of veterans in 2009 and those older prospects and players didn’t fit the new style. They wanted run-strong safeties, like Chung, whereas Meriweather and Sanders were awful in run defense. They wanted run-strong cornerbacks, while Wilhite and Butler were sieves. The defense wanted to become more stout and those players didn’t fit the bill. Chung, McCourty, and Dowling do.
Safeties
And with Chung injured and Barret now on IR looks like Brown and Ihedigbo will be our options come Sunday. If that doesn’t scare Sanchez from throwing downfield…..
by ATM on Nov 9, 2011 9:26 PM EST up reply actions
Id rather have Sterling Moore over Brown....
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
Tick Tock
The crazy thing is, each year that Bill tries to tinker with this defense and mold the type of players that he wants and needs to run his defense is another year lost having Brady around. Brady will not be here forever, Bill needs to step up or change his process. I love this team but truth be told there is no talent, they are probably middle of the pack in the NFL when it come to talent, or pure playmakers. Here is a thought, if you need a deep threat than trade a #1 draft choice to Philadlephia for someone like Macklin as an example, if you need a top safety or pass-rusher than do the same. Stop batching up the holes with players who are “promising” and fix the problems with real talent. Its not like Mike DeVito, Sione Pouha. Jim Leonhard, and Eric Smith are great players, but Rex has them buzzing around and making plays, why can’t Bill? It just doesn’t make sense.
But that's why we drafted Mallett!!!!
Disclaimer: I’m kidding.
This may (hopefully) change but
…for me the current play/talent is the worst I can recall in the Brady era. The busts, both via draft and FA, seem to have outnumbered the hits by far in the last few years. And it bothers me too that we look like a team needing 1-2 years of rebuilding at minimum if the Promised Land is ever to be achieved before Brady is gone.
let say tomorrow that BB releases Brady, Gronkowski, Wilfork and Chung.
That would mean to many people that there are four more “busts”
i don’t equate release to bust or lack of talent like many people do
Huh?
Sorry but that’s the dumbest thing I’ve heard in awhile.
This is dumb logic
He wouldn’t release good players (I mean, he did in the past with Milloy but that was for cap). He’s releasing the players he released becuase they were NOT GOOD PLAYERS.
EVH+DLR=BFFs........ God I Hope So!!
I agree that Belichick should be working the defense to make it more efficient...
…but I will say that Brady can be pointed at for two losses this season (Bills, Giants) due to his inability to take care of the football and by making poor football decisions. That’s not on Belichick and the defense, but more on the offense and Brady.
by Richard Hill on Nov 10, 2011 2:52 AM EST up reply actions
I wouldn't so much pin the Bills game on him
He only made one really ill advised throw (int on Gronk throw). But this last game he just made really bad decisions. With how the defense played in the first half it should have been a win. The offense should have been able to at least get 10 pts but those turnovers were unforgivable.
he had a significant part of those losses
I’m including the play of Brady in the calculus that the current aggregate play/talent seems like the worst in the Brady era.
I wouldn't say against the Bills..... they scored 38 points in one half. lol
But Brady and Co. is certainly a big part of the loss against the Giants, as well as in recent games where they could have lost. I dare say they also receive half the blame against Pitt too.
I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP
i just realized....
isn’t darren sharper out there still? I’m pretty sure he’s better than James Ihedigbo…
teams had been bringing him in earlier in the season to work out
but no team has picked him up
Keep the faith!
I was listening to NFL radio and they were interviewing people close to the Patriots org, and they were saying that BB had all the power and that he has no Pioli to be the ying for his yang, therefore Bill has no Checks and balances.
You just look back and most of us fans were right about wanting to draft Jabal Sheard, Brooks Reed, Adrian Clayborn, Ryan Kerrigan. You have to question the scouting for the defensive side of the ball and the development of young defense sucks, Guys like Chung, Mayo, Mccourty should be legit stars and they are just good.
Coordinators
The same thing has been said about lack of any outside coordinators. With everyone coming from in house, there’s probably less questioning/challenging of games plans and play calling.
Or even if that’s not the case, an outside perspective would be beneficial.
pass rushers
Sheard 2.5 sacks Reed 4 sacks Clayborn 3 sacks Kerrigan 3 sacks
Carter 4.5 sacks Anderson 4.5 sacks
I can’t believe we moved up to pick Kerrigan and he only has 3 sacks so he’s a bust, we needed an OT, now LeVoir got Brady hurt and we’re 3-5, BB has lost it.
It's your thing, do what you wanna do, I can't tell you, who to sock it to. The Isley Brothers
by sweetjesusihatethejets on Nov 10, 2011 1:59 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Everyone keeps pointing to the departure of Pioli as the reason for BB's personnel failures,
but if you compare the Pioli drafts to the post-Pioli drafts, it’s really hard to see Pioli as having a positive on personnel decisions. Those awful, wasted drafts from 2006-2008 were Pioli’s drafts. The first post-Pioli draft (2009) gave us Chung, Brace, Vollmer, Pryor and Edelman. The second post-Pioli draft (2010) gave us McCourty, Gronk, Hernandez, Spikes, Mesko, Price and Cunningham. It’s way too early to judge the 2011 draft, but Solder looks promising, Ridley has played well when given the opportunity and Dowling looked very good in limited action prior to his injury. Cannon and Mallet were steals, and Vereen could be the next Faulk.
So I’m not sure what the impetus for all the Pioli love is. Belichick’s drafting has improved significantly since he left the organization.
by nbradley07 on Nov 10, 2011 11:02 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
Not even short
just very selective. Everyone groans and gnashes their teeth over the 06-08 drafts, while conveniently omitting the most recent three, which all look fairly promising.
I think its a lot smarter to wait for how Cannon, Mallet, and even Brace perform before we say that the two
former names are “steals” and the former is worthy of any praise at all.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
It's fine if you want to reserve judgment on particular players
but there really is no basis on which to say that BB’s “sole control” over the draft operation has resulted in bad drafts. At worst, results are inconclusive (although I think Chung, Vollmer, Pryor, McCourty, Gronk, Spikes, Hernandez and Mesko were all unquestionably good picks). At best, the Patriots improved substantially since Pioli departed.
We're improved? Since the SB winning years? Really?
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
Thanks, understood.
In GOD I TRUST>In BB i trust......faith where it belongs!!
Life is about who makes it, not who makes it the fastest! Drive slow homie.
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