Patriots hosting Panthers WR Brandon Lafell

[BradyToAmendola]

Just wondering, is this the guy that the Panthers took when we traded with them in that 2010 draft?

50 catches last year, 6'2'', seems like a pretty decent player. I'd be pleased.

 

[Keyser Söze]

Nicks over lafell please.

 

[captain stone]

Golden Tate over LaFell please…

...never mind.

Another not-so-unreasonable contract that Bill chooses to ignore. Meanwhile, Wilfork & Kelly
continue to clog our cap space.

 

[BobDigital]

The more i think about it the more i think Steve Smith is our answer.

Everything we do right now should set us up to beat Denver. Smith is the best option at WR for this i think. Why? Cause Denver has Talib and Smith has consistently owned him generally over his career. Also if he can cause Talpib to commit a few personal foul penalties all the better.

 

[PatriotSeven]

The more i think about it the more i think Steve Smith is our answer.

Everything we do right now should set us up to beat Denver. Smith is the best option at WR for this i think. Why? Cause Denver has Talib and Smith has consistently owned him generally over his career. Also if he can cause Talpib to commit a few personal foul penalties all the better.

He would be great for a lot of other reason, not just Talib.

However, with the way the Panthers are screwing him around, I think we'll end up signing others before he even becomes available.

Sucks how they are treating him, basically telling him his gone, but not letting him go out there and try to get a deal when the market is good. They know there's no way in hell anyone will trade for him, so it's ****ty to keep him tied up like this.

 

[50-yard-line]

He would be great for a lot of other reason, not just Talib.

However, with the way the Panthers are screwing him around, I think we'll end up signing others before he even becomes available.

Sucks how they are treating him, basically telling him his gone, but not letting him go out there and try to get a deal when the market is good. They know there's no way in hell anyone will trade for him, so it's ****ty to keep him tied up like this.

NFLN said he was released...and they speculated about how sweet he would be as a slot in NE.

 

[PatriotSeven]

NFLN said he was released...and they speculated about how sweet he would be as a slot in NE.

Really? Where did you see that?

I saw his tweets, but don't think he's been officially released yet.

Are you sure you're not talking about that article that talks about him eventually becoming a free agent?

 

[supafly]

According to Yates, Jason Avant in for a visit.

 

[TBR]

I'd love to have Avant and Smith here. Even better, Nicks and Smith but Nicks would cost too much. Especially given the fact I see us signing Revis.

 

[BelichickFan]

This just popped up :

Jerry Thornton ‏@jerrythornton1 9m
The Pats are very close to signing WR Brandon LaFell. Let's just say I know a guy who knows a guy. But book it #PatriotsTalk

 

[Marqui]

Seems like a waste of money to me.

 

[BobDigital]

Seems like a waste of money to me.

He won't cost much. We always bring in these guys every year and we cut about a dozen of them for the cost of about 150K guaranteed money which we won't even miss.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Actually I would like this move very much if this happened for cheap $$. Lafell has consistently produced 600+ yards over the past 3 seasons:

Brandon LaFell NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

He would be a solid #3/#4 option with good height. And he's a lot younger than Jenkins when that guy came over.

It's all about depth now. I expect Edelman to be our #1 WR option. Gronk to be our #1 TE option. Then we need #3/#4 slots filled after them.

Amendola, Dobson, Lafell, etc. would all be fighting to fill those slots or rise even higher if their play merited that.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Golden Tate over LaFell please…

...never mind.

Another not-so-unreasonable contract that Bill chooses to ignore.

5/31 with 13m guaranteed for Golden Tate? Umm, no thanks. No way. I'm betting Edelman's contract isn't even close to that average money or signing bonus.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/...n-5-year-contract-latest-details-and-analysis

 

[Brady6]

5/31 with 13m guaranteed for Golden Tate? Umm, no thanks. No way. I'm betting Edelman's contract isn't even close to that average money or signing bonus.

Golden Tate and Lions Agree on 5-Year Contract: Latest Details and Analysis | Bleacher Report

That is actually a very good contract for Golden Tate. Amendola was five years $28.5 million last offseason and Tate is three years younger, much more durable (played in 47/48 games over the past three years), he offers more outside, and is one of the best run blockers in the game. I would have given him that deal all day; I thought it was a great signing by Detroit.

 

[VJCPatriot]

That is actually a very good contract for Golden Tate. Amendola was five years $28.5 million last offseason and Tate is three years younger, much more durable (played in 47/48 games over the past three years), he offers more outside, and is one of the best run blockers in the game. I would have given him that deal all day; I thought it was a great signing by Detroit.

It is a good signing for that organization. Because they really need to get someone to take the pressure off Calvin Johnson who is constantly double-triple teamed.

BUT for us it is much better to get a proven receiver like Edelman back. A lot of receivers come into our system and FAIL because they can't handle the read/option route system that all NE receivers must assimilate. In this system it is much better to 'see' what Brady is seeing and run the correct route that he expects off the presnap coverage read than to be slightly more athletic or faster.

Edelman demonstrated that 'Vulcan mind merge' with Brady last season. Deion Branch was so successful with us because he had the mental 'rapport' with Brady. For the kind of money that Tate just got, I'd much rather have Edelman back plus Browner as our #2 CB next to Revis.

We're going to have to downgrade our expectations at WR a bit, because we really invested heavily in our secondary. And judging by how Denver blew us out of the water in the AFCCG, that was really a much bigger need for dollars investment.