I'm sure that by now, all you Pats fans have heard that our best offensive lineman wants out of town. Since being drafted at the end of the first-round 6 years ago, Logan Mankins has blossomed into one of the finer guards in the NFL, even enjoying two pro-bowl seasons. But now he's demanded a trade out of Foxboro, putting the Pats in quite the pickle.
Mankins has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress in his contract talks with the Patriots, saying that he "doesn't need to be here anymore." He rejected the Pats' first contract offer and passed on his $3.26 million tender (the deadline past on Monday night).
I've never been a fan of contract holdouts. When a player signs a contract, he should be obligated to play-out the terms of the contract. Darrelle Revis and Chris Johnson, now that they're coming off Pro Bowl caliber seasons (and MVP-caliber as well, maybe), feel that they are too good to play for their respective teams because their newly-found "star" caliber has them feeling underpaid. Mankins' situation is entirely different, but it's still frustrating for the Patriots and the fans.
But, Logan isn't to blame for what we are seeing unfold, the fault lies with the Patriots...again. They have been preachers of value over the past few years, especially at the Draft. But now, they've got a premier player looking for a pay raise, and they're not budging. Mankins is probably looking to match, at least, what guard Jahri Evans got from the Saints (7 years, $57 mil). News flash, Patriots....MANKINS DESERVES IT! Evans is coming off of a great year for the Saints, and they have rewarded him. Mankins, on the other hand, also had a strong season and has a much more impressive career-resume than Evans does.
I know that the Patriots preach value, and I'm a fan of that philosophy in a capped-league (note: I'm not a fan of it when the Sox use it). But lets run some numbers here (and keep in mind the NFL is heading into an uncapped season in 2010). Last year, the NFL Salary Cap was set at $128 million. Last year, the Patriots cap figure was roughly $98 million. Just punched them into the calculator, hang on a second........
Ok, so I did the math, the Patriots operated a playoff season while staying 30 MILLION under the cap! Keep in mind that some of that $98 million had a negative impact (Galloway, Adalius, Shawn Springs)! Enough with the value! Sign Logan! It's not like you're in a bidding war for Brandon Marshall here. You have the elite player, and you are only bidding against yourself!
There are whispers that Tom Brady could retire at the conclusion of the 2010 season, but I'm not buying that for second. What I am buying, though, is that Tom's window for winning another championship isn't getting any bigger. He's getting older and he's got an ailing knee. Add in the fact that Moss isn't getting any younger and Welker's still not entirely healthy (might never be). The Patriots window for surrounding Tom with suitable players to make a run at the Super Bowl is closing fast. Adding to our troubles is that the Dolphins and Jets are only getting better. Bottom line: if the Patriots want to return to the top, they have to do a better job of allocating their dollars and filling out their roster.
wooooah you prove to be as incompetent in football analysis as you are in picking cup winners, pats are not in the wrong. no guard is worth any amount of guaranteed money, let alone 8 mil a year. id gladly take a first rounder (not likely) or even a second rounder for mankins. he is a good, not great, hard nosed football player but he is a guard. besides picking mankins in the first round, bill's mantra has always been that you can find guards anywhere and all reports out of 'training sessions' are that kaczur is playing LG.
ReplyDeletealso pretty sure your cap figures are off... i have only read that they were 8-10 under.
the only real question here is how much more pressure can the new-look too busy for 4th quarter brady take?
id take darrius heyward-bay for the pair
ReplyDeleteIt's not so much about the money, it's the approach that ticks me off. I view Mankins as a top-5 guard in the league, which, to me, is great. You're telling me that you want Kazcur protecting half of Brady's blind-side? Come on! And I checked the figures today on their cap situation via USA Today. They were $30 mil under last year. But they need to stop being so fucking stingy with their top players. Asante may not have been a Revis-type shutdown corner or even Ty Law, but he was a good #1 corner. Instead of paying him, they went out and replaced him with scraps. They did a good thing trading Seymour while his value was high, and it enabled them to give Vince a deal. That was a great job by the organization. But aside from that, they haven't done an efficient enough job to make this team a championship contender going into next season.
ReplyDeleteOh, and whoever posted about Heyward-Bay, I got a good laugh out of that.
ReplyDeletealso you are moron if you think pats arent contender next year. flashy moves are almost meaningless in nfl, its why the redskins have the first player to hold out of minicamp because 'not enough pizza has been provided for in the weight room'
ReplyDeleteright now jets are a 7-9 8-8 team unless they have some players break out, miami is a 10 win team, pats easily can get 11...
not the clear cut best team as they have been 5 out of the last 8 years, but easily a contender
The Jets, with Revis (and I assume you are saying they are without him), are a 10 or 11 win team. The Dolphins are a 9-10 win team, and the Patriots are the same. The Jets, right now, with Revis in the fold (he will be) are the class of the division. The Pats have too many question marks on offense right now, and losing Mankins would only add to it (keep in mind that Bill O'Brien is still at the helm). The D should be much improved with Spikes, McCourty and no more Adalius, but still nothing drastic.
ReplyDeletename 5 players on the jets that dont suck. good coach takes league by surprise year one. now everyone prepared for schemes and will kill them with te and short game. that d will get worn out and their offense is bottom 5
ReplyDeleteIt's not about figuring out which team has the best individuals. You said it, Rex is a great coach! They have a good O-line and a good running game, so they'll only have to ask Sanchez to be the next Joe Flacco. Rex is a great defensive coach and has good talent back there. The Jets, as it stands now (if Revis is playing), are a better team than both the Patriots and the Dolphins.
ReplyDeleteboooooooo
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