DBoys
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POSTED 9:27 a.m. EST; UPDATED 10:05 a.m. EST, March 31, 2006
BELICHICK LOOKING TO SHOW IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COACHING?
As New Englanders continue to wring their hands regarding the exodus of key players from the Patriots and the failure of the team to throw cap money at
available free agents, there's a theory making the rounds in league circles that coach
Bill Belichick plans to show that, in the end, the team's success has had more to do with the coaching than with the quality of the players on the roster.
We don't know whether or not this school of thought is accurate. All we know is that, for some folks who work in and around the NFL for a living, the only plausible explanation for not using a cap bulge believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million is that Belichick wants to show that he can win even if key players like David Givens, Willie McGinest, and Adam Vinatieri leave, and even if no one with any significant name recognition is added to fill their shoes.
If that's Belichick's intent, some of his current players haven't gotten the memo. "It's been discouraging at time, to tell you the truth," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi regarding the recent exodus.
Part of the team's cap surplus surely is being held for the purposes of extending the contract of defensive lineman Richard Seymour. But don't expect a new contract to come soon, because under the CBA a team cannot restructure a player's deal twice within the same year in order to give him a raise. Last August, the Pats "adjusted" Seymour's rookie contract to get him to abandon a training camp holdout.
Though the notion of an eventual new deal for Seymour won't be enough to reduce the collective blood pressure of the team's fan base, we think the situation isn't as bad as feared. This team has won games over the past couple of years despite a revolving door of injuries. So for 2006, the faithful should just assume that Givens, Vinatieri, and McGinest already have suffered torn ACLs.
BELICHICK LOOKING TO SHOW IT'S ALL ABOUT THE COACHING?
As New Englanders continue to wring their hands regarding the exodus of key players from the Patriots and the failure of the team to throw cap money at
available free agents, there's a theory making the rounds in league circles that coach
Bill Belichick plans to show that, in the end, the team's success has had more to do with the coaching than with the quality of the players on the roster.
We don't know whether or not this school of thought is accurate. All we know is that, for some folks who work in and around the NFL for a living, the only plausible explanation for not using a cap bulge believed to be in the neighborhood of $20 million is that Belichick wants to show that he can win even if key players like David Givens, Willie McGinest, and Adam Vinatieri leave, and even if no one with any significant name recognition is added to fill their shoes.
If that's Belichick's intent, some of his current players haven't gotten the memo. "It's been discouraging at time, to tell you the truth," said linebacker Tedy Bruschi regarding the recent exodus.
Part of the team's cap surplus surely is being held for the purposes of extending the contract of defensive lineman Richard Seymour. But don't expect a new contract to come soon, because under the CBA a team cannot restructure a player's deal twice within the same year in order to give him a raise. Last August, the Pats "adjusted" Seymour's rookie contract to get him to abandon a training camp holdout.
Though the notion of an eventual new deal for Seymour won't be enough to reduce the collective blood pressure of the team's fan base, we think the situation isn't as bad as feared. This team has won games over the past couple of years despite a revolving door of injuries. So for 2006, the faithful should just assume that Givens, Vinatieri, and McGinest already have suffered torn ACLs.
