Tough to be a
Ravens’ fan
this off-season. The diaspora of Ravens (Bolden, Ellerbe, Pollard, Kruger,
whoever else I’m forgetting and now Reed) not to mention Ray Lewis’ retirement has
got to be harshing that Super Bowl buzz. It makes a ton of sense, of course.
What better time to reload than right after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and
your fans are most likely to give you the benefit of the doubt? And what better
time for the players to get paid, if not by the Ravens then by the Browns or
Dolphins or 49ers? Sort of a perfect pigskin storm. Still, count me as one
football fan who doesn’t expect the Ravens to miss the playoffs in 2013,
whether they win the Elvis Dumervil sweepstakes or not. They just won a Super
Bowl 34-31 and it seems to me they’ve made the transition from a team built to
shut down their opponents to a team that will outscore them. It’s Joe Flacco’s
team now.
I
hope that doesn’t mean he’s going to dance during pre-game introductions.
As
for Urlacher, he had to know he was gone the day Lovie Smith was fired.
Unfinished Business
It’s
quiet. Too quiet. Oh, sure, you’ll find the occasional “also interested”
comment referring to the Patriots and free agent X but when New England is one
of five teams interested in OT
Eric Winston,
it seems unlikely they’ll be the highest bidder.
NFL.com
has Sebastian Vollmer at the top of their list of best remaining free agents and yet all we
hear is crickets when it comes to Vollmer. Of course, it doesn’t help Vollmer’s
case that he is one of those dreaded “when healthy” players. Back and knee
injuries
have dotted his curriculum vitae. Those issues, combined with offensive line
guru Dante Scarnecchia’s ability to coach ‘em up, have hurt Vollmer’s market
value. The Patriots have the Marcus Brothers (Cannon and Markus Zusevics) and
newly signed swing tackle Will Svitek on the roster already. Is Vollmer better
than those guys? Yes, but that’s not the question; the question is whether or
not Vollmer’s balky
back and scoped knee
is $6m better than those guys.
My
guess? Some team (I’m looking at you Miami Dolphins!) will overpay for Vollmer
and the Patriots will use one of their 7th round draft picks on an
offensive lineman. Vollmer will miss 5-6 games in 2013 due to various ailments,
Marcus Cannon will
settle in at right tackle, Stevan Ridley will rush for 1,000+ yards and Brady
will be sacked the usual and customary 25-30 times while he passes for 4500
yards and 30 TDs.
Of
course, it would help my projection on Vollmer if the Patriots bolster their
wide receiver corps and find some help with the pass rush on defense.
Still waiting for the other shoe to drop…
Will
the Patriots sign RFA WR Emmanuel Sanders to an offer sheet? It sure looks like
a better bet than a 3rd round pick, especially given the Patriots’
track record drafting wide receivers. Of course, no guarantee the Steelers
don’t match. Hard to say how high New England would need to go to put the pen
back in Mike Tomlin’s pocket but I’m guessing the Patriots would have to offer Amendola money, at least. A best
case scenario with Amendola and Sanders (Amendola stays healthy, Sanders
develops into a bigger, stronger, faster version of Deion Sanders circa 2004)
along with Gronkowski and Hernandez would provide Tom Brady with all the
weapons he needs to make multiple Super Bowl runs between now and 40.
A rush to judgment…
John
Abraham looks like a better bet to sign with the Patriots than Elvis Dumervil,
unless Dumervil is willing to settle for $6m a year and a lifetime supply of
clam chowder and Sam Adams seasonal brews. Aside from the cash, the Patriots
would offer Dumervil one of the best chances to strip sack Peyton Manning in
the AFC Championship game. How do you put a price tag on that? And how much
does he like clam chowder?
I’d
also say that Dwight Freeney is more likely to be holding a Patriots jersey at
a press conference than Abraham who will get a better offer from Denver. Does Freeney
have enough left in the tank to be more than a mentor/coach to Chandler Jones?
In
all three cases, the complicating factor is the fact that a long-term (3 to 5
years) deal for these three players is highly unlikely. Given their age and
diminishing production, they are classic 1-year rentals which mean a bigger hit
to the 2013 salary cap. The Pats have 2012 3rd round pick Jake
Bequette on the roster and could still bring back Trevor Scott at a more reasonable
price than Abraham or Freeney.
In
other words, I don’t see the Patriots signing Dumervil (at all) and I don’t see
them signing Abraham or Freeney unless they are still available after the
draft.
Considering the alternatives…
Look,
we all know Bill Belichick is trading the #29 pick in the 2013 draft for
multiple picks in later rounds but it’s still fun to consider mock drafts by
pigskin pundits and bobbleheads and the players they pick for the Patriots. As
noted on ESPN Boston’s
Patriots Blog,
Daniel Jeremiah of
NFL.com
tabbed SMU behemoth Margus Hunt for New England in
his latest mock. As detailed by Field Yates…
Hunt has wowed
during the pre-draft process, posting some of the most impressive physical numbers
among all prospects. He checked in at 6-foot-8, 277 pounds, and with 33
3/4-inch arms, while recording a sensational 38 reps on the bench press and a
blazing 4.60 forty time. Those numbers suggest a high ceiling for Hunt and have
him in the first-round discussion.
Woof!
Not
to mention the opportunity to add yet another variant of “Marcus” to the roster
(as they already have a Marcus, a Markus and a Marquice).
The
flipside is that Hunt is a 25-year old “project,” which I read as a code word
for “bust” (another reason to sign Dwight Freeney as mentor/coach?). Still, I
can’t help but picture the 6’ 8” Hunt as an interior rusher on passing downs
with Jones and Ninkovich flying in from the edges.
Well,
it’s not going to happen but I can dream about it until the Jets draft Hunt in
the first round to keep him away from the Patriots or Roger Goodell steps up to
the mike and announces “the New England Patriots have traded the 29th
pick in the 2013 draft to…”
Until
next time, here’s another slice of awesome from the Tom Brady of pop music…
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