Conference rdvax::new_england_patriots

I agree that is very refreshing to see an athlete that understands his time has
come.  That's a very difficult thing for an athlete of Kelley's calibre to own
up to.  No doubt he could get a fat contract somewhere else, so he deserves an
attaboy for going out with grace.

dave

    
    
    
    Free Agent Defensive Lineman....
    
    .....Neil Smith
    
    .....Sean Gilbert   <----Interior, where we really need the push.
    
    
    CF

    Just heard on the wire  ( nothing about the pats), that the Niners
    coach Steve Mariucci has just hired GB quaterback coach As the 
    niners offensive coordinator....Still waiting to hear more on the
    jest/Ne card game

    So the Patriots are talking with Desmond Howard.
    
    I guess this was prompted by a call to Howard's agent by Kraft. Howard
    wants playing time at wide receiver and also a bump in salary. He's
    talking with NE and Indy...as well as GB.
    
    Signing Howard would surely be a coup for Kraft. I think Meggett is
    history.
    
    MAj

The Pats would have to swallow a lot of Meggett's $$$ if they let him go to make
room for Howard.

dave

    
    
    If they let Meggett go, he is still counting against their
    cap at $1.8 million......he's $2.2 million if they keep him.
    With a difference of only $400K, they may as well keep him if they sign
    Howard....the opposition would have a hell-of-a-time kicking
    off.
    
    	CF

    If you have Meggett and Howard back there for kickoffs who do you kick
    to?
    
    Howard wants to be a wide receiver. At best he'd start off as #4 in the
    Pats wide receiver corps.
    
    Maj

I was disappointed to find out that the Pats are stuck with both
Meggett ($2.2 million) and Brisby (1.4) for the next three years.
I actually like Dave, but he is quickly losing his speed and doubt
that he'll be at all effective even two years from now.  Vincent was 
supposedly hurt all last year, but he was healthy for the SB.  He
didn't appear as though he was eager to be playing.

BTW, the grossly overpaid Bledsoe made $1.5 million last year.

    Desmond Howard ???    Will the Patsies assume the Lou Gorman theory of
    free agency ....... "This guy kills us, let's sign him so he'll be on
    our side." 
    
    I think we've seen the best of Desmond already.
    
    
    greg

    
    	I doubt that Meggett and/or Brisby have guaranteed contracts.
    The question is how much of there SIGNING BONUS money remains, to
    count against the salary cap? Someone said Meggett would still cost
    1.8 million against the cap, only saving 400K. Brisby would probably
    save you more, because his signing bonus was less.
    	The trick to the salary cap is looking at NEXT years possible
    free agents. If you cut Meggett this year, you save 400K this year,
    but 1.8 million NEXT year. If you wait and cut Meggett next year, he
    counts 1.2 million next year, thus saving you 0 this year and only
    800K next year.
    
    Ron

    So, the Pats should release Meggett now.  whether or not they sign
    Howard is irrelevant.
    
    NAZZ

    
    Nazz,
    
    	I don't know, todays paper said that Meggett costs the Pats 1.5
    million thru 1999. It also says that if they cut Dave this season it
    still costs the Pats 1.5 million, thus 0 savings this season. So using
    those figures and reducing the signing bonus by 500K a season.
    
    Year --- Keep --- Cut
    
    1997     1.5      1.5
    1998     1.5      1.0
    1999     1.5      0.5
    
    	If they cut him now, they save nothing in 1997 but 1.5 million in
    1998. If they wait and cut him in 1998, they save 500K in 1998 and
    1.5 million in 1999. So I would keep him 1 more year, and benefit in
    1999 with his release.
    
    Ron

	Why do I know that SeanR will love this one? :-)

JETS SIGN LESS-FAMOUS REGGIE WHITE

The New York Jets signed defensive tackle Reggie White Tuesday,
but it was the less-famous player at that position by the same
name. White, who shares the same name with the future
Hall-of-Fame defensive lineman from the Super Bowl Champion Green
Bay Packers, last played for the New England Patriots during the
1995 season. The 26-year-old White was cut by then-New England
coach and current Jets coach Bill Parcells during training camp
last season. The 6-foot-5, 310-pound White played for the San
Diego Chargers in the 1994 AFC Championship Game, but did not
appear in any other postseason games, including the Super Bowl.
White, originally drafted in the sixth round by the Chargers, has
played in 39 games, registering 29 tackles and 4.5 sacks.

    
    Desmond Howard is supposedly signing with the Oakland Raiders today.
    
    I wish he had done it last year. ;-)
    
    But better late than never, the Packers have a good chance of returning
    to the Superbowl next year and one less weapon like Howard is
    beneficial to the rest of the teams this year.
    
    				Sean
    

    Re. -2
    
    Ol' Bill sure does love size, even if the guy cain't play.  I wonder
    what has changed in Reggie White since the Tuna cut him six months ago?
    
    NAZZ

    
    I was reading in the PFW that the Pats are considering Tony Siragusa
    from the Colts as he is an unrestricted free agent. This might be a
    decent pickup considering we need someone who can collapse the pocket
    in the middle. Siragusa is also a very good run stopper.
    
    Another reason to pick him up is that the draft is weak for linemen
    this year, with the good picks probably going early. Also they say the
    cornerback position is deep in the draft this year. So we could still
    get a decent CB even at our current position. And if the Pats want to
    get a more quality CB (or OL) higher up in the draft, trade our first 
    and some lower picks to some team that needs alot of picks (like the 
    Saints maybe).
    
    				Sean
     
    
    
     

    
	Siragusa's agent is the same as Curtis Martins, and he was saying
 that he would cost approx. $1.5mil/year. He also said that the $$$$ would
 be better used on Martin (Pats core players)....

	BTW, that was in the Worcester Telegram this AM..... The other two
 players that the Pats were wining/dining signed somewhere else......
    
	Norm.

 PS: As an side note, did anyone see season tix renewal/bills???? Seems very
     strange that I have not seen mine, and I usually get it right after the
     SB.... (it'll probably be in the mail tonight, now that I opened my
     mouth ;-).......
     

    
    Yeah, I just read the article in the T&G you were talking about. I do
    think it is more important to sign Curtis first also, and renewing his
    contract this year could have a big effect on what the Pats will be
    able to do in the draft and free agency. Although it sounds like his 
    agent is already starting to do what many agents like to do and that 
    is compare him to other people, namely Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders.
    And those guys are asking for megabucks, so we'll see if the Pats feel
    comfortable paying him something similiar. Although the other two have 
    proven themselves for more years than Curtis has, but Curtis does have
    the potential to be just as great. But its still hard to dish out that 
    much dough, so we'll see where this one goes. Hopefully Curtis will 
    take much more than he's making now without breaking the Patriots back.
    If they do renew Martin's contract this year, I'd look for the Pats to 
    get rid of thier first round draft pick.
      
    
    But from what I've read the Pats are well under the cap right now. 
    Although they also stated that they would like to stay that way. But 
    to get a player like Siragusa might be worth it if they want an impact 
    player at that position. Siragusa had also stated he'd love to play for 
    the Patriots.  
    
    Another free agent who the Pats could use is cornerback Chris Dishman,
    currently of the Houston Oilers, if they don't want to get a CB in the 
    draft. If they don't resign Ricky Reynolds or Otis Smith then this might
    be possible.
    
    Supposedly Todd Collins is testing the free agent market and might be
    thinking about the Cinncinati Bengals. I'd like to see him stay but 
    Ted Johnson is our #1 and Monty Brown should be coming back from last
    year's injury.
    
                              Sean

    Sean,
    I think the Pats are in decent shape Cap wise and won't need to move
    the #1 pick for cap reasons. The best time to resign CM is after the
    draft. See what happens. Saragusa and a DE from Seattle who's name
    escapes me are supposedly the "Hot Free Agent prospects". I for one
    cann't wait for the draft. With the extra picks the Pats could get
    creative.
    
    Mike

    
    RE -1
    
    But if they redo Curtis Martin's contract after the draft won't they
    still have to be under the cap with his new contract? I believe so.
    So what difference does it make whether the redo it before or after the
    draft? If the Pats redo it after the draft, then they might not have
    the money needed that Curtis Martin wants. The Pats could certainly
    take the chance of sitting on his current contract for the rest of this
    upcoming season, but then Curtis would have the option of shopping
    around for the highest bidder the next season. Where if they try and
    redo the contract now, they have more leverage of signing Curtis for a
    long term contract at a "decent" price. That is if both Curtis and 
    his agent are going to be somewhat "reasonable". But if they start 
    saying well he's like this guy or that guy and try to get Megabucks
    after two years, then I'd probably sit on his contract for this year 
    and take the chance.
    
    Anyway I hope he come's back, but if there are a few guys on the team 
    making most of the bucks under the cap then it kind of hurts the rest
    of the team. And how many millions can a guy use per year anyway?
    
    				Sean
    

    It's a sad commentary (about professional sports) that folks want 
    to give up the #1 draft pick due to salary cap restrictions.

    Remember when you just cared about players statistics ? Nowadays,
    your more in tuned to how a player affects the overall salaray
    cap then most other things. It's not a sport, it just business.

    
    From ESPN Sportszone:
    
    The New England Patriots today signed unrestricted free agent
    linebacker James Williams, who was out of football last year. Financial
    terms were not disclosed. 
    
    The 28-year-old Williams was signed by the Atlanta Falcons last May but
    cut on August 22nd, two days after being placed on the injured reserve
    list. He is a seven-year veteran and joins his fourth NFL team. 
    
    Williams was chosen by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round of the
    1990 draft and played with them for five seasons. In 1993, he started
    nine games for the injured Sam Mills and had a career-high 89 tackles.
    In 1994, he had two interceptions, including one he returned 33 yards
    for a touchdown. 
    
    He was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the expansion draft in
    1995 and started six games, recording 79 tackles and two interceptions. 
    

PARCELLS SIGNS HENDERSON AWAY FROM PATRIOTS

New York Jets coach Bill Parcells signed away one of his former
players with New England Monday to help shore up a weak secondary
in New York. The Jets signed unrestricted free-agent cornerback
Jerome Henderson, who was a reserve defensive back for the
Patriots last season. He will likely compete with Ray Mickens for
the starting right cornerback spot. Henderson was a second-round
pick of the Patriots in 1991, and also played with Buffalo and
Philadelphia in his six-year NFL career, before returning to New
England. Parcells left the Patriots after leading them to Super
Bowl XXXI, although he was still contractually bound to the team.

    Isn't Henderson awful?
    
    NAZZ

    Steve Isreal agrees to terms with the Pats. Nice pickup. Reynolds will
    have to take a paycut to come back. Smith will probably be gone. Now
    all the Pats need is Saragussa and the Defense will be solid. BTW the
    draft is less then a month away!!!
    
    Mike

    Drafted by the Rams, out of ND I believe, speed to spare, one of the
    fastest in the NFL, didn't seem to fit into the system with the Lambs.
    We'll see....
    
    regards,
    Ruben

    Yup that's him. Went to the niner's and was a nickel back.
    
    Mike

    
    PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Eagles signed New England Patriots
    defensive end Ferric Collons on Monday to a two-year offer sheet. 
    
    ESPN is reporting that Philadelphia's offer is for $1.25 million over
    two years.
    
    The 6-6, 285-pound Collins played well down the stretch last season,
    starting the final five regular-season games and all three playoff
    games for New England, which lost Super Bowl XXXI to Green Bay.
    
    Collins had six tackles in the postseason and recorded a sack in the
    Super Bowl. With the NFL draft on Saturday, the Patriots have until
    Friday to match the offer. 
    

    
    I would expect that the Pats will sign Collins considering he started
    the last five games of the season and has developed into a pretty good
    player.
    
    But if they don't this may have a major effect on who they pick in the
    draft. You could almost bet on them getting a DE in the draft.
    
    					Sean
    
    

    
    Pats already said they will not match the offer.

    
    Guess they're going to go with Mike Jones who started most of the games
    last season. My question is why did Ferric Collins start the last five
    games of the season? I don't remember Jones getting hurt.
    
    				Sean
    

    The Patriots coaching staff decided to divide the playing time for the
    defensive line to keep them fresh for the whole game. It worked! More
    and more teams are using this method.
    
    mm

	I thought it was Ferric Colons (DE) not Collins (LB) that got
 picked up by Philly. Read someting in th epapers that is work ethics were
 not up to the new head coach standards...... Collins got resigned earlier
 this year.....

	Norm

	According to the news/radio, Carroll met with Collons and 
	cleared some things up (read: it was the agent, not me!)
	and now the Pats are considering matching the offer...

	/Ken

    
    RE .32
    
     Sorry for the spelling error on the last name but I guess you should 
    have figured it out since I had the first name in there.
    
    In other news it seems that the Pats were offering Rich Braham of the
    Cinninati Bengals an offer of 4.1 million over three years, which the
    Bengals decided to match.  Braham was playing Offensive Tackle for the 
    Bengals.
    
             			Sean
    

    
    PATRIOTS SIGN SEVEN UNDRAFTED FREE AGENTS
    
    FOXBORO, Mass - After adding nine players through the 1997 NFL draft,
    the New England Patriots announced the signing of seven undrafted free
    agents, including the University of New Hampshire quarterback Chris
    Bresnahan.
    
    With the additions listed below, the Patriots currently have 76 players
    on their active roster. The NFL roster limit is 80. 
    
    Here are the seven rookie free agents:
    
    Chris Bresnahan  	QB  	6-5  	230  	New Hampshire
    Curtis Jones	CB	6-0	180	Howard
    Jason Parker	S	5-11	192	Tennessee
    Juan Porter		C	6-3	294	Ohio State
    Mark Tate		CB	5-11	185	Penn State
    Shawn Turner	WR	6-1	200	Utah State
    Chris Wing		OLB	6-2	235	Boise State
    
    

    
    PATRIOTS MATCH OFFER FOR RESTRICTED FREE AGENT FERRIC COLLONS
    
    APRIL 18, 1997
    
    FOXBORO, Mass. -- The New England Patriots announced that they have
    matched the offer sheet signed by Ferric Collons and will retain his
    services for the next two seasons.
    

    
    Patriots resign unrestricted free agent center Mike Gisler.
    Terms of the agreement were not announced.
    

    
     SIGN ROOKIE FREE AGENT DEFENSIVE END JERMAINE MILES
    
    Miles, 22, is a 6-foot-5-inch, 265-pound defensive end from Georgia
    Tech. 
    

    
    It was reported today that cornerback Otis Smith is going back with
    Parcells and the Jets. No details around the contract. 
    

    re: -1  according to the Globe today he's getting $400K for one year.
    The Pats had offered $1.8M for 3 years which he turned down.
    
    dick

	Read in the Worcester T&G this AM, that the Pats were toying with
 the idea of signing Rod Woodson of the Pitts. Steelers. I guess he's a free
 agent and not getting that much attention from the Steelers or anyone else.
 He's suppose to be holding a private workout sometimes next week.

	Any other rumors/news out there......


	Norm

 He's waaaay too slow now, a few years ago I would've said sure, ok,
sign him. The only play of his last year I was impressed with was when
Glenn ran by him in the playoffs like he was standing still. 



 Lil Ed

    
    > The only play of his last year I was impressed with was when
    > Glenn ran by him in the playoffs like he was standing still.
    
    Yes he did get burnt on that play but then again all DB's get burnt 
    once in awhile. It was a good call, kind of a surprise where the
    Steelers were expecting more respect from the Pats with Woodson, and
    the Steelers having never played against Terry Glenn. Funny the Packers
    did the same thing to us in the Super Bowl, and yet we were fimiliar
    with Andre Rison. Also Otis Smith is a lot younger than Woodson.
    
    But its hard to get good CBs in the league and personally I think that 
    Woodson still has some good play in him. And considering his situation 
    that he's in now I think it might be a good fit for the Pats. He 
    certainly has the motivation to prove himself again. Although If I were
    the Pats I would not guarantee him a starting job, as they have just 
    drafted a 1st round pick at CB plus signed a free gent CB. But give him
    the opportunity to fight for the position. Also Woodson would have to
    be willing to accept lesser money than he got at Pittsburg. I would not
    break the bank on him because of his age. But perhaps if he wants to be
    on a team on the rise and trying to get back into the Superbowl then it
    might work out. But he may be just looking for his last big contract.
    
    Still I would be interested if i were the Pats. Law, Canty, Isreal, and
    Woodson would sound like a good backfield to me.
    
    				Sean
    
     
                                       

>     Also Woodson would have to be willing to accept lesser money than he 
>    got at Pittsburg. I would not break the bank on him because of his age. 

Exactly.  And from what I've read he's not too willing to take a pay cut.  This 
just doesn't sound like it's going to happen.

dave

    
    > And from what I've read he's not too willing to take a pay cut.
    
    He may have no choice. From what I've read alot of teams have been 
    looking at him but no one really wants to break the bank on him either
    because of his age and past injuries.
    
    I did read a recent article that said the Pats are still looking for
    another CB in free agency. Also the Pats are well under the cap and
    could afford a short term contract with Woodson that would still pay
    him well, and yet put him on a good team that can contend for the Super
    Bowl. Both Jacksonville and Carolina are looking at him too, so his
    decision may come down to who will offer the most dineros and playing
    time.
    
        			Sean
    
    

    
    Well, the Pats chose not to attend RodWoodsons workout yesterday
    so it's safe to assume they aren't interested.  From what the
    Globe said there are soemthinglike 18 other corners available all
    at less money than Woodson wants, I'm sure.  Woodson is on the
    down side of his career but he would've been a nice addition to
    help out some of these young corners.  To give him a big money,
    long term deal isn't practical, though, so I'm glad  the Pats are
    passing on him.
    
    On another note, everyone showed for the voluntary mini-camp except
    Terry Glenn (again) and two rookies who are tyaking finals at
    Georgia Tech.  It seems like the team has really taken to Carroll but
    we won't know the real answer to that question until August 31.....
    
    .......14 weeks and counting!
    
    CF

re .-1

Was any reason given by the club to explain Glenn's absence?  I'm hard 
pressed to believe it's arrogance.  That really doesn't strike me as his style.

dave

    
    > It seems like the team has really taken to Carroll
    
    It sure did and its great that the team is supporting him. I think 
    Pete Carroll is going to be a great coach for the Pats. He still works
    them hard though, I think that every team has pumped up thier practices 
    a notch this year. Carroll was saying that he wanted to work them
    harder, saying that compared to tier division rivals they were behind.
    
    As far as Glenn's absence, I heard on the news he had some real personal 
    matters to attend to. Also If I remember correctly he did attend the
    first mini-camp earlier this season, I believe it was Coates and
    Armstrong that were out.
    
    With the way things have gone in all the other Boston sports, people
    can't wait for the Pats to come back. Its sure going to be an
    interesting year.
    
    				Sean
     

    
    Rumor mill has it that the Pats are pursuing defensive tackle Henry
    Thomas. He is supposed to be a pretty good pass rusher. He's played 8
    seasons with Minnesota and 2 with the Detriot Lions. There are other
    teams who want to sign him too.
    
    				Sean 
    

    
    Re: last couple...
    
    The Globe said that Glenn had "an undisclosed sickness", no 
    elaboration on that.  Also, I meant before that Glenn was a
    no-show for the first day of the first camp, I didn't mean the 
    entire mini-camp, Sorry  :-)
    
    From what I heard on the radio, Carroll's mini-camps are no walk in
    the park.  You can only assume that training camp will be the same way.
    How the compare with the Tuna's is something only the players could
    answer and I doubt anyone would be too comittal in their answer.  One
    sure fire way for a player to get his a$$ kicked at this years training
    camp would be to come out in the press and say the Tuna's camp was
    tougher.....and even your average football player isn't that dumb. :-)
    
    
    CF

    
    Re: last few

	Wasn't there two other players missing, Ferris Collons, and someone
 else that I can't recall his name....
    
>>    answer and I doubt anyone would be too comittal in their answer.  One
>>    sure fire way for a player to get his a$$ kicked at this years training
>>    camp would be to come out in the press and say the Tuna's camp was
>>    tougher.....and even your average football player isn't that dumb. :-)
    
    
>>    CF

	Another way, will be if they get their butts kicked by the Jest
 on National TV. That will really tell the story on Bill Parcells training
 camps/coaching and Pete Carolls way........

	Norm

    
    
    Patriots sign rookie free agent defensive end Therone McQueen.
    McQueen, 23, is a 6-3, 280-pound defensive end who played collegiately
    at Northwestern Oklahoma State. He is also a Boston native.