Wow! The New England Patriots made huge news today by trading a 2013 fifth round draft pick for defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth and a late 2012 and late 2013 draft pick for wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. How will this effect the Patriots in 2011? Can Bill Belichick handle both personalities in the same locker room?
Albert Haynesworth is coming off a terrible season for the Washington Redskins where he often battled with head coach Mike Shanahan. Haynesworth often complained that he did not fit into the 3-4 defensive scheme that the Redskins ran. But don't the Patriots also run a 3-4 scheme? Yes, they do. However, the Patriots were only fourteenth in the league last season in sacks and were very poor on third down. My guess is that Albert Haynesworth will be mostly utilized on the nose on third down in hopes that he will be able to clog up the middle and move the pocket on the quarterback. This should create a better pass rush from the outside and force the quarterback to throw earlier than he wants to. This is a really good deal for the Patriots.
Chad Ochocinco is also coming off a disappointing season. He only had 831 yards and four touchdown receptions. But being paired with Tom Brady should improve those numbers significantly. He will be the deep ball threat the Patriots missed last year after trading Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings. With New England's talented slot receiver Wes Welker, two young tightends Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and Deion Branch on the other side, Ochocinco will be expected to open up the middle of the field by drawing double coverage deep down field from the safety. I am stating it here right now, the Patriots will break the offensive points record for a single season set by the Patriots in 2007. This offense is going to be dynamic. And oh yeah, Bill Belichick and Chad Ochocinco have been good friends for a few years now.
The Patriots have basically given up nothing for two players who are low risks and could give them high rewards. If they do not work out, you cut them or trade them for late draft picks. However, I think the Patriots struck gold here.
Showing posts with label Tom Brady. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tom Brady. Show all posts
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Is Randy Moss Coming Back to New England?
Former NFL wide receiver and current ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson says that Randy Moss should return to his former team, the New England Patriots. He claims that Tom Brady and Randy Moss were very successful together and thinks that Moss still has a lot left in him. This is a very interesting claim by Johnson (who is actually good friends with Bill Belichick), but could it work? And would Belichick even consider it?
Randy Moss had a very successful three plus years while playing along the greatest quarterback ever, Tom Brady. He set the single season record for most touchdown receptions in 2007 with 23 and hauled in a total of 50 touchdowns while playing his home games in Foxborough. But after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Moss only had two touchdown receptions in four games played. And after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in that same season, Moss recorded zero touchdowns in eight games played.
There are probably only a few teams that would take a risk and sign Moss and the Patriots are probably one of them. Rumor has it that they were interested in claiming Moss off waivers when the Minnesota Vikings put him on it last year. Another team that may have interest in Moss is division rival New York Jets. My guess is Moss would not sign with if he had other options but he may not have any.
Back to the Patriots, would Belichick want him back after the offense averaged 32.4 points per game but had a difficult time moving the ball against the Jets in the playoffs? Both Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are expected to have bigger roles in the upcoming season, but will they provide enough depth on the outside along with Deion Branch and Matthew Slater in the Patriots west coast offense? My guess is the Patriots would like to have one more threat outside because Branch is getting older and they are probably not sold on Price and Slater yet. Without many teams going hard after Moss, the Patriots may also be able to get him at a discount since Moss has made it clear recently that he would like to be reunited with Brady and Belichick. This could be a very interesting next few days.
Randy Moss had a very successful three plus years while playing along the greatest quarterback ever, Tom Brady. He set the single season record for most touchdown receptions in 2007 with 23 and hauled in a total of 50 touchdowns while playing his home games in Foxborough. But after being traded to the Minnesota Vikings, Moss only had two touchdown receptions in four games played. And after being claimed off waivers by the Tennessee Titans in that same season, Moss recorded zero touchdowns in eight games played.
There are probably only a few teams that would take a risk and sign Moss and the Patriots are probably one of them. Rumor has it that they were interested in claiming Moss off waivers when the Minnesota Vikings put him on it last year. Another team that may have interest in Moss is division rival New York Jets. My guess is Moss would not sign with if he had other options but he may not have any.
Back to the Patriots, would Belichick want him back after the offense averaged 32.4 points per game but had a difficult time moving the ball against the Jets in the playoffs? Both Brandon Tate and Taylor Price are expected to have bigger roles in the upcoming season, but will they provide enough depth on the outside along with Deion Branch and Matthew Slater in the Patriots west coast offense? My guess is the Patriots would like to have one more threat outside because Branch is getting older and they are probably not sold on Price and Slater yet. Without many teams going hard after Moss, the Patriots may also be able to get him at a discount since Moss has made it clear recently that he would like to be reunited with Brady and Belichick. This could be a very interesting next few days.
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