I think that Banta-Cane, Crumple and Warren are ALL simple salary cap moves. If they are willing to come back at a lower price, Bill will rehire, if not, he feels that their on field worth has diminshed below their current salary cap number. This is not news, Bill has consistently done this over the years and every training camp there are moans and groans about him letting go of this or that "great" player. In virtually every case the players in question never again reach the level of play that they were at before and the substitute goes on to make us forget who was let go. Yes, there are exceptions, (Seymore and Ty Law come to mind). But, and this is a BIG but, they have to live within the salary cap. Look at a franchise like Oakland to see what you get when you sign guys to big contracts based upon past glory, but who are past there prime. Bill's way is better. Hey, lots of times I don't understand him either. But he is a far better judge of the true worth of a player than me, so I bow to his judgement. (Note, BTW, that he just re-signed Matt Light for two years).
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This actually suprised me more after letting go people like Warren. Light to me is over rated at what he does. Yes he makes a few key plays than lets the easiest plays go by him.
But I guess this is why I am not a coach
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Pats are really stocking up with big D linemen just signing Shaun Ellis, about time no pass rush has killed us.
I hope a few of them have something left in the tank?
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It was a fun preseason game Thursday night. Tough to judge just how good this team is as most of the starters did not play and I think the competition (Jacksonville) was suspect, but a few thoughts:
* I liked the rookie running back Ridley, good speed, good balance and willing to stick his nose in the line and not dance.
*Dane Fletcher had a great night at LB. Maybe some competition there?
*Nice to see Gostkowski back in uniform and kicking well.
*Solder looked solid at left tackle, but with Light re-signed, I expect he will see limited action this season
*Both QB's looked good, though Mallett was up against the last string for the Jags. I wonder if Bill will keep 3 QB's on the roster?
*Taylor Price looked real good at wide receiver, he was essentially red-shirted last year and could be a real break-out guy this year, especially once TB is throwing to him.
*If the Jags can be considered viable competition, it looks like the Pats have great depth, I'm sure a lot of their eventual castoffs will find jobs elsewhere at cut time.

Next up Tampa Bay, I expect the starters WILL see some playing time in the first quarter of this one.
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This team will be very tough to beat,we will now have a pass rush :-)
If the Pats had one the last three years we could of had two more Super Bowl appearances :-)
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Yep :-)
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It does appear that the Pats have made some noteworthy additions, hope that the additons pay off for the team.:-)
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Playoff record 2001-2006: 12-2
Playoff record 2007-Present: 2-3

Unless that pass rush comes with some A/V equipment, you might be overreaching just a tad.
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I see the Pats tearing up the NFL this season all the way to the Super Bowl.:-)
Chad is a weak link and he knows it,he don't have much time to get his act together or he will be on the bench.
“It’s like a machine out there and I’m that one part that’s not up with anybody else,” Ocho admitted. “I got a long way to go, personally.”
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Yup, 85 better learn some plays and execute them. He showed he has the hands; now it is time to learn Patriots football.
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If 85 doesn't learn the playbook to Belicheck's satisfaction- he will ride the bench and Taylor Price will get every opportunity to prove himself.

BTW.... I wonder if Hayneworth and Sean Ellis will play this week?
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Nice game by T Brady and the Offense last night, absolutely LOVED Welker's 99 1/2 yard catch and run. Unfortunately #85 was largely absent ...the jury is still out on him as far as I'm concerned. But, the tight ends played well, as did D Branch and B Tate, when in there. Kudos to Solder too, he generally did a good job on the O line. - Too bad about Koppen, he reportedly has a broken foot, he'll be missed.

Now as the the much advertised revamped Defense .. I guess the best we can say is that it's a work in progress. They did get 4 sacks, but the pressure was spotty and they made Henne look like a much better QB than he really is. Hopefully they can work out some of the kinks.

Next up San Diego.
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Defense neeeds work. We can't go another all offense season and expect different results in the end.
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Nice win vs San Diego but I'm STILL concerned about the defense. It was nice to see V Wilfork get the INT, but I'd rather see him and his line mates consistently rushing the passer and geting in the QB's face.
Most expected the shootout that this game was, it will be interesting to see how the defense fares vs newly rejuvenated Buffalo.
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Congrats to Buffalo- you deserved this one.
Well now we know what happens when Tom is NOT the Player of the week -Pats Lose.
4 interceptions were bad, (though I thought 2 of them were not Tom's fault), but the defense just plain stunk. Brady's heroics covered for them the first two weeks, not this week. If the Defense doesn't step up to the plate vs. Oakland we'll be at 500 and sinking like the Red Sox.

On the positive side:
Kudos to:
Welker, (what a joy to watch him play)
Gronkowski - (simply a BEAST)
The Offensive line-they did real good, interceptions were NOT because of QB pressure

We better score 38 next week because the Raiders will against this Defense
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I never wished for a competitor's play to be ruled a touchdown more than last Sunday. I had a feeling the Bill would beat us. 3-0; they are a team to watch!
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Don't get me wrong I love the Pats.
BUT they don't have the defense right now to get it through the playoffs I know it's early in the season but they don't have it.
They can gun sling with the best of them but they can not stop anyone right now.
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Defense is certainly going to be the Achilles heel for the Pats. I'm a Bills season ticket holder, the Pats D-line wasn't generating much push and just like the Bills, it looks like the Pats secondary is suspect. The Pats are starting to look like the Colts have for most of Manning's time there.... Great offense trying to outscore the other team. That said, Brady is still an incredible player and more times than not, they will win that shootout.
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Not a lot of passing goes on at Foxborough in December, and three of their last five games are there with the other two being @ Denver and @ Washington.
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Good win over the Raiders. Special thanks to R Seymore who was so intent on showing up his old team that twice he single handedly allowed the Pats to continue their first drive via dumb penalties to a go ahead touchdown. Once ahead the Pats never looked back.

Kudos to:
Welker: can't say enough about him- he his redefining the position of slot receiver.
Wilfork, ANOTHER pick- go Vince
O line- Overall good job on both pass and run blocking
Brady- he protected the ball after the 4 INT's last week
Offensive scheme: Hey we found a running game! Maybe taking a bit longer to score and keeping the defense off the field is somthing the coaching staff should think about more for the future. Good jobs by B-J Green-Ellis and S Ridley.

Concerns:
Defense - Not even Tom and company can score 30 + points EVERY week. If this unit doesn't play better, all the fancy offensive stats will go for naught
Mayo hurt- this suspect defense can ill aford to lose him for any length of time

Now the hype begins- bring on the Jets
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