Notes from February 23, 2008

Asante Samuel Wants $100 Million: Free agent cornerback Asante Samuel and his agent, Alonzo Shavers, are making it known that Samuel is looking for a contract in the range of 10 years and $100 million. This is significantly higher that Nate Clements’ record breaking contract signed last year. Well, this certainly makes it less likely that he’ll be back. I don’t care how badly Samuel wants to be in New England. If he is demanding that kind of contract from his next employer, Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli will not cave in and give this to him.

Falcons look to Emulate Pats: With the hiring of ex-Patriots director of college scouting Thomas Dimitroff coming on board with the Atlanta Falcons, it looks like the struggling franchise wishes to use the Patriots as a model for rebuilding their team. Cool. Its always nice being a role model.

Bruschi to Decide on Future Soon: According to his agent, Brad Blank, Tedy Bruschi will have a decision regarding his future soon. I love Tedy Bruschi. Class act, great player. Even at the ripe old age of 34, he still led the team in tackles with 99. Even though he is aging and slowing down, I still think that he could contribute to the Pats for another year. Ideally, the Patriots draft a young, athletic guy and Bruschi mentors him for a year or two. Whether or not that happens, we’ll see, but I would absolutely love to see this guy don the Patriot uniform for at least one more year.

Washington Wishes to Hang Around: Kelley Washington, the reserve wide receiver and special teams contributor, would like to remain in New England. Unfortunately, the Patriots are not going to pick up his $4 million option tag, so they will have to get a new contract in place if this were to happen. Kelley Washington was an important piece to the Patriots’ success in 2008. He caught very few balls, but he was an integral part of the special teams unit, where he made numerous key contributions throughout the season. While I agree that $4 million is too much, the Pats should bring him back at price tag closer to the $1-$1.5 million area. He would be well worth it.

Patriots on the Hunt at Combine: The following are players that the Patriots have met with either at the Senior Bowl or the NFL Combine:

• Darius Reynaud – WR, West Virginia
• Dexter M. Jackson – WR, Appalachian State
• Gosder Cherilus – OL, Boston College
• J Leman – ILB, Illinois
• Curtis Lofton - ILB, Oklahoma
• Shawn Crable – LB/DE, Michigan
• Vernon Gholston – LB/DE, Ohio State

Nothing too surprising here. Gholston is the All-Star of the group, and would probably be available when the Patriots pick at number seven. The strong emphasis on the linebacker/defensive end type is to be expected, as the Patriots looked weak in the linebacking corps late last season and desperately need to get younger. The offensive line looked weak in the Super Bowl, so the Patriots could take someone in the draft. I will reserve judgement on these guys until later, as I haven’t done enough homework yet to make a fari judgement.

Izzo Re-Signs; Talks Continue with Gaffney

It appears as if the Patriots have brought back a key special teams contributer in Larry Izzo for 2008. Drew Rosenhaus, Izzo’s agent, has said that the linebacker/special teams guru has verbal agreement with New England to return next year.

Additionally, it sounds like Jabar Gaffney is continuing negotiations with the team, and that the other wide receiver Rosenhaus represents, Donte Stallworth, will most likely be a free agent when all is said and done.

As for as Larry Izzo goes, he is one of those underrated guys that does more for the team than any stat sheet would indicate. Special teams is one third of the game, and it can be critical to the outcome. His leadership and great play on most of these special teams units is critical to how the special teams perform throughout the season.

As far as the wide receivers go, it is not surprising that this is how it is shaking out. When Belichick signed Stallworth last off-season, Stallworth was in a bad position where people were beginning to think that he was washed up because of injures, lack of production, etc. To prove himself, Stallworth negotiated a back heavy contract (pretty unusual in the NFL) where most of the money would come after his first year with the team. The Patriots would owe him something like $6 million to retain his services in 2008, unless they re-sign him to a new deal. My hunch is that the Patriots do not feel as if he is worth that sum and will release him.

The other wideout, Jabar Gaffney, has a much better chance of donning Patriot blue in 2008 than Stallworth does. He was productive in his role as the fourth wideout for the Patriots, and he made good use of his time on the field, snagging 36 balls for 449 yards (12.5 yards per catch) and five touchdowns.

The key here is that Gaffney will be much more affordable than Stallworth. Last season, Gaffney had a two year deal in place with the team when he signed with them last season. He was pretty affordable then, and he will be affordable now. I think that it is important for the Patriots to keep Gaffney around in 2008 if they want to come even close to having the same kind of offensive success that they had this year.

He will never have the numbers that Randy Moss or Wes Welker have. That’s because he doesn’t have the same kind of natural athletic ability that they have. But he is a receiver that has good size and hands with pretty good speed, and can really hurt the opposing defense if they don’t cover him well (with the Patriots offense, that is hard to do). He is important to keep, and I see him staying in New England in 2008.

Thomas Spurns Pats; Heads to Big D

Numerous sources are reporting that the hall of fame linebacker Zach Thomas will be heading to Dallas for what will likely be his final season.

The one year deal could be worth up to $3 million, with a $1 million signing bonus, $1 million guaranteed, and $1 million in incentives. While other offers from the Patriots and Saints were enticing, the opportunity to play in Texas (Thomas’ home state) was too good to pass up.

There were many New England fans who were excited about possibly having Thomas join the linebacking corps here, but I personally was never that high on the veteran. The Patriots are already old in that group, and they don’t need a player who has a history of concussions coming into that group. While he is still talented, I do not think Thomas would have answered many questions for the Patriots in 2008.

Another factor that is important to consider is that Thomas has primarily been a 4-3 linebacker his entire career. A player of his caliber would be able to adjust to the Patriots’ scheme I’m sure, but there is no guarantee. In Belichick’s complex schemes, it is better to have someone who is at least experienced in the basic formation of the defense.

That being said, I believe that he still has a little gas left in the tank, and I think that he will be a good fit down in Dallas. I have no ill-will towards Thomasl, as he is a tremendous player and a class-act. I wish him only the best. He just wouldn’t have been that great here in New England.