that was amazing. Floyd has picked things up a bit quicker than the whole host of Aaron Dopson/Kembrell Thompkins, Chad Jackson, Bethel Johnson, etc.

if there are red flags I'm worried about, they are:

- red zone offense without Gronk. We've failed to punch it in a bunch of times recently. obviously losing a GOAT red zone threat has hurt us here, where the midget WR's aren't quite as effective

- uneven pass defense. granted it was only one drive, but that Matt Moore drive to open the 2nd half was a terrifying reminder of some old pass defenses where guys were just flying open all over the field. they had another bad drive later that ended when McCourty bailed them out with the forced fumble. but given this was against Matt Moore, that is reason for worry.

Look at the QB's we might play in the playoffs.

Two backups, Fat Ben, Osweiler and Alex Smith.

If I have a concern it's that fast little KC ****er!

Floyd helps relieve that a bit. At 6' 2". 220, he ain't small.

If you are not concerned about Big Ben then you better wake up.

Dat block might be my favorite play of the year.

Concerned about Fat Ben and the Steelers?

could also see BB gameplanning around letting zeke go ham between the tackles and playing prevent on anything else. our LBs have been garbage in coverage.

look at the LBs. stats through w16

Something might be COOKing in a few weeks in Foxboro. As long as Dave Hebner isn't on the field, then payback might be in order.

I'm just sick of having to go to these games at night. #firstworldproblems

Floyd's hangover is back.

?

I didn't exactly read the TMZ news on his DUI arrest but it sounded painful.

Lol at the Raiders winning in Foxboro with Connor Cook at QB.

Where the **** did Trey Flowers come from. I know last year he looked decent as a rookie in pre-season, but then went on IR and didnt play during the season. Now he looks unblockable.

Going into the season i think i ranked their D guys in terms of need to extend as 1. Hightower, 2.Butler, 3. Collins. I may have to change that to 1. Butler and that isnt because Hightower has disappointed. Butler is a legit #1 CB, may not be a fully shutdown corner but the guy competes, is a great tackler and seems legit offended anytime someone catches a pass on him.

Whats crazy to think is that from what i have read is that Pats were the only team to offer Butler an invite to camp. The guy is right now a top 10 CB in the NFL and if not for 1 team giving him a chance he wouldnt be in the NFL. Makes you wonder how many people out there just never got a chance.

You guys think they will sign Logan Ryan? He seemed to have a bad first half of year, but the current rotation of Butler, Ryan, Rowe has played well as of late.

Ryan is not perfect, but they could do a lot worse imo. People seem to hate him, but I hope they can get him back at a fair price.

It depends on if someone else is willing to overpay him or not. I don't think they'll have $ in the budget for both him & Butler, but we'll see.

Don't they have huge gobs of money available next offseason? Even before you start looking at the obvious cuts/restructures like Amendola.

I mean, the short answer is yes, but that's not really what I was referring to. How much they would budget to a rotational corner is different than what they could afford under the cap.

They are currently $71 million under next year's cap, & cutting Amendola would save another $6.5 million.

Their impending free agents include (by position because I thought it was the easiest way to look at it, does not include everyone):

HB Blount
HB Bolden
FB Develin
WR Floyd
TE Bennett
T Volmer
G/6th OL Fleming
DE Sheard
DE Long
DT Branch
OLB Mingo
ILB Hightower
CB Butler
CB Ryan
CB Coleman
SS Harmon

Butler & Hightower are obviously the big ticket guys who they may or may not want to pay big $$$ to, and there are a lot of rotational guys I'm sure they would take back at the right price.

It's not really part of their business model to pay full market value for pretty good, but not great, veterans. They do have a lot of options & a lot of flexibility, & it will be very interesting to see what they do.

I might be underselling Ryan, though...he actually led the team in tackles somehow, & Hightower wasn't that productive, so it might be they let Hightower go for a big offer & keep Ryan as an underappreciated asset.

I feel like with all this flexibility they actually should be more talented next year...with a couple caveats: reasonable health, & Brady doesn't drop off.

Id like to keep Ryan but got to think that on the open market he will get offers that price the Pats out.

Ryan led the team in tackles because he can't break up passes, right? Can you show some work to suggest otherwise?

There's no chance, in my mind, that they let Hightower walk.

Ryan's gonna get paid. Any decent corner will clean up in this market, and I think the stats say he's at least decent.

2016:
56 receptions on 102 targets. 6.2 yards per target, 3 TDs allowed, 2 picks, 10 pass breakups, just 3 penalties for 30 yards. 75.4 passer rating against.

2015:
47 receptions on 92 targets, 7.6 yards per target, 3 TDs allowed, 4 picks, 8 pass breakups, 0 pass interference penalties, 69.1 passer rating against.

I don't know how often he gets help, so that may tilt it some, but he's been at least solid for 2 years. He'll get money.

One underrated aspect of Butler is the dude has stayed on the field. He hasnt missed hardly any playing time this year I dont think. Everyone knows we are hurt if something happened to Brady but I think our defense suffers more if we lost Butler than if we lost Hightower.

Also I think Blount is probably more important to our team this year than any other current offensive player other than Brady.

Does this thread change title to 5 Rangz & a Fist after this Super Bowl???