Asante Samuel (1 Viewer)

[FreeBaGeL]

The big difference maker was the dropoff from Deion Branch to Reche Caldwell. If it was Branch in there instead of Caldwell, you might have seen a whole different outcome on the game.

That's absurd.

Not really. A few key drops on Reche's part really hurt the Pats, especially that 3rd and 9 pass where the Colt's forgot to cover him and had him WIDE ####### OPEN in the 4th qtr. Caldwell cathces that ball and makes the 1st down and the Pats keep the drive going and never give the ball back to Indy to take the lead. That was a key play and a key drop.

I could be wrong but I'm almost positive that drop came on 1st and 15, not 3rd down (certainly not 3rd and 9 since they never had a 3rd and 9 on that drive...).As was mentioned the other drop came right before "also-ran" Jabar Gaffney made a great play in the back of the endzone to score a TD. Daniel Graham also had a great diving finger-tip grab late in the game that was eerily similar to the one Addai couldn't quite haul in for Indy.The pro-bowl Indy WRs meanwhile played terribly yet always seem to dodge the "choke" label that gets stuck on Indy. Reggie Wayne struggled all night which was epitomized by his two goofy stumbles (one of which took away what looked to be a sure touchdown right before the half) had great position on a key 3rd down only to see the ball go right through his hands, and almost gave the ball away with a fumble near the end of the game winning drive. Harrison had a 50 yard pass go off his hands on 3rd down from their own 5 yard line that, while not an easy catch, was one he makes every time in the regular season.The Indy WRs are far, far, far superior to the NE WRs on any given Sunday, but with the way they struggled in that game and with the way Gaffney has been playing lately I don't think they were nearly the difference this time 'round. Harrison and Wayne had only 109 of Peyton's 347 passing yards.

 

[GRIDIRON ASSASSIN]

Bailey

Mathis

Pac-Man

Samuel

McAllister

Carlos Rogers is pushing his way onto that list.....

They must not throw to his side of the field because he's so damned good. He's tied with a bunch of nobodies with 1 INT this year, for zero yards:http://www.nfl.com/stats/playersort/NFL/DB...p;start_row=101

Ohhh... that's right, he's an overpaid Redskin so he's great. 23rd ranked pass defense in the league btw...

 

[PatsWillWin]

Furthering the discussion about the franchise tag for DB's, this was in the Boston Herald today:

Cornerbacks ranked surprisingly low on the franchise tag totem pole in 2006, with a salary of $5.89 million that ranked seventh out of the 11 positions. However, that number could jump by $2 million next season. The franchise tag number is determined by taking the average of the top five salaries at each position. Here are the largest salary cap hits at corner in 2006, according to NFL Players’ Association documentation. These figures should give a ballpark for next year’s franchise fee, which some estimate could push $8 million.

Chris McAlister Baltimore$8.4 million

Champ Bailey Denver $8 million

Nate Clements Buffalo $7.2 million

Charles Woodson Green Bay $6.7 million

Ronde Barber Tampa Bay $6.5 million

Average $7.4 million

Source: NFLPA.org

FWIW.

 

[PMENFAN]

Furthering the discussion about the franchise tag for DB's, this was in the Boston Herald today:

Cornerbacks ranked surprisingly low on the franchise tag totem pole in 2006, with a salary of $5.89 million that ranked seventh out of the 11 positions. However, that number could jump by $2 million next season. The franchise tag number is determined by taking the average of the top five salaries at each position. Here are the largest salary cap hits at corner in 2006, according to NFL Players’ Association documentation. These figures should give a ballpark for next year’s franchise fee, which some estimate could push $8 million.

Chris McAlister Baltimore$8.4 million

Champ Bailey Denver $8 million

Nate Clements Buffalo $7.2 million

Charles Woodson Green Bay $6.7 million

Ronde Barber Tampa Bay $6.5 million

Average $7.4 million

Source: NFLPA.org

FWIW.

I'm thinking a contract similar to what they offered Branch, int he $6-$6.5 million range. I hope they can keep him. And that falls into line with what I see here. Maybe some escalators and reachable bonuses. Has he peaked? Or, is he still growing? I'd like to see him play a full season with the secondary healthy.

 

[David Yudkin]

Furthering the discussion about the franchise tag for DB's, this was in the Boston Herald today:

Cornerbacks ranked surprisingly low on the franchise tag totem pole in 2006, with a salary of $5.89 million that ranked seventh out of the 11 positions. However, that number could jump by $2 million next season. The franchise tag number is determined by taking the average of the top five salaries at each position. Here are the largest salary cap hits at corner in 2006, according to NFL Players’ Association documentation. These figures should give a ballpark for next year’s franchise fee, which some estimate could push $8 million.

Chris McAlister Baltimore$8.4 million

Champ Bailey Denver $8 million

Nate Clements Buffalo $7.2 million

Charles Woodson Green Bay $6.7 million

Ronde Barber Tampa Bay $6.5 million

Average $7.4 million

Source: NFLPA.org

FWIW.

Does anyone know what numbers they use to calculate a franhcise salary? Meaning, are signing bonuses added in or not? For example, Antrel Rolle was paid $6,725,000 in salary alone this season, yet he is not on the list at all and his salary alone would place him in the Top 5. Since the Cardinals had cap space to burn, they frontloaded his contract. Does that make any difference?

 

[redman]

Bailey

Mathis

Pac-Man

Samuel

McAllister

Carlos Rogers is pushing his way onto that list.....

He's had flashes both last year and this one, but they're few and far between, especially considering where he was drafted. The conventional perspective is that he regressed this year in his coverage skills, though it's hard to say whether or not that was a product of him actually regressing versus the entire defense simply sucking.As for Samuel, there's no doubt that he and Clements will lead the 2007 class of FA CB's. And beware: the 'Skins are on the market for a veteran CB, so . . .