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Same was said about Seau and Harrison.I think Lynch can give NE 1 or 2 years of solid play,and more importantly mentoring for the younger defensive players.I doubt BB would bring in Lynch if he had nothing left in the tank..
Have you seen Lynch play the last two years?
Have you seen Lynch play the last two years?
He can still hit if somebody else gives a guy pause (or you can live with him making tackles 5 yards beyond the line of scrimmage), but he's got two speeds at this point - slower and slowest, and he can't cover.
If all of this holds true then he will be part of the final roster cutdown.He was fighting through injuries the past couple of years.I view it as a low risk high reward signing.Have you seen Lynch play the last two years?
Not sure why everybody says this. All of the current/future key players on their defense are still pretty much in their prime. Wilfork- 26Green- 29Seymour- 28Adalius Thomas- 30Jarrod Mayo- RookieMike Vrabel- 33 (seems to get better with age)Hobbs- 25Meriweather- 24The vets just add leadership and play situational/rotational roles.
Seau yes, Harrison no.
Seems you left a few starters out of your list - I guess these guys aren't key players?Warren - 27Bryant -31Bruschi -35Harrison -35J. Sanders -24
They were talking about this on PFW In Progress. The assumption is he will play on early downs in a situational role and that he is an over-rated player (based on CURRENT Pro Bowl selections) who is passed his prime but could help on the fringes of a defensive game plan. A depth and leadership signing.
How did you feel about Randy Moss when he was traded to New England ?
He has NOT signed yet.
You're kind of making my point. Guys like Ty Warren (27) and James Sanders (24) are still in or just entering into their prime (age wise). Bruschi, Harrison, Bryant, and now Lynch all fit into the situational/rotational category that I was talking about. It's not like Belichick is going to use those guys as every down players. He knows (maybe more so than any coach) that the NFL is a game of attrition. The point being, the key players on defense for NE, who will likely see the most action, are not very old at all. It's a just a common misconception.
concur.
Interesting perspectives. I see numerous starters on that D 30 or older. Merriweather and J. Sanders play the same position. Hobbs isn't very good. I'm having trouble finding "key" players at all the positions who aren't 27 or older. If you add Lynch to that and consider the age of some of the backups it doesn't get better. I'll be interested to see how these older guys aren't close to every down players and avoid seeing "the most action."I think the Pats D is in for a noticeable let down.concur.
I disagree with your conclusion and some of your rationale. Guys that are 27 or 28 should be in their prime. Some of the players in that somewhat older age group (say 30-32) are still All Pro or Pro Bowl level, so I have a hard time saying they are falling off skills wise.Hobbs is a decent CB when healthy . . . last year he was the walking wounded. IMO, Bruschi, Harrison, and if they add Lynch are the only ones that should be considered old.Who knows how things will play out, but the early buzz is that the defense has noticably improved so far this year.
Exactly. Depending on the position, most guys prime is 27-31. A lot of experience, not a spring chicken, but not over the hill either. RBs prime is probably sooner than that, and QBs can extend a bit beyond it, but for the most part that is prime veteran age.The only really areas of concern as far as starter age are Bruschi & Harrison. And Bruschi will likely be platooned again with Seau if he returns, somewhat mitigating both of their age risks.Harrison was backed up by a younger guy in Tank, so that spot was covered in case of injury, but instead he'll likely be backed up by Lynch. So for 08, SS age is a concern, but that's about it.
I think this makes sense if by "safety" they mean covering slants in the middle of the field within 5-yds from scrimmage and by "linebacker" they mean taking up space in the middle of the field and making a hard tackle after the DLinemen are blocked away. The guy is now slow and can't cover but I'll bet he can still hit. A couple of those big hits later on situational plays and the public will vote Lynch to another Pro Bowl and another feather will go into BB's "genius" cap.
Thanks for updating, David.
New England's D was 3rd best in the league at plays of 20yds or more allowed, and 4th best of plays 40 or more yards. They dont give up big plays, and they didnt have stud safeties last year either. In fact, they basically started 2 strong safeties all season. They were 6th overall in passing D. This from a team that led every game and was passed on constantly. Get your #s together. Acquiring a player like John Lynch, someone who knows HOW to play the game despite his age, is only going to make this defense better.
I'd imagine Lynch was brought in to spell Harrison or play nickle linebacker, not play alongside Harrison.
Brandon Meriweather and Rodney Harrison will protect the middle of the field. Meriweather a safety with cornerback type skills, whereas Rodney will play more of a linebacker-who-can-cover role like he has been since he got to New England. Ellis Hobbs and Tyrone Wheatley/Fernando Bryant will be the cornerbacks - Hobbs is very solid when healthy, and Wheatley has looked great in camp and preseason. The Patriots secondary is far from bad. The loss of Asante is being far overrated - the BB defense is built on excellent linebacker and defensive line play, and there is a glut of studs in the front 7. People forget that the Patriots won a Super Bowl with Troy Brown, a UDFA (Randall Gay), and a young and inexperienced 4th rounder (Asante Samuel) as the cornerbacks.
I'm sure he was thats why I said Pats fans better hope....
What is interesting is that the "story" Shananhan gave for letting him go is that Lynch didn't want to play a diminished role here in Denver - and those roles did NOT include being in on nickel and dime coverage sets. He wanted to be an every down back, so out of respect Denver gave Lynch his release to pursue a situation where he could play full time. So now he signs with the team that can get him to Super Bowl and he won't be playing full time. Something about the "story" isn't flying now is it?
He was released July 30th. He'd been floating out there available for a couple of weeks. Any team could have picked him up. I doubt anyone really wanted to bring him in on a "full time" basis. What's he gonna do? The guy obviously still wanted to play. So, he probably didnt expect to not get any looks outside of only NE and the Jets. And Id assume he was willing to accept a lesser role with a team that has a slightly better shot at getting him to the Superbowl one last time. Which this year happens to be in Tampa. Nothing really tough to figure out about the Lynch situation.
Sure, losing Samuel and Colvin and replacing them with a rookie and a average at best CB won't have any detrimental effect. Having the entire right side of the defense behind the line be 31+ years old will "make this defense better." Not being able to help out Hobbs as much because the guy on the other side can't take away that part of the field by himself like the guy he's replacing did won't expose Hobbs more so than he already has been.Oh and now the backup SS is even older than the guy starting ahead of him - who's 35.New England's D was 3rd best in the league at plays of 20yds or more allowed, and 4th best of plays 40 or more yards. They dont didn't give up big plays last year, and they didnt have stud safeties last year either. In fact, they basically started 2 strong safeties all season. They were 6th overall in passing D. This from a team that led every game and was passed on constantly. Get your #s together. Acquiring a player like John Lynch, someone who knows HOW to play the game despite his age, is only going to make this defense better.
Well he really likes it here in Denver(his kids go to my daughters school) and I think he wanted to stay here - but he asked for the release under this "story". If he liked it here and I agree he knows why he didn't get signed - why come up with a "story". Broncos wanted to cut him cold - and they didn't want it to look bad - that's all. It's not a big deal in the end, in Denver there was this hand-wringing by the press about the release and I think it was just interesting from the Denver fan perspective. Also Shanahan has trouble getting out of these "deals" and still trying to look good - ie Bubby Brister, Trevor Pryce and other come to mind.
People are going to be able to pass on this defense.