Hollywood Donahoe

Wow, this is news to me, and I follow the Pats every day. Could you please post the audio, video, or transcripts of interviews you must've conducted with New England players that led you to this completely inexplicable conclusion?

Bottom line: Following the Law release, Brown had the third highest cap hit on the team behind Brady and Dillon, and that's unacceptable for a player whose production is as low as Brown's is at this point in his career. I'm sure the team offered him a chance to reduce his cap charge and come back, but I certainly don't blame him for wanting to test the free agency waters. This is the reality of the NFL's current economic system. Neither party did anything wrong to the other, and to turn it into a big sob story is absurd.

Thanks for the inside scoop, Tom Jackson. Tell me, do the Patriots really "hate their coach?"

Bingo. They way that most are painting this a slap in the face to Brown is laughable. I'm guessing that such people don't have too intimate a knowledge of Brown's offensive production over the last two years or the Pats' and Brown's cap numbers. I hope like hell Brown comes back at a lower cost, because he provides depth in all three phases of the game, and because he's a great locker room presence. But the fact is that he's not a starter anywhere anymore, and to keep him at a $5 million cap cost would've been insane.

My guess is that they were thinking that they didn't want a guy who caught 17 balls last year counting $5 million against the cap. I know, right? WTF were they thinking?

BS. Brown's been getting #1 WR money for #4 WR production for two years now. The guy's a consumate team player and I would love to have him back at a price more fitting of his on-field play, but spare me the "no loyalty" crap. The Pats are as loyal as anyone, but every team has its limits.

The players are smart enough to know that they only need to worry when their cap hits begin to outweigh their on-field production.

It's especially dumb considering the timing. The AFC East plays the NFC South this year. Congratulations, Gruden. You just gave the Losman and the Bills extra incentive to beat you!

Nothing yet. The deadline's March 1st. The mid-range tender's a good bet, though. He was drafted in the 7th round, so the low tender would be essentially useless.

Simple math. $12 million cap hit + Pats roughly $5 million over cap = Bye-bye Ty

I agree on Manning, but believe me, Brady gets hit more than his sack numbers would indicate. He likes to hold onto the ball until the last second (probably because one of his strengths is going through all his reads to find the open target), and as a result, he gets hit after the throw quite a bit.

Jar Jar survives the film, but don't worry, it's plenty dark. Vader and Palpatine do some evil deeds in this one. Among them: ***SPOILERS*** - Anakin cuts off Dooku's hands, leaving him helpless, then cuts off his head at the urging of Palpatine. - Palpatine zaps Mace Windu with lightning then sends him flying through the window of a skyscraper. - Anakin (he's actually Vader in name at this point) leads stormtroopers into the Jedi Temple and cleans house, even killing young Jedi-in-training. - Anakin force-chokes Padme, which eventually leads to her death.

Thanks. And I have no doubt the Bills will be more competitive in '05 than in '04, even with a 1st-year starter at QB. I've seen first-hand what Bledsoe can do to a team, and it isn't pretty. I actually like Losman a lot as a prospect. He's got a great mix of athleticism and pure throwing skills, IMO. QBs are always booms or busts, though, but I think Losman has as good a chance as any to become a real good one. As much as I'll miss two all-but-guaranteed wins a year, I do look forward to seeing the new-look Bills against my Pats this year. Hopefully Belichick gets in J.P.'s head this year and stays there.

You can't possibly be this dense. If GM uses Brady's likeness without his permission, and he doesn't do anything about it (or sues them, but for a very small amount of money), it sets a precedent. The precedent, of course, is that using Tom Brady's likeness without his permission results in little or no monetary penalty. This opens the door for companies with which Brady doesn't want to be associated (a sleazy porno distributor, for example) to begin using his likeness without his permission, knowing that he will not be in a position to sue them having already set a precedent of being lenient in such matters. Understand?

Obsessed!

I like my sarcasm extra-dry.

Brady, actually, is the other constant. Aside from the first two games (losses) of '01, Brady has started every one of the Pats' regular season and playoff games over the last 4 years. As long as the Pats have Belichick and Brady, they'll be more than fine, and you know it. Good luck trying to convince yourself otherwise, though.

This is actually a really good point. I'm a Pats fan, and when I keep hearing people talk about releasing Earthwind Moreland this offseason, I tell them they're crazy. We should definitely try to trade him and get back a mid-to-late 1st rounder.

I'm sure your level of wrongness on that subject will be consistent with that of other subjects (i.e., the Colts WILL beat the Pats in the playoffs, the Steelers WILL beat the Pats in the playoffs, etc.)

My last post is in a thread about Eric Mangini, and never mentions Bledsoe's name. Don't you ever get tired of being wrong?

Yep.

Tell that to MadBuffaloDisease. All of his posts seem to be on the subject of the Pats' coordinators.

Givens is restricted. And where are you hearing about these "low-ball" offers? I haven't heard anything about any teams' attempts to re-sign their potential FAs.

Branch, Harrison, Bruschi, or Brady all would have been acceptable choices to me. I definitely think the right guy got it, though. He tied a SB record! Had the Eagles won, it would've been Owens in landslide. McNabb was horrid, they couldn't run it, and no specific player on defense shined.

Which FAs would those be? Unrestricted, I mean.