Beast of The East | FinHeaven - Miami Dolphins Forums

Beast of The East

It was a good article -- pretty standard -- until the end when the writer started gloating a bit. Somebody has to win the AFCE, and that's most likely the Patsies.

However, I think that they will miss Vinatieri's clutch kicking more than anybody in NE will admit. If they stay with Mare, I think they lose 2 games during the regular season just because of kicking. I think not having Vinatieri will really hurt them in the playoffs no matter who their new kicker is. Generally, the games are tighter, and if I have to bet my entire season on a kicker, I'd rather it be Adam Vinatieri rather than Olindo Mare or anybody else. His clutch kicking gave that offense a big boost, and the defense a bigger cushion late in the game.

I am totally mystified as to why NE didn't fork over the $3 mil or so to keep this guy a Patriot, and I think they will be sorry for being "penny wise, pound foolish".
 
its on the pats site so much of what was said was expected
 
I dont think the pats will be nearly as good this year as everyone expects....

They had their run....but they are starting to have thier pieces stripped away.
 
biased - no. pats are still the team to beat, they had a LOT of key injuries last year and IMO are still the beast of the east and will win it again this year. as much as i hate to say it, no-one in the east has knocked them off the throne yet so who would you consider the beast if the pats aren't?
 
You found this article on the Patriots Offcial Website what did you expect them to say?
 
Aww, hell!

Daunte won't be ready according to that guy, and they are a lock to win the division!

Let's not even play. Let's rest up and get ready for 2007! :rolleyes2
 
Kinzua said:
I am totally mystified as to why NE didn't fork over the $3 mil or so to keep this guy a Patriot, and I think they will be sorry for being "penny wise, pound foolish".
Click to expand...

I think in time the full story will come out. The Pats offered Vinatieri a contract that would have made him the highest paid kicker and he turned it down to play the free agrent market. I think he was ticked off at the pats over being franchised the past two seasons and not given a big long term contract. After he met with the colts and they made him an offer Vinatieri accepted that offer with out giving NE the chance to match or better it. Sounds like he didn't really want to stay in NE or he had a stick up his ****. Anyway rumor has it that he prefered a long (career finishing) contract and preferably kicking in a dome so that could also be another reason he never gave NE the chance to match it. I also believe that the offer that Belichick made was fair and he and Pioli usually set a position salary limit for an individual player. At 34 has vinatieri played his best games already? Who knows? He wasn't the deepest on KO and his longest ever FG is 49 yards and he has had some back problems in recent yrs so perhaps BB and SP felt his best days were behind him or at the very least soon to come and didn't want to get caught up in the long contract and tie up cap space. I suppose it was only as matter of a few years and he'd probably retire anyway.
 
AV's career best was 55yds I believe. He hasn't made a kick over 48yds in 2 r 3 yrs though.

Pats didn't offer any guarantees, no any bonus money. Colts guaranteed the 1st 3 yrs, plus gave him bonus. BB decided to let him go. They had him ranked as the 17th best in the league last year, right where the stats put him.

As to missing him in the playoffs? In a dome maybe, but outside in Foxboro? He's 3-6 since 2003 in the playoffs. He wants to go to the HOF. He has a much better chance doing that with a dome team. He'll have great stats going forward, a lot better than he would have at Gillette.

And if Mare is going to cost the pats some games, you better let Saban know, since he is currently still with the Fins...:D

Except for the guys guess that DC won't play the first month, where was he offbase?
 
dol_fan_81 said:
biased - no. pats are still the team to beat, they had a LOT of key injuries last year and IMO are still the beast of the east and will win it again this year. as much as i hate to say it, no-one in the east has knocked them off the throne yet so who would you consider the beast if the pats aren't?
Click to expand...

I'm a Pats fan and I'll admit to being biased, but I think the Pats are still the team to beat. Injuries can radically change the way a season unfolds. Last year, Bruski didn't start the year, Ted Johnson unexpectedly retired just before the season started and Rodney Harrison went down with the knee injury. Losing those 3 really hurt the overall efficiency of the defense. Additionally, there were lots of other injuries to the defensive backfield and we lost Matt Light (left tackle) for most of the season. Even with that, by the end of the year they were playing very good run defense and pretty solid defense overall. So I think some of the optimism from Pats fans is the (hope, prayer, or expectation) that injuries will be fewer and further between this year. So I think with a more normal injury pattern the Pats can still be very good. The AV loss bothered me and I fear it may come back to bite us in the butt. He was clutch. I think the suggestion that he was not happy with the Pats probably has merit. I also think he really liked the opportunity to finish his career kicking indoors. Apart from injuries my question marks, in descending order of concern, regarding the Pats are: 1) LB depth, especially on the outside. I'm hoping Ryan Claridge (injured all of last year) can contribute; 2) WR depth looks sketchy to me right now; 3) No lock down corner, though they are few and far between in the NFL; and 4) Rodney Harrison's knee.

All that said, I thought the Fins made great strides last year and will give the Pats a run for their money in the East this year.

Cheers!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom