The New Guy
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- Joined
- Sep 14, 2005
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I think so. I can’t think of one kicker that I would rather have than Vinatieri. There is not a kicker that I know of that has been more clutch than Adam. I know of two games he won for you guys just last year. Specifically the game against Pittsburgh. Not many kickers can be counted on to hit a 40+ yard field goal for the win time and time again. Is Adam that good? He kicked the game winning field goals in two Super Bowls, and kicked four game winning field goals in the playoffs for you guys. In my opinion losing Adam was the biggest loss for the Pats this offseasson. I think Brady will now have more pressure on him in close games because he will not have the security of knowing that he has a kicker that can make the game winning kicks. I think Brady and BB will not be as confident in the new kicker, which will effect play calling Ect… I have a feeling that move will come back to haunt BB.AV is a loss, but is he that much better than other kickers? If so, why didn't the fins get him? Mare is on the outs, right? Why didn't the Cowboys? If his loss causes a loss, I'd be surprised. This isn't the 2001 Patriots that won by a small margin.
Givens was a good #2. His (& Dwights & Johnsons) production will be made up by the guys on the team. Do you really think there's going to be this big dropoff? IMO, it won't happen. THe Pats stronger rushing attack will free up all the targets Brady now has to throw to. Form my perspective, he has a lot more choices than before, not less.
I am not sure if there will be a drop off in production or not. All I am saying is they lost Givens, Dwight, and Johnson, and replaced them with Jackson and Caldwell. Two guys that have not proven anything in the NFL. I don’t see how you can consider them an upgrade over guys you already know can play well.
Regarding rookies and their contributions, i see a lot of Fin fans counting on their 'improved secondary' due to rookies and guys who haven't shown much in the pros. Why can't I project the Pats rookies to excel? The Pats picks do have a record of performing above and beyound their draft slot (Hoobs, Wilson, Samuels, Mankins, Kazcur, etc).
You have to look at who they will be replacing. Jason Allen is the only rookie that I think will see significant playing time for the Dolphins. Although Allen may be a big part of our secondary, I am not counting on him to be a starter. Most of the upgrades for the Dolphins secondary came via free agency. We let Madison and Reggie Howard go, but we signed Will Allen, Renaldo Hill, Andre Goodman, and drafted Jason Allen. We also have some cb’s that are coming back from injury. We got rid of some weak links and added depth to the secondary. That is why most phinfans think our secondary will be better than last years.
There is no reason why you can’t project the Pats picks to be successful, but when they are replacing guys that already were successful, I don’t think you can count them as an upgrade until they prove that they are. You can’t say Jackson is an upgrade over Givins because he has not played in an NFL game.