Posted by Ian Meropol

4 thoughts heading into the weekend…..

1.  The Patriots rushed to trade Matt Cassel and we heard that there were going to be more moves to follow.  Aside from the draft picks I don’t see any free agents on the market that are going to come to New England and be difference makers.  Jason Taylor doesn’t get me fired up.  Felger has been right on when he says that every year the Pats go big in free agency they win and when they don’t, they don’t.   The Jets have improved as have the Bills.  Mike Vrabel had a down year but I don’t believe he is over the hill.  Yes, Jabar Gaffney had a lot of drops in 2008 but he will be missed.  The Pats get Tom Brady back, but have they improved this off-season?  I’m not sure.

 

2.  I’m willing to wait on Mikki More and Stephon Marbury — remember, PJ Brown was a late addition who looked lost in March and April.  But the C’s would not have won it all last year without the play of the wily vet.  Leon Powe and Big Baby are leap years ahead of last year and if Marbury can give them 12-15 minutes of turnover-less basketball I like this team against anyone in the East.

 

3.  4 teams that will surprise you in the Big Dance — Tennessee, Florida State, Western Kentucky, VCU

 

4.  My top 3 play by play guys that you will be watching this month — Mike Breen (as smooth as they come), Sean McDonough (every year he is not doing games for CBS he his missed more and more), Gus Johnson (his games have become must watch in the Tourney in a Ted Sarandis sort of way)

 

Enjoy the weekend…..

Posted by Ian Meropol

5 Thoughts on this Snowy Monday

 

1.  The Big East is overrated.  That’s right - it’s not as good as Dick Vitale and Jay Bilas want you to believe.  And the SEC is not as bad as they want you to believe.  Tennessee and LSU would do just fine in the Big East, and Providence, West Virginia and Georgetown should not get into the big dance in place of South Carolina or Auburn.

2.  This has been all over the Internet the last week — If you haven’t seen Jon Stewart going off on Rick Santelli, CNBC and anyone else in his way — check it out.

3.  My top 4 College Football teams heading into Spring Ball are  — Florida, Texas, Ole Miss, Southern Cal.

4.  Stan Van Gundy is proving Shaq correct – He has looked completely out of his element vs. Celtics this season.

5.  I will set the over under on JD Drew’s games played this season at 110.  I’ll even say A-Rod plays more games.

Posted by Steve Ciaccio

And we’re not talking about David Ortiz and the round mound of sound, Charles Barkley.  Okay so Cassel and Vrabel for the 34th pick in the 2009 draft.  We all have admitted that Vrabel was a WEEI favorite, until the trade and now he is on the down side of his career.  Here is a list of former number 34 picks.

2008 the Redskins drafted Devin Thomas a Wide Receiver from Michigan State.  A whopping 15 catches for 120 total yards.

2007 the Bills drafted Paul Posluszny a Middle linebacker from Penn State.  Three games 26 tackles, but he did get injured.

2006 the Browns drafted D’Quell Jackson and Inside linebacker from Maryland.  Not a bad first year for him, he appeared in 13 games and made 93 total tackles.

2005 with the 34th pick the Browns selected Brodney Pool a DB from Oklahoma.  He appeared in 13 games with 35 tackles and 1 pick.

2004 the Giants selected BC product Chris Snee.  He started 11 games that year for the G-Men, he recently re-signed with them for six years and 43.5 million.

2003 the Detroit Lions select Boss Bailey linebacker from Georgia.  He played in all 16 games that year making 88 tackles with 1.5 sacks and a pick.

2002 the Carolina Panthers selected Running back from UCLA DeShaun Foster.  He did not start or carry the ball that year for the Panthers but has developed into a quality back for the Panthers.

2001 the Browns selected Quincy Morgan a wide receiver from Kansas State.  In 16 games he had 30 receptions for 432 yards and 2 td’s.

and finally in 2000 the Saints selected Darren Howard a defensive end from Kansas State.  He started 16 games and had 11 sacks, which in and of itself is mind boggling.

One other note before I sign off.  The Pats, since 2000, have picked close to the 34th pick with two picks at number 36.  They took Eugene Wilson, free safety from Illinois, who played in 16 games, with 61 tackles and 4 picks, if I remember correctly he could never stay on the field.  He is now with the Texans.  And in 2006 they selected, projected 1st rounder, Chad Jackson who played in 12 games that year and caught 13 memorable passes for 152 yards and 3 TD’s.

So to sum it up, there is value at selecting number 34 in the draft, but as some like to say, you have to do your homework, in order to not select Devin Thomas or (gulp) Chad Jackson!

Posted by Ian Meropol

As Patriots Nation tries to figure out if they got fair value for Matt Cassel and Mike Vrabel –

Here is a list of NFL trades involving players over the last few years.  Did Scott Pioli get the better of his old boss???  Also check out Chris Price’s blog for more analysis. 

2004

Philly trades QB AJ Feeley to Miami for 2nd round pick

Washington trades Champ Bailey to Denver for Clinton Portis

2006

Vikings trade Daunte Culpepper to Miami for 2nd round pick

2007

Miami trades WR Chris Chambers to San Diego for 2nd round pick

Browns trade QB Charlie Frye to Seattle for 6th round pick

Jets trade G Pete Kendall to Redskins for 4th round pick

Kansas City trades Trent Green to Miami for 5th round pick

Seahawks trade WR Darrell Jackson to 49ers for 4th round pick

Raiders trade WR Randy Moss to Patriots for 4th round pick

Lions trade WR Mike Williams and QB Josh McCown to Raiders for 4th round pick

Kansas City trades WR/KR Dante Hall to Rams for 5th round pick

Dolphins trade K Olindo Mare to Saints for 6th round pick

Atlanta trade QB Matt Schaub and their 1st round pick in ‘07 to Texans for their 1st round pick in ‘07 and 2nd round pick in ‘07 and ‘08

Bills trade RB Willis McGahee to Ravens for ‘07 3rd and 7th round pick and‘08 3rd round pick

Miami trade WR Wes Welker to Patriots for 2nd and 7th round pick

2008

Kansas City trades DE Jared Allen and their 6th round pick to Vikings for their 1st round pick, two 3rd round picks and their 6th round pick

2009

Texans trades QB Sage Rosenfels to Vikings for 4th round pick

The Lions trade QB John Kitna to Dallas for CB Anthony Henry