Now departing...

Ahh, the changing face of the NFL. Free agency is well under way and there are a lot of big name players jumping to new teams.

As expected, David Givens got the lucrative offer he was hoping for. He'll now be playing for Tennessee.

I can't say this was unexpected, though the recent stories in the press had given me a false hope that Givens might be back with The Pats. I'll be sorry to see Givens leave the team. He was a solid contributor in the receiving corps.

However, at the same time, reading that Keyshawn Johnson was recently cut by Dallas has me somewhat intrigued. The Pats just lost a good receiver in Givens. Could Johnson take Givens' spot in the receiving corps for The Pats? Would he be able to fit into New England's 'team first' style?

Johnson seemed to be fairly well behaved with The Cowboys under Parcells and he is still a very productive player. Keyshawn would certainly make a nice target for Tom Brady and along with Deion Branch, that would be a nice one-two receiver combination... Johnson was with the Jets during Belichick's tenure there but I can't say that I have the slightest inkling of a clue as to wether the two of them saw eye to eye.

The size of Johnson's ego makes me think that the chances of him coming to New England are slim. Mr, 'Give me the Damn Ball' probably would not be able to handle the title of '#2 receiver'. At the same time, my gut tells me The Pats might show some interest in him. It's possible that feeling is the meatballs I ate for dinner as well.

It's starting to sound like Willie McGinest could be joining RAC and former Patriot Ted Washington down in Cleveland. RAC is working on putting together a formidable defense down there...

Still no news on Adam Vinatieri. Every day I check ESPN's headlines throughout the day, looking for some news on Adam's situation. I'm hoping something is happening behind the scenes at Foxboro that will have Adam signed to the long term deal he is looking for...

Around the rest of the NFL, The AFC East just got a bit more interesting. Dante Culpepper is now a Miami Dolphin and the competition for the Division Title just got even tougher, depending on the state of Culpepper's knee, that is.

On a final note, which team is going to pick up the T.O. time bomb? I wonder if a desperate AFC East team will take a chance on him... Doubtful, and hopefully, not. It's being speculated that he is headed for Dallas. Parcells, Terry Glenn and T.O. Talk about a match made in heaven...

Now that the Free Agent game is underway, it may be another week or so before we see any arrivals in Foxboro. There is always a slight exodus at the beginning of free agency as the Pats bide their time and wait for some of the dust to settle. I have no doubt things are busy in Foxboro.

In Belichick We Trust

Comments

[rebecca]

I expected Givens to go, and the pats to let him. Receivers seem to be fairly interchangeable in Foxboro (except that I'd hate to lose Branch, who was a fave of mine long before his superbowl mvp). McGinest, on the other hand, would be a HUGE loss. The man's a playmaker, and he fits perfectly in a defense that is difficult to learn and hard to find the right personnel for. I'm concerned about Vinatieri, too, but we need Willie much more than Adam in my opinion.

[Me]

YO REB! :)

I agree that McGinest is a big loss, but at the same time, he is getting up there in age, along with the rest of our Line Backers. Don't get me wrong, I definetely am hoping that he comes back to The Pats, but that just delays the big problem. The Pats need to try and get some young guys at LB who can start a new core of players at that postion.

I am not sure I agree that Willie is more important than Adam, simply because of the number of games where the outcome depends on the guy kicking field goals. Let's face it, kickers are pretty cheap in comparison to the other players on the team and finding a kicker with Adam's abilities, accuracy, kicking in bad weather, performing under pressure, etc, is not an easy task. I don't see why they just don't pay the guy and end it. Remember before Adam, we had Missin' Sisson? How many games did The Pats lose by a field goal when he was on the team. Oy...

[Tom]

In the end, Adam is just a kicker.. right?

[Me]

Hi Tom,

Well, I guess that is true, but I always thought of Adam as a little more than just a kicker, since he could actually make a tackle and occasionally throw a TD on a trick play, and as far as kickers go he is pretty exceptional with his accuracy, ability to handle bad weather situations (how many games in Buffalo did The Pats win on just field goals?), not to mention game on the line pressure... not that it matters for The Pats at this point. Like all true Pats fans, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for Adam, but as of now he is a rival... I am not happy about it and I am not going to be happy about it, but everybody gets replaced eventually. Maybe a 28 year old kicker will come in and establish himself as a new legend in New England...