If Ben Cherington is really counting on John Lackey to be a major part of the solution in 2013, that’s a Red Flag right there. He would be better off just saying we expect to contend again by 2014 or 2015 than stringing the fans along like blind lemmings for 2013.

What would you do with Lackey?  Release him?  What would be the point of that?  You realize he’s still got 2 yrs/30 mil left on his contract.  He was a good pitcher for a long time, he got injured, now he’s healthy.  There’s every reason to think he can be a decent 5th starter, probably better than most.

say for instance we sign Hamilton and Ross,we trade for Morrison or Butler, we would then be a contender with Lackey or not.

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, CF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. Josh Hamilton, RF
4. David Ortiz, DH
5. Will Middlebrooks, 3B
6. Adam Laroche, Kendry Morales, Billy Butler,Logan Morrison, 1B
7.Cody Ross, LF
8. Jarrod Saltalamacchia, C
9. JOSE Iglesias,ss.

If Lester doesn’t rebound, Doubrant does’nt continue to improve, Bucholz doesn’t pitch like he did in the second half, and they don’t add one more quality starter…it doesn’t matter what the lineup looks like (although I like your ideas)…pitching wins

I agree with you, but a staff of Lester, Haren(or McCarthy) Bucholz, Doubront and Lackey isnt terrible.

Not bad nice move!

My god, stupid deal Belichick

how?

are you mental?! who would u rather have him or Gregory?! ill take Wilson all day!! this is a good signing!

are you mental?! who would u rather have him or Gregory?! ill take Wilson all day!! this is a good signing

YESS!!!! FINALLY! GREAT MOVE!

the Patriots need to add Elvis Dumervil

Wilson>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Chung

the Patriots need to sign Elvis Dumervil & Talib, pay off the judge in the Dennard case to avoid jail time then trade Mallet and a 2nd rounder to AZ for Larry Fitz.

Belichick doesn’t make these deals… but he’s getting pretty old. Does he have Depends worked into the contract?…Ahhhh I kid. Should fit in well in the Pats org… Great lockerroom guy and average.

UPGRADE

This is a great move!!!!

sounds awesume

Big time player. He’ll be back there, with Mccourty. Love it.

Great except I think Fitz will cost you more than that.

nice deal, stoked for this, him and gregory in the backfield cant beat that

Good move. Pats need some experienced payers in the Secondary to teach the younger ones.

I have not seen any upgrades for the Pats in Free Agency. This guy is up there, but probably better than Gregory. Maybe we will be OK at the safety. But at the Corner, I thought Arington was part of the problem and not the solution.

not “great”, solid move for the upcoming season and teach Tavon Wilson.
He is a huge liability coverage…more than Spikes!!

Denard won’t serve time, even prosecution is recommending no jail time. He will probably get time served and community service. The NFL on other hand might suspend him for 2 games.

No he won’t he can’t cover at all. He will be in both and knocking heads for anyone crossing short middle routes.

This is good move but they NEED to resign Talib. (Better would be if Dowling can finally stay healthy!!)

Imagine if NE COULD grab Dumervil, re-sign Talib, with Wilson added, depending on what was left in cap space, grab Abraham or Reed, I think that fans were pissed that Welker is gone would suddenly remember “In Bill We Trust” !!!!!!!!!

Who can’t cover? Mccourty is excellent at safety.

i think it would be ridiculous for the nfl to suspend him him for any games considering he was not a part of the nfl at the time of the incident …..for them to do so you would have to suspend anyone who has ever been arrested at anytime in their lives

Arrington is good in the nickel. He shouldn’t be starting, but definitely has a roel.

A real safety?

we had the money for two amazing players of the caliber of Revis and we sign average older players not in their prime…belichek is too cheap for his own good and killing the last golden years of Brady,,,what a pompous arrogant ass…and i am a diehard boston fan and am sick of this in bill we trust crap,,,when was the last big win…and really if we are honest we have choked in several big games. I hope belichek can redeem himself with a top caliber signing before this is over…it is only fair for what Brady gave up…and for what?

great move they said same about Rodney Harrison when he sighned to old couldn’t cover blah blah gonna makes us nastier!!!!

some ppl piss me off saying oh when is the last big win…well all the superbowls we have won, came at the last play of the games, just like the ones we lost. If vinitari misses a kick we lose, and if three drops a pass we win. The pats are nasty and have been for a strait 12 yrs….we have our Rodney Harrison type in Wilson, and an ed Reed TYPE in mccourty, a center fielder to pick off passes when ppl get scared cuz of Adrian Wilson…. If we sign talib, and make our pass rushers official the pats will win. This is what we have been missing. A physical presence and a good CB….

tyree drops a pass……auto correct

No.

blah blah blah you are just spoild

my god you are an idiot

talib and freeney or Abraham to finish things off! haywood bay is a burner that would be cheap

The reason why the patriots maintain their dominance is because they get a bunch of quality, depth guys instead of only 1-2 marquee free agents. He’s not being cheap because obviously we’re still signing guys, and we’re still going to be close to the cap. He’s just smart enough to realize that there will be injuries, and that if they put all of their eggs in one basket, what happens if that guy gets hurt? If you want that “big win” you speak about it’s going to have to come with a quality defense, and honestly we need more than just 1-2 free agents to obtain that.

Yeah… ok… but still you have to build around a corps of play makers … otherwise all you have are mediocrities that plateau well short of advancing deep into the playoffs or winnings SBs… as in going into year 9 with no SB…

Wilson is a great catch… if this were 2009

I mean we’ve made the playoffs every year with Brady, and 2 superbowls…I’d call an organization with that standard a successful one, and one that can make it “deep” into the playoffs. We already have a corps of playmakers though, and there’s no reason for BB to go out and spend a lot of $ on a few guys when we have 5 MAJOR holes to fill. Again, for me it’s about solidifying the defense, and our defense NEEDS depth. Just curious who did you have in mind that you thought BB should’ve picked up?

Huge signing for Pats Wilson will make the Pats secondary.
Pats Predictions 51.0 John Abraham DE Falcons, Chris Gamble CB Panthers,
Sheldon Brown CB Browns, Shaun Phillips OLB San Diego, Chris Wells RB Cardinals,
Sean Locklear OT Giants and Emmanuel Sanders WR Pittsburgh.
Draft 1 Johnthan Banks CB Mississippi State 2 Barrett Jones G/C/OT
Alabama 3 Traded to Pittsburgh for Sanders signing
7 Cierre Wood RB Notre Dame 7 Vinston Painter G Virginia Tech.

It won’t be Gregory. Mccourty will start.

krafty and bill a bong better hope these aged relics can still hit. Slow and old with no cornerbacks will be an issue all year.

Good move. Once again, the Patriots are being the Patriots, building solid depth and a veteran presence. At safety, the Patriots need a reliable veteran to help offset some of the younger players there. Wilson, I heard, though originally reticent to help younger players was a valuable resource to the younger players the last few years. He isn’t going to be a lock to help out on deep threats, but is good in the run stuff and on blitz packages…which could use improvement.

Interesting to see some of the varying comments here. A few of my own…

1. To say “when was the last time they won the SB?” is ridiculous. Yet, so many fans do. Instead, think about the 40 years they went without one and be happy with the five they’ve gone to in the last decade +. The people who should be complaining about when they last won a SB live in other cities.

2. Adding WIlson and a Freeney or Abraham is not quiet like adding ancient history. These players are solid and proven…and can still play, as they have shown. They were shown the door at their old teams mainly for cost cutting measures. And, honestly, the Pats have tons of young guys on defense. A few more veterans would be nice.

3. Arrington, though limited in ways, is a solid player in some of their secondary packages. The deal he signed is comparable for a player who will be playing plenty, but not necessarily starter, minutes.

4. People are giving BB a hard time on the off-season. Hmmm, let’s see. I can give you Welker. But Donald Thomas and Patrick Chung leaving are not transactions that are not what you call blockbuster losses. Woodhead was nice, but replaceable…as evidenced last year. So the team adds Wilson, Amandola, Washington (great return guy), and Donald Jones. Sounds like the Patriots are a +2 at least on those transactions. And if Welker pulled a Ray Allen and would only stay for more with the home team and less with opposition as reports now say; well, I totally understand that move.

I am sure it is Bill’s fault that receivers drop balls or the offense cannot get a first down to close out a game. Bill isn’t by perfect by any means but he is not the evil everyone wants to say he is. let us not forget that we have been in the hunt for many years and not many teams can say that.

Larry Fitz comes with a 15 million dollar cap hit !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Mallet is the future my friend Brady is a blessing and a curse. When ever our defense gives up a critical TD. The first thing the defense says O we have Brady. He can’t we us every game, he has to be wore out mentally.

First, It’s the old question: do you want to win games or win championships?

Second, I’d have been inclined to make a run at Goldson… unless you really think Tavon Wilson can step up this season… Not sure that Adrian Wilson adds anything. Goldson is an elite player with some great playing days still ahead. I think the Pats need the presence of at least one elite player in the secondary.

As it turned out the Pats are getting Talib on the cheap… a real steal.

I would have played the receiving group differently… Let WW and Lloyd go, and went after Jennings-type play maker. That also opens up cap space… especially if Gregory is expendable as well. Maybe Sanders or Jones can surprise us.

The other signings could pan out here and there too… we’ll see

Adrian was riding the bench in Arizona… can’t cover anymore… Harrison was a starter when he left the Chargers … no comparison between the two…

I’ll be happy to be proven wrong

Only for the Arizona