"Cheap" Patriots knew what they were doing, as usual
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| Photo via the New York Post |
Well if so, it's time to eat some crow. Darrelle Revis is a member of the New England Patriots, courtesy of a one year, $12 million deal. It turns out Bill Belichick knew what he was doing all along. Shocking, I know.
The Patriots entered the offseason facing an interesting dilemma at the cornerback position. Free agent Aqib Talib had been an obvious difference maker in New England since his midseason acquisition in 2012. His elite man-to-man skills made him a unique chess piece for Bill Belichick, allowing him to get creative with his coverages and blitzes as Talib used his size and length to single-handedly neutralize top receivers.
Talib's skill set was incredibly valuable because of how rare it is. Simply put, there aren't a lot of cornerbacks out there with the talent to match up with the Julio Jones and Jimmy Grahams of the world. The Patriots found this out the hard way the last two AFC championship games, when the Patriots secondary was shredded in back-to-back years once Talib was out of the lineup.
However, those injuries were merely one of several reasons for the Patriots to hesitate at making a big commitment to Talib. No one doubts Talib's ability when on the field, but the cornerback's chronic history of injuries couldn't be ignored. Combine that with a well-earned reputation as a hot-head and you have a very shaky a long-term investment.
Many Patriots fans ignored all of those obvious reasons to be wary of making a big commitment for Talib, and instead were insistent the team do just that. Judging by the reaction on sports talk radio yesterday, their decision to forgo using the franchise tag on Talib (which would have kept Talib in New England for one more year at just over $11 million guaranteed) was worse than simply a bad business decision. It was a cheap cop-out, exposing the team to the unnecessary risk of losing a difference maker for the sole purpose of saving a few bucks.
Instead, the Pats were wise to keep their options open rather than settle for their own good but injury prone player. They knew there would be a plethora of alternatives available, many of them at a comparable level to Talib. Consider that, even if the Patriots hadn't pounced on Revis, after waiting two days on the market they would still have Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Antonio Cromartie and Brandon Browner to choose from; with all three coming from the very same high risk/high reward category as Talib. Would the Patriots defense really take that much of a hit with, say, Rodgers-Cromartie swapped in for Talib? The Patriots apparently didn't think so, and I don't blame them.
Furthermore, the Patriots likely had an inkling that landing Revis was at least a possibility. The arrival of Lovie Smith and his cover-2 scheme meant Revis was an overpriced, misfit part, leading the Bucs to spend the past month trying unsuccessfully to trade him. By the time free agency started, it was the world's worst kept secret that the Bucs would cut Revis if they were unable to find a trade before 4pm yesterday.
It was also well-known that Revis had a ton of respect for the Patriots and Bill Belichick, despite his "feuds" with them as a Jet. Many around the league believe that fear within the Jets organization of Revis bolting as a free agent to New England influenced their decision to trade Revis to Tampa last spring. Even before Revis had been cut, it was apparently known amongst his inner circle this afternoon that he'd wind up with the Patriots.
Member of Darrelle Revis camp chimes in on if he thinks cornerback will end up on Patriots (assuming he's cut). "It's going to happen" #nyj
— Manish Mehta (@MMehtaNYDN) March 12, 2014
Need more evidence that Revis wanted to come to New England? Revis could have negotiated changes to his deal with the Bucs, facilitating a trade to any number of teams flush with cap space. Instead, he steadfastly refused, forcing the Bucs to cut him, allowing him to become a free agent annnnnnd...promptly take less than his expected market value. Again, he had agreed to less than market value less than four hours into his foray into free agency. Let me remind you this is Darrelle Revis we're talking about.
We already knew that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady had the utmost respect for Revis. We already knew that Revis' ability in press man coverage would be a perfect fit for the Patriots scheme. Then almost 11 hours before the Broncos shocked the football world by giving Talib the most guaranteed money ever for a cornerback, we found out that the Patriots had conducted internal discussions about Revis.
Hell, what do you think Belichick was talking to Greg Schiano about back at the combine? As Mike Reiss noted, Belichick surely was able to get Schiano's take on working with Revis.
Signing Revis wasn't necessarily a desperate reaction to losing Talib. It's quite possible this was plan A, or at least 1a, all along.
Adding a $12 million salary should quell all discussions of the Patriots alleged "cheap" ways, but the argument that the Patriots are cheap never held much water to begin with. The Patriots have never been cheap, just cautious about who to splurge on. In fact, the main reason the Patriots headed into this offseason with significantly less money to play with than Denver was big cap hits for the likes of Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Jerod Mayo and Rob Gronkowski, elite players who got paid top money for their position.
Look back at the players the Patriots have lost in free agency due to being "cheap". Does hindsight really support giving big money to Deion Branch, Asante Samuel or an aging Richard Seymour? In each case, the Patriots made the proper judgment against making a long-term commitment, showing a willingness to lose each player in exchange for the flexibility to put that money towards a better investment down the road.
For example, the money that would have gone towards keeping soon-to-be 31 Richard Seymour instead helped the team lock up the remainder of 28 year old Vince Wilfork's prime, while also netting four cheap years of Nate Solder via trade. That's not being cheap, it's being smart about how you spend your money.
The biggest irony of yesterday's panicked reaction? The same fans disregarding the Patriots as "passive" and "content with winning a weak division every year" were the ones advocating for a lateral move. They were the ones content with simply re-signing Talib and staking the season on the irrational hope that he could defy career-long trends and stay healthy for a full season.
Instead, the Patriots made the aggressive move, recognizing that a top corner was a need that needed to be filled and would require a sizable investment. If they were going to make a big investment regardless, why make a shaky one on your own injury prone guy, when there's a 28 year old future Hall of Famer who wants to play for you out there? The Patriots chose the right time and target to make a big splurge, and now have the best cornerback of his generation on their team as a result.
What a bunch of cheapstakes.
