A Nice Grade
August 28th, 2014
Thumbs-up from Walter Football.
Let’s just say Joe was as shocked by the trade that brought Logan Mankins to the Bucs as Tamp Bay fans were. It really came out of left field.
So much so, that the WalterFootball.com crowd is shaking its collective heads. They can’t seem to put the pieces together as to why Patriots strongman Bill Belicheat would pull such a stunt.
Still WalterFootball likes the deal for the Bucs very much.
It’s surprising to see Logan Mankins get traded. He’s one of the better guards in the NFL, and the Patriots already had a shaky offensive line. Mankins turned 32 in March, but he still performed on a very high level last year. He should be able to strengthen the interior of Tampa’s front for the next couple of years. New England, meanwhile, will have to use two pedestrian blockers inside (Ryan Wendell, Dan Connolly). This will hurt Tom Brady, who struggled behind a disappointing line last season.
The Patriots are hurting for tight ends, so getting Tim Wright plus a fourth-rounder makes sense. But for Mankins? Wright isn’t even that good; otherwise the Buccaneers wouldn’t have been so eager to upgrade him with Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Brandon Myers this offseason. Maybe Bill Belichick sees something in Wright because there certainly wasn’t anything wrong with Mankins, who had been enjoying a solid preseason.
The Buccaneers won this trade. It’s not by a wide margin because Mankins won’t put them over the top, but he’ll definitely improve blocking for Josh McCown and Doug Martin. The fourth-round pick is more of a deal than Wright, but even that isn’t very significant.
Grade for Patriots – C+
Grade for Buccaneers – B+
Pretty good assessment. Mankins alone is not going to put the Bucs in the Super Bowl but he fills a crater-sized hole in the defensive line.
As Joe has written before, quarterbacks cannot do a damned thing lying on their back. And the cutest offense in the world can’t do anything when the quarterback is getting blown up each and every play.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Hey heads up 2nd paragraph from bottom read d line instead o line. Can erase this comment after.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
We won this trade but the Pats still got Talib (one of the best cb in the league last year) and Blount for next to nothing…
I think they owed us one…
August 28th, 2014 at 1:09 pm
Pineapple McCown is grateful to have Mankins & Johnson.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:17 pm
Pablo is gonna quote the great Raheem Morris “Stats are for Losers Joe”
August 28th, 2014 at 1:18 pm
Jesus this isn’t rocket science. The Patriots were going to cut Mankins next year unless he agreed to a pay restructure. Instead they got something for him (like the Bucs did for Talib who would have walked in free agency). The Patriots realize they need an upgrade at WR to make a push at another SB run and needed to free up cash. The Patriots needed another pass catching TE and are usually very good at picking mid-round players who are productive in Belichick’s system. The Bucs needed an OG, so both sides addressed needs (but I would say the Patriots did better than C+)
August 28th, 2014 at 1:19 pm
Wright “isn’t even that good”? That’s a stretch. He was a rookie TE who caught 50+ passes. Check how many times that’s happened in the history of the NFL.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:23 pm
I saw elsewhere that last year, Brady, Mankins, and Wilfork alone counted for 35% of the Patriots spending against the cap. Then they added Mevis to the roster, so they had to do something.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:29 pm
We won the Trade?
I am not quite sure if there was a winner or a loser in this type of Trade.
First of all its Bill Belicheck, who Traded for or Obtained.
Randy Moss
Cory Dillion
Wes Welker
Danny Woodhead (worlds greatest name)
Junior Seau
Mike Vrabel
Rodney Harrison
Julian Eldeman
We made out great with Mankins. Giving us some hope this year.
They got a young tight End with 5 TD and 500 yards who they needed. And got rid of a high cost aging Stud.
They got something for something. Unlike how the Bucs got nothing for getting rid of their entire offensive line.
If the Patriots ending up getting 10 Touchdowns from Wright and end up getting 10 more sacks. They got a great deal.
If the Bucs get 32 games out of Mankins we got a great deal.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
But people like Robert9 keep saying we got fleeced. Seems like people around the sport don’t agree.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:30 pm
Pretty good assessment. Mankins alone is not going to put the Bucs in the Super Bowl but he fills a crater-sized hole in the defensive line.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:32 pm
Danny Woodhead
<
Harry Beaver (worlds greatest name)
lol
August 28th, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Belicheat did’nt get to the top and the playoffs so successfully without knowing how to cheat and snooker other teams at the appropriate opportunity. Thank Schiano for this trade.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:35 pm
“Stats are for Losers Joe”
How about (5) ALL PRO and (6) Pro Bowl designations, and being an anchor on a team that has won division title upon division title and is a perennial playoff team including 2 AFC Championships. So, he has stats, awards, and WINS on the field.
Is that for losers too?
August 28th, 2014 at 1:50 pm
So which one is it… he is a pro bowler, but gave up 5 sacks in 2 games last fall… he is a great lineman, but the line played notably terrible last season for Tom Brady.
Sounds like conflicting story lines to me… not form Joe, but from sports media in general.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:53 pm
@ Mac
NE gave us a 4th round pick for Talib….& we got a 6th round pick (used on Mike James) & Jeff Demps (jury still out)……hardly near to nothing IMO.
August 28th, 2014 at 1:54 pm
6th round pick for Blount….
August 28th, 2014 at 1:57 pm
@tbf
A 4th rounder for the best corner (arguably) in the league?
A 6th round pick for Blount?
Come on man are you really going to be silly about this?
August 28th, 2014 at 2:13 pm
Talib best corner in the game? Lol okay…
Sherman, Revis, Haden, Peterson, Shields… that’s a list of the top of Pablo’s head
August 28th, 2014 at 2:15 pm
Quarterbacks cannot do a damned thing lying on their back. And the cutest offense in the world can’t do anything when the quarterback is getting blown up each and every play.
Humm… I thought the quarterback was supposed to raise the level of play for everyone around him. A porous line is no excuse for losing. Am I right, I mean isn’t that what we were told this offseason? If the quarterback doesn’t have time, I don’t know… maybe he should check it down. Or if his weapons can’t get separation, should he take the hi?
August 28th, 2014 at 2:19 pm
Licht fleeced the Patriots, and Tom Brady is pissed off about this trade http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nbc-yahoo-sports/report–tom-brady-was-%E2%80%9Cvery-upset%E2%80%9D-with-logan-mankins-deal-172926451-nfl.html
If Tom Brady is pissed, it means we got the best of the Pats, that’s for sure.
Brady knows how much Mankins has mean to him.
August 28th, 2014 at 2:23 pm
Let’s just say that Wright “over-achieved” just a bit last year. If he can repeat that year in and year out, then the Patriots probably pulled a fast one again. However, I doubt that will be the case. More likely, Wright will come back to earth just a bit and play more in line with being a overlooked undrafted player. We get a high priced LG rental for a couple years until we can add new young talent that actually should get a chance in an NFL uniform instead of the garbage we have now parading around as NFL players but performing like Division II players in August against SEC teams. Odds are pretty good that this was an “even” trade. Pats get an “OK” TE/WR and we get an old LG with a big contract.
August 28th, 2014 at 2:26 pm
Doofus Dan, I agree. The QB must be able to compensate at least a little bit for holes in the O-line… like maybe being able to take a couple steps outside the pocket without tripping over his own feet and falling down for the sack. Good point. I’m glad we have a QB that can do that now, and if we give him a better O-line then he might even be pretty good.
August 28th, 2014 at 2:31 pm
@ Pablo
The year Taliban was traded (2012) he played for New England and was widely considered one of the best cornerbacks that year… That’s why Denver signed him to a very lucrative deal the following year…
Did you see Talib shut down J. Graham? Not many corners can do that my friend…
August 28th, 2014 at 2:33 pm
Gotta agree. I’ve watched some of the Patriots pre-season tape and I thought Mankins was the best offensive lineman on the team! If he plays that well in Tampa, Josh McCown may have just bought himself a chance to play an entire season.
August 28th, 2014 at 2:50 pm
11 or so years ago, they cut lawyer milloy out of the blue for what turned out to be financial reasons. tom brady was ticked. media types were puzzled. the pats got their heads kicked in by buffalo week 1. then i think they went on to win something like 22 straight games across the next 2 seasons and back-to-back superbowls. i’m not saying the same will happen (i hope not), but the Hoodie seems to have a grasp of who he needs and who he doesn’t need in order to win
August 28th, 2014 at 4:14 pm
Wright was Shiano’s man. He is what he is. a guy who can catch the ball and get open in the middle of the field. He can’t block and he has little versatility. The fact is–and it is a fact–he was not going to see much playing time this year given the health of Luke Stocker (who, should he remain healthy, will finally prove that he’s a tremendous blocker). So what do you do if you’re the Bucaneers, and you know you have a gaping whole at guard and a player who doesn’t fit your system and is not as good as the three guys playing in front of him. This is a trade the Buccaneers had to make. Let’s give L&L credit, they made a deal that unquestionably improves the team this year. Will Wright become an All-Pro type tight end. I highly doubt it. In two years Brady will likely be finished or near finished. Moreover, we’ve seen one-year wonders before–Michael Clayton anyone??? I’ll take a career All Pro guard against a one-year wonder any day of the week. It’s a trade both teams had to make. There is no “fleecing on either side. Moreover, Blount and Talib prove nothing since they only lasted a couple of years in new England. Wright’s chances of lasting more than a couple of years are no better in my opinion.
August 28th, 2014 at 4:32 pm
Brady probably wants to get traded to the Bucs now too………If only
August 28th, 2014 at 6:14 pm
It is for cap space, just like they have always done
August 28th, 2014 at 10:48 pm
McCown has a tendency to hold the ball, and wait for a receiver to be wide open,. then to throw him open.
This can make an O Line look very bad.
Tom Brady usually got the ball out of there fast.
It will be an adjustment for Mankins playing here, that’s for sure.
But on the real plus side, Doug Martin has never had a guard quite like Mankins to run behind!
I look for Doug Martin to have a big year this year.