Mangini talks alot about "character guys" and "team players". Then he goes out and tries to get a guy like Deion Branch who says he wants to sit out until the 10th week of the season unless he's traded. Deion Branch has shown me from his actions that he is a ME, ME, ME guy. As much as a I dislike the Patriots they do run a good ship up there, let's face it their a class act. Why would a "team player" whose on a perenial Super Bowl contender want a trade. That shows me that this guy is more concerned about money than winning. And furthermore all this talk on this website about Charles Rogers, you can put that to bed right now! He too is a selfish, non-competitor who absolutely is not a team guy. Unlike the rest of you out there I have never been too high on Mangini (no one besides us was knocking down his door in the offseason in search of a coach) and this further adds to my dislike...
There is a business side of football whether you like it or not. With no guaranteed contracts in the nfl besides signing bonus, I can't blame Branch. All you are trying to do is bash Mangini which you have been doing for a week now with BS arguments.
I think Mangini and Tannenbaum would know a lot more about Branch's character than we would... If he was that bad a guy, Bellichick wouldn't have drafted him, and the Jets wouldn't try to deal for him. You wouldn't want to make money if you were in the NFL? It's a business after all.
No, the Patriots FO is very much NOT a class act. Unless you sell your soul at bargain prices, they turn their back on you. They will not even DEAL with you. They are taking advantage of their recent success to play hard-ball with guys who can make more elsewhere. In the case of Branch, Mangini was trying to use his first hand knowledge of this to make life tough for what is now his division rival, and it worked like a charm.
Ah.... you expose your agenda in that last sentence. Objectivity is hard to come by when one has a pre-disposed bias. I expect many more like you to come crawling out of the apple this year. In fact, plenty already have. Seymour held out last year, and got his deal. NE wants to proove that this won't work for other players. Mangini got rid of the locker room lawyers, like Mawae, and now, having etsablished a new culture, can take a chance on some guys, the way NE did with Dillon when they got him. The idea is to get character guys as the core.... then, you can take some chances with questionable character guys, knowing that the new culture and peer pressure could bring them around. This is a sound approach. When a turd is placed amoungst the flowers, they stink..... but when properly watered, they can be good fertilizer. Is this too complicated?
This strikes me as a very reasonable summary of the situation. You can certainly argue for the Patriots' business model, but to say that it is one that treats the players very well seems a stretch (the Eagles are very similar in this way). And if all of this drama distracts the Pats or makes Brady unhappy, all the better.
No class is what TO did: signed a contract with Philly after they came to his aid, then wanted it renegotiated after a year. Branch is just trying to get his; the shenanigans that NE's front office pulled with the charade of giving Branch an opportunity to find a new deal and not letting him take it after being offered fair compensation could be viewed as more deplorable.
TOs move wasn't very good, but his contract (his fault for signing it, I know) wasn't this awesome deal everyone thought it was.. Doesn't excuse him, but let's not make it seem like he had this awesome deal. He signed whatever he could to get out of Baltimore.
Every coach says they want character guys. The Pats say the same thing, and then they go and bring in Corey Dillon and Rodney Harrison. The way the NFL works you have to take some chances. If you're not flexible, you won't last very long. Everything Mangini and Tannenbaum have done in this Branch situation has been on point. Furthermore, I really don't see Branch as a problematic player. I've never heard anything bad about him until this contract situation. It's strictly business as far as I'm concerned. I swear, it's like some of you want to see Mangini fail.
Yea, but what discount does TO take for having Philly serve as a white knight? I don't want to get into a loyalty discussion in the NFL, as I know it cuts both ways. But given that they're at different points in their careers, Branch is now just trying to secure his long-term future while TO was asking Philly to sew frilly lace on his Vera Wang wedding dress.
I agree. I don't have too much wrong with what Branch is doing. He should report now, but there goes the leverage. If I'm him, I report, playout the year, andleave.
I agree with you. I think if he reports at Week 10 (??) just to get credit toward free agency, that looks a hell of a lot worse.
Tired already Geeze Louise....Im pretty new here and I've been watch the negative vs positive threads.... this is so obviously pointless....what coach says one thing and does another?....ALL OF THEM! You think Parcells is a going to act one way only...clearly WINNING is the only thing...and he would make deals with the devil to win...ex number 1. Terrrel Owens...I mean does he seem like a "Parcels Guy"? And guys and gals...root for your poor legendarily challanged team whether or not they frighten you with their new new new regime/players/and style...the old days are gone...its a new day..and you have yet to see what they will accomplish.
There's no team in the NFL where all the players are exactly the type of players coaches want. Unfortunately, some high talent players don't have the best personalities or attitudes. I'm not saying Deion Branch is exceptionally talented, but he is a good receiver. Mangini should know a thing or two about him being that he was on his team. The Patriots front office isn't really the best in the business either.
Mangini was around Branch for several years in NE. I doubt he'd be seeking him like we are unless he knew for sure that this is strictly a business move on Branch's part and there are no red flags in terms of bad character.
your joking right?? just because he wants you know, more than what the pats are paying him (1/6th what he deserves) now he has character issues i HATE when people say things like Mangini has a double standard...what do you want him to do, come out and say "oh yea, i LOVE me a good player with problems" Deion Branch = no character problems now if it was marcus vick or koren robinson than you could make the arguement, but the diff between these two and Branch is...Branch is good stop criticizing Mangini...trust me, he knows ALOT more than you do
by the way...if you had a team with all players that have good character...youd lose probably to the team constructed of bad character players (Randy and TO)
