Pats sign DL Lawrence "The Cable" Guy

E5 Yaz

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I was getting worried; it had been more than 16 hours since they'd made a move
 

E5 Yaz

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Reiss evaluation

ESPN 150 ranking: Unranked

Grade: C-plus. The Patriots went off the board with their agreement with Guy, who wasn't even ranked in ESPN's top 150 free agents and isn't a household name across the NFL. But he was on the Patriots' radar for a few reasons: At 6-foot-4, 305 pounds, he plays with good power at the line of scrimmage, is strong against the run and has some flexibility to play different techniques ("5" technique in a 3-4, reducing inside in passing situations to rush, etc.). Players like former Patriots Ty Warren, Bobby Hamilton and Anthony Pleasant come to mind when making a comparison to what Guy could potentially bring to the team. It isn't necessarily flashy, but for those who believe football games are won on the line of scrimmage, teams need guys like Guy.

What it means: The Patriots are a flexible defense in the sense that they will morph their scheme into different things on a week-to-week basis. When the agreement with Guy was first finalized, the first thought was, "Could the Patriots be considering going back to more of a pure 3-4?" This gives them another piece to consider that, but nothing is ever that black and white with the team's plans. It's all about having a variety of pieces. This could take the team out of the mix to sign veteran Jared Odrick, who has a similar playing style as Guy and had visited the team last week.

http://www.espn.com/blog/new-england-patriots/post/_/id/4801747/patriots-add-size-length-to-defensive-line-with-former-raven-lawrence-guy
 

Ale Xander

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I'd rather overpay for Butler and DH and keep the DT we have and draft a body or two, but in Bill We Trust
 

TheoShmeo

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This move doesn't preclude any of that.
That is of course true but a $20 mm contract (if that is correct) for a rotational DT when the team already has Branch, Brown and Valentine, and could presumably add one more through the draft or lower cost free agency, does seem to be a little odd when they are still not there with Hightower. I don't really mean as a matter of timing; my point is more that they seem to be spending a lot on arguably a less important need and slogging it out with one of the most important players on their D.

Yep, we need to know the terms of the Guy deal and perhaps Hightower is close to getting done or will eventually get done. So maybe there's nothing to see here.

Still, Guy on the one hand and Hightower (never mind Butler) on the other is a little hard to square.
 
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Kenny F'ing Powers

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That is of course true but a $20 mm contract (if that is correct) for a rotational DT when the team already has Branch, Brown and Valentine, and could presumably add one more through the draft or lower cost free agency, does seem to be a little odd when they are still not there with Hightower. I don't really mean as a matter of timing; my point is more that they seem to be spending a lot on arguably a less important need and slogging it out with one of the most important players on their D.

Yep, we need to know the terms of the Guy deal and perhaps Hightower is close to getting done or will eventually get done. So maybe there's nothing to see here.

Still, Guy on the one hand and Hightower (never mind Butler) on the other is a little hard to square.
From everything I've read about The Guy, he's pretty good at collapsing the pocket, something our interior line has lacked consistently.

If he does it with any consistency, he's worth every penny of the contract.
 

KingChre

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I see this as Akiem Hicks' replacement, albeit a year later. They missed the pocket collapsing abilities of Easley and Hicks last year. I think they will probably list him as a DE, as that's where I see him playing on early downs. He has the ability to kick inside on passing downs as well. In fact, he might be very underrated in that department.

This article came out in February, but it lists him as the 8th best interior pass rusher on a per play basis.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000784423/article/aaron-donald-leads-top10-interior-pass-rushers


8) Lawrence Guy, Baltimore Ravens (4.24 average distance to the quarterback)


Much like Tom Johnson before him, it's unlikely most readers know recognize the name Lawrence Guy. A five-year veteran, Guy had stints with the Colts and Chargers before coming to Baltimore. He has 5.5 of his 6.5 career sacks since signing with the Ravens. Despite only registering a single sack, Guy brought consistent pressure with a 4.24 average yards to the quarterback on pass rush attempts. He only played 47 percent of the defensive snaps, so he's a rotational player, but his value to the team appears clear.
 

Sportsbstn

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I'd rather overpay for Butler and DH and keep the DT we have and draft a body or two, but in Bill We Trust
This is where I am. If Bill is spending the money then I'm going to assume he is correct till proven otherwise. That's where we are as Pats fans
 

Dr. Gonzo

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Lawrence Guy’s deal is really 1 year, $5.1m with chance to earn $500k in per-game bonuses and $1.4m in incentives. Final 3 years are non-gtd
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Lawrence Guy’s deal is really 1 year, $5.1m with chance to earn $500k in per-game bonuses and $1.4m in incentives. Final 3 years are non-gtd
It's always good to wait until the final contract details are out before making a case that someone is stealing the big money from more deserving players.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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So, even with all the moves the Patriots have made, they have added very little to future year's salary caps. Even if they cut next year every single player they have brought in so far in this offseason including their own free agents -- Ealey, Branch, Gilmore, Harmon, Guy, Cooks, Allen -- the total cap cost would be about $26.5 million. Other than Gilmore, they are definitely opting to use their cap space for pay as you go options. And even Gilmore is limited in damage if he plays two years. If they resign Hightower it will be interesting to see if that trend continues.

Edit: Actually it looks as though $4m of Guy's guaranteed money is a signing bonus so amortized over the next four years, so I'm not sure what it means that it's a one year deal.
 
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PaulinMyrBch

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AB in DC

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Reiss has the numbers:

So from a base-value perspective, it's a four-year, $13.4 million deal, with financial upside if he hits playing-time incentives. That context is important in analyzing the deal, and brings it more in line with what one might have expected for a player of Guy's caliber.
 

Hoodie Sleeves

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These tenders are so weird.

Butler (an Undrafted FA) gets a first round tender of $3.91m.
Easley (Drafted in 1st rd) gets an original round tender, which is essentially a first round tender even though he was released, of $1.79m.

Can't imagine the players union expected the system to work like that.
The whole "original round" thing never made sense. The second round tender is low enough (and pick prohibitively high enough) that if you're not willing to pay that, you shouldn't be able to keep the player from freely negotiating.

It's another thing that hurts low end free agents, but doesn't affect the big guys.
 

Bergs

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I am in love with the 2017 NEP roster. A bit thin at LB, but damn, this could be a great team.
 

BaseballJones

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Instead of franchising JG in 2018, maybe use some of the $19 million left to create a 2-year deal for JG, spreading it out more evenly so the individual season cap hit isn't as bad, and it may guarantee JG more this way.

But leave enough so that you can sign Harris, who would be a very sweet addition at LB. Definitely still a quality player.
 

tims4wins

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Instead of franchising JG in 2018, maybe use some of the $19 million left to create a 2-year deal for JG, spreading it out more evenly so the individual season cap hit isn't as bad, and it may guarantee JG more this way.

But leave enough so that you can sign Harris, who would be a very sweet addition at LB. Definitely still a quality player.
Reiss posted something similar
 

BaseballJones

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Oh haha, well, if he's often right, I just killed him then, because I'm like never right about any of this stuff.
 

BuellMiller

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I thought you could roll the unused cap space over until the following season anyways...or is there a cap to that? (I guess the point still stands, in that it might make a difference if you can get JG on a smaller aggregate contract by giving him a financial guarantee of the additional money on top of the last year of his rookie contract up front. )