Chiefs More drivel from Ron Borges

acasas4 · 03-02-2009, 07:41 PM

Bill Belichick doesn’t deliver friendly favor
Ron Borges, Boston Herald

Scott Pioli soon may learn there is no such thing as friends in the NFL, especially when they used to employ you as their gofer.

Pioli yesterday closed out what he believes was a blockbuster deal with the Patriots [team stats] that landed him his franchise quarterback (literally, in this case), Matt Cassel, and Mike Vrabel, a linebacker who can settle Kansas City’s troubled defense.

And perhaps he did. But if the many in these parts who believe Bill Belichick is Einstein in a hoodie are correct, what Pioli may have gotten instead is Scott Mitchell the sequel and an expensive linebacker on the wrong end of the football timeline.

For the Patriots, this was a best-case scenario. It freed up $17.85 million on their cap and allowed them to get rid of a 12-year veteran whose game had begun to slip as well as a guy Belichick clearly believes was destined to become the most expensive backup in NFL history had he stayed.

Belichick may be proven wrong on the latter point, but it was clearly part of his thinking, because there’s no way he would have left his team exposed at quarterback, the game’s most critical position.

What the Patriots learned during the past few weeks is the market for Cassel was neither deep nor strong. Even two teams thought to be interested, Detroit and Tampa, are now said to have been seeking Cassel only to deal him to Denver to acquire the more highly regarded Jay Cutler.cw-3

If those whispers are true, then there was no market for Cassel outside of Kansas City, which has enough cap space to carry his $14.65 million franchise tag until it can work out a long-term deal.cw-2

To net only a second-round choice for Cassel and Vrabel may seem as though a fire sale went on in Foxboro, especially when you consider that was the price the Eagles paid for A.J. Feeley and what it cost Miami to land the one-legged Daunte Culpepper.cw-3

But if Cassel performs the way they did, it was a steal for Belichick. And there are far more personnel men around pro football who doubt Cassel than ones who believe he’s quarterback of an 11-5 team.

They think his five losses to playoff-contending teams said more about his long-term chances than the 11 wins did against the likes of the Chiefs, 49ers, Seahawks, Bills and Rams.

“I look at Cassel and I think Scott Mitchell,” one longtime NFC personnel man said yesterday. “That’s who I see.”

Pioli better hope not, because that $5 million-a-year seat he’s occupying could become vacant in a hurry if Cassel turns into Mitchell and Vrabel plays like Willie McGinest did in Cleveland.

Like Vrabel, McGinest was a 12-year veteran when he was let go by the Pats. He was two years removed from the second-best year of his career, a 9-sack season, but he’d slipped to six sacks in 2005 and that slide continued with the Browns, where he had four, three and last season only one sack.

Similarly, Vrabel has played 12 years, the past eight in New England. Two years ago he had his most productive season with 12 sacks. Last year he slipped to four and hinted at a shoulder problem related to offseason surgery. Now he’s gone and will arrive in Kansas City at the same age and experience level as McGinest did when he went to Cleveland. After 12 years in the NFL, linebackers do not typically improve. They usually implode.

If Vrabel turns into McGinest and Cassel is Mitchell, Pioli will have learned a hard lesson about friendship, NFL style.

In 1993, Mitchell stepped in for the injured Dan Marino and played well enough to convince the Detroit Lions to pay him a ton of money the following season. He started for four years, went 27-28 and was 0-2 in the playoffs.

Mitchell’s solid play in Miami proved a mirage, even though he went to a far more talented offensive team in Detroit (Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman) than Cassel will inherit in Kansas City.

The Chiefs have an unhappy running back in Larry Johnson, an unhappy tight end in Tony Gonzalez and a wide receiving corps Cassel will find far less user friendly than Randy Moss and Wes Welker.

In the end only time will tell if Cassel is a player worth the money he’ll be paid, if Vrabel can justify his $3.2 million salary this season and if Brady’s knee is sound. But from what we know today it looks like Belichick didn’t do his old friend any favors, which is no surprise because he’s not in the business of doing favors. He’s in the football business.

“Bill Belichick wouldn’t do his mother a favor,” one NFL insider scoffed yesterday. “Anybody who looks at this deal and thinks he did doesn’t know him. Or the guys he just traded.”

I don't like this guy. Sorry if repost. Well not really.

acasas4 · 03-02-2009, 07:41 PM

Sorry, forgot the link.

http://www.810whb.com/scripts/archiv...?article=18457

orange · 03-02-2009, 07:50 PM

I'm tempted to call "REPOST" here, but it was 2 days ago that I posted this so I think the statute of limitations has expired.

It didn't provoke much discussion that time - maybe it will do better this time.

**DaneMcCloud** · 03-02-2009, 07:52 PM

Say what you will but there is truth in this interview.

Borges never states that Cassel's career will mirror Mitchell's or that Vrabel will be ineffective (as was McGinest) but both are possible.

oldandslow · 03-02-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Say what you will but there is truth in this interview.

Borges never states that Cassel's career will mirror Mitchell's or that Vrabel will be ineffective (as was McGinest) but both are possible.

It's also possible an asteroid will wipe out the planet. Until proven otherwise, I will believe Pioli knows what he is doing with Cassel.

**DaneMcCloud** · 03-02-2009, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oldandslow

It's also possible an asteroid will wipe out the planet. Until proven otherwise, I will believe Pioli knows what he is doing with Cassel.

He won't be proven otherwise until the conclusion of his yet-to-signed contract.

That doesn't discount the fact that Cassel in KC could mirror Mitchell in Detroit.

Does it?

Messier · 03-02-2009, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

He won't be proven otherwise until the conclusion of his yet-to-signed contract.

That doesn't discount the fact that Cassel in KC could mirror Mitchell in Detroit.

Does it?

I think a more apt comparison would be Trent Green to the Rams or to the Chiefs. Mitchell only played about half a season and when the Lions signed him there was no one from the Dolphins that moved to Detroit that wanted him. It's just not a good analogy, unless your only point is that you don't think it will work out.

booger · 03-02-2009, 08:35 PM

if your gonna say trent green i think another comparison is Matt Hasslebeck who went from GB to SEA for a 1st that same year green came to kc. Hasslebeck was another guy who was thought of as maybe a product of the system but didn't have as much of a chance as Cassel did with farve not missing much time. Holmgren went and got him because he thought highly of him, drafting, and coaching him. Similar to Pioli and Cassel.

booger · 03-02-2009, 08:37 PM

the other side of that is Derek Anderson and Cleveland. Teams didn't want to pay the 1 and 3 to sign the RFA and the browns wouldn't trade him for any less. Now a year later and he doesn't have that value and they would probably jump at a 2nd.

**Mr. Kotter** · 03-02-2009, 09:11 PM

Bilicheck FRANCHISED Cassel. For nearly $16 million he'd have eaten if the Chiefs or someone else hadn't "bitten."

Tells me all I need to know about how BB really feels about Cassel. This guy is sour grapes that they got raped in the "trade."

Gravedigger · 03-02-2009, 09:13 PM

I dunno why 810 brings him on, theres alot more sports writers in Boston than him, and the last time he was on 810 was when Pioli was brought aboard and Petro and him went at it and Petro continued to make fun of him after he wasn't on the air anymore to defend himself. Why bring him back on?

Mecca · 03-02-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Bilicheck FRANCHISED Cassel. For nearly $16 million he'd have eaten if the Chiefs or someone else hadn't "bitten."

Tells me all I need to know about how BB really feels about Cassel. This guy is sour grapes that they got raped in the "trade."

Most people they they tagged him with the full intention of trading him.

**morphius** · 03-02-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mecca

Most people they they tagged him with the full intention of trading him.

That was my thought, and I don't think they expected to get a first rounder for him either, which is why they made the trade with us.

Amnorix · 03-02-2009, 09:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gravedigger

I dunno why 810 brings him on, theres alot more sports writers in Boston than him, and the last time he was on 810 was when Pioli was brought aboard and Petro and him went at it and Petro continued to make fun of him after he wasn't on the air anymore to defend himself. Why bring him back on?

Reiss is easily the most knowledgeable Patriots sportswriter. Gasper isn't bad, and I don't dislike Felger as much as some, though he is opinionated and now does alot of TV and radio and feels compelled to generate controversy.

Borges is garbage.

BradyFTW! · 03-02-2009, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr. Kotter

Bilicheck FRANCHISED Cassel. For nearly $16 million he'd have eaten if the Chiefs or someone else hadn't "bitten."

Tells me all I need to know about how BB really feels about Cassel. This guy is sour grapes that they got raped in the "trade."

It's not sour grapes: Borges wants nothing more than to see the Pats fail. He absolutely hates Belichick, above and beyond the hatred that he seems to harbor for all of mankind. This is also a guy who was caught plagiarizing columns a few years back, I'm not even sure why he still has a job.

In Boston, no-talent hacks with an axe to grind can hold on for a surprisingly long time. Ron Borges, Mike Tomasi (the idiot who broke the Matt Walsh non-story 2 days before the Super Bowl) and Dan Shaughnessy all fit into this category. I put Michael Felger in the same category, more or less, but that's a little more questionable. Over at the providence journal, you have guys wondering if Brady's lost his competitive fire now that he's married (what the **** would make them think that? Just trying to stir up controversy).

IMO, the only people who can write with any authority/intelligence about the Pats are Reiss, Gasper, and maybe Shalise Manza Young from the Providence Journal. Feel free to ignore anyone else, especially on opinions about Pioli, since most other journalists in the area are just pissed that the Pats don't play the media game.

03-02-2009, 07:41 PM
acasas4 Starter Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Independence Casino cash: $9935265	More drivel from Ron Borges Bill Belichick doesn’t deliver friendly favor Ron Borges, Boston Herald Scott Pioli soon may learn there is no such thing as friends in the NFL, especially when they used to employ you as their gofer. Pioli yesterday closed out what he believes was a blockbuster deal with the Patriots [team stats] that landed him his franchise quarterback (literally, in this case), Matt Cassel, and Mike Vrabel, a linebacker who can settle Kansas City’s troubled defense. And perhaps he did. But if the many in these parts who believe Bill Belichick is Einstein in a hoodie are correct, what Pioli may have gotten instead is Scott Mitchell the sequel and an expensive linebacker on the wrong end of the football timeline. For the Patriots, this was a best-case scenario. It freed up $17.85 million on their cap and allowed them to get rid of a 12-year veteran whose game had begun to slip as well as a guy Belichick clearly believes was destined to become the most expensive backup in NFL history had he stayed. Belichick may be proven wrong on the latter point, but it was clearly part of his thinking, because there’s no way he would have left his team exposed at quarterback, the game’s most critical position. What the Patriots learned during the past few weeks is the market for Cassel was neither deep nor strong. Even two teams thought to be interested, Detroit and Tampa, are now said to have been seeking Cassel only to deal him to Denver to acquire the more highly regarded Jay Cutler.cw-3 If those whispers are true, then there was no market for Cassel outside of Kansas City, which has enough cap space to carry his $14.65 million franchise tag until it can work out a long-term deal.cw-2 To net only a second-round choice for Cassel and Vrabel may seem as though a fire sale went on in Foxboro, especially when you consider that was the price the Eagles paid for A.J. Feeley and what it cost Miami to land the one-legged Daunte Culpepper.cw-3 But if Cassel performs the way they did, it was a steal for Belichick. And there are far more personnel men around pro football who doubt Cassel than ones who believe he’s quarterback of an 11-5 team. They think his five losses to playoff-contending teams said more about his long-term chances than the 11 wins did against the likes of the Chiefs, 49ers, Seahawks, Bills and Rams. “I look at Cassel and I think Scott Mitchell,” one longtime NFC personnel man said yesterday. “That’s who I see.” Pioli better hope not, because that $5 million-a-year seat he’s occupying could become vacant in a hurry if Cassel turns into Mitchell and Vrabel plays like Willie McGinest did in Cleveland. Like Vrabel, McGinest was a 12-year veteran when he was let go by the Pats. He was two years removed from the second-best year of his career, a 9-sack season, but he’d slipped to six sacks in 2005 and that slide continued with the Browns, where he had four, three and last season only one sack. Similarly, Vrabel has played 12 years, the past eight in New England. Two years ago he had his most productive season with 12 sacks. Last year he slipped to four and hinted at a shoulder problem related to offseason surgery. Now he’s gone and will arrive in Kansas City at the same age and experience level as McGinest did when he went to Cleveland. After 12 years in the NFL, linebackers do not typically improve. They usually implode. If Vrabel turns into McGinest and Cassel is Mitchell, Pioli will have learned a hard lesson about friendship, NFL style. In 1993, Mitchell stepped in for the injured Dan Marino and played well enough to convince the Detroit Lions to pay him a ton of money the following season. He started for four years, went 27-28 and was 0-2 in the playoffs. Mitchell’s solid play in Miami proved a mirage, even though he went to a far more talented offensive team in Detroit (Barry Sanders, Herman Moore, Brett Perriman) than Cassel will inherit in Kansas City. The Chiefs have an unhappy running back in Larry Johnson, an unhappy tight end in Tony Gonzalez and a wide receiving corps Cassel will find far less user friendly than Randy Moss and Wes Welker. In the end only time will tell if Cassel is a player worth the money he’ll be paid, if Vrabel can justify his $3.2 million salary this season and if Brady’s knee is sound. But from what we know today it looks like Belichick didn’t do his old friend any favors, which is no surprise because he’s not in the business of doing favors. He’s in the football business. “Bill Belichick wouldn’t do his mother a favor,” one NFL insider scoffed yesterday. “Anybody who looks at this deal and thinks he did doesn’t know him. Or the guys he just traded.” I don't like this guy. Sorry if repost. Well not really.
Posts: 474

03-02-2009, 07:41 PM	#2
acasas4 Starter Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Independence Casino cash: $9935265	Sorry, forgot the link. http://www.810whb.com/scripts/archiv...?article=18457 __________________ Now I'm ready for some football!
Posts: 474

03-02-2009, 07:50 PM	#3
orange MVP Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Denver, CO Casino cash: $10004900	I'm tempted to call "REPOST" here, but it was 2 days ago that I posted this so I think the statute of limitations has expired. It didn't provoke much discussion that time - maybe it will do better this time.
Posts: 11,661

03-02-2009, 07:52 PM	#4
DaneMcCloud Supporter Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Hollywood, CA Casino cash: $10053648	Say what you will but there is truth in this interview. Borges never states that Cassel's career will mirror Mitchell's or that Vrabel will be ineffective (as was McGinest) but both are possible.
Posts: 88,960

03-02-2009, 08:35 PM	#8
booger Don't Tug on Superman's Cape Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: clear out in the sticks Casino cash: $1108550	if your gonna say trent green i think another comparison is Matt Hasslebeck who went from GB to SEA for a 1st that same year green came to kc. Hasslebeck was another guy who was thought of as maybe a product of the system but didn't have as much of a chance as Cassel did with farve not missing much time. Holmgren went and got him because he thought highly of him, drafting, and coaching him. Similar to Pioli and Cassel. __________________ 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Posts: 12,512

03-02-2009, 08:37 PM	#9
booger Don't Tug on Superman's Cape Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: clear out in the sticks Casino cash: $1108550	the other side of that is Derek Anderson and Cleveland. Teams didn't want to pay the 1 and 3 to sign the RFA and the browns wouldn't trade him for any less. Now a year later and he doesn't have that value and they would probably jump at a 2nd. __________________ 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Posts: 12,512

03-02-2009, 09:11 PM	#10
Mr. Kotter The Dude Abides Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Dakota Country Casino cash: $5605285	Bilicheck FRANCHISED Cassel. For nearly $16 million he'd have eaten if the Chiefs or someone else hadn't "bitten." Tells me all I need to know about how BB really feels about Cassel. This guy is sour grapes that they got raped in the "trade." __________________ "I've always said I worry about legacy and winning rings more than making money at this moment...We see what's going on around the league, but at the same time, I'll never do anything that's going to hurt us from keeping the great players around me.”
Posts: 46,365

03-02-2009, 09:13 PM	#11
Gravedigger Plays to win the game! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lees Summit Casino cash: $7153101	I dunno why 810 brings him on, theres alot more sports writers in Boston than him, and the last time he was on 810 was when Pioli was brought aboard and Petro and him went at it and Petro continued to make fun of him after he wasn't on the air anymore to defend himself. Why bring him back on?
Posts: 7,602