Pats sign Fagmatica

It's not just the Super Bowls, but the several close games a year that they (and every other NFL team, for that matter) tend to play. Money aside, this is a significant downgrade. They better be productive in the red zone.

 

RETURN OF THE HAMBURGLAR

After more than a year out of the game, kicker Martin Gramatica is back in the NFL, signing with the New England Patriots.

In our view, it's less a stroke of genius than it is a measure of desperation. The move shows how bare the current kicking cupboard really is, and it makes the potential consequences of the loss of Adam Vinatieri to the Colts even more glaring.

And we're not yet ready to declare Gramatica the answer to the Pats' kicking woes, even if he still can bang the ball. Instead, it's likely a "nothin' to lose" transaction. Gramatica was, after all, one of the best kickers in the NFL earlier this decade. But he fell out of favor in Tampa not long after coach Jon Gruden arrived. Gramatica spent some time in Indy, with former Bucs coach Tony Dungy, in 2004.

The biggest question mark regarding Gramatica is whether he'll be able to kick consistently in cold weather. Indeed, yours truly dubbed Gramatica the Hamburglar after he donned a ridiculous ski mask for a November 2000 game at Chicago when the temperature was a relatively balmy 37 degrees Fahrenheit.

The move also adds another layer of intrigue to the burgeoning Patriots-Broncos rivalry. Denver punter Todd Sauerbrun is the arch-enemy of the entire Gramatica spawn. Said Sauerbrun in 2002, after the youngest of the three Gramatica brothers taunted Sauerbrun after a game between the Panthers and the Bucs: "I don't know who this kid thinks he's playing with but I'm not the most mild-tempered guy. If he would have said the wrong thing to me there's no telling what I might have done . . . that kid is as big of an idiot as his brother, and I'm sure his other brother is, too. It goes right down the line.''

PFT

 

The Patriots won a Super Bowl (maybe two, I'm not sure) with Ken Walter as their punter, so I wouldn't lose my lunch just yet. I doubt they view Gramatica as the answer, though. He'll have to earn his way onto the field.

 

Dunno.

I don't know that #2 WR is that big of a need. Givens just wasn't that great. They have a good TE in Graham, and backs that can catch. Brady has proven he can get it done with less at WR.

But their offensive line was bad last year. Run game took a big dive, and Brady faced a strong rush. Their secondary was awful last year. And they are suddely old at their linebacker position, and lost a playmaker.

 

I agree that they could use help on the offensive line, but they traditionally don't break the bank for those guys anyway and should play better now that they're healthy. I would have expected something more substantial than Hawkins in the secondary, but they can get a good cover CB in the draft if they want to. Then as for their linebackers, McGinest was the oldest of the lot, wasn't he?

 

Brown is older, then McGinnest. Still an older bunch. Colvin will be 29, but everyone else is over 30. Bruschi will be 33.