The Patriots continue to dominate the league with advantageo

[liny195]

"I just posted an article showing how the New England Patriots’ approach to adding defensive talent was much more cost-effective than the Kansas City Chiefs’. The Chiefs spent a first round pick to change their pass rusher from Dee Ford to Frank Clark; the Patriots went from Trey Flowers to Michael Bennett and will effectively receive a fifth round pick (based on the value of draft picks).The Patriots continue to win because they’re just smarter than other franchises and these contract victories add up into six Super Bowl titles and three more appearances over the past two decades.And now two more AFC teams are showing why the Patriots are so great. The Baltimore Ravens just signed kicker Justin Tucker to a record-shattering deal Womens LaAdrian Waddle Jersey , while the Pittsburgh Steelers extended Ben Roethlisberger to make him the second-highest paid quarterback in the league.Here’s how Tucker’s contract compares to Stephen Gostkowski’s new deal, and how Tom Brady’s potential deal would stack up to Roethlisberger’s.Justin Tucker vs Stephen GostkowskiThe Baltimore Ravens just signed the 29-year-old Tucker to a 4-year, $23.05 million extension with $12.5 million guaranteed over the first two seasons, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. This contract dwarfs the 2-year, $8.5 million contract the Patriots gave to the 35-year-old Gostkowski earlier this month, and the 4-year, $17.2 million deal the Patriots gave Gostkowski in 2015- then the largest contract for a kicker in NFL history.Tucker is the all-time leader in field goal conversion rate, while Gostkowski ranks third, and yet Tucker is making over $1.5 million more per year than Gostkowski. For the record, Gostkowski is tied for the third-highest paid kicker in the NFL, assuming that Robbie Gould signs his franchise tag or a comparable deal elsewhere, so it’s not like he’s poorly compensated. The Ravens are just paying Tucker that much more.And Tucker is that good. If we look at the past four seasons, when the league made multiple changes to the kicking game like moving back the extra point line and changing the strategy of kickoffs by moving touchback from the 20-yard line to the 25-yard line, Tucker has been incredibly valuable. Of kickers with 50+ field goal attempts and 100+ extra points over that time frame, Tucker rates second in field goal conversion and first in extra point rate. Gostkowski ranks fourth and fifth, respectively. Matt Bryant (released by the Falcons) http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-malcolm-mitchell-jersey , Saints K Will Lutz (signed a 5-year, $20.25 million contract in March), and Matt Prater are the only other kickers to rank in the top 10 of both categories.If we want to look at advanced stats, Tucker and the Ravens have dominated Football Outsiders’ special teams rankings, with the 2015, 2016, and 2017 Ravens ranking first, second, and third for the best kicking and kickoff units over the past four seasons. The 2018 Ravens ranked a respectable 16th of 128.Over those four years, the Ravens lead Football Outsiders’ kicking metrics by a large distance, followed by the Philadelphia Eagles thanks to two great years in 2015-16, and then a grouping of the Patriots, Falcons, Chiefs, and 49ers. The Patriots’ 2018 kickoff unit ranked last in the NFL, through no real fault of Gostkowski Dwayne Allen Jersey , so the measurement of kicker value isn’t perfect, but this is still a solid ranking of kicker value.Tucker is the best kicker in the NFL by a mile. Gostkowski leads the next tier. Both kickers are compensated as such. But within the context of positional spending, the Ravens are giving Tucker roughly 35% more per year than the Patriots’ are giving Gostkowski. That’s a big premium that New England should be able to use on a key special teams player or two.Ben Roethlisberger vs Tom BradyThe Pittsburgh Steelers just signed Roethlisberger to a 2-year extension, and I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a flurry of new deals for the older quarterbacks. Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Eli Manning, and Philip Rivers are all free agents after the 2019 season and are in need of new deals.Roethlisberger, Manning, and Rivers all signed matching 4-year deals over the 2015 offseason worth between $20.8-$21.9 million per season. Brady and Brees signed extensions ahead of the 2018 season. All should be watching this Roethlisberger deal for a blueprint on how their next deals should look.Roethlisberger’s 2-year extension is for $68 million and includes a $37.5 million signing bonus, per NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport. That average of $34 million edges out Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million per year) and puts Roethlisberger behind Russell Wilson ($35 million per year) as the highest-paid quarterbacks in the NFL.That figure is bonkers and Rivers and Brees could very well see deals in the same price range. It would be a surprise if Manning received that much money, but it would be funny if it happened.Brady and the Patriots could reach an agreement to make Brady one of the top 10 highest-paid quarterbacks in the league at $25 million per year- a big increase over Brady’s previous deals- and have a major bargain at the position. But I wonder if the Patriots continue to do what they’ve done with Brady in recent years, by signing him to below-market level deals. Ever since the Patriots made Brady the highest-paid player in the NFL with a 4-year, $72 million contract in 2010 (those numbers sound laughable now), New England and Brady have basically agreed to instead sign Brady to a middle-of-the-pack deal and invest in other positions on the roster.(The Patriots have surpassed Kraft’s lofty goals of a couple more Super Bowls, so I’d call this strategy a major success)And so if Brady is willing to continue taking below-market deals at the same $15 million range that he’s received since 2013, that gives the Patriots a nearly $20 million per year team-building advantage over the Pittsburgh Steelers Womens Vincent Valentine Jersey , allowing the Patriots to build unrivaled depth across the roster.Roethlisberger should absolutely sign for the largest contract he wants, don’t get me wrong. But the advantage of Brady’s cheap contract grows with each passing megadeal. Shilique Calhoun, drafted No. 75 overall by Oakland in 2016, signed with New England last Thursday."WhitePatriots News Opinion and Analysis Contribute! FanPostsFanShotsAbout the Site List of Patriots Twitter AccountsWrite For Pats Pulpit!New User Welcome and Commenting GuideCommunity GuidelinesMastheadTopics Patriots Off-Season CoveragePatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots NewsPatriots Draft CoverageSportfolio ManagementPatriots Opinion/AnalysisPatriots Off-Season CoverageDefensive end Shilique Calhoun’s past adds layer of intrigue to Patriots’ 90-man rosterNew,21commentsShilique Calhoun, drafted No. 75 overall by Oakland in 2016, signed with New England last Thursday.EDTShareTweetShareShareDefensive end Shilique Calhoun’s past adds layer of intrigue to Patriots’ 90-man rosterKyle Terada-USA TODAY SportsThe signing of Shilique Calhoun went unlisted on the NFL transaction wire last Thursday.But the New England Patriots did announce the arrivals of a dozen free agents by 5:40 p.m. ET – and the defensive end by way of Michigan State and the Oakland Raiders was one of them.Calhoun was the only one who’d previously appeared in an NFL regular-season game.He was also the only one who’d been drafted.Entering the league at No. 75 overall to the Oakland Raiders in 2016, Calhoun went three spots before New England took North Carolina State guard Joe Thuney and 15 spots after the war room took Alabama cornerback Cyrus Jones.Calhoun had been a three-time first-team All-Big Ten honoree and a three-time second-team All-American. He’d been a two-time team captain, as well as the conference’s defensive lineman of the year as a redshirt sophomore.“Shilique is kind of in between a defensive end or a ‘Sam’ linebacker,” then-Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio said in his mid-draft press conference. “He’s an end-of-the-line kind of guy. He’ll have versatility in that he can play the ‘Sam’ linebacker for us or the ‘Leo’ position. He’s a very productive young man, really understands how to rush the quarterback. He’s been an All-American. He’s been a very productive guy at a good college program.” Calhoun finished his Spartans career having played in 54 games to amass 131 tackles, including 44 for loss, and 27 sacks.His East Lansing résumé brought along four forced fumbles and five fumble recoveries, one interception, two blocked kicks and three touchdowns. The length and movement skills were easy to see. As was the volatility of a tweener.“Calhoun’s career could go one of two ways,” NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein wrote in his scouting report. “He’ll become more aggressive and improve his hand usage which will unlock his full potential as an NFL defensive end http://www.patriotslockerroom.com/authentic-danny-shelton-jersey , or he will become a decent NFL starter who doesn’t have the upfield burst to win up the field as a pass-rusher and isn’t strong enough to hold up at the point of attack.”Calhoun joined a Raiders attack that at the time included the likes of Khalil Mack and Bruce Irvin. He’d go on to play in 26 games across three campaigns for the organization that drafted him. But he’d be in on just 29 tackles, with three for loss, to go with seven quarterback hits and a half-sack on the Tennessee Titans’ Marcus Mariota.There were 410 snaps on defense and 447 snaps on special teams for Calhoun as a Raider. There were glimpses tracking down running backs and slicing into quarterbacks. There were also two stints on the practice squad upon clearing waivers. Calhoun’s stay came to an end on injured reserve this past December under new head coach Jon Gruden.But the 27-year-old Calhoun is an interesting name in a stockpile for New England. Michael Bennett, Derek Rivers, Deatrich Wise Jr., John Simon, Chase Winovich, Trent Harris and Keionta Davis are among those currently accompanying him in the edge-rushing department.Calhoun weighed in at 6-foot-4 and 251 pounds at the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine. There he checked in among the leaders in his position group with a 6.97-second three-cone, a 4.25-second short shuttle and a 35-inch vertical leap. And there, according to MockDraftable, Calhoun’s athletic profile proved to be an 81.9 percent match with Rosevelt Colvin, an 83.1 percent match with Rob Ninkovich and an 83.4 percent match with Jeremy Mincey.It’s food for thought.It’s also no longer 2016.But Calhoun is a little less under the wire than most arriving at this point in the calendar. Even if he missed the wire last Thursday.

[volik]

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