Pats serve notice: gats, stomping now OK

[Hawg73]

WTF will Myra Kraft think about this?

NFL.com's draft profile about Merriweather has a ton of positives about his on field attributes. His negatives seem to be that he is undersized and not only stomped on opp0ents, but has busted a few caps at some opposing posse that was dissing his friend. Maybe this is the wave of both the present and the future for the Pats who are now the franchise that can take your badass and make a Boy Scout out of him.

What do we think about this?

It should be noted that dochebag extraordinaire Pete Prisco correctly mocked the Miami badboy to come to New Engladn.

I think this pick represents Bill Belichick's lust for Ed Reed come to fruition, but also signals a change of philosophy as far as taking a guy for whom signiicant off-field quesions exist and need to be answered.

Can New England be an enviornment in which this kid can both succeed and thrive?

 

[Darth Despot]

I'm sticking with the shooting was legal, the gun was licensed and in the brawl he was protecting his teamates. Pass me the Kool-Aid

 

[chef]

im happy wif him

 

[Bandwagoneer*]

Frankly, I could see some of our players stomping on a guy in a giant brawl when they were in college.

What matters to me is that he took responsibility instead of making a lame excuse.

 

[Danny88]

People. Meriweather is a criminology major studying to be a cop. He has a registered gun. Someone shot his roomate, so he returned fire. The Miami dade police made it clear it was self defense and in no way illegal. He was protecting himself! Would you return fire if someone was shooting at you and had shot your roomate if you where a poilice officer in taining with a legal hand gun?

Seymour stomped on someones chest a few years ago. People makes mistakes. A fight is a minor issue/mistake that is being blown up. he appologized . Its not a huge issue. Pioli and Beli know what they are doing, relax.

 

[shirtsleeve]

WTF will Myra Kraft think about this?

NFL.com's draft profile about Merriweather has a ton of positives about his on field attributes. His negatives seem to be that he is undersized and not only stomped on opp0ents, but has busted a few caps at some opposing posse that was dissing his friend. Maybe this is the wave of both the present and the future for the Pats who are now the franchise that can take your badass and make a Boy Scout out of him.

What do we think about this?

It should be noted that dochebag extraordinaire Pete Prisco correctly mocked the Miami badboy to come to New Engladn.

I think this pick represents Bill Belichick's lust for Ed Reed come to fruition, but also signals a change of philosophy as far as taking a guy for whom signiicant off-field quesions exist and need to be answered.

Can New England be an enviornment in which this kid can both succeed and thrive?

Ok, look. The head stomping was bad, but kinda Rodney/Tatum bad. He then stood up and took the rap for it. The other incident went down like this: His roommate, also a teammate was surprise attacked and shot. Meriweather returned fire, not hitting anything. It was an act of self defense, as a licensed holder of the firearm using his registered legal firearm. Iknow if that was me I would have done the same.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Let's get a couple points straight:

- Seymour did not "stomp" on anyone's head. He stepped on Tarik Glenn's chest and chased after the play. You can argue that he "stomped" on his chest, but it wasn't a "head" and it wasn't a multiple. He paid a fine.

- Meriweather reportedly stomped on the legs of more than one player during the brawl between Miami and Florida International. Reportedly he was the only Miami player to issue a public apology.

As far as the weapons issue, the basic story reported leaves him leeway, though it didn't completely eliminate the risk of poor judgement. I have stated that not knowing the full details I would not have selected Meriweather, but that didn't mean I thought he was a bad player. I am on record saying the Pats have the tools to conduct the background investigation, I don't. I trust them to do their due diligence so the issue is closed for me.

I have also said I would not want him for a pure Safety in round one, the Patriots' Safeties have taken some damage with the big, fast TEs and RBs out there and I'd like some meat back there to handle that beating. That said, there is a possibility that Brandon is not going to be used as a pure Safety. Comparing him to Asante Samuel, who is unsigned and untraded, he could be used as a dual-use DB, something I'd be more comfortable with.

Asante Samuel
Combine
Height: 5107
Weight: 185
40 Yrd Dash: 4.49
20 Yrd Dash: 2.66
10 Yrd Dash: 1.59
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 09
Vertical Jump: 35 1/2
Broad Jump: 10'0"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.14
3-Cone Drill: 6.95

Brandon Meriweather
Combine
Height: 5105
Weight: 195
40 Yrd Dash: 4.47
20 Yrd Dash: 2.61
10 Yrd Dash: 1.53
225 Lb. Bench Reps: 11
Vertical Jump: 35
Broad Jump: 9'3"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.33
3-Cone Drill: 7.06

Pro-Day
Dates: 03/03/07
Broad Jump: 9'0"
20 Yrd Shuttle: 4.42

If he's to play more CB I'm cool. If he's Geno's replacement, I'm concerned with the size at Safety.

 

[bryanp56]

I`ll reserve judgement on him until I see how he acts up here. I wasn`t crazy about the Corey Dillon signing when we got him, but I was wrong. I`m beginning to think even Randy Moss would change in New England.
Hopefully, Merriweather will take advantage of his oppertunity here.

 

[SamBam39]

Honestly I profess to know nothing about these college players and the draft. But it never ceases to amaze me how BB/SP befuddle me every year. Now they pick an undersized vigilante safety with a bad attitude! Count me among the perplexed. Meanwhile Tedy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel just got older right in front of our very eyes!

 

[grog]

Safeties need to have a bad attitude. It comes with the territory. Good pick, IMHO.

 

[CleatMarks]

I like this pick. He'll be fine. I don't like the trade at 28 though.

 

[shirtsleeve]

Let's get a couple points straight:

-I have also said I would not want him for a pure Safety in round one, the Patriots' Safeties have taken some damage with the big, fast TEs and RBs out there and I'd like some meat back there to handle that beating. That said, there is a possibility that Brandon is not going to be used as a pure Safety.

If he's to play more CB I'm cool. If he's Geno's replacement, I'm concerned with the size at Safety.

Hey, Box! Enjoying the day? I know the work you put into it!

Obviously, I went absolutely wild with glee when we picked him. He is THE GUY I wanted since February. (Was bummed when we had the whole value group thing going with Beason and Harris and didn't pull the trigger, though). For a moment I thought this would be the year....but the moment was over.

As far as Brandon goes, he is actually bigger than Geno by a few pounds already and will get more so in the strength and conditioning program. He will compete with Geno for the starting spot, with the loser playing nickel to start the season, imo, and should Meriweather win the competition, Geno slides to corner.

 

[JD10367]

On the one hand, I can see the defenses for Meriweather (defending a teammate, the gun was legal). On the other hand, I don't like the Pats picking a guy with these character questions. On the OTHER hand, I think the whole notion of the Pats picking "character guys" is utter absolute bullshit. The Pats like guys who they think are "football players". They like guys who care about winning. They like guys who give 110%. They like guys who can play multiple positions. They like guys who are middle-echelon, rather than big-salary guys. But they don't pick choirboys. Let's face it: NO ONE is a choirboy. In football, or in life. (Well, except for choirboys.)

Irving Fryar's wife tried to use him as a knife pinata. Bledsoe and Max Lane thought stagediving would be a good idea. Ben Coates supposedly played pingpong using his g/f and a car. A Patriot once let loose his "little sack specialist" in front of a female reporter. Ty Law committed two egregious offenses: carrying Ecstasy across country lines, and being embarrassingly chased down by a Miami cop (some display of speed, Ty).

Elsewhere across the NFL, the landscape is littered with weapons possession charges, drug charges, speeding tickets, steroid abuse, incidents of rage, sexual misconduct, and probably a lot more we don't know about.

So, personally, I stopped believing the line about "character" a long time ago. The Pats have brought in supposed bad boys like Rodney Harrison and Corey Dillon. Why? Because the braintrust thought they could help the team win. Until proven otherwise, Meriweather will be given a chance to show if he's a turd or not.

Besides, we still have a long way to go to catch up to the NFL's elite (i.e. Miami, Cincy, Oakland, and a few choice players who've been on teams like Tennessee, Dallas, etc.,.).

 

[JD10367]

On the one hand, I can see the defenses for Meriweather (defending a teammate, the gun was legal). On the other hand, I don't like the Pats picking a guy with these character questions. On the OTHER hand, I think the whole notion of the Pats picking "character guys" is utter absolute bullshit. The Pats like guys who they think are "football players". They like guys who care about winning. They like guys who give 110%. They like guys who can play multiple positions. They like guys who are middle-echelon, rather than big-salary guys. But they don't pick choirboys. Let's face it: NO ONE is a choirboy. In football, or in life. (Well, except for choirboys.)

Irving Fryar's wife tried to use him as a knife pinata. Bledsoe and Max Lane thought stagediving would be a good idea. Ben Coates supposedly played pingpong using his g/f and a car. A Patriot once let loose his "little sack specialist" in front of a female reporter. Ty Law committed two egregious offenses: carrying Ecstasy across country lines, and being embarrassingly chased down by a Miami cop (some display of speed, Ty).

Elsewhere across the NFL, the landscape is littered with weapons possession charges, drug charges, speeding tickets, steroid abuse, incidents of rage, sexual misconduct, and probably a lot more we don't know about.

So, personally, I stopped believing the line about "character" a long time ago. The Pats have brought in supposed bad boys like Rodney Harrison and Corey Dillon. Why? Because the braintrust thought they could help the team win. Until proven otherwise, Meriweather will be given a chance to show if he's a turd or not.

Besides, we still have a long way to go to catch up to the NFL's elite (i.e. Miami, Cincy, Oakland, and a few choice players who've been on teams like Tennessee, Dallas, etc.,.).

 

[Dirtywater]

I am willing to give this guy a clean slate here in New England. If he wants to rock the boat here, then I'll think otherwise.

 

[DarrylStingley]

I am glad that Myra Kraft is the hell out of the draft room.

I have every confidence that BB and Pioli have accurately determined that football is the number one priority for this guy, and that his past will not dictate his future. Myra's views on this player, or how this will play from a PR perspective, bore me to tears.