Wednesday, April 3, 2002

Bargain-basement shopping isn’t always best

Patriots keep going with what works, but what happens if the plan doesn’t work?

By Andy Hanacek, Associate editor

I’m all for shopping around and finding the bargains. If it’s a difference between buying Levi’s or Old Navy jeans, well, I’m buying the ones that are on sale.

On that note, I think what the Patriots did last season was fantastic. A discount shopper’s dream if there ever was one. And that discount mindset has continued into this season.

But as we look at some of the signings the Pats have made, how can we say these are great moves when the season hasn’t started yet? Everyone’s ready to crown the Patriots two-time kings of free agency and get ready to play them up for the surprise Super Bowl pick again. But who knows for sure that Cam Cleeland won’t get hurt, or Donald Hayes won’t be the Charles Johnson of 2002? Who says recently signed CB Tom Knight won’t be nagged by injuries as much as he was last season?

We don’t know, and that’s where I’m going to pick your brain. Everyone continues to say how impressive these moves are because they are filling big holes on the team very cheaply. But when you take money out of the equation, how are these moves much different than the moves of, say, the Jets? The Jets are filling holes too. They knew they’d need a linebacker if James Farrior didn’t re-sign, so they signed Sam Cowart. When they lost OG Kerry Jenkins, they went out and got Dave Szott. The difference is that they paid bigger money than the Patriots paid.

But, realistically, the Patriots’ moves can backfire. Will we then look back and say that the Patriots made severe mistakes? New England’s scouting department is top-notch, and that was proved last season. But even the top-notch people make mistakes now and then. You can’t predict injuries or chemistry issues. You can’t predict that a young player will take off, no matter how he fits into a system. The front-office folks shouldn’t be docked for such things out of their control, but everyone knows things will be said.

If Cleeland, who is as injury-prone as Cowart, or fellow TE addition Christian Fauria gets hurt, will they regret not waiting for superb TE Ken Dilger’s price to come down?

Hayes may not have had much of a supporting cast in Carolina the last few years, when he posted some very nice numbers, but the Patriots’ offense isn’t known for its explosiveness either. So who’s to say that Hayes will make an enormous impact, especially with Troy Brown and David Patten in the WR corps with him?

Then there’s recent signee Knight. He was held to just nine appearances last year because of injuries and has never really developed into a top cornerback. He’s only 27 years old, so he gives the Pats a little youth at the position, something they could use. But if Knight’s injury problems follow him to New England, the move will be fruitless.

This column isn’t to predict that these Patriots moves will backfire. It’s just to point out that just because it worked last year for the Patriots doesn’t mean it’s automatically going to work this year. For every Antowain Smith that the Patriots sign, there’s a potential Charles Johnson. I guess safety in this case would be in numbers, but even at discount prices, you can’t sign a billion free agents every year.

Personally, I think the signing of Hayes and Knight are good moves, but I think the Patriots could have waited and spent a bit of money on Dilger. While his asking price may be through the roof right now, there’s no telling where it might be in a few months.

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