Thursday Morning Third Down Back

Welcome back! After a full off-season of "When is my team going to make a big move?", Adam Schefter tweets: "Filed to ESPN: Washington traded DT Albert Haynesworth to the New England Patriots for a fifth-round pick in 2013. " My first reaction was... WHA?! Not a great guy, sure. But here's the thing though... What if this actually works out?  What if he shows up and plays? A fifth round pick in 2013 isn't much to give up.  And d-line is already a source of strength for the Patriots.  So if he acts up, he's gone. I'm sure conditioning is going to be a problem.  I can't imagine he kept himself in great shape during the lockout. Belichick is totally in the "Eff you, I'm Keith Hernandez" zone. Plus this trade gives me the excuse to run this video all season:

Still not over last Sunday's loss.  To paraphrase the great philosopher Emmitt Smith, "We just got debacle'd". Julian Edelman and Kevin Faulk showed up.  That's about it. Here's what I'd like to see this offseason:   - Get "tougher" on defense (both physically and mentally).  And a pass rush would be nice.   - Resign Vince Wilfork.  Let Matt Light go.   - New offensive coordinator. Bill O'Brien just isn't getting the job done.  There's no creativity there.  I could have called a better game last Sunday.  Even Brady didn't seem comfortable with the plays being called most of the season.   - I'm guessing Welker will be out next season.  I'd like to see them draft at least 2 WRs. The good news?  We have 4 of the top 53 picks in the next draft. (The bad news is that we'll probably be trading those for picks in 2013...)

The Patriots traded Richard Seymour to Oakland for 2011 first-round pick over the weekend. My first thought was " Whaaaat ?!" And then I paused and thought about it a bit. And I reached for my special Belichick Kool Aid I keep on ice for occasions such as this. If Belichick thinks Seymour has lost a step, who am I to judge? He's obviously not the same player he was 3 - 4 years ago. When was the last time you saw Seymour make a play? Jarvis Green and Mike Wright come in off the bench and make plays all the time. Just sayin '. Does this mean we get to keep Vince Wilfork when his contract is up? Yes? Good. I'm in. Was Seymour going to leave after this year anyway? Probably. So is one year of Seymour worth a first round pick two years down the road? I say yes. Plus it's OAKLAND's pick. So you know it will be a top 10 pick.