BlackandBlue

Never said that we shouldn\'t talk to him, I just like to ask the questions.

The fact that he knows Tebucky, and is used to playing with him is a huge plus, in my opinion. I\'m big on chemistry, which is something that this defense does not have yet, nor could you expect them to- they haven\'t taken enough snaps together to reach that point yet.

[Edited on 2/9/2003 by BlackandBlue]

saint5221

Here is what Belichick had to say publicly on the issue.

ÂÂÂÂ*ÂÂÂÂ*


Tuesday, September 2, 2003

By John Clayton
ESPN.com
ÂÂÂÂ*
Four-time Pro Bowl strong safety Lawyer Milloy was released by the Patriots on Tuesday after refusing to take a paycut.

Milloy, 29, was in the fourth year of a seven-year, $35 million contract and was scheduled to make $4.5 million this year. He had a $5.856 million cap number, which New England was trying to reduce. The Patriots will lose $4.05 million off of next year\'s salary cap because the remaining proration of his contract.

\"This is a player and person I have immense respect for, and he meant a lot to this team and organization,\" Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. \"Unfortunately he\'s a casualty of the system. The timing is not good. We tried to find a way to make it work. In the end, we weren\'t able to get to that point.\"


Belichick said the negotiations for a revised deal have been ongoing since April. Belichick said this is not the way he wanted the relationship to end, adding that a player of Milloy\'s caliber can\'t be replaced.



Milloy played 106 consecutive games and has been the Patriots\' captain the past three seasons. The Patriots signed strong safety Rodney Harrison to work with him during the offseason; Harrison has been working at free safety.


Antwan Harris and Chris Akins will compete for the strong safety job. There are no plans to bring in another player from outside the organization.

TomGreen

Do they have a list of teams that want him?

saint5221

Thought i\'d post a scouting evaluation on lawyer just for the hell of it. We would use him at SS not FS so he would not be responsible as much in coverage.

Height: 6-0
Weight: 210
DOB: 11/14/73
Position: S
TWR grade: 8.6

LAWYER MILLOY

Strengths: Has excellent size and speed. Is a big-hitting safety who doesn’t have to be in a phone booth. Is a good tackler in space. Wraps up and rarely misses a tackle. Has excellent diagnostic skills. Takes few false steps. Takes good angles to the ball. Excellent in lateral pursuit; does great job of getting over trash. Has great speed and can reach the sideline in cover 2. Intimidates receivers. Is intelligent and is a leader.

Weaknesses: Is a bit stiff in his hips. Doesn’t have great ball skills in coverage. Gets in trouble against receivers and running backs. Is overaggressive against the run and gets burned on play-action.

Bottom line: Milloy is one of the most physical and intimidating safeties in the NFL. He has not missed a game because of injury in seven seasons and has averaged more than 100 tackles per season. The only way to limit his effectiveness is to have him turn and run with a quality receiver. -- The War Room

tweeky

I\'d say about 27 or so teams are probably interested.
Of that about 15 or so can afford him
Of that about 9 or 10 are willing to pay for him
Of those he\'d probably only want to play for a contender, which the Saints definitly are, especially if we add him.

I think we have about a 1 in 4 shot of signing him, assuming we try to.

I feel the crushing heartbreak approaching.

BlackandBlue

Would be easier to say who doesn\'t need him, ie, it\'s a shorter list. Off the top of my head, I can say that the Eagles, Dolphins, Cowboys, and the Ravens would have no need for him. After that, I can\'t think of anymore.

BillyCarpenter1

I agree B&B, but I can\'t think of a team that needs him as badly as the Saints. I think the Saints will go after him, but I just wonder how long he\'s going to take to decide what team he wants to play for.

WhoDat

First off - I will remember these quotes:

1. \"If they do not make every effort in the world to sign Milloy, I will be jumping on the boat with FWtex.\"

2. \"If I find out we passed on this guy, I\'ll be the 1st to jump on the \"we\'re stupid\" bandwagan and willingly say \"I\'m a moron, I was SO wrong, and Haz and company are the equivalent of the NFL village idiots. \"

Now maybe you guys will begin to understand why I am so upset with this team and down on the defense. This is NOT the first time a guy like this has come along this season. Chris Claiborne was my Lawyer Milloy this off-season. Obviously we passed on him. I\'m pretty confident that we won\'t sign him, but we may sign some no-name third stringer that Haslett will tout like he\'s the next coming of Lawyer Milloy. When he\'s not Haslett will go back to the \"I just don\'t understand it tag-line.\"

Don\'t get your hopes up guys. I too want it to work out, but odds are it won\'t.

[Edited on 2/9/2003 by WhoDat]

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

TomGreen

We have the money, SIGN HIM !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

jared21

The more i read about this guy we have to sign him he is a play maker and one of the best strong saftey\'s in the game...I feel this is a break for the saints they have to make this happen..i\'m going to be extremely disappointed if we don\'t land this guy!!!