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Volume CXXXIII, Number 17 |
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Patriots in trouble with Law?
SHAUN GAGNON
STAFF WRITER
Just when it seems everything is going well in New England with the Patriots coming off their second Super Bowl in three years and the Red Sox looking good, something gives. You are reminded of the fact that, yes, you are a New England sports fan.
It is ridiculous that the Patriots would even think twice about re-signing arguably the number one cornerback in the league.
To throw out a few stats about Ty Law, he was tied for fourth in the NFL in interceptions last year with seven. He returned one of those seven to the promise land on a cold October day against the NFL's Co-MVP Steve McNair, sealing the victory for the Patriots. That game started the 15-game winning streak that the Patriots will carry over into next year.
Maybe you don't think that is special, but when one of your players is gutting it out for the good of the team, and he is giving his all, that's when you know you have a champion.
Let's talk about his lockdown ability: all he did was make Payton Manning look like an XFL wannabe as well as clinch the title of MVP of the NFL. Law is not even on the downside of his career-the man posted his best number for tackles in-season this year with 77.
If you think Ty Law is replaceable, you are wrong. Yes, I am a diehard Patriots fan; however, Law gives coach Belichick freedom on the defensive side of the ball. Every team in the NFL would like to have the guarantee that one side of the field will be taken away; this ability makes coaches change game plans.
There was also the last game of the year when Chad Pennington, the error-proof quarterback of the Jets, threw five interceptions against the Patriots. Do not think for a second that Pennington's timing was not thrown off by having one receiver taken out of the picture.
Ty Law is a warrior. He played with a severely sprained ankle, hurt in week one, which might have cost most players a couple of games. But not Ty; he returned the following week to help the Patriots shut down Donovan McNabb and the Philadelphia Eagles. Then again, why would you ever believe that a man who has missed less than a game a season over his ten-year career, would let any injury such as that slow him down?
The Patriots play in a conference where receivers are both big and fast, so New England must have a special corner who is also just as big and fast. We have this guy. At 5-11 and 200lbs, Ty Law will either jam you or show you some of that primetime ability Patriots fans haven't seen since the days of Big Play Clay. Yeah, the cap numbers are hard to live with, but this guy is a difference maker who is coming off three straight Pro-Bowls.
It is time to pay him like a top-tier corner. The numbers of 10.2 this year and 12.5 next year can work if we cut a player and ask a few players to restructure their contracts. The Patriots must develop players in positions where they can be developed instead of trying to replace players who are irreplaceable.
The Patriots should not ask Ty Law, who is probably their best player, to take a contract that is below market value. They rewarded Adam Vinatieri with a large contract in line with the best kickers in the league, and now it is time to reward Law.
Uneducated NFL minds can talk about how Ty Law is never going to have a year like he did last year and how Law got a lot of breaks, but ask those same minds to remember Darrel Green playing until... what was it 60, he was drawing the league pension plus his salary. Wasn't he running just as fast when he was 40 as he was when he was 30? The answer is yes.
The players of today know how to condition, and the facts are, Ty Law has played pretty much injury free, and he sticks to a very regimented workout. I have no fear that he has at least three to four more top-caliber years left in him.
Law is not a lineman who has to deal with the trenches of the NFL so his shelf life is much longer than say a running back who must run the ball at 330- pound men his entire career.
The bottom line is re-sign Ty Law and position yourself for another run at the Super Bowl. If the Patriots don't re-sign Ty, New England will become at best a team contending for a playoff spot. Coach Belichick, hear the cries of New England fans, reward this man for his services and sign Law to a nice contract.
A team can only handle the loss of so many top tier DBs and we already lost Lawyer. Can somebody please ask the question of how is it that Rodney Harrison is going to have the year he did last year with his vulnerability to the injury bug? Maybe then we will see why the Patriots must re-sign Ty Law.
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