I like every thing that has happened to a point so far except trading Davone Bess. You can't have too many good receivers, and I think he could have been a productive receiver for this team for some time. I don't like that move at all as I know Bess will have something to prove when we play Cleveland the 1st game of the season. Is the thinking that Rishard Matthews will take his place, and be a bit bigger, and faster? Now if so then I can see the move if not then we are one injury away from having a thin receiving corps again. Something tells me that at some point in the season we are going to wish we still had Bess on this roster.

Agree 100%

The move makes absolutely no sense what so ever!

Ireland gets an A+'for the offseason moves...

But an absolute F ..for dumping Bess.

Slot, clutch receives like Bess don't grow on trees!

We are gonna regret the move.

i don't think we will miss bess one bit

________________________________________________________
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Bess was very productive...I liked him. But the reality is that we lacked a deep threat, we lacked a power running game ...so he and Hartline were focal points.

With Wallace forcing deeper coverage, and Keller improving our TE play, Bess's ability to get open in tight spaces is less important.

I can't help but wonder if there were chemistry issues with Tanny or Philbin? because they didn't get much for him. Glad he's not with the Patriots!

I disagree. It is true Bess was ok during the time he was here, but he is slow and lacks breakaway speed. I am thinking he probably has only about one solid year left before his body begins to breakdown and decline. I predict he'll be an ok third WR this season and vanish from the league by 2015.

From a pure character point of view, I was very saddened by the loss of Bess. He wasn't just a good receiver, he was a good football player and team member.

But my understanding is, from a schematic point of view, he did not have the speed required for the new offensive scheme.

So we probably won't miss him (that much) on the offensive side of the ball. But until we get a solid punt returner, it is much more likely that we will miss his experienced hands in punt receiving. Unfortunately, keeping him on the roster just for that, doesn't make sense from a salary cap perspective.

It wasn't a bad move, it was a sadly necessary move.

Loyalty in this league is non existent. This is a what have you done for me today league. Bess didn't fit into the team mold anymore. He didn't have the size nor did he produce much in the red zone.

Would have been nice to see him stay here for depth on the roster. I too hope losing him doesn't bite us in the ass. The dude is a top shelf slot.

The new philosophy here is character, versatility, & speed. Bess was a good guy - great character. If he was a little faster he'd be a bit more versatile. I have no doubt he'd still be here. As much as I don't like the move, I have to trust what JP is doing here.

Now what really stunned me is the Pats letting Welker go. Their fans must really be sick. I'm thrilled that Welker is gone from them. I can't help but feel that NE will be a little easier to beat this year, plus party boy Gronk falling apart and quickly turning into a has-been is an added bonus.

Agreed, Pats will miss welker more than phins will Bess. Watch for Rishard Matthews to take Bess' place

I just know that Bess would of had a good season had he been a part of this team this year.

steviec13 Wrote:
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> Agree 100%
>
> The move makes absolutely no sense what so ever!
>
> Ireland gets an A+'for the offseason moves...
>
> But an absolute F ..for dumping Bess.
>


If you are going to blame anyone for dumping Bess it is Philbin.

Ireland was just the executioner.

If Philbin had been in his corner, and wanted him on this team, he'd still be here.

I don't know that any one player is going to replace Bess. The group of WR's we now have will line up at all three positions. I think they will all move around a lot with Wallace almost always playing outside.

I think (as of now) Mathews is the #4 or 5 receiver. He is going to have to beat out Gibson to even see the field. I still like him a lot but the competition is stiffer this year.

NE's offense depends heavily on a slot receiver. Our offense does not...which is why Bess was expendable. This off season was about finding players that make big plays.

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I think we're going to have some really good receivers fighting for roster spots this year. If we had kept Bess, we may have ended up cutting him anyway. So, we did the best thing possible.

As evidenced by my numerous posts about this subject -- I agree 100% with the core point.

Getting rid of Bess was NOT a smart football move.

The ONLY justification I can imagine is "management by the accountants."

guys, bess was an average player. no big loss.

________________________________________________________
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

Just answer these questions....

Will we need to game plan around Davone Bess when we play week 1?

Is anyone afraid he will take the game over and hurt us?

.....................................................................................
“I'm here" You're welcome!" - Kenny Powers

I think we might've missed Bess the way he used to be, but I don't think we'll miss him at all the way he is now...still a great route runner, but he has lost a step that he didn't have enough of to lose, his hands weren't quite as good last year as they used to be, and he doesn't move the chains like he did in his first couple of years.

Rick

Agree. I do think, though, that with a year of experience under his belt Marcus Thigpen can do both kick returns and punt returns.

Rick

I think it was the right move. If for whatever legitimate reason he doesn't fit into your future plans, get what you can for him. We got about a 5th rounder plus salary cap help (whether we needed it or not...I guess we can carry fwd).

I also agree that no one player will likely replace Bess in his natural slot role. We got a lot faster around the horn with Wallace taking Bess' starting spot and Keller replacing Fasano. Hartline is no burner, but he gets open deep relatively often. We might see Thigpen playing some slot, and he's a lot faster and shiftier than Bess.

The more I look back on last year, the more I see that it was Philbin getting his QB and instilling an ethos and offensive system albeit with a lot of players who didn't fit one or the other or both. This year there's a legitimate chance that we have 5 new starters on offense with Martin as a 6th starting in a different position. I'm excited to see what he does when ethos, system and players combine with one another.

I think we will be ok w/ Bess. I think our passing offense will be more vertical w/ Wallace this year. Like it was said before Hartline is gifted w/ finding spots downfield. Gibson has a career avg of 12 ypc. I am also excited about seeing what Tyms and Binns brings this year they are my 2 wild cards.

Very stupid move....for nothing really. We knew what we had in Bess. You don't get rid of players that you KNOW for certain will be contributors.

This is another reason someone hired a plane to fly a banner around the stadium...FIRE JEFF IRELAND. Guy gambles too much and ends up stepping on his own cr@nk sometimes.

Dumping bess was definetely a bad move.


This is the only move we have made so far that i do not agree with this offseason.

chrisnnavarre Wrote:
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> Very stupid move....for nothing really. We knew
> what we had in Bess. You don't get rid of players
> that you KNOW for certain will be contributors.
>
> This is another reason someone hired a plane to
> fly a banner around the stadium...FIRE JEFF
> IRELAND. Guy gambles too much and ends up
> stepping on his own cr@nk sometimes.


Too each his own, but it really boils down to this:

Would you prefer to have Bess for one more season, knowing he's gone as a free agent at the end of the year, or do you want Mike Gillislee for 4 years?

Since Bess was our 4th best WR, I'd rather take a shot on the promising rookie RB. But that's just me.

Funny thing earlier this year this board was lit up w/ post on how we needed to trade Bess.

Bess is a beast. He had a solid year last year. This year no one would be able to cover him with them having to double Wallace. Bess would be running free and open all day. Stupid stupid move.

dolphin Wrote:
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> Bess is a beast. He had a solid year last year.
> This year no one would be able to cover him with
> them having to double Wallace. Bess would be
> running free and open all day. Stupid stupid move.


Beast?

61 receptions for 778 yrds. with 1 TD put's him in "Beast mode"......who knew

I liked Davone Bess as well, but lets not revise history here.

I think Rishard Matthews will be an upgrade over him in this offense. I think some of you guys are overstating Bess as being great, rather than just one of the top 2 guys in a horrible receiving corp. Someone's gotta catch the passes. After his knee injury he seemed much slower and less shifty.

________________________________________________________
The beatings will continue until morale improves.

eesti Wrote:
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> Just answer these questions....
>
> Will we need to game plan around Davone Bess when
> we play week 1?
>
> Is anyone afraid he will take the game over and
> hurt us?


Answer these question-

Will teams need to game plan around Brandon Gibson when they play us?

Is anyone afraid Brandon Gibson will take the game over and hurt them...

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All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Nietzsche

dolphaholic Wrote:
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> 61 receptions for 778 yrds. with 1 TD put's him in
> "Beast mode"......who knew
>
> I liked Davone Bess as well, but lets not revise
> history here.


His stats over the past 4 years are better then Brandon Gibson

Bess only played 13 games last year. WIth his per game avg, what is the difference between his stats that got him traded, vs Hartline's stats that got him signed to a huge new deal....

Stats are not a good way to argue for Bess being traded...
Tannehill was pretty bad getting WR's the ball in the red zone.. In fact Bess caught one of the only red zone TD's by a WR all of last year.. Hartline's only 1 TD came from a long run after catch... SO blaming Bess for the lack of TD's is not really fair either...

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All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.
Nietzsche