https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWv39lWRpog&t=37s
“They’re getting a blue collar, I would say undervalued player around the league,” Harbaugh said. “Don’t sleep on Lawrence Guy. Don’t under estimate this player. He’s a really good football player — run and pass. Love him to death. Every time I see him he gives me this big giant Lawrence Guy hug. He’s a great guy. He’ll be a leader in the locker room. I thought it was a great signing by the Patriots.”
Source: Former coaches rave about Patriots’ pick-ups
Some good quotes from former coaches in this piece from Mark Daniels, and of course it’s always nice to listen to Chuck Pagano and John Harbaugh praise players that will now be Patriots. You know it just kills them on the inside.
I think this has been a pretty surprising offseason so far. The only real slam dunk was Dont’a Hightower and even that was interesting for a bit. But in the end it worked out because Hightower got to see what things are like elsewhere around the AFC. You know the saying, if you love something set it free and if it comes back to you he’ll be smashing offensive opponents for the next four years or so.
Rex Burkhead, Lawrence Guy and Dwayne Allen are classic Patriots moves. Solid football players that weren’t atop anyone’s fit list but players the Patriots pounced on because, simply put, they’re football players. At the end of the day, that’s what made the Patriots dynasty. Not grabbing overpriced superstars in free agency or lucking out with their constantly-low-end draft picks. Just guys who play hard and love football. Of course, having a mastermind like BB to put them in position to succeed helps most of all, but you get the picture.
Trading for Brandon Cooks is the big piece thus far of the offseason, and it was surprising just because outside of losing Martellus Bennett, the offense returns intact. As always, that wasn’t enough for the Pats. They had to evolve, to stay one step ahead of teams that would study Hogan, Edelman, Mitchell and Gronk all season to figure out a way to somehow slow them all down. Now Cooks changes it all and becomes maybe the biggest problem for opposing defenses.
Why? Because there’s nothing that kills you more than quick scores and that’s what Cooks can do, take any catch and take it to the house. The first priority for Belichick’s defense is to limit big plays and now his offense is primed to make those big plays, potentially at a level unseen since 2007.
All of this is even more exciting when you consider the offseason is far from over and there will be at least a couple rookies, drafted or undrafted, who will likely make an impact on the 2017 Pats.