Patriots Talk: Putting Belichick's spending spree into perspective originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The New England Patriots' offseason spending spree has sparked plenty of debate around these parts.
Tight ends Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith, as well as wide receivers Nelson Agholor and Kendrick Bourne, headline the Patriots' free-agent acquisitions so far. All four players undoubtedly will improve New England's offense, but did Bill Belichick really get the best bang for his buck?
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Perry: Grading every Patriots position group after free-agent splurge
On a brand new Patriots Talk Podcast, Phil Perry, Tom E. Curran, and George Chahrouri of Pro Football Focus get into a heated debate on that very topic.
Patriots Talk Podcast: Podcast brouhaha! Battle erupts over Patriots spending splurge | Listen & Subscribe | Watch on YouTube
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Chahrouri recently compared the Patriots' spending spree to shopping at Target rather than going out to buy nice things. Curran doesn't believe shopping at Target is such a bad thing.
"You can find good things at Target. You can find useful things at Target. You can find things that suit you," Curran said. "You walk in there, you know you're going to walk out with something. You're not taking a chance at some estate sale where you're gonna try and buy something real nice and somebody's going to outbid you. You went in, you got what you needed, you got the hell out."
Clarifying his overall point, Chahroui believes Belichick overspent at Target rather than using that money to purchase luxury items that may pay off more in the long run.
"I have a great appreciation for Target. But, when I went to Target, I wasn't expecting to buy caviar," Chahrouri said. "So that's what I'm saying here is, I don't mind spending money, but I want to get value for it. I love In-N-Out Burger, I'm not going to spend $100 for the burger. You can get good players, but if you overpay for them you put yourself in a position where you're fighting to get to 9-7 or 9-8 depending on how many games we play. I'm not sure that's worth it."
Perry mainly sides with Chahroui on this one, primarily because the Patriots still don't have a bonafide No. 1 target at wideout.
"I actually like the tight end signings and I think that's where George and I differ the most," Perry said. "It's the Nelson Agholor signing and really the Kendrick Bourne signing too that bothers me. ... I didn't hate Nelson Agholor going into free agency, but I didn't hate him as a No. 2. ... He's a good athlete, should be able to provide some level of a deep threat, go for it. But right now, he's scheduled to be their No. 1 option as a receiver."
Also discussed in the new episode: Ranking the Patriots free agent signings. Perry explains why he's passing on some of the top wide receivers in the draft. And will the Patriots be better this season?
Check out the latest episode of the Patriots Talk Podcast on the NBC Sports Boston Podcast Network, or watch on YouTube below:
