HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

How many times do I come on here and b**** about stuff? How many times do I create headlines b****ing about the Pats? Not very many. I say the Pats LB's are weak and you get your panties in a bunch.

Obviously, Mayo was a great pick. I never said he was a bad pick. My problem and argument in the beginning was BB finally used high to mid round draft picks on LB's. Unfortunately McKenzie is out for season and Crable is a question mark. Before those picks, the highest LB BB drafted was in the 5th round. My grief was that BB has only taken 3 LB's in the first three rounds in his 9 years as head coach. For quite some time you hear from everybody and their mother that the Pats are weak at LB. Each and every season we sit here and think that the Pats are going to draft LB, but they don't. I feel that the lack of depth, pass rush and coverage ability at LB has killed the Pats the last couple of years.

Samuel was a great find in the fourth round. However, he's not worth the money now. Eugene was a bad pick. Sure, he had a great 2003 and 2004 season. However, he regressed every year after that couldn't stop getting injured. Randall Gay wasn't drafted and it showed. He got torched by a WR that just came back 4-5 weeks from a broken foot (T.O.). If he was as good as you think, the Pats would've kept him. Hobbs was average at best. However, considering he was a third round pick, he was good value.

Sorry guy, you didn't read it correctly. I said, Hobbs has fallen down many times and that was one example. Since Hobbs has been a starter, I've seen him falling down many times trying to guard WR's. Sorry I didn't record every single play he fell down and make it a top headline to prove you wrong.

It worked for one post season. It was a fluke. They have been 0-4 ever since. Scheme only takes you so far. Eventually, your going to have to get talent if you plan on ever winning a super bowl again. BB finally got the net drafting Merriweather and Mayo in 2007-2008.

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PatsBoy12

State, you got served!

Deus Irae

1.) Not "everybody and their mother" has been muttering the nonsense about the linebacking corps the way you have. Many of us understood what was going on and didn't feel the need to keep looking up to avoid chunks of falling sky.

2.) I don't know how many times this stuff has to be pointed out, but let's try it again:

• The Steelers only drafted about as many linebackers as the Patriots did through the decade
• Colleges don't run the 3-4, so it's very difficult to judge which players can adapt. that means....
• Using picks on 3-4 linebackers can easily lead to wasted picks
• The Patriots run a 2-gap, not a 1-gap, system. It makes a difference
• The Patriots' linebacking problem has been injuries, not lack of talent....
• Colvin's hip, Johnson's Concussions, Bruschi's stroke, A.D.'s multiple injuries
• Colvin alone missed more games than the entire Pittsburgh starting linebacking corps since his signing.
• James Harrison was an UDFA and was cut multiple times by the Steelers
• Larry Foote was a 4th round pick in 2002
• Farrior was drafted by the Jets, not the Steelers
• Clark Haggans was a 5th round pick in 2000
• Belichick has spoken of his belief that defense starts with the defensive line, hence 3 #1 picks for that line, and they've all lived up to 1st round pick status.

3.) As has also been pointed out time after time, the Patriots were second only to the Giants in sacks in 2007. The argument that the team didn't have a pass rush is just moronic.

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BradyFTW!

You said that from 2001-2007, Belichick did a poor job drafting for the secondary and linebackers. I named off a bunch of counterpoints that proved you wrong.




Pierre Woods
Defensive End/Outside Linebacker
Senior
6’4, 249

Testing: Michigan Pro Day
4.7 Forty Yard Dash
4.19 Short Shuttle
6.87 Three Cone
32 ½ Vertical
9 ft 11 in. Broad Jump
15 Power Lifts

Workout Comments:

Pierre Woods Pro Day can be summed up in one word; outstanding. His short shuttle and three cone are optimum for the outside linebacker position. A 4.7 forty yard dash is a very solid time for him as well. At his size, these workout numbers have caught the eye of scouts around the league.

It must suck to be so consistently contradicted by simple, basic facts.

There's an incredibly simple explanation to this, but patchick's already summed it up a whole lot more succintly than I can over in one of the threads that State started, so I'll just give a brief summary: it takes time to learn the Pats' system. You don't draft guys looking to plug them in right away. Even the Steelers, who ask less of their OLBs in terms of versatility and learning, didn't get much out of Woodley until his second year. Belichick drafts ahead of his needs so that players can be coached up by the time they're needed: hence Crable, Redd, and Woods all being here now, with experience in the system, instead of relying on a rookie who wouldn't be able to help us this year anyways.

Weird, I could've sworn that the Patriots drafted 3 day-one LBs in the last 2 years, and got another UDFA who started for us last season.

So it turns out that Belichick can draft secondary talent (you said that he'd done a poor job of it)

He regressed because he couldn't stop getting injured. So your point is that Belichick drafted badly because he failed to see the future and anticipate that in the extremely violent sport of professional football, this guy would be particularly unlucky? That's retarded. He was a great pick: he started on 2 Super Bowl-winning defenses, was an excellent, versatile safety, and then he had trouble staying on the field.

He started on a top-flight defense that won the ******* Super Bowl. What more can you want from an undrafted free agent?

Where did I say I thought he was awesome? He was a rookie UDFA who was able to step into a starting role on a Super Bowl team and not be a huge, glaring weakness. I'm fine with that.

All CBs get torched sometimes, and getting torched by TO, in particular, is nothing to be ashamed of. And the Pats didn't keep him for the same reason that they didn't keep Wilson: he kept getting hurt, and was offered more money than he was worth by someone else. Not rocket science.

Agreed- he's an average #2 CB. So Belichick can draft secondary talent (you said that he'd done a poor job of it).

Maybe you should try, since when you go back and watch the game film you'll realize how wrong you are.

hahahaha that might be the stupidest argument I've ever heard on this board. Well, no, it's not, but it's pretty close. Because we haven't won a SB since 2004, it must mean that our secondary sucks.

Yeah, it's a good thing that Belichick finally figured out that you need good players to win the Super Bowl. Can't believe it took him so long.

HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

There were a lot of Pats fans that thought they should draft a LB. In 2004, I remember a lot of people wanted Dansby. In 2005, I can't remember. In 2006, most people wanted Carpenter(there was a whole freakin' thread on that guy) and Manny Lawson. In 2007, most people wanted safety. Finally, in 2008, most people wanted LB. In addition, what I meant by "everybody and their mother", was "NFL experts" chiming in on the Pats biggest weakness.

I understand your point, no need to list them again. However, I obviously value LB more than BB. I felt since 2004, the Pats built themselves a stud D-line so why not try to improve their LB's. If BB could just addone stud OLB who can rush the passer, his defense would be deadly because his already has an all-pro D-line. I know they have Thomas, but they use him more in coverage because nobody can guard the TE. Hopefully, Mayo and Guyton improve their coverage skills to allow Adalius Thomas to wreck havoc on opposing QB's. In fact, Thomas has great speed off the edge and is an excellent bull rusher. As much as I'm not a fan of Woods yet, an improved secondary, coverage skills by Mayo and Guyton could allow the Pats to get more sacks than 2008.

Yes, their pass rush was good because teams abandoned the run half way through the first quarter against the Pats. In 2008, their pass rush was pretty bad. Yes, I understand that Thomas was injured, but only Seymour was helping him out during that time. After Thomas was injured, the pass rush was non-existent. Maybe it will change as I posted above.

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HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

That's funny you guys rag on State and Tripplecamp for bringing up what they read out of a magazine and now you present that to me. I know 40 times aren't everything, but a 4.7 isn't anything special. Nice try though.

You obviously didn't catch what I wrote. Maybe if you read more carefully you will see I clearly said that. However, I left out Guyton because he wasn't drafted by the Pats.

They were good at the spot they were taken. Even though Samuel made plays, I don't like his style. The guys that they have now (Bodden and Springs) should be much better.

Not only do I not feel like it, but what's the point? Hobbs is gone. This year's secondary will be tougher and better.

What would be a better argument? The team was victim to bad calls in Denver? The refs should have called a touch back on Champ Bailey? In Indy, It was too hot, players got sick, Hobbs was victim to another bad call, Ben Watson and Caldwell got mauled late in the 4th quarter. In 2007, the greatest offense off all time had one bad game, the refs should have called "in the grasp", BB should've challenged the fumble recovery, Samuel should have picked off that pass. Yeah, those sound a lot better.

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Deus Irae

What you meant by "everybody and their mother" was you and the rest of the "Hindsight whining" gang. That's it.

If there's no need to list them and you "understand" my point, you shouldn't be whining about the linebackers and complaining about the Patriots strategy for the position. You're complaining about the winningest team of the decade. If you can't be happy with what this team has accomplished, you really need to either find another team to be a fan of so that it can remind you of what most teams are like, or you need to quit watching football.

Sacks ranking
2008: 14th
2007: 2nd
2006: 5th

What's next?

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There are no stupid questions, but there are a LOT of inquisitive idiots.
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BradyFTW!

In bandwagon fanland, merely above average = non-existent.

HEY BRO! WHAT UP?

No, this was actually before the draft.

You can always change your strategy, can't you? Quit watching football? Not going to happen.

I don't know what's next? Hopefully something better.

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BradyFTW!

You said Woods is slow. a 4.7 is not slow for a SOLB. And nobody ragged on State for bringing magazine data into the argument. He brought school measurements, which were later proven to be hugely overinflated. Unless you're trying to say that Woods' pro day stats were overinflated/false, your 'point' is meaningless.

Me either, but that doesn't change the fact that he's a very good CB.

How does Champ Bailey's pick-six have anything to do with the secondary? How does the offense putting up 14 points in the 2007 SB have anything to do with the secondary? How does Woods' fumble recovery have anything to do with the secondary? How does the LBs being so depleted in the 2006 AFCCG that we had Eric Alexander on the field have anything to do with the secondary?

Sensing a common theme?