Massarotti says Belichick has gambled on the 2009 season and his future legacy - Page 4 - New England Patriots Forums

hwc · 09-06-2009, 07:49 PM

I don't in any way shape or form want to talk bad about Richard Seymour. He's been a great Patriot. However, do all these pundits forget that the Pats had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year? Did anyone think Belichick was going to clean house?

Do they forget that Seymour was benched healthy in several games last year? I don't think that Seymour, or very many other players on that defense, were getting All-Pro grades.

***BradyFTW!*** · 09-06-2009, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgteich

We trade an all-pro, one of the best players at his position, for a draft pick two years from now. How can this help us in 2009? How can this NOT be a 2009 gamble.

The only way that the Seymour trade could help the 2009 is if the money is used to sign someone.

My preference would be to lock down a player for 2010, perhaps Gostkowski.

But I don't think that we can spin this as a help to the 2009 team.

Yup- Maz is captain obvious. Knowing that we weren't going to re-sign Seymour, it's self-evident that this helps in the long term, and hurts us in 2009. That's not even debatable. The question is: is the tradeoff worth it? I think it's way too early to say yes or no definitively, but the more I think about it, the more worried I am..

When we use the draft pick that we got, Brady will be 34, and Moss will be closing in on 35. Now, if anyone can pull some ballsy move that will extend the dynasty, it's Belichick, but the window on 'this' dynasty is slowly closing. Rather than make sure that he gets the most out of this one, Belichick seems to be doubling down and betting that he can make this simply 'phase one' of a dynasty that will span multiple generations of players. Once again, if anyone can pull it off it's Belichick, but damn...

***mgteich*** · 09-06-2009, 07:54 PM

You forgot the smilee. The patriots defense was #10 in the NFL in 2008.

Quote:

Originally Posted by hwc

I don't in any way shape or form want to talk bad about Richard Seymour. He's been a great Patriot. However, do all these pundits forget that the Pats had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year? Did anyone think Belichick was going to clean house?

Do they forget that Seymour was benched healthy in several games last year? I don't think that Seymour, or very many other players on that defense, were getting All-Pro grades.

***BradyFTW!*** · 09-06-2009, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hwc

I don't in any way shape or form want to talk bad about Richard Seymour. He's been a great Patriot. However, do all these pundits forget that the Pats had one of the worst defenses in the NFL last year? Did anyone think Belichick was going to clean house?

Do they forget that Seymour was benched healthy in several games last year? I don't think that Seymour, or very many other players on that defense, were getting All-Pro grades.

So when your defense has a bad year (relative to the gold standard that you've come to expect, anyways) the natural response is to get rid of your best defensive player? I agree that there were a lot of specific things that we were bad at. We didn't get many sacks (so we traded our best pass-rusher), and our third down conversion percentage wasn't very good, largely because our line was about league-average in run defense per-play (so we traded the guy that it was pretty much impossible to run at).

Maybe Brace steps in and performs near Seymour-level. Maybe the full switch to a base 4-3 makes the defense better, even with Seymour's absence. I'm keeping an open mind on this one, and, if nothing else, my curiosity is definitely piqued.

BTW, Seymour wasn't benched healthy. He missed the 16th game, because he had a mild back injury and the Pats wanted to make sure he didn't aggravate it in case they made the playoffs.

PatsFanSince74 · 09-06-2009, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgteich

You forgot the smilee. The patriots defense was #10 in the NFL in 2008.

thanks. i was gonna hammer the post but decided to water the plants instead...jeez...i mean...do they actually watch the games?...but it's a free country...

PatriotYankee · 09-06-2009, 08:00 PM

Let's be honest, if this trade doesn't pan out the way we all hope and think it will, will it really erase three Superbowl victories in 4 years? Hyperbole sells papers (what few of them are left in existence) and keeps contrarian, semi-competent sports writers employed.

***R_T26*** · 09-06-2009, 08:01 PM

It will be interesting to hear what maz and felget has to say . All preseadon felger had been saying seymour has been living off his legacyand is not the same player. Felget should be loving the trade. Borges too since seymour is the bum we drafted who had 5 sacks in college and we passed up david terrell.

***Patriots Nation NY*** · 09-06-2009, 08:02 PM

pats defense is so bad that they even suck in madden .. don't give me this crap that last year it was a top 10 d .. you kidding me? misleading .. also, i can't believe some of the comments some of you spoiled fans are spewing .. "he hasn't won a bowl since 04" wtf .. i would take that any day, and twice on sunday .. try cheering for the early 90s teams, and comeback to me ..

***MoLewisrocks*** · 09-06-2009, 08:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PatsFanSince74

i read the article, reluctantly, all the way to the end, where the author pays lip service to the Lawyer Milloy deal. like the Milloy deal, this is the kind of call that great coaches/gm's have to make; in doing so, they have to take the crap from wannabes like Massarotti who have the freedom to sit back, pontificate and say "maybe this," "maybe that."

In the world of the NFL, "those who can, coach, those who can't, deliver cheap hits in articles or on the air". let's not forget TJ's immortal words about BB having a locker room full of people who hated him.

Bottom line: 25 years from now, when the history of this era of the NFL is written, people will be talking/arguing about Bill Belichick; they won't have the foggiest, effing clue who Massarotti was..........

Best post in the thread. Only thing I'd add is message board fans to the list of those wannabes who can't do anything but pontificate...

***MoLewisrocks*** · 09-06-2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garbanza

...although keeping BJGE may be

Does this move make the defense weaker short term? Yup. Is the loss significant? That remains to be seen. However, lets not delude ourselves. If this Patriost team makes the post-season, it will be on the offenses back, not the defense. Lets just hope the d-line gets enough pressure on the opponent (harder with Big Sey gone), that the starting lbs stay healthy and that the secondary gels to the point of adequate this year. If the team fails this year it sure as heck won't be just because of Seymours absence. That's ridiculous. Last I checked Seymour has been with the Pats the last four years - zero SB victories.

It's scary but for once you and