Belichick practices what he preaches

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Putting your ego aside for the sake of the team.

No, Belichick is not one to get snookered... in fact, he is one of the smartest football minds in history, from both a coaching and GM standpoint. When you consider that the Cassel situation has been a top priority for the team since the season ended, and likely weeks or months were devoted to finding and developing a market for a franchise quarterback, there is little doubt in my mind that (a) Belichick got the best trade possible for the team, and (b) Belichick knew that media and national opinion would completely grill him for his decision. You can be certain that many GMs would not have made this trade, not because of a difference of opinion, but because they are afraid of the second guessing out there.

Furthermore, and this also hasn't been addressed by the media. If you hold on to Cassel you are devaluing him automatically, because teams that are ready to trade do not want to wait until training camp or even the draft to begin intitiating him to their team. My estimation is that, had they held on to Matt, his value would have gradually shrunk as teams would have begun building around their appointed QB (See Favre, Brett, and Rodgers, Aaron.)

It also astounds me that no one out there connects McDaniels and Pioli and wonders if THEY were trying to help out BB just as much as vice versa. We're talking about a quarterback whose production dropped last season from Brady's 2007 (50 TDs to 21 TDs!) who plays in the most quarterback friendly system in the league currently. We're also talking about a lot of money, and no long term investment. All of the other players in this speculation were looking for Cutler, besides Denver and KC, two systems that will be designed around the Patriots' offense. In other words, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE INTEREST OUTSIDE OF BELICHICK'S FORMER CREW. Again, you could point to Pioli and wonder whether he would have made the same trade in a similar situation, for an experiment. Also, I'm tired of hearing that this is a second round pick... suppose they trade with the Steelers and get #32 rather than #34; is this suddenly a coup for the Patriots?

The real deal on the Cassel trade: Matt likely does not want to sign a long-term contract, not does any team want to invest a ton of money in him right now. The trade was not for Matt Cassel; it was for one-year of Matt Cassel's services, which will result in an extension only after his success and comfort for his new team has been evaluated.

 

[bigdgp]

I know I'm not the thread police but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

did we really need a separate thread for you to pontificate your personal thoughts on this topic? There really wasn't one of the other 20 reaction threads that this could have gone into? Do you really think the insight for this post was so profound that you needed it to stand on it's own? I can't see a single thought in your 449 word post that hasn't been beaten into the ground ad naueseum in the three days since the transaction occurred. You trust Belicheck's judgment, we get it, thanks, now hopefully I've wasted 30 seconds of your life as you did mine for clicking on this...

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I know I'm not the thread police but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

did we really need a separate thread for you to pontificate your personal thoughts on this topic? There really wasn't one of the other 20 reaction threads that this could have gone into? Do you really think the insight for this post was so profound that you needed it to stand on it's own? I can't see a single thought in your 449 word post that hasn't been beaten into the ground ad naueseum in the three days since the transaction occurred. You trust Belicheck's judgment, we get it, thanks, now hopefully I've wasted 30 seconds of your life as you did mine for clicking on this...

Do you feel smart now?

 

[hyperpat]

I know I'm not the thread police but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

did we really need a separate thread for you to pontificate your personal thoughts on this topic? There really wasn't one of the other 20 reaction threads that this could have gone into? Do you really think the insight for this post was so profound that you needed it to stand on it's own? I can't see a single thought in your 449 word post that hasn't been beaten into the ground ad naueseum in the three days since the transaction occurred. You trust Belicheck's judgment, we get it, thanks, now hopefully I've wasted 30 seconds of your life as you did mine for clicking on this...

What's the ongoing beef about starting new threads? Why does everything have to be tacked onto the end of a seven-page thread? (Asked the lowly thread killer )

Let a thousand flowers bloom. New threads, new angles are good, IMO.

 

[DESERTPAT]

I know I'm not the thread police but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

did we really need a separate thread for you to pontificate your personal thoughts on this topic? There really wasn't one of the other 20 reaction threads that this could have gone into? Do you really think the insight for this post was so profound that you needed it to stand on it's own? I can't see a single thought in your 449 word post that hasn't been beaten into the ground ad naueseum in the three days since the transaction occurred. You trust Belicheck's judgment, we get it, thanks, now hopefully I've wasted 30 seconds of your life as you did mine for clicking on this...

Damn, The Thead police are alive and well! Don't like don't read it or post on it. jeez

 

[BradyFTW!]

This thread is based on a new and interesting premise; I don't see what the problem is. It raised a lot of good points, and made some interesting observations, rather than one more clueless bandwagon-jumper carrying on about how we got HOSED and so on.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Excellent comments.

This is like the whining about starting threads as players are cut.

It's the off season. What exactly are we suppose to talk about? How much can Britt benchpress? Pierre Woods' taste in transportation?

 

[Disco Volante]

I know I'm not the thread police.

Apparently you don't.

 

[BlitzFritz]

The real deal on the Cassel trade: Matt likely does not want to sign a long-term contract, not does any team want to invest a ton of money in him right now. The trade was not for Matt Cassel; it was for one-year of Matt Cassel's services, which will result in an extension only after his success and comfort for his new team has been evaluated.

interesting thought....

 

[DNR]

I know I'm not the thread police but I stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night...

did we really need a separate thread for you to pontificate your personal thoughts on this topic? There really wasn't one of the other 20 reaction threads that this could have gone into? Do you really think the insight for this post was so profound that you needed it to stand on it's own? I can't see a single thought in your 449 word post that hasn't been beaten into the ground ad naueseum in the three days since the transaction occurred. You trust Belicheck's judgment, we get it, thanks, now hopefully I've wasted 30 seconds of your life as you did mine for clicking on this...

Are you actually anal enough to count the words in his post?

What a douche

 

[spacecrime]

We're talking about a quarterback whose production dropped last season from Brady's 2007 (50 TDs to 21 TDs!)

This is so bogus.

You do realize that no QB in NFL history has ever passed for 50 TDs, right?

Criticizing a QB because he didn't have the production to match the greatest season in the history of the NFL. Good going.

THere is no QB who ever matched 50 TDs in a season.

Cassel had 21 TDs and 11 INTS last year and had a passer rating of 89. That cmpares very favorably with other QBs.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

This is so bogus.

You do realize that no QB in NFL history has ever passed for 50 TDs, right?

Criticizing a QB because he didn't have the production to match the greatest season in the history of the NFL. Good going.

THere is no QB who ever matched 50 TDs in a season.

Cassel had 21 TDs and 11 INTS last year and had a passer rating of 89. That cmpares very favorably with other QBs.

Ummm... he took over a historical offense. Nobody is expecting him to pass for 50 TDs, but that offense was capable of things rarely seen in the NFL. To overlook the 593 points scored by the 2007 Patriots, or to hang it all on Brady, is absolutely stupid. Now, suppose Cassel had put up those numbers on the Lions last year... that would be different. Bottom line is, the dropoff between Brady's historical '07 and Cassel's '08 was not a big difference; it was a gigantic, enormous, catyclismic difference. Brady threw for more than twice as many TDs. That certainly shows that Cassel, why having a solid season, was nowhere near a superstar quarterback, who in the same system mostly the same players, scored nearly 39 points a game. Seriously, how many quarterbacks in the NFL do you think would struggle with New England's weapons today?

To put in in perspective, Cassel's numbers were similar to Brady's when Cassel was playing with Moss and Welker and Brady was playing with Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel.

And no, I don't expect a first year quarterback to produce Tom Brady, seven years in results. My entire point is that this is all relative... you have to look at how other QBs have fared in the same system as a measuring stick. The Pats' offense was so potent it allowed Cassel to play risk-free football and still throw 21 TDs.

 

[BradyFTW!]

Ummm... he took over a historical offense. Nobody is expecting him to pass for 50 TDs, but that offense was capable of things rarely seen in the NFL. To overlook the 593 points scored by the 2007 Patriots, or to hang it all on Brady, is absolutely stupid. Now, suppose Cassel had put up those numbers on the Lions last year... that would be different. Bottom line is, the dropoff between Brady's historical '07 and Cassel's '08 was not a big difference; it was a gigantic, enormous, catyclismic difference. Brady threw for more than twice as many TDs. That certainly shows that Cassel, why having a solid season, was nowhere near a superstar quarterback, who in the same system mostly the same players, scored nearly 39 points a game. Seriously, how many quarterbacks in the NFL do you think would struggle with New England's weapons today?

To put in in perspective, Cassel's numbers were similar to Brady's when Cassel was playing with Moss and Welker and Brady was playing with Reche Caldwell and Doug Gabriel.

And no, I don't expect a first year quarterback to produce Tom Brady, seven years in results. My entire point is that this is all relative... you have to look at how other QBs have fared in the same system as a measuring stick. The Pats' offense was so potent it allowed Cassel to play risk-free football and still throw 21 TDs.

So we've established that Matt Cassel is not Tom Brady. Good to know.

 

[eom]

this thread is hilarious.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Putting your ego aside for the sake of the team.

No, Belichick is not one to get snookered... in fact, he is one of the smartest football minds in history, from both a coaching and GM standpoint. When you consider that the Cassel situation has been a top priority for the team since the season ended, and likely weeks or months were devoted to finding and developing a market for a franchise quarterback, there is little doubt in my mind that (a) Belichick got the best trade possible for the team, and (b) Belichick knew that media and national opinion would completely grill him for his decision. You can be certain that many GMs would not have made this trade, not because of a difference of opinion, but because they are afraid of the second guessing out there.

Furthermore, and this also hasn't been addressed by the media. If you hold on to Cassel you are devaluing him automatically, because teams that are ready to trade do not want to wait until training camp or even the draft to begin intitiating him to their team. My estimation is that, had they held on to Matt, his value would have gradually shrunk as teams would have begun building around their appointed QB (See Favre, Brett, and Rodgers, Aaron.)

It also astounds me that no one out there connects McDaniels and Pioli and wonders if THEY were trying to help out BB just as much as vice versa. We're talking about a quarterback whose production dropped last season from Brady's 2007 (50 TDs to 21 TDs!) who plays in the most quarterback friendly system in the league currently. We're also talking about a lot of money, and no long term investment. All of the other players in this speculation were looking for Cutler, besides Denver and KC, two systems that will be designed around the Patriots' offense. In other words, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE INTEREST OUTSIDE OF BELICHICK'S FORMER CREW. Again, you could point to Pioli and wonder whether he would have made the same trade in a similar situation, for an experiment. Also, I'm tired of hearing that this is a second round pick... suppose they trade with the Steelers and get #32 rather than #34; is this suddenly a coup for the Patriots?

The real deal on the Cassel trade: Matt likely does not want to sign a long-term contract, not does any team want to invest a ton of money in him right now. The trade was not for Matt Cassel; it was for one-year of Matt Cassel's services, which will result in an extension only after his success and comfort for his new team has been evaluated.

I think those that were really close to the Matt Cassel QB, and his intangibles, knew that here was a Franchise QB.

Outsiders could only speculate and hesitate. Both his GM and his OC wanted him, his OC wanted him enough to dump a rising established Star, to do so.

I'd predict from that Cassel wil be viewed even more highly after the 2009 season. KC is no longer bereft of talent, and its re-building is well along.

 

[RayClay]

Putting your ego aside for the sake of the team.

No, Belichick is not one to get snookered... in fact, he is one of the smartest football minds in history, from both a coaching and GM standpoint. When you consider that the Cassel situation has been a top priority for the team since the season ended, and likely weeks or months were devoted to finding and developing a market for a franchise quarterback, there is little doubt in my mind that (a) Belichick got the best trade possible for the team, and (b) Belichick knew that media and national opinion would completely grill him for his decision. You can be certain that many GMs would not have made this trade, not because of a difference of opinion, but because they are afraid of the second guessing out there.

Furthermore, and this also hasn't been addressed by the media. If you hold on to Cassel you are devaluing him automatically, because teams that are ready to trade do not want to wait until training camp or even the draft to begin intitiating him to their team. My estimation is that, had they held on to Matt, his value would have gradually shrunk as teams would have begun building around their appointed QB (See Favre, Brett, and Rodgers, Aaron.)

It also astounds me that no one out there connects McDaniels and Pioli and wonders if THEY were trying to help out BB just as much as vice versa. We're talking about a quarterback whose production dropped last season from Brady's 2007 (50 TDs to 21 TDs!) who plays in the most quarterback friendly system in the league currently. We're also talking about a lot of money, and no long term investment. All of the other players in this speculation were looking for Cutler, besides Denver and KC, two systems that will be designed around the Patriots' offense. In other words, THERE WAS VERY LITTLE INTEREST OUTSIDE OF BELICHICK'S FORMER CREW. Again, you could point to Pioli and wonder whether he would have made the same trade in a similar situation, for an experiment. Also, I'm tired of hearing that this is a second round pick... suppose they trade with the Steelers and get #32 rather than #34; is this suddenly a coup for the Patriots?

The real deal on the Cassel trade: Matt likely does not want to sign a long-term contract, not does any team want to invest a ton of money in him right now. The trade was not for Matt Cassel; it was for one-year of Matt Cassel's services, which will result in an extension only after his success and comfort for his new team has been evaluated.

Great post.

Agree we don't need a separate thread, but screw it. Yes, BB couldn't care less what anyone thinks and he wouldn't do a favor for his mother without expecting one back.