Now I'm starting to worry

[dryheat44]

Because with a haul of McCourty, Cunningham, and Spikes, it looks like BB is playing favorites with his college connections, allowing his relationships to cloud his judgment.

Hopefully it's just a co-incidence.

 

[CheeseMonkeys]

What do you mean? They are good players regardless of who BB knows.

 

[Coach42]

Yeah I kind of wondered about that too but, on the bright side McCourty was projected in the first round by many different people and if you watch Spikes on film you would have never thought that he would run a 5.0 40. Basically what I'm getting at is that if another team had drafted those same players in similar spots I don't think it would have raised eyebrows too high.

 

[larryo]

That's nothing. He's letting Bruschi pick our 2nd round offensive pick.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Because with a haul of McCourty, Cunningham, and Spikes, it looks like BB is playing favorites with his college connections, allowing his relationships to cloud his judgment.

Hopefully it's just a co-incidence.

how can this be a coincidence? These players were specifically drafted because of where they played college, what they bring to the table and their potential. BB trusts Schiano and Meyer because they run similar systems. He knows inside info on these players and trusts Schiano and Meyer. If anything, it's smart to make college connections so you can get the dirt on certain players.

 

[dryheat44]

What do you mean? They are good players regardless of who BB knows.

Yes they are. My point is that if a college coach (and Mack Brown talked about this a little bit) is asked questions by a pro coach, the college coach has a definite interest in talking his players up. Urban Meyer really doesn't need to have the loyalty of Bill Belichick, what he needs is to be able to go out on the recruiting trail and tell recruits that he put 8 guys or whatever in the first three rounds of the draft. I think that the tendency would be to oversell your players. God help Urban Meyer if Nick Saban or Mark Richt can look an undecided recruit in the eye and tell him that Urban told an NFL coach not to draft his player.

 

[dryheat44]

how can this be a coincidence? These players were specifically drafted because of where they played college, what they bring to the table and their potential. BB trusts Schiano and Meyer because they run similar systems. He knows inside info on these players and trusts Schiano and Meyer. If anything, it's smart to make college connections so you can get the dirt on certain players.

Yes. And while such actions brought us Logan Mankins and Jarvis Green, it also brought us Chad Jackson, Jeremy Mincey, and Marquise Hill.

 

[jeffbiologist]

I think there is more to that than we know. I already posted in other threads that I thought Tebow was a target in the first but McC was a backup once we got boxed out on him by Josh. I think with all that time down there and all the Tebow stuff BB got a good whiff of FL players. Spikes would have been drafted higher as a soph. and Cunningham is the most under rated guy on that team by far. Besides, you save on gas if you do all your scouting in one place, maybe Krafty took away the gas cards in the recession this year...

 

[the wrothbroughterer]

If he doesn't use his contacts to get better information then the next team, he shouldn't have a job.

 

[WhiZa]

Because with a haul of McCourty, Cunningham, and Spikes, it looks like BB is playing favorites with his college connections, allowing his relationships to cloud his judgment.

Hopefully it's just a co-incidence.

His judgment is clouded every year. It's quite common for the Pats to draft players out of a school that BB visited.

BB visits by year
2006: Florida (chad jackson and that other guy)
2007: no comment
2008: He went to alabama to discuss rival Mayo
2009: Uconn (butler)
2010: FL again (2 FL picks in the first 3 rounds)

 

[furley]

Well, Chad Jackson came out of Florida. But the uncertainty might be different for Gator defensive players.

On the other hand, Rutgers has produced some promising players recently with Ray Rice and Kenny Britt. I wonder if McCourty is any better than his brother Jason.

 

[jmt57]

You can't just look at it in the vacuum of who the Pats did take; there's also plenty of players from those same schools that Belichick did not draft.

I'd be a lot more concerned if he took an approach like Ray Perkins did years ago when he was the head coach of the Bucs by increasing the value of players who played in the SEC based on the theory they'd be more used to the heat and humidity in Tampa Bay.

It's not like Belichick met these guys in a bar last Friday during happy hour and is basing his picks on their beer fueled opinions. A lot of that trust in what they have to say comes from intelligent, valid, well formed opinions. If these coaches were over selling their players, that level of trust would never have been created.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

We finally don't draft a Gator last year and it was freaking Percy Harvin.....oh,what could have been

 

[AzPatsFan]

Because with a haul of McCourty, Cunningham, and Spikes, it looks like BB is playing favorites with his college connections, allowing his relationships to cloud his judgment.

Hopefully it's just a co-incidence.

BB has had to rebuild the Patriots. Many of the Stars of the superbowl clubs are in football retirement now. He is also doing it on the fly. The Pats Offense was the second rated Offense overall, so logically he put the emphasis on improving the young Defense. But note that the Defense accumulated more sacks than the Number 1 rated Defense. It just couldn't quite get off the field, against great offensive clubs, yielding many a short 3rd down conversion.

The Pats were barbecued by two phenomenal passing teams, the Colts and Saints. They were dismantled by the hard running Ravens in the playoffs. Is it any wonder that the picks in the first three rounds was a CB, a rush specialist SILB, and a SOLB run/pass combo rusher?

Perhaps you noticed that Ty Law, Teddy Bruschi and Mike Vrabel, stars from the Superbowl clubs are gone?

 

[captain stone]

Yes. And while such actions brought us Logan Mankins and Jarvis Green, it also brought us Chad Jackson, Jeremy Mincey, and Marquise Hill.

You've just answered your own question.

Bill is being sold a bill of goods by the huckster Pope Urban. The Jermaine Cunningham pick in particular was atrocious, by at least 2 rounds.

 

[IcyPatriot]

This board is going downhill ... perhaps it should be renamed "Patsfans Enquirer" or "The Razor Daily News.

 

[alvinnf]

Well I think if you picked two guys off of USC's D last year you would be sittin pretty. So what's the shame in dipping in a couple times on a very deep Fla roster.....