Does Belichick Get a Pass on Poor Drafts?

[PatsFanStnfrd]

So say Forbes and the New York Times.

Get a Pass on Poor Drafts?
In Pictures: Best And Worst NFL Draft Teams - Worst: New England Patriots - Forbes.com

Of course, like any evaluation, judgment is involved -- so take this with a pinch of salt. What is noteworthy are the following quotes:

"Stuart said via e-mail Thursday:
“The Patriots have struggled to reload their roster through the draft, formerly a Patriots staple. With the exception of LB Jerod Mayo and FS Brandon Meriweather, none of their draft picks over the past four years have made instant impacts.”

New England has been so good, a Patriots fan might counter, that it’s hard for a draftee to crack the roster.

But Stuart said:

“If you don’t have much room for rookies on your roster, the only play you have is to trade UP in the draft, to stockpile a bunch of picks for some high ones. Otherwise, you end up cutting a ton of players that you drafted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th rounds for nothing. Of course, that’s exactly what’s ended up happening with the Pats.” "

So going for quality (by trading up and picking a high impact player) may well have been a better strategy than volume of so-so players who couldn't make the cut.

What do you think?

 

[PatsFanStnfrd]

Here is the NYT link omitted from above:

Does Belichick Get a Pass on Poor Drafts? - The Fifth Down Blog - NYTimes.com

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Anybody notice this? http://www.forbes.com/2009/04/08/nfl-draft-teams-lifestyle-sports-nfl-draft_slide_8.html

Draft bombs: 2007 second round pick defensive tackle Kareem Brown (pictured at left) and 2006 fourth rounder, running back Garrett Mills

Those were our draft bombs? First of all, Brown was a 4th round pick and Mills was not supposed to be the savior of the Pats offense.

Does BB get a pass?

The Pats needed WR's in 2006 and drafted Jackson. He was cut because he didn't pan out not because the Pats were "set" as some people refer to on this board. In addition, they drafted a TE for whatever reason and an H-back in Garret Mills. Both were unnecessary picks as both were eventually cut then traded. Their best player in that 2006 draft was their kicker.

In 2007, they didn't have much to work with but could've easily traded up for Patrick Willis (which was a lot people's favorite on this board). For once you guys actually got it right.

In 2008, they needed CB and so they drafted Wheatley and Wilhite. Wheatley is basically a bust but Wilhite is what he is - a 4th rounder. At LB, Mayo is okay but nothing special while Crable can't stay on the field. But they also had the nerve to draft a f*cking QB in the 3rd round when this team couldn't stop the pass and couldn't get to the QB. I can understand if Brady was 35, but that pick was ridiculous.

Who the hell knows why the Pats didn't trade up in previous drafts if they felt their roster was "set", which they weren't since 2005. Their draft strategy has been piss poor in the last 5 years.

If 2009-10 drafts don't pan out, the window will shut. And no, he doesn't get a pass.

 

[AzPatsFan]

Anybody notice this? In Pictures: Best And Worst NFL Draft Teams - Worst: New England Patriots - Forbes.com

Those were our draft bombs? First of all, Brown was a 4th round pick and Mills was not supposed to be the savior of the Pats offense.

Does BB get a pass?

The Pats needed WR's in 2006 and drafted Jackson. He was cut because he didn't pan out not because the Pats were "set" as some people refer to on this board. In addition, they drafted a TE for whatever reason and an H-back in Garret Mills. Both were unnecessary picks as both were eventually cut then traded. Their best player in that 2006 draft was their kicker.

In 2007, they didn't have much to work with but could've easily traded up for Patrick Willis (which was a lot people's favorite on this board). For once you guys actually got it right.

In 2008, they needed CB and so they drafted Wheatley and Wilhite. Wheatley is basically a bust but Wilhite is what he is - a 4th rounder. At LB, Mayo is okay but nothing special while Crable can't stay on the field. But they also had the nerve to draft a f*cking QB in the 3rd round when this team couldn't stop the pass and couldn't get to the QB. I can understand if Brady was 35, but that pick was ridiculous.

Who the hell knows why the Pats didn't trade up in previous drafts if they felt their roster was "set", which they weren't since 2005. Their draft strategy has been piss poor in the last 5 years.

If 2009-10 drafts don't pan out, the window will shut. And no, he doesn't get a pass.

Jackasses like you, were the ones who got Paul Brown fired from the Browns. It might interest you, that the Brown have not been to a championship game in the next 45 years! Meanwhile Paul Brown had guided them to seven in ten years, bu he didn't win the "The Big One" for three whole years before, the the jackass fans got him fired.

Jackasses like you ganged up to get Don Shula fired. The Dolphins haven't been back to a Championship game in about 25 years.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Jackasses like you, were the ones who got Paul Brown fired from the Browns. It might interest you, that the Brown have not been to a championship game in the next 45 years! Meanwhile Paul Brown had guided them to seven in ten years, bu he didn't win the "The Big One" for three whole years before, the the jackass fans got him fired.

Jackasses like you ganged up to get Don Shula fired. The Dolphins haven't been back to a Championship game in about 25 years.

OMG, he's criticizing BB, BURN THE HERETIC!!!

 

[AzPatsFan]

OMG, he's criticizing BB, BURN THE HERETIC!!!

Let me help kindle the pyre!

 

[upstater1]

We shall see.

I think that Patriots fans like the way Darius Butler, Sebastian Vollmer, Julian Edelman, Myron Pryor, have turned out. We're now waiting to see how Brandon Tate, Tyrone McKenzie, Patrick Chung, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Jermaine Cunningham, Aaron Hernandez, Brandon Spikes, Taylor Price, Ted Larsen, etc. work out. These are 14 players from the last 2 years who could be the future for New England.

To say New England has only found 2 players in the last few drafts is to totally write off guys like Vollmer, Butler, Edelman and Pryor. Ridiculous on its face.

 

[Marqui]

Can we move on from this already, I find it hard to still care what happend 3+ years ago.

 

[Mogamedogz]

Yes he does. BB gets a pass on everything around these parts. just the way it is.

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Jackasses like you, were the ones who got Paul Brown fired from the Browns. It might interest you, that the Brown have not been to a championship game in the next 45 years! Meanwhile Paul Brown had guided them to seven in ten years, bu he didn't win the "The Big One" for three whole years before, the the jackass fans got him fired.

Jackasses like you ganged up to get Don Shula fired. The Dolphins haven't been back to a Championship game in about 25 years.

But can you tell me how you really feel?

By the way, I'm not going to take the time out of my day to go picket BB for his draft picks or write Bob Kraft telling him how offended I am for has happened the last 5 years. Calm down.

 

[DaBruinz]

What I find amazing is that the 2007 draft has been termed one of the POOREST drafts for the league in league history, yet BB is supposed to be some kind of savant and pick all sorts of players who will push out all the seasoned vets we had in 2007.. We had 65 vets going into that draft.. And added Moss.. Yet, people still think BB should have worked a miracle.

The 2008 draft get's it's decision this year. And some of the players have had impacts.. Wheatley was doing well until he broke his left wrist. Wilhite has been servicable. Slater has been a great special teamer outside the fumble against Pitt his rookie year. Crable, the jury is still out on.

And the 2009 draft had all sorts of immediate impact..

 

[Marqui]

What I find amazing is that the 2007 draft has been termed one of the POOREST drafts for the league in league history, yet BB is supposed to be some kind of savant and pick all sorts of players who will push out all the seasoned vets we had in 2007.. We had 65 vets going into that draft.. And added Moss.. Yet, people still think BB should have worked a miracle.

The 2008 draft get's it's decision this year. And some of the players have had impacts.. Wheatley was doing well until he broke his left wrist. Wilhite has been servicable. Slater has been a great special teamer outside the fumble against Pitt his rookie year. Crable, the jury is still out on.

And the 2009 draft had all sorts of immediate impact..

Get out of here with all that logic. BB and his drafts suck!

 

[jeffbiologist]

I think many on here simply cant seperate BB the coach from BB the GM. As a coach he has few peers, which kind of creeps into his GM prowess. The 2007 draft was particularly poor and our roster has turned over as much as any in the league the last couple of years. I think BBs "safety in numbers" and all the recent trade downs in the draft have to do with his diminshing success with $$ FAs. This isnt the same vet team that got guys to take pay cuts to play here. There simply isnt as much talent on the team, but BB I'm sure is confident as a coach he can make lemonaide with the best of them.

But everything is relative, alot of other teams are now better at the GM role than BB...few can argue. Polian, SD, and even the JEST have done a better job identifying and closing on their target players IMHO. Even these guys make mistakes. Saying that these other rosters have more TALENT isnt the same thing as saying they are favorites on Sunday, but accumulating talent is the GMs job! In short, we did well with a handful of every down players and a great accumulation of talent with our situational players. I think the last couple drafts could be a reversion to situational specialists rather than trying to hit home runs on every pick. BB the coach will always get a pass with me, the GM...not so much until some of these players out play their draft grades.

 

[wilfork is beastin']

I think many on here simply cant seperate BB the coach from BB the GM. As a coach he has few peers, which kind of creeps into his GM prowess. The 2007 draft was particularly poor and our roster has turned over as much as any in the league the last couple of years. I think BBs "safety in numbers" and all the recent trade downs in the draft have to do with his diminshing success with $$ FAs. This isnt the same vet team that got guys to take pay cuts to play here. There simply isnt as much talent on the team, but BB I'm sure is confident as a coach he can make lemonaide with the best of them.

But everything is relative, alot of other teams are now better at the GM role than BB...few can argue. Polian, SD, and even the JEST have done a better job identifying and closing on their target players IMHO. Even these guys make mistakes. Saying that these other rosters have more TALENT isnt the same thing as saying they are favorites on Sunday, but accumulating talent is the GMs job! In short, we did well with a handful of every down players and a great accumulation of talent with our situational players. I think the last couple drafts could be a reversion to situational specialists rather than trying to hit home runs on every pick. BB the coach will always get a pass with me, the GM...not so much until some of these players out play their draft grades.

The past few Colts and Chargers' drafts haven't really been good at all.

 

[Marqui]

The past few Colts and Chargers' drafts haven't really been good at all.

Exactly. Who are all these impact probowlers the Colts and Chargers have drafted lately?

 

[PatsFanStnfrd]

Exactly. Who are all these impact probowlers the Colts and Chargers have drafted lately?

The Colts and Chargers have been built primarily through the draft. Polian's ability to find players who shine in his system and to find WR weapons for Manning are beyond dispute. The Chargers to have found difference makers through the draft -- and are perennial contenders.

 

[bucky]

Actually, everyone gets a pass on 1 or 2 poor draft classes. It just goes with the territory of drafting. I would say the 3 poor drafts 2006-2008 pail in comparison to some of the stuff that happened in 2009 - starting with the FA signings of Galloway, Baker, and Taylor, then continuing with the trading of Seymour, several second-half collapses, and culminating in a truly embarrassing home playoff loss.

And yes, BB gets a pass for all of that because of what he did here from 2001-2007. Completely and unquestionably - a free pass. Throw it up as a mulligan. Now, I just hope we get the 2001-2007 BB for the next 5 years and not the 09 one.

 

[captain stone]

So say Forbes and the New York Times.

Get a Pass on Poor Drafts?
In Pictures: Best And Worst NFL Draft Teams - Worst: New England Patriots - Forbes.com

Of course, like any evaluation, judgment is involved -- so take this with a pinch of salt. What is noteworthy are the following quotes:

"Stuart said via e-mail Thursday:
“The Patriots have struggled to reload their roster through the draft, formerly a Patriots staple. With the exception of LB Jerod Mayo and FS Brandon Meriweather, none of their draft picks over the past four years have made instant impacts.”

New England has been so good, a Patriots fan might counter, that it’s hard for a draftee to crack the roster.

But Stuart said:

“If you don’t have much room for rookies on your roster, the only play you have is to trade UP in the draft, to stockpile a bunch of picks for some high ones. Otherwise, you end up cutting a ton of players that you drafted in the 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th rounds for nothing. Of course, that’s exactly what’s ended up happening with the Pats.” "

So going for quality (by trading up and picking a high impact player) may well have been a better strategy than volume of so-so players who couldn't make the cut.

What do you think?

I agree with Forbes, to a point. I believe that drafting quantity over quality can work here, exc. that Bill hasn't drafted the quality within the quantity to make that strategy worthwhile. Don't think so? 3 years (06-08), 26 picks, only 3 players (4, if one insists on LaMa, I suppose) who can be seriously considered as productive, consistent players - and one of those is a Kicker. Want to know why we've gone from 18-1 to 11-5 to 10-7? There's your answer.

 

[Marqui]

The Colts and Chargers have been built primarily through the draft. Polian's ability to find players who shine in his system and to find WR weapons for Manning are beyond dispute.

But no immediate impact probowlers, which was my point. Just because all your rookies aren't ROY contenders doesn't mean your drafts are failures.

The Chargers to have found difference makers through the draft -- and are perennial contenders.

They've also never won or even been to a SB this decade. I don't know if I want the Patriots to model after them.

 

[wilfork is beastin']

The Colts and Chargers have been built primarily through the draft. Polian's ability to find players who shine in his system and to find WR weapons for Manning are beyond dispute. The Chargers to have found difference makers through the draft -- and are perennial contenders.

Polian hasn't been able to fix the Colts' problems at DT and the interior oline for years. He's either ignored the problems outright or drafted busts like Ugoh and Pollak. Look at the 09 draft for example. It was well known that the Colts oline couldn't run-block to save their lives, so instead of drafting someon like Eric Wood, Phil Loadholt, Seabass, Beatty, etc, Polian takes a RB who goes on to average 3.6 YPC and scores 3 TDS. As for the Chargers, when was the last time they drafted an impact player?