2011 Draft makes a lot more sense now

[MrNathanDrake]

BB's aim was to upgrade the Offense through the draft, and rebuild the DLine through cheap Free Agent veterans.

Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, Mark Anderson, Marcus Stroud (cut).



We drafted an OT, 2 RB, and a QB for the future.

Most fans were wondering why BB neglected the DLine so much.


Well it's obvious now. Lets be honest. Alot of our picks won't see alot of playing time in their first few years.

Mallet will be on the bench unless Brady is injured. We still have Volmer and re-signed Light, so unless one of them kick inside to Guard, Solder might sit for awhile. and both RB's are just part of the RB-by-Committee.

 

[Patriot Missile]

BB's aim was to upgrade the Offense through the draft, and rebuild the DLine through cheap Free Agent veterans.

Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, Mark Anderson, Marcus Stroud (cut).



We drafted an OT, 2 RB, and a QB for the future.

Most fans were wondering why BB neglected the DLine so much.


Well it's obvious now. Lets be honest. Alot of our picks won't see alot of playing time in their first few years.

Mallet will be on the bench unless Brady is injured. We still have Volmer and re-signed Light, so unless one of them kick inside to Guard, Solder might sit for awhile. and both RB's are just part of the RB-by-Committee.

I'm sure he thought he would add in some vets through free agency. I don't think he had divine knowledge that players like Haynesworth and Ellis would become available though. This was just a case of BB being innovative and brilliant as the opportunities presented themselves. On paper thus far it's been one of his best offseasons so far.

 

[stinkypete]

Hindsight being 20/20, it was the right plan. Watt, Jordan, Sheard, Reed would all likely be benchwarmers for 2011. The defense is already young, it doesn't need to get younger.

Haynesworth and Ellis will be bigger improvements than any rookie even if they are relative disappointments.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

I'm sure he thought he would add in some vets through free agency. I don't think he had divine knowledge that players like Haynesworth and Ellis would become available though. This was just a case of BB being innovative and brilliant as the opportunities presented themselves. On paper thus far it's been one of his best offseasons so far.

He probably didn't have specific players in mind, but he knew there would be Dlinemen on the FA market and wanted to scoop some of them up.



It's also made our Defense a lot tougher now. Haynesworth especially.

 

[spacecrime]

It's just the reverse of most years. usually, after free agency, some folks here go apecrap, wailing away at how BB is doing nothing, blah blah blah, then he drafts guys.

This year it was the reverse. After the draft, he didn't address the pass rush or the need for a WR, wah wah wah, BB sucks, pats going 3-13, 6-10 if they are lucky. The he signs the guys he wants, and as Rose Ann Rose Anna Danna used to say, "Oh. Never mind."

No team has had a better record in the divisiion in 10 years, but still everyone is ready to jump overboard at a moment's notice.

Pats will be fine.

 

[MrNathanDrake]

I'm sure he thought he would add in some vets through free agency. I don't think he had divine knowledge that players like Haynesworth and Ellis would become available though. This was just a case of BB being innovative and brilliant as the opportunities presented themselves. On paper thus far it's been one of his best offseasons so far.

It's just the reverse of most years. usually, after free agency, some folks here go apecrap, wailing away at how BB is doing nothing, blah blah blah, then he drafts guys.

This year it was the reverse. After the draft, he didn't address the pass rush or the need for a WR, wah wah wah, BB sucks, pats going 3-13, 6-10 if they are lucky. The he signs the guys he wants, and as Rose Ann Rose Anna Danna used to say, "Oh. Never mind."

No team has had a better record in the divisiion in 10 years, but still everyone is ready to jump overboard at a moment's notice.

Pats will be fine.

Well..... we still lack a proven 34 OLB. Even in a 43, we could use a fast young edge rusher.

Sure Mike Wright and Shaun Ellis are good pass rushers on the Dline, but don't count on them to contain Mike Vick if we bump into the Eagles in the SB.

 

[Deus Irae]

BB's aim was to upgrade the Offense through the draft, and rebuild the DLine through cheap Free Agent veterans.

Albert Haynesworth, Shaun Ellis, Mark Anderson, Marcus Stroud (cut).



We drafted an OT, 2 RB, and a QB for the future.

Most fans were wondering why BB neglected the DLine so much.


Well it's obvious now. Lets be honest. Alot of our picks won't see alot of playing time in their first few years.

Mallet will be on the bench unless Brady is injured. We still have Volmer and re-signed Light, so unless one of them kick inside to Guard, Solder might sit for awhile. and both RB's are just part of the RB-by-Committee.

You think he passed up top shelf talent in the hopes of getting one year deals with a bunch of question marks on the defensive line?

 

[VJCPatriot]

Well..... we still lack a proven 34 OLB. Even in a 43, we could use a fast young edge rusher.

Sure Mike Wright and Shaun Ellis are good pass rushers on the Dline, but don't count on them to contain Mike Vick if we bump into the Eagles in the SB.

I believe that's why we signed Mark Anderson. And this team will also be using more 40 fronts than before. So it's not a big concern to me.

 

[mgcolby]

I'm sure he thought he would add in some vets through free agency. I don't think he had divine knowledge that players like Haynesworth and Ellis would become available though. This was just a case of BB being innovative and brilliant as the opportunities presented themselves. On paper thus far it's been one of his best offseasons so far.

Everyone knew that Haynesworth would be available on the cheap, it was obvious that the divorce proceedings were underway in Washington. And there were talks last year that 2010 could be Ellis' last in New York. He was a FA, so I don't think it took divine knowledge to think they could get them.

 

[mgcolby]

Well..... we still lack a proven 34 OLB. Even in a 43, we could use a fast young edge rusher.



Sure Mike Wright and Shaun Ellis are good pass rushers on the Dline, but don't count on them to contain Mike Vick if we bump into the Eagles in the SB.

Mike Vick will never lead a team to the super bowl. So that shouldn't be a concern.

 

[fumbrunner]

You think he passed up top shelf talent in the hopes of getting one year deals with a bunch of question marks on the defensive line?

I think that he was likely concerned with the inexperience in the defense generally. Why add even more inexperience Getting another year in for Chung, McCourtey, Spikes, etc with some veterans on the D-line makes sense. OLB is still a question mark in my opinion. As these players move into their 3rd, 4th years, BB will likely be more comfortable looking at DL, LB in the draft.

 

[Patriot Missile]

Everyone knew that Haynesworth would be available on the cheap, it was obvious that the divorce proceedings were underway in Washington. And there were talks last year that 2010 could be Ellis' last in New York. He was a FA, so I don't think it took divine knowledge to think they could get them.

Ok. BB knew he was going to land both these players. He was sure Washington would let him go for a 5th and also Ellis was going to get a lowball offer from the Jets. He also knew that the Pats would have the only interest in these 2 players with the other 31 teams staying put.

 

[DarrylS]

For those of you who have heard my spiel before apologies.

I thought this draft was a lock out draft, as no one had to contribute on the first weekend.. all of these guys are patriots type players, but none have to contribute on the first weekend. BB built depth, and is retooling for the future.

The exception may be Solder, but at the time of the draft anticipated that Matt Light would be back.. so we could work him in gradually, but now that Light is on the PUP wait and see.

Someone has a sig that says something to the effect that we are building a team, not just collecting talent. We are also looking towards the next couple of years as well.. not just this one.

 

[BTTA]

Well..... we still lack a proven 34 OLB. Even in a 43, we could use a fast young edge rusher.

Sure Mike Wright and Shaun Ellis are good pass rushers on the Dline, but don't count on them to contain Mike Vick if we bump into the Eagles in the SB.

Why do you think the SB will be different for these guys that the regular season? Something about being ok in November but not in February?

BB has never had a problem whipping Vick, so all the evidence would suggest that the Pats will do fine.

 

[mgcolby]

Ok. BB knew he was going to land both these players. He was sure Washington would let him go for a 5th and also Ellis was going to get a lowball offer from the Jets. He also knew that the Pats would have the only interest in these 2 players with the other 31 teams staying put.

Whether he thought he would get both of them we'll never know. But he did know that both of them would be available. And anyone who thought that Haynesworth was going to cost any thing more than a low draft pick was simply kidding themselves.

And for the record you stated that you doubted he knew that players like Haynesworth and Ellis would become available. I simply pointed out that the entire NFL knew those two players were available all offseason.

 

[letekro]

You think he passed up top shelf talent in the hopes of getting one year deals with a bunch of question marks on the defensive line?

"top shelf talent"?? Don't BB's actions indicate that he was not impressed with the DL talent pool in the draft? Oh that's right Mel Kiper said this was a great draft for DL so, therefore it was. Mel Kiper certainly knows who will fit better in the Patriots D than BB.

 

[TealSox]

Yes and no.

I think the 2011 draft was acquiring DEVELOPMENTAL players. There is no way that the Patriots expected to get much of anything from these guys in 2011.

Doubt anyone was ready to throw Solder at left tackle and I think the prevailing thought was that Volmer was staying at right tackle. Seemed reasonable to assume they were going to re-sign Matt Light, but they had a bit of leverage in the negotiations after selecting Solder.

Dowling is the same thing. The team is getting Bodden back and got McCourty was a stud last year. Granted Belichick loves loading up on corners, Dowling is a guy that was a luxury, despite coming off injury. If he develops nicely, Bodden might be on the road soon enough.

With BJGE and Woodhead, Vereen and Ridley were a bit of a head scratch, but again, they seemed to be the long team solutions to an eventual problem.

Of all the picks, seems that Lee Smith was actually brought in to play an immediate role with Crumpler being released. Lets hope he can do the job.

 

[TealSox]

I can't believe that Belichick knew he was going to pick up Haynesworth or Ellis... scary to think that if Warren was known to be cut, what would the line look like without Haynesworth?

 

[TheSolderKing]

I just laugh when ppl question the draft strategy of BB. I followed this board until I officially joined a couple days before last draft. Every body last year was Pissed no pass rush moves were made. PPL here had a boner for that Penn St. was it Ordick??? don't remember name. it is like 80% of the ppl here think they can draft better than BB. He selects his players with a vision beyond just 1 year. Hence-Lee Smith usurping crump. I took my shots w/e. BB doesn't try to fix everything based on NEED he looks at the VALUE of the talent on the board and picks who he thinks best fits this team. Don't ever question the motives of the master of the NFL Draft... The TREMENDOUS coach Bill Belichick:rocker:

 

[HomerSchooled]

Well..... we still lack a proven 34 OLB. Even in a 43, we could use a fast young edge rusher.

Sure Mike Wright and Shaun Ellis are good pass rushers on the Dline, but don't count on them to contain Mike Vick if we bump into the Eagles in the SB.

I find it nigh impossible to believe Vick will duplicate his performance from last year, but improvements elsewhere on the team may balance it out. The league caught up to Vick late last year. I'm not scared. Not of anybody, not anymore. Bring em on.

I really need this season to start.