Crying over spilled milk: should've drafted DeMarco Murray over Ridley or Vereen

[Danger Zone]

It's still hard for me not to cry over the spilt milk that is Clay Matthews -that said, would we still have picked up Hernandez and Gronkowski without those extra draft picks?

When Belichick drafts or trades for the unexpected, I tell myself its for football smarts / versatility / team chemisty reasons or as someone posted, because Vareen fits into our scheme better than Murray.

 

[Peter Pat]

The simple answer is durability. There is no doubt that Demarco Murray is an extremely talented player and skill wise he was probably worth a 1st round pick. But as bunuel said, he was constantly injured at Oklahoma and that really hurt his draft stock. I was personally for drafting him, but I'm not paying the guy millions of dollars so its easy for me to say to take a risk on the guy. This is a case where you have to wait a few seasons to really judge the pick, especially considering he has already been injured once in his NFL career.

Than why did the Pats draft Gronk, if durability is such a concern for this team.. the reason why players like Gronk and Murray fall to the 2nd or 3rd round is because of injury issues in college. And I know he got hurt last year, but that injury was a basic football injury that anyone would have gotten hurt, that was not a durability injury. That is like saying Gronk is injury prone, because Pollard rolled over his ankle in the AFCC game, and he was not healthy for the SB.

Not to mention they spent two picks on RBs, when you do that, you let yourself take a risk than on one of them.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Clay Matthews

 

[Danger Zone]

The metaphor part of my brain must be on shut-down. I can't tell if you are insulting me with your photo of a big, leaky dam or commiserating.

So what is it to be then?

Do we fight out back or do I buy you a beer?

...feeling suddenly Irish all of a sudden (I'm allowed to say that).

 

[Sicilian]

The metaphor part of my brain must be on shut-down. I can't tell if you are insulting me with your photo of a big, leaky $%&! or commiserating.

So what is it?

Do we fight out back or do I buy you a beer?

...feeling suddenly Irish (I'm allowed to say that).

All I can think of is "water under the bridge", but no idea if I'm right.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

Right. If you take out the one play in the 3rd where he should have been tackeled for a loss his numbers would be rather pedestrian. (and yes, I know you can't do that) Or at least good but not great.

I am happy with Ridley.

He's a good player but hardly warrants this level of fawning.

The OP must be his agent.

 

[Danger Zone]

All I can think of is "water under the bridge", but no idea if I'm right.

Can you go back and Edit my quote and let us all pretend I didn't spell that kind of a dam with an n?

 

[Deus Irae]

The metaphor part of my brain must be on shut-down. I can't tell if you are insulting me with your photo of a big, leaky dam or commiserating.

So what is it to be then?

Do we fight out back or do I buy you a beer?

...feeling suddenly Irish all of a sudden (I'm allowed to say that).

All I can think of is "water under the bridge", but no idea if I'm right.

water over the dam

 

[Sicilian]

As to the OP, I'm of the opinion that everything after the 1st round is crap shoot. 2nd round is ok, but still a 50% hit rate is considered average to slightly above, and it just gets worse from there. Given how much good running backs are valued by many teams, if Murray were anything close to the sure thing the OP is describing, he'd have gone in the 1st.

 

[UK_Pat37]

I know I have written this before, and I know there is nothing the Pats can do about this now, and this is just bringing up the past.

But.....

How can the Pats scouting department and BB, look at Steven Ridley and Shane Vareen, and think either one was a better prospect than Demarco Murray. This screw up cannot be overlooked. can you imagine the dimension he would have brought to the Pats offense.

When you watch him run, and you watch Ridley run, I can't help but ask the Pats, what were you thinking!!!!, and saying that over and over again. There is no excuse for such a lapse in scouting judgement. I mean this was a no brainer, one guy is clearly superior to the other two guys in every facet of the game. he must of scored low on a Wonderlic test or something.

Can some reporter ask the Pats what they saw in the 2 backs they have chosen over Murray? ,and also outside of BB if the person or people who help make the call, were fired, or at least reprimanded by the team.

What screw up?

You're way, way, way, way, wayyyyyyyy off the mark in this entire thread.

For one, you can't judge a draft class in its sophomore year so that renders this thread and your OP useless right out of the gate. If Murray gets hurt again people will be calling him injury prone.

For two, go look at the stats from last season and tell us just how different they actually are. Obvs Murray had better yardage but when you compare Ridleys big play ability and his YPC numbers, you would argue Ridley looks to be the more explosive of the two given how clse they are in those numbers.

For three, we have an entirely if different system and offence. We pass a lot where Dallas struggled immensely at times to get that aspect of their game going. We ave a RB by committee approach which is not as much the case in Dallas.

I'm struggling to see what you see in Murray that can't be seen in Ridley bar a bigger sample size for Murray.

Ths thread is pretty ridiculous tbh....putting it straight.

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

I happened to read this while scrolling through the thread without seeing the name of the poster and i knew, i just KNEW, that pfip was the one who posted it. So I scroll back up a little bit to see who it really was and bam lol

Who exactly are you?

Never heard of you.

 

[Sicilian]

Can you go back and Edit my quote and let us all pretend I didn't spell that kind of a dam with an n?

How's that?

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

The metaphor part of my brain must be on shut-down. I can't tell if you are insulting me with your photo of a big, leaky dam or commiserating.

So what is it to be then?

Do we fight out back or do I buy you a beer?

...feeling suddenly Irish all of a sudden (I'm allowed to say that).

It's one of the first pictures that came up on google when I searched for 'floodgates opened'

 

[DarrylS]

Now that we are on the eve of the long awaited NFL season, time to move away from what could have been and starting focusing on the best team in the NFL...

Hindsight is always 20-20, perhaps I am in a minority, but am pleased with the direction that this team has taken in the past 3 years.. the draft, at best, is a crap shoot and every team could view someone they could have picked.

Have done an analysis of second round picks in the past, and if you look at that we have done about as best as anyone else has, probably better.

 

[PatsFan2]

I know I have written this before, and I know there is nothing the Pats can do about this now, and this is just bringing up the past.

But.....

How can the Pats scouting department and BB, look at Steven Ridley and Shane Vareen, and think either one was a better prospect than Demarco Murray. This screw up cannot be overlooked. can you imagine the dimension he would have brought to the Pats offense.

When you watch him run, and you watch Ridley run, I can't help but ask the Pats, what were you thinking!!!!, and saying that over and over again. There is no excuse for such a lapse in scouting judgement. I mean this was a no brainer, one guy is clearly superior to the other two guys in every facet of the game. he must of scored low on a Wonderlic test or something.

Can some reporter ask the Pats what they saw in the 2 backs they have chosen over Murray? ,and also outside of BB if the person or people who help make the call, were fired, or at least reprimanded by the team.

We could say the same thing for Brandon Tate over Mike Wallace??? The Patriots scouting department have really flunked in the WR and RB departments. Hopefully Ridley will prove me wrong but as of now their evaluation of young RB's get an F+ and their evaluation of young WR's gets Z-.:snob:

 

[Brettlax3434]

I know I have written this before, and I know there is nothing the Pats can do about this now, and this is just bringing up the past.

But.....

How can the Pats scouting department and BB, look at Steven Ridley and Shane Vareen, and think either one was a better prospect than Demarco Murray. This screw up cannot be overlooked. can you imagine the dimension he would have brought to the Pats offense.

When you watch him run, and you watch Ridley run, I can't help but ask the Pats, what were you thinking!!!!, and saying that over and over again. There is no excuse for such a lapse in scouting judgement. I mean this was a no brainer, one guy is clearly superior to the other two guys in every facet of the game. he must of scored low on a Wonderlic test or something.

Can some reporter ask the Pats what they saw in the 2 backs they have chosen over Murray? ,and also outside of BB if the person or people who help make the call, were fired, or at least reprimanded by the team.

Ridley has pro bowl potential IMO. It is not fair for you to judge him until he has had the chance to be the number one guy. He is about to get that chance. Further, Murray is made of glass.

 

[Sciz]

The difference between Murray and Vereen is that Murray actually had an injury history in college...

 

[PatsFan2]

If he was such a clear winner, why wasn't he a higher pick?

Wouldn't that go for Brady too??? peterpat has a very good point.

 

[PATSNUTme]

It seems as if the Red Sox first fans are moving in here early this year.

 

[Deus Irae]

Wouldn't that go for Brady too??? peterpat has a very good point.

No, he doesn't. Frankly, his point is pretty much self-refuting. And the reason that Brady went in round six is because 32 teams didn't think he was clearly the best QB in the draft and destined to be a HOF player.