Having a complete team BEFORE the draft

[mgteich]

We were a first down or two from the Super Bowl, with several key players on IR, players ill, and players hurt during the final game, and not available late in the game. Not surprisingly, this team is a Super Bowl contender with few additions, presuming that Samuel plays. If not, then the new players will need to compensate for his loss.

Sure, we will players in the draft who could contribute in 2007. Sure, we will pick up some players after the draft. But bb likes to have a full team before the draft, in order to allow draft flexibility. Sure, we MIGHT sign big ticket free agents, or mid-ticket free agents before the draft. Samuel is the first big ticket move.
=================================
What will it take this year to be ready for the draft? Not much, really.
=================================
OFFENSE
1) re-sign Evans and/or Pass for me, re-signing Evans is a no-brainer
2) tender Yates and/or Mruc tendering Yates is an easy decision

That's it. We could play with the rest, although we will upgrade later.
I would expect a receiver or two, a TE and a WR, but we could wait

DEFENSE
3) sign two linebackers We only have 3 plus 3 STer's
These could be Seau and Gardner
4) tender Gay a no-brainer, but could be injured again
5) re-sign Mickens or a JAG
That's it, although I expect an additional corner.

SPECIAL TEAMS
6) re-sign Izzo or Davis Izzo is the clear choice
===========================================
BOTTOM LINE - THE LOW ROAD (or the beginning)
Evans, Yates, Seau, Gardner, Gay, Izzo, Mickens
===========================================
OFFENSE (24) - PROBABLY ALREADY AS GOOD AS THIS YEAR
QB (2) Brady, Cassell
RB (4) Maroney, Dillon, Faulk, Evans
C/G (5) Koppen, Mankins, Neal, Hochstein, Yates
OT (4) Light, Kaczur, O'Callaghan, Britt
TE (3) Watson,Thomas,Mills
WR (6) Gaffney,Caldwell,Jackson,Kight,Childress,Smith
===========================================
DEFENSE (26) - NEED HELP AT LINEBACKER (as we have for the last 5 years)
DL (7) Seymour,Wilfork,Warren,Green,Wright,Smith,Hill/Thomas
LB (4) Vrabel,Colvin,Bruschi,Seau
CB (4) Samuel,Hobbs,Scott,Gay/Mickens
S (4) Harrison,Wilson,Sanders,Hawkins
ST (7) Izzo,Gardner,Alexander,Woods,Mays,Andrews,Jones/Mitchell
============================================
SPECIALISTS (3)
K (1) Gostkowski
P (1) Miller
DS (1) Paxton
============================================

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

Evans can take a hike. Pass can really take a hike. Dillon can take a pay cut or take a hike. Gay can take his injured ass to the Jets.

 

[patsox23]

For a JAG, Evans had a GREAT year for the Patriots in 2006. He should be signed, and soon, considering he's in love with being here. Why so down on him?

 

[unoriginal]

I'd like to purchase a ticket for the Heath Evans bandwagon as well.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

MGT, love the premise. I'm not going to argue about particulars like Pass, Evans, et al., et al., et al. Just want to back up the idea that the team ain't broken. We can get better, sure, but as MG says, this is already very close to a complete team.

PFnV

 

[DarrylS]

MGT, love the premise. I'm not going to argue about particulars like Pass, Evans, et al., et al., et al. Just want to back up the idea that the team ain't broken. We can get better, sure, but as MG says, this is already very close to a complete team.

PFnV

I agree, there are some shortcomings, but overall this team ain't broke.. just needs some tweaking.. agree with the idea of a complete team before the draft, then add a bunch of red shirt and complimentary players. If one or two of them can play 40-50% of the plays that is fine in my book.

 

[gomezcat]

The premise is a good one. I like Evans as well, as he is an OK ball carrier and an improving run blocker. I think everyone knows that we need to get younger and faster at linebacker. The problem is finding the players who are 240 lbs and can shed blocks from Guards (in the case of ILBs), but can also play well in zone. For OLBs, it seems to be a question of finding the college Defensive Ends who are fast and agile, but who also have the intelligence to learn new systems. The profile of player that the Pats are looking for is no secret. The problem seems to be in the rarity of such players and the fact that they often disappear before we pick. Physically, players such as Anthony Spencer may fit the profile. The big question is whether they have the desire, work ethic and intelligence to convert to OLB.

 

[Mike the Brit]

We could play with what we have IF no one is injured, although I suspect that Corey, Tedy, Rodney are all on the downslope and I worry about linebacker and wide receiver (and safety and cornerback if we have any injuries).

 

[tedylb]

For a JAG, Evans had a GREAT year for the Patriots in 2006. He should be signed, and soon, considering he's in love with being here. Why so down on him?

Excuse my rookie ignorance, but what the hell is a JAG?

 

[Mike the Brit]

Excuse my rookie ignorance, but what the hell is a JAG?

JAG stands for "Just Another Guy". Reputedly, it was a phrase used by Bill Parcells but it has been enthusiastically adopted on this board, if not elsewhere.

 

[lutontown_fc]

Excuse my rookie ignorance, but what the hell is a JAG?

Just Another Guy.

An average player.

NM

 

[lutontown_fc]

I agree with the original post - we don't have any gaping holes that need to be addressed but there are some areas that require an upgrade.

LBer was the most obvious, Bruschi can be this years Ted Johnson to play on 1st and some 2nd downs - we need someone at ILB that is capable of covering TE's.

OLB is always a sexy pick in the draft, although the hazards or picking a 'conversion type DE' mean we probably wont be looking at one in the early rounds.

The O-line is only going to get better, their primary objective has always been the protection of the franchise QB, now that they are competent in this area, I hope they will concentrate on opening holes for our RB's.

One area of concern is the role of 'blocking TE' with Graham presumbly gone we have Watson and Thomas, but they both appear to excel at receiving rather than Grahams skill set.

If Graham does go, maybe we will be looking at a cheapish - block-only type TE.

Mickens looked good and I expect him to return.

Wilson, Harrison are injury worries and it doesn't seem like Gay has played a snap in years.

Hobbs has one DB spot anchored, he is getting better and better.

What our offense needs (and has been repeated over and over) is a consistent deep threat - not just a clueless 'fast guy' who doesn;t know a route from a root.

BB/Pioli are obviously aware of this - they have made numerous attempts to fill this need with little luck - maybe C-Jack can step up into a Stallworth role?

Im happy where this team is right now and look forward to further improvements in the draft

 

[tedylb]

JAG stands for "Just Another Guy". Reputedly, it was a phrase used by Bill Parcells but it has been enthusiastically adopted on this board, if not elsewhere.

Thanks, Mike, for explaining so kindly. I guess that makes me another JAG. I've been called worse!

 

[smg93]

I pretty much agree that we have a great team already. Why? Because of all the players and positions you have listed, what stood out to me was that you chose Miller instead of Sauerbrun.

Personally, I think Todd Sauerbrun will be on this team next year but that's a whole different argument altogether. In keeping with the spirit of this thread, I will say that Punter will not be a position of need for this team in the draft.

 

[Jimke]

The idea expressed in your thread is absolutely correct. The Pats

should have their complete team in place before the draft. This

means having the cornerback and linebacker position addressed plus

another wide receiver if Chad Jackson is injured. The draft shoulld

be used to find players to develop for the future.

 

[upstater1]

Am I the only one who has the browser slow down every time Unoriginal's photo shows up?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I agree with the original post - we don't have any gaping holes that need to be addressed but there are some areas that require an upgrade.

Well, Brady already did the upgrade, but I believe Brigit Moynahan qualifies.

PFnV

 

[cstjohn17]

We were a first down or two from the Super Bowl, with several key players on IR, players ill, and players hurt during the final game, and not available late in the game. Not surprisingly, this team is a Super Bowl contender with few additions, presuming that Samuel plays. If not, then the new players will need to compensate for his loss.

Sure, we will players in the draft who could contribute in 2007. Sure, we will pick up some players after the draft. But bb likes to have a full team before the draft, in order to allow draft flexibility. Sure, we MIGHT sign big ticket free agents, or mid-ticket free agents before the draft. Samuel is the first big ticket move.

Good post, having most of your roster in place before the draft is the essence of team building. It allows you to take the BPA and turn average units into good units and add depth across the board.

The Patriots are one of the few teams that has been in consistent position to utilize this model. In large part due to their strong core of veterans and the continuity of the FO & Coach.

The premise is solid, looking at the details I hope we our free agent LBs are a step above Seau and Gartner. The pickups of all the JAGs Mickens, Gay, Evans, Yates, etc. are important. Worst case is these guys are your depth, best case is a rookie beats them out and we have capable young & cheap players for depth.

 

[Jimke]

A couple of posts ago, I agreed with the premise of having our team

put together before the draft. Let me add the qualification that I

would be quite disappointed if we did not add one or two quality

linebackers in free agency. We need a six man rotation to keep our

linebackers fresh. You must remember what a good tight end did to our

linebackers in the AFC championship game.

 

[satz]

BB/Scott prefer older veteran LB . They have experimented with a few draft which has never worked.maybe a higher pick might work.

2 veteran LB to the group with seau and bru - 2 LB rookies from the top 4 picks will be great.

Why is every one so low on evans.He is beast in special team and is only 26 now.He is a goof FB and when corey went down in 05 he carried the primary load at 24 again young.He catches good and plays in alot of TE formation and is a perfect patriot guy.He might not turn into the best fb but with time will improve alot .He has been here only 1 year and does alot of little stuff.He has morphed into a FB/RB/TE/ST guy in a new system in a year.He is every goal line packages we run with graham.