Lombardi on Patriots, per Reiss

[MoLewisrocks]

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/reiss_pieces/2008/08/lombardi_on_pat.html

Lombardi:



Is this kind of a general comment about the Patriots, or do you think there is anything specific in mind? The Pats have a couple decisions that folks on this board might call "tough" b/c of the intricate knowledge we have of the roster and the bubble guys (Hobson, Izzo, Alexander...Guyton, Redd...Spann, Ventrone...Jackson...CJ Jones), but none of those are things that I'd consider "tough" if I were in the mainstream media.

I know Lombardi knows and worked with Bill. But the mindset isn't always the same. He wanted and predicted (BB would select) an OL, specifically a RG he thought projected to tackle at this level, based on what happened at the end of last season - and maybe he feels he was right...even though we had other pressing needs that were addressed.

Despite what he says post game Bill has to be mildly concerned with the performance this team turned in in the pre season. The rookies show promise, which is great, but the veterans have been lackluster and/or MIA with injuries and the veteran backups have not exactly shined. It all starts and ends in the trenches, and we haven't looked good in those trenches on either side of the ball. OL has the Neal/Light excuse, except they didn't look good when last Tom Brady played a meaningful game with Light and the fact is Neal is always hurt... Not sure what the DL excuse is beyond AD and playing vanilla... It's a trickle down effect in football and while many here are berserk about the secondary and backup QB's no one says much about the front 7 not making stops or getting pressure with any consistencyany or the OL's inability to open a hole let alone give any QB half a chance to get a play off short of bailing out and scrambling for his life...

Maybe Bill feels guys are close to coming back and it will all work out. From his vantage point Lombardi doesn't necessarily see that. He's just looking at what he sees on film and surmising that BB can't be content to maintain that status quo. Problem is final cuts others make in this cap flush age tend to be performance related, and there are few players you could add to this mix who could have significant impact in this complex system at the 11th hour. So the hard choice would more likely be cutting some veteran starters to allow a rookies or former backups to commence on the job starter training.

But again, remember Lombardi is making his observations based on his belief he knows how BB thinks (in general) and limited preseason viewing of players Bill sees daily.

 

[SVN]

I know Lombardi knows and worked with Bill. But the mindset isn't always the same. He wanted and predicted (BB would select) an OL, specifically a RG he thought projected to tackle at this level, based on what happened at the end of last season - and maybe he feels he was right...even though we had other pressing needs that were addressed.

Despite what he says post game Bill has to be mildly concerned with the performance this team turned in in the pre season. The rookies show promise, which is great, but the veterans have been lackluster and/or MIA with injuries and the veteran backups have not exactly shined. It all starts and ends in the trenches, and we haven't looked good in those trenches on either side of the ball. OL has the Neal/Light excuse, except they didn't look good when last Tom Brady played a meaningful game with Light and the fact is Neal is always hurt... Not sure what the DL excuse is beyond AD and playing vanilla... It's a trickle down effect in football and while many here are berserk about the secondary and backup QB's no one says much about the front 7 not making stops or getting pressure with any consistencyany or the OL's inability to open a hole let alone give any QB half a chance to get a play off short of bailing out and scrambling for his life...

Maybe Bill feels guys are close to coming back and it will all work out. From his vantage point Lombardi doesn't necessarily see that. He's just looking at what he sees on film and surmising that BB can't be content to maintain that status quo. Problem is final cuts others make in this cap flush age tend to be performance related, and there are few players you could add to this mix who could have significant impact in this complex system at the 11th hour. So the hard choice would more likely be cutting some veteran starters to allow a rookies or former backups to commence on the job starter training.

But again, remember Lombardi is making his observations based on his belief he knows how BB thinks (in general) and limited preseason viewing of players Bill sees daily.

i agree .and i also think that BB puts a lot premium on the front seven playing well than the corners. i dont think he expects his corners to be elite but instead playing a lot of zone with the front seven showing all the looks and applying pressure . The upfront pressure by our defense has been missing all preseason on a consistent basis not mention all the run yardage they are giving up which eliminates obvious passing downs and exposes our avg cornerbacks. i dont think BB is going to bring in a veteran CB like law especially in this offense driven league. i think he will try and get more creative to utilize our front 7 more effectively.

 

[BPF]

I think Lombardi is right on, there will be some surprising cuts and I also feel that the Pats will swing a trade or two to help the team. It probably is not going to be any name we've brought up here before but my feeling is it will be to shore up the OL, DL with depth and ST help. Most feel the DL is ok but I think we need a better back up NT, Wright and Green are solid but none of the other guys can really play NT. Kenny Smith is servicable but we could use an upgrade.

 

[blackglass3]

Maybe we should trade for Adam Seward.

 

[BradyManny]

OL has the Neal/Light excuse, except they didn't look good when last Tom Brady played a meaningful game with Light and the fact is Neal is always hurt... Not sure what the DL excuse is beyond AD and playing vanilla...

I'd say that sums up the preseason nicely. I'm not too worried about the DL turning it around or playing better once the real game starts. As for the OL, I've thought for quite some time that Brady has single handedly taken them and their reputation from underrated to overrated. There were times last season when pundits and patsfans posters alike we're ready to chalk up our success to the OL. After 4 weeks without Tom Brady - whether we're missing Light/Neal or not - I think we should finally be ready to acknowledge that Brady takes this above average line and turns it into a great one with his pocket presence. Therefore, with Brady out, the line will not appear to perform as well.

Add onto that I think the OL has struggled to consistently open up holes in the running game for some time now. Maroney became the scapegoat for their inconsistency in that regard last season.

In the end, probably the majority of our problems solve by #12 showing up next Sunday. He is that good that he not only improves the OL and the offense in general, but the entire feeling and aura surrounding the team, and therefore the defense. He also provides this defense with big leads which allows them to put teams in pass-first situations. I guess, in short, what I'm saying is that Tom Brady is basically a f**king hero.

 

[Deus Irae]

I'd say that sums up the preseason nicely. I'm not too worried about the DL turning it around or playing better once the real game starts. As for the OL, I've thought for quite some time that Brady has single handedly taken them and their reputation from underrated to overrated. There were times last season when pundits and patsfans posters alike we're ready to chalk up our success to the OL. After 4 weeks without Tom Brady - whether we're missing Light/Neal or not - I think we should finally be ready to acknowledge that Brady takes this above average line and turns it into a great one with his pocket presence. Therefore, with Brady out, the line will not appear to perform as well.

Add onto that I think the OL has struggled to consistently open up holes in the running game for some time now. Maroney became the scapegoat for their inconsistency in that regard last season.

In the end, probably the majority of our problems solve by #12 showing up next Sunday. He is that good that he not only improves the OL and the offense in general, but the entire feeling and aura surrounding the team, and therefore the defense. He also provides this defense with big leads which allows them to put teams in pass-first situations. I guess, in short, what I'm saying is that Tom Brady is basically a f**king hero.

I wanted Oher, but he didn't declare. After that, I wanted any OT that Belioli felt was worth a top 10 pick. They decided to go with Mayo. Mayo looks like a keeper, but I still wish they'd gone with the tackle. Of course, had they not been hosed out of that second #1 pick, it's possible that they might have been able to move up and get both.

Thanks Ommissioner!

 

[BradyManny]

I wanted Oher, but he didn't declare. After that, I wanted any OT that Belioli felt was worth a top 10 pick. They decided to go with Mayo. Mayo looks like a keeper, but I still wish they'd gone with the tackle. Of course, had they not been hosed out of that second #1 pick, it's possible that they might have been able to move up and get both.

Thanks Ommissioner!

Yeah, I was on the Clady bandwagon going into the draft, though his wonderlic was a turn off, but I love Mayo, I'm more than happy with the pick. I'm not sure how Clady is doing right now, it'll be interesting to see how he looks over time. In the end, I think they made the right move w Mayo, who will contribute immediately and looks like he has a great mind and work ethic.

As for other OL - there were plenty of versatile OGs in the middle rounds I was expecting them to take a chance on. I'm surprised they didn't b/c they must've known the extent of Neal's injury by then.

 

[JMarr]

Like I said, the only reason I'm finally shaky on it as well is that our run blocking has been so poor in preseason that it wouldn't matter if we had Walter Payton in his prime back there. 5 good RBs - which we have - means nothing if the OL gets dominated up front, so things like pass blocking, pass receiving out of the backfield, special teams become more important when evaluating them.

Still, if I had to say, I'd say all 5 make it and we hope the OL shores up by next Sunday. And it probably will, Light makes a huge difference. Just run behind him and Mankins and we'll do OK.

Maybe not--if the O-Line looks like this in the RS, Maroney is going to get killed and folks on this board will start organizing a mob by week 3. Just think Jordon could be a tackle-breaking beast and Morris looked better than Maroney when healthy last year. So do you cut Maroney?

Morris or even Faulk could get cut, but again depth at the RB position cannot be overstated these days.