Belichick is human, Chad Jackson pick proves it

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Let's face it, many people on this board thought Jackson would be a bust from day one. He is one of those classic workout warriors that looks great in practice but ultimately lacks that killer edge on the field. During the draft Jackson was the type of player the Pats almost always ignore, the shiny, glittery combine god that suddenly jumps up the board as teams drool about "potential" and "upside."

I think this was one of the few times when Belichick tried a "get rick quick" scheme rather than taking a step back and evaluating a player based on risk-reward and his long term value. David Givens had just bolted, and Deion Branch was threatening to hold out. The thought of an immediate impact player was too tempting to pass up, even for the Yoda-level mental discipline of Belioli.

Of course, one could say that things could have gone different. A torn ACL can never be predicted, but even before it was torn there were clearly problems with his work ethic, attitude, and chemistry. Definitely not like a second round pick (especially that they trade up for) that I've seen them draft before. Consider how many receivers with less talent than Jackson have been able to click with Tom Brady throwing them the ball: David Patten, Jermaine Wiggins, Reche Caldwell (that same year), Jabar Gaffney... the list could go on and on. Bottom line is, New England is probably the easiest system to succeed in the NFL if you are a receiver and willing to put in the work. And as much as the rookie card gets pulled, consider that Givens, Branch, and others were able to at least look like they belonged on the field in their first year.

Bottom line: An uncharacteristically poor draft pick

 

[HEY BRO! WHAT UP?]

This isn't the first bad draft pick. The Pats have made a lot mistakes on draft day which I will come back to it later. Actually, there wasn't too many people that liked the pick at the time. However, I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings. In the end, fans fell in love with him because of his potential but I don't know where you think he's skinny. In fact, he's a pretty big WR.

 

[mgteich]

It was really poor judgement by Belichick not realize that Chad jackson would be injured twice and miss the better parts of his first two years of development.

BTW, please list the 1st or 2nd rounders (non-top 10) who missed much of their first two years, and then were stars.

 

[spacecrime]

Let's face it, many people on this board thought Jackson would be a bust from day one.

Really? Who?

Chad was the concensus top WR in the draft, projecting to go in the middle of round 1, and I don't know of anyone on this board who thought he'd be a bust from day one.

How about listing a dozen or so of these "many people on this board thought Jackson would be a bust from day one"?

 

[Patslifer]

It was really poor judgement by Belichick not realize that Chad jackson would be injured twice and miss the better parts of his first two years of development.

BTW, please list the 1st or 2nd rounders (non-top 10) who missed much of their first two years, and then were stars.

Some of you people are in total denial. Belichick made a mistake, please admit this fact and move on. If the pats thought Jackson would be a great pro, they would not have cut him.

 

[Brady to Brown]

If the NFL draft were the stock market I would give Belichick my $ to invest all day long.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

Can we put the Chad Jackson thoughts in one of the many many already existing Chad Jackson threads, instead of starting a new one every hour? The attention devoted to this guy is crazy.

It didn't work out. At least they realized it, and moved on rather than compounding the mistake for another year. Every team has busts.

 

[pinvin]

Yes, he is human. Did you think he was from Mars? Drafting college players is always a crap shoot. The pro game is just too much of a different animal. Sometimes, with a close choice, the final decision has to be based on your instincts. No matter who you are, sometimes you lose. Hindsight is always 20/20.

 

[spacecrime]

I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings.

That's what people say now, but at the time they thought Jennings'd be a good fifth-sixth round project. If you care to and can access the archives (pun intended), you can go back and see for yourself. Fact is, Jennings was considered a reach at the time he was taken.

Hindsight being what it is, it is easy to go back and look at players who succeeded beyond their projections and say teams screwed up. The Raiders didn't make a bad decision to draft Gallery or the Panthers to draft Gross, though the players turned out not to be what everyone thought they'd be.

There was nothing to say Jackson wasn't going to be good unless you don't like receivers from Florida (running backs from Penn State, etc).

Jackson turned out not to be a good player, but he was a good draft pick, if you can understand the difference.

 

[fgssand]

This isn't the first bad draft pick. The Pats have made a lot mistakes on draft day which I will come back to it later. Actually, there wasn't too many people that liked the pick at the time. However, I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings. In the end, fans fell in love with him because of his potential but I don't know where you think he's skinny. In fact, he's a pretty big WR.

I think we all know drafting is not an exact science and there are never ever any guarantees.

AS you continue your smear against BB & SP, disguised by your claiming you are simply not a kool aid drinker and are one of the few able to see clearly, please take a moment and answer this for me...

Can you name any team that has had more success with the NFL draft during the BB/SP era??

I didn't think so......yet, you just love to sling that mud.

 

[Patjew]

This isn't the first bad draft pick. The Pats have made a lot mistakes on draft day which I will come back to it later. Actually, there wasn't too many people that liked the pick at the time. However, I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings. In the end, fans fell in love with him because of his potential but I don't know where you think he's skinny. In fact, he's a pretty big WR.

Which team has not? What person has not made a lot of mistakes in his life? These ridiculous expectations of perfection are nauseating.

 

[JoeSixPat]

I guess the only people who needed proof that Belichick is human haven't been fans long enough to remember Adrian Klemm

 

[Patriots Nation NY]

I know he wasn't a draft choice, but .. Donald Hayes anyone?

 

[Jackson 2]

This isn't the first bad draft pick. The Pats have made a lot mistakes on draft day which I will come back to it later. Actually, there wasn't too many people that liked the pick at the time. However, I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings. In the end, fans fell in love with him because of his potential but I don't know where you think he's skinny. In fact, he's a pretty big WR.

For chrissakes, they blew a second round pick. What, they don't have any good wide-outs? How about the ultimate sanction, namely, the death penalty for BB and SP? By my count, assuming everyone's healthy, they have 8 #1 picks likely starting : Meriweather, Maroney, Mayo, Mankins, Wilfork, Watson, Seymour and Warren. Tell me who else is doing as well?

 

[fgssand]

I guess the only people who needed proof that Belichick is human haven't been fans long enough to remember Adrian Klemm

Or Kenneth " GAME DAY" Simms.........

Or the year we chose NOT to pick some guy named Rice, yup, Jerry Rice.


On draft day (April 30, 1985), the 49ers traded its first two picks for New England's first-round choice, the 16th selection overall (the teams also swapped third-round picks as part of the deal), and selected Rice.....

 

[ctpatsfan77]

This isn't the first bad draft pick. The Pats have made a lot mistakes on draft day which I will come back to it later. Actually, there wasn't too many people that liked the pick at the time. However, I liked him but most people felt that the Pats should have waited and taken Greg Jennings. In the end, fans fell in love with him because of his potential but I don't know where you think he's skinny. In fact, he's a pretty big WR.

To play Devil's advocate for a moment--how do you know that Greg Jennings would have worked in this system?

 

[Jackson 2]

Or Kenneth " GAME DAY" Simms.........

Or the year we chose NOT to pick some guy named Rice, yup, Jerry Rice.


On draft day (April 30, 1985), the 49ers traded its first two picks for New England's first-round choice, the 16th selection overall (the teams also swapped third-round picks as part of the deal), and selected Rice.....

I didn't realize Bill B. was with the Pats when Jerry Rice was available.

 

[Patslifer]

For chrissakes, they blew a second round pick. What, they don't have any good wide-outs? How about the ultimate sanction, namely, the death penalty for BB and SP? By my count, assuming everyone's healthy, they have 8 #1 picks likely starting : Meriweather, Maroney, Mayo, Mankins, Wilfork, Watson, Seymour and Warren. Tell me who else is doing as well?

Total knee-jerk reaction... No one is calling for BB or SP's heads. Posters are calling out Bill for a BAD pick, and rightfully so. Maybe if half of you didn't spend most of the time blowing smoke up one anothers butt's, this forum would be a little more objective and real.

BB is GREAT at drafting players, unless they are offensive players in the second round.

 

[fgssand]

I didn't realize Bill B. was with the Pats when Jerry Rice was available.

My point was......go back in Patriot time and be thankful we now have a owner/coach and system that is better than all the rest.

 

[emoney_33]

Total knee-jerk reaction... No one is calling for BB or SP's heads. Posters are calling out Bill for a BAD pick, and rightfully so. Maybe if half of you didn't spend most of the time blowing smoke up one anothers butt's, this forum would be a little more objective and real.

BB is GREAT at drafting players, unless they are offensive players in the second round.

To judge a decision based on information that is only available AFTER the decision is made is absolutely ridiculous. The Chad Jackson pick was NOT a bad pick, it TURNED OUT to be a bad pick based on the happenings over the past couple of years. However, with all the information available on the day they chose Chad Jackson in the draft, it was absolutely a good pick. PERIOD.


The saying "hindsight is 20/20" exists for a reason. You cannot judge a decision based on FUTURE information. You can make the RIGHT decision and have the WRONG results. Some people just can't seem to friggin understand that.


It's like if I'm playing a No Limit Texas Hold Em cash game and I have pocket Aces. It's always the right decision to call all-in before the flop (assuming you are playing within your bankroll limits), even when your opponent gets a lucky draw and wins. If you had the future information of what cards were coming, only then would you be able to fold and have it be the RIGHT decision.


BB, SP and the rest are not perfect and do make mistakes, but the Chad Jackson pick was not one of them. It just so happened to turn out poorly. It's also extremely difficult for us with such limited information to judge whether a decision on draft day is the optimal one because we don't have nearly the information those making the decisions have.