**The Official Day 1 Patriots Draft Thread**

Is there a reason why Solder was taken over Castonzo? wasn't Castonzo generally agreed upon as the second best OL in the draft? maybe Belichick saw it differently?

Deus Irae said:

Last I knew, guys like Terrence Wheatley and Shawn Crable were on the defensive side of the ball. Blaming McDaniels is ridiculous.

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errrr - Watson, Maroney, Jackson, Thomas
and
Meriweather, Mayo, Chung

Froob said:

Is next year suppose to be a rich draft or something? Why do we need another 1st next year? We have a LOT of picks.

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Next year will be stacked at WR (Blackmon, Jeffery, Floyd with Childs, Broyles, Posey and a couple of other interesting prospects in the next tier). Nice time to replace Branch.

Good tackle class next year. Should also be a few top QBs at the top. Only useful in that it will push other players down. Some nice CBs if the Pats want to plan for life after Bodden.

Some interesting prospects that would be nice fits for the Pats include Coples (tweener but an absolute stud), Tate (say buh-bye to Meriweather), Richardson (better pure runner than Ingram) and Brewster (next gen leader of the OL).

At first glance the 2012 class looks similar to this one...nice at the top but questionable depth. Not sure I would have traded out into 2012 but I can see the logic.

arrellbee said:

errrr - Watson, Maroney, Jackson, Thomas
and
Meriweather, Mayo, Chung

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Watson was drafted in 2004, and Thomas has caught 35 and 30 in his two years in New Orleans. Maroney was fine until injuries (and whatever the hell else) caught up with him.

Chung was drafted in 2009, and Mayo was a top 10 pick.

mac said:

I'm with you. As Gruden said referring to the Jimmy Smith pick, sometimes door one is open. Just open it. I could just picture Ingram lining up in the backfield with Tom Brady. Brady, for the first time since Corey Dillon, not having to carry the whole offense on his shoulders. Hayward and Wilkerson seemed solid too--"value" as they say.

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Ingram isn't that good where he'll be able to pick up the slack on offense to take pressure off of Brady. Not without help from the O-line. You know the same O-line that the starting LT is Nick Kaczur (until Light is signed or until Solder proves he can start). That their starting RG retired. That the replace RG was not great in pass protection. And the starting Center has been going downhil since the SB against the Giants.

The Pats needed an Upgrade on the O-line. Adding a bookend OT opposite Vollmer helps shore this line up tremendously. When was the last time the Pats had 2 young OTs like Solder and Vollmer? Solder has tons of potential and Dante can get it out of him. I wouldn't be surprised if Solder is starting by mid-season.

EJ Blitz said:

Is there a reason why Solder was taken over Castonzo? wasn't Castonzo generally agreed upon as the second best OL in the draft? maybe Belichick saw it differently?

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One could make a strong guess that Solder seems to have more upside potential while Castonzo may be more limited to what you already see - and that's in college ball at that. And, of course, factors like perceived ability to play in a system as opposed to being more of an individual player. And being more versatile in terms of different positions on the line. And expectation of handling the speed rushers at the NFL level. And possible contributions to special teams. Those are a few.

Deus Irae said:

Last I knew, guys like Terrence Wheatley and Shawn Crable were on the defensive side of the ball. Blaming McDaniels is ridiculous.

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More wonderful Deus insight. Too bad the person you replied to didn't mention Wheatley or Crable for a reason. He mentioned Maroney, Jackson and O'Connell. All of which were players, as the poster said, that McDaniels worked out.

As for Crable and Wheatley, Dean Pees had a hand there.

EJ Blitz said:

Is there a reason why Solder was taken over Castonzo? wasn't Castonzo generally agreed upon as the second best OL in the draft? maybe Belichick saw it differently?

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Higher upside. Solder does get beat wide occasionally, which is baffling considering his footwork and wingspan. Maybe he loses focus or has a subtle flaw in his drop? Correct that and get him a little stronger (not a problem since he looks lean at 6'8", 315) and he has unlimited potential. Not my cup of tea at #17 but I'm keeping the faith.

Castonzo is largely a finished product and has a frightening inability to defend the edge against speed rushers. I was panicking at the thought of him being the pick at 17. I'm thrilled at the prospect of him defending Goober's blindside.

DaBruinz said:

More wonderful Deus insight. Too bad the person you replied to didn't mention Wheatley or Crable for a reason. He mentioned Maroney, Jackson and O'Connell. All of which were players, as the poster said, that McDaniels worked out.

As for Crable and Wheatley, Dean Pees had a hand there.

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Yes, DaBruinz, I understood that from the start. It was my point. He was ignoring the misses on the defensive side of the ball.

From DKF's post:

Our recent draft success isn't because Pioli is gone, it's because McDaniels isn't in the draft room.

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Do us both a favor. Either read more carefully or stop responding to my posts. What you're doing now just makes you look foolish, and wastes my time.

Metaphors said:

I'm thrilled at the prospect of him defending Goober's blindside.

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.............

EJ Blitz said:

Is there a reason why Solder was taken over Castonzo? wasn't Castonzo generally agreed upon as the second best OL in the draft? maybe Belichick saw it differently?

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Umm.. No. Castanzo was between the 2nd and 4th best OT depending on which draftnik you look at and which way the wind was blowing on a particular day.

Personally, I felt that Castanzo wasn't a good fit at LT. He was ok at RT, but looked best playing RG in the Senior Bowl. That and $5 will get me a Starbucks coffee though. It's all a matter of opinion. And people forget that the Pats are one of only a few teams who do not use one of the draft services out there. Dante worked out both Solder and Castanzo and clearly felt that Solder was the better prospect. I don't believe that Dante and BB have missed on any O-lineman taken above the 4th round.

Is Nate Solder happy that the Patriots passed on Mo Wilkerson, leaving the two to battle it out twice a year?

Deus Irae said:

Yes, DaBruinz, I understood that from the start. It was my point. He was ignoring the misses on the defensive side of the ball.

From DKF's post:



Do us both a favor. Either read more carefully or stop responding to my posts. What you're doing now just makes you look foolish, and wastes my time.

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Then don't bother posting because you are the one looking foolish. The removal of McDaniels = better drafts. That is what DFK said. DFK didn't need to say anything about the defensive side of the ball .If you are too obtuse to figure that out then you shouldn't be posting.

Again, you tried to attribute something to someone that wasn't said. That is your modus operandi to make yourself look smart. The problem is the intelligent posters on here see right through your schtick.

Come on. No one can reasonably project the 2012 draft. It's easy to regurgitate canonized rankings, but it's all meaningless right now. It's all about retaining the asset.

Solder was one of my favorites on the OL, and makes a ton of sense for the scheme. Yes, he is similar to Vollmer, but he is more like an offensive Watt. He has a nuanced game that correlates well to what the Pats do. He is tall, but he sinks his hips very well and aligns his kinetic energy better than any OL prospect in this years draft. His poor tape against outside rush was because of bad slide calls. I watched the tape and it's super obvious that he chipped ad slid to the B gap. That's on the QB. He's going to be one hell of a player here.

DaBruinz said:

Then don't bother posting because you are the one looking foolish. The removal of McDaniels = better drafts. That is what DFK said. DFK didn't need to say anything about the defensive side of the ball .If you are too obtuse to figure that out then you shouldn't be posting.

Again, you tried to attribute something to someone that wasn't said. That is your modus operandi to make yourself look smart. The problem is the intelligent posters on here see right through your schtick.

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No, DaBruinz. The problem is that you're looking to start a fight and I'm not going to oblige you. You didn't bother reading the posts. You made a stupid argument. You got called on it.

Buh-bye.

jays52 said:

Come on. No one can reasonably project the 2012 draft. It's easy to regurgitate canonized rankings, but it's all meaningless right now. It's all about retaining the asset.

Solder was one of my favorites on the OL, and makes a ton of sense for the scheme. Yes, he is similar to Vollmer, but he is more like an offensive Watt. He has a nuanced game that correlates well to what the Pats do. He is tall, but he sinks his hips very well and aligns his kinetic energy better than any OL prospect in this years draft. His poor tape against outside rush was because of bad slide calls. I watched the tape and it's super obvious that he chipped ad slid to the B gap. That's on the QB. He's going to be one hell of a player here.

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You seem to have seen enough tape for me to ask this of you:

Assuming the season continues with the players winning on the stay issue, how long do see it taking before this kid is ready to start full time at LT?

Deus Irae said:

No, DaBruinz. The problem is that you're looking to start a fight and I'm not going to oblige you. You didn't bother reading the posts. You made a stupid argument. You got called on it.

Buh-bye.

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I read your idiotic post. It still idiotic. As for starting a fight, hardly. My argument was sound. Unlike yours. You just put words into other's mouths and claim that you "inferenced it" from what they said.

You are the one who got called on it. But as is your typical attitude, you are right and everyone else is wrong. Even if you are the one who put the words into another's mouth.

Deus Irae said:

You seem to have seen enough tape for me to ask this of you:

Assuming the season continues with the players winning on the stay issue, how long do see it taking before this kid is ready to start full time at LT?

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This is going to sound a little crazy, but I see him as a RT here. I say that because in this system the two are interchangeable and I think Vollmer is a better athlete and as a veteran more trusted to go against the better rushers. Assuming Light walks? Day one RT. Long term I still view him as a lesser athlete than Vollmer and accordingly the RT. If for whatever reason Solder can't deal with bigger players, he'll play left, but as I see it right now he's the starter now and for the future on the right side.

EJ Blitz said:

So I'm assuming 33 is a pass rusher? are we taking Bowers?

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My bet is another trade.. Down about 5-6 spots..

DaBruinz said:

My bet is another trade.. Down about 5-6 spots..

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and the stockpile begins.