Pats draft QB Jimmy Garropolo from Eastern Illinois in the 2nd round

TonyTucker said:

And Elway's Broncos lost the SB 43-8. I'm not interesting in copying their model.

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They stomped the pats in the afc champ so maybe you should be interested... Denver got even better in the draft for next season.. Pats did not... They have no wideouts worth a damn

Brady6 said:

· I am never putting my confidence in Danny Amendola when it comes to staying healthy.
· Gronkowski may not be ready for the start of the season and has had durability concerns in the past.
· We do not know what the rookie WRs from last season will bring, that is a wildcard.

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but somehow taking a mid-level talent in this draft WR isn't a wildcard? WR's all showed flashes.....year 2 for most WR's is the year when things click, i am not worried about this group at all

"durability concerns" re: gronk & amendola is garbage.....unless they have a chronic, repeating injury, they've just had bad luck......there is no greater statistical risk to them ending up on the shelf than any other player on the roster...."injury prone" makes great fodder for talk radio and the internet, but it really has no basis......now if gronk's back injuries were a consistent problem, you'd have a point.....i can see the argument that he needs to take less hits, but that's kind of his game, too......


i don't care about gronk at the start of the season....at all


easley was a solid pick imho.....i have no problems with taking him at 29


show me one WR or TE that was truly an immediate impact upgrade at 62......

interior OL, that's what the 4th & 5th are for

AzorianPats said:

We should all come to grips that we are probably never gonna see a QB like Brady come thru Foxboro in our lifetime. But I'd rather be like the 49ers in the 90's or current day Packers, and have a plan in place, then be the Dolphins or Bills that still haven't found a proper replacement for Marino and Kelly.

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How much it has to do with 'having a plan' as opposed to being lucky as hell the next guy worked out? The plan has nothing to do with it, it's just a big gamble as to whether the QB you pick is going to work out, most don't.

Watch the tape of the SDSU-EIU game last year. Then decide what you think of JG.

bresna said:

I read this thread and see all of these "we have Brady for 4 more years" comments and have to believe that everyone has forgotten 2008. You simply cannot ignore the injury factor, especially with a 37 year old quarterback. This pick is simply good planning by the Patriots. I'd much rather have a better back-up QB at the expense of a 2nd round pick than be stuck without one in the future.

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Right on point here. I like how Belichick articulated it last night: better to be early on these things than late.

Typically we've seen Belichick go QB 3rd round or later, but in those years the end of the Brady era was not as near, and from what it sounds like the quality of the QBs in this years draft is higher than usual. I think the combination of those two factors - Brady reaching his twilight years and an above average QB class - along with the obvious need for a solid backup for Brady after Mallett leaves pushed the QB position to the top of our draft board.

Galeb said:

So your knowledge of college football tells you Garoppolo is a decent QB? It is his fit with the Pats system and their needs that you have issue with. That would mean that if people disagree with you about the Pat's needs and who fits in their system that they don't know college football? Your emotions are getting the better of you, and your attempts at justification are exposing your flaws in logic.
Ironically, I agree that they had much more pressing needs to fill. It is your tone towards those who disagree with your opinion that I was calling out.

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It's not emotional at all. Garoppolo isn't a good fit for this system. He may be in time. I'm not going to pretend to know that. But based on what I've seen thus far, he isn't. Anyone that has an inkling of knowledge on the game on top of having watched him in college should be aware of that. But you are correct that what I said last night was a little too harsh.

Smart move.

Brady played at the top of his game last year (any drop-off in stats was due to the changes in his supporting cast and not in most of his abilities), but QB's decline "slowly then all at once." I'm betting that he has at least one and probably two more seasons at an elite level and will still be better than all but a handful of QB's for a while after that, but there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding that bet, including, most obviously, the possibility of injury to an aging body that's taken a lot of hits over the years.

I have no idea whether Garoppolo is "the guy," but the Pats get a year or two to look at him up close and personal. He has a lot of the traits that Brady brought: a great work ethic, what is apparently a high level of maturity and, most importantly, a chip on his shoulder over being dissed for playing with a lower level college team, similar to Brady's chip for being dissed in favor of Chad what'shisname at a big time school and dropping to the sixth round.

I take from this that the Pats have decided that Mallett is not "the guy," but with Belichick, you "never know." Maybe he's just trying to light a fire under him, though that seems an unlikely use of a second rounder.

yukon cornelius said:

interior OL, that's what the 4th & 5th are for

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Oh yes, bet the season on late round scrubs to protect your GOAT QB.

Snake Eyes said:

Oh yes, bet the season on late round scrubs to protect your GOAT QB.

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John Urschel would be a day 1 starter and major upgrade over Wendell.

I'm happy. BB evaluated his draft form and quickly moved away from 3rd round to save us from Wilson/Harmon kind of pick

Galeb said:

John Urschel would be a day 1 starter and major upgrade over Wendell.

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Does that say something good about Urschel or is Wendell just that bad?

yukon cornelius said:

TE play: gronk back......harrison with an impact? keller signing? there really wasn't a TE after Ebron that was really going to make an impact.....my gut is keller signs, they simply waited to make sure someone didn't drop into their laps.....they'll probably add depth here today, but who knows

WR play - another year of experience for the young WR's tends to be huge.....so is a healthy group.....healthy amendola, edelman, lafell - dobson, boyce, thompkins all with that all important year under their belts....their draft spots weren't really going to offer a real upgrade here

interior OL depth/upgrade - you've gotta figure this is coming today

secondary - yeah, that's been addressed

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In other words you're happy starting the season with a bunch of bums at WR/TE and some late round OL depth. Yeah, I'd rather take a shot on a rookie WR/TE over having an avg armed backup QB who faced questionable competition in college.

At least we got a 280lb DT with bad knees.

Snake Eyes said:

Does that say something good about Urschel or is Wendell just that bad?

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I'll take both for $1,000, Alex.

Snake Eyes said:

How much it has to do with 'having a plan' as opposed to being lucky as hell the next guy worked out? The plan has nothing to do with it, it's just a big gamble as to whether the QB you pick is going to work out, most don't.

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I think it's both.

We lucked out grabbing a 6th round pick thst developed into a GOAT. Chances thst happens again are slim, at best.

We have a better chance at developing a franchise QB in the early rounds. Now JG as a chance to slowly develop his game and learn the playbook behind the best.

As long as we have Brady and Belichick we 're never going to get the chance to have a prospect like Andrew Luck that falls in our lap.

Some fans want to be all infor Brady last run, But BB as different plans. Tells me he's here for the long run.

I'm also one of those thst thinks we are in a position to win a championship today, and at the same time develop the successor.

marian said:

I'm happy. BB evaluated his draft form and quickly moved away from 3rd round to save us from Wilson/Harmon kind of pick

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Too bad he didn't do the same in the second and first. I literally would have been happier with nobody picked right now, and some additional 1st and 2nds next year.

yukon cornelius said:

but somehow taking a mid-level talent in this draft WR isn't a wildcard? WR's all showed flashes.....year 2 for most WR's is the year when things click, i am not worried about this group at all

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I would have taken Marcus Martin to ensure that we did not need to use a backup QB because Ryan Wendell was allowing a league high number of QB disruptions. Alternatively, I would have taken Louis Nix to sure up the 30th ranked rushing defense just in case a 32-year-old Wilfork was not able to hold up.

"durability concerns" re: gronk & amendola is garbage.....unless they have a chronic, repeating injury, they've just had bad luck......there is no greater statistical risk to them ending up on the shelf than any other player on the roster...."injury prone" makes great fodder for talk radio and the internet, but it really has no basis......now if gronk's back injuries were a consistent problem, you'd have a point.....i can see the argument that he needs to take less hits, but that's kind of his game, too......

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Gronkowski is a risk to get injured, he has back issues, a medal plate in his arm, and now a completely reconstructed knee. The way Gronkowski plays the game is in a way that no other NFL player plays he literally needs to be gang tackled every time and defenders are constantly latching onto him awkwardly trying to get him to the ground. If you do not see a risk with him I do not know what to tell you, but I disagree.

Danny Amendola has played in just 24 of a possible 48 games over the past 3 seasons; he has been injured consistently throughout his career. He is a concern, and even when he is on the field his production is erratic and has been throughout his career.

i don't care about gronk at the start of the season....at all

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That is fools gold, you see people have adopted this do not worry about the beginning of the year attitude because we have played in a weak division in recent years. That is not so much the case anymore, NYJ, Miami, Buffalo have all improved drastically in recent years, and we need to be able to compete at a high level for a full 16 game schedule.

easley was a solid pick imho.....i have no problems with taking him at 29

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I like the Easley pick a lot, I have wanted him all offseason, look at the draft board.

show me one WR or TE that was truly an immediate impact upgrade at 62......

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I never said I would have taken a WR or TE, I said I would have taken an OL, preferably a center and Martin, Jackson, Mosses, Turner, or Turner would have instantly improved the offensive line.

As far as TE and WR, I firmly believe CJF, Landry, or Moncrief would have produced immediately.

interior OL, that's what the 4th & 5th are for

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Is it, really, because our three best OL Solder, Vollmer, and Mankins were all taken in rounds one or two of the draft. The reason Brady was sacked more times last year than any other in the last 8 years is because that belief that we can just plug in late round picks and UDFA to protect him.

KontradictioN said:

It's not emotional at all. Garoppolo isn't a good fit for this system. He may be in time. I'm not going to pretend to know that. But based on what I've seen thus far, he isn't. Anyone that has an inkling of knowledge on the game on top of having watched him in college should be aware of that. But you are correct that what I said last night was a little too harsh.

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IDK, he is a far better fit than Mallett is. Garoppolo strengths seem to make him a good fit (quick release, reads defenses well, smart). He needs a lot more polishing, but he seems a better successor than Mallett.

Not a fan of the pick, but because I don't like this QB class. But I think Garoppolo is a decent fit for the system.

We have had Bledsoe Lite backing up Brady for the last three years. I don't think scheme fit is my biggest issue for me with Garoppolo.

iapatsfan said:

Too bad he didn't do the same in the second and first. I literally would have been happier with nobody picked right now, and some additional 1st and 2nds next year.

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Oh come on, be honest. You wouldn't be happy no matter what the team does.

Snake Eyes said:

Does that say something good about Urschel or is Wendell just that bad?

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It says something about your knowlegde to college players.

Snake Eyes said:

Oh yes, bet the season on late round scrubs to protect your GOAT QB.

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dan connolly - UDFA
ryan wendell - UDFA
marcus cannon - 5th round


the eagles had a highly ranked OL last year: G evan mathis - 3rd round pick G todd herremans - 4th round C - Jason Kelce - 6th round

broncos OL - G Will Montgomery - 7th C Manny Ramirez - 4th Louis Vazquez was a 3rd



i can keep going if you'd like......but interior OL, save for a logan mankins stud pick (of which there's 1 or 2 each year ), is generally a middle to late round pick