Snake Eyes
Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2007
- Messages
- 5,699
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It seems we haven't won a Lombardi in a long time, maybe I'm onto something.
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I don't think you've noticed the team getting stronger every year since the post 2009 rebuilding began. Once there was a single great D Lineman in Vince, a single good LB in Mayo, and a single good CB in Bodden. That team was a winner too but no where as good as the 2012 edition was, despite injuries, and the even better 2013 edition will be.
A similar argument can be made for Thompkins.
Why is bill just now seeing his guard and center r below average. He has been running with them losers for several seasons and neglected to address it. Tell u y, he would rather run with below average lineman than take the time to coach up talent into his blocking schemes. History has proven he would rather throw a bucket of old rusty bolts on the field that already can run his plays than draft a talent and take the time to coach him up.
B4 mayo he never drafted a lb higher than the fifth rd. He kept calling 40+ yr old Seau out of retirement cuz he had no other options at lb and begged 37 yr old stroke survivor Bruschi to not retire and play another season. Cuz he didn't wanna take the time to draft and coach talent. Then in 2008 he over drafted Mayo because he was the only competent lb in the draft and bill was out of options at lb. Mayo was a good lb but never the impact explosive lb top 10 pick lb's r supposed to be. Mayo redefined the word need. Although a good lb he was never a game changer. He played in nearly 40 games b4 collecting a sack or int. Then in 2011 bill ignored pass rush in a draft rich in them. Instead he waits til 2012 when he was out of options to finally trade up for a good passrusher in Jones but Jones is not nearly the caliber passrusher of the 2011 dudes. Aldon,watt,Quinn,miller,Houston. Jones is decent but not in the league of those explosive impact rushers. Bills love of role players and guys he felt knew some plays similar to his system already to throw on the field were more important than addressing glaring holes at passrushers and wr's who can win and impact a game. Very primitive thinking in today's passing league. Other than qb nothing impacts the passing game more than passrushers and WR's. Its not like bill ignored it in favor of best player in draft. He ignored it for reaches who were busts, role players like back up qb's and part time rb's and players from particular schools and coaches who were partially already coached up on plays in schemes similar to his but the players lacking the skills and talent to play in the NFL. Like Cunningham,Wheatley,tavon,Harmon,meriweather,spikes,hightower,Chung,brace,price,Tate,Butler,crable etc. This doesn't even include all his early round busts just the ones where he ignored a players physical talent/skills in favor of how coached up they were in plays/schemes related to his just to fill a role. All while ignoring future pro bowl talent in important positions of need like #1 complete wr's and passrushers. What makes all those early round busts hurt so much is all the future bro bowlers passed by and ignored. And if interior online is a priority why wasn't a top talent selected instead of a backup qb role player.
He mentioned the colts 2-14 season. That wasn't the result of a decent backup being lacked. It was the result of a below average roster,online and defense, being carried by an all time great qb masking the online and other weaknesses. Sound familiar? I think Grappolo can maybe throw for 4000 yards 30 TDs after couple yrs of development behind Brady as long as he has good quality talented playmakers around him behind a talented online that can block talented pass rushing dt's and edge rushers man on man. However no backup or starter around this league could flourish and carry our offense like Brady does. With edelman as the most productive so called #1 wr. And an interior online not capable of blocking dlineman one on one. Last seasons offense clearly lacked a complete #1 wide out just for starters. They added Carolina castaway lafell and fans r excited. Will the offense b any better. Lafell isn't that big nor that fast with average separation quickness as a route runner. Carolina made minimal effort to bring him back. Instead they see the need to upgrade than resign him and not improve. Edelman resigned is a step backward unless he is counted on to be nothing more than a slot#3 we option. Him as the most productive wr playmaker wasn't nearly enough to win a championship. Couldn't beat the broncos much less hawks or miners. He needs to be upgraded over not resigned. That's not improving the team. The worst part is our competition is improving. Broncos,sf,Seattle,even division rivals. Even bills former players like bruschi and our former fullback are saying our competitors r getting better while we are not,while Brady is a year older. They also hinted at the bad drafts and they wouldn't bet on us to even win the division for sure.
We have an all time greatest qb. It shouldn't be so hard to fill holes at wr and edge rusher. We have the qb set and with the goat qb anything less than a championship trophy is a failure. Bills defense has been at the bottom the last 6 seasons cuz of poor drafting and lacking talent at key positions. Where would bills offense be without Brady. What qb could flourish with edelman as a #1 we.
Team should pursue Andre Johnson. He is used to making mediocre qbs look good and wants a ring. Brady makes sub NFL wr's look good and wants a ring. Sounds like a great marriage. I'm usually not for signing 32/33 yr old wr's. I was against counting on ochocinco cuz I felt he was a shell of chad Johnson at 33 and we were half ***ing adding a #1 wr. However he takes exceptional care of his body. Fanatical like jerry rice. And he is a raw salad and health food fanatic. I bet he runs a sub 4.5 still and at 6"3 220 lbs. He is also detail oriented at the wr craft and a hard worker practicing routes. Factor in Having Brady throwing him passes far superior than any qb he has ever had and he has another 1400 yard 10+ TD season in him. Also he is a great mentor for Dobson whom i feel has a ceiling as a #2 wr but a good #2 wr. Then edelman can man his rightful role as a slot wr and #3 option as a security blanket. Then if Gronk can return 100% and vereen can stay healthy and fulfill his talent as a shady McCoy type runner receiving role our playmaking talent would be as good as anybody's. I think halapio is more athletic than credited and will b better this season when healthy. He could fix our interior online. He has rare explosive torque. If easley doesn't return 100% we may have to trade a high draft pick b4 trade cutoff point. Would be a shame to waste the best secondary we ever had because of an anemic pass rush. I think Browner ends up as super all pro strong safety this season specializing in hog tying pro bowl te's in press and setting physical tone when in zone. That gives both safety positions cornerback cover skills with top safety instincts and physical playmaking skills. Mccourty is bulked up slightly and may overtake earl Thomas as best fs. Browner is 6"3 1/2 223 lb cb/as with best cover skills of any as in the NFL. Then Revis Denard and Ryan at corner. Let's not waste that with an anemic pass rush. Trade a high pick for a fast edge rusher if necessary to complete the defenses dominance to better than super bowl days
The best way to build a team is through the draft, which is what we have done with the exception of Revis all of our other marquee players were draft picks.
