Welcome to the New England Patriots Jordan Richards

manxman2601 said:

But that's the point. Who's the "higher rated talent"? BB notoriously has really short draft boards. Richards probably was the "higher rated talent".

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And that's what makes it so intriguing...maybe there is something about Richards that we fans and so-called "draft experts" don't yet see....whatever it is, it's obviously appealing to Belichick....maybe it's his versatility and potential to make big plays on the defense? .....maybe it's his leadership abilities? ....maybe his intelligence and intangibles are indeed off the charts?..... or maybe there's more to be said for his athleticism and instincts as a safety than we realize? I can't say

Regardless of our doubts or concerns, I think Richards has demonstrated enough to deserve this opportunity. Remember, we still have another 7 picks left.... so there's still a lot of draft capital left to address other roster needs

Chiuba E. Obele said:

five words.... unsound use of draft capital. It might've made more sense for BB to go after higher rated talent, rather than possibly squander his 2nd round pick on a player projected to go in the 6th... It's not so much the player that's the problem, but the slot in the draft where he was chosen that is raising eye brows

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The draftnik's that evaluate the players are irrelevant monkeys trying to hit a bulls eye with their own feces. They're the meteorologists of the NFL. Consistently wrong, but no one cares. This talk of unsound draft capital is preposterous at this point in time. We can start that talk if he's underwhelming on the field, but unless Miss Cleo logs in and shares her prophetic vision of utter failure with us, it's pointless to make that assumption right now.

Chiuba E. Obele said:

And that's what makes it so intriguing...maybe there is something about Richards that we fans and so-called "draft experts" don't yet see....whatever it is, it's obviously appealing to Belichick....maybe it's his versatility and potential to make big plays on the defense? .....maybe it's his leadership abilities? ....maybe his intelligence and intangibles are indeed off the charts?..... or maybe there's more to be said for his athleticism and instincts as a safety than we realize? I can't say

Regardless of our doubts or concerns, I think Richards has demonstrated enough to deserve this opportunity. Remember, we still have another 7 picks left.... so there's still a lot of draft capital left to address other roster needs

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Agreed.

IcyPatriot said:

Once again Bill Belichick provides increased urine flow in the forum ... gotta love it.

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You're right. There are many on the board that if a player is drafted and is not a starter then he is a bust. That having 53 players on a team is just a waste because, why have players on a team that they consider busts. The higher they were drafted the more irate they get. I mean it really pisses people off that players they consider busts, Belichick keeps them on the team. How dare he, why doesn't he know they are busts!

Deus Irae said:

The "W's" is an example of arguing/appealing to authority. It's a fallacious argument. This is about drafted players.

Look, every year they hold a draft. Every year there will be discussion about players drafted: that's what a sports forum is all about, after all. Given that BB is not 100% in selecting players who make it in the NFL, it should be obvious, and acceptable, to even the most mind-numbed homer that discussion of said players might include comments that go beyond naked shilling for the team, even to the point of open dislike and criticism of said selection choices.

And, for the record, I was quite fine with last night's pick, and have not commented on either player drafted tonight.

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You mistake my post's meaning. I was not commenting on your view or anyone else regarding the picks. Since drafting is a fair bit of a crap shoot, opinions are a crap shoot too. But BB's well earned W's cachet, IMHO, makes 'giving him the benefit' more defensible than not. I don't see that as controversial.

Where we'll disagree is the logical fallacy. If drafting was a standalone function it would be a spot on claim. However, since drafting's virtual sole purpose is to gain W's, and since BB is the leader of both drafting and gaining W's, it is a stretch to say drafting is drafting and gaining W's is gaining W's, the two are separate.

TheBostonStraggler said:

Where we'll disagree is the logical fallacy. If drafting was a standalone function it would be a spot on claim. However, since drafting's virtual sole purpose is to gain W's, and since BB is the leader of both drafting and gaining W's, it is a stretch to say drafting is drafting and gaining W's is gaining W's, the two are separate.

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The purpose of everything is to gain W's, but where you're off here is in assuming a 1:1 equation between the two items.

Or, to put it another way, even though BB all but crapped out in the draft from 2006-2009, the team kept winning games and division titles, and went to a Super Bowl.

Drafting is drafting. Gaining W's is gaining W's. The first is a component of the second, but is certainly not the sole determinant. They are quite able to be separated for purposes of discussion, and pointing to the latter doesn't somehow exonerate the former (assuming such exoneration were to be needed).

Clearly this is a bright kid that Belichick wanted around. There are a lot of ways to contribute to a team and I have a feeling this young man will do exactly that.

ALTERNATIVE ONE
This is a really bad draft and Belichick sees little difference between 50 and 150. That being the case, he is drafting off his board, not wanting to risk losing the player, even if that chance is remote. IMHO, there were a lot of other GM's making reaches.

ALTERNATIVE TWO
This is a normal draft. If that's the case, Belichick will have his one reach, and we will be saying how great one of the three 4th rounders is. We'll be saying that there would be lots less whining if Belichick reversed the order in which he picked the players picked at 64 and 101.

AND YES
I would have greatly preferred Cann at 64, especially since he was picked a couple of picks later.

Trying to feel better about this pick, so I thought about SS Tashaun Gipson for the Browns (undrafted in 2012) and compared him and Jordan Richards.

* Gipson made the Pro Bowl in 2014 and is tied with Richard Sherman for most INTs since 2012

and odds are if BB wanted Cann he may have traded UP significantly, in which case everyone would be clamoring "reach!"...this board is the longest running soap opera on the net...

mgteich said:

ALTERNATIVE ONE
This is a really bad draft and Belichick sees little difference between 50 and 150. That being the case, he is drafting off his board, not wanting to risk losing the player, even if that chance is remote. IMHO, there were a lot of other GM's making reaches.

ALTERNATIVE TWO
This is a normal draft. If that's the case, Belichick will have his one reach, and we will be saying how great one of the three 4th rounders is. We'll be saying that there would be lots less whining if Belichick reversed the order in which he picked the players picked at 64 and 101.

AND YES
I would have greatly preferred Cann at 64, especially since he was picked a couple of picks later.

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I see the logic in both picks. I'm not sold on it, but I can at least see it and buy it to a degree, pending later review, which is different from when T. Wilson was selected, for example.

Deflatemyballs said:

For the people complaining will you please tell us your vast knowledge of him from the hours of tape you've broken down? Because you all seem like experts I just want to know what you guys know. Because you're all really smart

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It's because they think the people who do mock drafts on TV/Internet/Newspapers are more knowlegeble then Bill Belichick and his scouting staff. If they list a pick higher then where the Patriots picked, then it's a great pick. If Patriots picked a player in the same round as predicted then the Patriots should have picked another better player that was still available. If the Patriots pick a player higher then what was predicted then it's a reach, a horrible pick and most likely a bust.

At first, I panicked once Ty called out the name "Jordan Richards" because he was not on the radar.

However, I recalled a few things shortly thereafter:

1) These draft rankings are comprised by people who don't work in NFL scouting depts.

2) It's Belichick's second round pick.

3) We drafted DL in the first round... just like 2001,2003,2004,2014

Now, I feel better.

Deus Irae said:

Others don't take your approach.

Look, we can both certainly agree on two things:

1. BB is excellent in round 1, at least arguably never missing during his Patriots tenure
2. As is to be expected, BB hits on less than half of his picks after round 1

Given those, why on Earth should it be so evil to question BB's picks (at least after the first round) that the homers have to try stopping all negative discussion? They sure as hell don't take the same approach when it's positive discussion, after all.

And why the hell do we have to go through this conversation every damn year?

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Mostly because we don't know if it's a hit or miss until they actually start playing. Until they do, it's just pure speculation by homers and skeptics. Sceptics think homers are wrong and homers think skeptics are wrong.
Makes for a lively discussion every year.

Danger Zone said:

http://nesn.com/2015/05/bill-belichick-jordan-richards-leadership-football-character-raved-about/

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Quote from article above. It's a really good read.

Richards is a strong tackler, instinctive guy,” Belichick said. “I think he’ll be a good, certainly be able to play on the punt team, kickoff return, kickoff coverage, punt return; even be a matchup guy outside maybe or a holdup guy in the box. I’m sure he’ll be able to contribute in the kicking game.”

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/05/bill-belichick-jordan-richards-leadership-football-character-raved-about/

i am a little bit surprised but anyway BENVENUTO AI PATRIOTS , JORDAN

http://itiswhatitis.weei.com/sports...rice-break-down-day-2-of-patriots-2015-draft/

Some of the best information I've seen yet about these two. Worth watching before it falls off the headlines feed.

Never heard of him. But that's normal. We've been hitting on about 50% of our 2nd round picks. Just hope this kid is not the next Wheatley or Darius Butler. I almost cringe when we draft a DB in round 2 because we have an awful track record there.

Would have preferred a trade down from 64, but who knows, if Rogers turns out better than Chung, then the pick will have been worth it.

IcyPatriot said:

Ran a 4.48 at his pro day and improved his vertical to 34.5"
3-cone time was top 3 for DB's ...

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For Pro Day results:

http://www.nfldraftscout.com/members/ratings/profile.php?pyid=120213

4.48 huh?

http://nesn.com/2015/05/patriots-select-stanford-safety-jordan-richards-in-second-round/

Chiuba E. Obele said:

five words.... unsound use of draft capital. It might've made more sense for BB to go after higher rated talent, rather than possibly squander his 2nd round pick on a player projected to go in the 6th... It's not so much the player that's the problem, but the slot in the draft where he was chosen that is raising eye brows

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Except, why do you assume that there was someone higher rated left ? I think it is pretty unlikely that Richards wasn't among the top rated players on their draft board at the end of the second. Who cares about everyone else's draft boards, the only one that matters in this case is the one at Foxboro.