A Few Thoughts

[BelichickFan]

- Maroney shocked me. I wanted Lawson, but if Vrabel wants to go back outside like Solomon said, there's no spot for Lawson.

- The quicker RB than Dillon looked pretty good for us last year, I wonder what an even talented guy like Maroney will do. Especially if Dillon is healthy and wearing down the defense.

- Does the lack of OT mean they think Kaczur or Britt can be a long term starter ? I hope so.

- Now I know why we let Vinatitraitor go . . . any kicker can kick extra points

- As I said on the Thomas thread . . . his listed HT/WR in ProFW is identical to what they had Graham at in 2002. If so GREAT pick. I thought of him as a smaller guy.

- Chad Jackson and Reche Caldwell vs. Givens and Andre Davis is about a wash to be. Lesser #2, better #3. Add in Troy and 1, or 2, or Bethel and Bam and we're done.

- I like Bing but with Rodney, Hawk, Gino, Sanders, Scott, Tebucky, Mitchell and the last two being top ST guys, I don't see room for him. I'm hoping for Tim Dobbins or Gabe Watson to open Day Two.

 

[patsfaninpa]

Here's another reason I like the Maroney pick. And, it actually
happens to do with something on the field. Not, what the rest
of us Genius's think. How many times have you see Corey make
a couple of nice runs and wave to the sideline to come out?
He does it a lot. He did it in the Super Bowl on the drive Brady
fumbled. If you're in the red-zone, Maroney will be a better
option than K.Faulk. I've seen a lot of all 3 guys we've drafted.
Texas and Florida are on tv all the time. In pa here, we get a lot
of Big 10 games. Maroney ran very well against Ohio St. Who
had an outstanding defense. PSU shut him down. But, PSU
was amped up that day and the def. gameplan was to shut
him down. Got out to a lead and took the Gophers out of their
running game. I think anyone who thinks this was not a good
day-one is crazy.

 

[BelichickFan]

Yeah, Dillon took himself out a lot. Felger also had a good article today pointing out that Dillon isn't with the team for offseason conditioning right now and reminding us of the season that was. I didn't want to admit it but we had a bit of a problem at RB 24 hours ago.

 

[spacecrime]

Yeah, Dillon took himself out a lot. Felger also had a good article today pointing out that Dillon isn't with the team for offseason conditioning right now and reminding us of the season that was. I didn't want to admit it but we had a bit of a problem at RB 24 hours ago.

It's good to cut a player a year too early, rather than a year too late, and it's good to draft a position a year too early rather than a year too late. Not that I like the idea of drafting positions, but better to have Maroney now and not need hm for a year or two than to need him in the playoffs and instead hand off to Heath Evans.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

It's tough to tell what's going on with Dillon. BB seemed to indicate all season that the problem wasn't simply with the back but with the overall execution in the running game. I tend to agree. Although by mid season it was clear Dillon was also playing hurt. Most of the mediots who were predicting no RB in this draft were adamant that they believed Dillon was not done - just playing hurt (ergo no need for a day one rb). Now of course since BB pulled the rug out from under them pick wise they are deflecting any criticism of their crystal ball skills to Dillon being a root problem.

Perhaps BB just became enamored with the recent success he's seen elsewhere with 2 back sets and knew if he wanted to go that route he required 2 featured backs as opposed to an aging featured back and a fumble prone change of pace back or a 3rd down/FB/backup tandem. So he drafted early to have that option for a year or two rather than continue and perhaps struggle through another season of the status quo. There is often more than one way to skin a cat, and BB unlike many HC's cares less about how you score than that you can score when you need to (much to NEM's consternation).

I think the one thing that became crystal clear yesterday is BB had real concerns about this offense pre draft. I just hope his answers pan out. I'm fine with selecting arguably the second best RB and WR in the draft as well as a TE on day one. Just a little concerned that the RB happens to come from a program known for producing great college runners who don't seem to transition as well into the NFL. Ditto the WR (2 of whom we are now counting on bigtime). I think at RB it's a better bet that on balance talent carries the day on an otherwise good and well coached team. WR and TE are a little tougher because of the pre and post snap adjustments we require in addition to the normal skill set. Seems BB spent some time probing Jackson's capacity to diagnose plays at least on paper and film.

I think he's had more success gooming defensive talent and identifying mid level FA talent that is being improperly or under utilized and coaching it up Perhaps he feels more comfortable than some of us do with what he has on the roster and what he may yet pick up either today or yet to come in FA. He made a brief comment yesterday when NFLN interviewed him and touched on the obvious defensive struggles last season - that perhaps on defense better coaching was part of the equation - which would give some credence to the Mangini struggled as DC theories. Hopefully Rodney is back sooner rather than later or not at all, and perhaps Ty's options are dwindling after day 1 corners flew off the board, and one of Claridge or Beisel or TBC is poised to step in along side Tedy. And nobody he could have positioned himself to take was as likely to be able to crack this defense without costing so much that he couldn't get what he needed on offense.

I'm still a little shocky we didn't draft at least one of the tweeners or LB's, although I didn't expect another corner/safety because I think our need there is more veteran than youthful talent. But I do feel better about the offense, with reservations, after sleeping on it.