Urgent
In the Starting Line-Up
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Brownfan80 said:With the very limited success of our WRs, (think of the number we've brought in that have tanked) I'm starting to think that WR coaching might be part of the problem.
Blame the coaches?
Point to the receivers the Patriots brought in through free agency, paid as average starters, who under-performed.
Donald Hayes? Marginal guy, $500K salary. Pats got what they paid for.
Patten came in and performed well as a vet free agent. At $600K salary, he outperformed his contract.
Shawn Jefferson probably outperformed his contract.
David Terrell was a cast-off the Pats tried a no-risk veteran min deal on. Got what they paid for.
JJ Stokes was the same thing, an in-season vet min guy.
Dwight certainly performed up to his contract.
Andre Davis contributed about what you'd expect from a guy at his salary level.
Rookie development?
Two recent examples of Day One rookies: Branch and Johnson. Hitting on 50% is very good for the second round. Getting a top 20 receiver and a decent special teams guy developed out of two second rounders is an example of good coaching and selection.
Then you have Givens, who far exceeded his draft ranking.
PK Sam is no surprise for a late round guy.
Getting one starter out of two six/seven round picks is excellent.
There are two problems.
One is that the Patriots place their value on a player, and don't budge. Good strategy overall. However, it's not obvious that the Patriots adjusted those values to the new cap.
Second is that the Patriots place no obvious value on continuity and relationship with the QB. Apparently, one 5-11, 4.5 speed, 60 catch-a-year guy is as good as the next. They are fungible commodities. However, the guy who knows your QB and your system clearly has more value to you. You wouldn't turn over five of six receivers unless you thought this way. If your #2 leaves seven minutes into free agency, and your #1 is holding out, you might want to hold on to your #4 and #5 just for some continuity.