Bill B. Let One Get Away!

[Deus Irae]

Without question, the excellence that Julius Peppers displayed last year in the Chicago Bears' 2-gap 3-4 defense has put to rest any questions people might have had regarding him making the transition.











:bricks:

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

If Belichick let anyone get away last year it was Anquan Boldin

Boldin was ripe for the taking and probably could have been signed for reasonable amounts.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

I got to agree with the OP here. I think some people on this site can get too caught up with the "he doesn't fit our scheme, he couldn't play OLB in a 3-4 talk." Fact is we played in our sub packages more than our base defense this past year, and it is pretty obvious that our 3rd down defense was atrocious and that we needed someone who could put pressure on the QB.

You can't say that Peppers would not have improved our 3rd down defense greatly, and on a team that was so close, with so few holes he could have been the difference in the playoffs. Obviously this option was in the past, but we need to address this position in the draft this year. I don't care if the guy we draft can't set the edge as long as he can get after the QB in passing sitautions. It is a huge need.

Well Said I TOTALLY Agree! And yes that ship has sailed but it's magnified that much bigger because we lacked that pass rush which was a HUGE difference in our game.

 

[folamzz]

I didn't realize Chicago won the Superbowl this season.

This is the dumbest argument i have ever read on here. I guess other teams should not want brady on their team since we didn't win the superbowl. We don't want andre Johnson, demarcus ware, calvin johnson, or revis because their teams didn't win the superbowl last year. Please tell me you are pretending to be dumb.
The question is, would he have made our team better? I say yes

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I think the disaster with Adalius Thomas who was signed to be the next great defender on the team has made this team think good and hard before dumping loads of money on one player who happens to appear as a prized addition to a team.

When you fail miserably in a HUGE FA signing like the Pats did with AD you sit back and think it could happen once again and hesitate to do it again.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

If Belichick let anyone get away last year it was Anquan Boldin

Boldin was ripe for the taking and probably could have been signed for reasonable amounts.

That wiff bothered me too. The guy's a hard ass stud.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I prefer jalapeño peppers myself. I was surprised to read NE had even offered $10M/year money last year, Peppers hasn't really had much of an impact against Belichick teams, but I guess Bill doesn't coach against himself so Julius had some utility.

 

[RobertWeathers]

After Thanksgiving he was a no-show.

Somehow the Pats managed to score 32 a game and win 14 of them.

Wasn't worth the money.

 

[BradyFTW!]

This move just makes it that much more likely that he won't see the end of his contract. It's a short-term fix at the expense of long-term cap space, and it'll look even worse if the next CBA rolls back the cap and/or reduces cap growth year over year.

 

[ausbacker]

This is the dumbest argument i have ever read on here. I guess other teams should not want brady on their team since we didn't win the superbowl. We don't want andre Johnson, demarcus ware, calvin johnson, or revis because their teams didn't win the superbowl last year. Please tell me you are pretending to be dumb.
The question is, would he have made our team better? I say yes

Did the acquisition of 1 very good player help the Chicago Bears win the Superbowl last season? I thought so.

 

[Ring 6]

Not saying it isn't important, it is cleary extremely important in our base defense. I guess my larger point would be that it seems like we are looking for the perfect fit (a guy who can set the edge in our base defense and rush the passer in sub) when there are not many of those guys out there. With the amount of picks we have this year I think we can afford to draft a pass rushing specialist high. That being said I think our top targets will be guys who can potentially do both (ie Quinn or Aldon Smith), but if both those guys are gone I don't think we should pass on a guy who can come in and play in sub this year (ie Houston or Kerrigan)

So you think we should be looking for players who are not a good fit?

 

[Ring 6]

I think the disaster with Adalius Thomas who was signed to be the next great defender on the team has made this team think good and hard before dumping loads of money on one player who happens to appear as a prized addition to a team.

When you fail miserably in a HUGE FA signing like the Pats did with AD you sit back and think it could happen once again and hesitate to do it again.

I dont think you can call Thomas 'failing miserably'
He lived up to expectations his first 2 years, at least the reasonable ones. In year 3 he declined tremendously.
The length of the deal was a bad idea, but adding the player to the team was far from a disaster.

 

[VJCPatriot]

People. Let's not let a good rant get into the way of the facts.
Peppers refused to sign his franchise tender which made him untradeable.
He then got into free agency and got the big bucks he was looking for.

 

[reflexblue]

People. Let's not let a good rant get into the way of the facts.
Peppers refused to sign his franchise tender which made him untradeable.
He then got into free agency and got the big bucks he was looking for.

Yes, and it was TWO Fricking Years ago, i wish had more GE stock at $10 a share Two Frickin Years ago, but thats water under the bridge too.

 

[Frezo]

no..THIS is a (bad) joke...

a jacka$$ walks up to the bar..bartender says."hey pal,why the long face?...

This is also a bad joke,

A horse walks up to a bar and says, "The high balls are on me!"

 

[cmasspatsfan]

This is also a bad joke,

A horse walks up to a bar and says, "The high balls are on me!"

Thought it was a giraffe?

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Thought it was a giraffe?

Giraffes tend to be more angular, it's easier to rest a highball glass on the horse's back.

 

[reflexblue]

Giraffes tend to be more angular, it's easier to rest a highball glass on the horse's back.

The MAN has spoken...So let it be written....

 

[andrewgarrr]

Not saying it isn't important, it is cleary extremely important in our base defense. I guess my larger point would be that it seems like we are looking for the perfect fit (a guy who can set the edge in our base defense and rush the passer in sub) when there are not many of those guys out there. With the amount of picks we have this year I think we can afford to draft a pass rushing specialist high. That being said I think our top targets will be guys who can potentially do both (ie Quinn or Aldon Smith), but if both those guys are gone I don't think we should pass on a guy who can come in and play in sub this year (ie Houston or Kerrigan)

Drafting someone in the first round who only plays on 3rd down is poor salary cap management, and having a player that is only good at one thing is extremely inefficient when filling out a 53-man active roster. If the Patriots do draft someone at #17 who primarily rushed the passer with his hand down in college, I fully expect that Belichick and the coaching staff have evaluated the player and have acknowledged the player's potential to drop back and play standing up effectively.

I would only agree with drafting a 'sub-rusher' at #17 if that player would eventually (within the season) develop into a complete 34 OLB.

 

[Frezo]

Thought it was a giraffe?

Hah! There's no such thing as a talking giraffe.