Hi,
I interpret the bricks as "The Perfect Squelch".
No, I stand by what I have said. Best coach ever and purely mediocre when it comes to Drafting. His best talent evaluations are his trades and FA picks ups. Not all work but whenever he has a hit, it changes the Team to the better. For every Burgess there is a Welker. For every Gabriel there is a Moss. Your squelch is respected but not my opinion. If you think he had a master plan to come out with the players in this Draft, you would be wrong then wouldn't you?
His last five years which includes 2010 which was very good include two years he should have stayed home. He is mid pack. I don't know why we try to twist that. He Drafts out of fear of making a mistake and I stand by that. If there is a player that every scout and player personnel evaluator, and yes Cousins other Teams have won Super bowls in the last five years, will say is a consensus blue chip player, BB will pass on him just to gain a pick for the next year. Some tiny wart might pop out that irks Bill. Yet he will go to the well and jump up for a Slater who cost him to move up. The results are a mixed bag. You would have us to believe he is infallible.You are respected for your opinion. You have not squelched certain truths.
IMO, his chess moves are not predetermined as to what is left on the board that he prefers. He doesn't have a crystal ball to see what each other Team might do. He will blink and move to next year. The Steelers and Packers have had success drafting. They don't stock pile picks. BB created his own monster and he won't let it die. The bad news is that this was a bad Draft year. I said that this fall from what I read. This year is worse (2012). Yet we blow picks at the top of this year.What will I see now? The old "In BB we trust " stuff.
It's not as complicated as we make it. It is not a mystery. His goal when he came into the Draft was to pick up some Picks for 2012. Robert Kraft stated that. He had a predetermined list of players that would work around that main goal like Solder and Dowling. Players like Bowers and Prince slipped. IMO BB was not ready for those instances. The blinders were on. It was my belief that he was shocked Jordan was still available in the 20s but his goal was 2012.In the War room, his biggest disappointment was not getting SF to bite for a 2012 second rounder.
He sits down and says Solder, Dowling a first rounder in 2012 and Ridley were his "binkies". What happened in between was not predetermined. It was where the cards fell. He screwed up his needs by playing the Solder pick and then panicking to get his 2012 pick from NO rather than sit down at #33 and trade that. He already had a deal in place for that with Al if he wanted it. He could have got Solder, sent a pick to the Chiefs for a pick who were selling the #21 and got Jordan or Wilkerson or Heyward of for that mater drop to get Sheard or Reed whom I believe he really wanted but could not get there. The Saints deal dictated the rest of our Draft.
There was no master plan after those three important items.It was just what was there that he could grab. He miscalculated where he could have gotten Dowling, and Ridley would have lasted at least another round. Now if they all work out to perfection he is a genius. But it was not the perfect scenario. His biggest BS line is his "value". Love the man as a coach but I see the BS meter going through the roof. The last three picks were not even close to "value". He did NOT make those picks. The ST coaches did. Carter was well noticed as a top ST player. He fits a need and if that works, BB is a genius once again. Cousins his ST work was a consideration.
This was a Draft I rate as a "C". A developmental LT, an oft injured and the key word here is "Safety" (whom I liked for the Pats in this Draft and if he is healthy can make this Draft a "B-"), a slightly taller Woodhead, an overdrafted RB who had one signature game that BB saw as the deal maker, two "steals " in Mallet and Cannon (loved those picks) and three JAGS.
If you all say that this Draft and the last five put BB on a pedestal, you are entitled to your opinion but it did not squelch mine. I am more excited to see if he can do something more than this yawner of a Draft and bring in some established talent in FA or trades to help TB now, not three years from now with a 17% chance of those players Drafted in 2011 working out.
My point is if he did take some blue chippers it would be easier for him to get them ready now than to take longshots and coach them up which gives him the most fun. With TB time is not on the Patriots side.
When BB goes to the track, would he ever bet on a favorite? I doubt it. I respect your opinion. Please respect those who think he is not the best Drafter.
DW Toys
