Knowns and unknowns
I personally don't know enough to guess who sees what, when the Pats evaluate players - beyond the broad outlines.
I went from "Eh, Moulds, huh, maybe..." to "hey! they wanna talk to him!" when they made contact.
There seems to be quite a mix of what the Pats look at: what are you like when it's gut-check time? Overall temprament? If you've got issues, what has caused your breakdowns? (see Dillon, Corey.)
How AWARE are you, at all times? This one is crucial, on both sides of the ball, but especially defense. The Pats get complicated - everybody needs a brain, bar none, and they need awareness at all times. The guy that can be thinking (to an extent) AND performing is a rare guy, and the Pats know this. Ever read Zen and the Art of Archery? It's not easy to just loosen up, stop thinking, and perform. It's even harder to loosen up, keep thinking, and perform. Oh by the way, after all that, you need to be fanatic on fundamentals.... tackling, for instance.
The Pats haven't been winning because they're physically dominant. They win because any time they can dominate, they do. If you catch a ball, Rodney or Asante makes you pay. If Dillon sees three more yards, you better make sure you wrap him up, because if he can shed the first hit, he will (okay, moreso in 04 - but I ascribe that to the injury.) Maximum intensity, maximum focus, minimum ego.
The minimum ego thing goes back to the Zen thing, actually. I wonder if BB could sell Patriots Fantasy Training Camp to buddhists looking for nirvana? Think about it - to be without self, without ego.... it's not achieved by meditation, it's achieved by playing Patriots football!
Right. That said, I think the fact the Pats made a call to Moulds makes it likely they see those qualities in him. We'll see how they feel after working him out, and - just as importantly - interviewing him, assuming he's interested.
My whole point in this long ramble is, we can see stats, and we can remember big plays, and those who record every game every week from Direct TV to a game tape can even go back and "study film."
But I'm a true believer that the tendencies you can spot on the field are only half the battle. If an O lineman doesn't finish his blocks sometimes, you can see that. You can even see someone giving up on a play, rather than making a technique error. But you can't see how he'll grasp the Bellichek playbook, how he'll take to his role, how he'll take to the "egoless" team.
So, when the Pats make a call to a team showing interest, that's when the theoreticals truly become possibles for me. Until then, it seems like we're shooting in the dark. The part of football not transparent to me the fan is frustrating, but I think - more for the Pats than for most teams - that part is crucial.
Oh, woe is us, the poor underinformed masses.
But hell, you can't just plug a guy in like you can in Madden.
PFnV
p.s., someone asked what's happening with Ray Lewis - if he's not staying put, my gut says, wow, one of the greats. My mind says, still has a lot left in the tank, has obviously moved past his days as The Obstructor, and this guy has NEVER QUIT encoded into his DNA. But I wonder about the "fit" - not saying they're uninspired, but Pats leaders aren't constantly whipping everybody else into a frenzy, psyching them up, getting them rabid... something even tells me that might be counter to where these guys need to be mentally when the ball is snapped. You always need to be psyched, but is there such a thing as TOO psyched? Would a Ray on this team dilute the focus individuals are melding into an ultraprofessional, ultra-aware team on every play? Uh, Idunno.
