Excellent article by Reiss this AM

[RobertWeathers]

Mike Reiss: New England Patriots went physical throughout 2010 NFL draft - ESPN Boston

A few notable excerpts.

Cornerback Devin McCourty, the team's first-round choice, was one of the most physical players at his position, someone who takes the anti-Asante Samuel approach to tackling. In other words, he welcomes contact.

The team's final second-rounder, inside linebacker Brandon Spikes (6-foot-3, 249 pounds), is a smoking missile waiting to explode on the field. So what if he ran a 4.95 in the 40-yard dash. He hits like a ton of bricks.

On top of that, five of the players were captains of their college teams, perhaps an indication that the Patriots had leadership in mind as well.

But in terms of pure approach, the New England Patriots look like a franchise that is returning to its roots. Remember the days when a game against the Patriots meant you were going home black and blue?

They just might be here again.

 

[Gwedd]

Drafting "football players". What a concept...

 

[DarrylS]

Five were captains of their teams, thought there were 4.. not important though that is a good trend, football players who are comfortable with leadership and elected by their peers.

 

[livinginthe past]

Agree with the note of caution he raised.

I wonder how they hope to replace, or at least mask, the loss of Richard Seymour.

I look forward to a battle at SILB between Spikes and Mckenzie - this should release Mayo to WILB and Guyton can be his back up and also a nickel sub.

I have no issue at all with the choice of a top punter - field position is key - and we've all had our fill of sub standard punting.

We've typically had 'placement' punters who seem to think the best place to 'place' the ball is 5 yards into the EZ.

Fingers crossed on the pass rush situation - I do think that is THE most important part of any defense these days - it would have been nice to see another one added in the 4th.

I wonder where this draft leaves Crumpler - you have to figure Hernandez and Gronk both make the roster.....

In short i'm happier than when the draft started...

 

[RobertWeathers]

Agree with the note of caution he raised.

I wonder how they hope to replace, or at least mask, the loss of Richard Seymour.

I look forward to a battle at SILB between Spikes and Mckenzie - this should release Mayo to WILB and Guyton can be his back up and also a nickel sub.

I have no issue at all with the choice of a top punter - field position is key - and we've all had our fill of sub standard punting.

We've typically had 'placement' punters who seem to think the best place to 'place' the ball is 5 yards into the EZ.

Fingers crossed on the pass rush situation - I do think that is THE most important part of any defense these days - it would have been nice to see another one added in the 4th.

I wonder where this draft leaves Crumpler - you have to figure Hernandez and Gronk both make the roster.....

In short i'm happier than when the draft started...

They'll keep all 3 TEs. Crumpler will see a bunch of snaps early in the season and as the kids get comfortable with the offense, he'll fade to black and see limited action in short yardage downs only. If the kids are slow to develop, hes solid, experienced veteran leadership. I love the situation at that position.

 

[BelichickFan]

I think Adalius Thomas finished us all off, I know he finished me off, any player O read about with effort or attitude concerns I simply didn't want.

I saw a youtube video of Spikes in the defensive huddle pregame probably before one of the SEC Championships the past two years screaming "look in my eyes, look in my eyes, this is what we played all season for". Honestly it kind of turned me on Worst case he should be a Brian Cox type. I love Spikes. I did before the draft too, I just didn't think we'd draft him.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Great piece and a great spin on the draft for the Pats...back to their roots and physical.

As for the "weaknesses," cited by Reiss, I, for one, don't think Belichick is finished this offseason.

 

[eom]

I think Adalius Thomas finished us all off, I know he finished me off, .

I think this is the classic case of what they call TMI.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree most seasons. I thought Tuna was the great shaper of men, but apparently there were leadership issues in Miami's locker room last season as well. A couple of which have moved on to AZ and NY. Miami drafted 7 out of 8 team captains as a result.

"We're in the business of developing football players," Ireland said. "The faster they develop, the better team we are. Character has a lot to do with that. When a guy is a team captain and people are leaning on him to make decisions for their football team and making decisions to get those other guys going and motivate them, that's big for me. I like that aspect of finding guys like that."

Bellingham, Whatcom County Life, Travel, Books | Bellingham Herald

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

For the second straight year, the team picked 12 players. Of the 24 prospects from the last two drafts, 11 have come from the first three rounds, where the best quality normally is found

I like this comment from Reiss. Interesting when you thing that most teams had 14 picks in the last 2 years in total, the Pats have been able to have 11 picks in the 1st 3 rounds..... That just makes me shake my head and say WTF, how does he do it???

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Agree with the note of caution he raised.

I wonder how they hope to replace, or at least mask, the loss of Richard Seymour.

This is actually an area where my concerns were alleviated by late moves and a post-draft signing:
-- At the moment NE has Wright (Veteran, 6' 3 7/8", 295) & Deadrick (Rookie, 6' 3 7/8" 314) who have played in the system as starters and rotational role players. They have Richards (PSquad, 1st year, 6' 2 1/2" 303) who was drafted as an experienced 2-gap DL and has one year in the system (he was given a salary boost to remain with NE on the PSquad after Cleveland tried to sign him away last season). They also added two more guys with the length and size to anchor RDE, Gerard Warren (Veteran, 6'4" 325) and Kade Weston (Rookie, 6' 4 3/4" 316).
-- There is no replacing a Richard Seymour with just one player, Suh might have had the talent and strength to match his production, but not being available NE has created a competition for Training Camp with a nice mix of veterans and rookies (Amon Gordon may also factor in for a sixth candidate).
-- NE has also created competition for Jarvis Green's old Third Down Specialist role. Pryor, Lewis, Wright, maybe Gordon & Grady will be competing for the job.

This pool of Defensive Tackles/3-4 Ends has multi-front written all over them, it's going to be fun watching the process play out in Training Camp and Preseason.

 

[stinkypete]

This feels like a back to basics draft. The Welker/Moss/Stallworth haul in 2007 changed the Patriots from a gritty group of overachievers to a finesse team. While they almost finessed their way into a perfect season, it's undeniable that there has been something about this team that has lacked the past few years.

 

[drpatriot]

I think this is the classic case of what they call TMI.

 

[reflexblue]

I think Adalius Thomas finished us all off, I know he finished me off, any player O read about with effort or attitude concerns I simply didn't want.

I saw a youtube video of Spikes in the defensive huddle pregame probably before one of the SEC Championships the past two years screaming "look in my eyes, look in my eyes, this is what we played all season for". Honestly it kind of turned me on Worst case he should be a Brian Cox type. I love Spikes. I did before the draft too, I just didn't think we'd draft him.

Kinda made you feel like this did it.....

 

[patsfaninpittsburgh]

This feels like a back to basics draft. The Welker/Moss/Stallworth haul in 2007 changed the Patriots from a gritty group of overachievers to a finesse team. While they almost finessed their way into a perfect season, it's undeniable that there has been something about this team that has lacked the past few years.

The only team that goes 16-0 isn't exactly lacking. The feelings are the normal transition of the dynasty core players to younger guys.

We should not forget that last a combination of young players and Brady coming back should mean some inconsistency. With the past two years we are getting our haul of new core players.