Hand me down Pats making names for themselves

[rookBoston]

Anyone else spot former Pats teammates Damon Huard and Tom Ashworth shaking hands after the Seattle/KC game today? Both started in the game. Even coming off their own games, I bet they were both thinking about the Patriots, somewhere in their minds.

It strikes me that our roster is SO DEEP, that we're liquidating good players into compensatory draft picks. We've become a net talent provider for the NFL, selling our backups to start for other team.

That's why this is the best franchise in the NFL-- BB's cracked the code on how to break NFL parity. The Pats will be an elite team for many many years.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Anyone else spot former Pats teammates Damon Huard and Tom Ashworth shaking hands after the Seattle/KC game today? Both started in the game. Even coming off their own games, I bet they were both thinking about the Patriots, somewhere in their minds.

It strikes me that our roster is SO DEEP, that we're liquidating good players into compensatory draft picks. We've become a net talent provider for the NFL, selling our backups to start for other team.

That's why this is the best franchise in the NFL-- BB's cracked the code on how to break NFL parity. The Pats will be an elite team for many many years.

Hmm... when the Patriots pick up players from other teams' rosters it shows that they're geniuses for spotting neglected talent, when other teams take Patriots players it shows that they are geniuses for having more talent on their team than they can use.

I wonder if there was something funny about that latest batch of Koolaid I got?

 

[texpat]

Anyone else spot former Pats teammates Damon Huard and Tom Ashworth shaking hands after the Seattle/KC game today? Both started in the game. Even coming off their own games, I bet they were both thinking about the Patriots, somewhere in their minds.

It strikes me that our roster is SO DEEP, that we're liquidating good players into compensatory draft picks. We've become a net talent provider for the NFL, selling our backups to start for other team.

That's why this is the best franchise in the NFL-- BB's cracked the code on how to break NFL parity. The Pats will be an elite team for many many years.

C'mon rook,

after Huard threw for over 300 yds while he's hobblin' around and won a tough game, you really think he's thinking about the Pats.

I want some of that action!

 

[zarakotas5]

It does cut both ways, but it is very telling when our "cast-offs" become front-line players for other teams and the cast-offs of other teams become the front-line players for the Pats.

Think of college programs: What makes Miami, Ohio State, FSU, USC, etc, perrenial powerhouses? The ability to find and get talent. It is an apt comparison, as the investment into a player is, at most, four years if the team is lucky. Competition is fierce. Pay-out is far from guaranteed.

Program methodology + talent management + etc = success or failure.

In the modern NFL, the college model is one to at least investigate when dealing with the comings and goings of players. How much would a team like BYU or Boise St or BC enjoy being privy to "cast-offs" of the running corps of Oklahoma, or the defensive backs of Miami, etc...

 

[desi-patsfan]

i dont think either of them gave a single thought about the pats. They were both thinking about the teams they are on.

 

[zarakotas5]

Absolutely. The Pats are a memory to them. Perhaps a topic of regret or a moment of granduer in later life, but either way reflected poolside at a resort whilst they wished they could run around with their kids.

 

[RayClay]

LOL. A thread where everybody's right. We've definitely passed the Ashworth, Gorin days with a young talented line signed up and 3 practice squaderrs to boot.

However, we've been picking at scraps when it comes to linebackers. Nobody was competing too hard for Chad Brown, Beisel and Seau.

Ditto at safety/cb.

Damon Huard wasn't discarded as much as he was given a chance for a better opportunity. I think they felt it was the honorable thing to do when Brady was put ahead of him.

I remember Huard having some very effective starts with the Dolphins and am not the least surprised at his current success.

 

[zarakotas5]

Exactly. Huard, at best, is a solid back-up. An efficient type guy who won't wow you but won't f-it up. Journeyman.

It is frustrating that with everything positive that the Pats do that we always are always questioning the LB and DB position. But then, we cannot have everything. Perhaps it is simply too much to expect, and unlike bratty rich kids, we should realize that, you know?

In the football world, DB is really an afterthought. Athletic guys who have no particular shining skill (save savants like C.Bailey, etc, whose talents are maximized). Their responsibility is reduced to A) cover your guy or B) cover a small area with intermittant blitz, spy, etc.

LB is a different story. It is such an important position. The ultimate jack-of-all trades position that we imagine to be worth much more import than we, as fans, see being invested into. I don't understand how the LB situation has become so dire, but perhaps that is the 2-3 year plan that is getting re-habbed. BB seems to put together units. Pre-fab style. This methodology seems to give me hope that he may be sticking around.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

I believe they try to take a little bit of Patriot Nation with them - look at Deion stripping the ball from a DE today to give Seattle on more shot at tying or winning...that is the kind of toughness, the never say die - we are going to win this game attitude we expect from Bruschi and Harrison and Co.

Ashworth looked pretty solid at RT when I was looking, I'll bet Holmgren will have little to complain about for his substituting in the game. Deion dropped a Wallace pass at least once, but he even did that for Brady. Huard knows what it takes to be a champion, he put on a toughness clinic out there.

We may miss some of these guys a bit, but it won't last long as the new guys learn from the leaders remaining - Gabriel attacking the football in the end zone, Caldwell getting creamed and coming back to do it again, Thomas already had a champion's attitude and showed it on his last catch in the middle where he got pounded and held on.

They talked about Deion saying Seattle had better talent than the Superbowl teams he was on, but their chemistry isn't there yet. A simple truth, BB and Pioli build championship teams, I think we can learn to live with players who work to win, instead of players who work to lead the league in key statistics.