Historic 2012 Draft for Pats?

[Ivan]

LOLZ Maroney and Jackson.



Quit sniveling axxclown.

Get this: these guys are paid big money to choose the right players. They deserve criticism when they fail to deliver not axx kissing from likes of people like you.

Lmao "assclown?"

This from the moron who claimed the Patriots had not won a SB in 10 years and said they didn't win a championship in 2011 when they obviously won the AFC.

Listen up buckwheat there is no less knowledgeable football fan on this site than you and tha t has been proven by your own idiotic words. Your best bet is to shut your pie hole so that you don't make yourself look even worse than you already have .

The Patriots did what everyone has wanted for years and only a whiner like you would b. tch cry and moan about it. Keep up your misery, you suck.

 

[pdangle]

Hell yeah, I thinks it's a great draft. And yes, different than all our others recently. And yes, without question, some fundamentals have changed like the rookie cap. But as far as a different approach, I don't know. I think BB is ready to move up to grab players he wants like this every year, but usually those players just aren't there. Especially these last few draft, as there has been a premium placed on these types of players. This season for what ever reason there were more defensive playmakers us fans love in the draft, and more importantly, reasonably attainable. It seems the other teams had more pressing needs; maybe because they grabbed their playmakers in the last few drafts while BB held back as he had evaluated the talent as thin. This year, who knows, maybe the cards just fell right for a dominant defensive draft. Whew, not a moment too soon. I just don't know if BB could handle another year of draft criticism from this and other messageboards.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

Nobody knows.

People on this board were dancing on the roof when Maroney, Chad Jackson and Butler were picked.

...and would have wondered why the Pats had wasted a sixth round pick on a scrawny QB who couldn't even make starter on his College team...

 

[PatsFanSince74]

...

So, will this be looked back upon as a Historic Draft? And a turning point to the next Great Run?

Thoughts?

-- FRITZ

Who knows or could know at this point? Depends on how the picks turn out.

It will be considered a "great" draft if three or so of the picks have long careers as impact starters with multiple trips to the Pro Bowl and All Pro teams.

It will be a considered a "darn good" draft if two or three of the picks are able to start for three or more years each.

But, I feel safe in saying that it will be considered "historic" only if one of the late round picks turns out to be the equivalent of Brady at his position (i.e., one of the Goats at his job).

 

[DarrylS]

This is being done with late round draft picks which is even more significant...

This team is being rebuilt on the fly, and we are constantly retooling and developing competition, rather than sitting still...

Interestingly Scott Pioli is no longer the man, coincidence???

 

[BTTA]

All I can say at this point is WOW, the more I think about this draft. I wonder if others feel the same way.

1. End of targeting the 2nd Round for quantity.

2. Scheme shift in D now obvious and complete.

-- FRITZ

I've been thinking along the same lines, and wondered about point #1 before the draft, particularly given the few roster spots that appear to be open give the active FA off season the team had. I'm not so sure the evolution of the D should be called a scheme "shift" as much as the capability to be more flexible.

 

[BlitzFritz]

Hell yeah, I thinks it's a great draft. And yes, different than all our others recently. And yes, without question, some fundamentals have changed like the rookie cap. But as far as a different approach, I don't know. I think BB is ready to move up to grab players he wants like this every year, but usually those players just aren't there. Especially these last few draft, as there has been a premium placed on these types of players. This season for what ever reason there were more defensive playmakers us fans love in the draft, and more importantly, reasonably attainable. It seems the other teams had more pressing needs; maybe because they grabbed their playmakers in the last few drafts while BB held back as he had evaluated the talent as thin. This year, who knows, maybe the cards just fell right for a dominant defensive draft. Whew, not a moment too soon. I just don't know if BB could handle another year of draft criticism from this and other messageboards.

Interesting....so you feel it was as much a matter of the right players being available this year, as it was the new rookie salary structure etc. I had always assumed these types of players were there (eg clay matthews) but he was just thinking about his strategy differently (quantity over quality ).

good stuff. thanks!

-- FRITZ

 

[BlitzFritz]

Interestingly Scott Pioli is no longer the man, coincidence???

hadnt thought of that....

 

[BlitzFritz]

I'm not so sure the evolution of the D should be called a scheme "shift" as much as the capability to be more flexible.

right. i think it could be better characterized as Scheme Emphasis -- a much stronger emphasis on the sub defense over the base. clearly he gets it now. maybe even a year or two later than he wishes he did!

-- FRITZ

 

[supafly]

right. i think it could be better characterized as Scheme Emphasis -- a much stronger emphasis on the sub defense over the base. clearly he gets it now. maybe even a year or two later than he wishes he did!

-- FRITZ

It may be a bit of a stretch, BF, but I think I would take it one step further and say that versatility and the ability to play both one gap and two gap in the same play may have also come into the picture.

Versatile players, especially on defense have always been important, but looking at this yr's defensive roster one could take that a step farther than we've normally thought.

There's a lot of versatility in many of the players here. For starters, I would include:

DL--The ability to play both DE and DT. This would include the likes of Wilfork, G.Warren, Fanane, etc.

LB--There is the potential to mix and match players to be the 'elephant' as in Jones, Ninkovich, and Hightower. Spikes, Mayo, and Fletcher can be moved around to fit the scheme, depending upon assignment and specific play call.

CB/S--We have the potential to move players on the starting 'real' outside CB position, or in the slot. There is also the versatility to move some CB's and S's around to mix and match, a la Moore, Allen, and McCourty in subs or even full-time.

I think the experiment with a 40 front defense, combined with the exceptional scheme of some players 2 gapping with others being responsible for solelyng shooting the gap have resulted in many 'other' possibilities for the upcoming year.

I also think the versatility in the secondary became evident late in the season, which helped the passing defense in some aspects. There's also the ability for players to play press man coverage (Dowling, not sure about Dennard) and others performing better in zone schemes, with the ability to keep a solid secondary no matter what injuries occur.

I think the selection of versatile players came into play, and hopefully we can see this pay off with at least 2-3 solid contributors. If I had to choose this yr's draft as being 'historic' vs last yr's, I may go with last yr's as of now (obviously, until we can see some development). The 2010 draft may end up being the best of all 3, only time will tell.