It really doesn't get better than this

[mgteich]

We will spend years analyze the 2009 draft, as we have others.

What you seem to fail to understand is that it would have been very reasonable to draft Butler at 23 and Vollmer at 34. Vollmer would have been viewed as a reach, but he certainly turned out to be worth that level of pick, and after all, we need a LT. Belichick could have chosen not to move down, but Butler was a very, very high priority. I believe more draftnicks has the patriots drafting him in the first than any other player.

So, in the end, the patriots had two targets at what the patriots perceived at top needs.
There can be criticism that he risked losing these players by trading down. However, I cannot understand those who criticize the results. The additional need that Belichick had was to find a backup SS. I don't see how Belichick could have done much better in meeting what he perceived as the key needs of the team.

What Belichcik gained for ZERO cost (since he would have drafted the same players) was Brace, T8ate and 2010 second round choice. Maybe all of these will turn out to be worthless. Instead of Brace, perhaps we have traded our top three picks to pick the #1 NT in the 2009 draft. Somehow, I think we ended up better.

So, for me, I will always whine about not getting a linebacker high in the draft. I do so every year. Someday I wil understand that Bleichick does not judge that value at OLB is found in the first two rounds of the draft. Not all needs must be met through the draft, after all.

Whiners like you can criticize what almost all writers judged as a B+ or better draft at the time and in retrospect. That is your right and priviledge.

Mayo didn't look much like a DROY this year and Oher is better than Vollmer.
Belichick had the opportunity to stock this roster with elite talent and he passed a lot of it up by trading down, THAT'S SIMPLY A FACT, go look up the players he's passed up on trying to prove he's a genius. Possibly hitting on 2 players with all the picks they've had is a pretty sad average but again, sit back, relax and drink another tall glass of the kool-aid.

Brday is not playing till he's 40, sorry. 3 more years tops.

 

[Mr. Pollard]

We will spend years analyze the 2009 draft, as we have others.

What you seem to fail to understand is that it would have been very reasonable to draft Butler at 23 and Vollmer at 34. Vollmer would have been viewed as a reach, but he certainly turned out to be worth that level of pick, and after all, we need a LT. Belichick could have chosen not to move down, but Butler was a very, very high priority. I believe more draftnicks has the patriots drafting him in the first than any other player.

So, in the end, the patriots had two targets at what the patriots perceived at top needs.
There can be criticism that he risked losing these players by trading down. However, I cannot understand those who criticize the results. The additional need that Belichick had was to find a backup SS. I don't see how Belichick could have done much better in meeting what he perceived as the key needs of the team.

What Belichcik gained for ZERO cost (since he would have drafted the same players) was Brace, T8ate and 2010 second round choice. Maybe all of these will turn out to be worthless. Instead of Brace, perhaps we have traded our top three picks to pick the #1 NT in the 2009 draft. Somehow, I think we ended up better.

So, for me, I will always whine about not getting a linebacker high in the draft. I do so every year. Someday I wil understand that Bleichick does not judge that value at OLB is found in the first two rounds of the draft. Not all needs must be met through the draft, after all.

Whiners like you can criticize what almost all writers judged as a B+ or better draft at the time and in retrospect. That is your right and priviledge.

We'll see how the future turns out but the "future is not as bright" as you like to proclaim. There are many issues and this is not the same patriots we're accustomed to. Brady's window is very small, he's older and his body takes more and more abuse each year. he'll be around for 2 or 3 more years and that's it.

Bruschi, Vrabel, Harrison, Seymour, Colvin, Asante, and plenty others are not coming through that door. Thomas is leaving after this year, yet another hole to fill.

Belichick has turned this team into Indy light and he had better do a better job of drafting these next 2 years because the past 4 drafts have left little to be excited about, unless of course you enjoy tall drinks of kool-aid as you do.

 

[condon84]

We have won 3 SB's and have a chance at a 4th in a decade. We should have won in 06 and 07 too.
We have 7 division titles this decade. Could have been 8.
We have won at least 9 games in each of the last nine seasons.
We have the best organization in the NFL.
We have a relatively young team, with relatively few free agents.
We have extra draft choices in the next two drafts.
We have one of the top QB's ever to have played, and he wants to stay long-term.
We have no major controversies within the team or coaching staff. Now we dont, but Spygate will always follow Belichick, unfortunately.
We have a fine stadium and fine faciolities. Our stadium doesn't hold noise like other stadiums.
We have sold out every game since Kraft bought the team.
We are well set for the future. We need OLBs, ILB next to Mayo, third receiver, develop OL (guards especially if Mankins is lost), DLs (Wilfork may be gone, as well as Green), CBs (Bodden might be gone and I don't know if Butler or Wilhite are ready yet).
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and we like to complain

But I see your point. It's been a great decade. I'll be talking about this decade to my grand kids. We've been fortunate to experience this type of winning.

 

[Nikolai]

Well, considering that two dynasties had a steep dropoff after the last Super Bowl victory (See Cowboys and Steelers dynasties), I would say we are very fortunate. We're essentially at a reloading phase right now and still in the thick of it. The Pats aren't the kings of the NFL every Sunday, but they're still respected and competitive.

Back in the days of MC Hammer, fax machines, and Nike Pumps I would have killed for the Pats to be this successful with the outlook we have now, however imperfect.

 

[DarrylS]

Mayo didn't look much like a DROY this year and Oher is better than Vollmer.
Belichick had the opportunity to stock this roster with elite talent and he passed a lot of it up by trading down, THAT'S SIMPLY A FACT, go look up the players he's passed up on trying to prove he's a genius. Possibly hitting on 2 players with all the picks they've had is a pretty sad average but again, sit back, relax and drink another tall glass of the kool-aid.

Brday is not playing till he's 40, sorry. 3 more years tops.

Once again Mayo is playing hurt, the day after the season ends he will get scoped...

Oher was a 23rd pick and got something like 4.7 million this year..

Here is the info on Volmer, he was the 58th pick of the draft, and was thought of as raw talent.. he has the luxury to learn about the NFL...

The four-year contract that New England Patriots second-round offensive lineman Sebastian Vollmer signed this week includes $1.76 million in guaranteed money, according to a league source.

Including a fourth-year escalator clause, the contract carries a maximum value of $3.105 million.

Vollmer is due to receive a $250,000 roster bonus on the second day of training camp this year. He's also scheduled to get a $915,000 option bonus next March.

There's another $285,000 in guaranteed money in the second year of the deal with the first-year salary guaranteed as well.

Vollmer is a 6'8," 315-pound native of Germany who developed into an All-Conference USA offensive tackle at the University of Houston.

All that glitters is not gold, it is that shiny bead thing.. personally pleased with this years draft picks...

You have to remember that something like 23 of our current 53 are UDFA... so so much for the draft..

 

[Brady2Welker]

Brady is one of my favorite players on this current franchise (not that there's been too many other people to watch out for). But the fact of the matter is, despite the fact that he has a hell of a drive, and similar numbers to Manning, Brady will never get the ball of as fast as manning (ergo avoiding hits and sacks). Duly noted that Brady will get up after being drilled ruthlessly play after play, till he can't get up anymore, but eventually his performance will go down because his body cant take that anymore.

And to compare him to Favre is ridiculous, as much as I hate the man, he is an abberation of the norm, not the norm. Look at the other great QBs, if you exclude him (quick research, excluded some probably);

Montana : 38
Young : 38
Marino : 38
Bradshaw : 35
Elway : 38

Mean : 37.4

And I don't know where the data is, but I'm fairly sure the majority of the above noticed performance dropoffs in their later years. Factor in the fact that Moss is aging too and our receiver corps are just absolutely falling apart right now. We don't look too hot for the future.

I'm as dedicated as a fan as ever, and completely realize how wonderful this decade has been for us, it's absolutely impossible to look past the short comings of this team, unless we hit big in the draft in the next year or so I find it fairly unlikely that we will achieve a Superbowl again in the Brady-Belichick era. At the rate of 1-2 good players per year in the draft, we won't get strong on either side of the ball again for a long time. I mean, who did we get this year; Vollmer + Brace + Edelman (yet to be proven) + Others yet to be proven, plus the 2008 draft was abysmal for us.

And although I agree with the free-agency policy has taken us to our successes in the past, you can only play that for so long before the truely elite players get locked up in big term contracts. We were lucky as hell with people like Harrison and Welker/Moss. We've struggled to make other FA's work (I'm looking at you Adalius Thomas).


I dunno, I understand we're blessed with the team we've had. But seeing us pass up on stellar players like Clay Mathews ( A rookie who is good enough to be double teamed..)just make me facepalm.

 

[Deus Irae]

Sips, not gulps.

 

[Sicilian]

unless of course you enjoy tall drinks of kool-aid as you do.

You use this line like you'll get the shakes if you don't.

 

[eagle eye]

Fair play mgteich, nice to see some real positivitiy around the place.

Now lets kick some Raven ass.

 

[captain stone]

We have won 3 SB's and have a chance at a 4th in a decade...
We have zero chance of winning our 4th this year. Zero. We should've won our 4th & 5th already, in '06 & '07.

We have 7 division titles this decade...
Winning a division (with only 4 teams per) ain't what it used to be. Besides, we should've won all of them this decade.

We have won at least 9 games in each of the last nine seasons.

We have the best organization in the NFL...
Do we? Really? Colts, Chargers, Ravens, Stealers & Jints beg to differ.

We have a relatively young team, with relatively few free agents...
It doesn't matter that we have a relatively young team if many of those young players aren't very good, or not good at all. Most of our best players are our oldest ones.

We have extra draft choices in the next two drafts...
But will Bill maximize those extra choices? I have very little confidence that he will do so.

We have one of the top QB's ever to have played, and he wants to stay long-term...
You don't really believe that he's here any longer than 3/4 more years, do you?

We have no major controversies within the team...
Unless you consider: dismissing your highest-paid WR & highest-paid OLBs (twice, in the case of one of them) from team HQ; or hearing 2 others laugh & joke after a heart-breaking road loss.

...or coaching staff.
As in a coaching staff bereft of fresh ideas or boldness, and whose CoOrdinators would not be hired for the same position by any other team in the entire league?

We have a fine stadium and fine facilities...
Everyone with whom I have spoken who has visited other stadia has told me that Gillette is the worst of all the newer ones. And fine facilites in the National Football League should be a given.

We have sold out every game since Kraft bought the team...
What does that have to do with on field success? The Deadskins sell out, too.

We are well set for the future...
We are dangerously close to the end of our future, unless the trend of lousy college & pro personnel decisions, plus uninspiring in-game management, is reversed immediately.

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and we like to complain...

...because such complaints are justified, and righteous.