It's time to REBUILD. What's your plan?

[BruschiOnTap]

re-build is not the word... re-stock is closer to it

The disrespect these players are getting on this board tonite is pathetic and unwarrented, especially from year-long skeptics

I wish they'd all go away and form a flag-football league or something...Just stop making a bad night worse... A) it's just football and B) We got beat ON THE FIELD

 

[SoonerPatriot]

Yeah, you said that already.

I'm not sure what you expected? People whistling Dixie out of their *******s? Locking arms and singing Kumbaya?

The year is over. It sucks. But there is much to be proud of and it's time to think about the future. Near as I can tell, that's what the thread is about.

 

[maverick4]

Lots for the FO to consider:

• Retirements
• Player performance evaluations
• Contract negotiations
• Team weaknesses

Where to prioritize? Aren't they all intertwined?

Retirements -- Bruschi? Troy? Replacements on board?

Evaluations/Weaknesses:

OL -- run blocking needs work. Maroney needs a hole to succeed. Dillon makes yds on his own...but career is ending soon. Pass blocking is sound. It's all great for Brady -- but not for Maroney.

WR -- clearly need another go-to for Brady. Seeking a #1 WR is asking for the moon for next season (but won't hurt to try). Add a quality wideout to pair with Reche...while dropping Gaffney down. Jackson is an enigma.

TE -- prioritize Graham...and have Brady work with Watson and the rookie.

DL -- set

LB -- serious weakness. Either too slow, old, or unathletic. Upgrade is an understatement at both OLB and ILB.

S -- Harrison will return at full strength...but career also coming to a close. Wilson's play has declined and is oft-injured. Sanders is a keeper. Playmaking Safety needed now.

CB --Samuel's a no-brainer. Hobbs is a solid football player. Draft early a coverage CB as competition and/or upgrade. Priority area.

Overall weakness on D -- too slow and unathletic at Safety and LB. RBs and TEs will feast.

Overall weakness on O -- #1 WR

Just a top of the head opinion...

I agree entirely.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Clearly you haven't been reading the entire post. The Pats DID have a great season and they came within 4 points of making the Superbowl.

BUT it is also clear after watching last nights game that if the Pats want to compete with the San Diegos and Indys of the world next year that they need to upgrade some key areas. Our linebackers failed to seal the inside run and were lost in space against Colt receivers. Too slow,too unathletic.

We could not stop Peyton Manning on 3rd and long at all in the second half. We also need to upgrade that area by getting a legit shutdown corner, probably through the draft, and retain Samuel.

Our receivers, notably Caldwell had some critical drops that were the difference between a FG and a touchdown drive. Adding a reliable weapon for Brady that can create separation BY HIMSELF is clearly a priority need.

Additionally when the Pats had the ball with a 3 point lead they did not have the weapons to run out the clock. When they kicked the ball back to the Colts that was the end of our season. The offense does not have enough consistency to bail out the defense and stay on the field to run out the clock when it counts.

That is looking at our team's shortcomings/problems realistically and trying to look forward to see what we need so we won't be on the wrong end of the score next season. I don't think throwing up your hands and say nothing is wrong with this team solves anything. I know BB will soon be thinking about some of the same things I just mentioned in the offseason.

oh God, we lost a conference championship game by FOUR POINTS, it's time to rebuild...

effing chill, we lost a football game that was fairly called to a hungrier team... it sucks, I am pissed and hurt, but get over it... we are not rebuilding, we are a top 5 NFL team. Chicken Littles and told-ya-sos just go away. It's not time to RE build

seriously, there are only about a dozen people on this board who should even be posting and I'm not one of them, I am just tired of the effing nay-sayers/fair-weathers/told-ya-sos

vive le Pats!

 

[Ring 6]

I'd say that Caldwell is NOT the answer. If you don't realize that you were not watching the key plays and DROPS of this game.

The Pats need at least one receiver that can consistently get separation. They have not replaced Branch with that type of player. They have replaced Givens with a similar possession type of player.

Nobody said the Pats did not just have a great season. They did. But it becomes evident in the postgame to see where the critical holes are.

Rebuilding doesn't necessarily mean "we're going to go 6-10", rather it means we URGENTLY need to reload our holes. And we need to rebuild this team to match up competitively with the Colts next year because they will still have Wayne, Harrison, Addai, and Manning.

We need to counter that with a consistent offense of our own and a deep stingy defense that can stay on the field with them through the second half.
I think another problem with our defense in the second half is that we could not "quite get" to Manning and that allowed him to convert those 3rd and longs that killed us.

We need to acquire defensive talent that can hang with the Colts receivers longer WITHOUT holding and committing penalties. We also need to get an ILB that will shut down that inside run with Addai. Losing Seau hurt us probably more than we realized this game.

We were second in th eNFL in points allowed and set a franchise record in that area.
I dont think its time to toss the defense out the window.
We played the second half without Harrision, Wilson, Colvin, Hawkins, and Vrabel, Seymour, Wilfork missed a lot of it.
Why is it surprising we had a hard time on defnese when half of the defense wasn't on the field?

 

[PromisedLand]

I already posted this in another thread, but since it was part of a general ramble about my thoughts after the game I'll restate the relevant parts here.

Our priorities in no particular order should be:

1. Resign or franchise Samuel. He just had as good a season as Ty Law ever had, and he's still young.

2. Upgrade and get younger at linebacker.

3. Upgrade wide receiver.

 

[Rob0729]

We need to get younger and better in a few areas, but we can be right back in the AFC Championship next year with only a handful of moves.

I think we need to either sign or replace Samuels. Clement might be a better option because I think he is better and will cost about as much after how Samuel played down the stretch.

I think Caldwell and Gaffney are good #2 and #3 WRs, but we need a #1. It could be Jackson, but we may need to bring in a solid (but doesn't have to be marquee) WR like maybe Drew Bennett.

I think we need to upgrade our ILB spot. I'd love to see Adalius Thomas. Maybe Lance Briggs.

I think we need to upgrade our safety spot unless Wilson can return to his 2004 form and Harrison comes back.

We aren't going to get big names at every position or possibly any position, but I think we have the draft picks and money to fill in the holes.

 

[Joker]

I think it became evident after this game that the Pats simply ran out of healthy untired players. Why else would a guy like Eric Alexander be asked to cover deep? The Pats need at least 2 legit corners. Samuel is one of them. They need to draft another.

Losing Seau and Rodney for this game doesn't show up on the scoresheet of course but those were huge loses. Addai was getting too many big runs on the inside mainly because we had to shift Vrabel outside and thus lost some quality tackling ability in the middle.

The Pats also need to add another RELIABLE receiver that can get separation into the mix. Brady had to force that throw in the end because nobody was open. Caldwell dropped a couple of catchable balls that could have turned into TDs. I'm not going to vilify Caldwell because he has been a trooper but we definitely need to UPGRADE over him. And who knows if Troy is gonna hang em up.

So we need CB, LB, WR. And maybe look for an LT to upgrade over Light if he is available. The Pats need depth all over the place. And they also need a successor to Harrison who has not been able to stay healthy lately and also isn't getting any younger.

Free agents I'd go for are Briggs and Stallworth. I'd also resign Samuel to make sure we keep that piece of the puzzle. Hobbs did not look like a #1 out there and Samuel seemed to be the only guy who could cover anyone.

Sure the Pats hurt themselves with penalties and that partly cost them the game. But the fact also remains that we could not stop the Colts with our D in the second half and we could not sustain drives to kill the clock when we had possession with a 3 point lead and the chance to put the game away.

So that's what I think we need to do this offseason. We can't afford to be passive in the free agent game any longer. What would be your BLUEPRINT to rebuild?

Brady had Heath Evans WIDE OPEN at the 13 on the game ending INT...your argument is seriously flawed

 

[BruschiOnTap]

Clearly you haven't been reading the entire post. The Pats DID have a great season and they came within 4 points of making the Superbowl.

BUT it is also clear after watching last nights game that if the Pats want to compete with the San Diegos and Indys of the world next year that they need to upgrade some key areas. Our linebackers failed to seal the inside run and were lost in space against Colt receivers. Too slow,too unathletic.

We could not stop Peyton Manning on 3rd and long at all in the second half. We also need to upgrade that area by getting a legit shutdown corner, probably through the draft, and retain Samuel.

Our receivers, notably Caldwell had some critical drops that were the difference between a FG and a touchdown drive. Adding a reliable weapon for Brady that can create separation BY HIMSELF is clearly a priority need.

Additionally when the Pats had the ball with a 3 point lead they did not have the weapons to run out the clock. When they kicked the ball back to the Colts that was the end of our season. The offense does not have enough consistency to bail out the defense and stay on the field to run out the clock when it counts.

That is looking at our team's shortcomings/problems realistically and trying to look forward to see what we need so we won't be on the wrong end of the score next season. I don't think throwing up your hands and say nothing is wrong with this team solves anything. I know BB will soon be thinking about some of the same things I just mentioned in the offseason.

Look, I'm just sickened by all the people who clamored to post 'dynasty is dead' and *****. The fact is, we came within a few points of another Super Bowl appearance. It never seemed like our D was out of that game, I just think the team became complacent with a 3-possession lead. I just can't figure the people who would come on here tonite and immediately 'b*itch and moan about this group of guys. hey, I'm excited about the draft too, but come on, let's digest this first and recognize that we got beat, plain and simple. I'm with you from there..

 

[Rob0729]

I have said it all year, and have taken a lot of heat for it.

Hobbs is the weakest link on the secondary.

Either he gives up way too much room or he gets beaten easily on one little deke or move by the WR.

Occasionally , like tonight, he makes a recovery and comes back to make the play, but only because he was beaten to begin with.

He is a total waste on the corner. He plays a lttle better at nickel, but overall, he kills us on the corner...

Hobbs has been clearly hindered by his broken wrist and Belichick and Pees has played him off the ball to compensate. Other than the face guarding play in the endzone. I though he did very well tonight.

He needs to be given another shot next year after his wrist is completely healed.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

Excellent evaluation overall. I'm not sure what some of these guys were watching tonight. Corners were a strength. Ellis played great save a BS PI call. Safeties a little shaky and DL was gassed at the half so rotation and replacements hurt us. As did some of the matchups when our LB were in coverage. The Dillon/Maroney combo is not a great fit for this Oline. Corey has lost a step whether he admits it or not, and Maroney disappeared down the stretch - hopefully just a rookie wall thing. Too much dancing and too little explosion. The line was focused on pass blocking for a HOF QB unfortunately with no real reliable go to guy (as Caldwell proved again tonight). Gaffney vaulted him on the depth chart down the stretch.

Lots for the FO to consider:

• Retirements
• Player performance evaluations
• Contract negotiations
• Team weaknesses

Where to prioritize? Aren't they all intertwined?

Retirements -- Bruschi? Troy? Replacements on board?

Evaluations/Weaknesses:

OL -- run blocking needs work. Maroney needs a hole to succeed. Dillon makes yds on his own...but career is ending soon. Pass blocking is sound. It's all great for Brady -- but not for Maroney.

WR -- clearly need another go-to for Brady. Seeking a #1 WR is asking for the moon for next season (but won't hurt to try). Add a quality wideout to pair with Reche...while dropping Gaffney down. Jackson is an enigma.

TE -- prioritize Graham...and have Brady work with Watson and the rookie.

DL -- set

LB -- serious weakness. Either too slow, old, or unathletic. Upgrade is an understatement at both OLB and ILB.

S -- Harrison will return at full strength...but career also coming to a close. Wilson's play has declined and is oft-injured. Sanders is a keeper. Playmaking Safety needed now.

CB --Samuel's a no-brainer. Hobbs is a solid football player. Draft early a coverage CB as competition and/or upgrade. Priority area.

Overall weakness on D -- too slow and unathletic at Safety and LB. RBs and TEs will feast.

Overall weakness on O -- #1 WR

Just a top of the head opinion...

 

[VJCPatriot]

Brady had Heath Evans WIDE OPEN at the 13 on the game ending INT...your argument is seriously flawed

Yes in the middle of the field with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Dumping the ball to him would have killed too much clock and not cover enough ground. There is no guarantee with Evans lack of speed that he can get out of bounds. Bottom line is that there were no wideouts open downfield near the sidelines which is where we NEEDED to go to keep the drive alive. Brady made an ill advised pass to try to force it in. But that doesn't change the fact that none of our wideouts could create the seperation needed to get open.

 

[SWelker]

This was a rebuilding year IMO, next season we will have 2 first rounders and be restocked and ready for another run, I am not as worried as some of you seem to be.

 

[MoLewisrocks]

I have said it all year, and have taken a lot of heat for it.

Hobbs is the weakest link on the secondary.

Either he gives up way too much room or he gets beaten easily on one little deke or move by the WR.

Occasionally , like tonight, he makes a recovery and comes back to make the play, but only because he was beaten to begin with.

He is a total waste on the corner. He plays a lttle better at nickel, but overall, he kills us on the corner...

You must have watched that alternate broadcase in low def tonight at the Vine NEM. Hobbs was a bright spot. We lost because we are too thin in an aging LB corps, some of whom were battling the flu to top off their night. And our DL was gassed at the half - probably in part because we didn't get a bye and as BB said to the broadcast crew the SD game and the cross country flight took a lot out of them. Maybe next year if Maroney stops dancing and they find a consistently reliable go to guy for Brady we will get a bye. But it still wouldn't hurt to get a little younger and more talented at the positions BB builds his championship teams around - safety and linebacker.

 

[VJCPatriot]

The problem is that the draft is such a crapshoot that you're not guaranteed to hit all your areas of "need." Therefore I urge the Patriots front office to aggressively attack the free agent market as well to fill in the needed holes.

A good veteran receiver would probably do this team a lot more good than another "fresh off the boat" wideout even if he may have a high upside. A veteran, in his prime linebacker like A. Thomas or Briggs will probably do the Pats a lot more good than a rookie linebacker, even if we draft a good one to groom!

It's not that our defense was not pretty good overall this year. It was. But when it came to the second half they got exposed. Yes a lot of it is because we had some older injured players. But that's why you get younger, hungry, more athletic players to fill their spots. You can always keep the older guys as reserves.

Similar to how we used Bryan Cox in certain reserve linebacking situations in 2001. Sad to say but it looks like Bruschi has reached that point where we will have to use him only situationally as well.

I happen to think the Pats need another CB as much if not more than safety. Hobbs would be much better as our nickelback than Mickens. We need to get taller and more athletic in the secondary so we don't suffer severe disadvantages to height mismatch.

I think there will be a lot of focus on defense in the draft. And the Patriots should also try to get a solid FA wide receiver that can step in right away.

 

[DaBruinz]

Yes in the middle of the field with less than 30 seconds on the clock. Dumping the ball to him would have killed too much clock and not cover enough ground. There is no guarantee with Evans lack of speed that he can get out of bounds. Bottom line is that there were no wideouts open downfield near the sidelines which is where we NEEDED to go to keep the drive alive. Brady made an ill advised pass to try to force it in. But that doesn't change the fact that none of our wideouts could create the seperation needed to get open.

Actually, VJC, the Patriots still had a time out left. Had he hit Evans with that pass, Evans would have hit the deck and the Pats call a time out. There would have been plenty of time for 1 or 2 passes to the endzone.

Also, this idea that the Wideouts couldn't create seperation is flawed as well. Its hard to create seperation when the DBs and LBs are backpedalling 10-15 yards beyound your players to start with.

 

[RayClay]

I say draft a damn linebacker or two.

A monster de/olb combo would be great and a lower round ILB. Pickup a free agent too if necessary, but I can't see another old LB as the answer on this team.

Poor Vrable looks he's about ready for a disability pension and he's not even old.

 

[VJCPatriot]

Actually, VJC, the Patriots still had a time out left. Had he hit Evans with that pass, Evans would have hit the deck and the Pats call a time out. There would have been plenty of time for 1 or 2 passes to the endzone.

Also, this idea that the Wideouts couldn't create seperation is flawed as well. Its hard to create seperation when the DBs and LBs are backpedalling 10-15 yards beyound your players to start with.

Right that's why Wayne, Harrison, and numerous Colts tight ends found seperation against the "backpedaling" Pats D all night long?

Nobody is saying that Brady didn't force that pass in there. He did. But when his only open option is the lumbering Heath Evans, I think that makes a statement about the ability of your wide receivers to get open at the critical moments of the game.

 

[DaBruinz]

Right that's why Wayne, Harrison, and numerous Colts tight ends found seperation against the "backpedaling" Pats D all night long?

Nobody is saying that Brady didn't force that pass in there. He did. But when his only open option is the lumbering Heath Evans, I think that makes a statement about the ability of your wide receivers to get open at the critical moments of the game.

OK. Lets break things down a bit.

1) Wayne and Harrison weren't getting open all night except on STOP routes and underneath routes. Then, the DBs are beyond them.

2) Each time they hit Clark, it was Alexander on the coverage. You can't put a LB on Clark. Just doesn't work. Clark is too athletic for that.

3) That was ALEXANDER who was covering Moorehead and Fletcher. And Alexander was over-matched in both cases. The DBs weren't on them.

4) If the Patriots were running STOP routes and UNDERNEATH routes the way the Colts were, please mention specifics because those were the routes that the Pats didn't seem to be running except on 2 occasions. And on both, the Colts defenders played it better.

 

[patsox23]

I think it became evident after this game that the Pats simply ran out of healthy untired players. Why else would a guy like Eric Alexander be asked to cover deep? The Pats need at least 2 legit corners. Samuel is one of them. They need to draft another.

Losing Seau and Rodney for this game doesn't show up on the scoresheet of course but those were huge loses. Addai was getting too many big runs on the inside mainly because we had to shift Vrabel outside and thus lost some quality tackling ability in the middle.

The Pats also need to add another RELIABLE receiver that can get separation into the mix. Brady had to force that throw in the end because nobody was open. Caldwell dropped a couple of catchable balls that could have turned into TDs. I'm not going to vilify Caldwell because he has been a trooper but we definitely need to UPGRADE over him. And who knows if Troy is gonna hang em up.

So we need CB, LB, WR. And maybe look for an LT to upgrade over Light if he is available. The Pats need depth all over the place. And they also need a successor to Harrison who has not been able to stay healthy lately and also isn't getting any younger.

Free agents I'd go for are Briggs and Stallworth. I'd also resign Samuel to make sure we keep that piece of the puzzle. Hobbs did not look like a #1 out there and Samuel seemed to be the only guy who could cover anyone.

Sure the Pats hurt themselves with penalties and that partly cost them the game. But the fact also remains that we could not stop the Colts with our D in the second half and we could not sustain drives to kill the clock when we had possession with a 3 point lead and the chance to put the game away.

So that's what I think we need to do this offseason. We can't afford to be passive in the free agent game any longer. What would be your BLUEPRINT to rebuild?

My general response to this thread: Oh, F-ing RELAX.