Marcus McNeil 18th pick- stud Left tackle, who has been sensational for SD
Greg Jennings 20th pick- fine WR for GB
Devin Hester 25th pick- tied all time record for rookie KR's for TDs for touchdowns
Face it the Patriots whiffed big time picking Jackson instead of McNeil.
He could have been our stud LT for the next 10 years.
Maybe BB and Pioli listened to much to the Urban Meyer hype
Your post is basically idiotic. In essence, your position is that it makes perfect sense after the draft to see how all of the draft choices have worked out and then, with hindsignt, declare that a draft pick was a 'mistake'.
It should be obvious to even the least perceptive fan that it's impossible ahead of time to know whether a player will really even be a solid starter for the long term much less a star. Why obvious ? Just look at all of the scouting combines and media analysts picking the top 32 players much less the individual teams applying as much expertise from their scouts and analysis as they can and look at how bad they do. The success rate (success being a starter for at least 6 years) from 1st round picks is something on the order of 35%. It is really stupid to judge that the Patriots are somehow poor at making their picks or have made 'mistakes'. In contrast to the 35% success rate for 1st round picks by NFL teams as a whole, Belichick and Pioli have 100% success on first round picks. Even more so, not only are their picks 100% starters, but you have some guys who already are or appear to be top players at their position in the NFL. Belichick and Pioli are 7 for 7 - Seymour, Graham, Warren, Watson, Wilfork, Mankins, and even almost certainly this years pick, Maroney. The odds of getting succesful players in the second round is certainly less than the 35% success rate in the first round. Yet the Patriots prior to this draft (leaving out 2000 for which Belichick and Pioli had little time to prepare) are 60% !!! 3 out of 5. Light, Branch, and Wilson. It may be higher (80%) if Hill were to become a starter level player. The only for sure bust is Bethel Johnson. Good grief, you have to be nuts to think that it's possible to do better than that. The point was well made by Pats1 that you may not have even picked good examples to use. Not only that, if you're going to use good hindsight, it's dumb beyond belief to try to even begin to say that the players you mention are going to last as starters for more than 5 years. And you have NO CLUE as to whether or not Chad Jackson is going to be a starter for years to come - NO CLUE. Nobody does, except maybe Belichick and his coaching staff - and even Belichick has openly stated that you can't tell about players for sure for 2 or 3 years. mgcolby tried to give you an idea of how many trees there are in the forest when draft picks are made.
Worse yet, there is no way that you can have a clue as to whether the players you mention can contribute in a Belichick system. Duhhhhh. There are scads of hyped and genuine top talents, much less rookie draft picks, who would not be able to play effectively for Belichick not to mention many who would actually disrupt the overall scheme and make things worse.
Tell you what. Why don't you come back next spring before the draft and tell us, without the benefit of hindsight, which 64 players you pick who are all going to be long term successful starting players in the NFL ? I can guarantee you that if you even come close to picking 50%, you will certainly have the undivided attention of every member of this board. But even better yet, you should be able to name your price as a draft selection guru for ANY NFL team you might want to work for - except the Patriots where you will have to hit pretty much better than 90% for them to give you the time of day.
Until then, give us a break and quit posting nonsense.
