Taking a deep breath

[SanAngeloState]

I am reassured by this FA season. BB didn't panic and break the bank for Peppers or Dansby or anyone else.

Hopefully there are no big trades for big money players.

Draft a damien williams or blair white or whoever to be a #2 WR. Sign Mason who would be good as a #2. Wait for welker to come back late in teh season.

Draft a center like the guy at USC as Koppen is looking worn. Roger Saffold in the 3rd would be a good RT and has played LT.

A LB like spikes would help alot. Maybe Ricky Sapp for a pass rusher if he's around late.

Butler will be a great CB by the end of the year. I am sure of it. Draft another one in teh 4th or 5th.

Draft Dennis Pitta TE in the 4th. Great pass catching TE.

No reason to panic at all, far from it. Saddling the team with Peppers would be reason to panic. I'm assured we'll have a good season.

 

[PowerRunRevival]

The position that I am most worried about now is cb.

I think we will be able to find some edge rushers and finally have Crable healthy to help us out. I think McKenzie will also be able to improve the linebacking corps.

I think our wide recieving corps will fill out, by virtue of Tate being healthy and semi productive and Edelman having his 2nd full season of WR as well signing one vet.

I can see us adding to the O and D line to solidify them during the draft.

With Belichick taking on more of the coaching duties I believe our offense will be less predictable.

However our corners could be a problem. I see Butler emerging as our #1 corner this year but I don't like any of our options at number 2. Springs is too old, I don't trust Wilhite at all and Wheatley after a good rookie year has not shown much.

 

[Kontradiction]

I am reassured by this FA season. BB didn't panic and break the bank for Peppers or Dansby or anyone else.

Hopefully there are no big trades for big money players.

Draft a damien williams or blair white or whoever to be a #2 WR. Sign Mason who would be good as a #2. Wait for welker to come back late in teh season.

Draft a center like the guy at USC as Koppen is looking worn. Roger Saffold in the 3rd would be a good RT and has played LT.

A LB like spikes would help alot. Maybe Ricky Sapp for a pass rusher if he's around late.

Butler will be a great CB by the end of the year. I am sure of it. Draft another one in teh 4th or 5th.

Draft Dennis Pitta TE in the 4th. Great pass catching TE.

No reason to panic at all, far from it. Saddling the team with Peppers would be reason to panic. I'm assured we'll have a good season.

You think Pitta will last until the 4th? I think Indy would snatch him up in the third if he is still available. He's a good fit for their system.

 

[Spiral]

If you are a true fan, stick around because this is going to take a while.

The Patriots in 2009 were probably one of BB's least favorite teams. They were a pass-happy, soft team with a lousy defense, no pass rush, and a bad locker room. They finished with a rather hollow 10-6 record, then got humiliated in the playoffs by a good-but-not-great team that dominated them with their defense and shoved the ball down their throats on offense. On defense, they have holes at DE, ILB, OLB and CB. They got themselves in this situation largely as a result of poor drafting for the past several years (possibly excepting last year). It will take two good drafts and then some before this becomes a solid team again. A free agent band-aid or two isn't going to help all that much. This isn't 2001, when you could sign free agents by the dozen.

 

[Ring 6]

So basically, if we go out and sign a free agent like, say, Antonio Bryant and pay him $5-$6M per year, you would come into the thread and say that BB is making a huge mistake and that he should have stuck by the Pats business model that has worked for the past decade instead of blowing "big money" on said free agent?

I would absolutely question signing Bryant. I am on record that I didnt want Bolden.
I dont know if 5-6 mill is necessarily big moeny anymore, but that isnt the point you are getting at.

BB has, over the years paid heavily for his own players, right now thats Brady, Moss, Wilfork and unfortunately Thomas. And in some cases a big signing happens (Colvin, Thomas) because it fits within the system, and/or the price fits the value.
I'm not saying NEVER sign a big money guy. We do that consistently, but VERY rarely is it a UFA and almost never is it at the beginning of Free Agency when the prices are elevated.
If we signed Peppers on Friday, yes I would have criticized that move as inconsistent with the model that built this franchise and made it more successful than any other.
But, that doesnt mean it is a bad move. Only time will tell.
I would consider it bad only because:
-Teams that win tend to not make those moves and
-Teams that make those moves seem never to win Championships

Somehow, because BB has been enormously successful, it has become wrong to support decisions that are consistent with what he has done for 10 years, and I don't understand that.

Somehow, this board has turned into a bunch of people who think that they are better than everyone else if they deride supporting the guy who knows more than any of us, and find it ignorant to not act as if I am smarter than BB. I don't get that either.
I imagine we should just turn the board into a bunch of people who complain about everything talk about how BB is sitting around mired in complacency and doesn't have a clue how to build a football team.
I guess thats the honorable thing to do, and supporting a continuation of the approach that has created one of if not the most successful runs in NFL history is stupid.
Frankly, its tiring.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

Guyton and TBC played essentially full time last season as well. Thomas did too for that matter.
So we have full time LBs.
TBC is one of our OLBs. We need the other.
Guyton is one of our ILBs, but that may be the 3rd, and he may be repalced by or share his job with McKenzie.
We allowed the 2nd fewest points in the NFL last season, and have everyone important back pending Bodden (I understand Burgess and Green are FAs but I dont consider them important or at least hard to replace)
I recognize the D had flaws that got them exposed in critical situations, but we are talking about the 2nd fewest points in the NFL, and you are talking like its the 1981 Patriots.

somebody has to play.....you have to put 11 players out there which is why some of these guys who clearly should not be full-time players were playing full time.

as for points against, it was 5th, not 2nd, and if you really believe that is reflective of the quality of the defense, then so be it......I don't believe the defense is as good as that statistic....the defense was beaten every way imaginable last year, and no lead was safe.........the only thing that made the 4th and 2 call by BB against the colts in any way intelligent was the fact that the defense could not stop anything.

the pats were in the bottom half of the league in several important defensive categories including rushing yards per carry against, passing TD's given up, passing yards pert attempt given up, sacks.

you make it sound liek their defense is good, and it is not.

 

[JoeShmoe]

Im not on the please draft a big ticket FA signing bandwagon

I look at our old friends the Colts, who have never been big in FA, but build through the draft with good coaching and year after year have a great team

I do hope we resign Bodden as without him I think we are a starting CB short but im sure BB doesnt go into next season without addressing WR, OLB, RB etc

We have 4 draft picks in the first 2 rounds. We have Tait, McKenzie, Bussey and Crable coming off IR

 

[mgteich]

The 2009 was a fine, division-winning team.

We had a top 5 offense. It would have been better if Brady had been healthier and if we had an addition reveiver.

The defense was young and developing, but it still was a top 10 defense.

If you are a true fan, stick around because this is going to take a while.

The Patriots in 2009 were probably one of BB's least favorite teams. They were a pass-happy, soft team with a lousy defense, no pass rush, and a bad locker room. They finished with a rather hollow 10-6 record, then got humiliated in the playoffs by a good-but-not-great team that dominated them with their defense and shoved the ball down their throats on offense. On defense, they have holes at DE, ILB, OLB and CB. They got themselves in this situation largely as a result of poor drafting for the past several years (possibly excepting last year). It will take two good drafts and then some before this becomes a solid team again. A free agent band-aid or two isn't going to help all that much. This isn't 2001, when you could sign free agents by the dozen.

 

[Ring 6]

somebody has to play.....you have to put 11 players out there which is why some of these guys who clearly should not be full-time players were playing full time.

as for points against, it was 5th, not 2nd, and if you really believe that is reflective of the quality of the defense, then so be it......I don't believe the defense is as good as that statistic....the defense was beaten every way imaginable last year, and no lead was safe.........the only thing that made the 4th and 2 call by BB against the colts in any way intelligent was the fact that the defense could not stop anything.

the pats were in the bottom half of the league in several important defensive categories including rushing yards per carry against, passing TD's given up, passing yards pert attempt given up, sacks.

you make it sound liek their defense is good, and it is not.

There are an awful lot of defenses that allowed a whole lot more points that would disagree with you.
Look, I'm not saying the defense was awesome or lacked flaws, but compared to the rest of the NFL it was much more good than it was bad.
The point being that the gap between where it was and where it needs to be is a lot smaller than most teams.
You talk about the D as if it were the Lions.
And you are correct, 5th, not 2nd. My bad.

 

[tanked_as_usual]

There are an awful lot of defenses that allowed a whole lot more points that would disagree with you.
Look, I'm not saying the defense was awesome or lacked flaws, but compared to the rest of the NFL it was much more good than it was bad.
The point being that the gap between where it was and where it needs to be is a lot smaller than most teams.
You talk about the D as if it were the Lions.
And you are correct, 5th, not 2nd. My bad.

no, but did the lions get to face mark sanchez (2x), ryan fitzpatrick, jamarcus russell, kerry collins????

every decent QB along with chad henne abused the pats

the pats faced: edwards,sanchez,ryan,flacco,orton,collins,josh johnson,henne,manning,sanchez,brees,henne,moore,fitzpatrick,garrard,schaub
the lions faced: brees,favre,campell,cutler,roethlisberger,rodgers,bulger,hasselbeck,favre,quinn,rodgers,palmer,flacco,warner,smith,cutler

the lions had 11 games against top 16 QB's and 5 against bottom 16
the pats had 5 games against top 16 QB's and 11 against bottom 16

so the numbers were skewed a fair amount by the quality of opponent......the pats would be great if they got to play against kerry collins every week

 

[upstater1]

Taking a deep breath?

That's taking a deep breath?

 

[mgcolby]

How can the Jets have the best defensive backfield when they have essentially nothing at S?

Of course, that could always change.

The Dolphins have their own issues. They have nothing at WR or OLB; Dansby was signed to replace (IIRC) Ayodele, not Porter.

I don't know I really like Leonard. I'm not saying he is the next Ronnie Lott, but I wouldn't discard him either.

However, I think the Cromartie deal was a joke. The guy clearly doesn't get it both on and off the field. When you have to get a 500K advance to pay child support for your 7 kids who live in 5 different states, you have a discipline problem. The last NFL player who was in a similar situation ended up going to jail for transporting/distribuition of cocaine.

Seems like the high character player any team would want.

 

[Ring 6]

no, but did the lions get to face mark sanchez (2x), ryan fitzpatrick, jamarcus russell, kerry collins????

every decent QB along with chad henne abused the pats

the pats faced: edwards,sanchez,ryan,flacco,orton,collins,josh johnson,henne,manning,sanchez,brees,henne,moore,fitzpatrick,garrard,schaub
the lions faced: brees,favre,campell,cutler,roethlisberger,rodgers,bulger,hasselbeck,favre,quinn,rodgers,palmer,flacco,warner,smith,cutler

the lions had 11 games against top 16 QB's and 5 against bottom 16
the pats had 5 games against top 16 QB's and 11 against bottom 16

so the numbers were skewed a fair amount by the quality of opponent......the pats would be great if they got to play against kerry collins every week

And they allowed over 200 more points.
What is your point? I go 0 for 50 and you hit .300 and you think you can explain it by how many pitchers you faced were below average?

 

[E Belichick Unum]

You miss the point of my panic, and yes it is panic. The reason for my distress is that the division is getting much better around us and we are not. It is great that they signed TBC and Vince, but that doesn't begin to address the holes we have. Look at CB for a minute, if Bodden leaves we have a huge hole that cannot be filled with one of the CB's on the staff. If Jarvis Greene leaves we do not have a replacement for him. We can't release AD because we have NO pass ruch. This isn't a chicken little thing, this is just an analysis of the current team makeup, and depending on rookies too make major contributions turns a 10-6 team into 6-10 team quickly.

Look at the roster for a moment and you see big holes from last year that have become gaping holes. Reciever is a prime example, we have Randy Moss Julian Edelman, and David Patten and that is it. I suppose you could add in Tate, but remember what I said about rookies? At OLB we have TBC who is coming off of a career year and AD who is coming off a really bad year. On the D line we are going to lose Greene and probably Burgess meaning we need to backfill before we can make gains.

I have followed the Pats since they opened Schaefer/Sullivan Stadium and this has a eerily similar feeling to some of those off seasons. Yeah, it is a panic but I really think tjhe team has taken a step or two back and has done nothing to recover. From their coaching staff to letting people leave to misplaying their payroll they seem to have screwed up. They do not play the game like Washington does, so trying to remake the roster with payroll magic is out of the question, so unless they get really lucky I just don't see where to be optimistic about this coming season.

One more thing, this is the season to make hay with. The cap is gone and there is no penalty for spending money. That makes this off season more important. It feels like they are willing to sacrifice this up coming season to save money in case of a lockout. I am disappointed by their lack of imagination and they lack of cohession. It is early in the Free Agency season but they have fallen very far behind their competetors within the division.

 

[Big Bucks]

The Patriots are rebuilding

simples, relax and remember, been there done that, trust BB

Just hope next season we don't have the injuries we had last season.

 

[patfanken]

I find myself getting more and more concerned with the direction that the Pats are taking in FA this year. The more I look at the division the more concerned I get. My problem isn't that I believe that the Pats will not be a good team, I am concerned that both Miami and the Jets are going to be better.

Miami just signed Carlos Dansby to replace Joey Porter. I would take Dansby over Porter anyday. The Jets just traded for Cromartie, maybe creating the best backfield in the AFC. The Pats, are they playing the game well or are we going to be left with table scraps? Last year was a failure on many levels for the Pats. Their lockerroom was a mess, their players were spouting off to the press, and their play on the field sucked against the teams they had to beat and they had no pass rush. I never thought they would land Peppers, but I thought they might beef up the defense a little, but it doesn't look that way today. Instead they are sitting on their hands, waiting and waiting and waiting some more.

Their coaching staff is a mess! They have no real offensive coordinator and their defensive coordinator left the day after the best available replacement signed on with the Chiefs. Belichick didn't do a bad job last year but this year he will have one of the smallest coaching staffs in the league on one of the richest teams in the league. How does he expect to be a major contributor on offense, defense and ST and still be the head coach of a Super Bowl team? It reminds me of Cleveland where he assured everybody that he knew more than they did because they didn't know anything.

So I ask you all to talk me down from the ledge. As you can see from my name I am a big Belichick guy, but I do not see how this season can end well with what has transpired since Jan. I do not see the logic in what the Pats are doing. Help me Pats Fans, your my only hope!

Calm down. Your just looking at the hype, not the Substance. So what if Karlos Dansby is in Miami. He is a fine solid LB who is WAY overpaid to be a solid LB. He has never had more than 5 sacks in a season in his career. Miami might be better against the run, with Dansby, but they lose Porter's big play history...and they take on a salary structure busting contract.

And as to the Jets, what has ACromartie done in the last 2 years that makes you think he's better than Lito Shepard for NY. It was 3 seasons ago that Cromartie had 10 picks and a bunch of return yds. He was just an average CB the next season, and last season lost his starting job, winding up with 3 picks, 30 tackles, no sacks, no forced fumbles, and just 9 passes defended. I don't think those are stats that are making anyone down in Foxboro shake in their boots.

E, you are starting to sound like a hyperbolic Jet fan, where everybody is either a HOFer, or the sky is falling

 

[LiveShot]

Championships are not won in March only headlines.

 

[E Belichick Unum]

E, you are starting to sound like a hyperbolic Jet fan, where everybody is either a HOFer, or the sky is falling

God, I hope you are right.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

It's still very early. The only things I'm concerned with in the immediate future is resigining Bodden (unless he really wants $8M per like some claim) and bringing in one of the veteran WR's that are available(I see 4 or 5 guys, maybe more, that I'd be very happy with and wouldn't be too expensive). If those 2 happen within the next week or so I'm happy. The other immediate needs are DL/LB/TE/another WR/interior OL... which we have plenty of draft picks and time to address via trades or FA. I'm not looking for a 'splash' this offseason but I think everything gets addressed.

 

[Ring 6]

You miss the point of my panic, and yes it is panic. The reason for my distress is that the division is getting much better around us and we are not. It is great that they signed TBC and Vince, but that doesn't begin to address the holes we have. Look at CB for a minute, if Bodden leaves we have a huge hole that cannot be filled with one of the CB's on the staff. If Jarvis Greene leaves we do not have a replacement for him. We can't release AD because we have NO pass ruch. This isn't a chicken little thing, this is just an analysis of the current team makeup, and depending on rookies too make major contributions turns a 10-6 team into 6-10 team quickly.

Look at the roster for a moment and you see big holes from last year that have become gaping holes. Reciever is a prime example, we have Randy Moss Julian Edelman, and David Patten and that is it. I suppose you could add in Tate, but remember what I said about rookies? At OLB we have TBC who is coming off of a career year and AD who is coming off a really bad year. On the D line we are going to lose Greene and probably Burgess meaning we need to backfill before we can make gains.

I have followed the Pats since they opened Schaefer/Sullivan Stadium and this has a eerily similar feeling to some of those off seasons. Yeah, it is a panic but I really think tjhe team has taken a step or two back and has done nothing to recover. From their coaching staff to letting people leave to misplaying their payroll they seem to have screwed up. They do not play the game like Washington does, so trying to remake the roster with payroll magic is out of the question, so unless they get really lucky I just don't see where to be optimistic about this coming season.

One more thing, this is the season to make hay with. The cap is gone and there is no penalty for spending money. That makes this off season more important. It feels like they are willing to sacrifice this up coming season to save money in case of a lockout. I am disappointed by their lack of imagination and they lack of cohession. It is early in the Free Agency season but they have fallen very far behind their competetors within the division.

See I think you are trying to jam them into a box that doesnt fit.
I think this team has never improved by making big, expensive additions of 'have to have' players. We have improved with many incremental improvements across the entire roster. I can only say that this approach has worked, and this years free agency is no different.
I'm not sure what you mean by lack of imagination and cohesion. I don't think that a goal of the team was to create new ideas to be better by 3/8, and I don't know how they lack cohesion. I think the fans lack understanding of the team does business and are turning the same approach that has worked for years into accusations that they don't want to win, don't care, aren't smart enough, are cheap, etc, etc.
I'm not sure where we have fallen behind anyone. Perhaps in the publicity area, but I don't care about that.