Taking a deep breath

[Ring 6]

Actually, take Tom Brady away from last years roster and the Jets roster was better than ours was. I am looking at trends here. All of the teams in the division are playing catch up. If the Jets lose Thomas Jones it will be a loss, but Shone Greene looks like a player. Can the Patriots say the same thing with their roster? I suppose we could put Julius Edleman in that catagory but even with him we need to add to that position.

If the Patriots lose to Miami and the Jets this season it will ruin our season. Not because I am over reacting but because they play in the same division. And we can't say that last year was an aberation either, the Pats were a 10-6 team. When they had the chance to be a 12-4 team they choked, something a Patriots team never used to do.

We cannot win a championship without wining the division, and right now we cannot win the division. We can't apply pressure to the opposing QB and we have trouble stretching the field against good team. The trend in NE is that they are not spending their money right. I was not in favor of paying Asante, I was wrong. I look at last years draft and all I see is potential, but that and two bucks will get you a cup of coffee. I want to believe, but the rend is pointing down while the Miami and NY trends point up. And I do not believe that less equals more when it comes to the coaching staff. I believe that the Pees era was a passive mistake, but the Pats response is to do nothing. It could be that Pepper Johnson or Matt Patricia will be genius, but question marks are all I see right now. So, in reality, it all comes down in in Bill we trust, and I can live with that, but I still have my opinion.

In 9 months when we lead the league in defense and are getting ready for the playoffs as a number 1 or 2 seed, I will tell all that I was wrong. I look forward to being wrong.

How is Miami on the rise? They were 11-5 in 2008 and 7-9 last year.
They had a losing record, and added ONE player while losing Porter, and potentially Taylor before I even look.
The Jets have gone 10-6, 4-12, 9-7, 9-7 (which was 8-8 if Indy tried vs them)
And they added ONE player.
What other than your fear has under .500 Miami and .500* NYJ on the rise?
The Jets have gone

 

[Ring 6]

Let's face it Andy, you make good points most of the time. But the one fundamental flaw in your "worldview" as it relates to the Patriots is that they can do no wrong.

Let Wilfork walk, it's a good thing. They saved money to spread across the roster.

Re-sign Wilfork, it's a brilliant move locking up one of the best DL's in the business.

Let TBC walk, no big deal. He can be replaced.

The Pats re-sign TBC, and it's a savvy move and really when you look at the stats, he's as effective at rushing the passer as anyone in the league.

The truth lies somewhere in the middle. Before 2007, the Pats were aggressive through TRADES (Moss/Welker) and they went to a SB.

Before 2001, they signed a bunch of role players nobody else really wanted and went to the SB.

You can do it BOTH ways but as you pointed out, nobody is perfect. This year the plan seems to be to add some middling talent through FA, re-up their own and get better through the draft, on the long term.

What that means to fans is an unknown at this point but it's reasonable to believe things could get worse before they get better. When you maintain the status quo when it comes to veterans (which is precisely what they're doing as of today, probably minus Bodden, their best DB last year) it seems a little goofy to blindly assume or expect there will be different results in 2010.

I think you are being too rigid.
I can make arguments for keeping Wilfork, and somewhat equal arguments for letting him walk. THAT is the real world.
There are positives and negatives in every decision.
Where I differ from the rest of this board is that I recognize a few things that others appear to not.
1) Most decisions are neither all good or all bad. Especially when all decisions in a cap era are interrelated. Signing Wilfork is good if you conclude its the best use of money and bad if you can improve the team more by spending it elsewhere. Its impossible to sit here and judge that decision fully, because the facts are incomplete.
2) Because of (1) I recognize that the apparent result of a decision today rarely is the result after the facts all come in. It would not only be necessary to properly evaluate the player (which we cannot effectively do at a professional level, if only because we lack the data and film, and personal exposure) but evaluate the alternatives.
3) I recognize that a 51% success ratio in decisions in the NFL is very good.

So, if it is virtually impossible to accurately evaluate a decision, because the facts are not fully known, and a 51% success rate is good, I choose to compare the decision to similar ones made with the same objectives, and support ones that seem consistent with success and bemoan those that are not.

In reality, a personell decision in a capped league is only as good as the other decisions it affects. So overall philosophy is what I base things on because I don't believe in overreacting.

I also believe that acquiring 'superstars' is overrated and doesn't work. Ive never felt a player was 'must have' in a cap era, because there are always alternatives so anyone overpriced becomes not worth it.

 

[VJCPatriot]

If it will stop a fellow fan from jumping...The Pats will trade this year's and one of next year's 1st rounders and one of this year's 2nds to the Rams for the #1 and come away with Suh. ...feel better?

Only if BB were high on drugs. He does not operate that way, and you know better than that.

OP, am I concerned about the coaching? Yes. But I'm not intimate with the details of his coaching staff. Maybe he has guys essentially doing coordinator jobs but just didn't give them titles. It's hard to know for sure.

As for the free agency. It is what it is. The Pats rarely make splashes or overspend in free agency. It is this financial discipline that allows them to allocate more money for good 'middle class' players. There's still lots of guys for the Pats to kick the tires on, and there will be more guys after June 1st cuts. So this is going to be a work in progress. Patience, young padawan.

Finally, don't forget the draft. The Pats have a lot of ammo at the top of the draft (4 picks in the top 60) and the bottom of the draft (4 mandatory comp picks), so they have some rather good chances to strike oil in the draft. What I'm more concerned about is the hit rate in the middle of the draft which seems to be iffy at best in recent years.

This team has a long ways to go before it is even close to complete, however the offseason is a process. Now is the time to sit tight and wait to see what happens. Just because we don't see big deals being inked doesn't mean that the Pats FO isn't talking to guys, targeting needs, and doing their jobs in the background.