What we learned from Day 1...

[PatsBoy12]

Not sure I understand? Denver of course had a different foundation (if you could call the Denver defense a "foundation") on which to build. I expect we will see multiple LBs taken today, but I think with our pass rush it will be the same guys. But I would imagine Peas will have a lot more flexibility to blitz with this secondary, and Mayo, Guyton and Thomas are very fast....

Hey Mack, did Denver switch to a 3-4?

 

[zoostation]

What I've learned:

1. BB didn't like any of the guys I liked nearly as much as I thought he would.

2. BB didn't like the 1st round values very much - he thought the value was in the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

3. BB seems comfortable with our current group of OLBs - he didn't prioritize the position as much as I thought he would.

4. BB seems comfortable with our situation at DE and didn't make it a priority.

5. BB went for size on the lines and speed in the secondary.

6. BB seems comfortable with the OL as it is for 2009.

6. BB seems comfortable with the OL as it is for 2009.

Don't forget...the draft continues today.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

While I do think Taylor will be a Pat this year, I wouldn't give up on drafting an impact LB just yet. Still many picks left plus 3 3rd rounders to go. Think of other day 2 guys like Ted Johnson, Bruschi, Guyton(undrafted), etc.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

I kind of wished the Pats traded one of their many 2's for a future one, as their were two buyers looking. Today, I'd go for a future #2 for one of our three's.
We used free agency this year to fill holes vs the draft. Though, the players we got could pay dividends.

This is precisely why BB gets the big bucks.

Instead of trading a valuable 2nd, the Pats picked good talent.

Then BB trades two lowly 3rds for 2 2nds next season when we may lose vets to FA. Brilliant. Good call on your part too.

Again, as others pointed out you need TWO willing players to make a trade.

 

[scout]

This is precisely why BB gets the big bucks.

Instead of trading a valuable 2nd, the Pats picked good talent.

Then BB trades two lowly 3rds for 2 2nds next season when we may lose vets to FA. Brilliant. Good call on your part too.

Again, as others pointed out you need TWO willing players to make a trade.

And low and behold, not once but twice.
It's perpetual. The only question is, next year does he trade only one of the #2's for a one?

 

[Urgent]

My take:

Jason Taylor is not an automatic assumption. Note that the Dolphins have also avoided an OLB. They have taken three WR's and two corners. Taylor has always been closer to the Dolphins than the Patriots, obviously.

Size may be really important at OLB for the Pats. The Pats have Crable and Redd on the shadow IR/PS squad, and they are both prototypical size. The group of Cushing/English/Brown/Sintim don't have quite that size.

It's very hard to read this. The Patriots CLEARLY are weak at rushing the passer. The DL doesn't generate much pressure - they contain. Their secondary doesn't blitz much, especially with Rodney out. Their ILB's haven't been blitzing, again especially since Bruchi has aged. And the OLB's haven't generated pressure, especially since Vrabel had a down year. They need to generate some pressure off the edge. A pass-rushing specialist makes all sorts of sense. With about a dozen in this draft, it was difficult to avoid them. And yet the Pats did. Again.

We all agree it takes a couple years to develop a college DE into a 3-4 OLB. So when do the Patriots start? Why not grab one now with one of their cheap second-round picks?

In 2008, we wanted Gholston in the first, or Cliff Avril later.
In 2007, the Pats passed on LaMarr Woodley and Anthony Spencer.
In 2006, we wanted Manny Lawson, who went one pick after the surprise selection of Laurence Maroney. The Pats passed on all these guys.

The Pats have entered free agency twice for established vets, tapping Colvin and Thomas, paying what, I think, are the two biggest free agency contracts in their history. And neither has really lived up to the top billing. But they have established that those players are worth top dollar to them.

They've yet to take that top college DE-3-4 OLB projection. I wish I could state why, after passing on Everette Brown, Manny Lawson, and LaMarr Woodley, who were sitting in their laps. We don't know how those players would have developed in the Pats system. We have seen how important they have been to San Diego, Pittsburgh, and Miami in similar systems. And that the Pats are willing to pay big money to an OLB.

 

[Urgent]

By contrast, we have learned that the Patriots were wholly dis-satisfied with their secondary.

Bodden and Springs.
Chung and Butler.

They have added four new potential starters, seriously infusing talent.

And it's likely that Harrison, ONeal, and Sanders are gone.
Pretty significant turnover there.

Their secondary is terrifically upgraded.

 

[Deus Irae]

By contrast, we have learned that the Patriots were wholly dis-satisfied with their secondary.

Bodden and Springs.
Chung and Butler.

They have added four new potential starters, seriously infusing talent.

And it's likely that Harrison, ONeal, and Sanders are gone.
Pretty significant turnover there.

Their secondary is terrifically upgraded.

Add Hobbs traded....

 

[PatsBoy12]

By contrast, we have learned that the Patriots were wholly dis-satisfied with their secondary.

Bodden and Springs.
Chung and Butler.

They have added four new potential starters, seriously infusing talent.

And it's likely that Harrison, ONeal, and Sanders are gone.
Pretty significant turnover there.

Their secondary is terrifically upgraded.

 

[Urgent]

That would be Lewis Sander, CB, for those scoring at home.

 

[Urgent]

Extending this further across the entire draft:

We've learned that the Patriots are no better than the league, statistically, in identifying players in the draft.

Comparing performance across this decade for the league, with performance under Belichick, at gaining starters from each round:

FIRST - Pats 100%, NFL 75%
SECOND - Pats 38% , NFL 50%
THIRD - Pats 33%, NFL 30%
FOURTH - Pats 21%, NFL 25%
FIFTH - Pats 13%, NFL 20%
SIXTH - Pats 7%, NFL 9%
SEVENTH - Pats 13%, NFL 9%

Really, that's about league average.
The Pats are well below league average in the second round, and then track pretty closely. Maybe they tend to take bigger risks in the second, like on trading up for Chad Jackson or taking an OT like Vollmer that is considered a late rounder.

This would seem to be an average draft.

There are some nice values, like Butler in the second and the trades of the two thirds.

There are some fairly solid picks, like Chung in the second and McKenzie in the third, maybe a slight reach, but he could be a good fit at ILB.

There are some reaches, like Tate, with his injury and drug test issue, but great upside, Vollmer, a low-ranked tackle taken very early, and Ohrenberger in the fourth.

 

[scout]

Extending this further across the entire draft:

We've learned that the Patriots are no better than the league, statistically, in identifying players in the draft.

Comparing performance across this decade for the league, with performance under Belichick, at gaining starters from each round:

FIRST - Pats 100%, NFL 75%
SECOND - Pats 38% , NFL 50%
THIRD - Pats 33%, NFL 30%
FOURTH - Pats 21%, NFL 25%
FIFTH - Pats 13%, NFL 20%
SIXTH - Pats 7%, NFL 9%
SEVENTH - Pats 13%, NFL 9%

Really, that's about league average.
The Pats are well below league average in the second round, and then track pretty closely. Maybe they tend to take bigger risks in the second, like on trading up for Chad Jackson or taking an OT like Vollmer that is considered a late rounder.

This would seem to be an average draft.

There are some nice values, like Butler in the second and the trades of the two thirds.

There are some fairly solid picks, like Chung in the second and McKenzie in the third, maybe a slight reach, but he could be a good fit at ILB.

There are some reaches, like Tate, with his injury and drug test issue, but great upside, Vollmer, a low-ranked tackle taken very early, and Ohrenberger in the fourth.

Let me spell this one out for you: "Laugh My Astsss off"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Talk about stats that lie. How about the "Actual" players that were selected. For example, Cassel and Brady. Seems like that should throw a wrench in your average draft thing.

 

[Brady-To-Branch]

The secondary of 2007/2008 got fired.

RH - gone
Hobbs - gone
O'Neal - gone

Incoming: Bodden, Springs, Chung, Butler

Surviving the purge: Meriweather, Sanders, Wheatley, Wilhite

The Secondary is looking good, now.