What's going to happen with Ron Brace?

[BelichickFan]

Ahem ..... Chad Jackson

I said recently, I went back to 2008. You'd have to go back to 2006 and the Pioli era to include Jackson.

Include him if you wish, we're still about 50-50 in round two which isn't a bad hit rate despite what you may think.

 

[reflexblue]

Ron Who

 

[supafly]

What will happen to Ron Brace?

I think he'll play out the rest of the season here as depth on the bench, then be camp fodder for most of August, where he'll likely be cut in training camp.

Just my opinion, of course, and there is obviously still potential for him to do well and contribute on some level here, but I am not sure that we'd want that at this point; as it would take some injuries to better players to get him in there.

The same likely goes for J.Cunningham. As many pointed out, the draft is still a gamble, and although many feel that the 2nd round has not payed off recently (it hasn't as a whole), we still have some decent picks to show for round two. A 50/50 rate is not bad, if that is actually the case.

With Belichick's apparent philosophy of trying to add more players and picks, rather than take more chances at higher/fewer picks, I can at least say that I can respect and understand his thinking. I still wouldn't want anyone else picking our players.

 

[IllegalContact]

Give him time..yes maybe a "bad" pick but Wilfork wasnt who he was for awhile into his career

actually, wilfork kind of was.....he played in 16 games had 42 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 fumble recoveries and 3 passes defensed as a rookie.......brace is a bust

 

[Sciz]

Depends if the Pats use a 3-4 or 4-3 next year. If it's a 3-4, then he'll either be the starting LE or a primary backup at LE, in the mix with Deaderick, possibly Warren, and possibly a draft pick. If they stick with the 4-3, then he's behind Wilfork, Love, Pryor, and possibly Warren in the base, plus Deaderick and possibly Wright in subpackages.

In the 3-4, his extra height, arm length, and bulk are important, making him a better DE than guys like Love, Pryor, and Wright. Not so in the 4-3, which is why he isn't getting a whole lot of reps right now.

 

[RayClay]

A path to happiness: Pretend that Kyle Love was drafted in the second round and Brace was undrafted.

See, Isn't that better?

Who knew the solution was so easy?

Love's playing well, Brace needs to play himself in to the rotation. That's the way they do it in Foxboro.

 

[Peachhead]

Ron Brace = Darius Butler part deux

Nah, at least Butler looked like a nice find...for a game or two.

 

[RobertWeathers]

His career has gotten off to a rough start. He came in with bad technique and bad conditioning. Last year he did improve enough to play in 13 games w/ 5 starts but shredded his elbow vs Miami. It's not like hes been buried on the depth chart like Cunningham. He does have value and it not a complete lost cause. He needs a complete off-season and to stay healthy next year before I say he is a "true" bust. Has his play been worthy of a 2nd rd pick? No but he hasn't been dreadful IMO.

 

[Don Kipines]

Nah, at least Butler looked like a nice find...for a game or two.

Brace played well for four straight games last year, beginning with the Minnesota game and ending with the Colts game. He's had his moments.

Brace's ceiling I think is as a guy who doesn't hurt you, which is still worth something. But I think it's worth pointing out that while he's underperformed, the Pats have developed three young DTs they got off the scrap heap in Love, Deaderick and Myron Pryor. All three of those kids are pretty good. They may never be stars, but they can be part of a good defense. If they added a little more pass-rushing talent on the outside, those kids plus Wilfork would make up a pretty decent interior rotation.

 

[Daigle]

Brace played well for four straight games last year, beginning with the Minnesota game and ending with the Colts game. He's had his moments.

Brace's ceiling I think is as a guy who doesn't hurt you, which is still worth something. But I think it's worth pointing out that while he's underperformed, the Pats have developed three young DTs they got off the scrap heap in Love, Deaderick and Myron Pryor. All three of those kids are pretty good. They may never be stars, but they can be part of a good defense. If they added a little more pass-rushing talent on the outside, those kids plus Wilfork would make up a pretty decent interior rotation.

I thought we just got 2 top passrushers, do you want more ?

 

[condon84]

I don't know what will happen to Brace. I couldn't care less at this point because we're getting production from other guys. I definitely like what I'm seeing out of Love and before when he got hurt Pryor. So it lessens the impact of the fact that Brace is a dud.

It's the same situation with Cunningham. We're getting production from Carter and Anderson so it lessens the bust impact of Cunningham.

 

[letekro]

Tippett and others, you look like such fools when you use hindsight to criticize a decision that was sound at the time it was made. You may recall something about a contract dispute with Vince Wilfork? Around that time, it was seen as imperative that the Pats acquire a legitimate backup both as insurance and for purposes of leverage in the VW contract talks. Brace was the last quality NT prospect in that draft, and the Pats smartly selected him. In other news, if you actually pay attention to the games, he played very well last year when healthy and the defense suffered when he was lost for the year. He is just now coming off PUP, and there is time for him to make an impact this year as well.

 

[letekro]

I don't know what will happen to Brace. I couldn't care less at this point because we're getting production from other guys. I definitely like what I'm seeing out of Love and before when he got hurt Pryor. So it lessens the impact of the fact that Brace is a dud.

It's the same situation with Cunningham. We're getting production from Carter and Anderson so it lessens the bust impact of Cunningham.

Brace is a dud, why, because he was one of our best linemen last year? I'm tired of people here confusing injuries with poor performance.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Kyle Love has bailed out the Ron Brace bust pick, the kid is playing well. We may not need to draft a DT high if he keeps his play up next to Vince.

 

[Sicilian]

I think part of it is the philosophy BB has towards new players. Once you're here, it doesn't matter how you got here, everyone fights for their spot or doesn't play. Once Brace and Love were both on this team, their respective draft slots became irrelevant to him. Love was healthy and playing better, so he plays.

A lot of other coaches I feel may play favorites towards the higher draft picks because they don't want to look bad. Sometimes this works out better because it gives the (theoretically) more talented player a chance to improve and get where he needs to be. A lot of times though it just keeps the better, harder working player off the field due to an arbitrary criteria.

BB isn't afraid to eat crow on draft picks if they don't pan out. I'm ok with this.

 

[plk]

As many pointed out, the draft is still a gamble, and although many feel that the 2nd round has not payed off recently (it hasn't as a whole), we still have some decent picks to show for round two. A 50/50 rate is not bad, if that is actually the case.

I have not seen a statistical analysis, but you can use the database here

Draft Finder - Pro-Football-Reference.com

to look at second round picks, and get some idea of how they have done. CarAV (Career Approximate Value) is not going to be accurate for individuals, but it does give a good idea of how many very successful, and very unsuccessful, players there are in a particular draft.

My impression is that a 50% hit rate in the second round is very high and is almost undoubtedly as good as anyone's hit rate over a period of time.

You have to compare a general managers success with draft picks and with free agents with what the best of the GM's accomplish, not with some absolute standard of never missing.

Complaining about Belichick's drafting is like someone complaining that a baseball hitter with a batting average of .333 is not really a very good hitter. After all, he only gets a hit one out of three at bats. Surely a good hitter would be able to get a hit 4 out of 5 times.

 

[JMarr]

Tippett and others, you look like such fools when you use hindsight to criticize a decision that was sound at the time it was made. You may recall something about a contract dispute with Vince Wilfork? Around that time, it was seen as imperative that the Pats acquire a legitimate backup both as insurance and for purposes of leverage in the VW contract talks. Brace was the last quality NT prospect in that draft, and the Pats smartly selected him. In other news, if you actually pay attention to the games, he played very well last year when healthy and the defense suffered when he was lost for the year. He is just now coming off PUP, and there is time for him to make an impact this year as well.

I hear what you're saying, especially about people like me not factoring in injuries in calling Brace a bust.

But Vince was never going anywhere--it was just a question of how much the Pats were going to pay him. Are you saying that using the #40 basically as leverage in the Vince talks was a good use of resources? Especially when our D was losing all its key high-impact players like Rodney, Bruschi, Vrable, Asante, etc?

 

[BelichickFan]

My impression is that a 50% hit rate in the second round is very high and is almost undoubtedly as good as anyone's hit rate over a period of time.

I also think Belichick is quicker to cut players simply because he has job security and doesn't give a crap what people think. Our drafting would look better if Butler and Wheatley were on the roster instead of Adams and Molden and many teams would keep them for that reason.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Did people miss the fact that Brace got as many snaps as Warren on Monday? He played pretty well against the run that I saw, and pushed back his man in passing plays. He looks like a much improved player, and he's pretty fresh compared with everyone else. I think he'll prove helpful in the latter part of the year and into the playoffs.

Guy can stuff the run. Wilfork and Love have seen a LOT of snaps thus far. We can use a guy to rotate in and give them a breather. Depth is always a good thing, and I'm glad to have Brace back in the fold.

 

[RayClay]

I have not seen a statistical analysis, but you can use the database here

Draft Finder - Pro-Football-Reference.com

to look at second round picks, and get some idea of how they have done. CarAV (Career Approximate Value) is not going to be accurate for individuals, but it does give a good idea of how many very successful, and very unsuccessful, players there are in a particular draft.

My impression is that a 50% hit rate in the second round is very high and is almost undoubtedly as good as anyone's hit rate over a period of time.

You have to compare a general managers success with draft picks and with free agents with what the best of the GM's accomplish, not with some absolute standard of never missing.

Complaining about Belichick's drafting is like someone complaining that a baseball hitter with a batting average of .333 is not really a very good hitter. After all, he only gets a hit one out of three at bats. Surely a good hitter would be able to get a hit 4 out of 5 times.

Good point. Too bad it will be lost on its intended recipients.