Will we be better next season? AKA, how an 18-1 team improves

[BradyManny]

Presumptions:

- Randy Moss is re-signed
- Donte Stallworth is let go
- Gaffney returns at something reasonable
- Asante Samuel does not re-sign
- Colvin is re-structured
- At least 2 out of the following 3 return, likely in lesser roles: Bruschi, Harrison, Seau
- We use the draft to get young talent at CB, LB and or OL

WHY WE WILL GET BETTER:
- Moss and Brady will have had a full year together, the chemistry can only get better.
- Chad Jackson/Jabar Gaffney will be an upgrade over Donte Stallworth/Jabar Gaffney. Sure, at face value, you're thinking, "how is he going to argue a kid who has done nothing is better than Stallworth". I have no basis in reality to back this up, it's merely a hunch. Stallworth did very little the second half of the season, seemingly struggled with the finer points of the offense, and fell below Gaffney on the depth chart. In the end, his biggest asset was his physical strength. Jackson has similar strength, better hands, and similar speed. Jackson, going into the draft, was considered to be a strong route runner and a smart receiver. If he blossoms in his 3rd year at all, a Moss-Welker-CJ-Gaffney receiving group will be even more deadly than this year.
- Adalius Thomas should be more comfortable and have a greater impact. He showed flashes of his game changing ability throughout the course of the year, but next year, hopefully he'll be back at ILB and will make a more consistently awesome impact as we expected.
- Seymour will be fully healthy again and there should be nothing stopping him from being the dominant beast he has been

Feel free to add other ways in which we will improve.

There's just a few reasons. This isn't spin, this isn't me trying to get over the loss from the other day. The loss sucks. Let the NYG talk trash about this team right now, they earned the right too. But next season, it'll likely be back to being us, the Colts and the rest of the league. The balance of power isn't changing anytime soon.

 

[Silverquick]

We will be better because hopefully the arrogance will get beat out of this team, we will go back to being the humble, hardworking, bluecollar underdogs that we have always been, and we will go back to winning games the old fashioned way: hard defense, toughness, and brutal running. Thats our formula, thats what turned us into a dynasty. Gunslinging, perfect seasons, etc. got us nowhere.

 

[DonBlackmon55]

Presumptions:

- Randy Moss is re-signed
- Donte Stallworth is let go
- Gaffney returns at something reasonable
- Asante Samuel does not re-sign
- Colvin is re-structured
- At least 2 out of the following 3 return, likely in lesser roles: Bruschi, Harrison, Seau
- We use the draft to get young talent at CB, LB and or OL

WHY WE WILL GET BETTER:
- Moss and Brady will have had a full year together, the chemistry can only get better.
- Chad Jackson/Jabar Gaffney will be an upgrade over Donte Stallworth/Jabar Gaffney. Sure, at face value, you're thinking, "how is he going to argue a kid who has done nothing is better than Stallworth". I have no basis in reality to back this up, it's merely a hunch. Stallworth did very little the second half of the season, seemingly struggled with the finer points of the offense, and fell below Gaffney on the depth chart. In the end, his biggest asset was his physical strength. Jackson has similar strength, better hands, and similar speed. Jackson, going into the draft, was considered to be a strong route runner and a smart receiver. If he blossoms in his 3rd year at all, a Moss-Welker-CJ-Gaffney receiving group will be even more deadly than this year.
- Adalius Thomas should be more comfortable and have a greater impact. He showed flashes of his game changing ability throughout the course of the year, but next year, hopefully he'll be back at ILB and will make a more consistently awesome impact as we expected.
- Seymour will be fully healthy again and there should be nothing stopping him from being the dominant beast he has been

Feel free to add other ways in which we will improve.

There's just a few reasons. This isn't spin, this isn't me trying to get over the loss from the other day. The loss sucks. Let the NYG talk trash about this team right now, they earned the right too. But next season, it'll likely be back to being us, the Colts and the rest of the league. The balance of power isn't changing anytime soon.

-Moss and brady will be interesting to see if teams in 2008 take the same approach as Jax, SD, Giants took in playoffs.
-You're smoking weed with Willie Andrews if you think Chad Jackson will be anything but a consistently inactive list.....he joins the list of COMPLETE BUSTS from RD2. Pats lately have a history of selecting busts in RD 2......Hill, Bethel, Eugene Wilson...only guys who have turned out well are Deion Branch and Matt Light
- Agree on AD...though he is better suited at OLB. Vrabel should move inside
- Seymour......seems like he has packed it in since his big payday. Yes he was injured, but he is no longer the dominant player he was couple years back

-Teams has gaping holes to fix with FA looming, age of core players at LB, figuguring what they need to do at WR, and now add OL to the mix too.

I am still dumbfounded why Pierre Woods and LeKevin smith, Merriweather play in the most important game of the year, and don;t get any playing time in regular season, including blowouts.

When the heck do we expect to develop these guys ? in SB's ?

BB and coaching staff have laid an egg last 3 yrs in playoffs. So, with all the accolades, they need to swallow the criticism of last 3 yrs of playoff screwups

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

I hate to say it and it seems a bit ******ed but I am actually hoping for 2 or 3 losses and get the pressure off the backs next season although 2 or 3 losses might be asking for a bit much,I expect a decent dropoff in 2008,Probably an 11 or 12 win season although its far too early to tell what kind of team we will have to root for.

 

[BradyManny]

-Moss and brady will be interesting to see if teams in 2008 take the same approach as Jax, SD, Giants took in playoffs.
-You're smoking weed with Willie Andrews if you think Chad Jackson will be anything but a consistently inactive list.....he joins the list of COMPLETE BUSTS from RD2. Pats lately have a history of selecting busts in RD 2......Hill, Bethel, Eugene Wilson...only guys who have turned out well are Deion Branch and Matt Light
- Agree on AD...though he is better suited at OLB. Vrabel should move inside
- Seymour......seems like he has packed it in since his big payday. Yes he was injured, but he is no longer the dominant player he was couple years back

-Teams has gaping holes to fix with FA looming, age of core players at LB, figuguring what they need to do at WR, and now add OL to the mix too.

I am still dumbfounded why Pierre Woods and LeKevin smith, Merriweather play in the most important game of the year, and don;t get any playing time in regular season, including blowouts.

When the heck do we expect to develop these guys ? in SB's ?

BB and coaching staff have laid an egg last 3 yrs in playoffs. So, with all the accolades, they need to swallow the criticism of last 3 yrs of playoff screwups

- Disagree completely about Chad Jackson. He has to prove it next season, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.
- I thought Meriweather played a very solid game. I wish he could've made that INT on the final drive, it was a tough play...a lot tougher than Asante's...

 

[pheenix11]

AD needs to stay outside, he looked great pass rushing in the 4th quarter.

Move Vrabel inside.

 

[BradyManny]

AD needs to stay outside, he looked great pass rushing in the 4th quarter.

Move Vrabel inside.

Second person in this thread to say this...I don't know. AD was doing well inside up until his injury, then by the time he started playing to his full capacity, he was switched over to OLB.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

Second person in this thread to say this...I don't know. AD was doing well inside up until his injury, then by the time he started playing to his full capacity, he was switched over to OLB.

Putting Vrabel inside was getting him hurt, and reducing his efficiency. My guess is that moving him inside full-time would probably take a season or two off his career.

 

[BradyManny]

Putting Vrabel inside was getting him hurt, and reducing his efficiency. My guess is that moving him inside full-time would probably take a season or two off his career.

Then AD definitely stays inside.

Plus, that only leaves us with one hole at LB, not two. We need a new ILB. Seau and Bruschi will return, but we need a fresh body.

 

[QuinielaBox]

I think there are going to be huge changes in the works. A lot of this depends on the Moss negotiations.

We did not have the benefit of Sammy Morris the last ten weeks in the season and that could have made a difference Sunday. Just be a power running team. I look for the Patriots to go back to that.

Also we have to retool our defense, LB and Secondary in particular.

There are threats - The Specter complaint, the allegations of taping the Rams walkthrough 6 years ago. But also being forced to eat the #7 pick and its salary slot. Belichick and Pioli are value drafters and traders. Then we got this Brady/Moss thing. Was Brady being serious about Moss being part of the package deal.

The whole tone of the weekly buildup to the SB truly stunk judging by the way the guys were talking. The announcing of the parade route, the trademarking of 19-0, Brady's brush with the paparazzi, Brady being spotted wearing a Y----- cap X-(

If both Bruschi and Seau decide to call it a career, I think the Patriots will be taking steps back on defense. So that will force the strategy to be a ball control team that puts up 24 points a game, while limiting the opposition to 21 or less. They need to worry about the Physical aspect of the game and focus on getting stronger. But the wear and tear of the season can take it's toll and it is possible that the Patriots won't have the goods to make it back to the Big Game in February.

 

[BradyManny]

Bump. 2008 is our anti-depressant right now.