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Veteran Starter w/Big Long Term Deal
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This week's Mailbag called by Mike Reiss is very revealing. One of the reporters with excellent access in the Pats organization, he openly says he can't explain, much less defend, BB's picks like Wilson last year or Harmon this year. Reiss uses strong language -- for a cautious, normally deferential reporter.
"Here's the bottom-line thought: If the Patriots' defense doesn't turn a more decisive corner, and we're seeing some of the same struggles in 2013 as we've seen in recent years, it will be a big disappointment. Some hard questions would have to be asked."
New England Patriots Mailbag: Second-guessing Bill Belichick's draft - ESPN Boston
On Tavon Wilson, last year's #48 pick, he says:
"any team picking 48th overall wants to land a starter at that spot, and Wilson is not there yet..... if a decision had to be made at this time, I'd say no. I think it would be a disappointment if Collins' first-year contributions weren't greater than Wilson's from 2012"
Reiss calls the Harmon pick a "strange one". "My best guess is that it's Bill Belichick looking at things differently from most teams. Part of that opinion is based on talking with people from other teams. In the case of Harmon, I also wouldn't be surprised if Belichick viewed things differently from many on his own staff, but as the personnel chief, that's his right. Knowing that Belichick stresses the motto "do your job" and everyone should know/execute their clearly defined role, I just wonder if anyone in the room stops Belichick before making a pick like Tavon Wilson or Duron Harmon and says, "Bill, we could probably get this guy a little later and get some better value elsewhere." The Harmon pick was a real outlier, and with the limited information I have, comes across as something that would have been done unilaterally more than as a consensus."
He does praise the 2 WR picks. This is a Reiss contribution really worth reading for those looking for insights.
That article doesn't even say what you claim.
"...time will tell if the Patriots' draft is indeed mediocre. It's always tough to tell a few days after the fact, especially when a team trades down like the Patriots did. One thing I've noticed over the years is that when a team trades up and goes to get a player, it almost always results in rave reviews. Contrary to that, when a team trades down, it seldom does."
Your selective editing to the contrary, all Reiss is saying in that article is that IF we see the same struggles as in recent years, it WILL BE a disappointment - and not the draft itself, but the defense as a whole. The only reason Reiss used the word "mediocre" is because that was the premise of the question he was asked - and is you read the first line of the response, which I posted here, you'll see that he is specifically NOT saying that.
Read it again.