Content Post Bill Belichick's draft strategy.

[Deus Irae]

If you look at the starting lineup for the Pats in the last SB, 6 of the 11 offensive starters were free agent pickups or trades, 5 of the 11 defensive starters, same thing. So 50% of your starting 22 were NOT Patriot's draft choices. That to me is pretty pitiful drafting, I don't expect the draft process to change until Belichick leaves. All the mediots and Koolaid drinkers will marvel at Bellichick's draft pick mastery as he continues to draft schlubs in the second round instead of using the two first round picks we seem to have every year and never use. Reminds me of the Emporer's new clothes.

Brady
BJGE
Light
Mankins
Solder/Vollmer
Gronk
Hernandez
Branch

That's 8 "starters" that were Patriots draft picks or developed UDFAs, and one...

Connolly, was in Due to Koppen's injury, and Koppen was a starter. On the offense, only

Welker
Waters

were non-Patriots "draft" picks.

On the defensive side of the ball, things are a bit more difficult to break down, since the 'starter' label isn't as obvious. However

Wilfork
Spikes
Mayo
Deaderick
Love
Chung
McCourty

were in the mix as 'starters', meaning that something around 7 of the 11 defensive 'starters' were Patriots draft picks. That means that around 16 of the 22 starters last year were Patriots draft picks or developed UDFAs, and that's not counting Koppen, who was the starter before getting injured, and it's not counting Arrington, who was developed by the Patriots but was on other teams' practice squads first.

 

[patfanken]

Brady
BJGE
Light
Mankins
Solder/Vollmer
Gronk
Hernandez
Branch

That's 8 "starters" that were Patriots draft picks or developed UDFAs, and one...

Connolly, was in Due to Koppen's injury, and Koppen was a starter. On the offense, only

Welker
Waters

were non-Patriots "draft" picks.

On the defensive side of the ball, things are a bit more difficult to break down, since the 'starter' label isn't as obvious. However

Wilfork
Spikes
Mayo
Deaderick
Love
Chung
McCourty

were in the mix as 'starters', meaning that something around 7 of the 11 defensive 'starters' were Patriots draft picks. That means that around 16 of the 22 starters last year were Patriots draft picks or developed UDFAs, and that's not counting Koppen, who was the starter before getting injured, and it's not counting Arrington, who was developed by the Patriots but was on other teams' practice squads first.

Plus, DI, that's not counting Welker who was added in lieu of draft picks (and Moss) Plus you can add Gostkowski, Edelman, and Slater who are draft picks that play more than significant roles on special teams, not to mention Edelman is a key back up WR AND DB. Plus Pryor and Dowling who both had significant roles on the Defense before they got hurt.

I would say that a good case can be made that BB must have been doing something right. All those players mentioned didn't just materialize by accident.

 

[Huckleberry1]

I will spell this out.

No super bowl championships in 11 seasons. How did the constant trading down help the Pats there? When Brady retires, everyone can say "hey, the Pats have 12 picks in the next draft!" Cinci fleeced BB out of 2 - 5th round picks for Stinko among the other draft fiasco's. Value my axx.

There comes a time, LIKE THIS DRAFT, when you can take advantage of having a HOF QB basically in his prime if you draft talent. Not reclamation projects and misfits.

But, if youre happy with AFCE championships by all means yours is the way to go.

Couldn't agree more, Belichick has had 12 years and all he has ever done is win some lousy AFC Championships. Don't know why they keep him around.

 

[Deus Irae]

Plus, DI, that's not counting Welker who was added in lieu of draft picks (and Moss) Plus you can add Gostkowski, Edelman, and Slater who are draft picks that play more than significant roles on special teams, not to mention Edelman is a key back up WR AND DB. Plus Pryor and Dowling who both had significant roles on the Defense before they got hurt.

I would say that a good case can be made that BB must have been doing something right. All those players mentioned didn't just materialize by accident.

Welker was a trade, which was a different category offered by the poster. I hear what you're saying, Ken, but in the context of the poster's piece, I didn't feel he fit in the "draft" area. It didn't matter in the end, anyway, since the poster was so far off in his argument.

 

[Ron Sellers]

If you look at the starting lineup for the Pats in the last SB, 6 of the 11 offensive starters were free agent pickups or trades, 5 of the 11 defensive starters, same thing. So 50% of your starting 22 were NOT Patriot's draft choices. That to me is pretty pitiful drafting, I don't expect the draft process to change until Belichick leaves. All the mediots and Koolaid drinkers will marvel at Bellichick's draft pick mastery as he continues to draft schlubs in the second round instead of using the two first round picks we seem to have every year and never use. Reminds me of the Emporer's new clothes.

• The problem with that analysis is the same issue with tallying the number of 'busts', and declaring that to be evidence that a teams drafts poorly. Without a comparison to the 31 other NFL teams we have no idea if that number is average, above average, or below average.
  
  
• Using the number of drafted starters as a measurement of a team's success at drafting fails to take into account when a team drafts. Teams that draft early should be expected to have more high caliber players than teams that draft late.
  
  
• Using the number of drafted starters as a measurement of a team's success at drafting also fails to take into account the quality of players already on a roster. Teams that draft early should be expected to have more positions available than the more successful teams that draft late.

Based on using the number of drafted starters as a measurement of how well a team drafts, the 2-14 Colts and 4-12 Buccaneers are superior teams than the 15-4 Patriots.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Originally Posted by scott99
If you look at the starting lineup for the Pats in the last SB, 6 of the 11 offensive starters were free agent pickups or trades, 5 of the 11 defensive starters, same thing. So 50% of your starting 22 were NOT Patriot's draft choices. That to me is pretty pitiful drafting, I don't expect the draft process to change until Belichick leaves. All the mediots and Koolaid drinkers will marvel at Bellichick's draft pick mastery as he continues to draft schlubs in the second round instead of using the two first round picks we seem to have every year and never use. Reminds me of the Emporer's new clothes.

I see your from New York, are you even a Pats fan? Im going to assume not based on your posts and not waste any more of my time.

 

[scout]

I see your from New York, are you even a Pats fan? Im going to assume not based on your posts and not waste any more of my time.

Does it even matter? What are the records of teams, Superbowl wins, and Superbowl appearences since the salary cap? I'm guessing if the Patriots are not the best, they are close. Thus, who are these people who piss on BB?

 

[BTTA]

If you look at the starting lineup for the Pats in the last SB, 6 of the 11 offensive starters were free agent pickups or trades, 5 of the 11 defensive starters, same thing. So 50% of your starting 22 were NOT Patriot's draft choices. That to me is pretty pitiful drafting, I don't expect the draft process to change until Belichick leaves.

And that, to everyone else, is proof that something good is happening at the Pats. The only other teams to match that are perennial winners. The perennial losers have much lower percentages of home grown, as someone else noted in an earlier post.

 

[carolinatony]

Ask ANY Bills or Browns fan IF they would like to be doing what we have done the last 10 years.

That is all.

 

[TruthSeeker]

I see your from New York, are you even a Pats fan? Im going to assume not based on your posts and not waste any more of my time.

Yes cma, you're a genius, you figured me out. Of course there are 0 Patriot's fans in the State of NY, and I've been masquerading as a Patriot's fan since 1975. All of the Patriots jersey's and DVD's I've bought throughout the years have just been a sham, all of the Patriots highlights I've downloaded on my iPhone was done to trick people into believing I'm a Patriot's fan. And the card I sent Darryl Stingley after he got paralyzed in 1978 was just to trick Patriots fans into believing I'm a fan. Oh yeah, and my Randy Vataha jersey was just a scam too.

You've figured me out genius. Just because I live in NYC just proves I am a Patriots hater. The fact that I've lived and breathed Patriot's football for the last 36 years has been a scam, even when I was excited we drafted Vegas Ferguson in 1980.

 

[Fencer]

Perhaps one of these years, the future 1st turns out to be from a team that unexpectedly tanks. That would be the better opportunity that arises.

Happily, the year that the "interest" payment was only a 4th rounder was the same year that the rolled-over pick wound up being #7 overall.

It was also the year that the 4th rounder could be traded for Randy Moss.

 

[Off The Grid]

I will spell this out.

No super bowl championships in 11 seasons.

Really???

You're not too good at the old "counting to 3" bit...are you, old sport??

But, hey...Good luck with that.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Yes cma, you're a genius, you figured me out. Of course there are 0 Patriot's fans in the State of NY, and I've been masquerading as a Patriot's fan since 1975. All of the Patriots jersey's and DVD's I've bought throughout the years have just been a sham, all of the Patriots highlights I've downloaded on my iPhone was done to trick people into believing I'm a Patriot's fan. And the card I sent Darryl Stingley after he got paralyzed in 1978 was just to trick Patriots fans into believing I'm a fan. Oh yeah, and my Randy Vataha jersey was just a scam too.

You've figured me out genius. Just because I live in NYC just proves I am a Patriots hater. The fact that I've lived and breathed Patriot's football for the last 36 years has been a scam, even when I was excited we drafted Vegas Ferguson in 1980.

Its mostly your posts and lack of accurate information that gave me thought that you're not a Pats fan. If you cant appreciate what this regime has done and how they've done it the last 12 years after being a Pats fan since the 70s, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[TruthSeeker]

Its mostly your posts and lack of accurate information that gave me thought that you're not a Pats fan. If you cant appreciate what this regime has done and how they've done it the last 12 years after being a Pats fan since the 70s, I don't know what to tell you.

I just have not seen Belichick become a top notch drafter. He's a Hall of Fame coach, maybe last season was his best coaching job ever, but he's not a great drafter. That being said, I am very thankful for what he has done for this organization. He may go down as the greatest coach ever, BUT, if he had drafted better, he may have 5 Lombardi's instead of 3, which would have guaranteed him going down as the greatest coach ever. I'm not greedy just realistic.

 

[Bostonian1962]

I heard BB say once that every year, they work really hard to figure out where they missed on draft picks. He said they work on trying not to make the same mistakes, with the hope of having solid drafts as they get better at the craft.

What I am saying is that BB and Co. have had alot of less than great drafts, that had they hit, they might have had a couple more Super Bowl titles.

HOWEVER, it's quite possible that their last two drafts could be legendary. It's not unrealistic that McCourty, GRONK, Spikes, Hernandez, Mesko, and Deaderick could be starters in this league for a long time (all from the 2010 draft - this doesn't even include Cunningham, or players like Larsen that could be a starter for years with another team).

From 2011, players like Solder, Vereen, Ridley, Mallett, and Cannon at the very least could fit the same starter category for years perhaps. That is not unrealistic. THAT is 11 or more players from the last two drafts. That is unheard of.

So, if they have another terrific draft, and have finally figured this thing out, I think we all could probably stop saying that BB doesn't know how to draft, because clearly we'd be wrong.

 

[Fencer]

• Tom Brady
• Rob Gronkowski
• Matt Light
• Logan Mankins
• Dan Koppen
• Sebastian Vollmer
• Richard Seymour
• Vince Wilfork
• Jerrod Mayo
• Brandon Meriweather
• Asante Samuel
• Devin McCourty
• Stephen Gostowski
• Matt Slater
• Matt Cassel

All:

• Have been either Pro Bowlers or All-Pros
• Were drafted by BB

Beyond them, BB picks who were good enough to get pretty big contracts include:

• Deion Branch
• Daniel Graham
• Ben Watson
• Ty Warren
• and others

 

[Joker]

this argument is like a classical music lover arguing with a metal head...round and round...and there will never be any reconciliation

 

[NEGoldenAge]

this argument is like a classical music lover arguing with a metal head...round and round...and there will never be any reconciliation

We're not talking about aesthetics. The facts clearly support one side of the argument. Most of the bashers simply lack the proper perspective, which has really messed up their expectations.

 

[BTTA]

We're not talking about aesthetics. The facts clearly support one side of the argument. Most of the bashers simply lack the proper perspective, which has really messed up their expectations.

Yes, and the dead give away is when a post speaks about the last two Super Bowls as if something was taken from us that we are entitled to.

 

[Triumph]

You are apparently even more mathmatically challenged than I... It's only been 7 years and being in 5 in 11 is an accomplishment in and of itself, let alone having won 3 of them...

I am happy because I realize it doesn't get any better than this over time...anywhere.

It feels like 11 seasons and will be 11 seasons on this current draft course. The Pats have an opportunity to add 4 good players that can help the team win a Championship now. We know the Pats can get in the post season and with luck get to the Super Bowl.

The Pats will probably trade a 1st and a 2nd for more late picks in this draft and the next one. The premise is to try to get a great player after round 4 so the rest of the NFL can marvel at what a deal you got. Always looking for that next Tom Brady.