Character

[cstjohn17]

It is easy to dismiss the cliches "Team Captain", "Loves football", etc. Personally I always felt they were a little overrated and didn't mind if the Pats added a few character risks as long as they brought in talent.

AH leaves a pretty big stain on the Patriots approach and I am interested to see how this impacts their draft strategy.

Also can you win in the NFL with A+ character and B- talent?

 

[Jimke]

It is easy to dismiss the cliches "Team Captain", "Loves football", etc. Personally I always felt they were a little overrated and didn't mind if the Pats added a few character risks as long as they brought in talent.

AH leaves a pretty big stain on the Patriots approach and I am interested to see how this impacts their draft strategy.

Also can you win in the NFL with A+ character and B- talent?

After getting stung for 9 million dollars, Bob Kraft will insist good character be a must for the foreseeable future. Myra is looking down and chiding Bob for drafting Hernandez.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

After getting stung for 9 million dollars, Bob Kraft will insist good character be a must for the foreseeable future. Myra is looking down and chiding Bob for drafting Hernandez.

As long as you're not defining "good character" as "choir boy," I agree. I think you'll still see them give a chance to Alfonzo Dennard types (i.e., generally good guys who made one or two stupid mistakes), but not ones with patterns of suspicious/alarming behavior.

 

[Sciz]

The way I see it, the whole Hernandez situation is too much of an outlier to change the team's approach too much. That's one risk that really backfired on them, but you can't go around assuming every risky player is going to do the same thing.

I'd say the approach will be pretty constant. The Patriots will be willing to take risks on players with off-field red flags at the right price and will for the most part avoid players that have on-field or work ethic issues.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

The way I see it, the whole Hernandez situation is too much of an outlier to change the team's approach too much. That's one risk that really backfired on them, but you can't go around assuming every risky player is going to do the same thing.

On the one hand, I agree that it is an outlier, but on the flip side, they can't afford to have another such catastrophic mistake in the near run.

I don't think it's going to drastically alter the Pats' drafting, but I think they're going to give at least a bit more weight to patterns of problematic behavior.

 

[BradyBunch1224]

The way I see it, the whole Hernandez situation is too much of an outlier to change the team's approach too much. That's one risk that really backfired on them, but you can't go around assuming every risky player is going to do the same thing.

I'd say the approach will be pretty constant. The Patriots will be willing to take risks on players with off-field red flags at the right price and will for the most part avoid players that have on-field or work ethic issues.

I agree. Hernandez is a very unique situation and it shouldnt change the overall approach drastically.

 

[Jandkmom]

If 27 NFL players have been arrested since the last Super Bowl, then character should be looked at. There are plenty of good players that can fill the void of players who have issues. Everyone deserves a second chance for minor issues, but some of those people have been given way too many chances with no behavior changes.

 

[manxman2601]

So does the Dennard situation change anyone's thinking? While I think the interviews will be the ultimate determinant, I do think that the so-called "value" that derives from players falling due character concerns is becoming much less valuable a commodity.

Much like the last draft, I expect us to stay away from character concern prospects.

 

[jmt57]

My guess is that going forward the Pats will not draft or sign players with an arrest record, at least for the immediate (next year or two) future. That's unfortunate for the team because it shrinks the talent pool that they get to choose from, and that in turn makes fielding a competitive team more difficult.

Hypothetically, I believe if the AH incident happened a year and a half ago, then the Patriots would not have drafted Dennard and they would not have traded for Talib. Without them the Pats are starting McCourty and Arrington at corner, and Chung and Gregory at safety. That 2012 team is still good enough to win the AFC East, but rather than advancing to the AFCCG they probably don't get a first round bye and are one-and-done in the playoffs.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

My guess is that going forward the Pats will not draft or sign players with an arrest record, at least for the immediate (next year or two) future. That's unfortunate for the team because it shrinks the talent pool that they get to choose from, and that in turn makes fielding a competitive team more difficult.

Hypothetically, I believe if the AH incident happened a year and a half ago, then the Patriots would not have drafted Dennard and they would not have traded for Talib. Without them the Pats are starting McCourty and Arrington at corner, and Chung and Gregory at safety. That 2012 team is still good enough to win the AFC East, but rather than advancing to the AFCCG they probably don't get a first round bye and are one-and-done in the playoffs.

As I said, I don't see them drawing quite so hard a line.

What I do, expect, however, is that (A) players with multiple arrests or arrests for assault, etc., are off the board, and (B) the Patriots will insist on forfeiture clauses where any sort of concerns exist.

 

[Off The Grid]

 

[Danger Zone]

Re: Re: Character

So does the Dennard situation change anyone's thinking? While I think the interviews will be the ultimate determinant, I do think that the so-called "value" that derives from players falling due character concerns is becoming much less valuable a commodity.

Much like the last draft, I expect us to stay away from character concern prospects.

We're sitting here and we're talking about taking such horrible "risks" on questionable characters, but what are we really talking about? We are talking about a 4th and a 7th pick.

I mean listen, we're sitting here talking about a 4th and a 7th pick, not a 1st, not a 2nd, not a 3rd, but we're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

We're talking about a 4th and a 7th man.

How silly is that?

Now I know that we're supposed to lead by example and all that, but I'm not shoving that aside like it don't mean anything.

I know it's important, I honestly do, but we're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

We're talking about a 4th and a 7th man.

We're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

We're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

We're not talking about high picks here.

We're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

Hey I hear you, it's funny to me too, hey it's strange to me too, but we're talking about a 4th and a 7th man, we're not even talking about a good pick where it actually matters, we're talking about a 4th and a 7th.

 

[Off The Grid]

Somebody remind me...

What are we talking about??

 

[Danger Zone]

Re: Re: Character

Somebody remind me...

What are we talking about??

Practice?

 

[IllegalContact]

unfortunately, the character cat escapes the bag before most of these kids get to high school

there is corruption at every level when it comes to the above average youth sports athlete.......most of them run into countless situations where people look the other way because the kids a ringer.....even in a rock solid home exists the potential for external elements to compromise even the kid who has sound principles....not saying every kid, but there are countless situations where a kids principles are taught to be compromised long before there is anything of substance to be gained.......

I'm surprised that the crime problem isn't much worse when it comes to pro sports......and it the biggest part stems from the difference between what the kids pre sports days and the entitlement that is handed over the moment a kid makes a name.......and then the kids runs into someone who doesn't agree with the entitilements, and there goes the neighborhood.......somewhere along the line, some coach, teacher, mentor tells the kid that winning takes care of things..........and that's that....

 

[Off The Grid]

Don't Blow It, Kid.​

 

[Christiancat]

Robert Kraft is a man of Character. He wants guys with high character and good football skills on his team. Thus, he brought in Tim Tebow.