I said the defense is better, and the offense might be OK, depending on the play at OT (and additional of a LT). [I ignore the possibility of losing Cooks or ground]
We expect to have production from new draftees and other additions plus we expect some production from those injured who are coming back. The open question is whether this will offset this year's injuries.
Kind of disappointed, mg. I expected a long and detailed exposition defending the OP. Instead, we got a few sentences that sounded more like the title page of a position paper that had no explanation
A couple of general thoughts:
1. The offseason is so far from being over it's not funny. There will be another 5 MONTHS of additions and subtractions before the "team-building" process ends and the "final" team is what it is. And even that's not the truth as we saw the many changes we made during this past season. So trying to determine whether or not we are better or worse right now is a fool's errand by definition. And if we were really honest, it's not something we really have a handle on until early November.
2. If you think about it, almost EVERY team "gets better" on paper during the offseason.
All the bad teams are having a great time thinking about the great draft picks they'll be adding. Then there have been all the early trades and FA pickups that will make a team's fans smile. So generally its not a matter of whether your team got better, its a matter of how MUCH better it got.
3. And just to add my 2 cents to the opinion parade, my thinking is that we HAVE gotten better in some ways. The DL is significantly better with the additions of Shelton and Claybourn. The LBs SHOULD be better just adding Hightower, Langi, and Rivers....and that's before we get to the draft. And finally, the secondary SHOULD be better with the addition of Jason McCourty plus the return of CJones and JJones.
4. And just a few thoughts about the dearly departed.
a. I loved Danny Amendola. I defended him often in his early days, and I relished every clutch play he's made since. But the fact of the matter is that the Pats lost a 33-year-old, 4th or 5th WR, whose body type makes him subject to injuries. Really glad he got another big payday, but c'mon. Is this offense suddenly going to come to a screeching halt because DA isn't here??? Especially when you consider we are getting back a better version of DA with a 90% Edelman
b. I loved Nate Solder and think he's been a great LT for the last 7 years here. I loved his effort, his family, and more important his overall effectiveness in doing his job. But the fact is he isn't worth being the highest paid OLman in the league. He was an elite run blocker, but just a decent-good pass blocker.
In the end, this will be like so many times before in this run. We are losing an excellent player because his market value has exceeded his overall value to this team. It hurts when it happens but it happens, and we move on. Keeping him meant being totally hamstrung with the cap. What we don't see are the subsequent loses that might have happened by keeping him. No MFlowers, no, Claybourn, no Slater, and other possible small role players that would hurt the overall team.
So while this loss hurt, the return of Marcus Cannon and Waddle should make the OT position at least 90% of what it was last year, while the I'd like to think the young interior lineman will be better than last year. I content Cannon at LT might be an improvement in the pass blocking area. So while this area has some questions that need to be resolved, it's not like we have to replace the entire position like we did the WR's in 2006. We will survive.
c. Dion Lewis was the guy I would have kept, but I know we couldn't have both James White AND Lewis' salaries on the books at the same time. Personally, I would have kept Lewis and moved White, but I understand why BB didn't. Lewis is clearly the better RB, but White has been clearly the most dependable RB the Pats have had over the last 2 seasons. I still cringe every time they hand the ball off to him, but he is an outstanding receiver and is always available to play.
d. Malcolm Butler. I loved his story, I loved his feistiness, I loved his play his 2nd and 3rd seasons with the Pats. However, the fact remains that there could be a case made that Jonathan Jones was the more effective CB last season. Really glad he got paid, but equally glad that the Pats weren't the team that had to pay him. Again, his market value had exceeded his value to THIS team
So mark me down as believing that as of TODAY the Pats are at least as good as they were last season, and last season's team was just a defensive stop away from another Superbowl win (Boy does that sound familiar. ) But again, "being better" during the offseason is a very relative and subjective term. That's another way of saying, while this post has been fun to write, it's pretty much useless information in the great scheme of things.
