I think It’s like a rebuild situation. We don’t have enough cap, players are burnt out etc.
So tear it all down, draft rookies and start again
So you think Belichick was like, lets scrap this baby down and start rebuilding... lets start by trading Jimmy G, a legit starting QB for the next 10-15 years... Lets go with our 40 year old QB, and then completely dismantle the team around him and go into rebuild mode?
They are in win now mode, but they aren't going to completely mortgage the future of the entire franchise and make rash decisions..
The only departure that stung real bad and I was saying before it happened would be inexcusable was Nate Solder... Many people had him taking $10-11 mill a year and I was repeatedly saying that people will be surprised at what he commands in FA
After seeing the final numbers tho... i still think it sucks that Solder is gone, having him for 1 more year to transition his replacement would have been nice, but the Giants made him the highest paid LT in the league on a long contract... the Pats just simply cant match something like that, when teams are literally SETTING THE MARKET on some of the Pats free agents at their position. It is not possible to have more than 5 or so guys on your roster that are commanding top of the market deals... you just simply can't do it, or should i say you can't sustain it for any length of time.. Solder was a top 10 LT, not #1..
That one will really sting and I'm very curious to see how BB manages it, but I have liked most of the rest of the moves because they all seem to make sense and address areas of need.. Having another 1st round pick certainly takes some of the sting out of it as well, because you can even read my post history, I'm very much on the record as stating that Cooks would be gone in 2019 because there is no way they would pay him $15+ million a year as an elite top 5 WR
Losing Cooks sucks, but he was gone after this year and now they have awesome draft capital that they can use to address some serious needs.. like the LT position, a linebacker, a DE, a future QB, a Wide Receiver... etc
They have TONS of draft picks in the first 3 rounds, they can sit still and add 5 young talents onto the roster or they could move to pretty much any spot in the draft to take a guy they really like.. they have another $8.5 million to spend on free agents now, plus that additional 1st rounder for a young talent they can lock in for 5 years.. there is a lot to be excited about..
They did just fine without Cooks in the Super Bowl against a top defensive team.. he was a really nice complimentary piece to have in this offense, but for Brady to last 5 more years they need to be able to get quick passes off to keep the chains moving and run the ball effectively... Cooks was not good on 3rd downs, and that is a big part of this offense is the ability to sustain drives and score points more so than get it all in 1 big play.. If Cooks had left as a FA next year, how devastating would that have been to spend a 1st and 4th rounder for a rental?
anyways im done patting myself on the back
