Is Belichick drafting aspects of teams?

[borg]

Belichick is building an offense that will take the pressure off the QB, so he will have a team that can both extend Brady's career by better protecting him, and perform well when it becomes necessary to replace him, be it sooner or later.

Or....................................................Belichick simply replaced two high priced starters who bolted for bigger pay days with more cap friendly players.
Claiming Winn will better protect Brady than Solder is Kool-Aid talk at this point.

 

[maineman209]

Let's calm down here.

LOL! I'm sorry. I've forgotten which one of us is in the-sky-is-falling panic mode about how little BB has done to "fix the defense" with his draft picks.

Brady covers a lot of warts especially on defense.

This is new?

Let's not forget how long bill tried getting that cornerback until he brung revis and we won a ring.

This is a great example of how studying the context might help you understand how things actually work. In the 2014 season, Logan Ryan was entering his second year in the NFL and Malcolm Butler was a UDFA rookie. BB acquired both Revis and Browner, two accomplished veterans, to replace Talib (who had left for big bucks in Denver) and to help bridge the experience gap - something that BB has done many times in the past (Traylor in Wilfork's rookie season, Crumpler when Gronk and Hernandez were rookies.

By 2015, Ryan (who had started six games in 2015) and Butler were the full time starting corners. By 2016, they'd won their own Superbowl.

The roster-building process spans multiple seasons.

They had injuries and all that and he sat his second best corner in the biggest game of the year.

Without going into the explanations for why Butler didn't play in the SB that are equally as valid as the more popular ones among those who are always desperate for a scapegoat, it's fair to say that Butler was the second most-used corner in 2017. JJ was third most-used by a large margin over Rowe and, by all measures, had the best statistical season of all the corners except Gilmore. So, "Butler = second-best corner" is not really a fact, but merely and arguable opinion.

Will these guys coming back make a difference in the defense? Maybe.

No way for any of us to know for certain. What we know is that Valentine performed well as a rookie in 2016. HT is very good in multiple roles when healthy. JJ significantly outperformed Rowe and, arguably, was "better" in his role than Butler was in his.

We also know that both Van Noy and Roberts played enough snaps in 2017 to literally double their career defensive snap counts in just one season (and thus, gained a lot of potentially useful experience). And we know that both Marquis Flowers and Eric Lee performed beyond expectations for two guys who were playing their first NFL snaps ever on defense (without the benefit of an off-season or Training Camp with the Pats), and thus, now have experience that's potentially useful. Much the same applies to Deatrich Wise and Adam Butler, who both played prodigous snaps as rookies.

Still these LBs can't cover worth a lick.

BB's defenses have never relied on the LBs to be mainstays in coverage. That's been the job of the safeties and nickel DBs. In any case, please refer back to the paragraph above regarding LB experience levels. [/QUOTE]

I expect a bend but don't break defense in 2018.

Really going out on a limb there, aren't ya?

They will be outside of the top 10.

Bold prediction, especially considering that the 90-man roster isn't even filled out yet. We have one more day of the draft, UDFAs to sign (one of whom could become the next Malcom Butler or James Harrison), other veteran free agents who can be signed, and an entire summer of OTAs, Camp, and pre-season contests to get through before the final decisions are made on the defensive personnel who will start the season, four full months from now.

I think your Magic 8-Ball of Negativity needs a cooling-off period.

 

[maineman209]

I said this last night. These picks were very calculated. Wynn would walk 4+ miles to train & practice after school & Sony is a football head too. Both guys have lived together but literally work together on the field helping each other. Very planned out not that others aren't as well.

It may be worth noting that 2/3rds of the defensive prospect with whom the Pats had pre-draft contact - including 5 who made official visits - are still on the board at the start of Day-3. It's almost as if BB and Caserio had a plan and some idea of how this draft would fall.

 

[maineman209]

You're certainly right that there have been plenty of misses. Actually, too many to even list. While careful studying and planning go into the process, it's still something of a gamble in terms of some players working out and others not working out.

I like Belichick as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure that I would go as far as the OP has in suggesting his brilliance due to choosing an OL and a RB. We had needs in both of those areas, at least on some level, and most certainly for the future. I love the moves and think they were great, but I don't know that it's the best example of the "Belichick's playing chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers" theory that's often parroted. We lost our franchise LT, have been trying to upgrade in the middle, and have Mason coming up for FA in the spring (and Thuney right behind him). I'm not sure how this proves his brilliance, but I'll happily take it!

WRT the selection of both Wynn and Michel, they were an excellent tandem in a blocking scheme that's close to what the Pats use. This should shorten the learning curve for both. The contrast, in terms of RB, is James White, who gained fabulous yardage on the ground in college - but running behind a very different blocking scheme. His lengthy learning curve was not unexpected (not by me, at least).

I think Wynn falling to the Pats may have been a bit of a pleasant surprise to the War Room. However, I do think that it's entirely possible that BB & Caserio had a contingency plan in place that included Michel. I also think it's possible that, if they hadn't already had Wynn in the fold, they might have gone in a different direction with RB, possibly even waiting until the 2nd or 3rd round. But they decided to take advantage of an opportunity.

 

[goheels22002]

You're certainly right that there have been plenty of misses. Actually, too many to even list. While careful studying and planning go into the process, it's still something of a gamble in terms of some players working out and others not working out.

I like Belichick as much as the next guy, but I'm not sure that I would go as far as the OP has in suggesting his brilliance due to choosing an OL and a RB. We had needs in both of those areas, at least on some level, and most certainly for the future. I love the moves and think they were great, but I don't know that it's the best example of the "Belichick's playing chess while the rest of the league is playing checkers" theory that's often parroted. We lost our franchise LT, have been trying to upgrade in the middle, and have Mason coming up for FA in the spring (and Thuney right behind him). I'm not sure how this proves his brilliance, but I'll happily take it!

The addition of Wynn and Brown for a 1st and 3rd (with a Pats 5th rounder to be selected today) is more than enough on the line where they added three veteran free agents since February. The OL cupboard is stocked.

On defense, they'v acquired CB Jason McCourty and R CB Duke Dawson to fit with a deep secondary, DT Danny Shelton, and DE Adrian Clayborn.

The only "need" positions they haven't addressed at all in 2018 are linebacker and backup QB. Let's see what happens today. Marshall QB Chase Litton is my binkie for today along with Rutgers LB Kemoko Turay.

The QB thing, for me, is a veteran option. A bunch of young veterans are getting displaced this Spring. My guess is we'll wake up to a Randy Moss type of deal where Belichick trades a future 3rd or 4th for a QB with a good skill set who is in his 3rd or 4th year and is on his way out. Guys like Sean Mannion, Bryce Petty, Alex Tanney, or Christian Hackenburg jump at me. Good players, stuck in a backup role, could flourish with Josh. There will be a bunch of FAs poking around as well.

 

[Ring 6]

The addition of Wynn and Brown for a 1st and 3rd (with a Pats 5th rounder to be selected today) is more than enough on the line where they added three veteran free agents since February. The OL cupboard is stocked.

On defense, they'v acquired CB Jason McCourty and R CB Duke Dawson to fit with a deep secondary, DT Danny Shelton, and DE Adrian Clayborn.

The only "need" positions they haven't addressed at all in 2018 are linebacker and backup QB. Let's see what happens today. Marshall QB Chase Litton is my binkie for today along with Rutgers LB Kemoko Turay.

The QB thing, for me, is a veteran option. A bunch of young veterans are getting displaced this Spring. My guess is we'll wake up to a Randy Moss type of deal where Belichick trades a future 3rd or 4th for a QB with a good skill set who is in his 3rd or 4th year and is on his way out. Guys like Sean Mannion, Bryce Petty, Alex Tanney, or Christian Hackenburg jump at me. Good players, stuck in a backup role, could flourish with Josh. There will be a bunch of FAs poking around as well.

You owe me a keyboard for the coffee I spit on it when you listed hackenberg as a good player.

 

[goheels22002]

You owe me a keyboard for the coffee I spit on it when you listed hackenberg as a good player.

No problem. I have a bunch of keyboards in a box in the attic including one that rolls up and has Christmas lights in it.

Hackenberg was a good QB in the Big Ten for Penn State. He had the misfortune of being drafted by the Jets. It's tough to tell how good any kid could be in that dumpster fire. So many of these good college QBs who head off to NFL franchises in constant turmoil never get close to their potential.

Hackenberg was recruited by old friend Bill O'Brien and started for him his freshman year while O'Brien was stabilizing the Penn State program. He's an interesting developmental QB as Brady plays out the string. He'll probably get cut before camp begins.

 

[Kontradiction]

This is a natural response to defenses getting lighter in response to the spread passing games offenses developed in the NFL. Offenses will now get big and run over those nickel formations. Defenses will eventually counter this by getting bigger, particularly in the LB corps, and offenses will counter that by going to a more spread attack again. The NFL is cyclical.

 

[Ring 6]

No problem. I have a bunch of keyboards in a box in the attic including one that rolls up and has Christmas lights in it.

Hackenberg was a good QB in the Big Ten for Penn State. He had the misfortune of being drafted by the Jets. It's tough to tell how good any kid could be in that dumpster fire. So many of these good college QBs who head off to NFL franchises in constant turmoil never get close to their potential.

Hackenberg was recruited by old friend Bill O'Brien and started for him his freshman year while O'Brien was stabilizing the Penn State program. He's an interesting developmental QB as Brady plays out the string. He'll probably get cut before camp begins.

I think he just isn’t good and was way overdraftwd and isn’t an NFL QB.
Tough call thiugh, did the jete have no clue who to draft or no clue what to do with them afterward? Perhaps both.

 

[goheels22002]

I think he just isn’t good and was way overdraftwd and isn’t an NFL QB.
Tough call thiugh, did the jete have no clue who to draft or no clue what to do with them afterward? Perhaps both.

Being the Jets, I'd have to go with "both."

 

[Brick27]

The only "need" positions they haven't addressed at all in 2018 are linebacker and backup QB. Let's see what happens today. Marshall QB Chase Litton is my binkie for today along with Rutgers LB Kemoko Turay.[/QUOTE]


Didn’t the colts take Turay?

 

[Soliel]

This hour till draft is going way too slow

 

[n6249c]

This hour till draft is going way too slow

Yeah waiting for the trade announcements is excruciating.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

I don't think it's aspects of teams, but there are teams he trusts and feels like he gets good info from.

Rutgers under Schiano was a popular choice. OP mentioned the McCourtys but overlooked Harmon, another Rutgers grad. Florida under Meyer gave us Cunningham, Spikes, and Hernandez. There's the Alabama connection under Saban. And many others.

So I think BB definitely trusts in the way certain programs are developed under certain college coaches. It isn't the only factor, but he does seem to have a higher comfort with guys coming from certain places.