Numerous Personnel Mistakes since the off season

[Pats2000]

I’ve heard that Mark, Donnie, and Paul are all polished route runners.

Yeah, but can they make a cut on grass? Way different than pavement

 

[supafly]

Yeah, but can they make a cut on grass? Way different than pavement

That’s where the Dorchester kicks in.

 

[captain stone]

And yet, we have been the most dominating football team of the last 20 yrs, and perhaps of all-time.

Un-feckin-believable.

"Wah wah wah...the last 20 years...wah wah wah...perhaps of all time...wah wah wah..."

STFU with that non-relevent pom-pom-waving bullsh!t.

That was Then; this is Now.

Read the title of the thread.

 

[holyredeemer]

Un-feckin-believable.

"Wah wah wah...the last 20 years...wah wah wah...perhaps of all time...wah wah wah..."

STFU with that non-relevent pom-pom-waving bullsh!t.

That was Then; this is Now.

Read the title of the thread.

Unfeckinbelievable wah-wah. Way to go there partner! Really got me goin’ with your keyboard warrior nonsense. How about you smoke a blunt a chill the F out?! When someone makes a list that conveniently throws out the fact that we have been dominant for over 20 years and tries to paint the picture that this one year is the norm, I’m gonna bust out those fan waving pom-poms. All this unappreciative, entitled behavior needs to go away. Bill won the damn Super Bowl LAST YEAR using the exact same roster building strategy he has used his entire tenure here. Get a grip.

 

[DaBruinz]

- Not signing or drafting a TE. Ben Watson made some plays but he's washed up. Lacosse is below average.

- Not signing Danny Amendola when he got cut from the Dolphins. He had more receiving yards this year with the Lions than he did in any season with the Pats, so clearly he still had a lot left in the tank. He's clutch, proven in our system, good chemistry with Brady, and doesn't cost a whole lot. Having Amendola wouldve helped lighten the load on Edelman who clearly took a beating this year and was playing hurt.

- Trading a 2nd rd pick for Mohamed Sanu. No matter how he would've acclimated to the playbook, a 2nd is way too high for Sanu. He had a decent game against the Ravens but other than that his highest receiving yards in a game was a dismal 35. His career high for yards in a season is 838 (low ceiling), and he's 30 years old. Pats got fleeced here and it smelled like desperation. The fact that we could've had Amendola for the entire season AND kept our 2nd rd pick makes this even worst.

- Not drafting another WR, picking DB JoeJuan Williams. We needed to double down at WR and the Pats skipped on some really good WR's that were on the board in order to pick Joejuan Williams who was burried on the depth chart for most of the year. AJ Brown (1000+ yards), Mecole Hardman (Pro Bowl returner, 6 TDs), DK Metcalf (900 yards, 7 TDs, 15.5 avg) were all still on the board.

- Going into the pre-season with just Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett (annual disappointment), Nkeal Harry, Demaryius Thomas (washed up), Josh Gordon (unreliable, annual suspension waiting to happen), Gunner Olszewski (UDFA), and Jakobi Meyers (UDFA) as our main receivers. What did the Pats expect to happen? Gordon was predictably suspended and didn't finish the season again. Thomas was traded for a bag of peanuts (essentially cut). Dorsett disappeared after week 1.


- The above point forced desperate moves such as AB signing which turned out to be nothing more than a distraction and waste of time. It also forced the desperate trade for Mohamed Sanu which was very un-Patriot-like.

- Not giving Damien Harris a shot. When it became clear that Sony Michel couldnt get anything going, it was time for a change. Instead the Pats stuck with Sony who was probably the worst starting RB in the entire league this year. His season long run was 26 yards. 26! He averaged 3.7 ypc and usually went down on first contact. The Pats spent a 3rd rd pick on Harris and he barely suited up this year.

Absolutely LOVE the 20/20 hindsight attacks on the Patriots moves.. Shows just the kind of fans we have and the fact you haven't learned anything from Belichick over the years.

The trade for Sanu wasn't "un-Patriotlike" and shows you don't know what you are talking about.

There was no point in time that Michel showed he "couldn't get anything going". Your claim that Michel usually went down on first contact is complete garbage. You clearly didn't watch the 1st half of the season where ALL the RBs had issues running the ball because of the issues on the O-line. No Starting Center. No Starting LT. The RG and RT playing sub-par.

The Patriots did the same thing to James White that they did to Harris. It was pure dumb luck that Burkhead didn't miss significant time for the 1st time in his Patriots career. If he'd missed time, like 6+ games, we'd likely have seen Harris more.

You friggin tout Amendola, but ignore the fact that his stats for this year are jacked because of 4 games. Outside of those 4, Amendola's receiving yards were 37,6,29,29,47,21,32,34,21,16. Yep.. So great.

BTW, JoeJuan Williams is likely the Patrick Chung replacement for covering TEs and Taller receivers. Concept you don't believe is valuable.

 

[DaBruinz]

Un-feckin-believable.

"Wah wah wah...the last 20 years...wah wah wah...perhaps of all time...wah wah wah..."

STFU with that non-relevent pom-pom-waving bullsh!t.

That was Then; this is Now.

Read the title of the thread.

GFY, Stone. This past year is INCLUDED in the 20 years. Seriously. Drake's claims are complete nonsense and show he doesn't know what he's talking about. It shows that he doesn't understand how important the O-line is to the rest of the offense succeeding. This is another Garbage thread with ridiculous 20/20 hindsight that shows he and you haven't learned a damn thing from Belichick over the years.

In all honesty. Everyone on here knows that when YOU tout a player, he's going to be a failure on the Pats. And when you slam them, they'll be successful.

 

[DaBruinz]

Lowballing Humphries, Beasley, Jared Cook, etc. Leaving the cupboard bare at WR, and wasting TWO roster spots at the position with Meyers and Gunner. Not addressing the TE position. Not drafting Chung’s replacement, which cost us on at least two game changing plays. Straying from screens to White. There are lots more.

Unfortunately, this year’s team wasn’t very good despite a very misleading 12-4 record. They lost to 4/5 of the AFC playoff teams. They also lost to Miami at home in a must-win setting.

They didn't low-ball Humphries, Beasley or Cook. That's complete garbage from you Supa.

Humphries flat out said the Patriots offered more and he chose the Titans because he didn't believe Brady would be in NE beyond 2019.

Cook flat out said the Patriots offered more but he chose the Saints because he didn't want to play 2nd fiddle to Gronk.

Beasley flat out said he didn't want to be behind Edelman and that's why he signed in Buffalo.

They DID draft Chung's replacement in Williams and he did fine. He sure as hell didn't cost the Patriots 2 games.

Claiming they didn't address the TE position when they signed 5 veterans and acquired a 6th is laughable. You're better than than.

No. There aren't "lots more" issues in regards to Personnel moves other than ONE. Signing that reject AB. That move hamstrung the Patriots for other moves throughout the season.

 

[DaBruinz]

Develin went down and out, no replacement..

No real TE that provided red zone options...

Banged up O line..

Banged up QB, for the last three games prior to last night he looked weak.

In this copy cat league the Titans watched the tape well and figured out our D weaknesses..

Even last nights failed attempt to score from the 1 at the end of the half, exemplified this teams weakness.. lack of creative play calling and not being able to score in the red zone.

They had a replacement for Develin in Jacobson. You just don't expect BOTH of them to get injured so close together.

I agree with you about the Red Zone play-calling.

 

[DaBruinz]

Harry sucks. 7 targets only 2 catches. He's a bust.

.

How many of those 7 targets were actually CATCHABLE? Until you can provide that, you don't have a leg to stand on.

 

[DaBruinz]

To be clear, it was known Cajuste wasn't going to play this year when he was drafted. He was a likely 1st rounder before he got hurt in a cliff diving incident, so they got him for pennies on the dollar knowing he wouldn't be available until the next season. Very similar to Marcus Cannon, actually, and it worked out pretty well with him. Froholdt was mostly just a project.

Cajuste's timetable was supposed to be 3 months to return from surgery with occurred on March 28, 2019. 3 Months is June. So while he would have missed Mini-Camps, he should have been ready for Training Camp by every reported account from immediately following his surgery.

It was only announced by Dante in October/November that we wouldn't be seeing Cajuste this year. Not sure where you get that it was known prior to the draft because it wasn't.

 

[203Pat]

In the end of the day we have drafted 5 starters in the last 4 drafts: Sony, Wynn, Thuney, Karras, and Bailey. One of those is a plodder RB who offers nothing in the passing game, the other has played around 10 games in 2 years, Thuney is a home run but probably walks, and one is a solid backup thrust into a starting role (who may walk), and the last is a punter.

The recent subpar drafts are the reason for the teams struggles this season. There is no real way around it. We need playmakers who can step right in and this year we had a second and third round pick who were healthy scratches almost all year. We need for the 2019 class to step up and we need to nail this years class. This is an old roster that needs an infusion of young cheap talent to bridge the gap for when Brady does leave.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

As we all know the main and glaring problem this year was the ludicrously bad OFFENSE! The defense was good. Not great. Overrated by gaudy stats against bum teams. And the list of Homers excuses is just laughable. We were sick? Bad calls?! Did the dog eat their homework too? LOL.

It was pretty obvious the KC game was completely 1 sided officiating.. it wasn't just 1 or 2 big calls, it was consistent bad calls all game long that took points off the board

i don't really disagree with a lot of your other points tho.. but that KC game was the closest thing ive seen to a fix since the 2006 AFCCG

 

[captain stone]

To be clear, it was known Cajuste wasn't going to play this year when he was drafted. He was a likely 1st rounder before he got hurt in a cliff diving incident, so they got him for pennies on the dollar knowing he wouldn't be available until the next season. Very similar to Marcus Cannon, actually, and it worked out pretty well with him. Froholdt was mostly just a project.

No he wasn't...not even close.

No they didn't...closer to dollars on the penny.

No it isn't...Cannon was a far more well-regarded prospect until his cancer was discovered.

And if Frodo was mostly just a project, then why the FECK was he taken in the 4th round and not the 7th where he belonged?

Is strong in this post the Fail.

 

[State]

Not drafting a TE—this needs to be shouted from the rooftops—and failing to double-dip at the WR position with a speed guy, a nice complement to the powerful plodder N’Keal Harry, shows Belichick the GM to be far below Belichick the coach.

And I have to agree with those who say the obvious: the obvious panicky move to bring in Sanu in the middle of the season for a second-rounder is a typical Patriot move—when the Sullivans owned and operated the team.

Captain Stone, immediately after draft, put together a redraft that now looks even better in hindsight.

Redraft Game

Turns out Captain Stone is right on the money with Amani Oruwariye, the tall 6’2” CB from Penn State that Matt Patricia took in the fifth round. No need to waste valuable ammo by moving up to get a player that obviously caused a tingle to go up Bill’s leg.

Rookie CB Amani Oruwariye a rare bright spot for Lions defense

I also especially like Darius Slayton, Stidham’s WR at Auburn, who was underutilized just like his QB and brought what we’ve been lacking since Brandin Cooks: legit speed on the outside. 6’1” and he ran a 4.39. A fifth-rounder. Great value.

He had a good year with the Giants, no? More productive than he was in college? But Belichick can’t draft WRs.

 

[primetime]

No he wasn't...not even close.

No they didn't...closer to dollars on the penny.

No it isn't...Cannon was a far more well-regarded prospect until his cancer was discovered.

And if Frodo was mostly just a project, then why the FECK was he taken in the 4th round and not the 7th where he belonged?

Is strong in this post the Fail.

Based on that redraft, you wanted Risner in the first round, and Risner was more or less rated similarly to Cajuste (pre-injury) by personnel guys per McGinn last year, and came into the league as a 24 year old guard. Cajuste was like the last pick with a compensatory in the 3rd, he was drafted right where he should have been and he's still got plenty of upside. He was a basketball player who didn't play much football before college.

 

[captain stone]

Based on that redraft, you wanted Risner in the first round, and Risner was more or less rated similarly to Cajuste (pre-injury) by personnel guys per McGinn last year, and came into the league as a 24 year old guard. Cajuste was like the last pick with a compensatory in the 3rd, he was drafted right where he should have been and he's still got plenty of upside. He was a basketball player who didn't play much football before college.

No he wasn't, and No he doesn't.

 

[scott99]

- Not signing or drafting a TE. Ben Watson made some plays but he's washed up. Lacosse is below average.

- Not signing Danny Amendola when he got cut from the Dolphins. He had more receiving yards this year with the Lions than he did in any season with the Pats, so clearly he still had a lot left in the tank. He's clutch, proven in our system, good chemistry with Brady, and doesn't cost a whole lot. Having Amendola wouldve helped lighten the load on Edelman who clearly took a beating this year and was playing hurt.

- Trading a 2nd rd pick for Mohamed Sanu. No matter how he would've acclimated to the playbook, a 2nd is way too high for Sanu. He had a decent game against the Ravens but other than that his highest receiving yards in a game was a dismal 35. His career high for yards in a season is 838 (low ceiling), and he's 30 years old. Pats got fleeced here and it smelled like desperation. The fact that we could've had Amendola for the entire season AND kept our 2nd rd pick makes this even worst.

- Not drafting another WR, picking DB JoeJuan Williams. We needed to double down at WR and the Pats skipped on some really good WR's that were on the board in order to pick Joejuan Williams who was burried on the depth chart for most of the year. AJ Brown (1000+ yards), Mecole Hardman (Pro Bowl returner, 6 TDs), DK Metcalf (900 yards, 7 TDs, 15.5 avg) were all still on the board.

- Going into the pre-season with just Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett (annual disappointment), Nkeal Harry, Demaryius Thomas (washed up), Josh Gordon (unreliable, annual suspension waiting to happen), Gunner Olszewski (UDFA), and Jakobi Meyers (UDFA) as our main receivers. What did the Pats expect to happen? Gordon was predictably suspended and didn't finish the season again. Thomas was traded for a bag of peanuts (essentially cut). Dorsett disappeared after week 1.


- The above point forced desperate moves such as AB signing which turned out to be nothing more than a distraction and waste of time. It also forced the desperate trade for Mohamed Sanu which was very un-Patriot-like.

- Not giving Damien Harris a shot. When it became clear that Sony Michel couldnt get anything going, it was time for a change. Instead the Pats stuck with Sony who was probably the worst starting RB in the entire league this year. His season long run was 26 yards. 26! He averaged 3.7 ypc and usually went down on first contact. The Pats spent a 3rd rd pick on Harris and he barely suited up this year.

You summed up my complaints with a perfect post. Can’t say any more. Belichick’s offseason was the reason we couldn’t win, no explosiveness on offense.

 

[supafly]

Claiming they didn't address the TE position when they signed 5 veterans and acquired a 6th is laughable.

Actually, this sentence is what’s laughable. I’m going to assume that you’re joking.

 

[DarrylS]

In the end of the day we have drafted 5 starters in the last 4 drafts: Sony, Wynn, Thuney, Karras, and Bailey. One of those is a plodder RB who offers nothing in the passing game, the other has played around 10 games in 2 years, Thuney is a home run but probably walks, and one is a solid backup thrust into a starting role (who may walk), and the last is a punter.

The recent subpar drafts are the reason for the teams struggles this season. There is no real way around it. We need playmakers who can step right in and this year we had a second and third round pick who were healthy scratches almost all year. We need for the 2019 class to step up and we need to nail this years class. This is an old roster that needs an infusion of young cheap talent to bridge the gap for when Brady does leave.

In the past 4 years the draft picks have not been stellar, but this team has never been built on the draft alone..

2019... Harry #32 pick, Willliams #45
2018.. Winn #23 pick, Michel #31
2017.. No 1st or second round pick
2016... Cyrus Jones #60 pick

Subpar drafts?? In the past 4 years the Pats have had 4 picks in the first two rounds while picking at the end of the round.. could they have done better, maybe, but hindsight is not the way to look at this team who has gone to the SB for 3 of the past 4 years...

Tough to find "playmakers" who make an immediate impact at the end of the first round.. they exist, but as in many situations they are sometimes stumbled upon rather than just "found"..

 

[203Pat]

In the past 4 years the draft picks have not been stellar, but this team has never been built on the draft alone..

2019... Harry #32 pick, Willliams #45
2018.. Winn #23 pick, Michel #31
2017.. No 1st or second round pick
2016... Cyrus Jones #60 pick

Subpar drafts?? In the past 4 years the Pats have had 4 picks in the first two rounds while picking at the end of the round.. could they have done better, maybe, but hindsight is not the way to look at this team who has gone to the SB for 3 of the past 4 years...

Tough to find "playmakers" who make an immediate impact at the end of the first round.. they exist, but as in many situations they are sometimes stumbled upon rather than just "found"..

Always love the “hindsight is 20/20!!” trope. I’m not saying they should’ve drafted a 7 pro bowlers each year all I’m asking for is a few quality starters. The only reliable quality starter in the last few drafts is Thuney and he’s likely to walk. Wynn has looked okay but has missed a ton of games and the jury is still out on Harry. I don’t care what anyone says, Sony is not worthy of a first round pick and I don’t really view him as a “quality” starter.

The other ridiculous notion is that you can’t find playmakers anywhere outside the top of the draft. The 2018 draft we took Sony when there were plenty of playmakers available. Lamar Jackson, Darius Leonard, Nick Chubb, Courtland Sutton, all went in the second round.

No team is built on the draft alone and every team supplements with free agents and trades but offensively we’ve whiffed pretty badly on personnel moves lately.
-The disaster that was tight end this season. Waiting on Gronk then a swing and a miss with Cook and hoping then hoping that three fringe NFL players could fill in.

- The issues trying to fill the swing tackle role with the weird Veldheer situation and ending up with Newhouse starting half the year.

-The receiver castoff signings then the AB experiment, the Sanu trade.

I’m not saying they need to make huge splash free agency signings but bring in a receiver who can contribute right away like Lafell or Hogan. They didn’t cost a ton and they fit right in and will allow Harry to continue to develop. Draft and trade for a TE. Draft and sign a veteran tackle and I think this team is right back on track (barring a Brady return).