Report: Patriots To Release Stephen Gostkowski

[Actual Pats Fan]

The red and white uniforms sucked.

Wait - am I supposed to fix this one too?

 

[fnordcircle]

Wait - am I supposed to fix this one too?

Look. I'm a grandfather.

It's ****ing OK if I forget the Scott "Missen'" Sisson years, ok?!!?!?!?!?

 

[1960Pats]

I think the handling of the Welker thing prior to the Jets disaster on 1/16/11 belongs on the list of BB mistakes.

In his defense, it's REALLY hard as a head coach to gauge the psyche of a team at any time. There's too much going on, too much detail and responsibility to know. He has had success imposing inspirational, motivating bulletin board material.

His successes outnumber the boners.

I feel the same way about the Welker thing. Always have.

And then I think back to all the years that BB has been here and how few mistakes there really are. It's incredible. I think I can count them on one hand without using my thumb.

That's not counting the most recent drafts though.

GOAT Modern Dynasty

GOAT OL (Hog)

GOAT Logo & Uniforms (until 1993)

GOAT Fans (in all modesty)

GOAT Rags to Riches story

[CVS has wrist wraps for that CTS. Sorry.]

I was thinking of Hog but for some f***ed up reason decided to leave him out.

Great call on the logo... again.

No need to be sorry. My cramp might be work related. For about half of the 40 years I worked I was leaning pretty far left, right or back, with my hands above my head.

 

[patman12]

No, it's not. It's acknowledging the truth of the situation. It doesn't mean that BB isn't a great coach. It doesn't mean that Kraft didn't do a good job as the owner helping get everything in place. It just means that the key cog in the machine was Brady. He was the switch flipper. He was the light bringer. From 5-11 and 0-2 to 11-3 and a SB run.


And that should be easy to see for even the willfully blind.

Look, I agree that Brady is GOAT but I also feel like BB is GOAT coach and that neither would be as good if not for the other. And sometimes when the use of BB's record without Brady is used in conversations, it comes off as a jab at Belichick.

 

[Chevy]

No need to be sorry. My cramp might be work related. For about half of the 40 years I worked I was leaning pretty far left, right or back, with my hands above my head.

Escort work will do that to you ....

(come on ... you opened the door .... )

 

[Chevy]

Look, I agree that Brady is GOAT but I also feel like BB is GOAT coach and that neither would be as good if not for the other. And sometimes when the use of BB's record without Brady is used in conversations, it comes off as a jab at Belichick.

I wonder about that. In Cleveland, BB made the hard decision in moving away from the fan-favorite QB, with a playoff win as a result. Win totals went 6-7-7-11.

Note: I am not counting 1995 -that was a freak year.

I wonder what another three years - with a stable owner - would have resulted in.

 

[1960Pats]

Escort work will do that to you ....

(come on ... you opened the door .... )

Yup, I sure did.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

No, it's not. It's acknowledging the truth of the situation. It doesn't mean that BB isn't a great coach. It doesn't mean that Kraft didn't do a good job as the owner helping get everything in place. It just means that the key cog in the machine was Brady. He was the switch flipper. He was the light bringer. From 5-11 and 0-2 to 11-3 and a SB run.


And that should be easy to see for even the willfully blind.

Kraft hired Belichick. Despite adamant advice not to from advisers. After firing Pete Carroll who had a winning record.

Belichick hired **** Rehbein, and dispatched him to Michigan to scout Tom. Despite an almost conspiratorial, complete avoidance of him by the rest of the league (likely due to the least impressive combine performance by a quarterback in history), and Bill's own doubts due to the Drew Henson thing (that Tom was benched; not the awesome way that Tom handled it), but due largely to Rehbein's stellar scouting report, Bill drafted Tom, and then kept him on the team, carrying four quarterbacks. And, when Bledsoe was recovered, he kept Brady in there as the starter.

So Tom did not just show up and light the world on fire. Tom is special. Tom is gifted. Tom has earned GOAT status. But Bledsoe was declining badly for years prior to '01, never mind the enormous contract extension, and it was clear (to me) the Pats were not going anywhere until he was replaced.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Look. I'm a grandfather.

It's ****ing OK if I forget the Scott "Missen'" Sisson years, ok?!!?!?!?!?

Matt Bahr kicked us into the playoffs in '94

 

[Bourne Again Christian]

Kraft hired Belichick. Despite adamant advice not to from advisers. After firing Pete Carroll who had a winning record.

Belichick hired **** Rehbein, and dispatched him to Michigan to scout Tom. Despite an almost conspiratorial, complete avoidance of him by the rest of the league (likely due to the least impressive combine performance by a quarterback in history), and Bill's own doubts due to the Drew Henson thing (that Tom was benched; not the awesome way that Tom handled it), but due largely to Rehbein's stellar scouting report, Bill drafted Tom, and then kept him on the team, carrying four quarterbacks. And, when Bledsoe was recovered, he kept Brady in there as the starter.

So Tom did not just show up and light the world on fire. Tom is special. Tom is gifted. Tom has earned GOAT status. But Bledsoe was declining badly for years prior to '01, never mind the enormous contract extension, and it was clear (to me) the Pats were not going anywhere until he was replaced.

That hurts I was a huge Drew fan.
I loved watching him face off against Marino.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

For about half of the 40 years I worked I was leaning pretty far left, right or back, with my hands above my head.

That's how I watched Patriots games for thirty years...

No, I mean, not at the kickoff; but usually by the end of the game...

 

[Keyser Söze]

Blankenship

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

That hurts I was a huge Drew fan.
I loved watching him face off against Marino.

Drew did his best. He was good. He was talented. He lived up to every expectation of a number one overall pick.

He simply reached his ceiling professionally. No reflection on him as a person.

 

[Deus Irae]

Drew did his best. He was good. He was talented. He lived up to every expectation of a number one overall pick.

He simply reached his ceiling professionally. No reflection on him as a person.

He also had a problem in that he had a bad WR corps for much of his career. That led him to become far too reliant on his TEs.

 

[Chevy]

He also had a problem in that he had a bad WR corps for much of his career. That led him to become far too reliant on his TEs.

True, but Bledsoe to Coates was fun to watch.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Look. I'm a grandfather.

It's ****ing OK if I forget the Scott "Missen'" Sisson years, ok?!!?!?!?!?

"If you don't mind, thith little black duck preferth to forget the Thkott 'Mithin' Thithin yearth, OK?"

 

[Deus Irae]

True, but Bledsoe to Coates was fun to watch.

It was beautiful, until Coates began to wear down.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

No, it's not. It's acknowledging the truth of the situation. It doesn't mean that BB isn't a great coach. It doesn't mean that Kraft didn't do a good job as the owner helping get everything in place. It just means that the key cog in the machine was Brady. He was the switch flipper. He was the light bringer. From 5-11 and 0-2 to 11-3 and a SB run.


And that should be easy to see for even the willfully blind.

This is synergism. The Pats probably win at least one Lombardi with Brady but not Belichick. They probably win at least one with Belichick but not Brady. But they definitely don't reach nine and win six without the two together.

 

[DarrylS]

Dude, Belichick was 5-13 until Brady took over. Brady, not Belichick is "the guy who lead this team out of a dark abyss to the light, the guy who made all my waiting for a decent run worth every minute of it.."

Noting that is not spewing vitriol towards Kraft or BB.

You are not spewing vitriol or disdain towards Kraft or BB , but the other poster was.. do you have some collective need to be blamed??

I am well aware that BB was 5 & 13 until Brady took over, but that is not unusual for a new coach that came to a floundering franchise.. I also do not expect great things this year, but next year with a slew of cap money I will expect something completely different.

You also need to remember that BB chose #12 rather than bringing back Bledsoe, not every coach may have done that.. most thought at that time keeping Brady at the helm was a very poor decision.

 

[supafly]

The 4th?!? round...the Fourth Feckin Round?!?...The FIRST PICK of the FOURTH FECKIN ROUND?!?

There are ZERO place-kickers in this year's draft worthy of a 4th-round selection...or a 5th-round selection... never mind the FIRST FECKIN PICK in that round...

4th-round picks are for Real Football Players.

Good Lord.

I don’t know why you feel so strongly about this?

Gostkowski was taken in the 4th round, and Rodrigo Blankenship had more impressive stats throughout his college career, not to mention the kind of big game, college playoff experience that Gost never saw at Memphis.

I’m not only totally fine with using a mid round pick on the possibility of having a franchise kicker, but I’m actually hoping that it happens.