Curran's Off Season Grade

[Steve102]

Agree. I was just explaining how I interpreted Curran's piece.

Oh, I know bud. My rant was not directed at you, just ranting in general.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

The QB change didn't have to happen - and should not have happened - until 2022...That would've given Stid 2 more years to learn & mature, and also would've given us 2 more years of legit contention...unless people actually believe that he gives us a better chance to contend now than Brady would have...which is, of course, both foolish and unfair to the Kid...

The TEs might be significantly better - how could they not? - but that improvement came at a very and unnecessarily high cost...The WRs are a completely different story, however...I don't see any improvement at all there, significant or otherwise...

The OL should be better...IF Andrews plays this year as if last year never happened, and IF somebody shows enough to replace Cannon at RT, who let's face it is washed-up...Newhouse played better at RT last year than he did...​

Every WR on the team should be improved: the rookies Harry & Myers, Sanu and JE recovered, and some good competition for the 4th & 5th spots. We lack a star #1, but JE-Sanu-Harry are all solid #2’s if healthy, which they weren’t last year.

As far as QB, it was time to make the move. Aside from the soap opera of who ticked who off first, how could the roster get reworked if TB was making $25m? Not possible really. And while I thought Tom was physically sharp last year, his attitude and work ethic slipped. And the odds go up exponentially each year that he’ll fail physically.

So BB played his cards right, this was the year to do it, he’s got a good prospect in Stidham, and this year will serve to break him in as well as transition the rest of the roster. Next spring we’ll have cap space and good list of draft picks cause I think Thuney will get traded for a 2nd hopefully.

The only question is what will be our record this season? Hard to say.

 

[Mark Morse]

Was this team really as good as their 12-4 record last year - NO. They played a candy cane schedule and beat up on the little sisters of the poor and got exposed when they had to play good teams at the end of the season and were bounced out of the playoffs. If the objective was to 1.) Get younger; 2.) repair the cap; 3.) and make the transition from Brady to Stidham, then they met their objectives and the off season was successful. Are they a better team? On paper probably not, but on paper or winning the off-season doesn't win Super Bowls. They selected a Safety after trading Harmon. A safety that has Punt Return skills. They have two 30+ yo starting safeties. Significant signings are when you have little or no cap space and sign players that can possibly have a significant positive impact on the team's upcoming season. Yes they all have their issues. If they didn't, then the Pats couldn't of signed them at bargain basement prices. Of all the points that have been made the most important is that the Patriots run defense wasn't very good at the end of last season and we haven't seen anything that improved that. As far as Thuney goes, he is the type of player you build your Oline around. If they are healthy (Andrews and Cajuste) they may have one of the best starting 5 in the league. A big if! Don't know if Andrews is really healthy or if Cajuste can take Cannon's place (I think Cannon will be a June 1st cut).

 

[sean10mm]

1. The Patriots probably couldn't realistically match Tampa's 2 year/$50m guaranteed offer.
2. The Patriots probably couldn't upgrade their offensive supporting cast to match what Tampa is set to have in 2020.
3. They DEFINITELY couldn't do both simultaneously.

It's hard for me to give them an F when the path to an A grade is basically an appeal to magic due to the cap & roster circumstances going into this off-season.

The Pats won't tank on purpose under Belichick, but I do think this off-season is a lot more about setting the stage for a big push in 2021 or even 2022 than it is for trying to squeeze 1 more win out of 2020.

 

[stinkypete]

The media always screws up "grades", whether after the draft or the offseason.

Most grades are given based on one single criteria - did a team load its roster to the max. How do these grades translate to success - ask Browns fans. This criteria ignores several factors: cap considerations, roster age, long-term team building goals, etc.

If I were to grade an offseason, I would guess as to the roster building mission of the moment. For the Patriots, I view their mission as the following: clear dead money, and assure that the defense and run game remain strong while we figure out the QB situation.

It is not possible for 32 teams to seriously contend every single year. The end of TB12's tenure - either via free agency or retirement - was in inevitability. Accepting this inevitability and taking the first steps forward does not make the off-season a failure.


I'd give the Patriots offseason a B-/C+. I loved retaining McCourty and Thuney, am disappointed that Thuney hasn't been lock up long-term. I like the potential of the TEs and Olinemen drafted, but don't see the run game as definitely better. I love the Dugger and Uche additions.

 

[IllegalContact]

the offseason is an A+ to me.........I can't wait for the season to start

 

[amfootball]

The one thing really not discussed at all is how BB let the cap get to this point. He is always praised for his cap management but with all the draft busts and crappy contracts we have been in cap hell for a couple of seasons now. That is what forced this off-season upon us.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

The one thing really not discussed at all is how BB let the cap get to this point. He is always praised for his cap management but with all the draft busts and crappy contracts we have been in cap hell for a couple of seasons now. That is what forced this off-season upon us.

We went into FA the last few seasons with around 20 mil of cap space. I wouldn’t consider that as being in Cap hell.

If you want to talk Dead Money then yes we’ve taken a couple hits with Brady and AB.

 

[IllegalContact]

The one thing really not discussed at all is how BB let the cap get to this point. He is always praised for his cap management but with all the draft busts and crappy contracts we have been in cap hell for a couple of seasons now. That is what forced this off-season upon us.

it's not the cap that has created this season......it's the QB of 20 years moving on....the team was designed as a complement around brady.....we had a QB for the future but brady kept on keeping on to the tune of 3 more SB's.....you go with what works until it doesn't.

I think this perspective is silly given we are 1 year removed from an SB win.....as long as brady was here, there was no way to really work on developing a post-brady team......

 

[amfootball]

it's not the cap that has created this season......it's the QB of 20 years moving on....the team was designed as a complement around brady.....we had a QB for the future but brady kept on keeping on to the tune of 3 more SB's.....you go with what works until it doesn't.

I think this perspective is silly given we are 1 year removed from an SB win.....as long as brady was here, there was no way to really work on developing a post-brady team......

Brady? Really? The QB that made $15 mil in 2017 and 2018 and $23 last year? What do you mean by develop a post-Brady team when the offense last year stunk? If anything, Brady has been carrying inferior offensive talent for years and yet we are STILL in cap hell now.

 

[IllegalContact]

Brady? Really? The QB that made $15 mil in 2017 and 2018 and $23 last year? What do you mean by develop a post-Brady team when the offense last year stunk? If anything, Brady has been carrying inferior offensive talent for years and yet we are STILL in cap hell now.

26M in dead money....over 18M between brady and brown......they're 92M under the cap for the following year......hardly cap hell......you have a perennial SB team, you're going to be paying a bunch of guys and there are moments you can't cap around......even if they had cap space they would not be a contender this year......it takes time to turn a page on a team that was SB contending for so long.

sounds like you just want to complain....if the wanted to, they could open up a bunch of cap space with the way their roster is right now

 

[amfootball]

26M in dead money....over 18M between brady and brown......they're 92M under the cap for the following year......hardly cap hell......you have a perennial SB team, you're going to be paying a bunch of guys and there are moments you can't cap around......even if they had cap space they would not be a contender this year......it takes time to turn a page on a team that was SB contending for so long.

sounds like you just want to complain....if the wanted to, they could open up a bunch of cap space with the way their roster is right now

Not complaining but when looking at this off-season, our inability to improve the roster has to do with the cap. That is the reason. It is not because BB just decided he did not want to go get some players. So I am just looking at this season which is what this thread was about not the future. If you want to give BB a pass for some awful deals like AB than that is your choice.

 

[IllegalContact]

Not complaining but when looking at this off-season, our inability to improve the roster has to do with the cap. That is the reason. It is not because BB just decided he did not want to go get some players. So I am just looking at this season which is what this thread was about not the future. If you want to give BB a pass for some awful deals like AB than that is your choice.

it just wasn’t definitive enough where Brady was going to wind up until it was too late cap-wise....they could pursue FA if they wanted, but what’s the point if you’re not winning anyway? Take a year to figure what you have and how to go from there

 

[Hyped]

4 Superbowls in 6 years does have a way of affecting the cap.........

 

[mgteich]

Brady? Really? The QB that made $15 mil in 2017 and 2018 and $23 last year? What do you mean by develop a post-Brady team when the offense last year stunk? If anything, Brady has been carrying inferior offensive talent for years and yet we are STILL in cap hell now.

We have not been in cap hell.
We are not in cap hell.
We will not be in cap hell.

The cap amounts at QB are less than what we have expected after Brady left. We have expected this for many years. $11.5M is a tiny amount of dead money for the GOAT. We deferred money on purpose. Before the 2019 season Bill and Tommy decided that there likely would be one more year, and so it has happened.

Now, AB is another matter entirely. That was an unmitigated disaster.
========
The very weird thing is that 2019 was placed with a huge number of injuries on the offense, and still we were 12-4. We lost zero games with Newhouse starting at LT. Why weird? Well, many posters saw us going 12-4 with a dozen injuries on offense as a total collapse of a very poor team, one that will lucky to be 8-8 after all the injured come back, and we do our normal in free agencies and in the draft.

 

[TheRainMaker]

Worst off season since 2009.

 

[p8ryts]

For the life of me, I don't understand how Belichick doesn't take advantage of the wisdom of posters on this board. He could win the Super Bowl every year. Obviously its his weakest point, not availing himself of such treasured wisdom. Alas poor Yorick, I mean Bill.

 

[moosekill]

We judge every other player is judged by how well they individually do. Wide receivers on how many catches and yards, olinemen on how many sacks and pressures they give up, dlinemen on sacks and tackles and dbacks on how many pass break ups tackles and interceptions. Brady's qbr last year was 88 landing him in 23rd place in the NFL. Sneaking in just above Brissett and Daniel Jones. We would grade any other player on the team by their positional metrics and ask did we get better than we were before. Do you think Stidham will end up as the 23rd or lower rated qb this year or do you think he will be higher rated than that?

 

[captain stone]

We judge every other player is judged by how well they individually do. Wide receivers on how many catches and yards, olinemen on how many sacks and pressures they give up, dlinemen on sacks and tackles and dbacks on how many pass break ups tackles and interceptions. Brady's qbr last year was 88 landing him in 23rd place in the NFL. Sneaking in just above Brissett and Daniel Jones. We would grade any other player on the team by their positional metrics and ask did we get better than we were before. Do you think Stidham will end up as the 23rd or lower rated qb this year or do you think he will be higher rated than that?

23rd for Stid sounds about right...His TEs have improved, but his WRs are still the 2nd-Worst in the Entire league...

 

[BelizePats]

The one thing really not discussed at all is how BB let the cap get to this point. He is always praised for his cap management but with all the draft busts and crappy contracts we have been in cap hell for a couple of seasons now. That is what forced this off-season upon us.

I have to disagree. After 20 years of high-level football, you are unhappy about the cap situation in year 21? Year 21??? You're not at all willing to look back and see how expected and not surprising the current cap situation is, this year. The year Brady leaves the team.

It's only one year (and it's not even that bad-space is available if needed) and it's only like this because our long term QB just left after 20 years and we panicked a bit when injuries hit we and rolled the dice with AB. (We then panicked again and traded a 2 for Sanu but that's another story ) With a player like Brady on the team for two decades, it would be impossible to have not rolled some of his money forward at some point. This is the modern game of football and how it works and Belichick has played the cap game exceedingly well over the years. See 9 Super Bowl appearances in 20 years. Show me a coach or GM with a third of Belichicks success during that same 20 years period.
The bottom line here is that Tom is gone and the rebuild has started.
I think it will be an absolute blast to watch the next 2-3 years of team building and what last years, this years' and next years' drafts end up becoming. It's these three draft years that are going to shape so much of the next 5-10 years of the franchise's future. This will be the core of the next run. Will it get to the Super Bowl? Who knows? I can't wait to watch it!
We have a shtt ton of cap space next year, a 2021 draft with a lot of draft capital (thank you comp system), and a much younger and more athletic 2020 roster.
Man but it's crazy how much is riding on Stidham and can you imagine the intensity of the spotlight that's coming for him soon? I want to see a QB that gets better as the season goes on. I hope to see a QB that is sound with his ball responsibility and instinctively knows when to get rid of it.
How can anyone not be fascinated and excited about 2020 and beyond? It will be great sporting theatre.

Fingers crossed we're all healthy and there's a game being played.