BB knew this was a non playoff year from the start

[NG Pats Fan]

Great. And what will the excuse be next year?b

Belichick will pass on some elite athletic receiver that drops to us for a no name CB/DT who is an average athlete but owns a merit badge! Homers will defend the pick calling him a "patriot type player", while calling the receiver a "Diva who wouldn't fit our system."

 

[TheRainMaker]

I'm not saying the Patriots have not drafted poorly - they have, there is no disputing that.

I just find the 'could have had this guy' game to be ridiculous, because the one playing the game has the benefit of hindsight, and can pick and choose whatever player did pan out - while at the same time ignoring other players chosen by other teams that did not work out.

The problem most of us have is when Bill starts ignoring either his own scouts (rumored to be true) or the consensus boards (who watch college players on a weekly basis) and takes random guys who have no business being drafted where there were drafted which were mostly DB's (Ras IR Dowling, Tavon Wilson, Duran Harman, Jordan Richards, Duke Dawson, SloJuan Williams). The latest are Harry and Dugger. Harry had no business being drafted over Brown, Samuel and Metcalf. The only risk was Metcalf, but still was worth rolling the dice over than Harry. And Dugger had no business being drafted over Winfield Jr. and Chinn who are both candidates for DROTY. Dugger got his first pass breakup of the season and everybody wants to throw a party over him. These examples weren't hindsight. If Bill took the highest rated guys like he did with Michel at their respective positions and it didn't work out, I don't think we'd give him such a hard time.

Yet even when we trade for large draft capital (Jimmy G Trade)..we end up with a bowl of porridge

A DB who was traded 2 years later. Pathetic.

 

[jmt57]

The problem most of us have is when Bill starts ignoring either his own scouts (rumored to be true) or the consensus boards (who watch college players on a weekly basis) and takes random guys who have no business being drafted where there were drafted which were mostly DB's (Ras IR Dowling, Tavon Wilson, Duran Harman, Jordan Richards, Duke Dawson, SloJuan Williams). The latest are Harry and Dugger. Harry had no business being drafted over Brown, Samuel and Metcalf. The only risk was Metcalf, but still was worth rolling the dice over than Harry. And Dugger had no business being drafted over Winfield Jr. and Chinn who are both candidates for DROTY. Dugger got his first pass breakup of the season and everybody wants to throw a party over him. These examples weren't hindsight. If Bill took the highest rated guys like he did with Michel at their respective positions and it didn't work out, I don't think we'd give him such a hard time.

A DB who was traded 2 years later. Pathetic.

I am in with you 1000% in regards to the random guys that have made us crazy.
Times another 1000%.
You are spot on; they have caused me to pull way too much hair out of my scalp.


My point was a pet peeve of mine in regards to the perennial benefit-of-hindsight re-draft commentary.

 

[Horace's Ivories]

chess vs checkers continues - check out the big brain on Bill!

 

[Addictive]

Will Bill be refunding the GM portion of his salary for his pre-planned "non-competitive" 2020?

Asking for the old guy in the next room at the newly opened Lotus Flower Spa in Palm Beach who keeps ranting "How many Belichicks am I paying now ?

I know you're joking but since Bill has given Kraft some of the best memories of his life and increased the value of the franchise by at least a billion dollars I'm pretty sure he's fine paying as many Belichicks as Bill says are on the staff.

 

[captain stone]

I know you're joking but since Bill has given Kraft some of the best memories of his life and increased the value of the franchise by at least a billion dollars I'm pretty sure he's fine paying as many Belichicks as Bill says are on the staff.

That was Then; this is Now.

 

[fnordcircle]

Yep. Years of awful drafting and no QB. That is why we are here.

I wish we could trade places with any other fanbase. We're so unlucky to be Patriots fans. This is awful. The worst thing in the history of sports.

I honestly don't think BB's reputation will recover and he will probably retire and go by a pseudonym to escape his shame.

 

[Hawaiianpatsfan2]

3) what was the point of that hail mary?

If he instead just went with stidham and maybe another young developing QB, you either see that he is good enough to be your QB of the future or you are in position to draft one. Having Cam play just made you good enough to be out of the top 10 draft spots.

Which imo makes this a completely wasted season, no success and no evaluation either.

The same could be said about taking a shot on cam to see what you got. If he returned to his old forum you’d have a former MVP and number one pick still in his prime age. Signing him for the price was a no-brainer.

 

[Ivan]

I don't think this was an intentional 1 year tank but it was inevitable after the past half decade and Bill has publicly acknowledged that.

I think it was essentially a reset year for Belichick. Clean up the $$ cap, let older more expensive players go, and find out who will be the players to keep going forward are. It’s going to be a fascinating offseason.

 

[FCB02062]

I know you're joking but since Bill has given Kraft some of the best memories of his life and increased the value of the franchise by at least a billion dollars I'm pretty sure he's fine paying as many Belichicks as Bill says are on the staff.

The staff at Orchids of Asia begs to differ...

 

[mgteich]

I think it was essentially a reset year for Belichick. Clean up the $$ cap, let older more expensive players go, and find out who will be the players to keep going forward are. It’s going to be a fascinating offseason.

Who are you referring to? Are you celebrating the loss of Van Noy? Brady? Who?

As an aside, Hightower, Chung, Cannon, McCourty and McCourty are still on the roster.

 

[Sam Bam Cunningham]

It is great to be a Patriots fan and the memories from the past 20 years will last forever. But NFL does stand for "Not for Long" league.
I do think that BB has 2 more years to turn it around and then pats fans will be not so forgiving and will demand changes, in spite of his legacy.

So BB has two more years for a grace period. If no playoffs after 20222 the natives will get restless.

Also it is a bit strange how quiet Kraft has been this season.

 

[Jangles]

of course he knew that

no Tom Brady to carry the trash offense he assembled

 

[XLIX]

So did I.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

The thing is they were reports that the Patriots loved Samuel last year but they didn’t take him because he took a picture of himself in front of the stadium after his visit.

If it’s really the reason Bill didn’t draft him. It’s bad. It’s stuff like that that makes me cringe

 

[Biffins]

chess vs checkers continues - check out the big brain on Bill!

Bill the draft manager might struggle with checkers these days.

 

[Biffins]

It is great to be a Patriots fan and the memories from the past 20 years will last forever. But NFL does stand for "Not for Long" league.
I do think that BB has 2 more years to turn it around and then pats fans will be not so forgiving and will demand changes, in spite of his legacy.

So BB has two more years for a grace period. If no playoffs after 20222 the natives will get restless.

Also it is a bit strange how quiet Kraft has been this season.

BB forced Kraft to let Brady go. And has been harping about it for years (Kraft vetoed this in 2015).

Now BB needs to show he knows what he's doing because Kraft is realizing that keeping Brady for a few more years was likely the best option.

 

[Biffins]

I think it was essentially a reset year for Belichick. Clean up the $$ cap, let older more expensive players go, and find out who will be the players to keep going forward are. It’s going to be a fascinating offseason.

It's certainly the excuse.

The guys who "reset" the Browns got fired after 2 losing seasons. Just FYI.

"Reset" doesn't necessarily mean success will follow if you draft as poorly as we have been. No team is built with FA alone.

 

[stinkypete]

Belichick did not anticipate being a non--playoff contender. He signed Newton onto a team that included Hightower, Chung, Cannon, Allen, Vitale and Edelman. If these guys are all healthy and playing, do they lose the Seattle, Denver and Buffalo games? A few extra pieces, and this team is 9 - 5 and in the thick of the wild card race.

Belichick new this team was not a Super Bowl contender. He build around the team's strengths to make a run at the playoffs.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Unless we went and hired Mahomes or 1 or 2 others, a big value drop at QB was a given. Cap position made the Cam flyer the best available shot. You guys know the COVID year isn't over, right? We might still not see a 2020 SB, but who knows. That said, this year, a lot depended on local, even individual, philosophy about the plague. Beyond that, the cap catches up to everyone. The last 20 years, TFB could add a few games by sheer force of will. That luxury is gone. Even if we thought the D was solid (it was not), the fact is that on O, we had a QB who couldn't make a pass with a pocket full of roofies and a Ron Jeremy pickup manual, and a receiving corps that some days couldn't catch the clap in a Bangkok brothel. HOWEVER, both these colorful points made, this big weeping and gnashing of teeth is over a roughly .500 team. We could continue to fall off but I don't think so. I think we're back in '21 (like much of normal life, knock on wood.)

Don't cry too much for 2020 being over, even in football world.