Breer: How the wheels came off the Pats dynasty

[Uptown]

Just have @BaconGrundleCandy handle the scouting. Bam! Problem solved.

 

[50-yard-line]

Just have @BaconGrundleCandy handle the scouting. Bam! Problem solved.

I kinda think that's how Vrabel does his picking, and it's working out well for him.

 

[Steve102]

I kinda think that's how Vrabel does his picking, and it's working out well for him.

How do you know BGC isn't on his staff?

 

[TheRainMaker]

Just have @BaconGrundleCandy handle the scouting. Bam! Problem solved.

Anybody on this board would've picked at least ONE eventual Pro Bowl player from 2013-present, something BB hasn't been able to do.

 

[Wozzy]

It's a reloading year, a resetting the cap year... the wheels didn't fall off.

They took the car in for maintenance and removed the wheels themselves.

 

[RicoG]

There's plenty of talent at the end of the first and in the second round. The Pats aren't the only team picking there or that low and they don't have problem selecting players with talent.

Green Bay, New Orleans, Baltimore, Seattle are 4 teams that generally pick in the bottom 10 the last decade or so.

 

[RIpats88]

This is simply wrong. No analysis of the collapse and no plan for returning to competitiveness is complete without taking into account the serious failings of Belichick as GM.

Good chance brady stays if this team had solid drafts and reloaded with talent. Does anyone thin brady leaves if the Patriots are still a super bowl team?

Part of him leaving beside the contract was probably looking at this roster and seeing he would have another struggling year miserable

 

[Wozzy]

Good chance brady stays if this team had solid drafts and reloaded with talent. Does anyone thin brady leaves if the Patriots are still a super bowl team?

Part of him leaving beside the contract was probably looking at this roster and seeing he would have another struggling year miserable

Yeah, it was about money and the fact he didn't want to rebuild, for the Pats it was about not borrowing from the future to keep the Brady train rolling. And it wasn't just his "weapons" like mouth breathers would have you believe, they lost Hightower, Collins, Van Noy and Roberts alone at LB and are starting a bunch of 22 year olds.

They went "all in" to play in four Super Bowls and win three during the last dynastic run. It was over, it was the right thing to do for Brady to let him go to a super team for 50 million dollars, it was the right thing for the Patriots to reset and start over... fans moan about it, but it was the right thing to do.

 

[denverpatsfan]

This is not good news. What makes us think BB will change how he drafts? Us older folks on the board here know its hard to change as you get older.

 

[Wozzy]

This is not good news. What makes us think BB will change how he drafts? Us older folks on the board here know its hard to change as you get older.

Why should the guy who drafted Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins change?

Fans need to change their expectations. We're not going to play for a ring every season, the Brady train wasn't going to last forever. They overextended themselves and burned through cap space to win from 2014 until now and came away with three rings... the bill is now due. I get that it's a strange new sensation, but the wheels didn't fall off... twenty years is entirely too long for a set of wheels to last.

 

[RodThePat]

Why should the guy who drafted Tom Brady, Richard Seymour, Vince Wilfork, Logan Mankins, Devin McCourty, Rob Gronkowski, Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins change?

Fans need to change their expectations. We're not going to play for a ring every season, the Brady train wasn't going to last forever. They overextended themselves and burned through cap space to win from 2014 until now and came away with three rings... the bill is now due. I get that it's a strange new sensation, but the wheels didn't fall off... twenty years is entirely too long for a set of wheels to last.

Because out of all those guys you listed the one who was drafted most recently was Collins in 2013.

 

[Wozzy]

Because out of all those guys you listed the one who was drafted most recently was Collins in 2013.

Onwenu might be the best O-Lineman in the 2020 draft, Duggar looks like a stud, Uche has flashed... but yeah.

 

[RodThePat]

Onwenu might be the best O-Lineman in the 2020 draft, Duggar looks like a stud, Uche has flashed... but yeah.

This draft has potential, sure, but it's way too soon to make anything close to definitive statement on those players. Either way, the 2020 draft has no bearing on the sorry state of the roster. Those guys are young and shouldn't be counted on to be above average starters from the jump. It's the past 5 years that are the problem.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I'd rather have Bill crash and burn on prospects rated the highest then reaching like he has been (Harry, Dugger, JoJuan Williams as the latest examples). Maroney was arguably the 2nd best back in the draft with the 2nd biggest play potential after Reggie Bush. The big red flag on Maroney was that he wasn't tested much in College as he ran through Grand Canyon sized holes. It reared it's ugly head as he had the worst vision I'd ever seen at RB. While the smarter pick was D'Angelo Williams, his red flag was too much mileage in College. Maurice Jones-Drew was another productive back in college and fell only because of his size and small hands (clearly a mistake by GM's).

Chad Jackson's big play potential was also too tough to pass up as arguably the #2 best WR after Santonio Holmes. While Greg Jennings was also the smarter pick, the knock on him was whether he could consistently separate even though he was way more productive in College.

D'Angelo Williams has admitted his hate for the Pats stems from them passing him up for Maroney. Greg Jennings has admitted on the "Colin Cowherd Show" he was also mad as well.

Flash forward to Sony Michel, he was the 2nd rated back coming out. If I'm going to fault BB for taking Harry over guys where were ranked higher (Metcalf, AJ Brown and Samuel), I can't fault him for Maroney, Jackson and Michel.

And you haven't answered my question @DropKickFlutie. Do you know who the scouts wanted over Maroney, Jackson and Michel?

This is a whole lot of rationalizing to basically say the Pats out-think everything during the coincidental drafts when McDaniels is in the war room. Based on current trends there is evidence we will continue to decline with McDaniels and zero evidence that things will get better keeping him. We need a new OC.

.

 

[TheRainMaker]

This is a whole lot of rationalizing to basically say the Pats out-think everything during the coincidental drafts when McDaniels is in the war room. Based on current trends there is evidence we will continue to decline with McDaniels and zero evidence that things will get better keeping him. We need a new OC.

.

But who did the scouts recommend over Maroney, Jackson and Michel?

 

[DropKickFlutie]

But who did the scouts recommend over Maroney, Jackson and Michel?

Why are you asking a rhetorical question over and over when you know none of us know except those in the war room? All we have are repeated examples of the scouts being over-ridden by Belichick listening to those in the war room, like picking Maroney because Ben and Josh McDaniels said he was good. It works great when you have a Reese/O'Brien in there, or Pioli/Weiss, it works terrible when you have a McDaniels/Caserio view. It's pathetic how from McDaniels' 2012-now 8 year tenure nobody has developed. Nobody except Scar OLine players. Acing a Foxboro workout is the kiss of death if it's McDaniels saying the kid is good.

 

[bigballas]

It was a balmy January morning, the ever predictable Gulf stream bringing in a warm blast through the Jupiter coast.. What was meant to be an innocuous trip to the local strip mall, just like the handful of times before, was anything but....

 

[TheRainMaker]

Duggar looks like a stud

This is just bizarre. If he's a stud, then Antoine Winfield and Jeremy Chinn are All Pro's/DPOTY.

The guy has done nothing that stands out to signal he will be a future stud. Other than 58 total tackles, he has 1 pass defensed and 1 tackle for a loss. That's it! He hasn't shown any presence in the middle of the field or that he could be an enforcer/pest.

Uche has flashed.

He had a couple good rushes, but that's it. Winovich showed more promise last year, but has regressed big time.

 

[Foxypats]

IMO, the jury is till out. This year was a blimp ! We can put together a highly competitive team next year , it all depends on what Bill does . If the Patriots make the playoffs next year and go deep into them, is that a continuation of the dynasty or is it the beginning of a third one ?? I am not so ready to throw Bill to the wolves like so many on here and the media. I will wait and see, after the last 20 years he deserves a pass from me for this one year !!

 

[TheRainMaker]

Why are you asking a rhetorical question over and over when you know none of us know except those in the war room?

Because sometimes anonymous sources leak who they wanted.