OT: Official 2021 Tompa Bay Gronkaneers Thread

[1960Pats]

I hear you. Evans dropped a TD. Johnson quit slowed down on 2 routes and missed those passes as a result.

If the receivers had been on point, Brady's numbers would have been even more ridiculously good.

I've run out of superlatives when it comes to Brady.

The funny thing is that after the NYFL trumped up charges against him and took him over the coals in the eye of the public, I decided that I'd dump the NYFL when he goes. But here he is now 5 years later, still playing and playing well. Incredible.

Bill should have recognized that Brady was special and not let him go. He saw him up close for 20 years.

 

[1960Pats]

Last year they were 8-6 and needed one more win to make the playoffs. First gsme, they lost to the 49ers, who were out of contention and playing with CJ Beathard, 20-12. Then against the Rams, who were playing with John Wolford, I guess you can’t blame him for an ankle injury on the first series, but he was able to come back in when the gsme was out of reach.

This year, the Cardinals were finally getting national recognition after a 7-0 start and he choked like a dog at Lambeau. Game losing INT. They’ve lost 4 of 5 to end the season, including to Detroit, and they would have won their division had they just beat Seattle, who was playing for nothing.

These are the kind of things that made me switch my pick to the Rams.

 

[Tottie]

I've run out of superlatives when it comes to Brady.

The funny thing is that after the NYFL trumped up charges against him and took him over the coals in the eye of the public, I decided that I'd dump the NYFL when he goes. But here he is now 5 years later, still playing and playing well. Incredible.

Bill should have recognized that Brady was special and not let him go. He saw him up close for 20 years.

Did you see Brees last year? Allowed to play until he was a corpse. Big Ben this year? Allowed to play until he's a corpse. Tom Brady? SALARY CAP ISSUES HE CAN'T STAY IT'S IMPOSSIBLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[1960Pats]

Did you see Brees last year? Allowed to play until he was a corpse. Big Ben this year? Allowed to play until he's a corpse. Tom Brady? SALARY CAP ISSUES HE CAN'T STAY IT'S IMPOSSIBLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you seen Brady this year and last?

Tom Brady is special, especially compared to statheads like Ben and Brees.

Tom would have been happy here at 25 million and the Pats could have easily fit that in.

But hey, the Pats have the highest paid HC/GM in the NYFL and he got to bring his kids along too.

Who needs the greatest QB who ever lived?

 

[amfootball]

Have you seen Brady this year and last?

Tom Brady is special, especially compared to statheads like Ben and Brees.

Tom would have been happy here at 25 million and the Pats could have easily fit that in.

But hey, the Pats have the highest paid HC/GM in the NYFL and he got to bring his kids along too.

Who needs the greatest QB who ever lived?

What is glaring is Brady was exactly right to leave and go to a team with legit weapons and dynamic playmakers. I think part of the friction between him and Bill is Brady wanted to see the Patriot offense move in the direction of the high flying offenses that now dominate The League. To me that had to be the rub and why bill was lukewarm in his offer for him to stay another year. It really is a shame as Jones is never going to be able to compete with the top teams of the AFC as long as Bill continues with the same philosophy of defense and run game first.

 

[VectorPrime]

There is ALREADY a prolific poster over on the main forum laying out Josh Allen’s contract to make the argument of how it’s gonna be a problem for the Bills cap situation very soon so keep the faith. I just cannot describe the level of delusion and cope on display with that.

Belichick sold all of us a bill of goods on the cap for years. It was always an excuse.

 

[Tottie]

There is ALREADY a prolific poster over on the main forum laying out Josh Allen’s contract to make the argument of how it’s gonna be a problem for the Bills cap situation very soon so keep the faith. I just cannot describe the level of delusion and cope on display with that.

Belichick sold all of us a bill of goods on the cap for years. It was always an excuse.

The Bills could beat NE with practice squad and Josh Allen at QB right now so the cap makes no difference. It's up to Mac Jones to improve just like Allen did.

 

[Deus Irae]

There is ALREADY a prolific poster over on the main forum laying out Josh Allen’s contract to make the argument of how it’s gonna be a problem for the Bills cap situation very soon so keep the faith. I just cannot describe the level of delusion and cope on display with that.

Belichick sold all of us a bill of goods on the cap for years. It was always an excuse.

Belichick acknowledged that you can fudge the cap. What happened in NE was that they Patriots insisted on keeping the QB at a certain percentage of that cap. Brady actually bought into that, at least for most of his time in N.E.

But it only makes sense to think that things like giving up money only to see Welker walk must have been part of what started getting to him.

 

[VectorPrime]

Belichick acknowledged that you can fudge the cap. What happened in NE was that they Patriots insisted on keeping the QB at a certain percentage of that cap. Brady actually bought into that, at least for most of his time in N.E.

But it only makes sense to think that things like giving up money only to see Welker walk must have been part of what started getting to him.

Brady got duped just like we did. But maybe it was Kraft insisting to Bill to pull this lie about the cap so he would spend less actual money. I could believe that.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

The Patriots were tight against the cap in 2020. They could have easily made it work, though, by backloading and pushing into that huge 2021 space. But with the roster they had last year, they would have needed to show Brady he was wanted and convince him to bear with them for a year. They would have needed to commit longer term and lighten the **** up.

People claimed they “are fiscally responsible and don’t do those things!” regarding paying Brady becuz the cap!!!..lol…they spent that same money on Thuney and McCourty. In addition, I posted the cap hits for 2021, and they’ve backloaded the **** out of the contracts from this last offseason, so they’ve barely paid anything to Smith, Henry, Judon, etc. They backloaded deals to grab all these mediocre FAs but wouldn’t just pay up or backload deals to keep a championship roster in tact.

The thing is, and this is what I harped this off-season: they’re in much worse position right now than they were in 2020. In 2020, they had a lot of expiring contracts coming up to clear cap space. Now they have a lot of liabilities with bad contracts and didn’t solve many of their problems. They’ve basically just gone with mercenary veterans to fix problems, which is the opposite of the accepted reasoning for wanting to rebuild. Almost zero draft pick comp for departing players due to stubbornness.

This is what I feared: a team that has very little to get excited about except for the optimism that the same roster will automatically improve and the young QB will be much better going forward. That’s basically the same hope for every non-contender. When you point to your QB’s development (hopefully), you’re in a bad place in the NFL pantheon.

 

[Lagaffe_07]

The Patriots were tight against the cap in 2020. They could have easily made it work, though, by backloading and pushing into that huge 2021 space. But with the roster they had last year, they would have needed to show Brady he was wanted and convince him to bear with them for a year. They would have needed to commit longer term and lighten the **** up.

People claimed they “are fiscally responsible and don’t do those things!” regarding paying Brady becuz the cap!!!..lol…they spent that same money on Thuney and McCourty. In addition, I posted the cap hits for 2021, and they’ve backloaded the **** out of the contracts from this last offseason, so they’ve barely paid anything to Smith, Henry, Judon, etc. They backloaded deals to grab all these mediocre FAs but wouldn’t just pay up or backload deals to keep a championship roster in tact.

The thing is, and this is what I harped this off-season: they’re in much worse position right now than they were in 2020. In 2020, they had a lot of expiring contracts coming up to clear cap space. Now they have a lot of liabilities with bad contracts and didn’t solve many of their problems. They’ve basically just gone with mercenary veterans to fix problems, which is the opposite of the accepted reasoning for wanting to rebuild. Almost zero draft pick comp for departing players due to stubbornness.

This is what I feared: a team that has very little to get excited about except for the optimism that the same roster will automatically improve and the young QB will be much better going forward. That’s basically the same hope for every non-contender. When you point to your QB’s development (hopefully), you’re in a bad place in the NFL pantheon.

I don’t say it will not happen but a lot of people on the main board put their head in the sand and believe Mac will gain Brady ability to read defense in year 2 , put 15 pounds on to improve his arm strength. That Bill will find a WR1, a Micah parsons like and another top CB. I will be very surprised if we make the playoffs next year

 

[Kargetina]

Belichick acknowledged that you can fudge the cap. What happened in NE was that they Patriots insisted on keeping the QB at a certain percentage of that cap. Brady actually bought into that, at least for most of his time in N.E.

But it only makes sense to think that things like giving up money only to see Welker walk must have been part of what started getting to him.

Yeah, i think losing SB 54 followed by not bothering to re-sign Amendola who was absolutely incredible the entire playoffs and made Edelman’s absence not to be felt at all, broke the camels back.

By all accounts the relationship started to deteriorate after SB 54 and considering how much trust Brady had in Amendola, his go-to guy in almost every do-or-die situation, it almost certainly pissed Brady a lot.

That quartet of Brady, Gronk, Edelman and Amendola will always be my favorite offense. If not for injuries and Butler’s benching, they would have won 5 SB’s.

 

[VectorPrime]

I don’t say it will not happen but a lot of people on the main board put their head in the sand and believe Mac will gain Brady ability to read defense in year 2 , put 15 pounds on to improve his arm strength. That Bill will find a WR1, a Micah parsons like and another top CB. I will be very surprised if we make the playoffs next year

I will say it won’t happen.

Also maybe should have drafted Parsons and Davis Mills

 

[Kontradiction]

I will say it won’t happen.

Also maybe should have drafted Parsons and Davis Mills

I think this draft was fine. It’s the 7 straight years of anything from mediocrity to utter garbage before it that killed this team.

 

[VectorPrime]

I think this draft was fine. It’s the 7 straight years of anything from mediocrity to utter garbage before it that killed this team.

That 2019 draft is honestly the Mona Lisa of bad drafts.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I think this draft was fine. It’s the 7 straight years of anything from mediocrity to utter garbage before it that killed this team.

Has a guy’s reputation ever been more undeserved than Nick Caserio’s?

 

[RicoG]

The Bills could beat NE with practice squad and Josh Allen at QB right now so the cap makes no difference. It's up to Mac Jones to improve just like Allen did.

If they don't want to see Mac ruined, BB and his talent evaluators have to figure out the offensive skill positions as they have sucked at it for many years.

They gave up on Brady too soon. Let Amendola walk too soon. Drove Gronk to retirement. No replacement for Edelman. Used a #1 or Nkeal. Picked the backup RB in Sony over the starter in Chubb.They haven't had a true #1 receiver since Moss.

 

[Deus Irae]

Brady got duped just like we did. But maybe it was Kraft insisting to Bill to pull this lie about the cap so he would spend less actual money. I could believe that.

Ehh.... I think the basic idea is solid. I think the problem was more that the guy shopping for the groceries was almost exclusively looking at the manager's specials.

 

[VectorPrime]

Rams defense coming out very strong so far

 

[VectorPrime]

I had no idea the Rams best tackle is 40 years old.