As We Start Free Agency - Where are we with the shiny toys?

[mgteich]

How bad are our skill players on offense, and how much improvement should we expect. Obviously, the open question is the #1 crisis on the roster - The OL. All else depends on having a solid OL.

QUARTERBACK (all back)
We hope to see improvement as Jones plays for the second year with many of the same supporting cast.

RUNNING BACK
We will have White instead of Bolden. That should be a plus. Stevenson should be improved, May, we'll see something from Taylor, perhaps not.

TIGHT ENDS/FULLBACK
We should get a bit more out of our two TE's after a season with the system and Jones. Maybe we'll have a FB, maybe not. If not, a 3rd TE and/or 6th OL will on the extra blocking duties. We certainly didn't count on our FB as a receiving threat.

WIDE RECEIVERS - MINOR IMPROVEMENT WITH Bourne, Myers and Agholor
Bourne and Myers should be fine, and better with another year in the offense.
Agholor will likely improve. I'm fine with trading him and signing a replacement at the same money. I suspect that this approach won't help. Put another way, I expect more out of Agholor; I'm not sure what we'd get out of a replacement.

WIDE RECEIVER IMPROVEMENT
I expect Belichick to sign or trade for at least one second level receiver, basically to replace Harry on the roster, as a major upgrade over Harry (or Wilkerson). Also, we'll bring in more competition.

I do NOT expect us to use one of the top three draft picks on a WR. We might have a better in chance in free agency, or even in later rounds, or in a trade, even after the season starts.

 

[TheRainMaker]

RB: I would be shocked if White recovers from his hip injury. Rham will beat out Harris for lead back.
FB: Running game will suffer without a quality FB.
WR: They absolutely can not go into the season with the WR's they currently have. They are real bad as a group.
TE: I want to see Smith more involved and enough of the screens you'd design for a RB.

 

[Ring 6]

The offense was number 6 in scoring points.
Qb will be an absolute improvement in year 2 vs rookie.
RB is improved with White back and Stevenson in year 2.
TEs will be in year 2 in the system and with the QB.
WRs are all back and seem to be an area we are trying to upgrade. Not doing it in the first few days of free agency doesn’t mean it won’t be done.

The OL needs a RT and a LG. I’m not crying about Onwenu replacing Mason. We will be fine there. Karras can be replaced by any number if Gs.
As compared to last year we need to replace 8 games of good RT and 8 games of crap. Doesn’t seem so hard.

2 reasonable additions and the offense that was good in 2021 is better, having had a season together. Add a WR to that and it could improve a lot.

It would also appear that the greatest coach in the history of the sport will be hands on with the coaching of the offense so there is more improvement.

 

[BTTA]

This is far too calm and rational, from both of you.

 

[Triumph]

The Grinch stole Christmas if all thats left under the tree is shiny new toy Terrance Mitchell.

Injuries need to be few and short which they never are. Terrance Mitchell needs to at least add something to a NE secondary that just lost its CB1. Hopefully, the first few 2022 draft picks dont struggle if they are supposed to fill holes. How many times have the Pats drafted a guy who everyone thought would be a stud only for him to go from PUP to IR? Wynn, Harry, Easily? Undeforming players like Agahlor and Smith getting better in 2022 is not a plan. Its hoping that you win the lottery this Saturday.

Brady struggled in his 2nd season because Defensive Coordinators had all off season to break down his tendencies. Marty Schottenhiemer discovered that Brady was not as accurate if you made him move from his spot. The Pats missed the 2002 post season. That is what awaits Mac.

So many moving pieces need to work out right for the Pats to be better in 2022. I dont see it at this point at all.

 

[borg]

OL, as currently staffed, is far more concerning than the weaponry which I categorize as "fully stocked w/ 1 new starting caliber WR addition"

 

[mgteich]

. Undeforming players like Agahlor and Smith getting better in 2022 is not a plan. Its hoping that you win the lottery this Saturday.

Apparently, your standard of acceptability is 100% success with respect to acquisitions in the first year of their contracts.

Last year, on the offense, we did very well with the acquisitions of Jones, Stevenson, Bourne and Henry.

I agree that we didn't get a lot out of Agholor and Smith.

So, I strongly disagree with your analysis of last year's acquisitions on offense. I think that we did very well indeed, probably with more production from these same six players in 2022.
=========
And yes, I would like to see another addition at WR, to add to the 2021 haul of receivers. We already have White who should help, as well as more receptions likely from Stevenson.

 

[mikey m]

I see two options:
1. Plug the holes on OL. Obtain a #1 receiver. Put a patchwork defense together and hope that Mac and the offense play at a high enough level to keep opposing O's off the field and under pressure to score points.
2. Plug the holes on OL. Dump all remaining resources into the Defense and hope we can play some balanced football, maybe top half of the league on both sides of the ball.

Realistically, we might have to set our eyes on 2023.

 

[mgteich]

I see two options:
1. Plug the holes on OL. Obtain a #1 receiver. Put a patchwork defense together and hope that Mac and the offense play at a high enough level to keep opposing O's off the field and under pressure to score points.
2. Plug the holes on OL. Dump all remaining resources into the Defense and hope we can play some balanced football, maybe top half of the league on both sides of the ball.

Realistically, we might have to set our eyes on 2023.

Yes, we need to plug holes in the OL as a first priority.

On defense, we could use upgrades at all units except S. A corner will likely be our 1st round draft choice if we don't trade it.

So, the open question is whether significant resources should be used on the WR position. Obviously, it doesn't take significant resources to bring in free agents or draftees to compete for the WR4 or WR5 positions (if they are 5).

My guess is that we will argue when we sign a receiver or two. Some will argue that the new receiver(s) might be considered to be competing with Agholor, Myers and Bourne for the #1 position. So, I don't think that we will sign a "true" #1 receiver in the eyes of many posters. Others would consider someone like say Shuster a fine addition, whether or not we consider him (or a similar 2nd level WR) a true #1. IMO, adding a 2nd level receiver would be a reasonable choice. We would then have a reasonable 7 receiver group (4 WR, 2 TE and a RB). I would think that a 5th (emergency) WR on the 53 would only be necessary if he is a punt returner or perhaps primarily a blocker in place of TE3 or a FB. Of course, we almost always have a WR or two on the Practice Squad.

 

[Clieb]

Anyone else feel like maybe Kraft closed the wallet this year and BB’s doing what he can without anymore new money? I’m not holding my breath for any splashes right now… hope I’m wrong!

 

[amfootball]

Anyone else feel like maybe Kraft closed the wallet this year and BB’s doing what he can without anymore new money? I’m not holding my breath for any splashes right now… hope I’m wrong!

Yes. Money has been pulled and I don't blame Kraft. He opened it up last year and got to see his team get its doors blown off by Buffalo. This is the true reset - this season and next as well. It was inevitable given how poorly Bill managed the team for years.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Yes. Money has been pulled and I don't blame Kraft. He opened it up last year and got to see his team get its doors blown off by Buffalo. This is the true reset - this season and next as well. It was inevitable given how poorly Bill managed the team for years.

There is a cap dont forget and I assume they will spend to the cap. I think they'll do a little shuffling and make more cap space but not spending isnt what's happening.

 

[Sciz]

Anyone else feel like maybe Kraft closed the wallet this year and BB’s doing what he can without anymore new money? I’m not holding my breath for any splashes right now… hope I’m wrong!

The McCourty contract made it pretty clear that's not the case. They're going to have low first year salaries and relatively big signing bonuses to push cap hits into future years, spending quite a bit more cash than the actual cap hits. Even on a one year deal, 60% of McCourty's new money is hitting future caps, not this year's.

 

[Clieb]

Yes. Money has been pulled and I don't blame Kraft. He opened it up last year and got to see his team get its doors blown off by Buffalo. This is the true reset - this season and next as well. It was inevitable given how poorly Bill managed the team for years.

I don’t quite agree with your last sentence there. Yes, Belichick gets the credit and the blame for the state of the team as he’s ultimately accountable, but I don’t think he made decisions in a vacuum without Kraft being on board with the plan. I think they knowingly overextended themselves… stretched a lot of dollars, and took a few more risks in trying to maximize Brady’s window… the state of the team isn’t great, but I don’t think it’s poor management.

 

[Triumph]

Apparently, your standard of acceptability is 100% success with respect to acquisitions in the first year of their contracts.

Last year, on the offense, we did very well with the acquisitions of Jones, Stevenson, Bourne and Henry.

I agree that we didn't get a lot out of Agholor and Smith.

So, I strongly disagree with your analysis of last year's acquisitions on offense. I think that we did very well indeed, probably with more production from these same six players in 2022.
=========
And yes, I would like to see another addition at WR, to add to the 2021 haul of receivers. We already have White who should help, as well as more receptions likely from Stevenson.

No, Id like something great in return for spending a lot of money.

Agholor and Smith were bad deals. Neither lived up to the hype. In 2022 Agahlor counts 10 mil against the cap which is capital that could go towards a guy like Allen Robinson today. We are stuck with last seasons mistakes.

 

[mgteich]

No, Id like something great in return for spending a lot of money.

Agholor and Smith were bad deals. Neither lived up to the hype. In 2022 Agahlor counts 10 mil against the cap which is capital that could go towards a guy like Allen Robinson today. We are stuck with last seasons mistakes.

You misunderstood my point.

We made at least 6 significant acquisitions. Would we have been better off without ALL of them? Otherwise, you are just looking backward and choosing the transactions that didn't work out as well, and ignoring those that worked out.

 

[archstanton543]

The Grinch stole Christmas if all thats left under the tree is shiny new toy Terrance Mitchell.

Injuries need to be few and short which they never are. Terrance Mitchell needs to at least add something to a NE secondary that just lost its CB1. Hopefully, the first few 2022 draft picks dont struggle if they are supposed to fill holes. How many times have the Pats drafted a guy who everyone thought would be a stud only for him to go from PUP to IR? Wynn, Harry, Easily? Undeforming players like Agahlor and Smith getting better in 2022 is not a plan. Its hoping that you win the lottery this Saturday.

Brady struggled in his 2nd season because Defensive Coordinators had all off season to break down his tendencies. Marty Schottenhiemer discovered that Brady was not as accurate if you made him move from his spot. The Pats missed the 2002 post season. That is what awaits Mac.

So many moving pieces need to work out right for the Pats to be better in 2022. I dont see it at this point at all.

Brady's second season he won the Super Bowl.

 

[Triumph]

You misunderstood my point.

We made at least 6 significant acquisitions. Would we have been better off without ALL of them? Otherwise, you are just looking backward and choosing the transactions that didn't work out as well, and ignoring those that worked out.

The terrible transactions of the past are rearing their ugly heads today.

The choices made today will determine success or failure in the future. You cant have it both ways by lauding the good while ignoring the bad. The sum of all the extensions, draft picks and FA additions and losses is the score.

 

[Triumph]

Brady's second season he won the Super Bowl.

Not 2002

Brady came in for Bledsoe the 2nd game of the 2001 season.

 

[Triumph]

You misunderstood my point.

We made at least 6 significant acquisitions. Would we have been better off without ALL of them? Otherwise, you are just looking backward and choosing the transactions that didn't work out as well, and ignoring those that worked out.

Agahlor and Jonnu Smith count for 28 million against the Pats 2022 cap.

New England Patriots Salary Cap | Over the Cap

New England Patriots salary cap, contracts, bonus money, dead money, and cap savings for every player

overthecap.com

Surely you can see how this is hurting the Pats right now? Its the same story, BB the GM is screwing BB the HC.