Pats Rebuild Intermittent View of Progress

[Nunchucks]

Not too much to say, it doesn't look good. 2 weeks until we see what it actually looks like.

Fingers crossed

 

[Huckleberry1]

Those were your thoughts in 2001 ?

This was my first thought as well. He’s been saying this since they drafted Jones, it’s just a rehash of what he’s been saying all along,

 

[Huckleberry1]

It certainly didn't help in terms of his stats. But him losing badly to Buffalo, Indy and MIA lost the #1 seed and ROTY.

Yep, Jones lost those games all by himself. He played like sh.t defensively in that playoff game.

 

[BTTA]

No this isn't a "all is lost cause Brady is not here." Post by me. This is we didn't have to usher him out the door when we did. He wanted to stay and he was basically forced out the door.

That story has been told on local radio for some time now...he wanted to stay and BB wanted to move on

Obviously at some point you have to move on from players. My point is, It didn't have to be when it was.

And how is the rebuild starting next year when the old regime was gone 2 years ago!?!? The rebuild was immediately after the QB left and you drafted a new one.

For a narrative to be spread through local Boston sports radio would be held in a court of law as evidence that it more than likely not true.
If that's your source for Pats information, everything you say should be considered 180 degrees wrong.
We'll never know what was really going on for all those actors involved in the Brady decisions. NEVER. Because even years from now, if/when they start to talk about it, it'll be through their own normal human self-delusions and time will have eroded even that much.

 

[Grogan14]

This was my first thought as well. He’s been saying this since they drafted Jones, it’s just a rehash of what he’s been saying all along,

Jones may be a good QB but he has been historically overrated by the media and many fans since he got here. Expectations are way too high and surrounding him with a crappy O line and mediocre skill position talent and inconsistent coaching
You know how this ends. Us older fans have seen it before.
Never should have dubbed Jones a franchise QB because he went to Alabama and was picked in first round.
Good player but not a franchise qb.

 

[BTTA]

Year 2 of the rebuild. Win the games against teams with worse rosters and/or coaches. Win half the games against teams of roughly the same quality. Win one major upset. This year, that's a 9-8 record.

Go into next year with a dozen or more 2nd/3rd year players in significant roles, all of whom will be better in 2023, and a solid depth behind them. Draft well again for the third year in a row, get another couple of young starters. Use the cap space wisely. Come out of it with much better OL and DL, and shoot for a wild card spot.

Suddenly, Mac Jones will be seen here as a strength of the team. Amazing how that happens.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

The issues with the O-line are execution problems, not emotional insecurity. Some of that could be due to having to think about everything because it is new or being asked to do things that do not suit the individuals currently on the team. Whatever the reason, the OL is the most glaring problem that needs to improve if the team is going to do anything this year. The team now has real world information about what works and what doesn't, including personnel. The game plan week 1 will be interesting. My guess is that there will be more of the familiar plays with some new stuff mixed in vs the pre season where the game plan was focused on learning the new stuff.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Jones may be a good QB but he has been historically overrated by the media and many fans since he got here. Expectations are way too high and surrounding him with a crappy O line and mediocre skill position talent and inconsistent coaching
You know how this ends. Us older fans have seen it before.
Never should have dubbed Jones a franchise QB because he went to Alabama and was picked in first round.
Good player but not a franchise qb.

Disagree completely. You guys blasted the pick, said he sucked, and he went out and played better than any of the other QB’s in that draft. Now you are just doubling down on the same takes you gave two drafts ago and pretending it’s based upon new information. The really unfortunate thing is that so many of you would clearly rather see him fail, so you can be “ right” about the pick, than to see him succeed, because in your minds he will never be good enough anyways. So go ahead and sh.t all over him, and root for him to fail while you drool over YouTube clips of the next “ can’t fail” Christian Hackenberg #1 overall prospect for the Pats to replace Jones with. I’ll be rooting for Jones, rooting for Belichick, and rooting for this team to succeed, because I’m a f.cking homer, and that’s what we do.

BTW, Jones was not the problem in the loss to the Raiders, they simply got outplayed on both sides of the ball.

 

[BTTA]

Disagree completely. You guys blasted the pick, said he sucked, and he went out and played better than any of the other QB’s in that draft. Now you are just doubling down on the same takes you gave two drafts ago and pretending it’s based upon new information. The really unfortunate thing is that so many of you would clearly rather see him fail, so you can be “ right” about the pick, than to see him succeed, because in your minds he will never be good enough anyways. So go ahead and sh.t all over him, and root for him to fail while you drool over YouTube clips of the next “ can’t fail” Christian Hackenberg #1 overall prospect for the Pats to replace Jones with. I’ll be rooting for Jones, rooting for Belichick, and rooting for this team to succeed, because I’m a f.cking homer, and that’s what we do.

BTW, Jones was not the problem in the loss to the Raiders, they simply got outplayed on both sides of the ball.

The same is unfolding with the last two drafts. Because the Pats didn't immediately become SB contenders after the last "all in" Brady years, and had bad results in the late teens, "fans" want to hold on to their "Pats can't draft" misery even in the face of two years of outstanding drafting.

OL: two solid starters, and two solid backups
RB: two very good starter quality, and two 3rd down types
WR: one potential #1; added the downfield threat requirement
TE: nothing really
QB: Top 3rd probability in the making
DL: one budding All Pro, two solid contributors
Edge: one, maybe two starters that bring a desperately needed element of speed/athleticism
CB: one or two starters
S: one or two starter quality players.

Many of the above can be replaced by superstars in free agency, but that's the whole strategy: get dependably solid everywhere, then add exceptional players. Not the other way around. The Moss, Harrison, Gilmore type players are brought in at the end of a rebuilding process, not at the beginning.

 

[Grogan14]

Disagree completely. You guys blasted the pick, said he sucked, and he went out and played better than any of the other QB’s in that draft. Now you are just doubling down on the same takes you gave two drafts ago and pretending it’s based upon new information. The really unfortunate thing is that so many of you would clearly rather see him fail, so you can be “ right” about the pick, than to see him succeed, because in your minds he will never be good enough anyways. So go ahead and sh.t all over him, and root for him to fail while you drool over YouTube clips of the next “ can’t fail” Christian Hackenberg #1 overall prospect for the Pats to replace Jones with. I’ll be rooting for Jones, rooting for Belichick, and rooting for this team to succeed, because I’m a f.cking homer, and that’s what we do.

BTW, Jones was not the problem in the loss to the Raiders, they simply got outplayed on both sides of the ball.

Not rooting for him to fail. Would love to be proven wrong. This preseaon he has regressed. Looks skittish in the pocket, indecisive, poor decisions and vision. Last year he did great against crappy teams but struggled mightily against good defenses and at the end of the year.
What elite skills does he have?
The eye test says he will be a middle of the pack qb.
Now if you put him behind a top 5 OL he will execute better
A top 5 OL is not walking through the pats locker room for at least another 3 years.

 

[Triumph]

Jones may be a good QB but he has been historically overrated by the media and many fans since he got here. Expectations are way too high and surrounding him with a crappy O line and mediocre skill position talent and inconsistent coaching
You know how this ends. Us older fans have seen it before.
Never should have dubbed Jones a franchise QB because he went to Alabama and was picked in first round.
Good player but not a franchise qb.

Expect a visit from MAC 4th and 10.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Who had "...as far as this offensive line will take them this year"?

 

[Huckleberry1]

Not rooting for him to fail. Would love to be proven wrong. This preseaon he has regressed. Looks skittish in the pocket, indecisive, poor decisions and vision. Last year he did great against crappy teams but struggled mightily against good defenses and at the end of the year.
What elite skills does he have?
The eye test says he will be a middle of the pack qb.
Now if you put him behind a top 5 OL he will execute better
A top 5 OL is not walking through the pats locker room for at least another 3 years.

Sorry Sam, I’m not buying it. I think that those who opposed the Jones pick pick are steadfast in their desire to see the Patriots go with another QB, and want Jones to fail so that takes place.

 

[Ring 6]

Disagree completely. You guys blasted the pick, said he sucked, and he went out and played better than any of the other QB’s in that draft. Now you are just doubling down on the same takes you gave two drafts ago and pretending it’s based upon new information. The really unfortunate thing is that so many of you would clearly rather see him fail, so you can be “ right” about the pick, than to see him succeed, because in your minds he will never be good enough anyways. So go ahead and sh.t all over him, and root for him to fail while you drool over YouTube clips of the next “ can’t fail” Christian Hackenberg #1 overall prospect for the Pats to replace Jones with. I’ll be rooting for Jones, rooting for Belichick, and rooting for this team to succeed, because I’m a f.cking homer, and that’s what we do.

BTW, Jones was not the problem in the loss to the Raiders, they simply got outplayed on both sides of the ball.

It’s always best to start from the bottom line, because that eliminates stupid arguments.
The bottom line is this:
The 2021 Patriot offense was one of the few best in the history of the league with a rookie QB.
The naysayers trash the quality of the other 10 players on the field with him.
Those 2 things added together can only equal Jones was ridiculously good as a rookie.


The bar isn’t being a good rookie it’s being a good QB compared to the other teams starters but it would be ignorant to conclude anything after year 1 than Jones has a tremendous chance to become a top
QB.

 

[Huckleberry1]

Who had "...as far as this offensive line will take them this year"?

Anyone who understands football. You cannot execute your offense unless your OL is playing well. Losing Scar was one of the biggest blows to the Patriots coaching staff that there has been. He was basically irreplaceable. I think Belichick is right to make changes to their offense but that’s also a difficult transition to make. Overall the cumulative effect of losing coaches and finding great replacements seems to be taking a toll upon them, but it’s on Belichick to get great coaches to fill those roles.

 

[sb1]

Mac isn’t a rookie anymore. He needs to be better as does everyone.

 

[sb1]

Sorry Sam, I’m not buying it. I think that those who opposed the Jones pick pick are steadfast in their desire to see the Patriots go with another QB, and want Jones to fail so that takes place.

Yeah and I don’t think there was really an alternative to picking Mac at 15 anyway. Pats needed a QB and Mac was theirs for free. He was the guy no matter how it turns out.

Picking Mills in the first round wouldn’t have quite been a Jordan Richards type of reach but it wouldn’t have been that far off. Also most likely it’s another Cam Newton season and once was enough.

 

[Kontradiction]

Mac isn’t a rookie anymore. He needs to be better as does everyone.

Of course, but I highly doubt we will see him throwing into an area with 6 guys very often.

 

[BB8XSBW]

Mac Jones is the greatest QB talent this franchise has ever had, and we were fortunate enough for him to fall into our lap without trading a single thing for him.

Yet people are still doubting the kid.

Doubt the 85th best player in the entire league after only his rookie season at your own peril.

 

[Kdo5]

Mac Jones is the greatest QB talent this franchise has ever had, and we were fortunate enough for him to fall into our lap without trading a single thing for him.

Yet people are still doubting the kid.

Doubt the 85th best player in the entire league after only his rookie season at your own peril.

I don’t doubt Mac’s intelligence or ability. I doubt the current coaching staff’s ability to put him, and by extension the rest of the offense in a position to succeed.