Reports are the Pats may upgrade the WRs through trade (not necessarily Hopkins)

[Thelonious]

I never got the fascination with Cooks. Good player, to be sure, but the fact that he bounces from team to team leads me to believe there's a reason teams don't hang on to him.

An improved version or Deion Branch. Upgraded to Branch 2.0.

Agree completely. He is what he is, and that ain't much, frankly.

 

[Thelonious]

Cooks is the one that wants out, and he has a good relationship with Belichick. The Patriots aren’t an elite team but they aren’t dogsh.t either. I have no idea if he wants to come to NE or not, but it makes sense for them to look into it.

I smell a Sanu.That ain't good, whether you are building, rebuilding, retrobuilding, or writing a bildungrsoman.

 

[Thelonious]

I think you're likely to get more bang for your buck going the trading/free agent route for a wr rather than for the O-line prospects we badly need. Decent tackles in trade/free agent situations are awfully expensive, even if they are marginal. I'd draft a couple of O-line prospects early in the draft, then trade for a long-in-the-tooth but serviceable wr with down-the-field skills. I would make keeping Jakoby my #1 priority. He's valuable on and off the field. Then see what develops next season with the wr's on hand. There's potential in what we have, and the oldster, if he's the right guy, can serve as a mentor in the room.

 

[captain stone]

They won the Stanley Cup and have been to the finals 3 times in the last 12 years and they look damn good this year. I think the problem was Harry Sinden, who's long gone.

Sinden wasn't the goalie who Puuked & Ralfed vs Chicago in 2013 or vs St Louis in '19; nor was he the GM with All of those terrible 1st-rounders Not in the top 10 from 2007-13; or who traded away Blake Wheeler & Tyler Seguin for beads & trinkets; or who failed to draft Kyle Conner, Matt Barzal, Thomas Chabot, Roope Hintz, Alex Debrincat etc; or who either traded away his other 1st-rounders for rentals like Rick Nash & Ondrej Kase or simply drafted crap with them.

 

[captain stone]

oh i agree, McCourty is going to retire and its time... but a middle of the pack FS is going to be savage to watch.

A good FS cleans up a lot on the backend that doesnt always get noticed. Im very nervous about what happens to our secondary losing a foundational piece and leader like McCourty

That's what McCourty's been here for the past two years anyway, so...?

 

[JarOfMayo51]

That's what McCourty's been here for the past two years anyway, so...?

i dont fully agree with that, he certainly isnt what he was in his prime but I still think he was a top 10 safety...

I just hope we don't have to be painfully reminded of how good he was on a consistent basis going forward if we have an actual middle of the pack FS. People freaked out if he was anywhere in frame on a TD pass, but it happens.. even Ed Reed got beat once in awhile, so if you're expecting perfection you'll always be disappointed

McCourty still had some wheels for a 35 year old, granted not like his prime but he wasn't slow, and he was also very intelligent

 

[NormZauchin]

I smell a Sanu.That ain't good, whether you are building, rebuilding, retrobuilding, or writing a bildungrsoman.

Your humor presumes a high level of intellect among Patsfans posters.

 

[jays52]

That's what McCourty's been here for the past two years anyway, so...?

Don't neglect his intangible contributions to the team. Under his stewardship the secondary seemed virtually plug and play. Always being in the right coverage, making the right checks, and communicating the defense has a massive impact on the overall efficacy of the unit. I think the secondary taking a large step back will be a storyline in 2023.

 

[Real fan 02]

We cat just keep depending on veterans . Next leadership line needs to be developed. I think we got lucky with extended period with Brady, Gronk, Edelman, white, amendola, Hogan, burkhead, develin, slater,McCourty,high tower, Andrews and FA gems in Butler and JC .

Now we need to develop the next in line and rebring focus on coaching and that starts with removing deadwood like Patricia, judge, brown and Achord.

Definitely agree, the players next in line are already developing or have been in the system long enough, so now it's thier turn to become Frontline leaders, uche, Dugger, Phillips, hopefully peppers sticks around, barmore, godcheux.. to name a few.. I actually feel the entirety of the offense needs to get a pass from how bad the coaching was.. Troy brown could have been giving these guys great coaching however the experiment gone wrong took away any potential progress gained.

 

[Toofy]

Definitely agree, the players next in line are already developing or have been in the system long enough, so now it's thier turn to become Frontline leaders, uche, Dugger, Phillips, hopefully peppers sticks around, barmore, godcheux.. to name a few.. I actually feel the entirety of the offense needs to get a pass from how bad the coaching was.. Troy brown could have been giving these guys great coaching however the experiment gone wrong took away any potential progress gained.

Route running is independent of offensive play calls . The routes take so much time. I think that's on Troy brown . And we don't seem to develop receivers . It's just jakobi for now .

 

[Rob0729]

Give me a break. Not every owner is created equal. You wanna compare jacobs to the Walton’s? Lololol. This recent purchase was for more than jacobs net worth. The fact that you trying to make me look bad while saying this is funny as hell

You have no idea if the Waltons are approaching their ownership any different than Jacob’s. They could be approaching the Broncos as more of an investment than wanting to win a Super Bowl. They could be just like Jacobs - An absentee owner that is in it for the money.

They could be all about winning a Super Bowl or they could be all about enhancing their fortune. They have only been owners for half a year. It is hard to know.

Rob Walton is worth $45 billion alone and the ownership group (which includes his daughter and son-in-law) are worth a combined $60 billion. So putting down $4 billion for an NFL team is not a huge investment for them. With that much money, they could either be willing to throw money at the team to buy a championship or just looking to diverse their asset portfolio.

 

[Snooky97]

Not a slight against Higgins as he got nearly a thousand yards in his rookie season but does it concern you that he tends to get more favourable coverage looks because they got chase?

 

[Real fan 02]

Route running is independent of offensive play calls . The routes take so much time. I think that's on Troy brown . And we don't seem to develop receivers . It's just jakobi for now .

The concept of offensive play including timing ,routes, synchronization with the qb and receiver is all on the offensive coaching.. as we know that was lacking.. so in theory your right.. but the OC is In charge of all of that.. we didn't have one last season, and it showed heavily..

Also it was also said the play book is so complex that it's hard for rookies to adapt wich may have also factored in to a drafted receivers development or non development outside of branch and Malcolm Mitchell in past seasons with brady.

 

[Real fan 02]

I smell a Sanu.That ain't good, whether you are building, rebuilding, retrobuilding, or writing a bildungrsoman.

Hopkins would change this offense leaps and bounds.. we have some decent players on offense even just adding a guy like Hopkins allows teams to game plan for him.. this helps everyone else.. he'd be the realistic option if he's willing to be traded here and contract restructuring.. he and BB seem to like one another alot...

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

This whole discussion could have been easily avoided by drafting Pickens instead of Thorton or anyone instead of Harry

 

[Real fan 02]

This whole discussion could have been easily avoided by drafting Pickens instead of Thorton or anyone instead of Harry

Thornton gets a pass for the debacle this season.. I'd like to judge him this upcoming season.. just my opinion

 

[Thelonious]

Your humor presumes a high level of intellect among Patsfans posters.

I hear the NFL is big in Germany. So call it a a diversity move. All the popular kids these days just love diversity, doncha know. It's a major element of their weltanschauung. !
.
I taught high school for a while, back in the days when you gave spelling tests. One day I put the word floccinaucinihilipilification (the longest general usage word in English, per the OED) on my weekly spelling list. The average grade on the quiz was probably 82 or so. Half of 'em messed up "rhythm." "Spelling "relief" proved a task too onerous for many. But nearly everyone got floccinaucinihilipilification right, and were thrilled that they had. The whole thing restored my faith in human nature.

FWIW, I am aware that flocciPaucinihilipilification is an alternate spelling. Full credit for that answer as well. I hope that comes as a releif.

 

[Thelonious]

Hopkins would change this offense leaps and bounds.. we have some decent players on offense even just adding a guy like Hopkins allows teams to game plan for him.. this helps everyone else.. he'd be the realistic option if he's willing to be traded here and contract restructuring.. he and BB seem to like one another alot...

Could indeed be. Maybe my judgment is damaged by all the past failures. I do think the present receiver room has significant potential. I also think getting the o-line in order is more important, as is retaining Jakoby Meyers, who has value both on and off the field.. I wouldn't object to taking on Hopkins, ut to me other needs should be granted a higher priority, and I am not sure meeting those higher priorities can leave room for the Hopkins gambit. It comes down to cost in the end, I suppose, as always, and priorities

 

[venecol]

I hear the NFL is big in Germany. So call it a a diversity move. All the popular kids these days just love diversity, doncha know. It's a major element of their weltanschauung. !
.
I taught high school for a while, back in the days when you gave spelling tests. One day I put the word floccinaucinihilipilification (the longest general usage word in English, per the OED) on my weekly spelling list. The average grade on the quiz was probably 82 or so. Half of 'em messed up "rhythm." "Spelling "relief" proved a task too onerous for many. But nearly everyone got floccinaucinihilipilification right, and were thrilled that they had. The whole thing restored my faith in human nature.

FWIW, I am aware that flocciPaucinihilipilification is an alternate spelling. Full credit for that answer as well. I hope that comes as a releif.

Actually impressed the avg grade was 82. You must've given extra credit for the long word.

 

[venecol]

Could indeed be. Maybe my judgment is damaged by all the past failures. I do think the present receiver room has significant potential. I also think getting the o-line in order is more important, as is retaining Jakoby Meyers, who has value both on and off the field.. I wouldn't object to taking on Hopkins, ut to me other needs should be granted a higher priority, and I am not sure meeting those higher priorities can leave room for the Hopkins gambit. It comes down to cost in the end, I suppose, as always, and priorities

With BoB being named OC, the Hopkins trade becomes a moot point.