Hello board.
This article is unbelievable.
And I believe every word of it.
First off, this is 100% on Bill. The big part that isn't unbelievable is that Patricia and Judge both rubbed the players the wrong way - watching the Lions and the Giants this year, well, those two guys have some issues. I do think that 2022 was an experiment, and Bill was thinking BOB would be back if it didn't work. it didn't work, and we got served a heap of embarrassing football because of it.
They'll straighten things out, I hope, but there is residual damage here, without doubt.
This explains Kendrick Bourne's invisibility. There's no excuse for that, particularly after his emergence with Mac in 2021. Will he be able to bounce back, head on straight, and operate as he can with Bill as Head Coach? I don't know. Maybe Patricia is the one who benched him, but Bill didn't go to his defense.
When they flipped Wynn to RT in his contract year, I knew it would cause issues. The move alone cost him millions of $$$$ before they had ever played a down. No surprise that he was mentally checked out, and given the confusion on the OL all year, the many procedure penalties from him and Brown make a lot more sense. Many here don't want Wynn back. I get it. But he was a decent Left Tackle two years ago (health is an issue, sure), and him leaving puts a big hole in the offense. Read an article about him being a "high-priority FA" for the Pats. Doubt that's a possibility. Even if his price is low, as it will probably be this off season, I can't imagine he'd want anything to do with them if he has other options, and he will.
With Mac Jones, who knows? I don't like his floating sideline passes, don't like his inability to get across the 1st down marker, and really hate the cheap shots he's thrown. Book remains out, however, because a second year QB should NEVER have been put into the situation they threw at him this year. never. Inexcusable. I can't even count the number of times I was yelling "PLAY-ACTION" at the TV this year - and when they did it, it usually worked. The idea that Stevenson was able to do what he did when every team knew what was coming is encouraging, for the OL, too. That said, if Mac wound up traded to LV, it wouldn't surprise me. Bill didn't seem happy with his attitude. Back to square one?
So even with all of that, a little guts from the coaches in the Green Bay Game, a little less stupidity in the Raider game (along with that absurd touchdown that wasn't), and a Henry catch that should have been, and this dysfunctional team, spattered with rookies and injuries, could easily have been 11-6. No chance in the playoffs this year, probably, but neither middling nor a bottom-feeder.
I'll be optimistic now, I guess.
Also, even regarding the draft philosophy, things certainly are not "fixed." They're still thinking they're smarter than everyone else and shooting toes off. With all respect to Cole Strange, who I think will be a solid NFL guard for a long time, both Nakobi Dean and Devin Lloyd fit exactly what the Pats are trying to develop on Defense and are/were 1st Round talents. So were a couple of WRs sitting there at the time - not hindsight here.
And don't get me stated on Tyquan Thornton. I just don't see it with him. Maybe (hopefully) I'll be proven wrong, but Skyy Moore was sitting right there.
Both those guys were huge reaches; the drafting ain't fixed.
