Hopkins Headed to Tennessee

[borg]

Dam she was hot for a long time, like since Porky's...

I recently rewatched portions of Porky's specifically for..........

But I think you mean the AFC South, which which I agree.

Indy in the South
Dallas in the East

 

[sambam94]

I'll bet that the one thing most all of us would agree on is that BB's marketing skills are non-existent or even deliberately negative. Winning the DHop contest was obviously easily affordable would have made a huge difference in the fan base's excitement about the season and I suspect it would have helped with the team's morale as well.

I have no doubt Bill has some sort of cold calculus that said not to overpay DHop and he may even prove to have been correct, but it's astonishing that Kraft let him once again give the finger to the press and public's hopes.

Not only does Bill not give a sh*t about what any of us think, I believe he actually enjoys f*cking with us when (and while) he can.

He may have been right about DHop, but he'd better field a truly competitive team this year because the goodwill towards him is all but gone.

correct, it would have ignited the fan base IMO. It just doesn't make sense over a few million. Then again Bill couldn't care less about the fan base.

 

[crawhammer]

Both were accurate. You tell us all things Patriots suck, if both these players were Chiefs you’d tell us how great they are… and their numbers would reflect their skill level.

That's just a copout - I say all things Patriots suck - because it's totally untrue. Ever heard me say anything positive about Tom Brady in a Patriots uniform? That counts too whether you like it or not. Jim Nance, Stanley Morgan, Ben Coates, Vincent Brown, Willie McGinest, Welker, Edelman, Amendola, Gronk, Stevenson... there are many Patriots players throughout the history of the franchise that I admire and respect.

Now, if you want to argue Henry and Gesicki are great then you're wrong but at least it's not off the rails like your contention that there are only 3-4 top tier WRs in the league today. I gave you a list of 10 receivers, and easily could have continued from there, but of course you blew it off. Your take on this is just really really bad.

 

[Steve102]

Dude I am a homer thru and thru. Ask craw about that.

Everybody deserves criticism for the way the last two years have turned out. I am a BB guy. He deserves to be pilloried for what he did to this team last year. But I will continue to root for him, and I hope he continues on as our HC.

I will root for Mac Jones to right his ship and get on that championship track. I want Mac Jones to succeed. I would love for Mac to win games.

The front office need to reevaluate how they are running the organization. By not offering Hopkins a competitive contract we are now behind the proverbial 8 ball, when we had a chance to at least be competitive.

We need to tweak how things are done if we want to continue winning.

And I say we because I've given Robert Kraft enough of my money to qualify as a minority owner over the years

I have stopped investing. Gotta put a winning product on the field before they get my money.

 

[captain stone]

Mac does need to be better. But it's also fair to question if Bill has put him in the best position to succeed

If the Jets put a DC in charge of their young QB and surrounded them with average receivers we would be admonishing them for ruining their young QB.

Compare that to Miami who gave Tua an offensive minded coach and went out and got him Tyreek hill. Tua is no more talented than Mac. If anything he's less skilled. Switch both those guys and I think the narratives are switched.

He absolutely hasn't. He hasn't given Mac a LT better than Isaiah Wynn, who was moved to Right Tackle last year; or a more dynamic chain-moving Slot Receiver than Jakobi Meyers, whom Bill then seemed to Refuse to re-sign; or a 3rd-Down Back of Any Kind ever since James White went down for good.

Compare that situation with the people Brady had at those same positions throughout most of his career, and it's a dam shame, especially when one considers how little - or Zero - effort Bill has put-in to find the replacements at LT, 3DB & SLR for Mac now.

However, it's also obvious that Corky handles neither pressure nor adversity well, partly because he never had to face either in Alabama nearly as often as he has to face it in NE. Compound that with his physical limitations, and what you have is a QB who needs more help to succeed than Brady needed, but who also hasn't been given the quality at three pretty important positions to help him succeed that Brady had... IOW, they're both to blame for the circumstances in which they now find themselves; the only questions are: who's more to blame, and by how much.

 

[crawhammer]

But your point that the fact we went after him is a reflection on how the team views its WR room is a bit overstated. You are ALWAYS looking to improve your team, regardless of how it is perceived. The thing is that THIS group is as good as any group of WR that didn't have Randy Moss on it that we've had. Not a high bar you might add, but we've had a LOT of success doing it this way. I guess the best description we can give them is quiet competence. It isn't exciting. No "#1's" No "all pros" Just a group that CAN be very effective within the CONTEXT of an entire offense.

Honestly I hate to say it, given all the recent controversy over repetitiveness, but how can I avoid it here?... This current WR group may be as good as any group that didn't have Moss on it, I agree, and true we've had A LOT of success winning with less in the WR room, however, you had the greatest QB of all-time leading those WR rooms to all those successes. It's just the obvious truth.

Now, that's not the only way to be successful. With a top 5 defense, and an all pro caliber running game led by Rham, and the optimum output O'Brien can get from the passing game (with moderate talent QB + WRs), then anything is possible I suppose. But don't set your heart on Mac making chicken salad out of chicken **** (so to speak) because while the current WR group is probably good, Mac isn't great enough to make it better. That works with Brady, and Mahomes, and some other elite quarterbacks, but not with quarterbacks on Mac's level (which granted could improve). Likely for our passing game to be great, Mac would need what Tua has in Miami, two tier 1 talented WRs, but we don't have that, so we'll have to find another way.

 

[jdlboot14]

Hopkins would have been a great morale boost... for the fans. But that's it - the fans. Probably not on the field, or the overall growth of the team.
It would have challenged the "buy-in" for Parker - who seems poised for a leadership position. Lessened the playing time for JSS and KB - and more importantly their potential to shine.
Ultimately, Hopkins is a very similar skill set to all 3 of those guys. If we're going to spend a lot on a new WR, he should be really fast, or a true Patriots Slot. Right now, it looks like Bourne might be closest to that role.
And don't forget Thornton. If Hopkins came, he'd be an after thought, which would equate to him being gone after '24.
We have no choice but to see what these guys can do. Lets Go!

 

[50-yard-line]

I'm shocked at the lack of interest and $$$ for DHop. Maybe the coaches are seeing something I'm not, but TN's getting him for peanuts.
If the Pats got him, he'd be the best skill player on the team (maybe the Rham).

Sad to see the miss. I really want a younger number 1 to pair with Jones, though, so maybe Jeudy or someone will break free this year or be available in FA next.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Good luck rooting for your new team. I hear the Jets are supposed to be good this year, even though THEIR MVP QB has one of the WORST records in leading come from behind drives in history. It was horrible when it was first brought to my attention back in the middle teens and I don't doubt it hasn't gotten better since.

Sorry man, that response WAS a bit hyperbolic and an overreaction, but the LEVEL of you anger and bitterness of your response just hit a nerve.

BTW- did you just MISS the entire 2021 season where he actually DID all those things you want him to do, or just didn't get the memo. Take a chill pill man.

I can understand where he's coming from this way. And I've said this repeatedly since we drafted Mac.

Mac was a good rookie, no doubt. He ended up being an average NFL QB that year which is saying something for a rookie. Most look like rookies and either ascend in year 2 or 3 or don't. So Mac looked good Ken, absolutely.

That said we haven't seen "special" from Mac. You can't point to one game in two years and say "Ok that was a special QB." Even in a bad seasons we can see some special right moments, right?

Lofty expectations but unfortunately that's what you need at QB. Idk I think that's where a lot of people are coming from. We don't have a problem with Mac but we need a hell of a lot more from him to really get excited about a team making noise in Jan against freaks like Allen, Mahomes, Joe Brady-Burrow etc

Most of this fan base likes Mac. I feel confident in saying that. We just need more out him Ken. That said he needs real help as well, around him.

 

[crawhammer]

Hopkins would have been a great morale boost... for the fans. But that's it - the fans. Probably not on the field, or the overall growth of the team.
It would have challenged the "buy-in" for Parker - who seems poised for a leadership position. Lessened the playing time for JSS and KB - and more importantly their potential to shine.
Ultimately, Hopkins is a very similar skill set to all 3 of those guys. If we're going to spend a lot on a new WR, he should be really fast, or a true Patriots Slot. Right now, it looks like Bourne might be closest to that role.
And don't forget Thornton. If Hopkins came, he'd be an after thought, which would equate to him being gone after '24.
We have no choice but to see what these guys can do. Lets Go!

DeAndre Hopkins. Not to be confused with Dustin Hopkins, which I think may be your issue here.

Look, DeAndre is a 5x 1st or 2nd team all pro. Since he's been in the league (2013-2022):

1st in Targets
1st in receptions
1st in first downs
2nd in yards
8th in Y/G
4th in TDs

DeAndre is an exceptional WR and he undoubtedly would have made our WR room much better.

All this marginalizing of Hopkins, now that we missed out on him, is a little embarrassing.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I'm shocked at the lack of interest and $$$ for DHop. Maybe the coaches are seeing something I'm not, but TN's getting him for peanuts.
If the Pats got him, he'd be the best skill player on the team (maybe the Rham).

Sad to see the miss. I really want a younger number 1 to pair with Jones, though, so maybe Jeudy or someone will break free this year or be available in FA next.

That's why we drafted Thornton. Hopefully it works out bc we traded up to make him a top 50 guy. Over others already producing. Enormous year for TT and others. Imagine if we actually hit on a WR! I'm hoping the resistance to sign Hop had something to do with him looking ready.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

If you fall apart chaning OC's then you are in trouble. I think people need to stop acting Like Bill O Brien is freaking Walsh coming in here with a never before seen west coast offense. Players have to execute, when they do it makes the Coaches look real good.

I don’t think people are acting like BoB is on par with a Bill Walsh or Andy Reid as examples. I think the consensus is that he’s better than Patricia. Of course it comes down to players executing. The OC can only do so much. The hope is that better playcalling and the players feeling more comfortable with BoB at the helm leads to more success offensively.

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I said this in the Booty thread, but that dude's gotta be the happiest Patriot in uniform today; his odds of making the 53 outta camp just went up, exponentially.

I’ll say this. If Boutte or Douglas would’ve missed the cut due to a numbers game with Dhop and caught on and thrived somewhere else that would’ve hurt us a lot more than missing out on Dhop.

 

[WinstonSmith]

That's why we drafted Thornton. Hopefully it works out bc we traded up to make him a top 50 guy. Over others already producing. Enormous year for TT and others. Imagine if we actually hit on a WR! I'm hoping the resistance to sign Hop had something to do with him looking ready.

I believe that this had something to do with it. It feels like this is a let's see what we have kind of year and then spend next year based on who performs and who doesn't, and who's available.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

Bill has doubled Diggs before and definitely given him special treatment. There's no question about that. It's on tape.

Also, Adams does receive as much bracket coverage as anyone in the league. Closely followed by Kupp, Jefferson and Diggs. With Evans, Hill, Chase slightly behind them.

The idea that teams just throw their best CB and "nothing else changes" towards a WR1, is just false. And laughable considering all the exotics and variations defenses are using.

"Tyreek, Metcalf maybe and Devante Adams get special attention."

"The rest get your best CB and nothing else changes"

I'm not being mean but this was clearly not a well thought out statement.

I believe Kupp is actually "doubled" the most. Adams is next than Jefferson and Cooper I believe. Chase receives a ton of "help" basically a loose bracket.

Teams double Renfro a lot for crying out loud lol. I'm sorry but that's a silly thing to say considering all the different things defenses are doing to combat all these WR's putting up insane #'s.

 

[BaconGrundleCandy]

I believe that this had something to do with it. It feels like this is a let's see what we have kind of year and then spend next year based on who performs and who doesn't, and who's available.

Yup we're a year behind. This should have been the year to make a push imo. We saw what we had in Mac. Had plenty of money to add targets the past few years but spent foolishly. Now we're back to seeing who can make up a real core on offense.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

amazes me people have concluded that Hopkins is washed up or injury prone

courtesy of ESPN;



He's played in virtually every single game in his career until 2021 when he tore his ACL, then missed time in 2022 due to suspension

other than that he's been as consistent and elite a WR as you could ask for

doesnt matter anymore... now ill hold out hope that we aggressively go after one of the big FA WRs next year

 

[slash83]

amazes me people have concluded that Hopkins is washed up or injury prone

courtesy of ESPN;



He's played in virtually every single game in his career until 2021 when he tore his ACL, then missed time in 2022 due to suspension

other than that he's been as consistent and elite a WR as you could ask for

doesnt matter anymore... now ill hold out hope that we aggressively go after one of the big FA WRs next year

I’ve read next years class is stale. If Bill wasn’t willing to pay without having to give up draft picks. He surely isn’t going to pay and give premium picks as well.

 

[RobertWeathers]

So you are saying we should not have extended parker?

Why you are you implying the should not have?

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Bill Belichick Nixed DeAndre Hopkins Plan for Key Reason: Insider

New England Patriots head coach and general manager Bill Belichick had a clear reason for not signing wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins.

heavy.com