PATRIOTS NEWS OTAs 5/20/24

[Real fan 02]

Injuries, rookie emergences, beefs with the new coaches, roster cut down trades/signings, unable to get the new system through new signal callers, girlfriend breakups, new kids, and every other life entry you can think of will also play a role. That's the difference between "on paper" and "on field". Every year we go through this speculation and every year the end product on day one of the regular season is usually anywhere between 50 - 75% what is guessed due to unforeseen changes.

Or simply - football, like life, is wholly unpredictable.

I gotta say great post. Your spot on everything you've mentioned is all possible and every player on every team deals with those types of things.

What we do know is. Gonzo, J. Jones & m. Jones are likely the starters. But they will still like all the other players earn that on paper starting job.

 

[n1997y]

It's no longer about do your job it's a collaboration. Jokes aside I see your point players can't let it side track them but they are on the field with each other it doesn't take a lack of focus to see what's going on in the other positions.

Agreed that a big part of doing your job is playing well with others. I think that’s a big part of the OL problem, since Scar there hasn’t been a coach who got the entire OL working together. True, injuries have hurt, and so has instability from not knowing who would be playing where, but Scar managed to consistently field outstanding OLs despite injuries and turnover. That was because they played together well, and since he retired that hasn’t been the case. It seems to me that we have had talent on the OL but it overall has underperformed, because they were not playing as a unit.

Along the same lines I think there is much less difference in talent between the guys at the top of the depth chart and those behind them then most people seem to think. That’s another reason I can’t see getting all bent out of shape about whether Maye or Brissett wins the starting job. They both can throw the football and run the offense pretty well. as long as everybody on the roster plays as well as they can, and plays well with the other guys on the roster, the results will be good.

I think this roster has enough talent to surprise a lot of folks this season, if they play up to their potential. If they underperform we will see another season like the Mac Jones dynasty.

 

[n1997y]

Agree. I love the WR group. Polk, Baker KB, KJ. Now Thornton & juju are definitely IMO on borrowed time. KJ is a healthy, more explosive version of juju..

Agreed. And you forgot Pop.

 

[n1997y]

Injuries, rookie emergences, beefs with the new coaches, roster cut down trades/signings, unable to get the new system through new signal callers, girlfriend breakups, new kids, and every other life entry you can think of will also play a role. That's the difference between "on paper" and "on field". Every year we go through this speculation and every year the end product on day one of the regular season is usually anywhere between 50 - 75% what is guessed due to unforeseen changes.

Or simply - football, like life, is wholly unpredictable.

Exactly. That’s also why some can’t miss number 1 overall draft picks crash and burn spectacularly. And why some sixth or seventh round QBs have stellar careers, eclipsing much more talented prospects drafted much higher.

I gotta say great post. Your spot on everything you've mentioned is all possible and every player on every team deals with those types of things.

What we do know is. Gonzo, J. Jones & m. Jones are likely the starters. But they will still like all the other players earn that on paper starting job.

Agreed that was a great post. And you make a great point that no matter what anybody looks like on paper, playing time is earned on the field. Don't get wrapped around the axle projecting expectations, wait and see how the results speak for themselves.

 

[Real fan 02]

It's no longer about do your job it's a collaboration. Jokes aside I see your point players can't let it side track them but they are on the field with each other it doesn't take a lack of focus to see what's going on in the other positions.

Agree. What people will be surprised on is how mayo will be more bill like then they may think. His personality is what's is different from Bill. His coaching principles I believe are the same. He's a product of Bill of course as player and coach. That's a tremendous amount of football acumen to start a HC career on. Mayo will push his players when needed and give them support when needed.

 

[Real fan 02]

Agreed. And you forgot Pop.

How could I forget pop.. the guys dynamic.

 

[n1997y]

How could I forget pop.. the guys dynamic.

He’s a big part of why I think we’ve got a group of good and underrated WRs. KJ, KB, Pop, Juju (if he’s really healthy and has anything left in the tank), along with Polk and Baker. They are all good enough to make each other better, because defenses can’t slack off on one to focus on another.

To me the biggest question is at the key position: OL. If the OL gels and plays well together I think having either Brissett or Maye throwing to those WRs, along with Henry and Hooper and Stevenson and Gibson et al, we have the makings for a surprisingly good offense. The foundation is the OL.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Do you like anyone on this team? Scratch that, do you like anyone?

All I can say is, he is a nice guy with a strong opinion
Both are fine with me

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

Listening to 98.5 today to hear their version of the OTA's, instead I got a steady diet of "nattering nabobs of negativity" about how the Pats could loose their first 8 games, blah, blah, blah.. Bertram loves to wallow in the pig crap.
It turned into something that was completely unlistenable as the nontroversies just kept on coming..

I don’t even go over there when those clowns are on
Only gives them ratings.

 

[Real fan 02]

He’s a big part of why I think we’ve got a group of good and underrated WRs. KJ, KB, Pop, Juju (if he’s really healthy and has anything left in the tank), along with Polk and Baker. They are all good enough to make each other better, because defenses can’t slack off on one to focus on another.

To me the biggest question is at the key position: OL. If the OL gels and plays well together I think having either Brissett or Maye throwing to those WRs, along with Henry and Hooper and Stevenson and Gibson et al, we have the makings for a surprisingly good offense. The foundation is the OL.

Agreed. Pop, Baker, Thornton and Marcus are probably the fastest guys on the team. I would like juju to be part of this WR group becuase I feel could help them. KJ and Baker are the play makers on the outside. Pop is the slot guy who had crazy YAC ability. Gibson is another added dimension a former WR who lines up in formations as a receiver. Catch out the back, makes people miss he's another guy with elite speed .

 

[stcjones]

Yeah I don’t follow the logic… If they intend to cut down to 3 then surely Zappe would be the cut, since Brissett’s deal is mostly guaranteed and he’s a mentor figure anyway. Milton very obviously needs a lot of development and they never would have drafted him if they weren’t willing to give him some time, so cutting him after a couple months makes no sense at all.

That said, cutting Zappe means you’re one play away from Maye seeing the field, so he needs to be ready - and if he’s ready, he may as well be starting. If he’s not ready, you can’t cut Zappe… but then you’re still not gonna cut Milton, are you? So the whole thing doesn’t really add up.

I was a big fan of Zappe early on and even last year up to a point….when I realized that he is not going to cut it in this league….too much good competition out there. I think he gets cut and it will be Brissett, Maye and Milton….which is the way it should shake out!

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

Last thing maye and wolf would want is to get maye injured in first 3 weeks. That will screw this season and upcoming seasons. The coach and GM will probably get fired if maye gets injured and goes the David carr way.

I agree on all points.

This also has tie-ins to the 3 or 4 QBs question. Given Mayo's recent comments about wanting 3 QBs, Milton is the odd man out in the scenario, because there's no way he's the backup before Maye, although at least one poster here has suggested it's a possibility. Can you imagine if Brissette goes down, Milton gets the call, then he's getting first team snaps in practice while Maye sits and watches in total frustration? It's absurd.

 

[mgteich]

Interesting. Because of Juju salary does he make this roster??

No

 

[vicspats]

Maybe I am sensitive (for sure I am), but this sounded snarky:

On Bourne and what the timeline is to have him on the field:

“Honestly, it’s a week-by-week type of thing. We hope to get him out here. Well, he won’t be out here during the spring. I can tell you that. So we’ll see going forward. That’s more information than you normally would get, right?”

Nope you right. Snarky

 

[vicspats]

Agree. What people will be surprised on is how mayo will be more bill like then they may think. His personality is what's is different from Bill. His coaching principles I believe are the same. He's a product of Bill of course as player and coach. That's a tremendous amount of football acumen to start a HC career on. Mayo will push his players when needed and give them support when needed.

Hopefully

 

[Real fan 02]

Hopefully

What doomed joe, Josh, mangini, Matt is they all were reportedly trying to be bill instead of being themselves. Nothing wrong with being yourself, and taking all the wealth of knowledge bill gave to apply to your coaching principles. That's what Mayo's doing.

 

[Real fan 02]

I don’t even go over there when those clowns are on
Only gives them ratings.

I find beetle to be a big whine bag. I only listen becuase of zo who's just awesome.

 

[vicspats]

I find beetle to be a big whine bag. I only listen becuase of zo who's just awesome

Zo is the DUDE!

 

[Ross12]

I was a big fan of Zappe early on and even last year up to a point….when I realized that he is not going to cut it in this league….too much good competition out there. I think he gets cut and it will be Brissett, Maye and Milton….which is the way it should shake out!

If they’re truly only going to keep 3, I agree that it should go that way. However it seems like there’s merit in keeping 4.

The other tough piece for me here is that the quote says they want to get down to 3 guys “by the time training camp starts” - meaning Maye needs to be game ready before camp has started. If he’s not, then you can’t cut Zappe, but then that means you’re cutting Milton? It doesn’t fully add up.

 

[Wozzy]

What doomed joe, Josh, mangini, Matt is they all were reportedly trying to be bill instead of being themselves. Nothing wrong with being yourself, and taking all the wealth of knowledge bill gave to apply to your coaching principles. That's what Mayo's doing.

This is wishful thinking to this point... we'll see.

The real test for all to see will be game management, if he can't handle that part of the job the whole world will see it including his players. We're all just assuming this will be a given, but managing the clock and knowing when to take timeouts or give your defense a rest is crucial.