Is this the offense we wanted?

[signbabybrady]

I see we’re doing the thing again this year where the Patriots deserve to be three and four deep into their OL depth chart because of their refusal to sign a top player instead.

Somebody is going to have to help me with where to draw the line. When the Chargers drafted Joe Alt to play opposite Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater, did they want to have neither available this past weekend? Did the Cardinals plan for their #3 and #4 right tackles to be major issues in week 3 when after signing Jonah Williams for $15M per year? The Dolphins let last year’s C and RG walk, but then also lost their LT and LG to injury. The Browns knew their starting tackles were recovering, but not that they would still be out or that a guard would also be out for the season and a backup tackle would miss a little time.

Including the Pats, that also happens to be 5 of the 7 lowest scoring teams. Should all of these teams also have planned better for the multiple OL injuries, or does having Pro Bowlers and first round picks injured mean they get an “I tried” sticker that forgives them of all of that?

Football hurts

 

[Ring 6]

Why are you twisting words ?
Where did I say don’t criticize the players

I took the excuses as a reluctance to criticize the players acquired. You called them placeholders, which I took to imply they were part of a solid plan.

 

[Ring 6]

I see we’re doing the thing again this year where the Patriots deserve to be three and four deep into their OL depth chart because of their refusal to sign a top player instead.

Somebody is going to have to help me with where to draw the line. When the Chargers drafted Joe Alt to play opposite Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater, did they want to have neither available this past weekend? Did the Cardinals plan for their #3 and #4 right tackles to be major issues in week 3 when after signing Jonah Williams for $15M per year? The Dolphins let last year’s C and RG walk, but then also lost their LT and LG to injury. The Browns knew their starting tackles were recovering, but not that they would still be out or that a guard would also be out for the season and a backup tackle would miss a little time.

Including the Pats, that also happens to be 5 of the 7 lowest scoring teams. Should all of these teams also have planned better for the multiple OL injuries, or does having Pro Bowlers and first round picks injured mean they get an “I tried” sticker that forgives them of all of that?

Our injured players are not Joe Alt or Rashan Slater.
Our injured players weren’t any better than the guy who replaced them at LT, or LG and tbd at C.

If we had complete health, we would still have a terrible OL.

 

[Ring 6]

They made runs at higher profile coaches and offensive players this year but no one was interested because of how bad a situation this is. In light of that, they made an organizational decision to cheap out on this year's team while also at the same time hoping that there'd be enough glimmers of hope through a bad year that they won't be similarly turned down by everyone again next year.

IMO, that's when we can start crucifying Wolf. I understand why he didn't go all out for this year's team and is taking a multi year view, but there's some troubling signs that he might have so totally ignored this year that all the same negativity coaches and players from outside the organization view our situation with will still be there next year. And if that's the case, then this will be a mostly wasted year because it's not like the young QB, receivers or OL are being put in great position to grow as the team is built now.

What high profile coaches did they make a run at?
Mayo was hired essentially in advance and Covington promoted without contest. I know they were said to have talked to Caley, but I wouldn’t call him high profile. Am I missing others?

And there was no GM search at all either.

 

[mister clyde]

But it has nothing to do with BB, they acquired an entire offense and coaching staff. Unless Stevenson and Andrews are the weak links this has nothing to do with BB
And they had 40 mill to spare.

They got who they could. We have heard of other players they tried to get that did not happen. They offered Ridley more money. They Offered Aiyuk more money. Both took less to play someplace that was not NE. Everyone expected this to be a bad team this year. Why should a free agent sign with NE?

Why did they take forever to hire AVP? Surely it had nothing to do with the other big name coordinator possibilities declining to come here.

Both of those things are squarely on the shoulders of Bill Belichick. He left the offense and special teams so devoid of talent that they had no choice but to attempt a miracle turnaround using JAGs and worse. They could not convince established, solid players to come here even for a premium because it was seen as such a bad career move. They have the most money to spend because nobody will take it if unless they have no other options. Do you really think they looked at Okorafor and thought "well he's just outstanding"? With the situation in NE what it is, it's about who is willing to sign here, not who we want or who is the biggest name FA available.

 

[borg]

They got who they could. We have heard of other players they tried to get that did not happen. They offered Ridley more money. They Offered Aiyuk more money. Both took less to play someplace that was not NE. Everyone expected this to be a bad team this year. Why should a free agent sign with NE?

Why did they take forever to hire AVP? Surely it had nothing to do with the other big name coordinator possibilities declining to come here.

Both of those things are squarely on the shoulders of Bill Belichick. He left the offense and special teams so devoid of talent that they had no choice but to attempt a miracle turnaround using JAGs and worse. They could not convince established, solid players to come here even for a premium because it was seen as such a bad career move. They have the most money to spend because nobody will take it if unless they have no other options. Do you really think they looked at Okorafor and thought "well he's just outstanding"? With the situation in NE what it is, it's about who is willing to sign here, not who we want or who is the biggest name FA available.

But New England has...........

An owner who believes he's HOF worthy
The Kraft Group philosophy on business and life
A special mural
An Inland Lighthouse with tiny bell

 

[Ring 6]

They got who they could. We have heard of other players they tried to get that did not happen. They offered Ridley more money. They Offered Aiyuk more money. Both took less to play someplace that was not NE. Everyone expected this to be a bad team this year. Why should a free agent sign with NE?

Why did they take forever to hire AVP? Surely it had nothing to do with the other big name coordinator possibilities declining to come here.

Both of those things are squarely on the shoulders of Bill Belichick. He left the offense and special teams so devoid of talent that they had no choice but to attempt a miracle turnaround using JAGs and worse. They could not convince established, solid players to come here even for a premium because it was seen as such a bad career move. They have the most money to spend because nobody will take it if unless they have no other options. Do you really think they looked at Okorafor and thought "well he's just outstanding"? With the situation in NE what it is, it's about who is willing to sign here, not who we want or who is the biggest name FA available.

You list 2 players they pursued. Where are the OL? The DL? Lbs? Secondary?
Better qb than brissett? Better receivers than Osborne and Bourne?

What big name coordinators declined to come here? Van Pelt was hired less than 3 weeks after Mayo.

Why did players go to Washington? Tennessee? Carolina? Why would we be the only team ever that couldn’t sign a free agent? Why isn’t it the front offices job to get them to sign here? It’s a bs excuses and it’s simply not true.

And yes, they told us the OL was fine. They praised Okorafor. That’s exactly the issue they signed slop and didn’t realize they were signing slop.

 

[lancerman]

I love when someone pretends to ask a question in good faith for discussion and then proceeds to use 40 of the 106 replies in the thread to try to beat everyone over the head with same opinion he's been spouting for weeks.

 

[State]

We aren’t running much motion. Luke Kuechly says we should.

 

[maust]

I love when someone pretends to ask a question in good faith for discussion and then proceeds to use 40 of the 106 replies in the thread to try to beat everyone over the head with same opinion he's been spouting for weeks.

Are you implying the original question may have been somewhat disengenuous and might have been agenda driven?

 

[lancerman]

Are you implying the original question may have been somewhat disengenuous and might have been agenda driven?

Does the pope **** in the woods?

 

[TheRainMaker]

Strange... I could have sworn that posters here told me last season that Mac Jones was the sole difference between a bad team and a good one. He's gone, the team so far isn't better than last season... and now they're changing their tune. Huh.

No, you are not crazy. But at least they have joined the darkside and are criticizing the Pats.

People also said Jacoby was going to be better than Mac Jones. He's not.

 

[Triumph]

We aren’t running much motion. Luke Kuechly says we should.

It would confuse Jocoby.

 

[signbabybrady]

Does the pope **** in the woods?

Dude abides

 

[Triumph]

Bob Kraft is the Pats de facto GM.

Everything goes through him. BK is not to the level of Cowboys Jerry Jackson making his own draft picks, but he is hands on now. Wolfe and Groh have the offices, staff and parking spots, so BK is trusting them to give him the best advice. Cant really blame or fire anyone yet since the first 5 picks of 2024 haven't had the best conditions for success. Maye has not played a lick. Polk and Baker have nobody to throw to them. The OL picks have been patches for holes in the ever changing OL.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

I see we’re doing the thing again this year where the Patriots deserve to be three and four deep into their OL depth chart because of their refusal to sign a top player instead.

Somebody is going to have to help me with where to draw the line. When the Chargers drafted Joe Alt to play opposite Pro Bowler Rashawn Slater, did they want to have neither available this past weekend? Did the Cardinals plan for their #3 and #4 right tackles to be major issues in week 3 after signing Jonah Williams for $15M per year? The Dolphins let last year’s C and RG walk, but then also lost their LT and LG to injury. The Browns knew their starting tackles were recovering, but not that they would still be out or that a guard would also be out for the season and a backup tackle would miss a little time.

Including the Pats, that also happens to be 5 of the 7 lowest scoring teams. Should all of these teams also have planned better for the multiple OL injuries, or does having Pro Bowlers and first round picks injured mean they get an “I tried” sticker that forgives them of all of that?

Your point has merit, highlighting injuries as a major contributor to the current state of the OL. The injuries are forcing a number of players to look worse than they are because they have to play out of positions, including the two rookies. However, it does not account for the reality that the big ticket acquisition, Chuks, is not just not a good choice for LT he quit the team. It is sort of like someone who did not try to fix his leaky boat feeling justified because he hit a rock.

 

[doesntmatter1]

Offense I wanted.....would be Zappe starting. Still convinced it would have been the best option until Maye was significantly better than him. Brissett has pretty good pocket movement but he plays cowardly and I have little patience for that when it doesn't yield results. It seems easier to get a gunslinger to learn how to reign in their mistakes than it is to give a dink and dunker a heart. Brady is the exception to small ball and it is unrealistic to try to play football like that. We need consistent chunk plays and not constant 3rd down passes that do not travel beyond the first down marker.

 

[Nikolai]

Ehhhhh...an unofficial poll before the season started has 31 of 39 posters here saying the team wouldn't get more than five wins. I had them at 4-13, and as it happens, at 1-3 by this point. They are who we kinda thought they'd be.

2024 Season Predictions - Patriots Record, SB Champs, and more

It's that time. The roster is set. The starting QB has been named. We have 50% of the story on what this team will be. We have a rookie coach. We have crazy cap space. It's dark. And I'm wearing sunglasses. That means it's time for the 2024 Season predictions. We've got the regular season for...

www.patsfans.com

 

[State]

Offense I wanted.....would be Zappe starting.

That’s not looking so foolish any more.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

It was mostly quantity over quality. And the re-signings were amateur hour. You don't sign players (some to top contracts) prematurely on a 4-13 team, who aren't Pro Bowl/All Pro level with the team on the decline. The signings have already backfired.

This is Bobby Grier level **** we're seeing here with Wolf.

Sort of; it does seems like the Bobby Grier days, I think that Bob or Jon Kraft are behind a lot of the pathetic off season moves. And I think that they forced Wolf's hand in drafting Maye instead of trading down and getting a less-glamorous choice like a stud LT.