Robert Kraft's Press Conference

[ViperGTS]

They weren’t able to properly draft and grade free agents because the grading system used numbers rather than letters? This doesn’t pass the smell test.

It's all a smokescreen. People here think they changed a grading system that all of a sudden it changes how drafting goes. It's pure 1000000 percent BS. Tape of a college player doesn't change. Your grading metrics don't change. Times are times, arm length is arm length etc etc.

Now your ideas of what kind of player you want to draft might change based on those metrics, but lets not think they have some sort of new system that is revolutionary. Maybe they have their own version of Beacon.

 

[farn]

It's all a smokescreen. People here think they changed a grading system that all of a sudden it changes how drafting goes. It's pure 1000000 percent BS. Tape of a college player doesn't change. Your grading metrics don't change. Times are times, arm length is arm length etc etc.

Now your ideas of what kind of player you want to draft might change based on those metrics, but lets not think they have some sort of new system that is revolutionary. Maybe they have their own version of Beacon.

ChatGPT would’ve done a better job in 2024.

 

[jeremy2020]

Kraft looks like a broken man, he got too emotionally invested in his football coach and let how he likes him as a person cloud his ability to be a good head coach.

A "Head Coach in Waiting" is a dumb idea in the NFL

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think it’s more complicated than that

Do you honestly think there was something in the new grading that would have said “Not Polk”? But the old grading said “Yes Polk!!!” If the answer is truly yes (which I refuse to believe), that says to me that Wolf knew there were flaws in the system and ignored them to the detriment of the club. But sure, let’s keep him because it’s all the grading system’s fault.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

I honestly do not recall the story you referenced with the stairs.

The players were going behind Pete Cs back to Grier to complain undermining Pete C.

 

[JohnJH]

Did we ever actually get a clear title on what Highsmith's job even is?

Not to my knowledge. I haven't heard anyone on here that really seems to know for certain.

 

[reflexblue]

ChatGPT would’ve done a better job in 2024.

A dart board would have done better

 

[XLIX]

You clearly have no clue what meddling is. Go away.

When an owner makes a decision that doesn't work, it's meddling.

When an owner makes a decision that has a good result, that's being a good owner.

 

[BUSTAMOVE]

RK did say or the way I interpreted it: the New HC can bring in his own OC. Also the New HC will have a say.

If he only said OC. Then that must mean Vrabel
If it were BJ. He would have said DC

 

[Ross12]

Do you honestly think there was something in the new grading that would have said “Not Polk”? But the old grading said “Yes Polk!!!” If the answer is truly yes (which I refuse to believe), that says to me that Wolf knew there were flaws in the system and ignored them to the detriment of the club. But sure, let’s keep him because it’s all the grading system’s fault.

I think people are way too focused on Polk and Baker in the first place.

It’s been 1 year and they might not have developed because they didn’t get good coaching and the WR room seemed to be toxic. The coach was a “Mayo guy” that he pulled from a staff from a few years ago who by all accounts seemed to do a bad job.

If we just put the WRs out of our minds and look at the other picks - Maye, Wallace, Robinson, Milton, Dial, Bell - they actually hit on their picks fairly well. Maye, Robinson, Milton and Dial all developed. Bell is coming along reasonable for a 7th rounder which is a crap shoot. Wallace didn’t do a lot, but he didn’t bust either and he was hurt most of the year anyway. Still room for him to grow.

What’s the common denominator on all of those picks? They were coached by guys who were brought in by Wolf and not Mayo (AVP, McCartney, Peters, Springer, Bicknell).

So there’s potentially, in my mind, reason to think that perhaps those two WRs aren’t actually busts and maybe they just need good coaching and culture. I’m willing to find out, because the HC they hire will end up bringing in far better coaches than what Wolf pulled together.

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

Even if they were getting fired they still need them for all the draft preparation they've done, there isn't enough time to put in a new GM and have him hire all his scouts and be ready for the draft, they've done 12 months of work on it.

Picking out of any draft magazine would have been a more successful approach in 2024. Now our scouting and their insights are pivotal?

 

[XLIX]

Picking out of any draft magazine would have been a more successful approach in 2024. Now our scouting and their insights are pivotal?

Who is that guy who put Drake Maye at the top of his board? Maybe we can get his advice on things....

 

[mike_usagisan]

I think people are way too focused on Polk and Baker in the first place.

It’s been 1 year and they might not have developed because they didn’t get good coaching and the WR room seemed to be toxic. The coach was a “Mayo guy” that he pulled from a staff from a few years ago who by all accounts seemed to do a bad job.

If we just put the WRs out of our minds and look at the other picks - Maye, Wallace, Robinson, Milton, Dial, Bell - they actually hit on their picks fairly well. Maye, Robinson, Milton and Dial all developed. Bell is coming along reasonable for a 7th rounder which is a crap shoot. Wallace didn’t do a lot, but he didn’t bust either and he was hurt most of the year anyway. Still room for him to grow.

What’s the common denominator on all of those picks? They were coached by guys who were brought in by Wolf and not Mayo (AVP, McCartney, Peters, Springer, Bicknell).

So there’s potentially, in my mind, reason to think that perhaps those two WRs aren’t actually busts and maybe they just need good coaching and culture. I’m willing to find out, because the HC they hire will end up bringing in far better coaches than what Wolf pulled together.

That’s fair. I buy the argument that the picks weren’t getting the coaching they needed. I just don’t buy the argument that the new grading system wasn’t implemented, so none of the personnel problems count.

 

[XLIX]

It's all a smokescreen. People here think they changed a grading system that all of a sudden it changes how drafting goes. It's pure 1000000 percent BS. Tape of a college player doesn't change. Your grading metrics don't change. Times are times, arm length is arm length etc etc.

Now your ideas of what kind of player you want to draft might change based on those metrics, but lets not think they have some sort of new system that is revolutionary. Maybe they have their own version of Beacon.

They probably shifted from a letter grading system to a number grading system and think it was some sort of major change.

Whatever they did before and whatever they're doing since just ain't working....

 

[XLIX]

Why are folks so obsessed with Jonathan Kraft

I don't know that anyone is "obsessed" with him, but he is clearly the #2 guy in the organization - not to mention the future #1 - so he deserves to be discussed, for better or for worse. I doubt he ever disagrees with his father in front of others, but they certainly have honest conversations behind closed doors when making decisions.

 

[Lavictoire]

Both times I think he lied was when he answered with just one word, "No!" and stared straight ahead. That was when they asked if Jerod knew it was his last game and the other was if he had input or talked to the coaching staff how to handle the game regarding the first pick.

 

[ViperGTS]

They probably shifted from a letter grading system to a number grading system and think it was some sort of major change.

Whatever they did before and whatever they're doing since just ain't working....

Yeah it smells to me like a "hey we changed our system so NOW it will work"...i.e. doing what anyone including myself would do to keep my job or status. I don't want to see anyone get fired but at some point it needs to stop. Like didn't it come out that they wanted to draft Deebo or A.J but BB said no? I thought there were plenty of instances like that.

 

[RobertWeathers]

That’s fair. I buy the argument that the picks weren’t getting the coaching they needed. I just don’t buy the argument that the new grading system wasn’t implemented, so none of the personnel problems count.

Yea I call BS on that, too.

They did well on Pop Douglas and Boutte.

 

[XLIX]

Mayo got done wrong, he certainly wasn’t ready for this job by any metric.

IMHO, in a perfect world, all involved parties would have had this realization 12 months ago and Mayo himself would have seen that he wasn't ready and in his own best interest would have accepted being DC a couple years under a different HC.

 

[XLIX]

I'm curious if the next dude will get an actual GM title or will it be more of the same? Does it really matter? Do they do this for some sort of hiring/pay loopholes or is it just "tradition"?

Good question. I gotta tell ya, I sure wouldn't mind seeing this team structure their front office more like every single other team in the League does. I'd like there to be a GM, an HC, an OC, a DC, all doing the traditional duties of their roles and all of whom we all know who they are.