Huge shout out and props to the Front Office. What a masterclass !!

[Toofy]

Cowden has just killed it with the off-season and the draft .

We just had a completely whitewashed draft class of 2024 barring Maye and 2023 standing on last legs with gonzo, pop and Boutte and to now be in divisional with team really looking so strong on multiple fronts is insane .

Every other team had few cornerstones , we had none.

This is a cignetti moment for the pats. Rising from ashes. No matter what the schedule is, how could we possibly fill so many holes in a single year.

Testimony to clarity in identifying the right guys and coaching them up to their strengths and building a solid team foundation .

I wouldn't be surprised if the pats win the ring this year, a movie gets made out of it. The storyline should be insane.

 

[PP2]

Kraft will make a documentary, that's for sure, and it will revolve around him and the terrible financial sacrifices he had to make to dump Mayo and bring Vrabel on board.

 

[mgteich]

Kraft will make a documentary, that's for sure, and it will revolve around him and the terrible financial sacrifices he had to make to dump Mayo and bring Vrabel on board.

Is your point that Kraft deserves no credit for the success of the patriots?

Or is it that owners shouldn't brag about their teams?

 

[borg]

Kraft will make a documentary, that's for sure, and it will revolve around him and the terrible financial sacrifices he had to make to dump Mayo and bring Vrabel on board.

He may be the only owner in NFL history to pull out the " financial sacrifice" card after replacing a coach.


Mark Davis replaces coaches yearly and gives away chunks of his franchise when he's bored....and he's one of the "poorest"
owners.

 

[TheRainMaker]

The Pats have exceeded expectations for me. I had them winning at least 9 games and maxing out at 11. They were able to do this because the front office did what Mayo couldn’t do and actually recruit players and competent coaches.

We should also be glad that Campbell slid to the Pats and not the midget Carter or “I don’t know position I want to play” Hunter.

They struck gold with Henderson in round 2.

The best part is they are going to sign more players in the offseason.

 

[maust]

(sigh)
Only here at PF could a thread with a first post giving well deserved kudos to the front office immediately turn to Kraft bashing.
Whatever flaws Kraft has he is still one of the best owners in the league, granted the list of 'good' owners is short.

 

[patchick]

How on earth did this thread celebrating a phenomenal rebuild turn into yet another round of “Kraft is chap” BS? Come on, go to Gillette, look at the first class facilities he’s built in a mid-size market and consider that unlike every other owner he did it without a massive taxpayer handout.

Anyway…11 draft picks, every one ended up on the 53. Williams, Spillane, Diggs, Chaisson, Hollins, Moses, Bradbury, Tonga. Absolutely phenomenal personnel year.

 

[Mike the Brit]

How on earth did this thread celebrating a phenomenal rebuild turn into yet another round of “Kraft is chap” BS? Come on, go to Gillette, look at the first class facilities he’s built in a mid-size market and consider that unlike every other owner he did it without a massive taxpayer handout.

Anyway…11 draft picks, every one ended up on the 53. Williams, Spillane, Diggs, Chaisson, Hollins, Moses, Bradbury, Tonga. Absolutely phenomenal personnel year.

Is this a rhetorical question?

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

How on earth did this thread celebrating a phenomenal rebuild turn into yet another round of “Kraft is chap” BS?

Sometimes Kraft appears really generous and other times he appears really cheap. It is like a split personality thing that always leads to a healthy discussion.

Anyway…11 draft picks, every one ended up on the 53. Williams, Spillane, Diggs, Chaisson, Hollins, Moses, Bradbury, Tonga. Absolutely phenomenal personnel year.

Great draft but I am not sure I would say phenomenal. Campbell, Henderson, Wilson, Williams, Farmer, Ponder, Chism, and Woodson all appear to be great picks, but I am not sure there are any All-pros included.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Sometimes Kraft appears really generous and other times he appears really cheap. It is like a split personality thing that always leads to a healthy discussion.

Great draft but I am not sure I would say phenomenal. Campbell, Henderson, Wilson, Williams, Farmer, Ponder, Chism, and Woodson all appear to be great picks, but I am not sure there are any All-pros included.

Most teams drafts don't include any all pros.
Most teams drafts also don't include many long term starters.
This draft appears to most certainly have multiple long term starters in Campbell, Hendo, Wilson, Williams, Woodsen and Borregalas.
Hendo Campbell Bor and maybe even Woodsen could be pro-bowlers in the future.
It was a pretty phenomal draft based on the historical average of teams draft results.

 

[Tunescribe]

Kraft will make a documentary, that's for sure, and it will revolve around him and the terrible financial sacrifices he had to make to dump Mayo and bring Vrabel on board.

Is your point that Kraft deserves no credit for the success of the patriots?

Or is it that owners shouldn't brag about their teams?

Kraft deserves criticism for the Mayo fiasco as well as credit for righting his own wrong. Should that be considered a wash at this point? I don't know.

Bob pointing out the high cost of buying out Mayo and his assistants is kind of odd, though, as if we're obliged to appreciate his "sacrifice." By the same token, you can't blame an 84-year-old owner for wanting to crow a bit over how things are going.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Its almost too good to be true. Usually when spending this much you make at least one really bad investment and a few other you sorta regret. Im glad we have all of them

Then you come out of the draft with 4 major contributors, a kicker /LS, and some depth pieces. Pretty incredible work, with one more offseason thats even 1/3rd as successful (think edge, lb, iol, and possibly a wr) this team may be a juggernaut in 2026

 

[Sect140]

He may be the only owner in NFL history to pull out the " financial sacrifice" card after replacing a coach.


Mark Davis replaces coaches yearly and gives away chunks of his franchise when he's bored....and he's one of the "poorest"
owners.

I heard on NFL radio yesterday that the NFL sent a memo to all the teams informing them that the last five years NFL owners have spent 800 million dollars paying fired coaches and front office personnel.

It’s just going to get worse because three teams that made the playoffs had first year coaches, that’s going to make owners have even less patience.

 

[Sect140]

How on earth did this thread celebrating a phenomenal rebuild turn into yet another round of “Kraft is chap” BS? Come on, go to Gillette, look at the first class facilities he’s built in a mid-size market and consider that unlike every other owner he did it without a massive taxpayer handout.

Anyway…11 draft picks, every one ended up on the 53. Williams, Spillane, Diggs, Chaisson, Hollins, Moses, Bradbury, Tonga. Absolutely phenomenal personnel year.

Also he didn’t implement PSL’s for season ticket holders like most owners were doing with their new stadiums back then.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Bob pointing out the high cost of buying out Mayo and his assistants is kind of odd, as if we're obliged to appreciate his "sacrifice." By the same token, you can't blame an 84-year-old owner for wanting to crow a bit over how things are going.

I did find that odd how he specifically mentioned the cost of moving on from Mayo and that entire staff, not sure I've ever heard any owner talk about such things.
I'm not a Kraft apologist or hater, overall he's a good owner.
Only thing I care about is that he realized his house was on fire and he did what was necessary to extinguish said fire and rebuild.

 

[Ring 6]

51% of the snaps on offense were by players new to the team.
57% of the snaps on defense were by players new to the team.
47% of the snaps on special teams were by players new to the team.

100% of the coaching was by coaches new to the team.

 

[borg]

you can't blame an 84-year-old owner for wanting to crow a bit over how things are going.

He didn't crow (publicly) about his team being the NFL's lowest cash spender for a decade.

 

[patchick]

I did find that odd how he specifically mentioned the cost of moving on from Mayo and that entire staff, not sure I've ever heard any owner talk about such things.

Oh it was odd for sure to talk about it, that stuff usually gets swept under the rug. Who wants to point out when they’ve wasted millions of dollars? I think the experience was just unpleasantly new to Kraft after decades of BB. Most owners are all too used to the feeling.

But being ready to throw immediate $$millions at a problem is obviously not a sign of cheapness, whether you talk about it or not!

 

[The Gr8est]

Oh it was odd for sure to talk about it, that stuff usually gets swept under the rug. Who wants to point out when they’ve wasted millions of dollars? I think the experience was just unpleasantly new to Kraft after decades of BB. Most owners are all too used to the feeling.

But being ready to throw immediate $$millions at a problem is obviously not a sign of cheapness, whether you talk about it or not!

The alternative was a fan base ready to mutiny and give up season tickets.

 

[DoubleDeluxe]

Oh it was odd for sure to talk about it, that stuff usually gets swept under the rug. Who wants to point out when they’ve wasted millions of dollars? I think the experience was just unpleasantly new to Kraft after decades of BB. Most owners are all too used to the feeling.

But being ready to throw immediate $$millions at a problem is obviously not a sign of cheapness, whether you talk about it or not!

Agreed, thus the second part of my post.
He realized what a mess he created, and did what was necessary to right that wrong.
He gets kudos for that.