Malcom Butler.

maineman209 said:

LB seems like it may be a point of emphasis in 2018 acquisitions, for both immediate contributions and for the future. WR also, possibly, given the ages of Amendola and Edelman. Perhaps safety as well, since the depth isn't ideal (heh) and both Chung and McCourty turn 31 during 2018 Camp.

Those seem to be the positions (aside from QB) where there needs to be some building for the future.

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Front Seven! There are two safeties on the PS, Travers and Jones. I really liked Travers in pre season, especially more than Richards

Pats1989 said:

I think a pass rusher needs to be a priority for the draft too.

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In 2016, the Pats finished tied for 16th in sacks with 34, with Sheard, Long, Nink and Flowers accounting for 20 of those. Half the league had more sacks than the Pats, but only half of that half even made the playoffs. And the Pats won 17 of 19 games, including the SB.

Before the start of the 2017 season, the Pats lost Sheard and Long in free agency and Nink to retirement. They also lost their top DE/OLB draft pick, Rivers, to a torn ACL in the pre-season. They lost Hightower's contributions for all but five games. They even lost Trey Flowers for two games with a rib injury.

They've essentially replaced all those guys with a motley assortment of UDFAs and other "Unheraldeds", including Kyle Van Noy, Adam Butler, Lawrence Guy, Deatrich Wise, Eric Lee and Cassius Marsh.

After 14 games, the Pats are currently tied for 16th in sacks with 32, and are on track - again - for the #1 seed and HFA through the playoffs.

Nevertheless, in 2018, like every year, it seems clear to some that the Pats need to make "a pass rusher a priority in the draft".

In order to ... what? Put them over the top?

p8ryts said:

Front Seven! There are two safeties on the PS, Travers and Jones. I really liked Travers in pre season, especially more than Richards

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Apparently, the Pats coaches disagreed with you wrt Travis over Richards. Both Travis and Jones have been passed over twice for "outsiders" (Reilly and Grigsby) when the active roster was short on special teamers.

I'm fairly certain that both Travis and Jones will be in the competitive mix on next season's 90-man off-season roster. But, I also believe that the odds favor, at least slightly, the Pats acquiring a couple more UDFAs, possibly a draftee, and even possibly a UFA or two, to compete for a safety position on the 2018 regular season 53.

And I suspect that safety may be as much a priority as interior DL, perhaps even slightly higher.

Bradyking12 said:

Our next Welker/Edleman is probably already in the league as an undrafted practice squad member or soon to be in the near future

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I thought he was already on our practice squad: Riley McCarron.

Brandon_Cox said:

I thought he was already on our practice squad: Riley McCarron.

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Possibly. Seems likely that he, and perhaps Reedy (just re-signed to the PS yesterday), will be in the mix on the 90-man roster in 2018.

maineman209 said:

Possibly. Seems likely that he, and perhaps Reedy (just re-signed to the PS yesterday), will be in the mix on the 90-man roster in 2018.

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I would be shocked if the Pats didn't have plans for McCarron on the 90-man roster. Not so sure about Reedy, though.

KontradictioN said:

I would be shocked if the Pats didn't have plans for McCarron on the 90-man roster. Not so sure about Reedy, though.

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Although Reedy didn't show much, aside from caution, in his limited time on the active roster, he does appear to have some potential as a PR. With Amendola a UFA and turning 33 and Edelman (turning 32) just coming back from an ACL, it seems to me he's likely to be in the mix on the 90-man, at least to compete with McCarron and Cy Jones and whoever else they may acquire.

He might not be there for long, though.

If we presume that the team has kept Travis and Jones because the staff thinks that they have some talent, then it is also clear that they believe that Richards has more talent.

While I agree that we need an additional backup safety, it isn't at all clear that Richards won't be the favorite going into camp, yet again.

maineman209 said:

Apparently, the Pats coaches disagreed with you wrt Travis over Richards. Both Travis and Jones have been passed over twice for "outsiders" (Reilly and Grigsby) when the active roster was short on special teamers.

I'm fairly certain that both Travis and Jones will be in the competitive mix on next season's 90-man off-season roster. But, I also believe that the odds favor, at least slightly, the Pats acquiring a couple more UDFAs, possibly a draftee, and even possibly a UFA or two, to compete for a safety position on the 2018 regular season 53.

And I suspect that safety may be as much a priority as interior DL, perhaps even slightly higher.

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patriot1136 said:

How much do we save if we cut J. Richards? hahahaha

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Kraft is looking under his couch right now...

luuked said:

The fundamental issue with Seattle is that they are too top heavy and at the same time have drafted very poorly since 2013 which coincidentally is the point when they started to draft in the high 20s/30s

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I'd attribute that more to it being when Carroll's inside info on hidden college gems dried up. Doesn't really affect your point or Seattle's trajectory, but I though it was worth mentioning.

mgteich said:

If we presume that the team has kept Travis and Jones because the staff thinks that they have some talent, then it is also clear that they believe that Richards has more talent.

While I agree that we need an additional backup safety, it isn't at all clear that Richards won't be the favorite going into camp, yet again.

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This board is absurd when it comes to Richards. He takes all the blame for the big play at the end, by many, because he was blocked, off-balance, and had to half-dive at the runner, and thus didn't have enough momentum to cut the guy.

This board will look for any reason to crucify the guy, ignoring the good plays he makes - and there have been plenty, both on ST and as the hybrid LB/S.

Bradyking12 said:

Our next Welker/Edleman is probably already in the league as an undrafted practice squad member or soon to be in the near future

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/
Wait, I thought that was Hogan?

Oswlek said:

I'd attribute that more to it being when Carroll's inside info on hidden college gems dried up. Doesn't really affect your point or Seattle's trajectory, but I though it was worth mentioning.

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I agree that this might have played a role but lets assume you have the best insider info possible.. would you wait until round 3 to draft Wilson or round 5 to get Sherman or Chancellor ? All it takes is one other team to have heard something similar from their college contacts or scouting personnel.

I honestly dont think they had too much insider info on some of the home run hits in the late rounds but very well might have been pretty well informed on the players they chose early (Earl Thomas #14, Irvin #15, Wagner #47..) in terms of team building and overall fit.

50-yard-line said:

This board is absurd when it comes to Richards. He takes all the blame for the big play at the end, by many, because he was blocked, off-balance, and had to half-dive at the runner, and thus didn't have enough momentum to cut the guy.

This board will look for any reason to crucify the guy, ignoring the good plays he makes - and there have been plenty, both on ST and as the hybrid LB/S.

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He was overdrafted, and he sucks.

It's not really more complicated than that.

patriot1136 said:

How much do we save if we cut J. Richards? hahahaha

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Richards ...

$1,180,948 = 2018 cap hit
- 239,827 = final installment of signing bonus (goes to Dead Money)
__________
$941,121 = gross cap savings
- 480,000 = minimum cost of replacement player in 2018
__________
$461,121 = NET savings on 2018 cap

If the Pats had cut him Wednesday and replaced him with someone from the PS, they'd have saved an additional $36k (net) for this season.

IOW, not much relative to the cap.

For comparison, in 2018 Brady is currently scheduled to earn $882,353 per week.

mgteich said:

If we presume that the team has kept Travis and Jones because the staff thinks that they have some talent, then it is also clear that they believe that Richards has more talent.

While I agree that we need an additional backup safety, it isn't at all clear that Richards won't be the favorite going into camp, yet again.

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I tend to think of it as there being a possibility that Travis and/or Jones may have more long term upside (talent-wise) than Richards, but that Richards - for all his flaws - was simply more useful this season than they would have been.

BTW - Travis has earned a Practice Player of the Week award five times this season (as has Grissom). Jones has earned the award four times, as has Cody Hollister.

McCarron, Bolden, Karras and Burkhead have each earned the award three times.

Seven other players have earned the award twice, and 12 others (including three who are no longer with the team) have earned the award once.

maineman209 said:

I tend to think of it as there being a possibility that Travis and/or Jones may have more long term upside (talent-wise) than Richards, but that Richards - for all his flaws - was simply more useful this season than they would have been.

BTW - Travis has earned a Practice Player of the Week award five times this season (as has Grissom). Jones has earned the award four times, as has Cody Hollister.

McCarron, Bolden, Karras and Burkhead have each earned the award three times.

Seven other players have earned the award twice, and 12 others (including three who are no longer with the team) have earned the award once.

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Practice player of the week means nothing in terms of game day talent. Jake Bequette won that award a few times

M Butler is 90% likely gone elsewhere to chase richer pastures. Other teams have noticed his solid play and tackling over these 4 seasons as well. But we fans shouldn't worry too, too much. Recall, Butler too, was once just an unknown rookie on the practice squad, before bursting into the bigs.

mcmurtry86 said:

Practice player of the week means nothing in terms of game day talent. Jake Bequette won that award a few times

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Never said that it did.

The PPoW award is given to the players who the coaches felt did the most to help the team prepare for a game that ended in victory (no PPoWs after a loss).

For roster-end players/special teamers on the 53, and for PS players, this typically means that they went the extra mile while playing a role on the scout team - portraying a particular player and/or scheme point of the upcoming opponent.

It's still a notable recognition in that roster-end/PS player who win multiple awards during a season nearly always receive futures contracts and a spot on the following year's 90-man off-season roster. They're also at least somewhat more likely to be re-signed to the PS at the end of the following Camp if they don't make the final cut and still have PS eligibility.

It's also a way for us fans to be able to identify players who the Pats coaches have enjoyed working with, regardless of their long term upside or active-roster worthiness.

maineman209 said:

In 2016, the Pats finished tied for 16th in sacks with 34, with Sheard, Long, Nink and Flowers accounting for 20 of those. Half the league had more sacks than the Pats, but only half of that half even made the playoffs. And the Pats won 17 of 19 games, including the SB.

Before the start of the 2017 season, the Pats lost Sheard and Long in free agency and Nink to retirement. They also lost their top DE/OLB draft pick, Rivers, to a torn ACL in the pre-season. They lost Hightower's contributions for all but five games. They even lost Trey Flowers for two games with a rib injury.

They've essentially replaced all those guys with a motley assortment of UDFAs and other "Unheraldeds", including Kyle Van Noy, Adam Butler, Lawrence Guy, Deatrich Wise, Eric Lee and Cassius Marsh.

After 14 games, the Pats are currently tied for 16th in sacks with 32, and are on track - again - for the #1 seed and HFA through the playoffs.

Nevertheless, in 2018, like every year, it seems clear to some that the Pats need to make "a pass rusher a priority in the draft".

In order to ... what? Put them over the top?

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How many of those come from blitzes? How many come from plays that took longer than 4s? How many came from bad handling?

Not to defend the OP , cause, you know, he's basically a troll, but the argument of our positioning is not relevant in this case. Should we keep playing Richards on defense? We are the #1 seed and he is seing some action... those two variable can be correlated, but that doesnt imply causation... there's plenty of variables at work

The Pats are mediocre in sacks because they have superb coaching and game planning, which has to reflect in most stats, including sacks. Our D line sucks at rushing by itself. Actually, our D line is bad in general, because it also cant stop the run.

DL is the number 1 priority this offseason, at least in my opinion.