The Pats need a new direction on draft/FA signings

I don't know about the rest of the draft but goddamn, I just want one drafted WR to succeed here. Since Edelman (and Gronk) it has been just painful watching WRs drafted to New England only to fail. Look at this list:

• 2019: N'Keal Harry (TBD)
• 2018: Braxton Berrios (cut)
• 2016: Malcolm Mitchell (forced to retire), Devin Lucien (cut)
• 2014: Jeremy Gallon (cut)
• 2013: Aaron Dobson (bust), Josh Boyce (bust)
• 2012: Jeremy Ebert (cut)
• 2010: Taylor Price (bust)
• 2009: Brandon Tate (JAG), Julian Edelman

This is horrific to look at. Basically, two hits on WR draft picks (with one being a converted QB and the other forced to retire) through the last 10 years. What's the problem here? Are we bad at scouting WRs or are we bad at developing WRs? Or is the offense simply too complicated? The team can grab random undrafted CBs like JC Jackson and Malcolm Butler and turn them into starters but we can't do that with WRs.

Posts like this are why Pats fans have a bad rep. People in Buffalo are cheering because they finally made the playoffs and really had a shot to win a game. Our worst season in a long time is as good as Buffalo's best (again, in a long time) yet people want to completely tear things down and change direction?

Really?

This is why I only have a handful of posts since 2006. It's incredible to see such spoiled fans who don't really know much about the game. This decline of the team may be what's best to drive away ridiculous **** like this.

No they don't.

Their unprecedented success absolutely validates BB's approach.

The constant mewling from entitled POS fans means nothing when you're talking about a level of success fans of other teams can only dream about. I really wish some of you weren't such bitter people that you couldn't enjoy a team whose success isn't merely once in a lifetime but almost certainly something that will only happen once in the history of the entire league.

Just sit down, stfu and enjoy what you were given ffs.

Seriously - everyone who is such a Captain Hindsight POS that you're sitting here questioning the gift that is BB's team building go ****ing root for another team and learn what suffering as a fan is. You're entitled manchildren and I loathe that I am connected to you by virtue of being fans of the same team. You'll never appreciate that we got the joy of watching the greatest team in the history of the league for all of history.

SteveBsFan said:

Posts like this are why Pats fans have a bad rep. People in Buffalo are cheering because they finally made the playoffs and really had a shot to win a game. Our worst season in a long time is as good as Buffalo's best (again, in a long time) yet people want to completely tear things down and change direction?

Really?

This is why I only have a handful of posts since 2006. It's incredible to see such spoiled fans who don't really know much about the game. This decline of the team may be what's best to drive away ridiculous **** like this.

Click to expand...

Agree with your overall point, but I think you made up the bolded statement. Buffalo fans are livid that their team blew a 16-0 second half lead, want Josh Allen cut and Daboll fired, were telling Cody Ford to kill himself after his costly penalty, etc.

Flash said:

I don't know about the rest of the draft but goddamn, I just want one drafted WR to succeed here. Since Edelman (and Gronk) it has been just painful watching WRs drafted to New England only to fail. Look at this list:

• 2019: N'Keal Harry (TBD)
• 2018: Braxton Berrios (cut)
• 2016: Malcolm Mitchell (forced to retire), Devin Lucien (cut)
• 2014: Jeremy Gallon (cut)
• 2013: Aaron Dobson (bust), Josh Boyce (bust)
• 2012: Jeremy Ebert (cut)
• 2010: Taylor Price (bust)
• 2009: Brandon Tate (JAG), Julian Edelman

This is horrific to look at. Basically, two hits on WR draft picks (with one being a converted QB and the other forced to retire) through the last 10 years. What's the problem here? Are we bad at scouting WRs or are we bad at developing WRs? Or is the offense simply too complicated? The team can grab random undrafted CBs like JC Jackson and Malcolm Butler and turn them into starters but we can't do that with WRs.

Click to expand...

Hell, you can extend that list all the way to the beginning of BB's tenure in New England and you'd still only add Branch and maybe Givens as successful WRs drafted. He's hit on like double the amount of QBs than WRs over the last 2 decades.

Fact: Patriots have not been successful drafting WRs.
Fact: Patriots have had best scoring offense this decade and are typically near the top of passing yards per game every season while being closer to middle of the pack running the ball.

I personally do not care how they go about getting their WR talent as long as they are able to score points. Everyone knows that this years WR talent was sub-par and that they currently need to acquire some good players but I honestly do not really understand the 20 year WR lament that goes on here all the time. I guess because the secondary has become so good that is no longer a good target to complain about.

Doctor DDS said:

Fact: Patriots have not been successful drafting WRs.

Click to expand...

Then:

...but I honestly do not really understand the 20 year WR lament that goes on here all the time.

Click to expand...

You answered your own question. Other teams don't have a hard time drafting WR's as the Pats do which is not a fluke. Something in their system whether it be scouting, coaching and, yes, QB'ing is preventing them from identifying, acquiring and developing WR talent.

Watch AB get reinstated tomorrow.

Why do you care if they draft a WR or get them via a trade? Pats have been much more successful offensively than the Steelers over the past 10/20 years despite the Steelers often having "more talent" at OL, RB and WR. Steelers are allegedly GREAT at drafting WR's. So what? How does that translate to scoring or wins when compared to the Patriots? Just a weird thing to constantly lament about. If the Pats offense had struggled all decade like this current team did then it would make sense - but that has not been the case. In fact it has been the opposite.

Red Sox won the World Series in 2018 yet none of their Starting Pitchers were home grown. As a Sox fan I did not care and why would I?

archstanton543 said:

Then:



You answered your own question. Other teams don't have a hard time drafting WR's as the Pats do which is not a fluke. Something in their system whether it be scouting, coaching and, yes, QB'ing is preventing them from identifying, acquiring and developing WR talent.

Click to expand...

In the past they haven't tried because of what you wrote plus their system is so highly evolved it takes a player with a solid foundation to have immediate success.

Can speak a language fluently without learning the language and living in the country.

Man fail to win one Super Bowl and this place haywire lol

dreighver said:

Yep. Bruinz is always like this.

I find him disrespectful and condescending towards other posters despite the fact that I often agree with his positions.

Click to expand...

He was mad earlier in the season when I suggested the offense had issues lol

Weren’t there rumors of D.Hopkins being available in October

An odd thing is that the Pats seem to be relatively successful at identifying UDFAs, but seem to be relatively less successful drafting in recent years.

DaBruinz said:

Hey BUFFY.. TE wasn't what crippled the run game. It was losing Andrews, Wynn, and Develin primarily. This was proven by them getting Wynn back and the run game coming alive with Roberts acting as a FB and Karras doing a much better Andrews impression.

Click to expand...

All true, but Gronk/Allen were much better blockers than Watson/LaCosse and that mattered too.

Resign the guy man he most likely won’t cost much and I’m sure Brady will come back with him. Sanu can go back to being a productive 3rd or 4th option

Shockt327 said:

Lol, the Pats 2009 draft class got immediately trashed on by Pats fans more than any I can recall in the BB era...and that draft class turned out to be possibly the best in the NFL that year (maybe only Green Bay was better).

That's the exact same kind of attitude fans have now. Can't see the forest for the trees.

Click to expand...

DaBruinz said:

You're a joke. You can't judge a draft class based on a single year.

It was the 2018 draft class that was basically redshirted (6 of 9). Not the 2019. And they were redshirted due to legitimate injury. Because it happens.
Harry, Williams, Harris, Winovich, Cowart, Stidham, and Bailey ALL saw playing time. That is 7 out of 10 guys they drafted. Yes, Harry went to the IR for half the season. Cajuste and Froholdt ended being lost for the season.

BTW, you have no F'in clue what setbacks Cajuste had from the surgery. So claiming he couldn't handle the rigors of the pro game makes you sound like a total J**K ***.

Click to expand...

Great insults. Thumbs up.

I will say that you are right, and correct that you can’t judge a draft class after their first year. I was absolutely wrong to state it like I did. So is it “horrendous”? ...agreed that’s completely unfair. I used that statement though with regard to impact this year which has been damn weak. 7 of 10? C’mon, you know most of those guys barely played.

The impact a class has in year one does have to be a factor in how the GM’s performance is viewed in the context of your team situation. This is a win now team.

Someone made a parallel to the 2009 Draft. Brady was a decade younger. We could afford to look more towards the future then, and stash rookies away.

Now, he’s 42, and you can’t wait to have the best value drafted player MAYBE show that value 2, 3, 4 years from now while ignoring bigger needs in the process.

Your master class on the depth chart works against you. Why are we trading up in the 2nd (Williams) to pick another player in our strongest area?

Why are we spending a 3rd on a RB when we have 3 good ones on the roster already, and it’s one of the most replaceable positions in the game?

Adding depth to depth doesn’t make sense for this roster in win now mode. I know drafting based on need can often be a mistake, but I don’t recall anyone seeing those guys as head and shoulders above other prospects.

Bill’s strategy has been great over the years to preserve the dynasty. Seems like he hasn’t adapted it for the short term state of the union. The windows just about shut, so for this short amount of time, it shouldn’t be business as usual.

Id like to make my now daily statement that if we invested in a legitimate tight end who can block and/or catch the ball consistently it would have aided this offense.

I think we should celebrate the fact that we turned a 7th round QB into one of the clutchest/toughest WRs to ever play the game.

This debate has been done over and over. Its not the scouting, its not the players - its the system. Its a complex system that most players coming out of college wont grasp and would need a couple of seasons to really 'get'. Unfortunately, as stated somewhere in this thread is that we can't give much more time due to the QB situation. So these guys end up getting burried and cut to make way for usually, FA WRs who have some experience under their belts (and even then its no sure shot..plenty examples of that as well).

If we drafted AJ Brown hed likely have a season similar to Harry where he shined a bit but ultimately under preformed OUR (KEYWORD..OUR...NOT THE PATS STAFF) expectations. We would then have a post about "Why didn't we draft Harry instead???"

There was speculation that the very reason Flores let Chad O Shea go was because he was attempting to install a Pats like offense in Miami and Flores wanted to get away from it due to the complexity of the system and the troubles young and/or inexperienced players have adapting to it. That is extremely relevant information in this debate.

A more worthwhile debate would be should the Patriots change their offensive philosophy / system to make it easier on incoming talent? Worthy to note doing so more than likely pushes Brady out.

Its going to be LONG off-season..