Pats... tanking? Develin says, "No!"

It's like Jordan said in The Last Dance - not trying to win a game for a better draft pick is a losers mentality.

BB is a winner. This is not even a discussion.

Well, we do know that Stidham isn't going to be up for tanking. Imagine, having a new young QB and instructing him to reign it in a bit for the sake of a better QB next year.

fxmallon said:

Well, we do know that Stidham isn't going to be up for tanking. Imagine, having a new young QB and instructing him to reign it in a bit for the sake of a better QB next year.

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Nor would Bill like all the comments that say a 4-12 record would produce. Remarks such as "This proves the Patriots' success was all due to Brady."

I do not believe the Pats are tanking in 2020, but if they were, they wouldn’t have told the players.

They're not tanking. That's not in their DNA. Don't be surprised if they open the season at 6-2 or 5-3.

Whatever the record will be you'll see 100% effort from well prepared players.

BB thinks every game is winnable. He can't help it.

Funny thing is any other team declaring an unproven 4th round guy the presumptive starter would be immediately accused of tanking whereas with Belichick everyone assumes he's already four moves into his chess game.

If the Panthers declared Will Grier, who was drafted before Stidham, their presumptive starter for this season, you'd assume they were aiming for Trevor Lawrence. The only reason people don't believe the same about Stidham is some mystical ******** about Belichick thinking every game is winnable. I think Belichick is a genius, which means I also think he knows the likelihood this works out.

Since 1990 only 1 in 20 quarterbacks drafted after the 2nd round have become acceptable NFL starters. Good luck Stidham!

Nobody would ever admit to a tank

XLIX said:

The whole idea that NE would tank is nothing more than a mediot-generated fantasy because it makes for good conversation fodder.

It is a subject which is very easy to get people riled up, calling in, taking different sides, etc.

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I thought that it was a fan-generated fantasy.

Tottie said:

Tank is the wrong word but I wonder if BB looks at this as a 2 year project. If he really wanted to make the playoffs this year you could argue that getting fire crotch or Cam might lead to more wins, but developing the kid and playing the long game might be smarter while maybe reducing your win total this season.

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Belichick probably viewed the team as a 3-5 yer project when he came here. That didn't stop him from trying to get into the playoffs in 2001.

primetime said:

If the Panthers declared Will Grier, who was drafted before Stidham, their presumptive starter for this season, you'd assume they were aiming for Trevor Lawrence. The only reason people don't believe the same about Stidham is some mystical ******** about Belichick thinking every game is winnable. I think Belichick is a genius, which means I also think he knows the likelihood this works out.

Since 1990 only 1 in 20 quarterbacks drafted after the 2nd round have become acceptable NFL starters. Good luck Stidham!

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Lol exactly. People can’t fathom a tank based on this idea that Bill would willingly lose games..... because for 20 years they were consistent contenders with a high floor and a SB chance.

There was no need to consider tanking. Using the last 20 years as proof is kinda ridiculous. We went SB, lost a tiebreaker, SB, SB, divisional round, AFCCG, SB appearance, 11-5 missing the playoffs by a game, divisional round, divisional round, SB appearance, AFCCG, AFCCG, SB, AFCCG, SB, SB appearance, SB, Wildcard round loss.

The floor was literally “barely lose the division in some freaky 3 way tie or by a game at the end of the year). There was never a point where week 17 wasn’t a meaningful game.

Why would they tank then?

mgteich said:

Belichick probably viewed the team as a 3-5 yer project when he came here. That didn't stop him from trying to get into the playoffs in 2001.

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He inherited an 8-8 win team and took them to 11-5. Brady transformed the office and they went on a run.

Also this is very different. In 2000 Belichick had a franchise QB who was well respected and in 2001 he believed he found his successor who proved himself via a SB. He never was in a position here where he was likely relying on a complete unknown commodity

Nobody intentionally tanks. But if Stidham sucks it up, I don’t think they are going to get desperate for him and throw everything at the wall to get meaningless wins

Team won't tank, but it won't stop people from asking the question when they lose more games than normal. Team has a tough schedule, a rookie QB, no deep or fast receiver threats, rookie TEs, and a ? with the OL, DL?

Someone's already painted the season as the: "Bill Belichick is the Smartest Man In the World And Will Try To Win With No Talent 2020 Tour."

At: (NYJ, BUF, MIA) 5 Losses
HOU
KC
LAC
LAR
SEA

Vs: (NYJ, BUF, MIA) 3-4 losses
DEN
LVR
ARZ
SF
BAL

If Gillette crowd turns on Jarrett, it could get ugly.

They won’t tank.

Tanking implies a choice. It is entirely possible for the Patriots to finish last in the division without tanking. I strongly believe the Bills are the #1 team in the division. Depending on how Sam Darnold improves, the Jets may finish ahead of the Patriots, too.

I hope Stidham surprises us, but it is entirely possible that Hoyer wins the starting job during TC. People are jumping on the Stidham train prematurely.

The only team that made the playoffs last year with a top 5 pick at QB was the Eagles and they snuck in at 9-7. We have seen teams like the Browns, Jets, Cardinals stink for years on end and still continue to stink after getting top picks so "choosing" a 4-12 year as a rebuild strategy seems beyond stupid. The team was 12-4 and had the 2nd best point differential in the entire league last year and that was with all sorts of issues on offense. No way they even consider tanking.

venecol said:

Team won't tank, but it won't stop people from asking the question when they lose more games than normal. Team has a tough schedule, a rookie QB, no deep or fast receiver threats, rookie TEs, and a ? with the OL, DL?

Someone's already painted the season as the: "Bill Belichick is the Smartest Man In the World And Will Try To Win With No Talent 2020 Tour."

At: (NYJ, BUF, MIA) 5 Losses
HOU
KC
LAC
LAR
SEA

Vs: (NYJ, BUF, MIA) 3-4 losses
DEN
LVR
ARZ
SF
BAL

If Gillette crowd turns on Jarrett, it could get ugly.

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Well at least they'll only play NY, Miami and Buffalo six times a year so it's probably impossible to lose 8-9 games to them.

No team announces it tanks. What it does is it jettisons star QBs, star TEs. Lets other veterans walk. Hires noone in FA. Sometimes makes coaching changes. Tries to pick best players in draft and not draft for immediate need. And tells all the players to “try tour best but it’s ok”.

That is tanking. It basically means you abandon this year for what you think is long term gain. It’s the opposite of “Loading up” where you mortgage your future.

Tottie said:

Tank is the wrong word but I wonder if BB looks at this as a 2 year project. If he really wanted to make the playoffs this year you could argue that getting fire crotch or Cam might lead to more wins, but developing the kid and playing the long game might be smarter while maybe reducing your win total this season.

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Bill the “developer” .....?
Would you say Bill used the 2019 season to develop Joejuan Williams or Damien Harris?

I would say they developed butt sores from sitting on bench or in their street clothes game day

With the exception of 1 or 2 week 17 rest opportunities, Bill has been all in, fielding his best lineups.... though he did give Stid the Kid one passing opportunity.

I'm guardedly optimistic.
But say this happens instead. Stitham turns out to sorta suck at QB or is at best mediocre and clearly not the future franchise.
Instead of making desperate season winning moves like last year when BB traded a 2nd for a so-so WR in an attempt to salvage the season and post season, the 2020 BB will conserve trade capital and not waste picks higher than 7th to make short sighted "improvements to the team" for one season, maybe 2.