First, an Observation or Three...
I'll start off by offering my unsolicited opinions on the moves that the Patriots made and
didn't make ~ Planet Earth Version!!
Free Agents ~ Departures
01 ~ OT Nate "Universal" Solder. As terrifying as it is to lose a good Left Tackle in this barren market, I
applaud this move!! Solder is good, but not great, and that $15.5 Million/Year contract that the Giants gave'm is a Salary Cap
crippler, the kind of contract that forces teams to let go or pass on signing not one but
several crucial, talented Depth Players. If I'm handing out that kind of cash, he better be a
great Player, entering his prime, not a
good Player who's already peaked and has openly considered
retirement in recent years. The Giants are courting
disaster with that contract. I say:
let them.
02 ~ CB Malcolm Butler. This obviously was a fait accompli, after that horrific Super Bowl decision.
Oy. But while I nominally disagree with the Super Bowl decision, I cannot disagree with the decision to let loose a guy who ~
whatever the Hell transpired ~ would tempt Mad Bill
towards that decision. Whatever the X Factor was, and as dear in all'f our hearts as Malcolm Butler will always be, you simply
cannot pay premium bucks against the Salary Cap in such a situation.
03 ~ SB Dion Lewis. Mixed feeling about this one, as I'm sure many'f us have. Lewis is a
phenomenal SpeedBack in all three phases of the Game ~ Running, Blocking, Receiving ~ and is in'is prime. Even so: Paying $5 Million/Year, which he is certainly well worth, means not paying someone else ~ maybe 2 guys who'd improve our Depth of Talent, which is crucial during the PlayOffs, after injuries inevitably carve down the ranks ~ and HalfBacks are virtually commodities.
04 ~ OT Cameron Fleming. As barren as the Offensive Tackle Market is, I have to applaud their letting him go. I was never a
fan of Fleming, and while he's grown on me, I'd rather draft and develop raw talent than pay mediocrity. In The Infernal Salary Cap Era, every dollar matters. Better to spend it on talent with potential than mediocrity without it.
05 ~ FB Danny Amendola. I love Danny, as do we all, and his place in Patriot Immortality is assured forever...But I applaud our having let'm go, too. He's a FlankerBack going on 33 and getting $6 Million a year. Better the
Fish pay it.
Free Agents ~ Retentions
06 ~ OT LaAdrian Waddle. I respect this move, but I wouldn't do it. Waddle is longer on talent than on either performance or sustained health. I'd rather go with raw, talented Rookies and young, talented Veterans with better potential.
07 ~ SB Rex Burkhead.
Phenomenal move. I've always been
an enormous Rex Burkhead fan, and, for the money, if I'd had to choose between Burkhead and Lewis, it would've actually been an easy call. Burkhead, like Lewis, is a legitimate three way threat ~ Running, Blocking, Receiving ~ and at 5103/216, is the perfect size for an HalfBack and
incredibly agile.
Free Agents ~ Signings
08 ~ LE Adrian Clayborn. Not a move I would've made, but a very good one, I think. A 2 year contract at $6 Million per is very good value for a good Lion End still in his prime who's versatile and effective against both the Run and the Pass.
09 ~ PB Jeremy Hill. A waste of time and money, I think ~ very little money, fortunately. Nothing against Hill, but I consider'm a mediocre PowerBack ~
a sluggish grinder who doesn't run, block, or catch very well.
10 ~ SE Jordan Matthews. An absolutely
amazing signing. Matthews is talented, young, entering his prime, has already had success in multiple years, and is coming at a bargain basement price ~ $1 Million!!! ~ because he's coming off'f a horrific year, marred by lingering health issues that he says were the result of a faulty diagnosis. And the
best thing about Jordan Matthews is that he's
a very cerebral WideOut, and could rapidly become a favorite target of Tom Brady.
11 ~ OT Ulrick John. Absolutely
love this move. John brings extraordinary agility and awesome intensity to the BattleField. In a world where Offensive Tackle talent is few and far between, Mad Bill managed to get an incredible athlete ~ with marginal Power, mind you!! ~ with a ferocious, focused mentality who's only 26 and entering his prime. Though his Combat Skills presumably still need work along with his Power...Well, there's this fellow, name of Dante Scarnecchia...
Trades
12 ~ BT Danny Shelton.
Also not a move that I would've made, yet
also a good one, I believe. Trading a presumably late 3rd Rounder for an early 5th Rounder in order to get
a good, young Bear Tackle to help anchor the Defensive Line? It seems like a move that'll very possibly produce an enormous ripple effect that'll benefit the
entire Defense.
13 ~ CB Jason McCourty. How in the name of Jesus Jason McCourty is only pulling down $3 Million a year is beyond
me to understand.
He's still a good CornerBack!! He's probably passing his prime or about to, but going on 31 isn't exactly doddering his way to retirement!! Trading back from the 6th Round to the 7th for'm was a
brilliant move.
14 ~ SE Cord Patterson.
Not a good Split End. He's basically a Kick Returner for whom we traded back from the 5th Round to the 6th. I'd rather have the difference between the Picks, and draft fresh legs to return Kicks.
15 ~ OT Trent Brown. Excellent, excellent move. Brown did not meet my threshold of Scouting Reports in 2015, which is to say that neither was he drafted in the first 5 Rounds, nor did I perceive his Value as justifying a 5th Round Pick...But my judgement was based on enormous questions about his Intangibles, not on his natural talent, which, including his extraordinary WingSpan, is arguably 1st Round quality...And he has proven himself, while not exactly Tom Brady, you understand, greatly improved in terms of Conditioning and Motor, though with plenty of undeveloped upside. With Coach Scarnecchia around to guide'm, Brown could develop into a premier Left Tackle, approaching his prime.
16 ~ XB Brandin Cooks. Wonderful, wonderful move. As much as I hated and detested our having surrendered a 1st Rounder for Cooks, last year, I applaud our getting rid'f'm for a 1st Rounder
this year. He's an elite Talent,
as I wrote in 2013, but precisely the kind of "flash" player who helps get you
into the PlayOffs, but doesn't help you
win them...as he proved,
incontestably, with that pansy-ass jump, inside the 10, which cost us a 1st Down, and, arguably, the Super Bowl.
The Draft
#23 ~
Isaiah Wynn. A good value, I think. I rated Wynn as a Center, and believe that he'd make his best impact, there, perhaps supplanting Andrews, but I don't roll with convention when it comes to the classic Offensive Tackle Frame, and if Mad Bill and Coach Dante see Wynn as a Left Tackle, I certainly won't be the one to argue against it.
#31 ~
Sony Michel. I didn't like this move, at all. Michel is a very talented Runner, but a mediocre Blocker, mediocre Receiver, and given to coughing up the FootBall...And of course he's an HalfBack. Highly talented HalfBacks are routinely available in the middle rounds, the late rounds, and even as UFAs. Yeah.
Not a fan of this Pick.
#43 to the Lions for #51 & #117. Love it. Trading Back.
Love it. And I especially love it, because there was an enormous Air Pocket of Talent between the last 1st Round and the early 3rd...as there usually is. So if you can Trade Back and thus accumulate free extra Picks, it's a beautiful thing. All the better if you don't have to discount off
Book Value.
#51 to the Bears for #105 and the Bears's 2019 2nd Rounder. Win!!
Love it!! While I readily acknowledge and am entirely prepared to take advantage of the reality that other teams are often
stupid enough to drastically discount Future Picks, generally at about a
50% discount, I do not agree that a Future Pick is worth even a
dollar less than a current Pick...And as such, it seems to me that the Patriots and Bears simply swapped years ~ the Bears' Pick projects to about #51 and quite possibly better ~ in addition to which the Bears threw in a nice juicy early 4th Rounder for the privilege. Win!!
#63 & #117 to the Buccaneers for #56 ~
CF Duke Dawson. Blech. I did not like this move. I thought that Dawson was fine value for the Pick, but as a CenterFielder, not a CornerBack...And we've already
got a couple of starting caliber CenterFielders. And to burn off a perfectly good 4th Rounder to Trade Up for'm? Again I say:
Blech.
#105 to the Browns for #114 & #178.
Love it!! More Picks!!
#114 to the Lions for the Lions's 2019 3rd Rounder.
Awesome!! A 4th Rounder for a 3rd!!
Beautiful!!
Alas, I haven't as yet completed my CyberScouting on the late round Picks, as yet, so I'll hold my peace!! A few comments?
A ~ I love, above all, what Mad Bill
didn't do, once again: dump millions on expensive Free Agents.
B ~ I love, too, that, yet again, he managed to cover every position
before The Draft, thus allowing him maximum flexibility in his decisions, and allowing him to draft always, once again, for Value, not for Need.
C ~ I've got big issues with the Michel and Dawson moves, but I was thrilled to see'm racking up all those extra Picks!!