8 of of the 11 Offensive Players in the last SB Drive were picked after the third round..

[DarrylS]

Peter King said in a tweet said that it was 1 of the 11, but think it is 2; Solder and Bennett..

So all the talk about first round picks, perhaps the way Pats do business here is less flashy until February.. while the Jets are sometimes winners in May, we prefer to delay gratification.. ..

The announcers love to comment on how many first round picks a team has as if that is some sort of gold standard, nothing can be further from the truth.. this is why we need our 4th back.

Cannon 5th
Jackson 4th
Andrews UDFA
Thuney 3rd
Solder 1st
Bennett 2nd
Brady 6th
Edelman 7th
Amendola UDFA
White 4th
Develin UDFA

Subs:
Blount UDFA
Mitchell 4th
Fleming 4th

 

[borg]

Great post
The fact that NE has sustained an elite offense for the better part of 16 years while spending only three #1 picks on skill players, Graham, Watson, Maroney, has to drive front offices and the Full 31 insane. It is insane.

I was very amused by Julio Jones narrative that exploded during the SB build up.... "Julio's Awesome, Belichick gave Atlanta bad advice"....really?
Sure, Jones is awesome....and Jones touched the ball 4 times in the SB. Media and fanboys have no clue regarding the economics of football and more specifically deploying assets in a capped environment.

Belichick is the great disruptor...On the field and in opponents front offices......defying all NFL logic. While many GM's prefer the traditional ...aka....safe approach to team building, our guy has his own ideas and 7 rings.
Think about the "traditional" roster build. Besides QB, premium assets get spent on
1) Elite DE
2) Elite CB
3) Elite RT
And teams without top tiered QB keep going....
4) Elite RB
5) Elite WR

Not BB.....Only Solder fills a traditional slot on this roster.

 

[Froob]

Re-watched the second half last night...Solder was getting destroyed by Freeney lol. Man Solder sometimes..

 

[BlueThunder]

I wouldn't mind the Pats having an elite RB out of this draft...RB by committee works well with Patriots, but having a strong bell cow back that can take it the distance at any time sure would be exciting........I like Lewis, but can he take a beating game after game........Pats WR core looks fine......Mitchell, IMHO , may hit top tier status shortly..
BB usually doesn't value RB's taken early in draft tho........he always plays mind games with his picks........A player who I think he'll draft is available when Pats pick arrives, and BB will blow everyone's mind and trade down........UGHH

 

[patfanken]

Re-watched the second half last night...Solder was getting destroyed by Freeney lol. Man Solder sometimes..

Solder simply had a bad game. He is NOT a bad LT.

FYI, in one of the mic'd ups, I think it was Slater, before that game was in the WR group and telling them, that "you were a 6th round pick, you were an UDFA (DA), you were a 4th round pick, you (hogan) were a lacrosse player. None of us are supposed to be here"......

This is the lesson BB has taught and no one has listened to. I've been saying it for a long time, IF you have a good QB, then WR is the most replaceable position on the roster. Well we HAVE a good QB, and over the years this offense has thrived WITHOUT what others would call a true #1 receiver, except for a 3 year period with Moss still near his prime. That's 14 years and 5 superbowl titles with a WR corps that looked a lot like the one mentioned above.

It's not like BB wouldn't LOVE to have a WR like Julio Jones, it's just that he UNDERSTANDS that the draft capital and the cap space you have to spend to GET that guy is never worth the players you lose because of that investment. That's why BB takes shots at guys as high as the end of the 2nd round. But at least he knows it's just a shot, and one that doesn't cripple you if it doesn't work out.

Jones is SO good that the media created the narrative that BB gave Dimitrov bad advice when asked. But the truth is that THAT decision probably cost Mike Smith his job and made the current HC's first year very difficult, since its taken them 3 good drafts (and alot of former Pats personnel guys) to build a team deep enough to make a true run at the Superbowl.

 

[LT85]

Just saw on one of the NFL shows, that they talked about Bradys receivers throughout the years. Of the 5 superbowl winning receiver groups theres only 1 probowl between them.

 

[RIpats88]

Its why belickeck is really so great. To stay dominant when picking low first round means you have to draft well, and see potential in players other teams misused.

Patriots are full of players other teams just didnt use right that bill saw talent there he could fit in the team

 

[Deus Irae]

Tom Brady makes up for a lot of offensive deficiencies, and elevates the play of those around him.

Film at 11.

 

[farn]

Tom Brady makes up for a lot of offensive deficiencies, and elevates the play of those around him.

Film at 11.

Brady's great. It's a luxury to have him. But I think it's unfair to say it in this way, because there is quality on O. The way it's presented here, it seems like there are "mistakes" in personnel & that Brady is making up for those mistakes.

Not to crown Miami's ***, but they were a playoff team & Jimmy plowed them. Was he also elevating others or were others solidly contributing ?

 

[Deus Irae]

Brady's great. It's a luxury to have him. But I think it's unfair to say it in this way, because there is quality on O. The way it's presented here, it seems like there are "mistakes" in personnel & that Brady is making up for those mistakes.

Not to crown Miami's ***, but they were a playoff team & Jimmy plowed them. Was he also elevating others or were others solidly contributing ?

This team's offensive talent, outside of Brady, gets consistently overrated. Put Jimmy in the SB and the Patriots lose by 40. And that's no shot at JAG.

Brady is just that good.

 

[farn]

This team's offensive talent, outside of Brady, gets consistently overrated. Put Jimmy in the SB and the Patriots lose by 40. And that's no shot at JAG.

Brady is just that good.

I don't think they lose by 40. But I agree they would lose. I agree that the team's talent on O gets overrated, but in that circumstance, I think you undervalued it.

 

[Deus Irae]

I don't think they lose by 40. But I agree they would lose. I agree that the team's talent on O gets overrated, but in that circumstance, I think you undervalued it.

They were down 25, with Brady, before the comeback began.

 

[farn]

They were down 25, with Brady, before the comeback began.

True. In fairness, some of the players helped climb the mountain. Edelman & White were, in particular, crucial contributors. Seemed like your first statement dismisses their effort.

And, Devil's advocate, they were down 25 in part because of TB's pick six.

 

[Deus Irae]

True. In fairness, some of the players helped climb the mountain. Edelman & White were, in particular, crucial contributors. Seemed like your first statement dismisses their effort.

And, Devil's advocate, they were down 25 in part because of TB's pick six.

I see where you're trying to go. I'll just finish up by saying that, IMO, if you think JAG wasn't getting picked more than once with the way those two teams were playing early on, and you think JAG was going to be as successful throwing into the micro-windows Brady was forced to hit, you're giving JAG way too much credit. And, again, that's not meant as a knock on JAG, who's a guy with less than half a season's worth of total career playing time under his belt at this point.

 

[Pat the Pats Fan]

Hogan played in the final drive and he was udfa too, actually on 3 teams before he even played in a real game....and then he met bill and Tom....

 

[RelocatedPatFan]

Guess they don't or can't measure heart and drive at the combine

 

[bradydaman29]

In comparing JAG to Brady, it's not just the clutchness of brady that elevates the team, it's that he's on the field! Brady took the same hit several times this year that JAG took that put him out for a few games. Would JAG even be on the field for the second half if he took the same punishment Brady took? Some of those hits were brutal but Brady kept getting up and performing. And if he was on the field, would he be able to perform at a high level or would he be shell-shocked at that point?

 

[borg]

This team's offensive talent, outside of Brady, gets consistently overrated. Put Jimmy in the SB and the Patriots lose by 40. And that's no shot at JAG.

Brady is just that good.

Think about the corp players of the 2001-2004 dynasty.
On defense...studs..... Seymour, Law, Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinnest delivered all 4 years.
On Offense... Brady, Light (some might include Andruzzi) but the skill players turned over and Troy Brown was phased out

Who are the corp players on offense for this current three year mini dynasty 2014-16.
Brady and Edelman? Sorry Gronk.....the TE position is corp and NE worked around your maladies. Solder haha. Blount? He gets gamed planned out too much.

My count: Brady has had two corp pieces to help carry the load during these two eras....neither HOF worthy. What dynasties have so few corp pieces on O.
Not Pitt
Not SF
Not Dallas
Just TB12
Suck on that Montana (system QB....see Steve Young)

 

[deroc5050]

I don't think they lose by 40. But I agree they would lose. I agree that the team's talent on O gets overrated, but in that circumstance, I think you undervalued it.

I don't know I know Gronk didn't play in the Super Bowl but he is one of the best players I have ever seen. When you have Brady, Gronk, Lewis/White and Edelman and add in Mitchell and Hogan.. I think thats a pretty damn good offense.

There are only a couple of Julio/Randy/Megatron like guys out there.

Especially with Edelman a guy like that is so key for Brady because of his quickness and ability to get open quickly and with Brady's accuracy its a great combo.

I don't think all QB's can make use of a guy like Edelman like Brady can.

At this point though Brady can do it all, he has literally gotten better just about every year. This season Brady had more touch on his deep over passes than I can ever remember.

 

[DaBruinz]

Think about the corp players of the 2001-2004 dynasty.
On defense...studs..... Seymour, Law, Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinnest delivered all 4 years.
On Offense... Brady, Light (some might include Andruzzi) but the skill players turned over and Troy Brown was phased out

Who are the corp players on offense for this current three year mini dynasty 2014-16.
Brady and Edelman? Sorry Gronk.....the TE position is corp and NE worked around your maladies. Solder haha. Blount? He gets gamed planned out too much.

My count: Brady has had two corp pieces to help carry the load during these two eras....neither HOF worthy. What dynasties have so few corp pieces on O.
Not Pitt
Not SF
Not Dallas
Just TB12
Suck on that Montana (system QB....see Steve Young)

Be honest. Do you honestly believe the Pats go down by 25 with Gronk healthy and playing? I don't. Entirely different game both running the ball and passing.