A Cautionary Note

[maust]

I do think we are in a similar spot to 01 but I would not say we have a grizzled veterans on our D. I think the longest tenured Patriot is Dugger drafted in 2020.

You may be discounting the exponential veteran grizzling effect of being hung out to dry by an incompetent coaching staff while playing through injury. The normal Grizzle Index doesn't apply under those conditions. In the face of such circumstances the player who endures them undergoes a grizzlfication factor magnified by an order determined by the twin factors of the aforementioned coaching incompetence multiplied by the factor of the preposterous expectation of performance placed on said injured player by the absence of expected support presented by a backfield partner's legal predicaments. Which is in itself added to the burden placed on the entire defense by the lack of game planning divided by 11.

Taking into account all the factors in their totality the Adjusted Grizzle Index shows us that Kyle Dugger gained a decade's worth of additional grizzling in 2024 and is now 83 in dog years

 

[Real fan 02]

I think you meant Wallace the Tackle twin.

Yes twin... Wallace your right on that.

 

[Mike the Brit]

Fix the offensive line, keep Drake Maye healthy and hope McDaniels hasn't lost his touch -- if so, the offense will be fine. As the OP says, Bradbury looks a worry, but if Marrone can't get something serviceable together out of what's available he doesn't deserve his pay.

The defense is more of a puzzle. It went from good in '23 to terrible in '24 with a lot of continuity, not least in a DC who had been there for a long time and a defense-minded Head Coach. Now there is another defense-minded Head Coach whose priority was -- rightly, in my opinion -- to fix the line. Are players who were good in '23 going to come good again? We'll have to wait and see.

 

[Real fan 02]

We stole Kyle Williams he's a very talented dude and he will show it barring injuries. The reasons for the misses was BB fondness for articulate interviews...which throws out the window what the payer did on the Football Field: BB's mo. The reason we can feel good about this Draft is that; they didn't Draft or Overdraft a player we don't know.

Williams and he are day 1 starting Caliber players... I heard that Josh had alot to do with drafting them.. I feel so confident in Vrabel and Josh ability to put players in position and excel... no one is interested in the old ass NAVY offense anymore.

 

[Real fan 02]

As we've seen, the offensive line is so thin that injuries is the true killer. I think we have much better depth now, but we'll have to see it in action.

Is why I'm saying we can't just up and release everyone from last season.. we need to have quality depth all over the team especially OL. Sow, brown and dare I say it.. Lowe even should at least be practice squad eligible for depth purposes.

 

[Steve102]

You may be discounting the exponential veteran grizzling effect of being hung out to dry by an incompetent coaching staff while playing through injury. The normal Grizzle Index doesn't apply under those conditions. In the face of such circumstances the player who endures them undergoes a grizzlfication factor magnified by an order determined by the twin factors of the aforementioned coaching incompetence multiplied by the factor of the preposterous expectation of performance placed on said injured player by the absence of expected support presented by a backfield partner's legal predicaments. Which is in itself added to the burden placed on the entire defense by the lack of game planning divided by 11.

Taking into account all the factors in their totality the Adjusted Grizzle Index shows us that Kyle Dugger gained a decade's worth of additional grizzling in 2024 and is now 83 in dog years

 

[PatsFan2]

Twin.. if we can get polk and baker to contributing players then that's a win in itself. Robinson will be here likely he'll end up replacing Moses when his contract is up. I really, really like what Henderson and will bring as pure talent and speed.

They are both working hard with Maye in the Offseason: hearing good things about them. Really hope their commitments payoff. IF one of them work out we'll be happy: ecstatic if both. I really liked Javon Baker pre draft 24 thought he was steal. I'm Throwing out last year like the Covid Gap years. Baker and Polk are like Rookies to me this year.

 

[Real fan 02]

They are both working hard with Maye in the Offseason: hearing good things about them. Really hope their commitments payoff. IF one of them work out we'll be happy: ecstatic if both. I really liked Javon Baker pre draft 24 thought he was steal. I'm Throwing out last year like the Covid Gap years. Baker and Polk are like Rookies to me this year.

Yes! They didn't have any coaching last season.. so I'm giving them a pass.. Imagine if polk, Baker, Williams and Henderson all become play makers this season.. I want baker especially to make it tough on the team to cut him. He and Polk are part of the future along with Williams.

 

[maust]

Which is why I did it for you. Dugger is 83 in dog years, EIGHTY-F'N-THREE mf'er!
He is truly and thoroughly grizzled

 

[Real fan 02]

Making the 2025 playoffs would be akin to reaching the Super Bowl for this franchise at the moment.

The 2025 Pats are rising up from the ashes like a phoenix. I expect them to win games that they shouldn't and lose games that they were suppose to win. Its just sports. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

Agreed. All the AFCE games will be close as all division games are across the league. Vrabel and Williams defense is constructed to put pressure on OLs and dictate the line of scrimmage. That is winning football. We project to have a deep rotation on the front it will keep guys fresher and heat on QBs.

 

[Wozzy]

Good stuff wozzy agree 100%. I know I shouldn't live in the what if world... but what if AB had worked out in 19? What if We had gotten Josh Gordon when he was flash Gordon? We always seemed to tweak the roster to add guys that would help us during championship runs. No Matter what anyone says the Chiefs carbon copied our formula and it got them SBs.

Hard to say because the offensive line was injured early in the season, we had to watch Marshall Newhouse be a revolving door at tackle. Brady suffered two injuries by the final quarter of the season as the offensive line and TE was getting healthy. I’m not sure AB would have changed the outcome and Josh Gordon was already toast.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

It's not "negative" to push back on some of the optimism here. They started out as, objectively speaking, one of the worst teams in the NFL record wise. More subjectively speaking, I think many would have agreed that they were straight BOTTOM of the league in talent on the roster. So you're starting from damn near ground zero.

They went out and added a bunch of players - good players. But they haven't added a single player with a pro bowl/all pro season on their resume outside of Harold Landry, who has very obviously declined as a player from that 2021 season and shouldn't be expected to play at that level. I think Milton Williams could be a guy poised to take that next step, but everyone else added seems to be in the average-ish range as starting players.

They've restored respectability across the board, and with better coaching and a weak schedule that could translate to an immediate turnaround in wins, but it could also be step 1 to a multi year turnaround on the results. Which is ok. Obviously as a fan you root for the wins right away, but either way it appears they've done a terrific job of getting on a good path. Growth isn't always linear though.

 

[Real fan 02]

Hard to say because the offensive line was injured early in the season, we had to watch Marshall Newhouse be a revolving door at tackle. Brady suffered two injuries by the final quarter of the season as the offensive line and TE was getting healthy. I’m not sure AB would have changed the outcome and Josh Gordon was already toast.

Had we gotten the 2013 or 14 version of Gordon wow! Guy was a chiseled specimen but had demons unfortunately.. yeah new newhouse was terrible. The little that brown did display that Miami game showed what wad to come.. ab was still in his prime... he absolutely would have made a difference...
really sad to see what that burfict hit did to his mental health.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

We've Been rebuilding essentially since brady left. We have the foundation laid now under Vrabel now it's about guys going out and executing on the field. Everything else is pretty much speculation until guys hit the field week 1.

This is the crux of the issue... they actually haven't been rebuilding since Brady left. BB refused to. He kept trying to hang on with vet signings and they did a poor job of development. Rebuilding and being bad are not the same thing. Last year was the first year they actually operated like a rebuilding team and they seemingly had a "do nothing and bottom out" step 1 to that plan. So this is really the first year they're adding in a rebuilding sense. It's year 1.

 

[Real fan 02]

This is the crux of the issue... they actually haven't been rebuilding since Brady left. BB refused to. He kept trying to hang on with vet signings and they did a poor job of development. Rebuilding and being bad are not the same thing. Last year was the first year they actually operated like a rebuilding team and they seemingly had a "do nothing and bottom out" step 1 to that plan. So this is really the first year they're adding in a rebuilding sense. It's year 1.

I was just saying rebuilding since brady left as a figure of speech... there was a glimmer of hope being 9-3 in 2021 atop the AFC at one point. However it was all a mirage.. the drafting essentially from 2017 and up is what had us in this situation. The OL was a mess, and band aids thown at the problem... brady was never properly planned for.. the joke of actually thinking Jarrett stidham was an NFL player was laudable. He couldn't beat out cam Newton who can't throw a Frisbee... so a culmination of factors led to dismal 4-13 years as we all know... drafting, poor player development and coaching I'd say were the problems. For me as a fan.. I'm looking at like a reset for the organization the pieces and structure is in place now it's all about what happens on the field..

 

[Real fan 02]

They are both working hard with Maye in the Offseason: hearing good things about them. Really hope their commitments payoff. IF one of them work out we'll be happy: ecstatic if both. I really liked Javon Baker pre draft 24 thought he was steal. I'm Throwing out last year like the Covid Gap years. Baker and Polk are like Rookies to me this year.

 

[Headcase]

IF Three or Four from that 2024 Draft Class pan out a lot of your questions will be answered ie... Polk - Wallace - Baker - Robinson and Jaheim Bell. IF three from that Bunch bring it in year two we are in business. That's one of the weirdest returns i've ever seen from a Draft early on.

Baker and Bell had 3 combined catches last year, and bad as Polk was he had 4x as many catches as them combined.

None of them had any impact on a very bad roster, Baker barely got on the field with the worst WR corp in the league, and people think he is going to improve with a language/scheme change?

I think our best hope for additional future production from the '24 draft is from the OL guys.

 

[maust]

.. the joke of actually thinking Jarrett stidham was an NFL player was laudable...

LMFAO, I think you might have been going for a word that means the exact opposite of 'laudable'

 

[jlu52]

LMFAO, I think you might have been going for a word that means the exact opposite of 'laudable'

Inconceivable

 

[maust]

Inconceivable

Anytime you can work in an Inigo Montoya quote IS the right time to work in an Inigo Montoya quote. And it is impossible to see that gif and not instantly hear Wallace Shawn's Vizzini saying 'Inconceivable!' in your head