Cripes, Not you too Ken. Get a grip...
I expect the self appointed draft guru know nothings to B1tch, b1tch, b1tch moan, piss, and cry. But You?!?
OK, OK, it was right after the Mallet pick and I might have over reacted....just a bit. But maybe that's not such a bad thing. I don't think I ever started a 17 page thread before. Let me try and rearticulate my feelings.
No this isn't the beginning of the end. It just seems that way . But don't miss understand me. Its not the players so much that I'm complaining about. Its how the draft was managed. We came in with 5 picks in the top 75. That is a HUGE haul. Aren't we entitled to think we could do better than what we got.
My mantra is did the draft make us substantially better. Did we add 2 or 3 IMPACT players that can take this team to the next level in January. And when I say impact players, I don't mean contributors. McCourty was an impact player. Woodhead was a nice "contributor" Now I don't expect us to add 2 or 3 impact players every draft, but we don't go into EVERY draft with 5 picks in the top 75 every year.
Going into the draft I was fine with trading some of those picks for futures. I was fine with Solder and trading out of 28, especially with what we got in return. I'm actually fine with the Dowling pick. I posted a scenario for picking a top CB in the draft section and justified it...but the CBs considered were Peterson and Smith. 2 BIG CBs with great skills, size and speed. So I'm fine with picking a big CB in the 2nd. But I found it hard to believe that there were teams behind the Pats who were lining up to grab him before middle of the round.
I wanted that premium from teams who needed to move up. So its not so much we picked a CB, and not so much it was Dowling, but more I felt we had wasted the rare opportunity to have the first pick in the draft on the 2nd day with lots of people needing to move up.
I over reacted on Vereen, like I said, he was one of my favorites at RB, but based on everything I had read or seen, I didn't expect him to be the 2nd RB taken and certainly not before Leshure and Daniels. But I DO understand that reaches are sometimes made, and I wouldn't have thought much about until he picked almost immediately picked the 2nd RB
Ridley's pick was even more perplexing. It seemed to acknowledge that even though we picked Vereen that highly, we needed a bigger RB with a different set of skills. I would think that the 2nd RB off the board would be an every down back. And while BB might not evaluate players the same as everyone else, you can't tell me he wasn't a stretch and by about 2 or 3 rounds
Finally a lot of people here defended BB saying that this is a crummy draft and he couldn't find the players he wanted and that was part of reason he moved out. But you can't have it both ways. If the draft was THAT weak. Why didn't he use the currency that he had, and go after the few quality players that he needed. It was like he was at an auction with the most money and STILL didn't buy anything.
Hypothetically if BB thought there were 2 players who were impact players outside the top 5, regardless of position, he had the capability to go get them. And if Solder was one of those players and he need to be at 17 to get him, I would opine that 28, 33, one of the 3rds could have gotten anyone else he wanted.....at least. So saying the draft weak, is....not an excuse.
People make a valid point that the defense is so young that we shouldn't be adding too many MORE young players to the mix. I totally agree. All the more reason to have USED our capitol to MAXIMIZE who we got. I would have been fine if all we ended up with were 4 or 5 picks....if they were used to get the the supposed few quality players who WERE in this draft.
I have also been very vocal prior to the draft proclaiming that FA will have a bigger impact this year than most, since the talent pool is so deep and rich. 500 guys are a lot of guys to absorb and the number of players looking for jobs will depress the prices, especially in the "middle class". Good deals to to be had....whenever it starts.
Finally I'm not backing down on Mallet. I can't believe the round was SO bereft of talent that Mallet "needed" to be chosen. Don't get me wrong. Like I said in my post, Mallet COULDN'T have been drafted into a better situation. This was a career saving moment for HIM. For the Pats....not so much. When this kid's rookie contract runs out, the same year Brady's does. But beyond that, despite the raw physical talent, he seems to lack all the intangible qualities that we seem to value in a QB. Leadership, great decision making skills, the ability to take care of the ball. These are all the things that Hoyer has in abundance, despite not having the gun that Mallet has.
I am philosophically against wasting a draft pick on any QB at this point, let alone one in the 2nd day, but ESPECIALLY one that doesn't really fit our system.
So let me make myself clear. I do not think the Pats have jumped the shark. But I DO think that a great opportunity was available and essentially wasted, when all we could really make happen with 6 picks in the first 3 rounds was a top OT prospect, what we HOPE is a #5 DB, some RB depth, and the most talented #3 QB in the league.
