Are Patriots Tanking or is this a “Bridge Year”?

[Patsfanin Philly]

We haven't seen Year Two Bryce Young yet so let's reserve judgement. We are definitely the 32nd Ranked Team in the League with this recent move our Defense with Judon was not bad. Now the 32nd Ranked Offense coupled with the 32nd Ranked Defense all makings for the #1 Overall in 25. Wolf and Myo ain't taking any chances this time around I laugh but it hurts.

Judon didn't play for 13 games last year nor did Gonzales and the defense was pretty good. How else do you give up 10 points or less three weeks in a row and not win once? The defense is better than average, the problems are on the other side ( captain obvious) and unfortunately either there wasn't anybody to sign to address Oline and WR or those players noped out like Ridley and Aiyuk. As Mayo said until they start winning, players aren't going to come here... Looks like a few lean years coming.

 

[PatsFan2]

Judon didn't play for 13 games last year nor did Gonzales and the defense was pretty good. How else do you give up 10 points or less three weeks in a row and not win once? The defense is better than average, the problems are on the other side ( captain obvious) and unfortunately either there wasn't anybody to sign to address Oline and WR or those players noped out like Ridley and Aiyuk. As Mayo said until they start winning, players aren't going to come here... Looks like a few lean years coming.

The Defensive stats last years was overrated minus Judon and Gonzo they will be Exposed from Game 1 this season. Burrow will throw for 500 yds the stage is set.

 

[lancerman]

Ir's a rebuild. This is exactly what a rebuild is when you have a bad team. You look at the roster, you look at who can be a core member years down the line when you hopefully are back to where you want to be, you look at who is unlikely to be a viable contributor while you are rebuilding and cut them lose for some sort of return to help the rebuild.

It's like an overgrown garden. You cut the weeds and the older crops that aren't going to make it to harvest so the healthier vegetation has more room to grow and you can add new seeds around it.

 

[Wozzy]

They don’t know how to evaluate offensive linemen beyond bringing back the guys who were already here and functioning well.

And no, this isn’t a “long term rebuild,” they fcked up. Those who said the collaboration made smart decisions this off-season by relying on Okorafor and Lowe need to own it.

Polk looks like a “good” WR, looks a lot like Kendrick Bourne. They have way too many similar “good” WR’s and not one tackle on either side who can start.

Should have drafted a tackle in the 2nd round, should have signed the handful of better linemen (Oli Udoh, Yosh Nijman or Andrus Peat) instead of rushing to pay Chuks who stinks.

The “long term rebuild” BS doesn’t pass the smell test when there were similarly priced offensive line free agents available they could have signed and they chose to rely on bad players instead.

 

[lancerman]

The Defensive stats last years was overrated minus Judon and Gonzo they will be Exposed from Game 1 this season. Burrow will throw for 500 yds the stage is set.

Gonzo played 4 games last year. People are really overstating the **** out of him, what he contributed. They lost 3 of those games by 25, 24, and 38. They only beat the ****ing Jets by holding them to 10. Then in week 17 they played the same team without Gonzo and held them to 17. So he equaled one less TD vs a bottom feeder.

I hope he's great, but aside from some bright spots, he wasn't some big time difference maker

 

[Wozzy]

Gonzo played 4 games last year. People are really overstating the **** out of him, what he contributed. They lost 3 of those games by 25, 24, and 38. They only beat the ****ing Jets by holding them to 10. Then in week 17 they played the same team without Gonzo and held them to 17. So he equaled one less TD vs a bottom feeder.

I hope he's great, but aside from some bright spots, he wasn't some big time difference maker

He held Tyreek to his season low in production… what are you talking about?

The final score was a result of the 32nd ranked offense…. not the top ranked defense.

 

[PatsFan2]

They don’t know how to evaluate offensive linemen beyond bringing back the guys who were already here and functioning well.

And no, this isn’t a “long term rebuild,” they fcked up. Those who said the collaboration made smart decisions this off-season by relying on Okorafor and Lowe need to own it.

Polk looks like a “good” WR, looks a lot like Kendrick Bourne. They have way too many similar “good” WR’s and not one tackle on either side who can start.

Should have drafted a tackle in the 2nd round, should have signed the handful of better linemen (Oli Udoh, Yosh Nijman or Andrus Peat) instead of rushing to pay Chuks who stinks.

The “long term rebuild” BS doesn’t pass the smell test when there were similarly priced offensive line free agents available they could have signed and they chose to rely on bad players instead.

All in house FA they signed won't look good without Judon and Barmore on Defense ie.. Dugger - Peppers and others what a waste of the cap.

 

[Pape]

the Judon trade = all in on a youth movement.

for good or bad they are locking up the young guys, and paying low end vets like godchaux to hang around for a year, maybe two.

 

[sb1]

This one Fielded by Wolf and Mayo is going to be very wanting.

We’ll see. Tough schedule. They won’t be able to pretend they’re better than they are like they did the last few years.

 

[Wozzy]

All in house FA they signed won't look good without Judon and Barmore on Defense ie.. Dugger - Peppers and others what a waste of the cap.

I think the defense will be similar to last year, a lot better than they appear because our offense sucks, turns the ball over and can’t sustain drives.

Jennings can replace Judon at OLB, Keion White should make a big jump at DE. Barmore may be back but they shouldn’t rush him. If the line sucks the offense will suck. No reason to risk his health if the offense sucks.

I don’t doubt this is why Judon was just shipped out, they know they can’t block and won’t be good… competing this season is out the window.

 

[lancerman]

He held Tyreek to his season low in production… what are you talking about?

The final score was a result of the 32nd ranked offense…. not the top ranked defense.

He played 4 games. It's the NFL. You don't crown someone 4 games into their rookie season before people start getting NFL game tape and learning tendencies. Yes he had a good game. Let's leave it at that. He's also coming off an injury in a pivotal development year.

People should learn what a minscule sample size your rookie year means. After Mac's rookie year everyone thought he was the steal of the draft. Hell Laurence Maroney looked like he was going to take the league by storm and become a longterm force at the RB position, then he fell off and was out of the league after his 5th season. Jonas Gray after one game looked like he was going to steal Blount's job and became the talk of the league..... Hell look at other teams. Michael Clayton in Tampa came out the gate and was 1k WR his rookie year, then he broke 400 yards exactly one more time the rest of his career. RGIII looked like he was going to be the next great QB. We all saw Kiko Alonso on the Bills make their defense look like a force to be reckon with his rookie year.

4 games is not worth holding as a trend. Hope that it does, but don't take it for granted.

 

[Hyped]

How is this different from Andy's project 2027 thread?

And for the record....I am thinking playoffs, baby! LFG!!

 

[PatsFan2]

How is this different from Andy's project 2027 thread?

And for the record....I am thinking playoffs, baby! LFG!!

 

[lancerman]

How is this different from Andy's project 2027 thread?

And for the record....I am thinking playoffs, baby! LFG!!

Because Andy thinks they are just trying to line Kraft's pockets for some reason and aren't actively caring about building the team for a few years until they can let everyone fail and clean house

 

[Wozzy]

He played 4 games. It's the NFL. You don't crown someone 4 games into their rookie season before people start getting NFL game tape and learning tendencies. Yes he had a good game. Let's leave it at that. He's also coming off an injury in a pivotal development year.

People should learn what a minscule sample size your rookie year means. After Mac's rookie year everyone thought he was the steal of the draft. Hell Laurence Maroney looked like he was going to take the league by storm and become a longterm force at the RB position, then he fell off and was out of the league after his 5th season. Jonas Gray after one game looked like he was going to steal Blount's job and became the talk of the league..... Hell look at other teams. Michael Clayton in Tampa came out the gate and was 1k WR his rookie year, then he broke 400 yards exactly one more time the rest of his career. RGIII looked like he was going to be the next great QB. We all saw Kiko Alonso on the Bills make their defense look like a force to be reckon with his rookie year.

4 games is not worth holding as a trend. Hope that it does, but don't take it for granted.

What he did to Tyreek and every WR he manned up last year cannot be faked, cannot be done by any Johnny Foxboro.

He has to stay healthy and play like he did last year. He’ll have a great career. Nobody can predict injuries, but his skill and athleticism is unquestionable.

 

[lancerman]

What he did to Tyreek and every WR he manned up last year cannot be faked, cannot be done by any Johnny Foxboro.

He has to stay healthy and play like he did last year. He’ll have a great career. Nobody can predict injuries, but his skill and athleticism is unquestionable.

But he did have an injury. And his sample size is only 4 games, which is never indicative of future success. A lot of people are acting like he's going to come back and we just have a defacto All Pro defensive back.

 

[PatsFan2]

What he did to Tyreek and every WR he manned up last year cannot be faked, cannot be done by any Johnny Foxboro.

He has to stay healthy and play like he did last year. He’ll have a great career. Nobody can predict injuries, but his skill and athleticism is unquestionable.

And who is judon's replacement Wozzy?? Uche sucks without Judon - Wise sucks without Judon. I think our CBs including Gonzo are going blow also without him. We are playing some of the Best WR's in the league in 24 without a pass rush get your popcorns ready.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

One person's "tank" is another person's "bridge."
My own view is that if you're tanking, you're not trying to get better. So, you gotta be bridging. Being on the bridge means:

• -You are trying to get better
• -You know you're not yet where you want to be, but you still want to have a winning culture even if you lose more games than you actually win.
• -You are trying to figure out who's part of your future and who's not (so players remain motivated)
• -You're bringing in a combination of players who might be part of your future along with experienced players who can hold down the fort while younger players learn from being around them.

That looks to me like what the Pats are doing now. It took them longer to get here than I thought it would...I think that Mac Jones' not working out (for whatever reason...don't want to have that particular debate) was a large part of that.

 

[SammyBlueCat]

No tanking. They will struggle despite putting in a good faith effort.

 

[Grogan14]

Its a tank as part of the rebuild.
There have been teams who have rebuilt without hitting rock bottom

eg. steelers, eagles