Are we the worst situation in the NFL right now?

[jmt57]

Apparently free agency is over. Every NFL free agent has already signed with another team.

 

[Simpelton]

I'd rather we take care of the OL and WR rooms first before a QB. Hit on that LT or WR and you can help that QB. Right now, that QB is going to get killed and develop bad habits.... seeing ghosts, forcing balls, all the bad stuff you saw Mac do as the offense crumbled.

Right. Brissett can hold down the fort until we're ready for a better quarterback. And Zappe's worth working with.

I'm probably in the minority but I definitely liked what I've seen from Bailey Zappe and if the team took a year to see what they had there, with Brissett in support and given that this isn't a year with much promise to begin with, I could get behind that.

 

[Toofy]

I'd rather we take care of the OL and WR rooms first before a QB. Hit on that LT or WR and you can help that QB. Right now, that QB is going to get killed and develop bad habits.... seeing ghosts, forcing balls, all the bad stuff you saw Mac do as the offense crumbled.

Looks like we have Brissett to take the hits while wr and OL develops.

We are not competing for playoff this year . It's more a reset year getting rid of baggage and finding the next set of contributors. So if we like the qb take him at 3 unless vikings comes up with a blowout offer - 23 + 11 + JJ

 

[Ivan]

A lot of doom and gloom on this board. I had a feeling we weren’t going to be crazy active in FA after Mayo walked back his comment. Offensively this FA class frankly sucked. Especially after Higgins and Pittman were franchised.

The belated cap increase hurt as well.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

Do you think the team they will field on opening day is what you see + rookies?? They will continue to rebuild.
Sportstalk media drives a lot of this dissension. If the Pats had given Ridley (29 years old) 92 million sports talk radio will still be ****ting all over themselves.
Because of the dearth of quality FA's some of the FA's have been overvalued..

Sports radio is trash. That said, the combination of people not wanting to play here because of taxes, weather, and team roster and the lack of urgency on the trade market is pretty alarming. Keenan Allen cost a mid round pick and money. That was a no brainer for the Pats.

 

[borg]

That said, the combination of people not wanting to play here because of taxes, weather, and team roster and the lack of urgency on the trade market ......

Not to forget:
-Owner cheapness
-Inexperienced HC
-Decrepit weight room
-Trash food
-Lack of family-related facilities and services

On the positive side:
-Giant inland lighthouse with tiny bell

 

[MahomestoKelce]

Broncos are way worse with being in purgatory and the division they play in. I don't see a way out for them.

Patriots beating Steelers and Denver screwed them up big time.

They would have their pick of who they want.

 

[Drunken Cicerone]

No

No cap problem, in fact the opposite
High draft pick

Going to be about how well they draft and if they’ll spend to the cap

 

[Force Zero Boomer]

Too many of us are like kids whining in the back seat as Dad is driving us to the vacation spot. We have no idea whether Dad knows the way or not - though he almost certainly does or will figure it out - but we are determined to yammer and whine every mile of the way until we get there.

It's gonna be a pretty long ride, kids. Try to enjoy it, or at least the adults enjoy the experience.

"Dad" implies there's a reason to trust the Patriots management. There isn't: they have to earn that trust. Wait and see.

 

[palialka]

They need to land some serious help at WR and both T spots to help the rookie QB who I hope plays. The FA market is drying up.

There’s no serious help coming from FA for a WR1 and good LT.

We might be able to swing a trade for a good WR; but a quality LT and QB will have to be drafted and developed.

 

[palialka]

I remember there were many people who were happy about those useless ass wins against PIT and DEN. They would have had their choice of Maye or Daniels at #2 if they lose just 1 of those

We still can get one of them. In fact, both could be on the board depending on what happens between now and the draft.

 

[Thelonious]

I said that towards the end of the season and got roasted for it by other fans for just being practical.

Same here. From pretty early on last year I said that year should pretty much be about this year. I didn't want them to tank exactly, but I would have done a lot more ... "experimenting," let's call it, with down-roster players, if you catch my drift.

 

[Thelonious]

"Dad" implies there's a reason to trust the Patriots management. There isn't: they have to earn that trust. Wait and see.

I'd say there was a pretty long stretch there when the Pats' owners established their competence. The new coach/GM set-up must indeed prove themselves, but to expect them to have done so this early in their run is just silly.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

If we don't use All our 23 cap $$$$$$ does it carry over??

I have a feeling ( hopefully) that they are playing the long game, knowing if they can't get the players they want now with the money either in FA or by trade, come cut down day before the season, they will be well positioned to swoop in and sign a bunch of players. Either that or use it to tie up coming FAs before they hit the open market.... Long way from the days when teams looked at Patriots cuts as helping their team.

 

[VrabelJr]

As fans we don’t grasp how undesirable this franchise is right now. There are permanent things such as taxes and Boston just not being that desirable of a place to live as a young millionaire. The changeable aspects are that we are the 3rd worst team in the NFL and going through a very strange offseason.

The players that would come here to play with TB or BB (especially for defensive positions) specifically or because they wanted a ring aren’t coming anymore. You have to be a real ****shoveler to want to come to a team like this right now and modern day NFL players do not shovel ****.

 

[MrTibbs]

The two teams ahead of us in the draft have loads of picks. Actually tried during free agency.

Titans could have been it, but actually tried to give their young QB weapons and added talent to the roster.

Even Carolina is going out making an effort to give their QB some weapons, and are in a weak division.

Maybe Denver? Due to their purgatory QB situation and lousy cap space as well. That’s about it.

I feel like this front office isn’t even trying. We aren’t asking them to throw out stupid money. But do something. It’s okay to overpay a little, the cap just went way up FFS. What are you saving it for?

Gee wiz, they're just getting started! They're looking for long term success, not a scorched cap and only 8 wins to show for it.

 

[Uncle B]

Totally echo what others have said about free agents wanting nothing to do with New England, is really nothing appealing about this franchise with the facilities, weather, taxes, cheap owner... If the Patriots want to compete with other teams getting free agents they, most likely, are going to have to overpay and, also with the large increase in the cap this year, I believe people are exaggerating when they see how much free agents are getting. Prices are going up and is going to be hard to compete with other teams with a penny pinching owner.

People say build thru the draft but we have no extra picks this year compared to any other teams and rookie contracts only last 4 or 5 years so I believe you have to go for it every year and be in on the top free agents. Not often do primetime players hit free agency anymore and I expect this to continue with the cap increase so, even though others perceive this as a weak class, I expect this to be the norm going forward so have to open up the purse strings.

The key above all else is the QB is why we were able to have sustained success over a 20 yr period. If they do not hit on it at #3 I see no way out of the mess this team is currently at for a long, long time. Also echo what others have said about winning that Denver game, I was never so depressed about a victory while others were hooting and hollering. Didn't bother me as much when the experts were predicting we'd get Daniels (who i have wanted all along) but now that we're slotted in to get Maye am truly seeing how much that win cost us. Regardless have to pick him or McCarthy at #3 and hope for the best.

 

[oceansizer]

Every player wants to grab proper money and when a few teams offer similar contracts of course they are focus on other factors, especially who is your leader, who is your franchise QB. Unfortunately last years our playmakers were not attractive , did not offer formula for a success. New England is not a surfer paradise full of sun and beaches, not a tax paradise as well. So the only option is to find a franchise QB, develop him and convince other players that this is a right place to be succeeded.

 

[sb1]

Might as well fold. It’s over

 

[BTTA]

Don't know if this is what you were referencing with "beatings must continue until morale improves" but it's in one of my favorite KMFDM songs.

Nothing quite so interesting, I was channeling the back of one my old bike run t-shirts

It originated in the military as a sarcastic review of a common leadership style. It got adopted by corporate world. All of that at least 50 years ago. Pop culture discovered it and, of course, acted like they invented it.