Are we the worst situation in the NFL right now?

[Lagaffe_07]

Yeah I think you’re downplaying just how bad the offense is. The WR room needs more than a player or two. Bourne is coming off a major knee injury, JuJus knee may never be the same again, Pop whom I like is undersized and was in and out of the lineup with injuries. Thorton who has pretty much not done anything in his career has NO guaranteed money and the GM/Coach that drafted him is no longer in the building.

My opinikm was that those weapons look worse than what they really are because of the QB. So we will see.

But I think the plan has always been from the start to build this offense back up through the draft like it or not. I know it’s not sexy. I am sure they would have liked to fill one or two position through FA to relieve some pressure of the draft but I like that they are showing discipline and not make stupid deals to appease the fan base. Ridley got 50M guaranteed. 50! For a guy that is 30 yo and had trouble off the field. To put that into perspective only Tyreek Hill has gotten more guaranteed money as a WR.

Teams are able to find good WR every year in the draft. Look at GB, the Texans. The Texans offense wasn’t deemed good before they draft Stroud. Nico Collins was at best a Bourne level players.

Bourne
Rookie
Pop
Juju
Henry

Vs

Collins
Dell
Brown
Wood
Schultz

Seems pretty much the same to me.

This front office will mainly build through the draft. Look at GB last year, I read somewhere that of 22 starters in the playoffs only 1 wasn’t an homegrown talent. The main difference I see is that if they hit on the WR or players in the draft, they will pay those guys. I expect them to extend Barmore this offseason.

They spent money during FA, they are like 7th in total guaranteed money and 4th in 1st year cash in this FA class. They just have not spend it on the flashy toy. But they filled some need with some middle class player.

I know people wants instant success but their goal is to build a team that will be able to compete for the next 5-10 years and just not in 2024.

 

[ahmed]

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

Yes but maybe there are some limits to that I am not aware of.

 

[PaulThePat]

A couple of months ago the hardcore Pink Hats said the 3rd pick was a disaster because we'd miss out on Drake Maye. Now those very same Pink Hats are saying that the 3rd pick was a disaster because we'll actually get Drake Maye.

Stay tuned for more changes of mind.

 

[Thelonious]

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 let the adults enjoy the experience.

 

[ahmed]

I am sorry Joey but this post is not positive so therefore you will now be banned. You know the rules.

1 ban; everybody know the rules!

 

[KCSVEN]

Yes. It carries over to the following year.
The Patriots could roll over the $50M or so currently available cap space from 2024 to 2025.
There is no real limit on any one year. There is a salary floor over a four year cycle. Teams must spend 89% of their cumulative cap over four years.
The 2024 cap is $255M. So call it a billion over four years. Each team would have to spend about $900M over that four year window. So could roll forward up to $100M or so. I don’t believe any team has approached the floor.

The NFL as a whole must spend a minimum of 95% of the cap space over that time. So every team cannot spend just 89%.
Teams that try to underspend that at 89% every year would have some concerns from other owners.
The idea is for each teams to spend to 95% knowing in some years you will be under and others over.
Patriots have tended to be, on average closer to 90-91% historically.
I noticed, the teams that spent the most historically tend to be teams that have the higher paid QB's. I think Brady's willingness for team friendly deals was a big part of the Pats being on the lower end historically. And the fact they have not had to pay a franchise QB since.

 

[Brotherblues]

What is the reason to panic at this point of the season?
We know this year FA is weak, we can see how many players are overpaid. I assume one of our needs is to find a legit WR1 but simply names like Ridley, Mike Williams, Pittman aren't even aspire to be one of them. Ok, maybe I say maybe Higgins but why should we trade for him offering let's say our 34th pick when he is available as a FA next year. However next year brings us a lot of catchy WR names. So stay calm, add players via draft and rebuild gradually the team.
I also think we grab a QB, I cannot even imagine the other way. So whoever he is , he probably sits year one and waits for his chance.
The bottom line is, whatever happens, whoever we sign this year we are not a contender this season.I expect changes, a few more wins and believe my team finds its proper way to fight for the championship in a few years. Once again - rush is not a good advisor.

The main benefit of trading for Higgins:
You can give him his fat contract and lock him up now instead of watching him spurn you for another team like Tennessee next offseason. It eliminates the whole angle of "well we *tried* to sign him but it's not our fault he didn't want to come here."

That said, I don't know what the right compensation is. I'll leave that to bigger brains, but 34 feels a bit rich.

 

[KCSVEN]

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?

If they draft a top 10 QB this year, and then have him on a rookie contract, they will likely be in the top 5 in terms of best situations in the NFL.
They absolutely can get a starting WR or Tackle at 34, and a WR in the 3rd with this year's depth is possible as well.
As I have mentioned before: sign Smith, get QB round 1, WR in 2, TE/WR in 3, Tackle in 1st 2025. With QB they are all set for years.
QB or bust really.

 

[Simpelton]

they were a 4 win expansion team roster last season and nothing has changed on the roster outside of signing a third down back, a jag TE, and some guy named tikitaki.... they're looking at a one or two win home slate next season

Honestly not sure there's that much we could do about that this year. It took many years to break this roster, we're not fixing it overnight. And I'm sorry, we're just not a premium destination anymore so if we wanted to try to go ham and fix everything, now if not sooner, we'd have to overpay which would hurt us down the road.

I'm not mad at the new management for keeping their powder dry, is what I'm saying. Rosters take time to build.

 

[Triumph]

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.

Start calling teams with good WRs and OLs about trades for picks.

 

[goheels22002]

Yeah I think you’re downplaying just how bad the offense is. The WR room needs more than a player or two. Bourne is coming off a major knee injury, JuJus knee may never be the same again, Pop whom I like is undersized and was in and out of the lineup with injuries. Thorton who has pretty much not done anything in his career has NO guaranteed money and the GM/Coach that drafted him is no longer in the building.

Maybe, but the offensive line and the quarterbacks were so bad last year that I doubt those guys, collectively, became as mediocre as we witnessed. I trust the re-signing of Bourne based on what I saw last year, and know that JJSS is a great route runner and pass catcher. It's possible that his knee is not back to healthy, but let's wait and see.

 

[JohnJH]

We really f.ucked up not getting the 2nd pick. Thats what I feel.

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

 

[javajunky]

A couple of months ago the hardcore Pink Hats said the 3rd pick was a disaster because we'd miss out on Drake Maye. Now those very same Pink Hats are saying that the 3rd pick was a disaster because we'll actually get Drake Maye.

Stay tuned for more changes of mind.

Is Maye a potential Herbert, Allen, or Bledsoe? Is Daniels a potential Jackson, Hurts, or Mayfield? I would pick Daniels as the better QB in year 1 or 2, but in the longer term, I lean toward Maye. However, he needs to sit out this first year. This pink hat hasn't changed his mind.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

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.

 

[Bill Lee]

The new regime has literally just started. Forget about playing a game, or a preseason game, or having a practice or even making a draft pick, nothing has really happened yet. Take a freaking breath.

Negative Nancys are now thinking "you're right, so much we don't know about yet can go wrong!".

 

[JohnJH]

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

I wanted the #1 overall pick, and got roasted for it because I'm a realist, and knew this team wasn't going to even remotely sniff the playoffs. And, having been a fan since Plunkett, the roasting was done by either the hard of thinking, or those that haven't known anything regarding this team since 2001.

 

[JohnJH]

The main benefit of trading for Higgins:
You can give him his fat contract and lock him up now instead of watching him spurn you for another team like Tennessee next offseason. It eliminates the whole angle of "well we *tried* to sign him but it's not our fault he didn't want to come here."

That said, I don't know what the right compensation is. I'll leave that to bigger brains, but 34 feels a bit rich.

They should offer a 3rd round and 4th round in 2025, or our 3rd rounder in this draft at most. I doubt Cincy would accept it, but I'm not giving them the #34 overall in this draft.

 

[Kdo5]

Well we have the #3 pick and potential to draft a franchise QB. Things could absolutely be worse.

 

[Headcase]

Ok, maybe I say maybe Higgins but why should we trade for him offering let's say our 34th pick when he is available as a FA next year. However next year brings us a lot of catchy WR names. So stay calm, add players via draft and rebuild gradually the team.

Because trading for the player gets you the player, if you wait till next FA you are bidding against everyone else that is interested, and where the player wants to go. The largest bid doesn't guarantee the player.

 

[DarrylS]

As we know when Reiss said "Over the past 10 years, the Patriots ranked last in the NFL in cash spending at $1.62 billion, according to Roster Management Systems" it doesn't mean they didn't spend, but you can't come in last in a metric like that and pretend that you're spending every year. Jeremy Jacobs would be proud. I don't even know what kind of bizzaro world we all stepped into where Kraft and Henry don't spend but Jacobs does. Wyc is probably the best owner in Boston because he honestly doesn't care about spending and is about to extend Jrue when they legally can next month.

Anyways I hope that the league eventually makes Kraft spend up to the cap if this is the way its going to go. The current offense is expansion team level. Left tackle is a joke, they also need another starting corner and could use another safety like a Simmons.

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..