Assorted Bits of Random Blasphemy

[gobesmug]

I wouldn't do that if I were you ... otherwise you might find yourself referred to as "Brother Smug". :bricks:

I've been called worse.

 

[Off The Grid]

What ever you so desire OTG. My screen name is a username I've used for years, its go be smug smushed together, so gbs would be fine.

I am highly anticipating your analysis on the upcoming defensive players for this draft.

I wouldn't do that if I were you ... otherwise you might find yourself referred to as "Brother Smug". :bricks:

Yeah, that's exactly what I was about to go with, before I asked.

 

[Kontradiction]

Cutting Wilfork is like putting your favorite dog down.

Agreed, but this is a business. If he can't regain even half his form then simply cutting him and dumping his cap hit off the books is the way to go. I'd hate to see him go, and I would probably get a lump in my throat the moment it happened. But his cap his is almost as monsterous as his size, he's on the wrong side of 30, he plays a position that demands a lot of stress on that area, and the injury is devastating enough as it is. He may very well be gone.

 

[Off The Grid]

Needless to say, my initial intention was biting off a bit more'n I could chew.

Not that anyone was waiting with baited breath ~ whatever that means ~ but I quickly realized that churning out Two A Days on Scouting Reports, ere the last 4 weeks, would consume all of my "spare time."

What I propose to do, now, is crank out 8 Reports in 8 days, leading up to the beginning of the NFL's Fiscal Year, next Tuesday, and share my deeply deranged notions of Where We Are, We're We're Going, and What I'd Love To See at each Position. Most days, I'll write up multiple Positions, of course, if I can keep up with that Schedule.

Today, I start off with QuarterBack, of course, and be warned, brethren: I will probably offend many or even most of you. That is not my wish, but my opinions tend to be both Radical, Raw, and Unfiltered.

I pretty much worship Tom Brady, but many will forget that about one paragraph in.

I offer no Apology, just a respectful warning that I might very well be about to piss you off!!

But I'd rather risk it here in The Draft Forum, with you Fine Folks, then anywhere else.

 

[Off The Grid]

Where We're At & We're We're Going

It has been an immeasurable Pleasure and an incalculable Privilege to root for Tom Brady over the last Decade or so.

I've got plenty of Notions about how I imagine he could improve his Game, and I'm not shy about sharing them...But it seems to me that any Patriot Fan who deigns to write about Tom Brady ought begin by acknowledging that we are privileged beyond measure to share, one day at a time, the Ascension of Tom Brady to the status of Legend.

One ought as well acknowledge his Humanity, though, because in so doing one recognizes that his Accomplishments are Great not because he was preordained to attain them but because he overcomes his Flaws to earn them.

However, my particular Perception of things is that Tom Brady was a considerably better and deadlier QuarterBack from 2001 to 2006, when he scrapping and scraping with mediocre "Weapons" around'm, than he has been since 2007, which is of course when he ascended to Fantasy FootBall Legendary Status and perceived Greatness.

It's not even remotely coincidental that the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls before the Air Brady Era began...and none, since.

Yes, the Defense was considerably better, back then. And I'd be the last man ~ the very last one ~ to denigrate the Impact of a Tenacious Defense on any Team's Championship Prospects. I preach that stuff.

But only a Fool blinded by dazzling and absolutely meaningless statistics, or a Fan who simply doesn't understand how Championships are won and is ashamed to admit it, would deny that ~ despite all the transitory and meaningless Regular Season Statistical Glory of the last 7 Years ~ the Patriots's Offense has descended, devolved, and eroded into something bearing an horrifyingly eerie resemblance to the Peyton Manning Colts Offenses we used to destroy.

In a word: We cover ourselves with statistical Glory during the regular Season. But we do so employing a relentlessly Pass Oriented Offense ~ an unbalanced Offense ~ that invariably crashes to Earth when we run into the Iron and Steel of the League's Defenses in January: One need only peruse the Final Score of each Year's final Games since 2007.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Good news is: There're signs that we're doing precisely that.

Brady's propensity, this past Year, to channel an horrifyingly enormous Share of his Passes towards Julian Edleman, Danny Amendola, or whoever was providing him an easy, soothing, and comforting Target in the Slot remains deeply disturbing, don't get me wrong, because it is precisely Brady's propensity to latch onto a Binky since the arrival of Wes Welker in 2007 that's rendered our Offense so predictable...and thus so easy to stop, come January.

But Coach Bill II The Mad (Genius), General Tom's CoConspirator, ere the last 7 Years, in developing an Offense that consistently racked up Fantasy Statistics and consistently got us to the PlayOffs while proving so Pathetically Predictable and Containable that it was virtually guaranteed to fail against the Iron & Steel of the NFL during The Only Games That Really Matter...saw fit, for whatever reasons of'is own, to thrust Brady into a situation, replete with Rookie WideOuts, where he was absolutely forced to choose between either insisting on requiring Tactical Perfection from his WideOuts on each and every Play, as he's so notoriously and foolishly done, ere the last 7 spoiled Years...or to embrace the Reality that Rookies make mistakes and ~ here's a crazy idea ~ work with the young, talented, and hard-working WideOuts.

Being Demanding is one thing.

Being destructively demanding...is quite another thing altogether.

I'm crazy about Tom Brady.

No joke. I love the guy.

Heart of a Lion.

Hardest Working Man in the NFL.

But somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Predictability Usually Equals Defeat.

Somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Using The Whole Pig ~ mixing it up constantly and relentlessly, to persistently and mercilessly keep Defenses guessing ~ dramatically increasing our chances of Winning It All.

Somewhere along the line, he forgot that it was just as important to earn his Players's Trust as it was for them to earn his.

Somewhere along the line ~ just about 2007, I'm thinking ~ it seems to me that he became entitled.

It gives me no Pleasure to write that.

I truly admire the man.

And he's long since proven that he's got the the Balls to overcome even something so addictive as a Bad Habit.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Run when they expect you to Pass.

Pass when they expect you to Run.

Mix it up.

Involve every Player in the Offense.

Involve them constantly.

Involve every Player on the Offense when you need to Move The Chains, even if it costs us a Game or two in September.

Step away from the Binky, Tom.

Step away from the Security Blanket.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Therein lies the way back to your Championship Glory...and your prospective Immortality.

What I'd Love To See

1 ~ Trade Ryan Mallett to the Highest Bidder. If we can pull in the first Pick in the Draft, great. If all we can get is the last Pick in the 7th Round in the 2017 Draft and a bowl of CornFlakes, great. I have nothing against the Lad, and in fact wish him well. But I don't like his Mechanics or his Poise, and wouldn't trust'm when the Bulletts were flying, so why bother? Presumably, he's gone a Year hence, anyway, so it's our last chance to get something back for 2011's 74th.

2 ~ Seek out young QuarterBacks with extraordinary Processing Speed, Poise Under Fire, and allegedly mediocre Arms. Arm Strength can increase significantly with Coaching, and Accuracy is Light Years more important, anyway. The QuarterBacks I've described are far more likely to Move The Chains against the best Defenses in January, yet preposterously tend to come cheapest in April ~ or May ~ and the Gutters are riddled with Rocket Arms.

3 ~ I've never subscribed to the notion that one needs to spend heavy Draft Capital on Franchise QuarterBacks. It seems to me that the best way to go about things is to continuously churn Late Rounders & UFA's, as I've laid out in Step #2, and develop them either to trade them for far more than one spent on'm, or, ultimately, to take the Reins.

4 ~ I don't think we need to be worrying about Tom Brady's Successor.

5 ~ But we do need to start developing Depth of Talent behind'm. It really ain't that hard to do so.

 

[mayoclinic]

Where We're At & We're We're Going

It has been an immeasurable Pleasure and an incalculable Privilege to root for Tom Brady over the last Decade or so.

I've got plenty of Notions about how I imagine he could improve his Game, and I'm not shy about sharing them...But it seems to me that any Patriot Fan who deigns to write about Tom Brady ought begin by acknowledging that we are privileged beyond measure to share, one day at a time, the Ascension of Tom Brady to the status of Legend.

One ought as well acknowledge his Humanity, though, because in so doing one recognizes that his Accomplishments are Great not because he was preordained to attain them but because he overcomes his Flaws to earn them.

However, my particular Perception of things is that Tom Brady was a considerably better and deadlier QuarterBack from 2001 to 2006, when he scrapping and scraping with mediocre "Weapons" around'm, than he has been since 2007, which is of course when he ascended to Fantasy FootBall Legendary Status and perceived Greatness.

It's not even remotely coincidental that the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls before the Air Brady Era began...and none, since.

Yes, the Defense was considerably better, back then. And I'd be the last man ~ the very last one ~ to denigrate the Impact of a Tenacious Defense on any Team's Championship Prospects. I preach that stuff.

But only a Fool blinded by dazzling and absolutely meaningless statistics, or a Fan who simply doesn't understand how Championships are won and is ashamed to admit it, would deny that ~ despite all the transitory and meaningless Regular Season Statistical Glory of the last 7 Years ~ the Patriots's Offense has descended, devolved, and eroded into something bearing an horrifyingly eerie resemblance to the Peyton Manning Colts Offenses we used to destroy.

In a word: We cover ourselves with statistical Glory during the regular Season. But we do so employing a relentlessly Pass Oriented Offense ~ an unbalanced Offense ~ that invariably crashes to Earth when we run into the Iron and Steel of the League's Defenses in January: One need only peruse the Final Score of each Year's final Games since 2007.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Good news is: There're signs that we're doing precisely that.

Brady's propensity, this past Year, to channel an horrifyingly enormous Share of his Passes towards Julian Edleman, Danny Amendola, or whoever was providing him an easy, soothing, and comforting Target in the Slot remains deeply disturbing, don't get me wrong, because it is precisely Brady's propensity to latch onto a Binky since the arrival of Wes Welker in 2007 that's rendered our Offense so predictable...and thus so easy to stop, come January.

But Coach Bill II The Mad (Genius), General Tom's CoConspirator, ere the last 7 Years, in developing an Offense that consistently racked up Fantasy Statistics and consistently got us to the PlayOffs while proving so Pathetically Predictable and Containable that it was virtually guaranteed to fail against the Iron & Steel of the NFL during The Only Games That Really Matter...saw fit, for whatever reasons of'is own, to thrust Brady into a situation, replete with Rookie WideOuts, where he was absolutely forced to choose between either insisting on requiring Tactical Perfection from his WideOuts on each and every Play, as he's so notoriously and foolishly done, ere the last 7 spoiled Years...or to embrace the Reality that Rookies make mistakes and ~ here's a crazy idea ~ work with the young, talented, and hard-working WideOuts.

Being Demanding is one thing.

Being destructively demanding...is quite another thing altogether.

I'm crazy about Tom Brady.

No joke. I love the guy.

Heart of a Lion.

Hardest Working Man in the NFL.

But somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Predictability Usually Equals Defeat.

Somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Using The Whole Pig ~ mixing it up constantly and relentlessly, to persistently and mercilessly keep Defenses guessing ~ dramatically increasing our chances of Winning It All.

Somewhere along the line, he forgot that it was just as important to earn his Players's Trust as it was for them to earn his.

Somewhere along the line ~ just about 2007, I'm thinking ~ it seems to me that he became entitled.

It gives me no Pleasure to write that.

I truly admire the man.

And he's long since proven that he's got the the Balls to overcome even something so addictive as a Bad Habit.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Run when they expect you to Pass.

Pass when they expect you to Run.

Mix it up.

Involve every Player in the Offense.

Involve them constantly.

Involve every Player on the Offense when you need to Move The Chains, even if it costs us a Game or two in September.

Step away from the Binky, Tom.

Step away from the Security Blanket.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Therein lies the way back to your Championship Glory...and your prospective Immortality.

What I'd Love To See

1 ~ Trade Ryan Mallett to the Highest Bidder. If we can pull in the first Pick in the Draft, great. If all we can get is the last Pick in the 7th Round in the 2017 Draft and a bowl of CornFlakes, great. I have nothing against the Lad, and in fact wish him well. But I don't like his Mechanics or his Poise, and wouldn't trust'm when the Bulletts were flying, so why bother? Presumably, he's gone a Year hence, anyway, so it's our last chance to get something back for 2011's 74th.

2 ~ Seek out young QuarterBacks with extraordinary Processing Speed, Poise Under Fire, and allegedly mediocre Arms. Arm Strength can increase significantly with Coaching, and Accuracy is Light Years more important, anyway. The QuarterBacks I've described are far more likely to Move The Chains against the best Defenses in January, yet preposterously tend to come cheapest in April ~ or May ~ and the Gutters are riddled with Rocket Arms.

3 ~ I've never subscribed to the notion that one needs to spend heavy Draft Capital on Franchise QuarterBacks. It seems to me that the best way to go about things is to continuously churn Late Rounders & UFA's, as I've laid out in Step #2, and develop them either to trade them for far more than one spent on'm, or, ultimately, to take the Reins.

4 ~ I don't think we need to be worrying about Tom Brady's Successor.

5 ~ But we do need to start developing Depth of Talent behind'm. It really ain't that hard to do so.

Nice to have you back for more than a quick quip or two. Though your profiles have been worth the wait.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Is it any coincidence that the last 2 SB winners - and 3 of the last 4 SB teams - have had QB's playing at a high level who are still on their rookie contracts? It's very, very hard to field a championship team in the salary cap era, and devoting 10-15%+ of your cap space to one player makes it that much harder. Brady has been the most generous "franchise" QB in terms of taking a discount and restructuring for the benefit of the team, but even so, it's not easy. Now I'm not suggesting that we trade Brady and go with Mallett, but even with Brady taking discounts the team hasn't won a SB since he became one of the top paid QBs in the league. It's damn hard, and there's little margin for error.

2. I get worried when Brady tries to turn into Superman and put the whole team on his shoulders. Sure, we love seeing Brady fired up and butting his linemen, but in reality I'd much rather have a cool, calm Brady who uses the whole pick and methodically moves the chains than a fired up Brady who forces the ball into small windows and tries to do too much. I was worried when I read reports prior to the AFCCG that Jim Nantz had mentioned that he had never seen Brady so fired up.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...i-ve-never-seen-brady-like.html#.UxXtTZGwPuc

Not the way I want Brady to be before a game. I want Cool Hand Luke.

3. I'm all for using the Whole Pig. Always have been.

4. In spite of anything, Brady is still the greatest QB of the modern era.

 

[yopats]

Agreed on all points.

I think we will see pretty quickly here in the offseason if there is a importance placed on the trenches of both lines.

IF so.. I think we are going down the right path.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Nice to have you back for more than a quick quip or two. Though your profiles have been worth the wait.

A couple of thoughts:

1. Is it any coincidence that the last 2 SB winners - and 3 of the last 4 SB teams - have had QB's playing at a high level who are still on their rookie contracts? It's very, very hard to field a championship team in the salary cap era, and devoting 10-15%+ of your cap space to one player makes it that much harder. Brady has been the most generous "franchise" QB in terms of taking a discount and restructuring for the benefit of the team, but even so, it's not easy. Now I'm not suggesting that we trade Brady and go with Mallett, but even with Brady taking discounts the team hasn't won a SB since he became one of the top paid QBs in the league. It's damn hard, and there's little margin for error.

2. I get worried when Brady tries to turn into Superman and put the whole team on his shoulders. Sure, we love seeing Brady fired up and butting his linemen, but in reality I'd much rather have a cool, calm Brady who uses the whole pick and methodically moves the chains than a fired up Brady who forces the ball into small windows and tries to do too much. I was worried when I read reports prior to the AFCCG that Jim Nantz had mentioned that he had never seen Brady so fired up.

http://www.patsfans.com/new-england...i-ve-never-seen-brady-like.html#.UxXtTZGwPuc

Not the way I want Brady to be before a game. I want Cool Hand Luke.

3. I'm all for using the Whole Pig. Always have been.

4. In spite of anything, Brady is still the greatest QB of the modern era.

I think Brady, in general, will use the whole pig if it can be used. He was more than happy to let Blount and Co. pound the rock when it was working, part of the issue is whether or not it will work. Granted, I don’t have access to the coaches film to make an informed judgment but is it possible that we became dependent on Welker because he was consistently open and that release valve was necessary because the line could only hold for a few seconds before the D-line would be in his face?

We’ve seen BB throw utter crap against the wall in terms of receivers hoping it would stick, year after year, leaving Brady with very limited options with who he’s throwing to. A key with the SB teams is that we had enough solid players who could still get it done against playoff defenses, they wouldn’t light it up in the regular season but they wouldn’t vanish in the playoffs, we haven’t had that in a while.

 

[livinginthe past]

Thought provoking stuff, indeed!

When I think of Brady it makes me question the whole concept of 'clutch' or 'clutchness'.

Because the Brady that won those 3 SB's, in my opinion, would stand little to no chance of further success between now and then in terms of winning the big one.

In order for someone to come up with the 'big play' in a low scoring game you have to have two things - a strong D and a simply 'effective' QB.

Those games are in short supply these days.

I think Brady enjoys the team running the ball, I don't think he's overly egotistical like one Peyton Manning regarding the stat padding statistical nonsense.

It just seems that the ethos of the offense is mild panic when running the ball doesn't come easily in the post-season - they don't seem to have much patience with it at all.

In the post-season those sadly predictable over-thrown deep balls come back to haunt us quick-smart - is this a mechanical or mental issue - because Brady is one of the QB's I have least faith in when it comes to the deep bomb down the sideline.

And they are nearly all, in my perception, over-thrown - is this an anxiousness problem, trying to play too safe in the post-season?

Back to the clutchness issue - well, we came so close to beating the Giants both times, the presense of a healthy Gronk or a fully awake Asante samuel could have made us 1-2 rings richer right now - can we put it all on the QB?

What we really need is a defense that makes the opposition QB as uncomfortable as Brady is made to feel in the playoffs - not one that simply looks to play the odds and win through attrition.

 

[mayoclinic]

What we really need is a defense that makes the opposition QB as uncomfortable as Brady is made to feel in the playoffs.

:kiss: :cheer2:

 

[Snake Eyes]

Thought provoking stuff, indeed!

When I think of Brady it makes me question the whole concept of 'clutch' or 'clutchness'.

Because the Brady that won those 3 SB's, in my opinion, would stand little to no chance of further success between now and then in terms of winning the big one.

In order for someone to come up with the 'big play' in a low scoring game you have to have two things - a strong D and a simply 'effective' QB.

Those games are in short supply these days.

I think Brady enjoys the team running the ball, I don't think he's overly egotistical like one Peyton Manning regarding the stat padding statistical nonsense.

It just seems that the ethos of the offense is mild panic when running the ball doesn't come easily in the post-season - they don't seem to have much patience with it at all.

In the post-season those sadly predictable over-thrown deep balls come back to haunt us quick-smart - is this a mechanical or mental issue - because Brady is one of the QB's I have least faith in when it comes to the deep bomb down the sideline.

And they are nearly all, in my perception, over-thrown - is this an anxiousness problem, trying to play too safe in the post-season?

Back to the clutchness issue - well, we came so close to beating the Giants both times, the presense of a healthy Gronk or a fully awake Asante samuel could have made us 1-2 rings richer right now - can we put it all on the QB?

What we really need is a defense that makes the opposition QB as uncomfortable as Brady is made to feel in the playoffs - not one that simply looks to play the odds and win through attrition.

Great point. If you hear people talking about how the QB is clutch there's a great chance other parts of the team were clutch as well. Without the infamous Welker drop people would be going on about Brady being clutch. On that note, no one ever talks about how Justin Tuck owned Mankins and sacked Brady right before that pass to Welker, Brady landed right on the shoulder he previously injured that season.

If the defense had been clutch, stopping those late scoring drives, people would be speaking differently of Brady. Yet again, the QB and the head coach get WAY too much credit when things go well, and way too much blame when they don't.

 

[Kontradiction]

Where We're At & We're We're Going

It has been an immeasurable Pleasure and an incalculable Privilege to root for Tom Brady over the last Decade or so.

I've got plenty of Notions about how I imagine he could improve his Game, and I'm not shy about sharing them...But it seems to me that any Patriot Fan who deigns to write about Tom Brady ought begin by acknowledging that we are privileged beyond measure to share, one day at a time, the Ascension of Tom Brady to the status of Legend.

One ought as well acknowledge his Humanity, though, because in so doing one recognizes that his Accomplishments are Great not because he was preordained to attain them but because he overcomes his Flaws to earn them.

However, my particular Perception of things is that Tom Brady was a considerably better and deadlier QuarterBack from 2001 to 2006, when he scrapping and scraping with mediocre "Weapons" around'm, than he has been since 2007, which is of course when he ascended to Fantasy FootBall Legendary Status and perceived Greatness.

It's not even remotely coincidental that the Patriots won 3 Super Bowls before the Air Brady Era began...and none, since.

Yes, the Defense was considerably better, back then. And I'd be the last man ~ the very last one ~ to denigrate the Impact of a Tenacious Defense on any Team's Championship Prospects. I preach that stuff.

But only a Fool blinded by dazzling and absolutely meaningless statistics, or a Fan who simply doesn't understand how Championships are won and is ashamed to admit it, would deny that ~ despite all the transitory and meaningless Regular Season Statistical Glory of the last 7 Years ~ the Patriots's Offense has descended, devolved, and eroded into something bearing an horrifyingly eerie resemblance to the Peyton Manning Colts Offenses we used to destroy.

In a word: We cover ourselves with statistical Glory during the regular Season. But we do so employing a relentlessly Pass Oriented Offense ~ an unbalanced Offense ~ that invariably crashes to Earth when we run into the Iron and Steel of the League's Defenses in January: One need only peruse the Final Score of each Year's final Games since 2007.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Good news is: There're signs that we're doing precisely that.

Brady's propensity, this past Year, to channel an horrifyingly enormous Share of his Passes towards Julian Edleman, Danny Amendola, or whoever was providing him an easy, soothing, and comforting Target in the Slot remains deeply disturbing, don't get me wrong, because it is precisely Brady's propensity to latch onto a Binky since the arrival of Wes Welker in 2007 that's rendered our Offense so predictable...and thus so easy to stop, come January.

But Coach Bill II The Mad (Genius), General Tom's CoConspirator, ere the last 7 Years, in developing an Offense that consistently racked up Fantasy Statistics and consistently got us to the PlayOffs while proving so Pathetically Predictable and Containable that it was virtually guaranteed to fail against the Iron & Steel of the NFL during The Only Games That Really Matter...saw fit, for whatever reasons of'is own, to thrust Brady into a situation, replete with Rookie WideOuts, where he was absolutely forced to choose between either insisting on requiring Tactical Perfection from his WideOuts on each and every Play, as he's so notoriously and foolishly done, ere the last 7 spoiled Years...or to embrace the Reality that Rookies make mistakes and ~ here's a crazy idea ~ work with the young, talented, and hard-working WideOuts.

Being Demanding is one thing.

Being destructively demanding...is quite another thing altogether.

I'm crazy about Tom Brady.

No joke. I love the guy.

Heart of a Lion.

Hardest Working Man in the NFL.

But somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Predictability Usually Equals Defeat.

Somewhere along the line, he lost sight of the fact that Using The Whole Pig ~ mixing it up constantly and relentlessly, to persistently and mercilessly keep Defenses guessing ~ dramatically increasing our chances of Winning It All.

Somewhere along the line, he forgot that it was just as important to earn his Players's Trust as it was for them to earn his.

Somewhere along the line ~ just about 2007, I'm thinking ~ it seems to me that he became entitled.

It gives me no Pleasure to write that.

I truly admire the man.

And he's long since proven that he's got the the Balls to overcome even something so addictive as a Bad Habit.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Run when they expect you to Pass.

Pass when they expect you to Run.

Mix it up.

Involve every Player in the Offense.

Involve them constantly.

Involve every Player on the Offense when you need to Move The Chains, even if it costs us a Game or two in September.

Step away from the Binky, Tom.

Step away from the Security Blanket.

Use The Whole Pig, Tom.

Therein lies the way back to your Championship Glory...and your prospective Immortality.

What I'd Love To See

1 ~ Trade Ryan Mallett to the Highest Bidder. If we can pull in the first Pick in the Draft, great. If all we can get is the last Pick in the 7th Round in the 2017 Draft and a bowl of CornFlakes, great. I have nothing against the Lad, and in fact wish him well. But I don't like his Mechanics or his Poise, and wouldn't trust'm when the Bulletts were flying, so why bother? Presumably, he's gone a Year hence, anyway, so it's our last chance to get something back for 2011's 74th.

2 ~ Seek out young QuarterBacks with extraordinary Processing Speed, Poise Under Fire, and allegedly mediocre Arms. Arm Strength can increase significantly with Coaching, and Accuracy is Light Years more important, anyway. The QuarterBacks I've described are far more likely to Move The Chains against the best Defenses in January, yet preposterously tend to come cheapest in April ~ or May ~ and the Gutters are riddled with Rocket Arms.

3 ~ I've never subscribed to the notion that one needs to spend heavy Draft Capital on Franchise QuarterBacks. It seems to me that the best way to go about things is to continuously churn Late Rounders & UFA's, as I've laid out in Step #2, and develop them either to trade them for far more than one spent on'm, or, ultimately, to take the Reins.

4 ~ I don't think we need to be worrying about Tom Brady's Successor.

5 ~ But we do need to start developing Depth of Talent behind'm. It really ain't that hard to do so.

Love ya, Grid. But it would seem that even with that Madden offense that became so predictable when the games counted, this team could have racked up 2-3 more titles if the front office didn't whiff on so many picks in the secondary and on the defense as a whole. It's a matter of NFL life that NFL offenses, even the best ones, tend to get slowed down in January due to some combination of weather and playing great to elite defenses. That this happened to the Pats isn't surprising. But it's the whiffs on DB's that have cost us the most. Belichick seemed to figure that out when he brought in Talib, moved McCourty to FS in 2011, and took a 7th round chance on a trouble guy that just assaulted a cop out of Nebraska. Even considering that, moves like ponying the kind of coin that Arrington got on top of reaching for guys like Tavon Wilson are exactly the kind of moves that have kept this defense from getting back to it's dominant ways. Until that changes, Tommy's not winning another one no matter if he plays great or he (by his own admission) "sucks" in the playoffs.

 

[manxman2601]

Love ya, Grid. But it would seem that even with that Madden offense that became so predictable when the games counted, this team could have racked up 2-3 more titles if the front office didn't whiff on so many picks in the secondary and on the defense as a whole. It's a matter of NFL life that NFL offenses, even the best ones, tend to get slowed down in January due to some combination of weather and playing great to elite defenses. That this happened to the Pats isn't surprising. But it's the whiffs on DB's that have cost us the most. Belichick seemed to figure that out when he brought in Talib, moved McCourty to FS in 2011, and took a 7th round chance on a trouble guy that just assaulted a cop out of Nebraska. Even considering that, moves like ponying the kind of coin that Arrington got on top of reaching for guys like Tavon Wilson are exactly the kind of moves that have kept this defense from getting back to it's dominant ways. Until that changes, Tommy's not winning another one no matter if he plays great or he (by his own admission) "sucks" in the playoffs.

Sorry but I can't agree with this. Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard are as good a 1-2 CB tandem as there is in the NFL and Devin McCourty is one of the best FS. When three of your four DBs are excellent, it means that your FO hasn't whiffed (especially when Arrington and Logan Ryan are good as nickel CBs).

 

[Merril Hoge's Tie Knot]

Sorry but I can't agree with this. Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard are as good a 1-2 CB tandem as there is in the NFL and Devin McCourty is one of the best FS. When three of your four DBs are excellent, it means that your FO hasn't whiffed (especially when Arrington and Logan Ryan are good as nickel CBs).

Sherman and Maxwell are better

You're going to hate this but Deone Bucannon is growing on me

 

[manxman2601]

Sherman and Maxwell are better

Sherman is. Not convinced about Maxwell.

Buccanon is decent 3rd/4th round value. I'm not at all convinced he's a starting safety in the NFL. Not sure why you would say I hate it.

 

[Snake Eyes]

Love ya, Grid. But it would seem that even with that Madden offense that became so predictable when the games counted, this team could have racked up 2-3 more titles if the front office didn't whiff on so many picks in the secondary and on the defense as a whole. It's a matter of NFL life that NFL offenses, even the best ones, tend to get slowed down in January due to some combination of weather and playing great to elite defenses. That this happened to the Pats isn't surprising. But it's the whiffs on DB's that have cost us the most. Belichick seemed to figure that out when he brought in Talib, moved McCourty to FS in 2011, and took a 7th round chance on a trouble guy that just assaulted a cop out of Nebraska. Even considering that, moves like ponying the kind of coin that Arrington got on top of reaching for guys like Tavon Wilson are exactly the kind of moves that have kept this defense from getting back to it's dominant ways. Until that changes, Tommy's not winning another one no matter if he plays great or he (by his own admission) "sucks" in the playoffs.

Sure, we'd likely have been more successful with a better defense why wouldnt we also have been more successful with a better and less predictable offense?

 

[Kontradiction]

Sorry but I can't agree with this. Aqib Talib and Alfonzo Dennard are as good a 1-2 CB tandem as there is in the NFL and Devin McCourty is one of the best FS. When three of your four DBs are excellent, it means that your FO hasn't whiffed (especially when Arrington and Logan Ryan are good as nickel CBs).

The following are DB draft picks since the last Super Bowl win. I'll put stars by the names of those picks that should be deemed successes...

2005:
1. Round 3 (84) - Ellis Hobbs*
2. Round 4 (133) - James Sanders*

2006:
1. Round 7 (229) - Willie Andrews

2007:
1. Round 1 (24) - Brandon Meriweather*
2. Round 6 (202) - Mike Richardson

2008:
1. Round 2 (62) - Terrance Wheatley
2. Round 4 (129) - Jonathan Wilhite

2009:
1. Round 2 (34) - Patrick Chung
2. Round 2 (41) - Darius Butler

2010:
1. Round 1 (27) - Devin McCourty*

2011:
1. Round 2 (33) - Ras-I Dowling
2. Round 7 (219) - Malcolm Williams

2012:
1. Round 2 (48) - Tavon Wilson
2. Round 6 (197) - Nate Ebner
3. Round 7 (224) - Alfonzo Dennard*

2013:
1. Round 3 (83) - Logan Ryan
2. Round 3 (91) - Duron Harmon

That's 5 hits that I count out of 17 drafted players. Out of the 17, two hits were drafted in 2005, two are coming off of their rookie seasons and it's too early to make a projection about them one way or another, seven are no longer in the NFL anymore, four are no longer with the team (including one hit [Meriweather]). If you think that it's unfair to include the Willie Andrews' of the world, then we must remove Dennard as well.

As for the current secondary? Two were drafted (one as a perceived 7th round throw away pick for a guy with "character issues"), one was traded for, one is a nickel CB that was given a ridiculous contract given the total inability to play outside at a level approacing NFL-caliber, and the SS position is a question mark because BB gave too much money to a safety that was a back-up at best.

As I detailed, the misses during the draft combined with head scratching front office decisions in the back end have certainly contributed to Brady not winning another Super Bowl since 2004 and losing two of them.

 

[Kontradiction]

Sure, we'd likely have been more successful with a better defense why wouldnt we also have been more successful with a better and less predictable offense?

The 2007, 2011, and 2012 offenses are some of the best of all time. An offense doesn't get to be mentioned amongst the best of all time if they are all together predictable. In 2007 and 2011, it was long drives in the waning minutes of the biggest games that broke the camel's back once the offense put the team in the lead and handed the defense the keys to the car.

 

[manxman2601]

The following are DB draft picks since the last Super Bowl win. I'll put stars by the names of those picks that should be deemed successes...

2005:
1. Round 3 (84) - Ellis Hobbs*
2. Round 4 (133) - James Sanders*

2006:
1. Round 7 (229) - Willie Andrews

2007:
1. Round 1 (24) - Brandon Meriweather*
2. Round 6 (202) - Mike Richardson

2008:
1. Round 2 (62) - Terrance Wheatley
2. Round 4 (129) - Jonathan Wilhite

2009:
1. Round 2 (34) - Patrick Chung
2. Round 2 (41) - Darius Butler

2010:
1. Round 1 (27) - Devin McCourty*

2011:
1. Round 2 (33) - Ras-I Dowling
2. Round 7 (219) - Malcolm Williams

2012:
1. Round 2 (48) - Tavon Wilson
2. Round 6 (197) - Nate Ebner
3. Round 7 (224) - Alfonzo Dennard*

2013:
1. Round 3 (83) - Logan Ryan
2. Round 3 (91) - Duron Harmon

That's 5 hits that I count out of 17 drafted players. Out of the 17, two hits were drafted in 2005, two are coming off of their rookie seasons and it's too early to make a projection about them one way or another, seven are no longer in the NFL anymore, four are no longer with the team (including one hit [Meriweather]). If you think that it's unfair to include the Willie Andrews' of the world, then we must remove Dennard as well.

As for the current secondary? Two were drafted (one as a perceived 7th round throw away pick for a guy with "character issues"), one was traded for, one is a nickel CB that was given a ridiculous contract given the total inability to play outside at a level approacing NFL-caliber, and the SS position is a question mark because BB gave too much money to a safety that was a back-up at best.

As I detailed, the misses during the draft combined with head scratching front office decisions in the back end have certainly contributed to Brady not winning another Super Bowl since 2004 and losing two of them.

Draft misses are what happens in the NFL, it's not unique to the Patriots. What is important is how the team is now, and short of a second safety, we have an excellent secondary.

And please tell me you aren't being serious by counting Harmon and Ryan as "not-hits".

 

[Snake Eyes]

The 2007, 2011, and 2012 offenses are some of the best of all time. An offense doesn't get to be mentioned amongst the best of all time if they are all together predictable. In 2007 and 2011, it was long drives in the waning minutes of the biggest games that broke the camel's back once the offense put the team in the lead and handed the defense the keys to the car.

They were some of the best regular season offenses of all time, how many points did they put up in those playoff losses? With some better O-line depth the Giant’s D-line wouldn’t have turned Brady into a piñata. If they had to respect the run they wouldn’t have been able to tee off on Brady.