Bills make us look stupid.

[cmasspatsfan]

Yikes Icy.
I mean, you aren't wrong, but the words "moderator" and "staff member" are next to your name. This place is absurd enough at times.

The moderators should be more accepting of other opinions no mater how silly without belittling the poster. Just disagree with him in a civil manner, you can still get your point across without the insults.

 

[upstater1]

Questioning owner, coach and player decisions is part of being a fan. That's how it should be, especially on a message board. After all, we pay the freight.

What I disliked the most about Sanders was that he mentioned Amendola publicly. I wouldn't want a player like that on my team.

& it's fun to do so. I was just writing about this idea that we have something to offer in terms of player evaluation.

Belichick rode Brady's arm and basically invested very little for WRs and TEs over the years--because it enabled him to build a more complete team.

He won 3 Super Bowls doing it this way.

I don't consider this a fault of his. It was a good strategy with great results.

I know it's reopening a can of worms, but I compared the Patriots WR/TE drafts of the last decade to other teams, and we just expend fewer picks than other teams. Some teams expend 3x as many as we do. And I know we've had a lot of busts, and really only Mitchell seemed like a good pick who would've panned out if not for injuries. But in terms of evaluation, one more success would have put us above the league average success rate (which is roughly 1 good WR for every 3 picked).

Over his entire tenure, BB has only hit on Branch, Givens, Edelman, and maybe Mitchell--if you can count him as being properly scouted. We've had a lot of high profile misses on Jackson, Boyce, Price, maybe Tate, Dobson, and now likely Harry. FAs have worked out a little better with Caldwell, Gaffney, Stallworth, Lloyd, LaFell and Hogan. Draft pick trades have been mostly a good deal with Moss, Welker and Cooks, with Sanu being the big bust. Again--we just don't have volume of resources expended to make a real difference.

 

[1960Pats]

& it's fun to do so. I was just writing about this idea that we have something to offer in terms of player evaluation.

Belichick rode Brady's arm and basically invested very little for WRs and TEs over the years--because it enabled him to build a more complete team.

He won 3 Super Bowls doing it this way.

I don't consider this a fault of his. It was a good strategy with great results.

I know it's reopening a can of worms, but I compared the Patriots WR/TE drafts of the last decade to other teams, and we just expend fewer picks than other teams. Some teams expend 3x as many as we do. And I know we've had a lot of busts, and really only Mitchell seemed like a good pick who would've panned out if not for injuries. But in terms of evaluation, one more success would have put us above the league average success rate (which is roughly 1 good WR for every 3 picked).

Over his entire tenure, BB has only hit on Branch, Givens, Edelman, and maybe Mitchell--if you can count him as being properly scouted. We've had a lot of high profile misses on Jackson, Boyce, Price, maybe Tate, Dobson, and now likely Harry. FAs have worked out a little better with Caldwell, Gaffney, Stallworth, Lloyd, LaFell and Hogan. Draft pick trades have been mostly a good deal with Moss, Welker and Cooks, with Sanu being the big bust. Again--we just don't have volume of resources expended to make a real difference.

I consider the draft a crap shoot and don't follow the NCAA, so I don't get into the draft all that much. I know it costs a bit more but I'd take proven NYFL players over draft picks every time.

The funny thing is, I like to question coaches in-game decisions but Belichick is the worst to do that with. He makes so few mistakes that it's ridiculous. The way he handled the goal line stand before The Butler Did It was masterful. While all around him his assistants were yelling into his ear and panicking, Bill just kept reassuring them with "I got this" and damn was he right.

One glaring mistake that I think he made was the 4 and 2 call in Indy. It wasn't going for it on 4th down that bothered me but passing on 3rd and 2 and then burning the last timeout was dumb with a capital "D". That resulted in 2+ minutes left on the clock and no replay after the 4th down play, which I think was made.

 

[TheRainMaker]

One of those players who I can’t believe never played in NE. The other was some scrub passed over for Daniel Graham.

I remember Ed Reed as a guy analysts were talking about a lot, but I think the knock on why he dropped was due to his size. During his first season, I was like "oh s***" I can't believe Bill passed him up.

When the Pats passed on Sanders in 2014 he publicly belittled Amendola to try and make his point. Amendola ended up being a key player in two SB runs.

I don't remember what he said.

As for 2015, Sanders had no TDs in 3 playoff games for Denver and their MVP was Von Miller, a LB.

While Von Miller was their MVP, Sanders was their leading receiver and had some back breaking 3rd down conversions in that game. Put him on the Pats, you weaken Denver, AFCCG is at Gillette, Pats most likely 3 peat.

Right, they signed Rodney even though they drafted Eugene Wilson and still had Lawyer Milloy under contract.

Harrison signed with the Pats before the draft. Wilson was drafted as a CB. Probably would've stayed at CB had they not released Milloy.

If I remember correctly, the Broncos were trying had to get LaFell in 2014 and the Pats were pushing hard for Sanders. The opposite happened, but Lafell made some good plays for us in his one productive season for us

You are correct.

 

[TinhWoodhead]

Alternate title: Bill made us look...

 

[Thelonious]

"We" look stupid because "we" have put down a solid record of stupid draft decisions.

"We," to all intents and purposes here, is Bill Belichick.

After we at long last acknowledge that we wasted an entire year on a qb who can't play, we should address the question whether we have a GM who can't draft. Bill the coach deserves better than this trash roster. And it wouldn't hurt to have a DC chosen for his abilities rather than for his family connections.

This is Bill's team. This team is c---p.

 

[luuked]

Belichick rode Brady's arm and basically invested very little for WRs and TEs over the years--because it enabled him to build a more complete team.

I get what you are saying but this entire idea that we did very little for WRs and TEs is just misleading when Brady had a TE playing at a HoF level since 2011 -- coulda been two if Hernandez didn't lose his mind -- and MOF receivers (Welker, Edelman both at least in HoF conversation) who were exactly the kind of skill position player that Brady thrived on. I get that fast big players outside the numbers are what's sexy in the highlight reels but that was rarely ever what this offense was good at.

Why continue investing in an offense that is a perennial top 3 unit when resources by definition are limited ? If we had not drafted Gronk or if he had not turned into the most powerful chess piece on offense in the entire league for over 8 seasons I am confident we would have had seen a more balanced approach and especially less experimenting in the second round with DBs.

Should they have started drafting players towards the end to have a more smooth transition ? Yeah, most likely. But even that wasn't some dumb oversight but one can easily argue that it was part of going all-in -- in a responsible matter without becoming the Saints of 2020 -- since 2016 almost every year. Whether that paid dividends or ended up mattering is a different story but it was apparently the approach they took: "Josh and Tom will take care of the offense, lets just invest into the D".

 

[NG Pats Fan]

Until bill drafts better this talent problem won’t go away

 

[upstater1]

I get what you are saying but this entire idea that we did very little for WRs and TEs is just misleading when Brady had a TE playing at a HoF level since 2011 -- coulda been two if Hernandez didn't lose his mind -- and MOF receivers (Welker, Edelman both at least in HoF conversation) who were exactly the kind of skill position player that Brady thrived on. I get that fast big players outside the numbers are what's sexy in the highlight reels but that was rarely ever what this offense was good at.

Why continue investing in an offense that is a perennial top 3 unit when resources by definition are limited ? If we had not drafted Gronk or if he had not turned into the most powerful chess piece on offense in the entire league for over 8 seasons I am confident we would have had seen a more balanced approach and especially less experimenting in the second round with DBs.

Should they have started drafting players towards the end to have a more smooth transition ? Yeah, most likely. But even that wasn't some dumb oversight but one can easily argue that it was part of going all-in -- in a responsible matter without becoming the Saints of 2020 -- since 2016 almost every year. Whether that paid dividends or ended up mattering is a different story but it was apparently the approach they took: "Josh and Tom will take care of the offense, lets just invest into the D".

I wrote that he invested very little. Which is true.