Cole Strange

[upstater1]

Bill never won with out Tom. never
you can cherry pick a game here or there but the record speaks for itself.
under .500
1 playoff win pre Pats (against the Pats)
he won 2 games with JimmyG. he won 2 games with Brissett.
he did win with Cassell, but no playoffs.
look at the big picture and realize this team was headed towards another putrid season if Bill stayed on

This is myopic.

Coaches build teams. He built Cleveland, he built the Patriots. Rebuilds happen especially if you've been coaching as long as he has. I would even say he was the KEY piece to getting the Patriots to the Super Bowl in 1996. He would've won with many QBs in 2001 and 2018.

 

[mgteich]

the reference was made about fans and posters did not know much about Strange

he will have missed 50-75% of games played last year and this year.

you can belly ache all day my friend. Marcus, in my opinion, is too small to be playing outside CB on a regular basis. the balance players available are mostly JAG's. the team needs an upgrade at CB

they have anther 20+ free agents next season. yes I am on record as saying that the roster will rid itself of the majority of the players on the roster over a 2 year span

Bill was over his head the past 3-4 years. that does not make him mean.
those "good" players were a 4 win team last year.
you make it your business to put the blame solely on a 3rd year QB that had 3 OC's in 3 years and an OL and WR room that both were worst in league. yet when your boy crush Zippy played, the offense was even worse.

you should stop making excuses and join the discussion on how the team best moves forward and stop living like its 2017 and life with Bill is fine (as long as Tom is in charge)

Yes, it is just making excuses to make believe that you cannot win without OT's, other injured OL's, without QB's and without WR's, and with your top two defenders on IR.
=========
The secondary did do well in 2023 even without Gonzo and Marcus Jones (our backup nickel back). Yes #2/#3 CB is by far the weakest position on our top 5 Defense.

 

[Toofy]

I think Bill benefited when he didn't need to concentrate on offense. The moment the trusted lieutenants left, bill just couldn't manage .

And earlier I think with no training restrictions, bill was able to outcoach every single coach. So could do more with less. Now with nflpa restrictions on offseason practice and training , Bill's coaching advantage has taken a nosedive .

Bill did not change his drafting criteria with the new nflpa rules and hence we drafted duds after duds when bill prioritized character/ coachability over talent . And the last 6-7 years, drafting luck completely deserted bill and father time took it's toll.

Bill was the greatest during his prime time . But yeah it's time to move on . Letting go of bill was the best thing for the pats as well as Bill.

And yes Mac was horrible and great part of blame should go to bill and it was apt that we let go of bill lest he makes maye also as damaged goods. The game has left bill in the last 5 years . As we speak Right now he is a good defensive coach . That's it. No head coach, no GM.

 

[Hyped]

He still wouldn’t be active.

Still there would be practice reps...

 

[Zuma]

I think Bill benefited when he didn't need to concentrate on offense. The moment the trusted lieutenants left, bill just couldn't manage .

And earlier I think with no training restrictions, bill was able to outcoach every single coach. So could do more with less. Now with nflpa restrictions on offseason practice and training , Bill's coaching advantage has taken a nosedive .

Bill did not change his drafting criteria with the new nflpa rules and hence we drafted duds after duds when bill prioritized character/ coachability over talent . And the last 6-7 years, drafting luck completely deserted bill and father time took it's toll.

Bill was the greatest during his prime time . But yeah it's time to move on . Letting go of bill was the best thing for the pats as well as Bill.

And yes Mac was horrible and great part of blame should go to bill and it was apt that we let go of bill lest he makes maye also as damaged goods. The game has left bill in the last 5 years . As we speak Right now he is a good defensive coach . That's it. No head coach, no GM.

I think there is a lot of truth in this post.

 

[captain stone]

Who is Weed? Was he in the 3rd or 4th round?

In my draft, Weed's a 1st-rounder all day long...

 

[captain stone]

All of them. I'm a big sports fan but I don't think participation in sports warrants a forever statue.

I generally agree, though Bobby Orr's & Red Auerbach's statues are pretty cool...

 

[captain stone]

How many roster spots are you giving to Corner Back?

You think there is space for 2 more outside Corners? Gonzo, Jones, and Jones are pretty much locks so if you're bringing in 2 then you are cutting the rest?

In my opinion you need at least one guy who can match up with the bigger guys and at least one guy who can match up against the smaller quicker guys. You also need a 3rd guy who is basically a starter too but he can be either type and you just use scheme and safety help to work through specific matchups any given team might bring.

As it stands now we have two very good players in Gonzo and Jonathan Jones one for bigger guys one for quicker. It so happens our best back up is a smaller quicker guy too in Marcus.

We have some decent developmental players who have decent size. After that anyone we sign will push someone off the roster and/or block their development. I just don't see CB as a problem at all I see it as probably our deepest and most talented position group on the team.

Outside CB #2 right now sucks. Absolutely Sucks.

Gonzo's gonna be bored to death because the action's gonna be all to the opposite side...unless he himself can't hack it either.

 

[signbabybrady]

Outside CB #2 right now sucks. Absolutely Sucks.

Gonzo's gonna be bored to death because the action's gonna be all to the opposite side...unless he himself can't hack it either.

Inside/outside whatever you want to label them our 3 best corners are better than most any 3 in the league. This boards insists on creating a problem where one doesn't exist just by pigeoning Jones/Jones as inside guys.

I can accept a certain degree of concern for Gonzo due to the fact he's only done it for a few games. I have very little but it's not unreasonable.

I accept concern over Jonathan's age/tread on his tires. I even have some of my own concerns with this but he should have a few years left in the tank.

I accept that Marcus is even less proven than Gonzo. Again I don't have a lot of concern I think we have a pretty special player here but he only has 5 starts and he wasn't a first rounder like Gonzo. But I can't ignore what I saw 2022 and not just as a STer he had 2 interceptions and took one back for a TD.

So if these guys all play to their ability that they've already shown on the field then we have no issues with inside/outside.

 

[mgteich]

Inside/outside whatever you want to label them our 3 best corners are better than most any 3 in the league. This boards insists on creating a problem where one doesn't exist just by pigeoning Jones/Jones as inside guys.

I can accept a certain degree of concern for Gonzo due to the fact he's only done it for a few games. I have very little but it's not unreasonable.

I accept concern over Jonathan's age/tread on his tires. I even have some of my own concerns with this but he should have a few years left in the tank.

I accept that Marcus is even less proven than Gonzo. Again I don't have a lot of concern I think we have a pretty special player here but he only has 5 starts and he wasn't a first rounder like Gonzo. But I can't ignore what I saw 2022 and not just as a STer he had 2 interceptions and took one back for a TD.

So if these guys all play to their ability that they've already shown on the field then we have no issues with inside/outside.

If Marcus is our outside corner opposite Gonzo, Gonzo will have no stats (as cap says). All the passes will be to be the 5'8" side of the field.

One can call Gonzo, Jones and Jones one of the best trios in the league. Talk will do little good.

To be clear, I like Marcus. He is a major asset, a top returner, and an OK backup at both nickel and outside. Calling him more than he is serves no purpose for staff other than diverting from the "real" issue, finding the best 3rd CB starter.

BOTTOM LINE
We may be fine looking for our starter among Wilson, Austin and Bolden. Or not.

 

[203Pat]

Inside/outside whatever you want to label them our 3 best corners are better than most any 3 in the league. This boards insists on creating a problem where one doesn't exist just by pigeoning Jones/Jones as inside guys.

I can accept a certain degree of concern for Gonzo due to the fact he's only done it for a few games. I have very little but it's not unreasonable.

I accept concern over Jonathan's age/tread on his tires. I even have some of my own concerns with this but he should have a few years left in the tank.

I accept that Marcus is even less proven than Gonzo. Again I don't have a lot of concern I think we have a pretty special player here but he only has 5 starts and he wasn't a first rounder like Gonzo. But I can't ignore what I saw 2022 and not just as a STer he had 2 interceptions and took one back for a TD.

So if these guys all play to their ability that they've already shown on the field then we have no issues with inside/outside.

Jon Jones can play inside, outside, and even some safety but he is best as a slot corner. I also don't know what you have seen out of Marcus Jones as a corner that makes you think he can play there in any large role. He played meaningful reps at corner his rookie year the last month out of necessity and then got banged up in week 2 last year trying to make a tackle. I don’t think he's a bad corner but if I had my way he would be a backup to Jon Jones in the slot and primarily a return man/gadget guy.

 

[signbabybrady]

If Marcus is our outside corner opposite Gonzo, Gonzo will have no stats (as cap says). All the passes will be to be the 5'8" side of the field.

One can call Gonzo, Jones and Jones one of the best trios in the league. Talk will do little good.

To be clear, I like Marcus. He is a major asset, a top returner, and an OK backup at both nickel and outside. Calling him more than he is serves no purpose for staff other than diverting from the "real" issue, finding the best 3rd CB starter.

BOTTOM LINE
We may be fine looking for our starter among Wilson, Austin and Bolden. Or not.

The thing is it's not talk. We've seen it on the field already.
Gonzo was a short sample size but what we saw he could be a top ten corner in this league and could happen fairly quickly.

Jonathon Jones has been one of our top 2 corners for years now. My only concern here is not ability but how much tread he has left. I think he can still be pretty damn good for a few more seasons though.

Marcus Jones is still more of a prospect but even still his rookie year was electric. I get that a lot of that was on STs but he did have 2 interceptions and took one back for a TD. And I thought he was building on that last training camp too. I consider him in a group with Barmore, Gonzo, Pop, and White as the youth we should be building around.

 

[signbabybrady]

Jon Jones can play inside, outside, and even some safety but he is best as a slot corner. I also don't know what you have seen out of Marcus Jones as a corner that makes you think he can play there in any large role. He played meaningful reps at corner his rookie year the last month out of necessity and then got banged up in week 2 last year trying to make a tackle. I don’t think he's a bad corner but if I had my way he would be a backup to Jon Jones in the slot and primarily a return man/gadget guy.

I'll defend Jonathan all day he's proven and I don't think he gets enough credit around here.

I will fully admit my Marcus love is mostly based on how electric of a returner he was his rookie year. Not to mention the few fun plays as a WR. I just don't think that stuff happens by accident it's borderline freakish type stuff. Oh and he did have 2 interceptions and a TD at corner too. Plus I thought he was looking good in camp last year too.