Did Kraft put BB on notice?

[Kasmir]

I know none of Jackson's injuries have been "serious", but hell, even an ACL isn't THAT serious now days. Just a bump in the road, compared to a concussion or throwing arm injury. I'm a living example of what amazing things they can due surgically. The changes I've seen myself in just the last 20 years in the vascular/cardiac area is simply STUNNING. Want keeps me off the Lamar bandwagon are the simple injuries that cost you games like sprains, dislocations, and bruises, plus the long term wear and tear that vast shorten the careers of even great QB's like Newton and Young

As I've said repeatedly here, the issue for running QB's is not the frequency of injuries, it's the effect of injuries on their ability to run at an elite level. RB is a much more physically demanding position than QB, which is why RB's have the shortest careers, and only kickers have longer careers than QB's. There is no disputing that, so I won't bother to post the evidence again.

RB's wear out quickly. Running QB's also lose the ability to run quickly. But a passing QB can play through injuries much more readily than an RB can.

While there is no question that a QB that can run effectively as well as pass effectively can be dominant, as a true running QB puts immense pressure on a defense and that pressure also opens up the passing game. That's why we saw Cam Newton and Lamar Jackson earn MVPs.

But like RB's, those running QB's inevitably lose that elite running ability through cumulative injury, which also degrades their effectiveness as a passer. There's nothing saying that (say) Lamar's evolution as a passer can't compensate for the inevitable erosion of his rushing skills, but that's a difficult transition because the defenses will become more effective as his threat of running diminishes.

We saw Mahomes shrug off injuries last year and win another Superbowl because his rushing skills are nice to have but not central to his success. Meanwhile Lamar couldn't even get on the field.

Again the issue is not that RB's get injured more than QB's. Everyone gets injured in the NFL except (maybe) kickers. But passing QB's can play through injuries better than any other position. But QB's rushing effectiveness is much more seriously affected by injuries, and diminishes their passing effectiveness as well as the pressure on defenses lessens.

I do think that an NFL team could be long term effective committing to a running-QB-based offense and win on great young QBs first contracts. But the team would need to commit to carrying several such QB's and keep a recruiting pipeline going as colleges do. But paying a running QB big bucks after their first contract is a very dubious proposition -- as Lamar is discovering.

 

[Boomer B]

Some folks watch too much Hollywood drama. This isn’t GoT. News flash for you: Belichick isn’t angling to pull a coup to oust the Kraft family and take over the Patriots dynasty.

The entire cast here know their roles. It’s not a zero-sum game where one has to lose for another to star. They’re all collaborating on a shared production with a common goal: winning the Lombardi. They’re all mature professionals who know that pulling in different directions and backstabbing each other won’t do it.

Quit reading tea leaves through the lens of your fantasies and go back to watching made-for-TV miniseries.

Keep your blinders on. You think Kraft doesn't know what he's doing with his comments about expectations for winning? You think Bill doesn't know what he's doing when he comments about how much the team has spent and his record over 25 years? Neither of them spoke like this 5 years ago. It's all positioning for who can take the fall if we have another mediocre year. If you can't see the changes on how they have answered questions the last few years then you're blind to it. Every local and national writers are talking/writing about it. I guess they are all watching made-for-TV-miniseries as well. In terms of your Belichick coup, I, as well as most others, have no clue what the hell you're going on about.

 

[captain stone]

Not explicitly but I wonder if it sort of happened already. After BB's disastrous 2019 draft (worst draft in Patriots history, the one that drove Brady out of town), I suspect that there was a change. I suspect that after the fallout from that draft, Kraft had a talk with BB and insisted that start delegating some of the draft duties, get some professional draft experts like Groh and not ignore his scouts as he may have done with Harry.

But then the 2020 draft happened, the one with just Billy & Little Nicky Caesar...and Nike... And that horrible, Horrible 3rd round... And those grotesque trade-ups... ZERO 4th-round picks... And That Kicker in the FIFTH ****ING ROUND... And a rookie Center who Retired!

Good times, good times.

 

[FredFromDartmouth]

But then the 2020 draft happened, the one with just Billy & Little Nicky Caesar...and Nike... And that horrible, Horrible 3rd round... And those grotesque trade-ups... ZERO 4th-round picks... And That Kicker in the FIFTH ****ING ROUND... And a rookie Center who Retired!

Good times, good times.

Yeah, another poor draft, but I don't think that Groh was involved. I think it was another BB draft disaster special, although nothing can compare to 2019, the worst draft in Patriots history (obviously Brady had been pestering BB to get some WRs that could get open, and BB whiffed in the first and second rounds--he could have had Metcalf and Deebo and some more championships). I don't remember the history here, but maybe Kraft did not have the talk with Bill about his poor drafts until after the 2020 draft. So I think that the drafting has improved a bit, but BB really screwed up in the FA market this year.

So all this chatter by Felger and the other idiots about BB being a terrible coach is not accurate. BB is (has become) a terrible GM, but he can still coach, but he just does not have the players anymore.

Well....I guess BB is not going to lift a glass with me this year at the Nantucket Wine Festival, alas.

 

[captain stone]

Yeah, another poor draft, but I don't think that Groh was involved. I think it was another BB draft disaster special, although nothing can compare to 2019, the worst draft in Patriots history (obviously Brady had been pestering BB to get some WRs that could get open, and BB whiffed in the first and second rounds--he could have had Metcalf and Deebo and some more championships). I don't remember the history here, but maybe Kraft did not have the talk with Bill about his poor drafts until after the 2020 draft. So I think that the drafting has improved a bit, but BB really screwed up in the FA market this year.

Yeah I think Covid screwed-up any plans Kraft might've had back then about giving Bill another voice in the draft room.