Evaluating players- asking teammates

[Patsfanin Philly]

From Mike Reiss 1/14/15
". "When you have a guy who is with another player day after day, year after year, competing against him on the field and he gives you an honest evaluation and you trust that player and his evaluation, who knows better than him? Even what you see on film it’s nice and it’s what you have to work with and it’s valuable but it’s not nearly as valuable as somebody who is in the day to day competitive situation with another person. I think that was something that I didn’t really have a lot of, didn’t really have a good way to measure or find out but Aqib cleared that up for me in a very positive way"

It was written in reference to asking Talib about Lagarette Blount before the trade but it also explains a draft strategy. The Pats brought in Tebow and everybody thought they were interested. more likely they were questioning him about his teammates and their work ethic etc...Food for thought...

 

[manxman2601]

I don't think the Tebow thing was anything more than McDaniels and BB both being intrigued by his football character and his skillset. Many, including myself, read far too much into that transaction. I wouldn't be surprised if they return to the project this off-season too...and Patsfans will be a happy consensual place all over again.

Edit: In terms of the draft strategy, I can see BB getting tips from players already on the team about college teammates (particularly players that have earned his trust - like the Rutgers boys for example) but I think he looks mainly to coaches recommendations rather than player ones.

 

[everlong]

I think Bill does his due diligence in all forms and would certainly ask the players what about this guy. If Jerod Mayo said his work ethic sucks I'm pretty sure his name would go in the undraftable pile but in general it's just another piece of the pie.

 

[rookBoston]

Pats scouts have been known to ask the athletic trainer and the waterboy about college players, their personality and approach to the game. Especially for a franchise where attitude is a valid alternative to raw talent, you have to dig around to get an informed perspective.