Idle thoughts: The 5 phases of draft emotions of an NE Patriots fan

[patfanken]

Of those 16 players, six, maybe seven, will make the active roster. At every position of need, they will compete with players who just won the Super Bowl.

This will be the frustrating thing about this process. Fans will gravitate to certain draftees, but its inevitable that most of them are not going to be on the final roster. It WILL be interesting to see how many remain on the PS. This will be a ferocious TC as far as competition is concerned

Only one, in my estimation, will be an opening day starter - one of the two guards, and after watching highlights, my money is on Shaq Mason. He is one nasty man along the lines of Bryan Stork.

I too loved the way Mason run blocked, but don't forget the #1 job of every offensive lineman, TE and RB is STILL to keep Tom Brady upright. I think you are asking too much for a short and undersized offensive lineman to come into the NFL and learn to become a good pass blocker in just one TC. If he's going to make it into the NFL, I think his career is going to mimic Ryan Wendell's. In other words, slow and rocky. BTW- his best attributes right now are Ryan Wendell's, the ability to explode off the ball and get into the 2nd level.

Cornerback is the only position on the Patriots that seems undermanned. But, a look at the roster indicates that there are 8 cornerbacks fighting for four jobs, and 7 defensive backs with only one player - Patrick Chung - listed as a safety: http://www.patriots.com/team/roster This is very interesting to me. 16 players are listed in the secondary, only one as a safety. Six of those guys were not on the roster at the end of the season. It will be fascinating to see who emerges. I wish the open training camp sessions started tomorrow so we could see these guys first-hand against the receivers in coverage drills.

This is going to be a topic of a lot of my posts this off season. The more I think on it the more I believe that THIS is the next area of the game that BB will lead a new trend. The nameless secondary. We will use more game specific personnel packages that no one will be able to follow like we did back in the day when a secondary was made up of 2 CB's, a Strong Safety and a Free Safety, and being a jack of all trades and a master or none, won't be a bad thing.

If this defense is gong to be as good as I think it will (7-10), we are going to have to get used to understanding the concept that the "sum of the whole can be better than the individual parts". In other words, we are going to have to look NOT at how good the player match up as individuals, but as they match up as units.

DE/OLB got very crowded over the weekend as well with Flowers, Grissom and ****son being drafted to an already deep front 7. All three players come from big-time programs with excellent coaching. All three bring versatility, especially Grissom, who played all over the place at Oklahoma. He is a fascinating player to pair or platoon with Jamie Collins - both are athletic 6-3 defenders. The front seven is faster, deeper and younger. There are some tough cuts coming in August.

The picks themselves are not the problem with me, its where they were made and the number. I still have high hopes for Moore and Buchannon. PLUS we already have an established DE rotation in Ninko, Sheard, and Jones. Just look at the numbers and try to figure where they kids will get snaps....even in practice

Ken passed on commenting on Matthew Wells, a teammate of Collins at Mississippi State. He's a burner for a player who played linebacker in college, but looks more like a big safety on video. He's a long shot to make this team, but a fascinating defender in a league that is following the leader by featuring tight ends, especially the ones the Patriots will see in 2015. Wells, Collins, Grissom all have the size to match up with the Charles Clays, Julius Thomases, Jason Whittens, and Cameron Jordans of the NFL.

You are right on the money here. I did make a mistake not talking about Wells. I'm a big believer that the game is becoming about the decline of the Brandon Spikes kind of LB and the rise of the hybrid type speed LB/S, typified by the Shaq Thompson pick of this year and the Shazier, KPL picks of last. Between the need of having a player of this type and the obvious ST's benefits, he might have a better shot at making the team than any of the potential DE's.

 

[borg]

With every pick I think most had the same emotion (not me):

Draft a WR! Draft a WR! Draft a WR! Draft a WR!

SMH.

This "rotisserie/fanboy" mentality is puzzling. Best TE described as uncoverable, best inside WR described as uncoverable. And two solid WR vets that GET THE SYSTEM and make plays.
Yet.......the fanboys want BB to use a #1 for a WR that might touch the ball 4 times a game??????
They also refuse to acknowledge that rookie WRs fail in NE. (It took years for Edelman to be handed the keys to the car).
Yet...the fanboys think it will different this time. In case these folk need reminding, stud WRs and their teams rarely make it deep in the show. When your best player touches the ball only 8 times a game on a great day, you'd think the fanboys would understand premium chips need to have a bigger direct impact on the game. The good teams get it.......but the chorus of WR fanboys still have yet to grasp this. Boys and their toys.

 

[The Boomer]

Nobody cares who any of us would pick. None of us are going to the football HOF.

Brown was a pure luck confluence of talent and need that slid to the Patriots. Everybody loved this pick. The Pats actually got a consensus first round level talent picking last.

Richards's intelligence and football instincts might make him a plug in role playing safety because, although more of an adequate than workout warrior athlete, his actual play and production might be better than everyone else thinks. He could be the smartest (highest SAT score) player on the team. He will master what BB wants from him faster than any other rookie. The irony is that, academically, there are many above average SAT scorers who through sheer effort and determination match and exceed more gifted test takers. Going to the combine is the athletic equivalent of taking the SAT. The Patriots have at least once in their past turned a 6th round less than perfect athletic specimen into the GOAT at his position.

Second guessing fans would have howled if 6th round Tom Brady had been picked in the second round. He was certainly no Drew Bledsoe. Brady would have been lucky to develop into a journeyman QB backup if fan opinions then mattered at all. Larry Bird was the basketball equivalent of this because his truly gifted basketball smarts and skills far exceeded his athleticism. I'm certainly not suggesting that Richards will be their greatest ever draft pick. Malcom Brown is destined for this honor. Nevertheless, just like the SAT challenged college "overachiever", I am willing to suspend my disbelief to accept that the proven best GM in the NFL (probably the GOAT GM/Coach combo in a single person) knows a lot more than me. BB can certainly recognize a Brady type football genius with a strong potential to overachieve and exceed expectations that are often too dependent on the SAT type test results from Combines and Pro Days. If you have confidence in your judgment, it's never a reach to pluck someone where you see them as truly second round valued though other pundits believe that a seriously underrated player you covet is only a 6th round talent.

In the third and fourth rounds, BB added some much needed quality beef to his roster. Adding an essential LS role player in the "Mesko" round with his Navy roots is simply a marriage of need and a feel good story. He speculated on intriguing but overlooked talent that somehow lasted into the "Brady" and "Edelman" rounds. Wells, Derby, Roberts and ****son all display overlooked talent that can be developed as backups and Practice Squad players. BB also likely has some UDFA talent that could fill the Practice Squad and eventually win the "Butler" award by bumping marginal veteran talent off the roster.

As someone pointed out above, more than one or two rookie regulars isn't necessarily a good thing in BB's scheme that values experience. Yet the Patriots were one of the youngest Super Bowl champions ever. Rookies generally begin as role players and special teams contributors. They must earn more playing time based on their performance. This is as it should be for a perennial Super Bowl contender. With 22 starters on offense and defense plus all the special teams contributors, no single draft pick can improve a football team enough to change its fortune. Likewise, except for the highest premium picks in the first round (the supposed can't miss prospects), no single inevitably bad draft choice will significantly hurt an entire team.

 

[Nonentity]

Point three, what does "concel" mean?

Whoops, should have been "conceal". Fixed. What I mean is that Belichick makes particular note, in his pressers, of the traits he particularly liked in the players.

Just a couple of examples:

Jordan Richards:

Took 64 with [Jordan] Richards; [he] has been a good player at Stanford. He kind of plays both strong safety and free safety. [He's] been a real productive guy for them. I think he's a guy we'll like [and] you'll like having around here.

Q: Did he come down and play on the line of scrimmage at all?
BB: He dropped into the box a lot. They didn't really play him, no. They didn't really play their safeties that way – like linebackers. But most of the time they played on the line, [they] disguised it. But he's down around the line of scrimmage a lot, but he doesn't line up as a linebacker.
Q: It seemed like he took a lot of pride in knowing everyone's assignment on the defense. What was your assessment of that?
BB: Yeah, real good. I don't think – everybody you talk to, they rave about it; about his communication, his leadership, his football character on and off the field. I don't think there's going to be issues with that.

Geneo Grissom:

Then Geneo Grissom is a player that has played a couple different spots, converted from tight end to linebacker or defensive end, whatever you want to call it. He played defensive end in '13, played outside linebacker; he's also played inside in some passing situations. [He's a] pretty athletic, versatile guy in Oklahoma's defense over the last couple of years.

In 2013, they played 3-4 defense. He's played under two different coordinators. But when Mike Stoops came back, his 3-4 defense and they didn't have enough depth there at defensive end, so he played four-technique, actually four-high technique in 2013 at 260 pounds. So he was way undersized, but he competed well. They didn't knock him off the line of scrimmage. He didn't look like a linebacker. You wouldn't probably think he was that light, if you didn't know it, not by the way he played. He has good playing strength. He runs well.

For Bill, this is practically glowing praise

 

[JayNM]

Except for Brown and Jackson, it looks like every prospect will need a year before truly contributing to the team.

I am a tad disappointed, i felt like we could have gone different ways in a lot of picks, with players with some immediate use. But again, if we are able to coach some of these properly, who knows what they'll become?

 

[OhExaulted1]

This "rotisserie/fanboy" mentality is puzzling. Best TE described as uncoverable, best inside WR described as uncoverable. And two solid WR vets that GET THE SYSTEM and make plays.
Yet.......the fanboys want BB to use a #1 for a WR that might touch the ball 4 times a game??????
They also refuse to acknowledge that rookie WRs fail in NE. (It took years for Edelman to be handed the keys to the car).
Yet...the fanboys think it will different this time. In case these folk need reminding, stud WRs and their teams rarely make it deep in the show. When your best player touches the ball only 8 times a game on a great day, you'd think the fanboys would understand premium chips need to have a bigger direct impact on the game. The good teams get it.......but the chorus of WR fanboys still have yet to grasp this. Boys and their toys.

Spoken like a true board veteren who get's it.We had 1 year of bombs away with Randy. It was a thing of beuaty. For the other 13 years of success it's been chunk up yards and move the chains.

One of the most awesome things I've ever watched was Corey Dillon running over guys like a freight train. He was absolutely unstoppable in 2004. The Bengals thought he wasn't worth crap and he came to us and basically ran over every defense he faced. I think that display was just as awesome as Randy's 2007 eff you, I still got it tour.

He wasn't "Clock killin' Corey Dillon", he was "I'm shovin' a stiff arm in your face" Corey Dillon. It was incredible. He missed that Pit. game when are streak was broken, after that, there was no stopping the championship run.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Anyone can shop for ingredients to cook a meal ...

Only the best chefs know how to select the right ingredients and combine them to make the best dish.

Belichick picks cannot always be analyzed in a vacuum ... yet amateurs still try.

Belichick is the Hawkings of the NFL ... he sees new ways to make a team before others can grasp the concept.

 

[patfanken]

Dial 911....Ken is on the ledge with an empty pill container next to his 5th of peach schnaps
For me...I loved the Pats draft....top to bottom. I believe BB has solved the second biggest problem that plagued last year's defense (the loss of Revis being #1). Despite being the Super Bowl champion defense, this grouping was very short on depth (except at DB in '14) in the front 7 and IMO at safety. After the FA period and the draft, the depth issue in the front 7 and safety is solved.
Yes safety play was solid last year but I would argue that Revis and his lone man act allowed BB to cover up safety deficiencies. Sure McCourty gets lots of praise for his work but the fact remains the Pats safeties are not play makers and Patrick Chung will be exposed in '15 without a Revis type to take the pressure off the rest of the secondary. Imagining the composition '15 Patriots secondary, I envision a bigger reliance on sub defenses based on two points......1) teams will be playing catchup thanks to a Brady high octane led offense that will hit the ground running (unlike last year, the WRs /TE starters are healthy and fully knowledgeable of the system)...and....2) I expect opponents to attack the perceived weakness of NE's defense....which has to be considered their '15 secondary. With 5 and 6 DBs running around in the backfield, organization is a necessity. Its complicated. As we have learned over the years looking at the Pats WR drafting conundrums, best athlete doesn't make the best receiver. I argue the same has to be said about safety. Obviously BB believes this given his safety choice this week. It will be all about scheme and he wanted a player who can GET IT. From BB's remarks about the Stanford kid, I expect we are seeing the birth of a future team captain.
Moving on to the O line.......from Jackson's highlights....a lot was asked of him...pulling sealing, turning his opponent....and the kid delivered. And his motor.......oh yeah. I like his future...especially after the trainers do their thing.
Shaq...I will leave you with one thought....goal line offense....Shaq firing off the LOS. The kid is a bullet being fired out of a gun and I would be running behind that bullet. Blocking Back......oh yeah. Me likey.
The OLB/DE picks prior to the O lineman...I view them as lottery tickets. BB knew when he could get his O linemen so he rolled the dice with Grissom and Flowers......depth for sure....and hopefully something more.
The Wells pick intrigues me the most.......special team to start....and a sub role down the line. Speed and instincts......a toy for BB to play with on D
Derby....I just wish teams could have secure farm systems that other teams can't raid. I like the way this kid moves

Borgie, I generally find you to be one of the most negative posters on this board, so I can't tell you how much your post lifts my spirits. You make a lot of good points that the BB side of my brain knew, but failed to notice due to all that time I spent on the draft pages.

Lets start with the one you made about the secondary. I sort of agree and disagree with that one.. I can't agree more with your point about how BB wants to play this secondary. (see the post above). I disagree in that I think we have better players back there than the current wisdom dictates right now, AND that the sum of the group will be better than the individual parts.

I think that between Fletcher, Chickwa and McCain at least 2 will turn out to be solid contributors. However I still wished we spent more draft capital on finding more size in the secondary for the future, because that IS the future. People like Nick Marshall, Tony Lippet, etc Not necessarily solutions for today, but size down the road. Hopefully Wells could be that person, situation ally.

I don't disagree with you on the DE pick. As individuals they all seem to decent choices. Its the simple numbers that boggle my mind on them. Just too many guys and not enough snaps. Plus what those slots might have brought in the way of a potential developmental CB or 3rd down RB, etc

Bottom line....every team has weak groupings.....and the only weak area I see as of today is at CB. (3rd down back too). One problem area out of a dozen.....31 other teams wish they had this problem. This is a far deeper team than last year. Now it is up to BB to find a way to win without a stud CB.

These should be watch words for all of us, borgie. No team hasn't have weaknesses and relatively speaking this team is well off. Plus we should remember that the team building process is far from over. Back in 2011 we added 20 sacks after July (Carter and Anderson) And last year Akers, Cassillas and Branch all came after TC. Who knows the best may be yet to come.

 

[Rob0729]

I am far from a draftnick and know very little about any of the players drafted. But I have learned over the years not to to get too excited or angry over any pick. Over the years some of the more panned picks ended up to be some of the better picks (Mankins, Branch, Vollmer, etc.) and some picks people loved do nothing (Chad Jackson).

I liked the Pats' overall strategy. They built the trenches. They need a CB, but any CB that probably is better than they have already on the roster was gone by the time they drafted. So they did what I and others thought they would do to replace Revis - build up the front seven and the pass rush. Did they do a good job of it? Who knows? We will see.

The only picks I have any strong feelings about are Brown and the long snapper. Brown just reminds me and others of Wilfork in so many ways from his playing style, the fact he dropped from where he was supposed to be drafted, and his life. And I just don't get drafting a long snapper in the fifth especially since he may have to fulfill at least two years of his five year military commitment.

Otherwise, I leave this draft the same way I have left the draft for a number of years since the Pats had that bad streak about six to eights ago - In Bill and Nick We Trust. I trust Bill Belichick and Nick Caserio to know more than the talking heads and the arm chair GMs. They get stuff wrong, but they usually get far more right than wrong. The Pats are not the current Super Bowl champs AND one of the youngest teams in the league for nothing.

 

[Nikolai]

I stopped watching the draft sometime after 2009-2010. I remember all the gnashing of teeth over the McCourty pick, and it just goes to show that hardly anyone, least of all us, have any idea what will come of the draft. Training camp and the preseason will tell us a lot more about this team going into the season, and even then, looks can be deceiving.

I used to have that Borges quote in my sig to remind me of all that...now I keep it for others.

 

[Rob0729]

I stopped watching the draft sometime after 2009-2010. I remember all the gnashing of teeth over the McCourty pick, and it just goes to show that hardly anyone, least of all us, have any idea what will come of the draft. Training camp and the preseason will tell us a lot more about this team going into the season, and even then, looks can be deceiving.

I used to have that Borges quote in my sig to remind me of all that...now I keep it for others.

Speaking of McCourty, Mike Reiss addressed that same thing in his column today:

3. It's interesting how perceptions can change over time. In 2010, when the Patriots drafted Devin McCourty in the first round (27th overall), some viewed it as a reach and focused on Belichick's comment about him being a four-down player as if he had drafted a special teamer. Fast-forward to 2015, and after the Cowboys drafted UConn cornerback Byron Jones at No. 27, they said the hope is that he becomes their version of McCourty.

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-england...81/quick-hit-thoughts-around-the-patriots-nfl

 

[50-yard-line]

The picks themselves are not the problem with me, its where they were made and the number. I still have high hopes for Moore and Buchannon. PLUS we already have an established DE rotation in Ninko, Sheard, and Jones. Just look at the numbers and try to figure where they kids will get snaps....even in practice

And this is the gist of it EVERYWHERE on the Patriots.

At RB, BB loves Blount. Gray, Gaffney, White and Cadet are all young with few miles on their tires. And Bolden isn't going anywhere - he got an extension because he's a fine back-up RB and a beast on STs. Who after #63 was worth it?

They took 3 offensive linemen - Jackson, Mason, and Andrews - who will likely have an NFL career, particularly the first two. Should they have taken more? They've got 6 young, under control for a while (other than Solder), proven talents: Solder, Vollmer, Cannon, Fleming, Stork, and Wendell, plus several others who have been in the system for a while. Jackson will make the team, I expect, and either Mason or Andrews - 1 might wind up on the PS.

Their DL is now incredibly deep - I expect cuts here.

At corner, they've got Ryan, Dennard, Butler, Arrington, Swanson, Greene Fletcher, McClain (and McCourty, if they need to run him over there). They didn't need parallel moves, and after the first 63 picks, were there upgrades available? And if we're talking about the bottom half of that, CB is among the hardest positions to project and it usually takes some time to get into the feel of an NFL-fast game.

So do you want a project out of college or a Malcolm Butler, who's climbed the mountain? And Butler might well be their 5th CB this year in terms of snaps. Or even Dax Swanson, who looked very solid in TC last year and now has a year in the system?

Forget Wide Receiver. Forget it. They're where they want to be, to many fans' frustration. Jules, DA, Jojo, Dobson, and hopefully one of Gibson, Boyce or Tyms will have it covered. When they picked Gallon last year, I expected him to be cut. ure, if they can find a Stevie Johnson or a Percy Harvin who'll come in at their price, they'll make the move, but they didn't lose those players because they were worried about what they have in place.

Going into the draft, this was the deepest Patriot team I've ever seen, across the board. I was one of the guys hoping for trade-ups, but the more I look at the draft, the more I believe that most of the guys they got have as much of a chance to make the team as most of the guys they could have traded up to get.

Also, the Pats have some money (around 10m?) and I'm sure there are some guys they're looking at carefully as May 12 nears.

I thought they had a real shot last year, and so they did.
I think the same thing this year - in fact, they can weather injuries better this year than they could last year, because Mayo's back and the other two LBs developed beautifully, and the DL and OL are both younger, stronger and deeper.

BB loves his team right now.

 

[willard]

Great points Patfanken and your posts are ones I make sure to click on. Seems a BB draft almost always carries us through those places.

I think best player available is a fallacy. I think the draft gurus do as good a job as anyone at guessing who will end up being the best player available. The truth is that it is best player for the team. Since the gurus must spend so much effort in guessing at best player available they do not have time to try to match players to all the systems in the NFL. This is where Mike Reiss has really stepped up his game. Still have a hard time clicking on ESPN because of deflategate and Reiss contributed to it in the early going.

The Jests 2007 draft was always a hard one to take. They graded up for Revis and Harris and we spent a lot of picks and got Meriweather and a bunch of chumps (and guessing many of us would throw Meriweather into the bunch of chups category now). Granted our draft collateral allowed us to get Moss and Welker. Heading in to this one I was hoping for some trades up like the Jets did in 2007 to get some real quality players because reading the draft hype there were some real quality players available.

On reflection, I think the reason BB went for so many draft picks this year was he really wants to fire up the competition among the players. Last year it seemed from a distance that the Seahawks started the season a bit full of the press about themselves and lost many early season games. BB wants to avoid a repeat of that.

Knowing a player has been drafted and could take your roster spot has to be more motivating than a free agent signing at your roster spot.

I think our front 7 will be ferocious. Between Butler, Denard, Ryan and the new signings we will have descent cornerback play especially if time to get the ball out is cut down. Offensive line seems thin, but Connolly could still return. We have enough pass catchers and Chandler added will be taking some away from last years total. I was hoping for a running back, but we have a stable full on the roster. Perhaps in the championship run they did not want to risk having him on the field in place of Vereen.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

BB also plays years out. A few things you can surmise, I think:

- As many here have said, he's focused on the D at the point of attack, and accepts that every year can't be the year you land a Darelle Revis. I don't know if I got his first name right but now I don't care anymore.

- He deemed this year's draft crop to be deep/talented, or could not get the deals he wanted for stockpiling options. I think the former. He especially liked what he saw in defensive linemen as a group.

- Yes, to the chagrin of draftniks, he still thinks ST are 1/3 of the game, and once he's in (relative) flyer territory, he'd rather take the blue-chip long snapper than one more "I dunnnooooo...." type in the 5th.

- Yes, Bill still believes in quantity, especially past the first round. The numbers bear him out.

He also might have a specific CB target in June, although I don't know who's circling the drain on their various teams at CB.

One impression I get from this draft is he wants a stout run D, a punch-you-in-the-mouth attitude on D, and therefore a really fun season on defense from our point of view.

But this is Christmas morning, and we've just unwrapped the toys. If everything works, he/Matt Patricia are so ready to go back to the lab again and play mad scientist to combine the elements they've just dug up.

Pats drafts are never predictable -- hell, this one was more like a "normal" team's draft than most. But they're unpredictable because the Pats don't take the Seattle approach of "We'll do what we do, you try to stop us." Every gameplan is different; there's one prep-cooking stage, where you get the whole team ready to be used in the Sunday dinner. Then every week there's the magic in the kitchen where you combine the ingredients as needed.

So my optimism is high right now. I think things like "Wow maybe Mason can pass protect okay enough that having him in the game at guard works and then the little bowling ball does his thing and he's really good at it blah blah blah..."

But the reality is probably, "liability in protection."

We'll see in (sob) September, and after. Let's raise our glass and hope to look back at these new ingredients just added as a bumper crop.

I have an irrational good feeling. But I had an irrational good feeling about Maroney and Chad Jackson too.

 

[borg]

Post draft, teams will start cutting vets and this will continue through the summer. BB will have many opportunities to add RB/CBs ....like always. Players that can help NE will shake loose from other rosters and BB is never afraid to rearrange the deck.

 

[IcyPatriot]

Post draft, teams will start cutting vets and this will continue through the summer. BB will have many opportunities to add RB/CBs ....like always. Players that can help NE will shake loose from other rosters and BB is never afraid to rearrange the deck.

Some put too much value on the draft ......
Belichick has spoken to your statement above many times and we're a great team because of it.
Lots of players will be cut before the season begins ... especially veterans who can help us.

the draft is fun .... lots of the same teams drafting near the top every year ...

How does that happen ...

 

[Username]

I'll just leave this here, make of it what you will...

 

[Patstopia]

I enjoy the draft thread every year, but this year after the first pick, people actually liked the pick? It was quite disappointing! It was like I was on a Jets forum. I had a restless night, tossing and turning worried about what was happening.
Thankfully, the next day for our second pick....
And I was OK! This was why I was there. The pissing and moaning was music to my ears!
Does it make me a bad person to find the total breakdown of other fans so much fun? I love the draft!

 

[rochrist]

You know they say there ere 5 phases of grief - anger, denial, rationalization, depression, and acceptance. When you are a NE Patriot fan you are subject to similar mood swings, every spring when draft season comes to town. There is just no other way to get around it. As an author of several melt downs in the past, I have boldly predicted the beginning of the end of the Pats reign of excellence when they drafted 2 RB's and QB. Now a few days later I was brought back from the edge by wiser fans, but for a day or two I fell victim to the blind rage of a post BB draft. It is one of the interesting ironies of being a Pats fan the last 15 years, that while it might be the most the most envied position in sports fandom, something other fans can only dream bout. During draft time it seems like we go from a "throne of ease" to "a crown of thorns". This year looks like it is no different.

So here is how it looked going in. We had 9 picks with a roster that was stacked enough that only 4 of those picks were likely to make the team. 5 would be a surprise and 6 would be shocking. Many of us were hoping the Pats would use some of the those picks to move up in the draft for higher quality players and wind up with fewer picks. So,, of cours instead we do just the opposite. Throughout the draft Bill lowered the quality of the picks to increase the number like he was trying to collect lottery tickets in a week with a $500MM jackpot So join with me while I attempt to make SOME sense of this annual frustration.

Malcolm Brown -

Well, it started well, anyway. It's been a long time since the Pats were the beneficiaries of a guy falling to them at an obvious position of need. As a matter of fact, the last time I remember it was Vince Wilfork. Now I believe Vince and Malcolm are 2 different players, but this is also 2 different eras. Brown gives us some much needed size in the middle but some push as well. I can't wait to see him and Easley working together. I never expected him to be there and I was very pleased we were able to get him. I expect the glee was pretty much universal. I'd be interested in hearing from disenters

Jordan Richards- DB

I knew something was off when Ali Marpet came off the board just a few picks before 64. And then BB hit us with another 2nd round special. How could it have gone more wrong. Lets see, it was a player most of the "experts" had going somewhere from the 4th to the 6th. It was a player who was at a position of LEAST need. And there were several binkies still on the board we could have taken (AJ Caan, etc). Have I missed anything? I was so disgusted I decided that at that point I was no longer going to participate and waited until now, after the dust has settled, to look at what happened and seek therapy through this thread.

First I have to say after I learned his dad played ball at Tufts, my alma mater, Jordan has a life long fan and supporter. And before we bring on the nightmares of the Tavon Wilson pick.let me state up front, Wilson has been a fairly productive player for the Pats in his first 3 years. The last 2 being a core ST player and capable back up in the secondary. It should be noted that there are a half dozen 2nd round picks who only wish they'd been as productive. Still I wish Bill would stop picking up core special teamers in the 2nd round. At least when Wilson was drafted there was a glaring need at the position.

One other thought on Richards tangentially. I don't think BB looks at the secondary like most of us. He sees less of CB's, SS's, and FS's and more about just DB's in various combinations of skill sets. So while we all are looking a Jordan Richards and looking a S and wondering why we need another, Bill might look at Richards and see a"particular set of skills" that he wanted to add to his mix.

Geeno Grissom - DE

I've since read a lot of nice things about Grissom since his reach of a selection in term of his quickness and acceleration. He might be have been a victim of a lot of too many position switches to reach his potential, and a number of scouts thought he could be a pleasant surprise for someone who selects him in the back half of the draft.....NOT with their 3rd pick!!!!!!!!!!...and then immediately trade off their 4th.

Here's my problem with this pick. Its the fact that we already have Buchannon and Moore on the roster as developmental DE's and both of them have better speed and quickness #'s, plus a year or so experience. Why do we need another

Trey Flowers -

Sounds to me like a repeat of Grissom which is a repeat of Buchannon who is a repeat of Moore, who will be competing with Bequette..... and oh yeah, all at a position that is currently being more that adequately manned by Ninko, Jones, and Sheard.

Tre Jackson OG

FINALLY another name I had heard before, yet about 2 rounds lower than I thought we would have. If HE'd been the 2nd round pick, I doubt anyone would have blinked and most would have been thrilled to get such a "highly regarded" pick at #64. His drop does give one pause as to why, but it does show you who sometimes those "draft experts" get it wrong. But at any rate, here is the LG everyone hoped for, so a sigh of relief

Shaq Mason OG

- cool name for starters - and then a ton of questions - Obviously a great run blocker but because he comes from a triple option system, no one has any idea if he can pass block. He never played C, but we drafted him to be one. Finally he's short and undersized. Sounds like a perfect pick for this draft. Actually he's a nice thought in the 6th or 7th round, but not the 4th where you could have taken a chance on a 6'3 CB like the Ravens did or Nick Marshall, or name your own binky

Joe Cardonna LS -

Fine, we need one, and he's supposedly the best in a while, but in the 5th round? No one's picked a LS this early since.... da da... BB did it a few years ago to mixed reviews . Was anyone even sure the kid can play for us next year before we drafted him that early?

Max Wells OLB

AJ Derby TE

Darryl Roberts CB

Xavier ****son DE

Now when you get down to this level, I don't think you have a right to bi!ch or moan about any pick because its such a crap shoot. Besides I'm tired of writing about so many players that I can't justify drafting. However if anyone want's to crow about a late round binky that was picked feel free. Unfortunately, I don't remember ever seeing these names linked to the Pats or mentioned on the draft board, and I know none of the ones that I would have loved to see like Nick Marshall or Tony Lippett are there.

But ironically, historically here is one thing we know for an almost certitude. One of these kids will not only make the team, he will become a relatively important contributor down the road. The thing is that you can lose a lot of money trying to bet on which one it will be.

So there you have it. Only 3 players have any shot at providing any real production next year. Brown, (likely) Jackson (a shot), and Cardonna (if he's released to play) You have a right to be angry. It seemed like so many did so much more in this draft. So let it out. Its how you start the process

Now comes the denials. "This happens every freaken' year." "When will BB the GM ever help BB the coach" "Why didn't he do THIS or THAT, or the OTHER"

Now the Rationalizations. "BB has been doing this more successfully than anyone over the last 15 years". "He must know what he's doing". "Just look at the past record". "This is the time of year when the Jets, Dolphins and Bills win the AFCE" "He must believe that we are better at CB than we do, and shouldn't HE have a better idea than us". "We got the guy we wanted in Brown, after that was luxury." He didn't like anyone after 55 and decided to go for quantity and just hope he can win the numbers game since after Brown the next 10 is all such a crap shoot anyway"

Then the depression. While this all sinks in and we move on to the next stage of team building, I will avoid the talk shows and draft discussions on radio just because I know what the complaints are going to be and I'm tired of hearing them over and over again. They simply aren't relevant. It makes no sense to compare the football knowledge and accept that Mel Kiper or Mike Lyoko's opinion of where Jordan Richard's is better drafted is better than Bill Bellichick's

Finally we hope we all get to the ACCEPTENCE - I accept that BB knows more than the "so called experts" that criticize what he's done (or praise him). I accept that the Pats will be a solid, deep, talented and well coached team that will compete strongly for another championship. I accept that 6 or 7 of these draft picks will end up on the PS, or off the roster. I accept that I will listen to other people's would haves and could haves with grace and equanimity. AND I will try my best to spend a little as possible time wondering WTF Bill? '

Well this has helped me I hope its helped you as well. Comments as usual, are actively solicited

Way too negative.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

Final BBism, conclusion of Day 2 Presser... loved this:

Welcome to the NFL. That will start Thursday. They’ll get a big dose of New England Patriots football over the next whatever we’ve got, six weeks – however long it is. We’ll give them everything we can in heavy doses, try to get them ready for training camp and they’ll get even more then. The strong will survive. The other ones will fall off. And we’ll keep going.

And whatever doesn't kill them makes them stronger