If you were Bill, the first 3 things you would do this offseason are...?

[Huckleberry1]

That was all with the greatest QB of all time and that needs to be acknowledged when arguing the 20 year run. BB is back to the year 2000 level when he had a $100M QB struggle through 18 games (5-13). If Bill does not find an above average QB at worst and draft the way he's been drafting since 2013, these are the results were going to get.

Belichick picked Brady and trained him to manage games better than any QB in history, and he’s going to have to find and train another QB to win more championships, he’s also going to have to build really good teams around them. That’s all on he and Caserio, if they get it done then great, if not then his reputation will take the hit. Either way I’m looking forward to watching how they go about it,

 

[BobDigital]

If I was the GM I would do one of two things.

Plan A - Target one or two specific QBs that I believe in and start the rebuild now if you get them.

Plan B - If you can't trade up or if they don't fall to you then you go full tank mode. Trade every pick you possibly can into next year for value. I mean EVERY PICK YOU CAN. Ideally you wouldn't pick once in this draft. Be active in trying to get sneaky value in UDFAs. Unload big contracts for draft picks if you can, if not then unload them anyway. Minimize your cap as much as you can. Put as many low price players on your roster as you can so you can carry forward that space over the next 6 years. The only good plays you should have on the field are core guys who are young, have long contracts and can be part of your plan long term. If you do make a draft pick it better be on a potentially high upside QB in round 3 or something.

After this single awful season you will be in great position to build going forward long term. My only issue with tanking in the NFL is how teams use such half measures. They rarely maximize value in a tank which makes no sense to me.

 

[Teej]

QB, #1 receiver, D-linemen and TE

This is not a one year rebuild IMO.

 

[Huckleberry1]

If I was the GM I would do one of two things.

Plan A - Target one or two specific QBs that I believe in and start the rebuild now if you get them.

Plan B - If you can't trade up or if they don't fall to you then you go full tank mode. Trade every pick you possibly can into next year for value. I mean EVERY PICK YOU CAN. Ideally you wouldn't pick once in this draft. Be active in trying to get sneaky value in UDFAs. Unload big contracts for draft picks if you can, if not then unload them anyway. Minimize your cap as much as you can. Put as many low price players on your roster as you can so you can carry forward that space over the next 6 years. The only good plays you should have on the field are core guys who are young, have long contracts and can be part of your plan long term. If you do make a draft pick it better be on a potentially high upside QB in round 3 or something.

After this single awful season you will be in great position to build going forward long term. My only issue with tanking in the NFL is how teams use such half measures. They rarely maximize value in a tank which makes no sense to me.

Except Belichick will never do that, and Slater explained why he won’t do it with his comments the other day. Belichick sees the process as building a culture of winning, and all the daily effort and detail that goes into it as the critical component of becoming and maintaining a championship franchise. Losing on purpose runs completely counter to this, and it would undermine this process completely. Instead he will evaluate the roster, coaching staff, where they are at in this process ( back at the beginning), and make every decision based upon moving forward in creating a consistent championship contending franchise. Belichick knows it can’t be done overnight so he is going to go about it piece by piece, unit by unit, until they have all reached the highest level they can get to. He also knows full well how this is going to reflect upon his legacy when he hangs it up, as if he fails to win another Lombardi then the fact that he only won Championships with Brady will be inextricably linked to it. That may or may not be fair to him but it will always be a consideration when the topic comes up.

For me this will be fascinating to watch in the coming years as it was this process of what it takes to build a championship caliber team that drew me to football to begin with. It’s why I became interested in following the draft and offseason from the time I became a fan until now. , and ironically it’s also why I found myself almost becoming bored with them in recent years, as contending and winning had become almost automatic for them. For the first time in 20 years they are in almost a complete rebuild mode, but unlike when Belichick first took over they have all the organizational pieces of a winning culture in place, but they have to find and build the talent on most units back up to the level to be able to consistently beat the best teams in the league, and right now they aren’t even close to that level. It’s not going to be a quick fix, even if they find their franchise QB in the next season or two, but it’s something I think Belichick and their organization will work tirelessly to achieve every day until they get back to that level as a franchise.

As they stand going into this offseason the Patriots are the 3rd best team in their division, and Buffalo and Miami have good young coaches and QB’s, so even getting back to being the best franchise in the division is going to be a challenge. Their OL, their secondary, and their ST’s are their strongest units, and their RB’s are a strength as well. QB, WR, TE, DL, and LB are the units that need the most work, but the secondary is a year away from some significant changes, as Gilmore, Chung, and the McCourty’s are probably looking at their final season with the Patriots next year, if they are not already there for some of them. So while they have some good pieces to build upon they still have a ton of work to do to get back to being a consistent championship contender. For me this is where it gets really interesting again, as I enjoy the process of looking at their strengths and weaknesses and evaluating the decisions and moves they make during the building process. We will find out fairly soon where Belichick thinks they are at as they are going to have to make some serious roster decisions in the next two to three months, it should be interesting, at a minimum. And there will be plenty to debate and argue about throughout the process, and even when they get back to contender status, which is why Ian started this site, and why it has thrived throughout the years. And while I’m always critical of those who I think are simply negative, I enjoy the critical thinking of most here when it comes to the team’s yearly and seasonal decisions, and I think this site has the best draft board of any team on the internet. Big thanks to Ian for all he has done for all Patriot fans, props to the moderators who keep things somewhat sane despite all the challenges we pose to that, and props to all the fans who contribute to this site. After twenty years we have pretty much come full circle. We are back to looking up at much of the league, and we get to debate, argue, and piss and moan about all the decisions that get made every year, and I’m actually looking forward to it, should be an interesting trip.

 

[BennyBledsoe]

One of them has to be.... start getting hyped about a slow and/or injury-prone defensive back you could wait until after the draft to sign. Draft in the second round. Then trade a few years later when the guy bottoms out.

 

[TomPatriot]

There have been many list of the "greatest of all" time. Thuney is a fine guard and one of the best in the NFL. Comparing him to Hannah is a strange idea. Hannah was the best of all time. One can argue about the list. I wouldn't put Thuney in the top 10.

Gil Brandt's greatest NFL guards of all time

NFL Media senior analyst and personnel guru Gil Brandt ranks the best guards in NFL history. Take a look at how they stack up.

www.nfl.com

Thuney is underrated, versatile. He can play anywhere on the OL in a pinch. He rarely makes a mistake. He manhandled Aaron Donald in the SB. He has contained JC Watt. No one lines up their good interior or exterior rushers against him.

If we’re going to rely on Gil Brandt then Bill is the best drafter ever.

Hall of Fame GM Gil Brandt says Bill Belichick is best drafter of his lifetime

Gil Brandt has been around for 87 years. He spent 33 years as an NFL executive with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and the Dallas Cowboys, notably building two Super Bowl champions during his 28 years with the Cowboys. Brandt helped to create many of the evaluation tools used to...

www.nbcsports.com

Truth? Hard to compare Hannah and Thuney because the game and its players are so different. Zero doubt Hannah was a great player in his time.

 

[jdlboot14]

I've never seen the fawning over Lawrence that everyone bandwagons into. I do really like Wilson, and he was sorta lesser known early in the year which would have put him in a great position for us to draft. Now, some have him as a top 2 pick. Unfortunate.
Either way, no rookie is going to be ready to lead this team out of this nasty funk. I seriously think BB is going to make a play on Dalton or Stafford... or Foles?? Some solid vet that he can hope to get up to speed rapidly. Dalton and Foles have done that, and can manage games. Many were dismissing Dalton, but if he can win today and makes any noise in the playoffs, things will change.

 

[Wozzy]

QB, QB, QB... then QB.

 

[lancerman]

If I was the GM I would do one of two things.

Plan A - Target one or two specific QBs that I believe in and start the rebuild now if you get them.

Plan B - If you can't trade up or if they don't fall to you then you go full tank mode. Trade every pick you possibly can into next year for value. I mean EVERY PICK YOU CAN. Ideally you wouldn't pick once in this draft. Be active in trying to get sneaky value in UDFAs. Unload big contracts for draft picks if you can, if not then unload them anyway. Minimize your cap as much as you can. Put as many low price players on your roster as you can so you can carry forward that space over the next 6 years. The only good plays you should have on the field are core guys who are young, have long contracts and can be part of your plan long term. If you do make a draft pick it better be on a potentially high upside QB in round 3 or something.

After this single awful season you will be in great position to build going forward long term. My only issue with tanking in the NFL is how teams use such half measures. They rarely maximize value in a tank which makes no sense to me.

Because you can't actually tank in the NFL. If you tank, any decent young player you have is going to be on the phone with their agents trying everything they can to get off the team. It destroys player value and nobody wants to be part of it.

Also a lo of what you said relies on fortune. "Sneaky value in UDFA's"? That's basically a crap shoot hoping you can develop somebody.

And say you do all that.... one bad draft and you undermine the entire thing and it was all for nothing and you tore the entire team down for nothing.

 

[JMC00]

Sign Allen Robinson
Sign Leonard Williams
Sign Hunter Henry

 

[Mack Herron]

 

[Wozzy]

Nobody knows anything except the Patriots brass.

 

[doesntmatter1]

First thing would be to sign a legit tight end. Overpay if we must. A Crumpler like signing would really help.

#2 cut Bentley.

#3 re-sign Bentley to cut him again. DGAF lol.

 

[varjao]

1 - Hire a decent GM with full control.

Well, that's a pipe dream so realistically, they have to get a QB either in the 1st round if one of the fancy names slide to them (and they like the prospect) or try a JimmyG sort of pick , 2nd or 3rd round trying to find value in a player with the skills to do well in this system with proper coaching.

I don't like the idea of going with a vet while the kid grows but for at least the next season that's probably the case, unless some surprise happens in camp like when Russell Wilson x That QB from Green Bay happened.

Rephrasing, I don't like the philosophy of going with vets for years trying to develop a player and wasting 3 years here, 2 there, there's probably teams trying that for 10 years. I'd like them to be agressive in this matter, try hard, be agressive and if it fails move on. You don't win without a passer QB in this league. Fixing some issues they probably won't be this bad next year and will be out of the top 15 for 2022 so I want them to draft a QB in the 1st round. Unless there is a massive run at QB's and you're left with no viable options.

JimmyG. I like the idea of him coming back, his skillset is a match with McDaniels offense and he is not leaving. Also he is a seasoned veteran now and still young. Needs to stay healthy though. The financials and the picks involved in a possible trade I will leave out of the discussion for now. It would certainly involve this years 1st. If it's only that pick....

About other vets, they might do well with Fitz or Mariota, I was thinking about Stafford but the Lions have been so bad he has to have some part in that. Good QBs produce results on the standings, they make the other guys better. You take a look at a league picture of the worst teams in the past 10 years, teams always drafting high, the Browns turned things around, the St Louis Rams moved to LA and turned things around, the Jags, Jets, are always there, and the Lions too, probably in the top 3 of the worst results overall in a 10 year window. He's also pretty banged up.

I was almost saying that sticking with Cam for another year may not be a terrible idea but GOD NO. NO WAY. I should self flagellate myself for that thinking.

3. Draft a QB high. If it means you had to reach a little bit then reach. I don't wanna see us picking at 11-14 with Trask or Wilson on the board and then decide to go DE or DT hoping they'll last til our 2nd round pick. If you miss, well oh well try again next year. But I don't wanna see this team taking that position lightly in a QB deep class. Be aggressive and get your guy asap

Exactly, stop dancing in the draft moving down and up and losing trade value in the between, just make the damn pick.

Pats have the ammunition to trade into the top 10 if they see a QB they want. Picking a DT "feels safe". But the fact is you keep inserting trash at the QB position and you will continue to end up in the 6-10 or 7-9 region once the year is done. This year has shown that the franchise QB is the difference maker. BB might be a genius coach but he still can't win with trash at QB.

I totally agree, unless you get a Von Miller type LB and the QB's are all gone, you don't move the needle with a DT and there are plenty of DT wiffs in that 15-20 territory as well.

 

[Wordsmyth]

I want to see Marcus Mariota in red, white, and blue next season.

 

[mgteich]

Thuney is underrated, versatile. He can play anywhere on the OL in a pinch. He rarely makes a mistake. He manhandled Aaron Donald in the SB. He has contained JC Watt. No one lines up their good interior or exterior rushers against him.

If we’re going to rely on Gil Brandt then Bill is the best drafter ever.

Hall of Fame GM Gil Brandt says Bill Belichick is best drafter of his lifetime

Gil Brandt has been around for 87 years. He spent 33 years as an NFL executive with the Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, and the Dallas Cowboys, notably building two Super Bowl champions during his 28 years with the Cowboys. Brandt helped to create many of the evaluation tools used to...

www.nbcsports.com

Truth? Hard to compare Hannah and Thuney because the game and its players are so different. Zero doubt Hannah was a great player in his time.

Please post some other lists of all time players where Thuney is anywhere close to Hannah.

 

[TomPatriot]

Please post some other lists of all time players where Thuney is anywhere close to Hannah.

Oh, ffs.

 

[StrawHatPatriot]

1) Sign Mariota
2) Have a mediocre draft
3) Not change anything else since "we could have been 11-5 if the we won those close games against Seahawks, Broncos, Texans and Bills"

 

[condon84]

If I was Bill i would read this forum. There seems to be an abundance of experts here who know how to scout, draft and build a team

 

[SVN]

I think Bill will get let go in a yr or two due to the intense media pressure on kraft. There is already a lot of people turning on him in the media and it will get only worse. Kraft will unfortunately cave.