Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision making

[MoLewisrocks]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

They exist. The problem is BB cannot identify them and then draft them. Jermaine Cunningham??
And his FA signing record has him in Theo Epstein's inept class.
The brilliance of Tom Brady has papered over lots of poor decisions by BB.
The real historical shame is that Tom Brady's prime will come and go without a SB championship because of it.

Oh pahleese... In Theo's class we'd be on the hook for a gazillion dollars for beer swilling underperformers. Bill has yet to make anything approaching that level of mistake in FA... But part of his problem is why he hasn't. He's so intent on achieving value he's lost sight of achieving impact. He even hates to overpay for mid level talent that overachieves. That's why he keep churning the bottom of his rosters when his focus should be honing in on the top. You don't have to have top five talent at all 22 starting positions, but top 20 would be nice...and top ten even better on defense. Brady is compensating, but so is Bill the coach. Absent those two this team could be the Colts... But they won't be as long as either of these two is still active on game days.

And you have a pretty short historical memory when it comes to SB's in Tom's prime (which just happens to be of the extended variety...).

 

[BTTA]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

The question that's been alive for me for a couple of years is about BB's ability to keep up defensively with the Polian/Manning rules that appear to require more individual coverage skills and less of his traditional bend-don't-break zone coverages. In turn, this calls for guys who can get to the QB on their own, using individual rushing skills, because the time to do so is compressed.

These two, in turn, put more emphasis on individual athleticism and less on the "just do your job" team guy. Finally, all of this devalues the draft strategy that depends on three mid second round guys being more valuable than a high first round guy.

I don't know anything really, just pondering.

 

[R_T26]

Look what BB went into the season with at safety...Chung...7th round special teamer from the Broncos who didn't play last year, an undrafted free agent who was on a horrible college secondary, and a special teamer from the jets. BB is not a good talent evaluator. Sure he finally drafted 2 good TE's after wasting a ridiculous amount of resources in the past.

 

[RhodyPatriot]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Oh pahleese... In Theo's class we'd be on the hook for a gazillion dollars for beer swilling underperformers. Bill has yet to make anything approaching that level of mistake in FA... But part of his problem is why he hasn't. He's so intent on achieving value he's lost sight of achieving impact. He even hates to overpay for mid level talent that overachieves. That's why he keep churning the bottom of his rosters when his focus should be honing in on the top. You don't have to have top five talent at all 22 starting positions, but top 20 would be nice...and top ten even better on defense. Brady is compensating, but so is Bill the coach. Absent those two this team could be the Colts... But they won't be as long as either of these two is still active on game days.

And you have a pretty short historical memory when it comes to SB's in Tom's prime (which just happens to be of the extended variety...).

Tom Brady was not in his prime in 2004.....7 years ago....the LAST SB this team has won.
Peter King called Lee Bodden the worst FA signing ever. I don't know, worse than Adalius Thomas??
The only difference between Theo and Belichick FA's is that MLB contracts are guaranteed.

 

[mcsully]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Some Random thoughts I'd like to post.

Like Reiss, I've question some of BB's personnel moves.
BB the GM is not helping BB the coach

Today is the second time in 11 years where I can honestly say BB was out coached

BB has done this franchise a great service in bringing us three SB's and 10 straight years of not being under .500

Something BB hasn't been able to duplicate. When we were winning titles in 01, 03 and 04, we should really thank Parcells for bringing in a lot of the core talent on defense. Ty Law, Milloy (1 year but still created the environment), Johnson, Bruschi, & McGinnest.

The question that was posed years ago when the Pats were winning SB's but letting talent go, " is it the players or scheme that's winning the titles?".. That's been answered this year.. It's both.. Meaning we have the right coach but not the horses.. BB needs help and there's nothing wrong with it. Whats wrong is not addressing the issue and pretending everything's okay.

 

[ralmat55]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Many of us have been saying for a long time that BB the GM hurts BB the coach. Nice of Mikey Reiss to jump on the band wagon.

And Bill Belichick the defensive coordinator is killing both BB the GM and HC.

Yesterday morning I called a friend of 25 years who is a loyal Steelers fan. My friend wasn't too opportunistic about his team's chances. During this conversation, I had a broken clock moment (being right for a change)when I told him that if the Steelers just take the underneath stuff and roethlisberger doesn't force things the Steelers offense can control the game by keeping Brady and the offense off the field.

The first drive of yesterday's game was the entire game. The Steelers drove down the field taking 8 minutes (1/8 of the game) before scoring a touchdown. During that drive, the Steelers didn't run the ball particularly well for them and Roethlisberger was not forced to make any throws that a Division III QB couldn't complete. Were the Patriots not aware that Heath Miller is an eligible receiver? No one covered him the entire drive.

That this defense doesn't even compete against short passes is what infuriates me. A pass rush doesn't have a chance if receivers are wide open before they even leave the line of scrimmage.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

I want to believe that.

But the defense has gone from pretty bad, to historically terrible.

So........

:bricks:

With comments like this, you'd think the Pats gave up 62 points to Jacksonville or something..

Seriously people, the over-reactions on this board are amazing..

 

[ralmat55]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

With comments like this, you'd think the Pats gave up 62 points to Jacksonville or something..

Seriously people, the over-reactions on this board are amazing..

Figured it wouldn't be long before someone would try to make the argument "that since the Patriots only gave up 23 points the defense couldn't have played that bad"

Yes, they did!

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

And Bill Belichick the defensive coordinator is killing both BB the GM and HC.

Yesterday morning I called a friend of 25 years who is a loyal Steelers fan. My friend wasn't too opportunistic about his team's chances. During this conversation, I had a broken clock moment (being right for a change)when I told him that if the Steelers just take the underneath stuff and roethlisberger doesn't force things the Steelers offense can control the game by keeping Brady and the offense off the field.

The first drive of yesterday's game was the entire game. The Steelers drove down the field taking 8 minutes (1/8 of the game) before scoring a touchdown. During that drive, the Steelers didn't run the ball particularly well for them and Roethlisberger was not forced to make any throws that a Division III QB couldn't complete. Were the Patriots not aware that Heath Miller is an eligible receiver? No one covered him the entire drive.

That this defense doesn't even compete against short passes is what infuriates me. A pass rush doesn't have a chance if receivers are wide open before they even leave the line of scrimmage.

The only problem for you is that the 1st drive of the game didn't take 8 minutes off the clock.. It took less than 6. The problem was the Pats turned the ball right back over with a 3 and out.

I do agree with you about the defensive play calling. It was horrible. How they left Heath Miller open so much is beyond me.. Especially when he's had a LOT of success against the Pats in the past.

 

[Patjew]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

What really sucks (to me) is that this is it - there's no one coming back from injury that we can say "just wait till X comes back, then we'll be better back there." This is it!

I don't get all of the cuts. I also don't understand why they IR'd Dowling since reports said he could be back in 4 weeks.

And I really don't get why they drafted two ******* running backs and did nothing to address the pass rush or secondary!

Holy ****, I just turned into a chicken little troll.

 

[randomk1]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

With comments like this, you'd think the Pats gave up 62 points to Jacksonville or something..

Seriously people, the over-reactions on this board are amazing..

How is it an overreaction? The D is on pace to be historically bad. Big Ben had career high pass attempts in first half and we couldn't do anything about it. What was the time of possession 41:19 ? Did we even have a 3 and out?

 

[ctpatsfan1]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

As much as I'd like to agree with you, Nash, let's not forget that was also a very formidable defense which ended up in the top 3-5 of most categories. That's like the Steelers winning/going to the SB with Willaim Gay, or the Ravens winning with Moreland right now. The comparison is not very appropriate anymore, with all due respect.

In a defense where you know you have serious deficiencies in some areas like this one, you've got to be strong somewhere, and I'm not understanding where that strength is going to come from.

run D is the strength of this D. They have been able to take very good runners and make them look average at best.

absolute weakness is the pass rush which makes the coverage/secondary look pathetic. The secondary is actually pretty good but unfortunately when you give the QB time to have lunch and a snack before you even get close to him, any QB of any level of talent is going to pick you apart its really that simple. If this D ever gets a pass rush this secondary will look vastly improved.

IMHO the inability to create pressure in 3 and long situations falls at the feet of the DC and Belechick, more the DC than BB. Even when they blitz they don't get there because they are plain vanilla bull rush type of blitzes which are easily diagnosed and easily picked up. That isn't players not executing that is coaches not designing blitzes that work. The Jets have absolutely no ability to rush the passer straight up but Ryan designs these blitzes that have players coming from every which direction that get to the QB on 3rd and long, why can't our DC do that?

As for the whole personnel decision thing, yes BB has made mistakes, just as every other HC/GM has made mistakes in the draft and in F/A. There was the 06-08 drafts that sucked and in the grand scheme those players would be coming into their prime playing/skill years from 09-11 and look what has happened the last 3 years.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Figured it wouldn't be long before someone would try to make the argument "that since the Patriots only gave up 23 points the defense couldn't have played that bad"

Yes, they did!

On the first two drives.. But they got better as the game went along.

And, considering that Pitt put up 23 points in one QUARTER last year against this team, it's kinda hard to take you seriously for them letting up 23 points in a game.

 

[Nunchucks]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

The patriots secondary is a disaster and there is no relief in sight. There is no reason for teams to try to run against the patriots, all they need to do is throw the ball 50 times a game and they will be able to at least score field goals.

Patriots need another safety and 2 more CBs that can stay healthy and play.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Agreed.

Posters on here need to remember that BB won a SB with a guy named Earthwind Moreland. Wait who?? Exactly. As bad as the defense looks, there's still alot of football left for BB to get the secondarys sh*t together.
However, my koolaid has a funny taste lately.

No, BB did not with a SB with a guy named Earthwind Moreland. Moreland was CUT prior to the SB.

 

[ralmat55]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

The only problem for you is that the 1st drive of the game didn't take 8 minutes off the clock.. It took less than 6. The problem was the Pats turned the ball right back over with a 3 and out.

I do agree with you about the defensive play calling. It was horrible. How they left Heath Miller open so much is beyond me.. Especially when he's had a LOT of success against the Pats in the past.

Sorry, it only seemed like 8 minutes, actually it seemed like three hours. Yes, the Pats offense failed to respond, but that happens especially on the road when a good opponent is smelling blood. This defense just can't get off the field unless the opponent shoots itself in the foot or gets greedy. The underneath stuff is killing them.

 

[upstater1]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

The Patriots blitzed repeatedly in the first half and were burned.

Bad gameplan.

My one big concern is, why did they blitz like that?

Is it because there is a total lack of confidence in the secondary?

 

[Steve1iron]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

I think that Belichick has overextended himself. He's too involved in every aspect of game planning and game management, and because of this he's doing a poor job all around. The defense has not shown any imagination since Romeo left. We don't play physical. We don't mix up schemes. We don't bring any pressure.

I think BB has gotten too full of himself and feels like he/the Pats will be successful regardless of who he has coaching the offense or defense or who he has on the field. This defense is horrible and very few people are willing to call out BB for being the defensive genius who has the worst defense in football.

Hats off to Reiss for having the guts to say what so many people have been thinking.

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

When you have a team that has such a lack of talent on the defensive side of the ball, it clearly calls into question the personnel decisions made in that area. I forget if it was Bedard or Breer who said someone on the Steelers had pointed out to him before the game that the Patriots had a secondary where everyone but Chung and McCourty was an UDFA. That is stunning when you consider how many picks have been used on the seondary in recent years.

The issue on defense is talent. You have an above average run stopper at NT in Wilfork. A healthy Mayo is an above average ILB. That is really it for this defense. The rest of the it is made up of role players who can do certain things well but also have significant weaknesses that can be exploited (Spikes, Carter, McCourty, Chung) or below average guys who are out there because there really is no one else (Guyton, Ninkovich, Adams, Ihedigbo, etc).

The offense has elite talent. They are going to need to carry this team and they are good enough to probably carry it to the division title.

Did you, for a second, stop to look at your list of guys with "weaknesses that can be exploited"? How about the fact that, outside of Carter, they all have less than 3 years experience??

Also, calling Wilfork and Mayo only "above avergae" really takes away from your credibility..

Ninkovich is not below average. Guyton, Ihedigbo, Brown, Ventrone, Barrett. Yes, I can agree there. BTW, Adams hasn't been around enough to judge him, but he played better than Molden, Ihedigbo and others yesterday..

 

[DaBruinz]

Re: Mike Reiss on Belichick: Maybe it's time to 'revisit' his personnel decision maki

Sorry, it only seemed like 8 minutes, actually it seemed like three hours. Yes, the Pats offense failed to respond, but that happens especially on the road when a good opponent is smelling blood. This defense just can't get off the field unless the opponent shoots itself in the foot or gets greedy. The underneath stuff is killing them.

The underneath stuff killed them yesterday. I agree.. But they've shut down guys like Gates and Keller with very little issue. Why they didn't have someone on Miller yesterday is a GAME PLAN issue. Not a personnel issue..