NOT splurging at the trade deadline was a MASTERSTROKE!

[NFL Mystique]

Michael Felger did make a good point. Is Baltimore going to be without Lamar for a majority of games next season? Will KC be 5-4 after 9 games? Buffalo struggling? The answer is obviously no. That won't happen two years straight. So he pointed out the Patriots should have gone all out for more players because the league has never been more down. And the schedule is brutal next year. The opportunity is now.

But..you can't be irresponsible and just throw away picks for any decent player. It's a good discussion. The Patriots are not in the Bills position where they absolutely need to win now. Maye is 23 and Vrabel just got hired.

 

[Stu Pidassle]

Michael Felger did make a good point. Is Baltimore going to be without Lamar for a majority of games next season? Will KC be 5-4 after 9 games? Buffalo struggling? The answer is obviously no. That won't happen two years straight. So he pointed out the Patriots should have gone all out for more players because the league has never been more down. And the schedule is brutal next year. The opportunity is now.

But..you can't be irresponsible and just throw away picks for any decent player. It's a good discussion. The Patriots are not in the Bills position where they absolutely need to win now Maye is 23 and Vrabel just got hired.

Felger usually has good points based on solid analysis. His conclusions, however, are based on what he feels will generate the most discussion. In this case, I feel that the team erred on building the culture vs. maximizing the addition of talent. Bringing in new players now would tell the team that they are the same players who were so bad that they only won 4 games the last couple of years. It would also give everyone an excuse to relax because they can wait for the new players to solve all of the problems. At the same time Vrable's statements about not making trades because the team is in the middle of a multi year build are counter productive and violate the Parcell's rule about not giving any excuses even if he is trying to allow the team to forge a new identity.

 

[Hugepatsfan]

I'd rather they build it like the Rams than the Buffalo Bills.

The Rams went all the way in on a short window, absolutely loaded up, got a ring, dealt with some leaner years afterwards, and have now rebuilt it back up to being a pretty good team.

The Bills, on the other hand, got close back in like 2020, but kept telling themselves they had a long window with Allen, they've never loaded up, and they spent half a decade being a bridesmaid and now the cracks are starting to show and there's a decent chance they never get over the hump even once in this nice little run they've had.

Going all in may very well lead to some lean years after, but if you have good QB play and good decision makers then your lean years will still be respectable and you can emerge from them back to really competing. Building a dynasty is a nice pipedream but it's not a realistic goal and is more likely to end up a billion years in a row as a bridesmaid than it is you being an all time historic type of team which is rare and unlikely by definition.

I'm not saying that THIS was the time to go all in, just speaking to general team building philosophy.

 

[NFL Mystique]

I'd rather they build it like the Rams than the Buffalo Bills.

The Rams went all the way in on a short window, absolutely loaded up, got a ring, dealt with some leaner years afterwards, and have now rebuilt it back up to being a pretty good team.

The Bills, on the other hand, got close back in like 2020, but kept telling themselves they had a long window with Allen, they've never loaded up, and they spent half a decade being a bridesmaid and now the cracks are starting to show and there's a decent chance they never get over the hump even once in this nice little run they've had.

Going all in may very well lead to some lean years after, but if you have good QB play and good decision makers then your lean years will still be respectable and you can emerge from them back to really competing. Building a dynasty is a nice pipedream but it's not a realistic goal and is more likely to end up a billion years in a row as a bridesmaid than it is you being an all time historic type of team which is rare and unlikely by definition.

I'm not saying that THIS was the time to go all in, just speaking to general team building philosophy.

This Bills run should be a cautionary tale for teams. Don't just rely on a star QB to win. All the while ignoring the fact the defensive HC gets shredded consistently in the postseason. And the lack of talent drafted at receiver and defense. They are proof that coaching really matters in the NFL.

 

[Wozzy]

Many teams were able to find trade partners, especially for minor deals. Perhaps Vrabel just wasn't very interested, especially after Jennings performed well last week.

Vrabel likes his team, he likes the developmental players on his practice squad… I can’t disagree with him.

Many teams aren’t 7-2 and have a fairly balanced offense and defense.

Like I said, if some NFC was unloading even a good player for a reasonable price at a position of need, or who could help the team they would have made a move. I disagree it was a move based on chemistry, they’ve never stopped adding or trying to improve the backend of the roster.

Sometimes good deals don’t appear, I look around the NFL trade deadline and don’t see anything we missed out on.

 

[TommyD4207]

Michael Felger did make a good point. Is Baltimore going to be without Lamar for a majority of games next season? Will KC be 5-4 after 9 games? Buffalo struggling? The answer is obviously no.

Lamar Jackson is pretty much hurt every year. I'll take the odds on that one.

 

[mayoclinic]

There's petty. There's spiteful. And then there's a woman scorned. The latter is by far the most scary beast of them all!

How was she scorned? She fired him.

We know she's not normal; we didn't know she was this psychotic.

Normally, if you choose to fire a HC - especially one who has had past success - you thank them for their contributions, praise them, explain that it's in the best interest of the organization to make a change, and wish them the best ... and then you move on.

You don't go all Jessica Walter in Play Misty for Me.

 

[rochrist]

Allen plays the game like a RB.

How long do they last?

The point is that they really have used up a lot of years of Allen, and there's no guarantee how long before he's not at this level.

Well, he'll turn 30 at the end of this season and he isn't really showing any signs of excessive wear and tear. Less than Lamar.

 

[rochrist]

You just confirmed why I choose not to listen to the nattering nabobs of negativity on sportstalk radio any more...
Each and every day they do their best to stir up non existent nontroversies to keep their interest and ratings up.
I prefer the old time stuff when Smerlas, DeOssie and guys like Michael Holley discussed the Patriots at least they seemed to know what they are talking about..

Bob Lobel and Guy Mainella!! Not Chucklehead Eddie though. I think he was probably the precurson to the garbage we've got today.

 

[rochrist]

Michael Felger did make a good point. Is Baltimore going to be without Lamar for a majority of games next season? Will KC be 5-4 after 9 games? Buffalo struggling? The answer is obviously no. That won't happen two years straight. So he pointed out the Patriots should have gone all out for more players because the league has never been more down. And the schedule is brutal next year. The opportunity is now.

But..you can't be irresponsible and just throw away picks for any decent player. It's a good discussion. The Patriots are not in the Bills position where they absolutely need to win now. Maye is 23 and Vrabel just got hired.

The answer isn't obviously no. Lamar could easily miss MORE games. Plus, he's one of the most widely variable performers at QB in the league. Buffalo has ongoing issues on both sides of the ball that they need to fix. KC? Who knows? Mahomes might be the one with the injury issues next year. He's only missed one game a year for the past 6 years or so, but he'll be 31 next year. Again, who knows?

Long story short, this is Felger once again pulling something out of his ass and then acting as though it's an established fact from then on.