Numerous Personnel Mistakes since the off season

[MrNathanDrake]

- Not signing or drafting a TE. Ben Watson made some plays but he's washed up. Lacosse is below average.

- Not signing Danny Amendola when he got cut from the Dolphins. He had more receiving yards this year with the Lions than he did in any season with the Pats, so clearly he still had a lot left in the tank. He's clutch, proven in our system, good chemistry with Brady, and doesn't cost a whole lot. Having Amendola wouldve helped lighten the load on Edelman who clearly took a beating this year and was playing hurt.

- Trading a 2nd rd pick for Mohamed Sanu. No matter how he would've acclimated to the playbook, a 2nd is way too high for Sanu. He had a decent game against the Ravens but other than that his highest receiving yards in a game was a dismal 35. His career high for yards in a season is 838 (low ceiling), and he's 30 years old. Pats got fleeced here and it smelled like desperation. The fact that we could've had Amendola for the entire season AND kept our 2nd rd pick makes this even worst.

- Not drafting another WR, picking DB JoeJuan Williams. We needed to double down at WR and the Pats skipped on some really good WR's that were on the board in order to pick Joejuan Williams who was burried on the depth chart for most of the year. AJ Brown (1000+ yards), Mecole Hardman (Pro Bowl returner, 6 TDs), DK Metcalf (900 yards, 7 TDs, 15.5 avg) were all still on the board.

- Going into the pre-season with just Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett (annual disappointment), Nkeal Harry, Demaryius Thomas (washed up), Josh Gordon (unreliable, annual suspension waiting to happen), Gunner Olszewski (UDFA), and Jakobi Meyers (UDFA) as our main receivers. What did the Pats expect to happen? Gordon was predictably suspended and didn't finish the season again. Thomas was traded for a bag of peanuts (essentially cut). Dorsett disappeared after week 1.


- The above point forced desperate moves such as AB signing which turned out to be nothing more than a distraction and waste of time. It also forced the desperate trade for Mohamed Sanu which was very un-Patriot-like.

- Not giving Damien Harris a shot. When it became clear that Sony Michel couldnt get anything going, it was time for a change. Instead the Pats stuck with Sony who was probably the worst starting RB in the entire league this year. His season long run was 26 yards. 26! He averaged 3.7 ypc and usually went down on first contact. The Pats spent a 3rd rd pick on Harris and he barely suited up this year.

 

[randomk1]

Many non Patriot like moves this season. And all the moves we did amounted to zero or even hurt the team. Really disappointed considering we have such a strong core in place.
Draft has also been a mess for some time now.

 

[Sciz]

Amendola was just really inconvenient timing. He signed the morning of March 11, just hours before the “legal tampering” period opened for guys with expiring contracts. It seems that they passed on him in order to target younger, more expensive slot options. I’m sure they would have been more interested in Amendola if they had known they weren’t getting Humphries or Beasley, but Amendola was already a Lion before they could have known that.

 

[lancerman]

Amendola was just really inconvenient timing. He signed the morning of March 11, just hours before the “legal tampering” period opened for guys with expiring contracts. It seems that they passed on him in order to target younger, more expensive slot options. I’m sure they would have been more interested in Amendola if they had known they weren’t getting Humphries or Beasley, but Amendola was already a Lion before they could have known that.

Amendola was taking pay cut after pay cut. They could have locked him up a long time ago if they were willing to pony up some dough.

 

[supafly]

Lowballing Humphries, Beasley, Jared Cook, etc. Leaving the cupboard bare at WR, and wasting TWO roster spots at the position with Meyers and Gunner. Not addressing the TE position. Not drafting Chung’s replacement, which cost us on at least two game changing plays. Straying from screens to White. There are lots more.

Unfortunately, this year’s team wasn’t very good despite a very misleading 12-4 record. They lost to 4/5 of the AFC playoff teams. They also lost to Miami at home in a must-win setting.

 

[DarrylS]

Develin went down and out, no replacement..

No real TE that provided red zone options...

Banged up O line..

Banged up QB, for the last three games prior to last night he looked weak.

In this copy cat league the Titans watched the tape well and figured out our D weaknesses..

Even last nights failed attempt to score from the 1 at the end of the half, exemplified this teams weakness.. lack of creative play calling and not being able to score in the red zone.

 

[Observer]

Not bolstering TE or OL which were clearly areas of need. Signing a lot of crap at WR when what you need is just one or two who can make a play. Not being able to draft a WR in forever and going through the discard pile every offseason.

 

[archstanton543]

Develin went down and out, no replacement..

No real TE that provided red zone options...

Banged up O line..

Banged up QB, for the last three games prior to last night he looked weak.

In this copy cat league the Titans watched the tape well and figured out our D weaknesses..

Even last nights failed attempt to score from the 1 at the end of the half, exemplified this teams weakness.. lack of creative play calling and not being able to score in the red zone.

You can't blame them for unforeseen injuries. Sure, you try to build depth on your roster so injuries don't hurt as much but you can't have it everywhere on the roster.

 

[archstanton543]

Not bolstering TE or OL which were clearly areas of need. Signing a lot of crap at WR when what you need is just one or two who can make a play. Not being able to draft a WR in forever and going through the discard pile every offseason.

They drafted Frojholt and Cajuste (however you spell them). They addressed the OL dept but those two guys got hurt.

 

[Doctor DDS]

Weird year in that injuries were relatively light overall but severely impacted 3 very important positions in WR, OL and FB. Add in the AB and Gordon drama and the entire year was an unsuccessful exercise in trying to get into some sort of rhythm.

Secondary was exceptional and relatively healthy so someone like Williams cannot make it onto the field. Assume he'll play more next year as they move on from some of older players. No one knows what Harris can bring but it feels likely he'll be the Burkhead replacement next year. I liked what I saw from Michel the last 3 or 4 games so RB should be solid. Winovich showed promise and will take some of Van Noy/Collins snaps if either leave. Hopefully one of the injured rookie OL can step in and potentially replace Thuney if he leaves.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Reminds me of the 2009 season where the draft was initially a disaster (just one hit on Vollmer, Chung an Edelman didn't flourish until 4-5 years down the road) and none of the FA acquisitions worked out except Bodden (Collins this year). Given the cap situation if we keep Brady, the only way to rebound from that is to really hit it big in the draft like in 2010. Double down on TE again and hope at least one hits, WR is still a need and hopefully for once we can hit one there. Brady when healthy and locked in is still very capable but the passing game obviously needs upgraded. 17 games in and the same issues offensively are still re-occuring, clear failure on the front office's part there.

 

[primetime]

The tight end complaint is weird mainly because the number of good tight ends in football is pretty small and none of them were available (and some of those guys are just big receivers who don't block). They could have drafted every tight end with all their picks and they would have come away with Dawson Knox, who was fine but played like a rookie against the Texans. Other than that it's basically a ball of nothing up and down the draft, at least for now (but tight end is also one of the hardest positions to acclimate to in the NFL).

Jared Cook was the best they could have done and they screwed the pooch on him, but man Jared Cook is pretty uninspiring.

 

[primetime]

They drafted Frojholt and Cajuste (however you spell them). They addressed the OL dept but those two guys got hurt.

To be clear, it was known Cajuste wasn't going to play this year when he was drafted. He was a likely 1st rounder before he got hurt in a cliff diving incident, so they got him for pennies on the dollar knowing he wouldn't be available until the next season. Very similar to Marcus Cannon, actually, and it worked out pretty well with him. Froholdt was mostly just a project.

 

[oceansizer]

Reminds me of the 2009 season where the draft was initially a disaster (just one hit on Vollmer, Chung an Edelman didn't flourish until 4-5 years down the road) and none of the FA acquisitions worked out except Bodden (Collins this year). Given the cap situation if we keep Brady, the only way to rebound from that is to really hit it big in the draft like in 2010. Double down on TE again and hope at least one hits, WR is still a need and hopefully for once we can hit one there. Brady when healthy and locked in is still very capable but the passing game obviously needs upgraded. 17 games in and the same issues offensively are still re-occuring, clear failure on the front office's part there.

Unfortunately this time unlike 2010 Brady has no time to build another circle of trust with rookie WRs. These receivers' would be fine if we add one proven veteran for instance AJ Green,let Harry step up and give Edelman to rest a bit.
TE position must be adressed as well because we cannot afford to skip this position.

 

[Give Kraft A Hand]

The Pats were doomed once Devlin went down. Now its clear how much this offense actually revolves around the fullback. Kind of weird to say since the stat sheet never would show it. But yes the biggest mistake was probably ****ing around with Cook and letting him go to the Saints.

I think Harry will be a stud next year. Him getting injured probably didn't help matters but when the team called on him he pretty much answered. Dorsett is probably gone. Sanu hopefully is gone via trade.

 

[Tunescribe]

The Pats were doomed once Devlin went down. Now its clear how much this offense actually revolves around the fullback. Kind of weird to say since the stat sheet never would show it. But yes the biggest mistake was probably ****ing around with Cook and letting him go to the Saints.

I think Harry will be a stud next year. Him getting injured probably didn't help matters but when the team called on him he pretty much answered. Dorsett is probably gone. Sanu hopefully is gone via trade.

Funny screen name.

 

[skinnydog]

Develin went down and out, no replacement..

No real TE that provided red zone options...

Banged up O line..

Banged up QB, for the last three games prior to last night he looked weak.

In this copy cat league the Titans watched the tape well and figured out our D weaknesses..

Even last nights failed attempt to score from the 1 at the end of the half, exemplified this teams weakness.. lack of creative play calling and not being able to score in the red zone.

Brady looked great against Buffalo.

 

[skinnydog]

You can't blame them for unforeseen injuries. Sure, you try to build depth on your roster so injuries don't hurt as much but you can't have it everywhere on the roster.

they signed two veteran lineman who retired. That's on the Pats. They were signed as key backups. That's got to be part of your evaluation.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

The Pats were doomed once Devlin went down. Now its clear how much this offense actually revolves around the fullback. Kind of weird to say since the stat sheet never would show it. But yes the biggest mistake was probably ****ing around with Cook and letting him go to the Saints.

I think Harry will be a stud next year. Him getting injured probably didn't help matters but when the team called on him he pretty much answered. Dorsett is probably gone. Sanu hopefully is gone via trade.

Harry sucks. 7 targets only 2 catches. He's a bust.

.

 

[skinnydog]

The tight end complaint is weird mainly because the number of good tight ends in football is pretty small and none of them were available (and some of those guys are just big receivers who don't block). They could have drafted every tight end with all their picks and they would have come away with Dawson Knox, who was fine but played like a rookie against the Texans. Other than that it's basically a ball of nothing up and down the draft, at least for now (but tight end is also one of the hardest positions to acclimate to in the NFL).

Jared Cook was the best they could have done and they screwed the pooch on him, but man Jared Cook is pretty uninspiring.

Yet, compared to the Pats TEs this year Cook was an all pro. He's also on a team loaded with offensive talent including the best WR in the league. Any of the TE prospects in the draft would have been an improvement over what the Pats fielded most of the year.