NY Post Writer claims all of Belichick's moves this year were because of the Jets

[bagwell368]

BB is all about prep. Given we may have to face the:

Jets
Colts
Steelers
and teams X and perhaps Y in the playoffs, BB has to craft a team for this year and those teams - not the 1967 Lamonica Raiders, or the Kelly led Bills teams.

If anyone wants to pick up a thread from the wrong side and trace it back and claim such a preposterous analysis, that is merely an insult to logic. But for Pats fans to get ruffled by such a trifle - well, I wish we were still rubber and not becoming glue. Guess we'll just have to win it all this year to solidify again.

 

[Patsbacker]

I think the veterans on D were added because they were available cheaply and BB felt there was too much youth on the defensive side of the ball. I think last year's experience combined with guys like Carter and Ellis and even Anderson and Haynesworth will provide veteran presence and leadership (Bodden back helps too) Their ability to stop the run is very important factor as well as the Jets were able to run on the D last year.

However, the biggest "reaction" to RR I see is OL, TE, And RB...Solder, Maneri, Gronk, Yeatman and Cannon along with Vereen, BJGE, and Ridley. Now if RR wants to go small and drop 8 in zone coverage like he did in the playoffs, BB is saying we will punch you in the mouth and run over you.

To me, BB finally has what he wants on BOTH sides of the ball...the ability to play multiple fronts and attack you. He can now adapt his defense and offense to exploit whichever way a team chooses to play the Patriots.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Patsbacker is right. Every season you face a mix of different capability playoff contending teams. BB desires flexibility, on defense and offense. Added big OL guys and TEs to help with the run along with young legs. And now he seems to have a front 7 D that he can flex. Trying Bodden covering the slot. Ras as a swing CB and possible FS? We'll see.

 

[WestSideJohnny]

I actually like to read the post....although the sports section is a joke sometimes.

And the rest of it is...what?, the onion without the humor?

 

[jmt57]

If anyone wants to pick up a thread from the wrong side and trace it back and claim such a preposterous analysis, that is merely an insult to logic. But for Pats fans to get ruffled by such a trifle - well, I wish we were still rubber and not becoming glue. Guess we'll just have to win it all this year to solidify again.

It's not the writer's notion that Belichick is reacting to the Jets with his construction of the 2011 roster that some, including myself have an issue with; it was his over-the-top parochial bias in the way in which he constructed the article. That kind of bush league cheerleading should be reserved for message boards and fan sites. I realize the Post is rather low brow in the world of journalism, but that column deserves to be in Bleacher Report rather than in one of the city's three primary newspapers.

If on the other hand they slyly knew exactly what they were doing - getting a lot of attention from fans of both teams in the name of increased readership - then they have completely sold out while attempting to reach that goal.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

it's been said before in this thread, so i'll just say it quickly.

teams are constantly adapting in the nfl to what other teams do, especially rivals and especially rivals that stood between them and a very winnable AFC Championship Game. So, saying "all" of BB's offseason moves were influenced by Rex might be a stretch, but I'd bet my next paycheck that many of them were.

and why is anyone reading or linking to the Post? the only reasonable Tabloid in NYC is The Daily News and they actually have a very good Sports staff.

the Post is more like the Horrald...no standards, bad writing and unreliable

 

[captain stone]

Perhaps I (we) are taken aback a bit because the closest thing to a homer sportswriter here is somebody not piling on with negativity and simply attempting to be objective and unbiased.

And what's wrong with that?

 

[captain stone]

And the rest of it is...what?, the onion without the humor?

Then what does that make reading the NY Crimes?

 

[captain stone]

It's not the writer's notion that Belichick is reacting to the Jets with his construction of the 2011 roster that some, including myself have an issue with; it was his over-the-top parochial bias in the way in which he constructed the article. That kind of bush league cheerleading should be reserved for message boards and fan sites. I realize the Post is rather low brow in the world of journalism, but that column deserves to be in Bleacher Report rather than in one of the city's three primary newspapers.

If on the other hand they slyly knew exactly what they were doing - getting a lot of attention from fans of both teams in the name of increased readership - then they have completely sold out while attempting to reach that goal.

And the Glob & Crimes never stoop to sensationalism & pot-stirring, right?

 

[Huckleberry1]

I think Belichik takes everything into account when he's building hois team for upcoming seasons and the challenge from the jets is just one of the factors. Listening to Bruschi yesterday it was clear that the preponderance of sub packages is a major factor in his defensive changes, but i have also felt for some time that the shift in the league to more 3-4 bases is a major factor. Belichik had the draft pretty much to himself looking for 3-4 players when he started out here, as only 3 teams were running it as their base, which made it much easier to find players who fit that style of defense, whereas as now there are more than ten teams running it as their base, which makes drafting 3-4 OLB's and DE's a much more difficult task. Now Belichik sees an abundance of veteran 4-3 DE's and DT's on the market sso he drafts to rebuild the offense and takes the veteran free agent defenders to create a hybrid defense that can use the experience and 3-4 front 7 they already have and bringing in the 4-3 pass rushers to give them the ability to run all sorts of frnts given the sets they are facing and game situations. i think we are looking at one of the most versatile defenses we have ever seen in NE and it has the potential to be one of their best, with the big question being the ability of the veteran defenders to stay healthy through a long season. I'm excited to see it all come together and believe that coupled with an offense that can put up big points their ability to get after opposing QB's is going to make them really nasty. Can't wait for the season to open up, it's going to be a good one.

 

[jmt57]

And what's wrong with that?

Nothing; that was pretty much the point that I was making, that I expect more objectivity from a newspaper writer than I would from a pom-pom waving fan.

And the Glob & Crimes never stoop to sensationalism & pot-stirring, right?

Perhaps I missed it; do you have any examples you could share of one of the local newspapers being as blatantly pro-Pats/anti-Jets as this article was?



Edit: if it is political leanings of Boston area newspapers that you are referring to, please discuss that in the Political Forum, not in the Patriots Fan Forum

 

[TheComeback]

Were they though? Everybody loves Woodhead, but he doesn't seem to be a 20+ carry back. BJGE is the kind of guy fans like, but he's not special.

Sorry, I don't think BB would draft multiple RBs if the backs last year were "plenty talented" and we were all set.

I didn't say they were special, I said they were talented. That should be more than evident by the production our backs had last year. If you don't think Woodhead and BJGE are a cut above the average back in the NFL, then I don't know what to tell you--maybe you should watch other teams' running backs. We're better off than a lot of teams in this league even without Vereen and Ridley.

Benny averaged 4 yards a carry in the playoff game. Talent at RB wasn't an issue--depth was. We took two RBs because we needed depth, and it never hurts to have even more talent at an injury-prone position.

Not to mention that RB is one of the easiest positions to pick up in a truncated offseason like this one. I don't think drafting Vereen and Ridley says anything about our current backs, except that Belichick would like to have other other talented players behind them.

 

[BB4PRez]

IMO only one of Belichick's moves was directed at the Jets - the signing of Ellis. Don't get me wrong, Ellis is a good player but it seems like the Pats paid a premium for him. I think BB believes the loss of Ellis to the Jets could be significant and getting a good player at a position of need while hurting a rival was worth the premium in the signing.

Every other move, at least to me, is a typical Pats addition where value is the primary driving force.

 

[goheels22002]

Belichick could have flooded this team with DE/OLB players during several offseasons in a row, and never bothered doing it. Instead, he kept trying to get by, and failing to improve the situation, and the result was a playoff loss that's led to a revamping of the defensive front.

In that sense, I've got no issue with the writer making that argument.

The writer is pretty Jets-centric, but as the only team to beat the Patriots other than the Browns, the objective has to be beating the Jets.

Beating the Jets (and anybody else) meant addressing the pathetic 3rd down conversion rate that the defense posted in 2010-11. The additions of some serious beef up front and some edge rushers was necessary and Belichick did so. The offense is basically 100% intact from a year ago with some improvements in depth. The defensive adjustments were needed anyway. So to slant it as a reaction to Jets is true, but more to the point it was an adjustment to improve the possibility of keeping the defense off the field for a couple of series each game.

 

[aluminum seats]

I didn't say they were special, I said they were talented. That should be more than evident by the production our backs had last year. If you don't think Woodhead and BJGE are a cut above the average back in the NFL, then I don't know what to tell you--maybe you should watch other teams' running backs. We're better off than a lot of teams in this league even without Vereen and Ridley.

Benny averaged 4 yards a carry in the playoff game. Talent at RB wasn't an issue--depth was. We took two RBs because we needed depth, and it never hurts to have even more talent at an injury-prone position.

Not to mention that RB is one of the easiest positions to pick up in a truncated offseason like this one. I don't think drafting Vereen and Ridley says anything about our current backs, except that Belichick would like to have other other talented players behind them.

OK, agree to disagree. I think the drafting of Vereen and Ridley speaks to BJGE being essentially an average back.

 

[TheGodInAGreyHoodie]

Of course the moves made this year was as a result of the Jets.

Teams make improvements based on their losses. NE had three losses last year -- two of them were against the Jets. The changes made this year were to address why we lost those games and improve in areas of weaknesses exploited in our losses.

Any smart coach GM isn't going to spend the off season trying to figure out how to make the game against the Titans a bigger blowout but how to prevent the losses that occurred.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

OK, agree to disagree. I think the drafting of Vereen and Ridley speaks to BJGE being essentially an average back.

I say it does not speak thus.
Ridley is a young legs version of the 2 35 yr old over the hill bangers on the 2010 squad.
Vereen is a Kevin Faulk replacement.

With the age and injury history of 3 of our RBs BB would be crazy not to draft young legs or sign healthier FA RBs.

And yes, Law Firm has hands like mine and lacks breakaway speed but 1,000 yards with top rank ball security places him at above average while well below star feature back. It is what it is.

 

[TheSolderKing]

1st reply in this thread.


BB made these moves to better his teams on all fronts. When we look @ the Draft we loaded up w/ RB's a QB a TE a G a LT. We intentionally buffed up our offense with the intention both for an immediate and long term fix. So the NYJ's had 2 instances of 15 minutes of fame in which they BEAT an INCOMPLETE Patriot team that was an embarrassment defensively when compared to 31 other NFL teams and when compared to the successful Patriot teams of the last decade. BB in his response to the team's inferiority in the present aspired to enhance the offense now and in the long term. BB also planned to tactically take advantage of a very short FA season and he implemented his blitzkrieg attacks to overwhelm his team w/ a surplus of new Defensive Talent. BB also thought it was time for a defensive scheme change and entertained the idea of a 4 man front, which is looking mighty fine if I may add. BB noticed certain things were BROKEN and pardon the cliche , but he needed to FIX the Broken areas.

Now we all can look upon a vastly improved Patriot team that was constructed for the present based on needs. Draft part (Long-Term Future/Present). FA'cy (short term/present) The scheme change (pending on results positive results a Short & LONG-TERM thing that will rattle teams that were use to our 3-4 of old. We are ideally placed to strike fear in all current contenders.:rocker::rocker::rocker:

The Jets were merely 1 team that took advantage of our brutal situation (they were 1 of the teams that forced CHANGE here). The Jets will not take advantage of us any more