Patriots new OC - Alex Van Pelt

[patsinthesnow]

The paradigm shift of the BB crowd defending nearly every move he made to now being some of the most negative fans is hilarious. They defended letting an elite OL walk for no compensation and drafting a 3rd round guard in the 1st to replace him. Now any move the team makes without him is a mistake. Right.

Also Bill’s two coordinators he invested the most in McDaniels & Patricia are unemployed & their NFL careers are effectively over. But I’m suppose to criticize hiring the young DL coach who oversaw the most sacks in the BB era & the NFL’s best run defense since 2011 in back to back seasons as DC & an experienced coach in multiple systems as OC.

 

[1960Pats]

AND they didn't win.

Are you talking about the Browns? They won 7 more games than the Pats last year and made the playoffs. And they did it with their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and possibly 5th QBs.

 

[Real fan 02]

Bill was still thinking long term. It’s too bad RK wasn’t.

Looks like Kraft was in fact the one thinking long term.. wich led to a mutual parting of ways. I agree about the defense, however the most important position in football was just utterly botched and mismanaged.

 

[Real fan 02]

Are you talking about the Browns? They won 7 more games than the Pats last year and made the playoffs. And they did it with their 2nd, 3rd, 4th and possibly 5th QBs.

That's right, and won games with 39 year old flacco..

 

[Real fan 02]

I'm telling you and I'll keep saying it. MAC n Zapp are not guys that can help along the draft pick.. fields would be the bridge QB..

 

[Real fan 02]

Bourne will go to chiefs or chargers.

I think everyone knows he is an above average route runner. He is going to be in demand . I don't know which FA receiver would come here unless we offer more.

With the way the OC hire had happened I don't think pittman or higgins would come here unless it's a tag and trade.

Supposedly Mayo's been in touch with KB and his reps. They were supposed to be working on an extension.. I saw this about 2 weeks ago on NBC sports Boston.. KB said he wants to stay here.

 

[Real fan 02]

I'm telling you and I'll keep saying it. MAC n Zapp are not guys that can help along the draft pick.. fields would be the bridge QB..

@archstanton543

I'm telling you my friend, we know Mac was damaged, but we have to look at the here and now. Unless van pelt can fix Mac, and Zapp then we are playing with house money. I'd rather just move on let Mac go somewhere where he can grow. I'd be ok keeping zap on the PS where he belongs. Right now they both are distressed assets.

 

[1960Pats]

I wasn't talking about burrow or Herbert. We are talking about 2021 wher 5 QBs we're drafted in top 15. That class was also considered very strong like this year .

Burrow was 1st qb taken, Herbert 2nd , stroud 2nd. We will be picking the 3rd one and one that shot off the boards in a year with twiggy legs and 2 superstar receivers. I don't want us to draft a qb who gets hurt 5 games into the season.

Need to have a rookie who will contribute in his rookie season like Rasheed rice, stroud, witherspoon etc.

I would absolutely agree with this if the Pats weren't so weak on offense. Throwing a rookie QB into a situation like ours might hurt him more than help him.

I don't want Fields but maybe they could come up with some other QB to bridge the gap. I heard Brissett's name mentioned and that wouldn't be a bad idea.

Originally I was thinking they might trade back for more picks but I think they're sure that they'll get a QB they want with #3.

 

[pats99]

Hmm, wonder if ~ "running back whisperer" Stump Mitchell, (fired along with Van Pelt) going to be our Running Backs coach.

 

[Ross12]

The main thing I have concerns on is that Van Pelt had a lot of success with zone run concepts but he had a pretty good OL. NE has a bad OL and that OL has no experience with zone… For all we know, the inner “core” of starters that we assume don’t need replacing (Strange-Andrews-Sow) may not be a fit in the new scheme.

That said, Strange is very athletic and I think may actually be a better fit for a zone scheme than power. Sow is probably fine.

Another thing occurred to me - they traded for Tyrone Wheatley Jr, who was Cleveland’s reserve RT last preseason. So he might be plug-and-play at RT?

 

[1960Pats]

Man I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer and whine the entire season. Think about it this way, that picture you have w/ Belichick is worth a lot more money now that he didn't end up on another team. I would recommend you sell now.

I wouldn't enjoy seeing that. What I am enjoying though is watching Bill's fans spinning in circles trying to defend his poor record the last few years. Have they not been watching? And what on earth are they going to do when Reid and Mahomes stay together long enough to surpass Bill's totals?

 

[1960Pats]

So the first guy willing to say yes got the job?

Wouldn't the first guy to say yes always get the job no matter how many interviews there are?

 

[TommyD4207]

I'm telling you and I'll keep saying it. MAC n Zapp are not guys that can help along the draft pick.. fields would be the bridge QB..

You're getting rid of 2 garbage QBs for another garbage QB, using assets to get him, and slapping the 'bridge' tag on him, so it's ok.

A bridge QB is someone you don't spend real draft capital on. A bridge QB is someone who is at least demonstrably better than the dogshit that's here currently.

That does not describe Justin Fields. He sucks just as bad as the other two.

 

[Ross12]

I would absolutely agree with this if the Pats weren't so weak on offense. Throwing a rookie QB into a situation like ours might hurt him more than help him.

I don't want Fields but maybe they could come up with some other QB to bridge the gap. I heard Brissett's name mentioned and that wouldn't be a bad idea.

Originally I was thinking they might trade back for more picks but I think they're sure that they'll get a QB they want with #3.

Yeah, this OC choice and the scheme he runs makes me think they’re locked in on QB. Seems like it would work for either Daniels or Maye. Helps Daniels from a complexity standpoint and would bring some creative designed QB run concepts. Good for Maye in that they could lean into the bootleg and play action more since he’s very good at throwing on the run.

It’s probably not gonna be super flashy but it’ll be solid. Put points on the board. If they can get the OL sorted and a good big WR to pair with Pop then it sounds sufficient. If the defense stays strong and Baringer keeps booming punts as needed, they’ll have success.

 

[1960Pats]

Also @PatsWickedPissah we may have a fellow Jumbo to cheer for in the single most important position coach role other than QB coach!

Not to be nosey, but what's a Jumbo? I hope it's not the size of your waist.

 

[Lansdowne]

Fields is not a QB you trade for to be just a bridge. In 2022 he ran for 1,143 yards, the second-highest total ever for a QB. That kind of upside isn’t going to come cheap, and that’s the problem:

- You’d be bringing in a QB to an offense that isn’t already tailor made to this skill set
- You’ll have to pay in terms of draft capital (anywhere from a 1st to a 3rd round pick would be my guess)
- You’ll have to exercise his 5th year option, for a guy who is questionable as a passer, so you’ve got him for two seasons at the least. And if you don’t then you’re paying for a one-year rental on a team that is not built to contend

A proper bridge QB is someone you don’t need to commit strong assets to acquire. Best course of action is to sign a veteran QB this offseason, or trade for one for cheaper than what Fields will cost. Aiming for an older veteran QB will bring the cost of acquisition down considerably.

Now that we know Van Pelt is the QB it’ll have to be a guy who can run the west coast offense. I actually think a decent guy to target would be Jimmy Garoppolo. He has prior experience in the west coast offense, having run Kyle Shanahan’s version of it in San Francisco over the course of six seasons. He’s a familiar face to this franchise and would give the team a seasoned vet with experience at winning games, granted that was with much better personnel around him. You don’t bring a guy like Jimmy in expecting him to lead this team to the promised land, but rather to keep the seat warm for whoever takes the reigns later. He’s not durable so they may want to make sure there are 3 QBs rostered heading into the season.

I think many of us are still conditioned to seeing this team win lots of games and may not have the patience to see another losing season play itself out, but I believe that’s the reality we need to embrace for now. Two decades of unprecedented success but now it’s time for this team to really rebuild. The Pats are not a QB away from contending. The offensive line needs rebuilding, the wide receiver room needs to be ramped up, there are no tight ends under contract, etc. The focus needs to be on acquiring young, talented players that can make up the foundation for this team for years to come. Fields needs to go to a team with a better support system than what the Patriots can offer in order to have a chance at success. He isn’t a fit for the current state of this team, and he’s not someone I’d trust the future of this team to.

Edit - Alright some of you aren’t keen on Jimmy, I get that. Let’s hear some alternatives that don’t include Fields or sticking with Zappe/Mac, and how that QB fits into the plans.

 

[Lansdowne]

Not to be nosey, but what's a Jumbo? I hope it's not the size of your waist.

Technically the Pats haven’t had a Jumbo since Shane Waldron was their tight ends coach!

(Jumbo as in Tufts alum)

 

[1960Pats]

Bill is gone, he has nothing to do with 2024.

And I've been dancing every day since.

 

[Triumph]

The main thing I have concerns on is that Van Pelt had a lot of success with zone run concepts but he had a pretty good OL. NE has a bad OL and that OL has no experience with zone… For all we know, the inner “core” of starters that we assume don’t need replacing (Strange-Andrews-Sow) may not be a fit in the new scheme.

Yup

Its a forgone conclusion that some of the current Pats players just might not excel under Van Pelt. It might take a season or 2 to acclimate or maybe just moving on from the guy, so he can go to a team that employs a scheme that fits him.

That said, Strange is very athletic and I think may actually be a better fit for a zone scheme than power. Sow is probably fine.

Another thing occurred to me - they traded for Tyrone Wheatley Jr, who was Cleveland’s reserve RT last preseason. So he might be plug-and-play at RT?

I read that the Browns also lost both starting OTs last year.

 

[1960Pats]

Why wouldn't I? I doubt very much all the ones being optimistic are gonna come forward with how bad this off-season has been if indeed the season proves that fact to be true.

We'll all get a chance to predict the 204 win total in next year's poll. This past year we were all way over. I wasn't very confident but still predicted 8 wins.