Recent Patriots Drafts Bearing Fruit

[pdangle]

How can Vollmer be rated anything less than A+ ?

 

[DarrylS]

It is interesting that all of this happened post-Pioli..

With this upcoming draft, and its 6 picks out of the top 96, we will continue to reload..

Then it will be written how BB developed a championship team via the draft after having been burned by a bunch of prima donna's... Thomas, Springs et al.

 

[BTTA]

Agree with sentiment of posts about later picks.

Round 1 should produce stars.
Round 2 should produce starters.
Round 3 should produce solid rotational players.
Round 4 should produce back ups.
Rounds 5-7 should produce one back up every couple of years.

 

[convertedpatsfan]

How can Vollmer be rated anything less than A+ ?

He has been a bit inconsistent this season. I keep reading in multiple reports, even going back to training camp, how he's gotten lazy in technique and relying on his athleticism. There have been a few lapses in his play where a guy totally blows by him.

I still love him. He's going to be an A+ guy for us. But I can understand the grade given.

I also think it's a bit early to be giving out grades. Obviously McCourty looks special, but you never know what will happen in a year or two. A player's continued progress isn't a guaranteed thing. For all we know, some of these guys have hit their ceilings. Some guys regress. So I'd wait a few years. Just as it was too early to call Brace a bust after year 1, it's still too early to say Brace deserves a B during just year 2.

There's a ton of potential though and obviously a lot to be excited about.

 

[cloud34]

The '11 draft will be of huge importance. If the Pats can get 4 or 5 more future starters out of those first 6 picks, a pass rusher or two(whether it be a DE or an OLB), a RB and 2 OL.....and factor in the returns of Bodden, T.Warren and Gostkowski....If the Pats hit big in the '11 draft, Dynasty Part II will be in full swing.

 

[FreeTedWilliams]

Kade Weston is on IR (7th rd DL pick) and should not be counted out of the DL mix.

I posted an article over in the draft forum that half of all the 2009 5th round picks are no longer in the league. Contrast that to the value of drafting Mesko in the 5th round and he has to be a A pick. (Mesko has also been outstanding at holding, before Ingram was cut, Mesko was the only reason some of those snaps got down).

BB parlayed picks 22, 44, 48, 53, and 90 into

McCourty (27), Gronkowski (42), Cunningham (53), Spikes (62), Price (90), Hernandez (113), and Mesko (150). Plus what is almost sure to be the first pick in the second round next year. That's 4 starters, a very tough match-up hybird TE, and your punter, plus the very coveted first pick in the second round (which BB will have other teams bidding against themselves all night to get).

That is one helluva draft........

 

[condon84]

Based on the premise of the thread (drafts bearing fruit), shouldn't a guy getting cut or not contributing on a regular basis receive an F?

Chung, Gronk, Vollmer, McCourty would all get A's from me. They're performing at a high level.

Mesko, Spikes, and Hernandez get B's because even though they perform well at times, they're inconsistent. Talent is definitely there with these guys though.

Brace, and Deaderick get C's because they are average players.

Cunningham, Tate, and Edelman get D's. A hobbled Branch is playing over Tate and Arrington is being used as our main pass rushing DE That doesn't say a lot about Cunningham.

McKenzie, Ingram, Price, Butler get F's because they got cut or can't see the field.

Everyone who is injured gets an incomplete.

 

[JackBauer]

That rating system is absurd and totally nonsensical. Cunningham a D?

Whatever you're smoking, may I have some?

 

[Fball]

Ultimately, Brady makes everyone look pretty good. Even defensive guys...

 

[condon84]

That rating system is absurd and totally nonsensical. Cunningham a D?

Whatever you're smoking, may I have some?

Does Cunningham make a difference in our D? He's made that one nice play pressuring Manning but what has he done? TBC and Ninkovich are our starters or play the most snaps and it's not like those guys are top OLBs. If Cunningham were to get hurt and not play anymore, would that make a difference? I say no. How can you then give him higher than a D?

 

[JackBauer]

Does Cunningham make a difference in our D? He's made that one nice play pressuring Manning but what has he done? TBC and Ninkovich are our starters or play the most snaps and it's not like those guys are top OLBs. If Cunningham were to get hurt and not play anymore, would that make a difference? I say no. How can you then give him higher than a D?

Cunningham played 12 more snaps than Ninkovich last game and it was only recently that TBC saw appreciable time. Against the Colts, Cunningham played 24 snaps more than Ninkovich.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that you apparently typed out, with a straight face, what you wrote. I'll just leave it at that.

 

[condon84]

Cunningham played 12 more snaps than Ninkovich last game and it was only recently that TBC saw appreciable time.

I'm absolutely flabbergasted that you apparently believe, with a straight face, what you wrote. I'll just leave it at that.

I broke it down by looking at how our team would get affected if these guys got hurt.

A's: Our team would suffer significantly if these guys got hurt.

B's: Not as huge an impact as the guys I gave an A to, but still significant.

C's: Our depth would get hurt, but the level of performance from whoever replaced them I feel would be the same.

D's: If these guys get hurt, what's the difference? I guess you could lump them with the guys I gave C's to.

 

[Marqui]

Cunningham is at least a B-

 

[RayClay]

Ohrnberger and even Bussey should not be considered washed up. i believe ohrnberger is on the roster. We'll need linemen, dante has worked with a lot less that 4th and 5th rounders, and even if these guys float around the league off and on, they could end up in the mix sometime.

Pryor is a solid D Line contributor from round 6 and that is A or B. Our D Line often requires top picks.

Butler needs to finish his course work soon, final exams could come with the next acquisition.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

I love the production from the last two drafts. I also stand behind my predraft prediction that Clay Matthews would be an awesome NFL player, so my enthusiasm is a little bit tempered by the fact that we didn't make it happen and that pass rush is still our #1 weakness.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

Tyrone McKenzie is on Tampa's Practice Squad. That is hardly washed out of the league..

Ohrnberger is currently on the Pats roster. Again, hardly washed out of the league.

Didn't Ingram sign with the Saints when their long snapper went on IR???

 

[TruthSeeker]

I broke it down by looking at how our team would get affected if these guys got hurt.

A's: Our team would suffer significantly if these guys got hurt.

B's: Not as huge an impact as the guys I gave an A to, but still significant.

C's: Our depth would get hurt, but the level of performance from whoever replaced them I feel would be the same.

D's: If these guys get hurt, what's the difference? I guess you could lump them with the guys I gave C's to.

What your doing is not a draft analysis but a team analysis. You can't ignore draft position in a draft analysis without getting ridiculous results (see previous posts).

 

[mcsully]

Grading based on how they've helped our team, not what they've gone on and done with other teams..

Chung A - - Some bright spots and some MINOR up and downs during his second year but a great draft pick

Brace C - Rookie season was a wash and has been in the rotation at times during this season. But for a 2nd rounder, I expected him to be vying for a starting position every game (like Chung/Vollmber)

Butler - incomplete (agree) - While he made strides in his rookie season, we've seen him go the other route this year. I still have faith in him in the near future

Vollmer B - Is taking steps the necessary steps to be ranked as an A. The combination of run and pass blocking is quite obvious

Tate C - Teams are kicking away from him and while he has not looked as good as the 1st part of the season, he has given us an long term answer on returns. He needs to take the next step and learn to catch the ball and run routes a little better (build trust with Tom)

McKenzie - Fail - we had high hopes for him and everyone wanted to see him succeed but he did very little here.

Orhnberger, Bussey, Ingram - Fail -

Pryor C+ (agree) - For a late round pick, his play has been on par or above Brace

Edleman C+ - Like Tate, he's a long term solution on the punt returns. He's shown us his skills, and buried in the depth chart behind two great starting WR's

McCourty A - Best draft pick in the past few years.

Gronk B - The past couple of weeks, we've seen why the Pats drafted him so high. He does everything so well

Spikes - C - While in the preseason I thought this guy was going to be a beast in the middle. My opinion has changed and even though I think it will take a few years for him to reach his potential, I expected more now. Again, I see by year 3 him being a B+

Cunningham B- while he's not putting up the numbers, you can see the disruption he can put on an offense. While he's not a dominating player, we've seen glimpse on his possible great future in this defense

Price - incomplete

Hernandez A - I wonder where this offense would be without him. We remember the dropped balls but lets not forget a lot of his great catches and YAC

Mesko A - BB finally hit a winner here and next to McCourty, Chung and Vollmer, he's their best pick..

 

[Marqui]

Brace C - Rookie season was a wash and has been in the rotation at times during this season. But for a 2nd rounder, I expected him to be vying for a starting position every game (like Chung/Vollmber)

Brace starts in the base 3-4. Not sure what else you want.

 

[condon84]

What your doing is not a draft analysis but a team analysis. You can't ignore draft position in a draft analysis without getting ridiculous results (see previous posts).

Shouldn't a player's impact to the team be the main factor in analyzing the success of a drafted player?