Reiss: Growing pains for Pats' WR redo?

[mgteich]

We might have signed Jennings, Goldston and Dumervil in addition to the players we signed. Did we have plenty of cap room for that? Would those signings have affected our future cap plans? I think that it would. I also think that many teams in our situation would have signed a couple of players of that magnitude.

Obviously, losing Welker was not about cap room.

The team had plenty of cap room, so your point has no validity, yet you claim it as if it were fact.

 

[Deus Irae]

Are you suggesting that this attitude should be carried over to the NFL?

I'm suggesting the obvious. There are different levels considered 'success' and 'failure' depending upon beginning circumstances. You know this, which is why your position in this thread doesn't really make any sense to me. For the Chiefs, a 10 win season and second in the division would be an excellent year for them this year. For the Patriots, it would be a terrible disappointment.

 

[Deus Irae]

We might have signed Jenkins, Goldston and Dumervil in addition to the players we signed. Did we have plenty of cap room for that? Would those signings have affected our future cap plans? I think that it would. I also think that many teams in our situation would have signed a couple of players of that magnitude.

Obviously, losing Welker was not about cap room.

I'm not sure where you're trying to go with this. The Patriots still have more than $8 million in cap space, according to Jason, and come in at a very respectable 11th overall in terms of space for next year. Cap space wasn't an issue, clearly, yet you brought it up.

 

[mgteich]

The patriots chose to limit themselves in the signing of free agents, choosing long-term stability to wanting to focus on winning this year's Super Bowl. The patriots might have signed a couple out of Jenkins, Goldston and Dumervil and increase our chances of winning the Super Bowl. The 2013 cap money was there. If the patriots do not win the Super Bowl, we could look to this decision, instead of crying and moaning over the inevitable injuries.

Yes, the patriots do indeed focus on Super Bowls. They do not consider winning AFC championships or having an undefeated season to be failures in the same way you do. In fact, the team celebrates these achievements by flying banners in the stadium.

And yes, in a sense, there are 31 failures every year, if that is how you choose to view the NFL. Even if you limit your focus to the top dozen teams (who have a realistic chance of winning it all), there would be 11 failures every year. Many agree with your approach, many do not.

I'm not sure where you're trying to go with this. The Patriots still have more than $8 million in cap space, according to Jason, and come in at a very respectable 11th overall in terms of space for next year. Cap space wasn't an issue, clearly, yet you brought it up.

 

[Deus Irae]

The patriots chose to limit themselves in the signing of free agents, choosing long-term stability to wanting to focus on winning this year's Super Bowl.

You're making this claim as if this was an either/or situation when it wasn't.

Yes, the patriots do indeed focus on Super Bowls. They do not consider winning AFC championships or having an undefeated season to be failures in the same way you do. In fact, the team celebrates these achievements by flying banners in the stadium.

Yes, they do, actually. Brady's made that abundantly clear over the years.

And yes, in a sense, there are 31 failures every year, if that is how you choose to view the NFL. Even if you limit your focus to the top dozen teams (who have a realistic chance of winning it all), there would be 11 failures every year. Many agree with your approach, many do not.

You keep trying to change what I'm saying to what you want to think I'm saying. I'm simply not going to accept that. The other 31 teams don't all "fail" every year under how I view the NFL. I've made my position on that very clear, as when I posted

Awful teams look to wins to define their seasons.
Middling teams look to reaching the playoffs to define their seasons.
Good teams look to playoff wins to define their seasons.
Elite teams look to championships to define their seasons.

Please, either actually read what I'm posting or stop responding to my posts in this thread, because you're arguing against things I'm not saying and you're making claims that don't hold up to the facts.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Multiple championship runs means nothing without championship victories. Ask Bills fans. In the end, nobody gives a damn who comes in second. The Patriots have squandered the last 8 years (including the injury season) of Brady's career. It should come as no surprise to anyone that people view the season as SB or bust, and take a cautious approach to what they see and hear in the offseason.

Worse yet, by losing January's AFCCG we blew the chance to tie or break the Bills 4 consecutive AFCCG titles & SB losses streak.

 

[TomPatriot]

Any of us could have penned that article without attending OTAs. If you have an entire set of new WRs there will be growing pains. This is true at every position where there are new players every year with every team. Ask any coach.

What specific routes were questionably run and who was running them? Who blew assignments and why? Was Brady's timing off or was it just the receivers? Which routes were well run and by whom? That's how Reiss could communicate to the knowlegdeable readers where the Pats are at.

This article provided no real insight.

 

[Deus Irae]

Worse yet, by losing January's AFCCG we blew the chance to tie or break the Bills 4 consecutive AFCCG titles & SB losses streak.

Yep.... The Patriots have never lost 4 consecutive SBs, so they've apparently never been an elite team.

 

[Deus Irae]

...Many agree with your approach, many do not.

Just a follow up on this, again pointing to the Penguins, and noting both a player and the coach:

"If we would have lost in seven, it’s the same result, we don’t move on. We want to move on," Letang said.

"Every year when we look at our dressing room, we think we have a chance. I think if we don’t reach the final, it’s a fail for us."

"Our team is a team that considers itself a team capable of winning a Stanley Cup, put together to win a Stanley Cup. That's our expectation from day one. That's how we build through the season. We certainly feel that we were a team that was capable of winning a Stanley Cup," Bylsma said. "So, you know, coming up short from that, no question, it's disappointing. No question, you feel like with the expectations that we have on ourselves, that the team has for this group, no question you're going to look at this as a missed opportunity."

Penguins pull shocking disappearing act - Cross Checks Blog - ESPN