The loss of draft picks. Hurt .. but Brady mitigated.

[1960Pats]

This year is going to show how good the team really is minus having the greatest QB of all time.

I'm one of Tom Brady's biggest boosters, but I give the Pats a better chance than many of the Brady-bashers I see around here. Some of them are already quitting on the team and claiming that we don't have a chance at a SB.

 

[archstanton543]

I'm one of Tom Brady's biggest boosters, but I give the Pats a better chance than many of the Brady-bashers I see around here. Some of them are already quitting on the team and claiming that we don't have a chance at a SB.

We really don't. Not with the glaring holes on the roster and I'm not talking at the QB position either. Maybe they have a stellar draft this year and last year's picks make a massive leap forward but that's not likely to happen...not with the schedule the Pats have next year.

 

[sb1]

This year is going to show how good the team really is minus having the greatest QB of all time.

Who honestly wasn’t very good the last couple of seasons beyond flashes here and there.

 

[Coolade]

I'm one of Tom Brady's biggest boosters, but I give the Pats a better chance than many of the Brady-bashers I see around here. Some of them are already quitting on the team and claiming that we don't have a chance at a SB.

This year is fascinating... Starting with the bet:

Which team has better record next year, NE or TB? Even Vegas is having trouble with that one.
TB 9
NE 8.5

So much can change going all the way up to the season. Starting with this DRAFT. Right now I'll put $100 on pats to win 9 or more games. But people will want to say how Brady already is showing his value are partly right but that team TB is pretty stacked and won 7 games without him last year.

 

[BelizePats]

I'm one of Tom Brady's biggest boosters, but I give the Pats a better chance than many of the Brady-bashers I see around here. Some of them are already quitting on the team and claiming that we don't have a chance at a SB.

To think that the Pats don't have much of a shot at the Super Bowl this coming year is not bailing on the team. This is a huge transitional year where we hopefully find our QB of the future. The holes that this team has are significant. And one draft is not going to fix this team to the point where it can compete for a SB. This is a minimum two year transition that I can't wait to watch.
And I'd rather watch this new team build than watching a disinterested and frustrated 2019 Tom Brady.

 

[1960Pats]

We really don't. Not with the glaring holes on the roster and I'm not talking at the QB position either. Maybe they have a stellar draft this year and last year's picks make a massive leap forward but that's not likely to happen...not with the schedule the Pats have next year.

I would never doubt the possibilities of a BB coached team, with or without Brady, who I feel should have been kept btw.

One of the best things about Bill is how each season starts brand new and the sky's the limit. If there are holes they can be filled. They have a decent defense even with the losses. That's a good start.

 

[1960Pats]

To think that the Pats don't have much of a shot at the Super Bowl this coming year is not bailing on the team. This is a huge transitional year where we hopefully find our QB of the future. The holes that this team has are significant. And one draft is not going to fix this team to the point where it can compete for a SB. This is a minimum two year transition that I can't wait to watch.
And I'd rather watch this new team build than watching a disinterested and frustrated 2019 Tom Brady.

Frustrated for sure. So was everyone else after the 8-0 start. I'm not sure that he was disinterested. He doesn't seem like that type.

Who honestly wasn’t very good the last couple of seasons beyond flashes here and there.

I guess Brady flashed his way the last two seasons to 23 wins, a 3-1 playoff record and a SB title (won a little over a year ago).

 

[jah]

Frustrated for sure. So was everyone else after the 8-0 start. I'm not sure that he was disinterested. He doesn't seem like that type.



I guess Brady flashed his way the last two seasons to 23 wins, a 3-1 playoff record and a SB title (won a little over a year ago).

If you want to move the goalposts and ignore the fact that this was a sub-.500 team in the back half of 2019 (including playoffs), that's your choice to make.

 

[sb1]

Frustrated for sure. So was everyone else after the 8-0 start. I'm not sure that he was disinterested. He doesn't seem like that type.



I guess Brady flashed his way the last two seasons to 23 wins, a 3-1 playoff record and a SB title (won a little over a year ago).

Wins are a team stat. Defense and run game was the prime reason for the SB. Brady also had a 88 passer rating last year. Last time he had a rating like that was early in his career before the Polian rule changes. Also 6.6 yards per attempt which is not very good either. Second lowest of his career.

 

[goheels22002]

Wasting a 2nd rounder for 3 crappy months of Sanu was absolutely terrible

.

Look, the Patriots have 12 picks in the 2020 draft. That's plenty to find good players to fill out a roster loaded with veterans with lots of post-season hardware. Forget the second round pick.

Sanu only had a $3.7M cap hit in 2019 and a $6.5M cap hit in 2020. This was a good move at the time given the injury to Henry, the issues with both Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.

Belichick tried to pull every rabbit out of the hat he could find knowing that Brady wasn't signed past 2019. Mohamed Sanu is a good player. With a training camp, a clear role, and time with Josh and the other WRs in the room, he'll be fine this year. A core group of Harry, Meyers, Edelman, and Sanu is a good place to build on. Belichick will add a WR and pass catching TE in the next couple of weeks.

The Antonio Brown move was the biggest mistake of 2019 on so many levels - money, distraction, terrible fit the team culture, NFL suspension hanging over his head, track record with Oakland and Pittsburgh, on and on.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Look, the Patriots have 12 picks in the 2020 draft. That's plenty to find good players to fill out a roster loaded with veterans with lots of post-season hardware. Forget the second round pick.

Sanu only had a $3.7M cap hit in 2019 and a $6.5M cap hit in 2020. This was a good move at the time given the injury to Henry, the issues with both Josh Gordon and Antonio Brown.

Belichick tried to pull every rabbit out of the hat he could find knowing that Brady wasn't signed past 2019. Mohamed Sanu is a good player. With a training camp, a clear role, and time with Josh and the other WRs in the room, he'll be fine this year. A core group of Harry, Meyers, Edelman, and Sanu is a good place to build on. Belichick will add a WR and pass catching TE in the next couple of weeks.

The Antonio Brown move was the biggest mistake of 2019 on so many levels - money, distraction, terrible fit the team culture, NFL suspension hanging over his head, track record with Oakland and Pittsburgh, on and on.

The team was on a roll, on fire before Antonio Brown joined. For me it was less his off-field stuff. It was that we made adjustments like trade Demaryius so when Brown was cut the whole offense was messed up. The team might have played out differently if Brown was never signed and we kept Demaryius.

 

[mgcolby]

It seems like the Brady-bashers want him to go away but are okay with taking shots at him now that he's gone. There's a thread here right now with fans complaining about him being in a closed park in Tompa Bay.

I'll never really move on from Tom Brady after all he brought to the Patriots.

I agree, but we can't change anything and people crying about it doesn't help. I don't mean move on from Brady and act like he didn't do anything, but he is a player on another team. Now, when he retires he will return home and we can whistle past the TB days and remember the best 20 year run in modern sports history.

But for now it's about the 2020 Pats...

 

[1960Pats]

If you want to move the goalposts and ignore the fact that this was a sub-.500 team in the back half of 2019 (including playoffs), that's your choice to make.

I was responding to a poster who claimed that the Pats/Brady only showed flashes for THE LAST COUPLE OF SEASONS. You're the one moving goalposts.

 

[1960Pats]

Who honestly wasn’t very good the last couple of seasons beyond flashes here and there.

That was the original post to which I responded.

Wins are a team stat. Defense and run game was the prime reason for the SB. Brady also had a 88 passer rating last year. Last time he had a rating like that was early in his career before the Polian rule changes. Also 6.6 yards per attempt which is not very good either. Second lowest of his career.

So now you're only talking about last season, which is the goalpost move that I was accused of making by another poster.

I've been respecting the attitude of some fans who don't want to hear about Brady, but that doesn't mean I'll sit here and ignore the cheap shots being taken at the guy.

 

[BelizePats]

That was the original post to which I responded.



So now you're only talking about last season, which is the goalpost move that I was accused of making by another poster.

I've been respecting the attitude of some fans who don't want to hear about Brady, but that doesn't mean I'll sit here and ignore the cheap shots being taken at the guy.

I never understood the acrimony towards Tom, once he left? The cheap shots never felt right when I read them and I just can't understand how anyone can put any hate on Brady, given what he's done for the franchise over the past 20 years.

 

[sb1]

That was the original post to which I responded.



So now you're only talking about last season, which is the goalpost move that I was accused of making by another poster.

I've been respecting the attitude of some fans who don't want to hear about Brady, but that doesn't mean I'll sit here and ignore the cheap shots being taken at the guy.

I don’t think anyone is taking cheap shots at Brady. It’s not a cheap shot to say he wasn’t great last year and the numbers back that up. Combine that with his age and there are real question marks. Belichick’s MO isn’t to keep that kind of uncertainty around.

 

[p8ryts]

We had our two firsts taken away by the commish but that really is about it.
Having Brady obviously helped but if you want to look at lost picks, take a look at Duke Dawson, Ras I Dowling and Jordan Richards.
We are where we are because of about 4-5 years of some pretty poor drafting. Our core are largely in their 30's and that is not optimal.

OMG! We are where we are because of Belichick's bad whatever. 6 SB wins, 9 appearances, more AFCE championships than I can remember, favored in most every game. I'm certain we would have won them all if not for that nasty Belichick. Stop it. Let it go. Support the team. Stop making it a personal thing.

 

[sb1]

I never understood the acrimony towards Tom, once he left? The cheap shots never felt right when I read them and I just can't understand how anyone can put any hate on Brady, given what he's done for the franchise over the past 20 years.

What cheap shots and who is hating on Brady?

 

[p8ryts]

We really don't. Not with the glaring holes on the roster and I'm not talking at the QB position either. Maybe they have a stellar draft this year and last year's picks make a massive leap forward but that's not likely to happen...not with the schedule the Pats have next year.

Shocked! Surprised! We are not going to win the SB every year? How will I cope? Where's my blankey? Check with 31 other cities about how often they made it to the SB in the last 20 years. One year for a potential regroup? I'll take it. I expect a sub 500 season this year and a return to challenging in 2021. Most fan bases would die for that prospect. We'll just continue to whine and mope because the gang got old.

 

[sb1]

We really don't. Not with the glaring holes on the roster and I'm not talking at the QB position either. Maybe they have a stellar draft this year and last year's picks make a massive leap forward but that's not likely to happen...not with the schedule the Pats have next year.

The schedule almost never pans out the way we think it does on paper. I think it will be tough but not unbeatable. I think the Ravens will regress some - I think Pitt will take that division back, I’m not expecting a win @ KC but their defense will take a step back from their title run, the AFC West other than the Chiefs is nothing special, and I think a lot of people are overrating the AFC East.