The Patriots were toast before the season began- a casualty of the salary cap.

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

In 2020 I’d say Watson was a great QB, with good weapons, a bad offensive line and terrible defense.

The only difference between what Burrow did the last two years and Watson did in 2020 is the Bengals defense was a top ten unit. The Texans D allowed the 30th most points in the league that year.

It’s very possible for a great QB to be on a bad team and not win games. We saw Brees lead the league in passing three years in a row, his team had the dead last defense and his teams only won 7 games. It wasn’t his fault, ultimately it’s a team game and you need to good/great in all three phases.

I’m skeptical that Watson’s offensive line was that bad. He holds the ball and runs around.

There’s not going to be an absolute answer on the QB’s importance relative to the other 52. The QB is extremely important. The QB’s supporting cast is important. Having a great defense does make a big difference. Having a good special teams unit is helpful.
I wrote more on the post:

Think about how stupid the passer rating formula is. On 2nd and 7, Tom Brady sees a pass rusher coming and throws the ball away. Russell Wilson in the same situation tries to scramble away and takes a 10 yard loss. Who put the team in better position? The passer rating formula rewards the quarterback who took the sack (no stats registered) and dings the one who took the neutral yardage (0/1, 0 yards) and also double whammies him with both Y/A and completion pct.

Wilson has a higher passer rating this year than almost any of Brady’s seasons yet is getting booed off the field and is a laughingstock.

The formula isn’t usually this skewed from reality, but for high sack players it is. Look at Watson’s sack totals. This is why it’s important to review other stats with him.

 

[Pape]

The only things being disguised are related to the finances and duties of the management of the team. I saw somebody post on another board that he could find Bill's salary somewhere but I don't think so. Do we even know who's calling plays on defense? I don't think we know that either.

Now if you want to know about the players you can get every single detail right down to the last dollar they make, how it's broken down and for how many years. That way we can complain about the players but not the screwups made by the coaches.

disguised? eh... thats a tough one... there is a difference between the player side and the operations side of a franchise... the players money comes directly from the percentage allotted to them by the cba and needs to be accounted for because of the cap... the coaches pay comes right out of the owners pocket, and there is no cap accountability for that... after the head coach, oc/dc, most coaches aren't raking in huge dollars, so i get why coaches are treated a bit differently...

the whole idea is that the Hard Cap has been chipped away at with the advent of the void years being added to deals... its no longer a hard cap when you quite literally do not have to account for monies due because they are hitting years in the deal when the player wont be around any longer...

oh well... if the league wanted to stop the practice, they would... all contracts need to be league approved...

 

[1960Pats]

It couldn’t be worse than mlb. Imagine being a bottom feeder team year after year, every time you grow a top prospect you have to trade him because he’s gonna cost 250 million.

Red Sox were fun to follow up until recently when they started pretending they were a small market team. Made me realize some of those championships were bought and paid for because they were willing to spend in the top 5. It really is a distinct advantage.

If football becomes manipulated like that I’ll just walk away from that too.

I think the NYFL is trying to manipulate things but they're failing, just like they did when they were handicapping the Pats. What else can we expect from former Jets.

It's interesting that you'd mention the Red Flops. They and the Pats are running side by side and look very similar.
Both were losers for many years and changed that in the early 2000s.
Both had a great run of success and were the toast of the town for most of the 00s and 10s.
Both started dumping talent around the 20s.
Both have multiple former players playing in, and winning, big games for other teams.
Both are still reaping the benefits of games won by players they let go.
Both are now cellar dwellers without much of a future.
Other than that things are going great for both teams.

 

[1960Pats]

disguised? eh... thats a tough one... there is a difference between the player side and the operations side of a franchise... the players money comes directly from the percentage allotted to them by the cba and needs to be accounted for because of the cap... the coaches pay comes right out of the owners pocket, and there is no cap accountability for that... after the head coach, oc/dc, most coaches aren't raking in huge dollars, so i get why coaches are treated a bit differently...

the whole idea is that the Hard Cap has been chipped away at with the advent of the void years being added to deals... its no longer a hard cap when you quite literally do not have to account for monies due because they are hitting years in the deal when the player wont be around any longer...

oh well... if the league wanted to stop the practice, they would... all contracts need to be league approved...

I never cared about the money but it's very difficult to avoid the subject these days. As long as the rules are the same for each team that's fine with me.

Do you know how much Bill and every other coach makes? Is there a public record somewhere? How about the monies that the NYFL is "splitting" with the players? How does the accounting on that work?

I remember asking in a thread a while back if it's possible that Bill get's a set budget from Bob that includes all of his expenses and the salary cap. If that's true and Bill was allowed to pocket the rest or give it out in his way that might explain the way he's operating.

 

[Pape]

I never cared about the money but it's very difficult to avoid the subject these days. As long as the rules are the same for each team that's fine with me.

Do you know how much Bill and every other coach makes? Is there a public record somewhere? How about the monies that the NYFL is "splitting" with the players? How does the accounting on that work?

I remember asking in a thread a while back if it's possible that Bill get's a set budget from Bob that includes all of his expenses and the salary cap. If that's true and Bill was allowed to pocket the rest or give it out in his way that might explain the way he's operating.

this is the only article i remember that lists how much they all make (how accurate is it, i dont know)

Who are the highest paid coaches in the NFL this season?

Bill Belichick, Sean Payton and Pete Carroll are atop the list of the NFL’s highest-paid coaches entering 2023.

www.nbcsportsboston.com

I never read the book, but maybe Michael Holleys Pats book went into their system?

 

[ctpatsfan77]

I remember asking in a thread a while back if it's possible that Bill get's a set budget from Bob that includes all of his expenses and the salary cap. If that's true and Bill was allowed to pocket the rest or give it out in his way that might explain the way he's operating.

The only way that can be happening is if the Pats didn't roll over their excess, and they are rolling it over.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

The patriots have so few second contract draft picks on their roster, that hurts the talent pool on the team