Umm...isn't that EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED?

[BradyToMoss]

I would think of it this way:

We could have had :

DRC or McKelvin / Curtis Lofton (less one of the 3 - 3rds)

OR

Mayo and Wheatley

I take option 1.

 

[MosiT]

Re: Umm...isn\\\'t that EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED?

. Where was the Pats defense gashed the most in the last 2 playoff losses? Right in the middle. Mayo and Wheatley should help alleviate those weaknesses in the D.

I agree that Mayo if he lives up to his billing in the middle will help but they could have gotten the same thing that they might want out of Wheatley in the nickel by moving Hobbs there and drafted a better CB like Thomas.

As I said, I hope I am wrong about Wheatley but I dont expect him to be on this team after training camp.

 

[patchick]

I would think of it this way:

We could have had :

DRC or McKelvin / Curtis Lofton (less one of the 3 - 3rds)

OR

Mayo and Wheatley

I take option 1.

Hold on...you can't just decide they "could have had" a player who went 24 spots above where the Patriots picked!

 

[BradyToMoss]

Hold on...you can't just decide they "could have had" a player who went 24 spots above where the Patriots picked!

With a late 2 and 3 - 3rd round picks you're telling me that we didn't have the ammo to trade up to where Curtis Lofton was drafted?

 

[MosiT]

Re: Umm...isn\'t that EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED?

With a late 2 and 3 - 3rd round picks you\'re telling me that we didn\'t have the ammo to trade up to where Curtis Lofton was drafted?

I tend to agree with you. The best way to describe todays Pats first day of the draft is LACKLUSTER.

Seemed like they were asleep at the wheel.

 

[patchick]

With a late 2 and 3 - 3rd round picks you're telling me that we didn't have the ammo to trade up to where Curtis Lofton was drafted?

Sure, but you said "less one of the 3rds," and I don't think that would have done the trick in a talent-rich top of the 2nd.

Even aside from that, CB has been the single easiest position for the Patriots to draft. ILB has been the single hardest. If you think you've finally found a guy with the unique combination of physical and mental attributes to be your future at ILB, you absolutely take him first. Curtis Lofton is 6'0" with terrible measurables and scored a 16 on the Wonderlic.

 

[letekro]

With a late 2 and 3 - 3rd round picks you're telling me that we didn't have the ammo to trade up to where Curtis Lofton was drafted?

Are you referring to the Curtis Lofton that ran in the 4.8 range at the combine???

The goal is to get younger and more explosive in the back 7. I'm not sure Lofton would've fit the bill.

 

[jeffbiologist]

First DRC might be a good player, but a higher risk in the first. Second we would have had to give up 2 of our 3 3rd round picks to get there.....I think we did pretty well but I would have liked to see us drive the price of Ellis up a little higher....with that trade of picks we lost value even though there was a decent amount of buzz that more than one team wanted him. Look what Philly did to Carolina!! They got a 09 first round pick for dropping 24 spots!

 

[Deus Irae]

Re: Umm...isn\'t that EXACTLY WHAT WE WANTED?

I tend to agree with you. The best way to describe todays Pats first day of the draft is LACKLUSTER.

Seemed like they were asleep at the wheel.

I hated the draft too (probably more than you did), but we still need to be fair to Belioli. While this draft might not have impressed either of us to this point, it's pretty clear that this team has an excellent draft record. Yes, they reached, but it's not the first time that they've reached since taking over. Given Belioli's past history, the odds are that it'll turn out that they were right and those of us who don't like what they did were wrong.

 

[Metaphors]

You're kidding right?

What is your point? Are you saying that the Pats were certain that Wheatley wouldn't be taken between 62 and 69 but they just picked him at 62 for no apparent reason? That would be stupid. Belichick and Pioli aren't stupid.

Obviously they thought there was a reasonable chance that Wheatley might be gone before 69...and it was a reasonably good bet that the Giants would be looking corner at 63. What part are you struggling with? Not sure if you are planning on playing the "helmut hair said he was a 4th round pick" card...but I wouldn't bother unless you enjoy getting flamed.

 

[patchick]

Look what Philly did to Carolina!! They got a 09 first round pick for dropping 24 spots!

I'll bet that if we had dropped 24 spots we would have gotten a #1 too. So who did you like at pick 31?

I totally understand where you're coming from -- I played this game last year, complaining about the return on trades. But you can't just say "they should have gotten more," because obviously this was the best offer on the table. So instead you have to say "the trade wasn't worth it for that return" which means "they should have stayed at #7 instead." Since they pretty clearly would have taken Mayo at 7, the trade is a no brainer. ($3 million/year less in salary!!)

 

[spacecrime]

Re: Umm...isnt that E

Like I said, I or anyone else can only go by what we read.

No, YOU can go by a stat sheet you saw posted on the internet.

The Patriots go by interviews, workouts, full time staff, years of experience, watching thousands of hours of tape, and having scouts attend major college games and writing reports.

But you saw his weight/height on the internet and that makes you qualified to say the damage has been done.

No on is saying he is Champ Bailey. But to call the pick worthless and to say the damage has been done is simply ignorant.

The real ignorance is being unaware that players are weighed at the Combine, and that this is a recent measurement. You have no idea how often the site you looked at is updated.

Jeez, we all have opinions. But most of us realize they are opinons, and that we form them based on gut feelings and limited knowledge. Coming across like you know for a fact how a player will perform in hte NFL based on website stats is stupid.

First, no one can predict with certainty. Second, big corners (and WRs) are not necessarily better than small corners (and WRs)

Corners need to be quick. They change direction AFTER the WR does. A big (heavy) corner cannot change direction as quick as a smaller one.

It depends on a lot of factors, including how corners are used, as someone already tried to explain to you.

Chill out, and enjoy the best team in the NFL. They were great, and now they are better.

 

[Disco Volante]

DRC or McKelvin / Curtis Lofton (less one of the 3 - 3rds)

OR

Mayo and Wheatley

I take option 1.

Really, you of all people?

 

[DocE]

While it's not exactly what I wanted (I wanted a pass rusher), I don't really understand being disappointed with either pick, especially Wheatley. Anyone who has been a regular visitor to this board knows that the Patriots spent quite a bit of time and energy on this years crop of CB's. I went in to this draft believing that the Patriots had as much info as humanly possible on these CB's and would come out of the draft with one (or more) that would fit their system. I wouldn't be surprised at all to learn that Wheatley was in the Patriots top 5 (maybe even top 3) CB's on their draft board. Mayo seems like a fast riser, but a guy who rose for the right reasons. In the days before the draft, I heard that Mayo was rising because of what the coaches were seeing on tape. I'd much rather have that type of a riser than the guy who rises due to workouts. Wheatley and Mayo were both standouts for multiple seasons in major conferences and both stood out athletically at the combine.

If I have a gripe with the first day it is that the Patriots were unable to either trade down a second time before taking Mayo or extract more from the Saints in the initial trade. That's a minor gripe considering that Detroit was very likely to take Mayo at 15 and the risk of a second trade down may not have been worth the reward.

 

[FilPats]

WE got wheaties and mayonaise. Thats great. Go Pats:rocker:

 

[mvbigtuna]

I had Mayo as #5 on my Pats board and Wheatley at #29.

Highest rated players still left on my Pats Board:

1. Cliff Avril #16
2. Jeremy Zuttah #35
3. Charles Godfrey #46
4. Shawn Crable #47
5. Craig Stevens #51

 

[BradyToMoss]

Really, you of all people?

Ya, me of all people, did you see Michael Smith on ESPN yesterday the Pats were "THIS" close to pulling the trigger on DRC. It was as 2 horse race between DRC and Mayo with Mayo a "Tad" higher on their draft board. If Mayo was gone, DRC "clearly" would have been the pick. I was just glad after we passed on him that he didn't end up in Buffalo and he went to the Pop Warner Arizona Cardinals.

I bet alot of people were surprised when Michael Smith mentioned DRC as the potential pick, the Pats loved the kid, like I've been saying this here for weeks.

 

[patchick]

Ya, me of all people, did you see Michael Smith on ESPN yesterday the Pats were "THIS" close to pulling the trigger on DRC. It was as 2 horse race between DRC and Mayo with Mayo a "Tad" higher on their draft board. If Mayo was gone, DRC "clearly" would have been the pick. I was just glad after we passed on him that he didn't end up in Buffalo and he went to the Pop Warner Arizona Cardinals.

I bet alot of people were surprised when Michael Smith mentioned DRC as the potential pick, the Pats loved the kid, like I've been saying this here for weeks.

I find that perfectly believable, and here's why:

There's a lot of grousing that Wheatley is "another smurf." But the Pats place a premium on quickness. There was one and only one CB in the entire draft with elite quickness and size: DRC.

I still much prefer the pick of Mayo, though. The Pats have had plenty of success plugging in young DBs to be very productive in their system. They have had ZERO success plugging in young ILBs. So if Mayo works out, I don't care if DRC becomes a pro-bowler: Mayo is more important to this team.

 

[Zeke_Mowatt]

I bet alot of people were surprised when Michael Smith mentioned DRC as the potential pick, the Pats loved the kid, like I've been saying this here for weeks.

I bet more people were surprised that anyone was watching Michael Smith...

 

[Metaphors]

Ya, me of all people, did you see Michael Smith on ESPN yesterday the Pats were "THIS" close to pulling the trigger on DRC. It was as 2 horse race between DRC and Mayo with Mayo a "Tad" higher on their draft board. If Mayo was gone, DRC "clearly" would have been the pick. I was just glad after we passed on him that he didn't end up in Buffalo and he went to the Pop Warner Arizona Cardinals.

I bet alot of people were surprised when Michael Smith mentioned DRC as the potential pick, the Pats loved the kid, like I've been saying this here for weeks.

Michael Smith was wrong. Everyone knew that both Mayo and DRC would be available when the Pats selected. He mentioned DRC and not Mayo. Since he was wrong, why should we believe he has any inside info at all?

That being said, as patchick notes it makes sense for DRC to be high on the Pats draft board (no Michael Smith help required to figure this out). Doesn't mean McKelvin or someone else wasn't higher though.

Let me repeat...Michael Smith whiffed on the Pats first round pick when a majority of folks with no inside info got it right. Using what he says to prove anything is just silly.