We all need to temper our expectations

[Tony2046]

I was depressed after Brady left and we had as much hope as the Bungles last year.

We get a promising young rookie QB to keep our hopes high on the future of our team for possibly years to come.

But I am told to temper my expectations.

Hell No. I will continue to feel like I am at an all you can eat lobster and Filet buffet with free lap dances

If it does not work out then at least I got to smile a bit for this upcoming season

Nothing better than eating something fishy while smelling something fishy.

 

[Tony2046]

TWO things happened: They hired Mac and they dumped Cam.

For me, whatever misleading euphoria I might feel relates entirely to the dumping of Cam, a hopeless waste-of-space dead end if ever there was one, whose absence in itself is a cause for hope. Cam's banishment was a necessary condition for future success, but not a sufficient one.

Which brings us to Mac, who offers the promise of success but not the certainty. First off, he IS a rookie, and with rookies you never know. Second, I do worry about his stamina and his ability to with stand the punishment physically. Let's face it: he's squishy. This can certainly be addressed over time, but as he's a starter NOW, it's a problem now. I don't like the look of that knee brace either.

On balance, I think he'll do well for a rookie, which means chances of making the playoffs sit right at about 50/50. If there are injuries, of course - as it seems there might well be given the history of a number of our players - then the odds decline accordingly.

Thelonious the erroneous has blessed us with a 50/50, or maybe not, prediction. Haha

 

[jimnance]

I'll eat anything. In 2018 a friend and I ate bugs during a preseason game. Every time the other team scored we had to eat one of the bigger ones. Every time the Pats did something bad like a penalty, TO, we would have one of the little ones.

Fnord, I'm sure youve heard this before but you are a weird dude.

 

[Brotherblues]

You don’t know amazing his pocket presence is.

Irrelevant since in that scenario there is no pocket.

 

[1960Pats]

Definitely not happy with the mod who tempered with the thread title!

That mod's lucky that the OP doesn't have a bad tamper.

 

[Thelonious]

Thelonious the erroneous has blessed us with a 50/50, or maybe not, prediction. Haha

Yes. 50 is as good a number as any.

Just curious, does this sort of middle-school banter actually earn you support here? If so, all those cliches about football fans - louts who never grew up - might actually be accurate.

 

[everlong]

WIth the emergence of Jackson as a top 50 player, solidity of Jones as a top slot guy, Dugger's development, Phillips continued improvement, it is still a top 12 defensive backfield even if the "other" outside CB is just average. I think that spot is rotational until Gilmore is back, based on matchups, and often they'll have 6 DB's on the field, reducing the need for any one to be an excellent one on one cover guy.

IF Gilmore comes back. I don't think that's assured.

Jackson's top 50 is because of the picks. He deserves some accolades for it don't get me wrong. When Gilmore is on the field he's probably the best 2nd corner in the league. He might even be in the top half of #1's. But you're going from two top 15 corners to a 15-ish and whoever they move in isn't a top 75 guy.

Jones is a top 3 slot guy on that we agree. If you move him outside he's not as good and you make the slot a lot worse. Mills is great as a flexible piece to move around but as an every down slot or outside CB I think he'll get exposed.

The thing about Dugger and Phillips is they're both better the closer to the LOS. I don't trust either in one on one and Dugger still takes bad angles. I definitely don't think either is a difference maker who is going to cover for the downgrade at CB.

Are they still top 12? Maybe. I hope so. I have my doubts and if you can't get pressure even great defensive backfields eventually get exposed. Look at SB 49 and 51. As soon as that rush got a fraction of a second slower Brady started to abuse them.

 

[mgteich]

WIth the emergence of Jackson as a top 50 player, solidity of Jones as a top slot guy, Dugger's development, Phillips continued improvement, it is still a top 12 defensive backfield even if the "other" outside CB is just average. I think that spot is rotational until Gilmore is back, based on matchups, and often they'll have 6 DB's on the field, reducing the need for any one to be an excellent one on one cover guy.

I agree. Now, which of our CB's do you think is average, better than half the CB's in the league? I presume that we suit up 8. So, who is 8th active DB that replaces Gilmore as an active D? The active secondary is HUGELY diminished from replacing Gilmore with Wade.

WITHOUT GILMORE
#1 CB - Jackson is a considerable step down from Gilmore
#2 CB - ??? is a considerable strep down from Jackson
slot CB - Jones
#1 S - McCourty
#2 S - Phillips
#3 S - Dugger
#4 CB/#3 S - Mills and Williams
backup - Wade and (Bryant/Ross from the Practice Squad.
================
The BOTTOM LINE
is that Gilmore's starting reps will be taken up by Williams and/or Mills. I just don't see how this isn't a big deal. Unless one of these two steps up, I could see us sending a 3rd to someone to upgrade the position.

And yes, I am a believer. I think that we have a top 10 defense without Gilmore; our front 6 has improved by that much.

 

[BTTA]

I agree. Now, which of our CB's do you think is average, better than half the CB's in the league? I presume that we suit up 8. So, who is 8th active DB that replaces Gilmore as an active D? The active secondary is HUGELY diminished from replacing Gilmore with Wade.

WITHOUT GILMORE
#1 CB - Jackson is a considerable step down from Gilmore
#2 CB - ??? is a considerable strep down from Jackson
slot CB - Jones
#1 S - McCourty
#2 S - Phillips
#3 S - Dugger
#4 CB/#3 S - Mills and Williams
backup - Wade and (Bryant/Ross from the Practice Squad.
================
The BOTTOM LINE
is that Gilmore's starting reps will be taken up by Williams and/or Mills. I just don't see how this isn't a big deal. Unless one of these two steps up, I could see us sending a 3rd to someone to upgrade the position.

And yes, I am a believer. I think that we have a top 10 defense without Gilmore; our front 6 has improved by that much.

Any thoughts on where the upgrade might be?

 

[scott99]

Everyone saying what the ceiling is for Jones is full of it. For this very reason. The mental part of the game is key for a QB. Excel at it and you can walk into Canton. We do not know how Jones will handle that. So we do not know his ceiling. As no one had a clue on Brady’s ceiling week 1 of 2001.

Right throws, right guys and ON TIME

I think you are on target when it comes to the mental part. Mac Jones is incredibly smart. So much so he was named Academic All American of The Year. You’ve already heard stories about his picking up the offense and learning it extremely fast, one of the toughest offenses to learn. I definitely think that’s ONE of the reasons why Belichick is going with him. If the rumors are true he was helping Cam with the playbook (I highly doubt that rumor), that would be insane. His intelligence is off the charts.

But I also think he has a Brady-like chip on his shoulder. Lightly recruited, lightly regarded, had to wait his turn, ala Brady. He has the heart and determination to be great and to win. What he and Alabama did last year impressed me more than any recent FBS Championship team. 13 games against the toughest conference in football, 13-0. Like we saw in the Brady 6 documentary, Coach Mariucci said about Brady, we didn’t measure his heart. We don’t know about Jones’ heart yet. The games will tell.

Now could be bust ? Sure, we see it all the time. Also, he will make mistakes and some may be ugly, but that’s to be expected from a rookie. Even Brady threw 12 INTs his first year starting, and I read he fumbled 12 times his first 3 years. Mistakes will be made, even Belichick mentioned that.

But he has certain qualities that I think will make him bust proof. His intelligence, quick release, ability to read defenses and his accuracy. I haven’t seen any difference from college to pros yet. 69% completion percentage with 9 drops, would have put him near 72%. His accuracy is so impressive.

 

[XLIX]

You will be happy to know I have tempered my expectations. I still expect a Super Bowl Championship, but am willing to concede it will be a close game.

 

[mgteich]

Any thoughts on where the upgrade might be?

No, I don't know who what healthy corner available for trade at what price?

 

[scott99]

You will be happy to know I have tempered my expectations. I still expect a Super Bowl Championship, but am willing to concede it will be a close game.

The thing that gets me excited is, they took Matt Cassel, a guy who NEVER even STARTED a college football game, and turned him into a decent QB. 11-5 with the Pats in 2008 when Brady went down, and threw for 27 TD passes 2 years later for the Chiefs. Jones is a MUCH better prospect, it’s not even close. So I think if they could do what they did with Cassel, imagine what they could do with Jones. Cassel had Moss & Welker, so better receivers, but Jones has WAY better TEs and running backs. Probably a better Oline too.

Cassel was probably in his third year, but was essentially a rookie as far as experience.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Any thoughts on where the upgrade might be?

I think Moreland is available!

 

[One-If-By-Sea]

I think Moreland is available!

Earthwind? Would love to see that guy again.

I think Jimmy was placed on IR - foot problem.

 

[Ochmed Jones]

Earthwind? Would love to see that guy again.

I think Jimmy was placed on IR - foot problem.

i think the Texans claimed him.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

I think you are on target when it comes to the mental part. Mac Jones is incredibly smart. So much so he was named Academic All American of The Year. You’ve already heard stories about his picking up the offense and learning it extremely fast, one of the toughest offenses to learn. I definitely think that’s ONE of the reasons why Belichick is going with him. If the rumors are true he was helping Cam with the playbook (I highly doubt that rumor), that would be insane. His intelligence is off the charts.

But I also think he has a Brady-like chip on his shoulder. Lightly recruited, lightly regarded, had to wait his turn, ala Brady. He has the heart and determination to be great and to win. What he and Alabama did last year impressed me more than any recent FBS Championship team. 13 games against the toughest conference in football, 13-0. Like we saw in the Brady 6 documentary, Coach Mariucci said about Brady, we didn’t measure his heart. We don’t know about Jones’ heart yet. The games will tell.

Now could be bust ? Sure, we see it all the time. Also, he will make mistakes and some may be ugly, but that’s to be expected from a rookie. Even Brady threw 12 INTs his first year starting, and I read he fumbled 12 times his first 3 years. Mistakes will be made, even Belichick mentioned that.

But he has certain qualities that I think will make him bust proof. His intelligence, quick release, ability to read defenses and his accuracy. I haven’t seen any difference from college to pros yet. 69% completion percentage with 9 drops, would have put him near 72%. His accuracy is so impressive.

His completion rate last year was insane. Try to replicate this even on a videogame. Requires total mastery of what every pass catcher is doing and what the defense is doing.

 

[BigPeteG]

His completion rate last year was insane. Try to replicate this even on a videogame. Requires total mastery of what every pass catcher is doing and what the defense is doing.

Mac Jones seems super accurate - but without a ton of zip. Reminds me of Drew Brees - who was a very good QB. Mac Jones also loves to throw the long ball - gives it bit of air but places it very well. I was watching some HS workout of his - and I swear he didn't miss a throw. Now maybe other HS guys do the same in workouts. But to me anyway was pretty impressive.

Mac Jones has a channel - or someone with the name Mac Jones. It's not really popular..but does have a lot of video of his youth..

Mac Jones - YouTube