Why was this year's draft so much better than last's?

[jlu52]

It's an executive team, not a 1 man job, especially given how Wolf was hired UNDER Belichick and has evolved to work Mayo and Vrabel.

Right or wrong, the Pats didn't clear house after BB and hire a powerful new GM who'd hire the coach, etc. With the approach the Krafts took, which can work very well with the right individuals, Wolf-Cowden-Vrabel and others like Highsmith reach consensus. To me it looks like this is working.

Great post,imo. Just noticed that it might be time to change your user name to 61yearpatsfan. Wear it loud and proud, thank you from a 65 year Pats fan.'

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Great post,imo. Just noticed that it might be time to change your user name to 61yearpatsfan. Wear it loud and proud, thank you from a 65 year Pats fan.'

yeah I didn't think the user name out too well at the time. I attended a Pats game in their 1st season when I was 7, and remember watching them on tv get crushed by the Chargers 51-10 in the 1963 AFL Championship game, and attending the Bills playoff game at Fenway in the snow in 1964. Loved the mid 60's and mid-'70's teams.

 

[Ian]

You knew the job was dangerous when you took it.

LOL, very true.

 

[maust]

It's an executive team, not a 1 man job, especially given how Wolf was hired UNDER Belichick and has evolved to work Mayo and Vrabel.

Right or wrong, the Pats didn't clear house after BB and hire a powerful new GM who'd hire the coach, etc. With the approach the Krafts took, which can work very well with the right individuals, Wolf-Cowden-Vrabel and others like Highsmith reach consensus. To me it looks like this is working.

Looks like this is working...

 

[Ring 6]

Yeah, that's not the case, and I've got a pretty good handle on the definitions between the two. I told you it was reported as something I both read/heard, etc. You refuted it as speculation. So, after multiple exchanges of you making me feel like I was nuts for suggesting it, I took the time and dug it out.

And the point wasn't to speculate over their potential impact. The point was that it was indeed a fact that options were explored beyond who they signed last offseason, and that they absolutely had issues attracting guys here. The only speculation was simply my belief of what the potential mindset of any player who opted not to come here might have been. Doesn't change the reality of the problems they faced last year in trying to sign them, which was explained in both links I posted.

We differ because I consider sports reporters speculative not factual.
Wolf telling them after the fact, when there was never a report connecting us to the players that it’s not his fault because he was shocked no one would come here is CYA to me, not fact.

Just to be clear, I see significant differences between “reports” that
1) patriots are negotiating with Ridley and he is choosing Tennessee while it’s happening and
2) sources say the patriots were surprised Wilkins didn’t want to sign here a year later.

Just how I see things. Not saying you are wrong. Just saying by my view point I put stock in 1, but not 2. I have my viewpoint, you have yours.

You seem to be upset, so I will cease responding.

 

[Ian]

We differ because I consider sports reporters speculative not factual.
Wolf telling them after the fact, when there was never a report connecting us to the players that it’s not his fault because he was shocked no one would come here is CYA to me, not fact.

Just to be clear, I see significant differences between “reports” that
1) patriots are negotiating with Ridley and he is choosing Tennessee while it’s happening and
2) sources say the patriots were surprised Wilkins didn’t want to sign here a year later.

Just how I see things. Not saying you are wrong. Just saying by my view point I put stock in 1, but not 2. I have my viewpoint, you have yours.

You seem to be upset, so I will cease responding.

LOL, I'm good - and we're good.

 

[dliverey44]

Vrabel and Cowden…

The notion there is some mythical grading system that changed things is absurd.

There’s never a good time to draft a poor athlete, or reach to take a WR (Polk) or OT (Wallace) that you can find two or three rounds later.

Are you implying that grading systems can't change? I agree that Polk and Wallace were reaches and not players that I personally would not have wanted but to insinuate that a grading system cannot be changed is utterly ridiculous. Some Coaches/GMs value certain traits more than others and that is why a grading system would be changed.

Case in point BB liked bigger thumping LBs so they tended to have a higher grade, I assume. Wolf, Cowden, Vrabes like lighter and faster LBs so the thumpers are not graded as highly.

 

[dliverey44]

We differ because I consider sports reporters speculative not factual.
Wolf telling them after the fact, when there was never a report connecting us to the players that it’s not his fault because he was shocked no one would come here is CYA to me, not fact.

Just to be clear, I see significant differences between “reports” that
1) patriots are negotiating with Ridley and he is choosing Tennessee while it’s happening and
2) sources say the patriots were surprised Wilkins didn’t want to sign here a year later.

Just how I see things. Not saying you are wrong. Just saying by my view point I put stock in 1, but not 2. I have my viewpoint, you have yours.

You seem to be upset, so I will cease responding.

Just to add to the conversation, I have friends that are agents in other sports and they have told me that players have taken teams off of their free agent list unless its a last resort (no other interest/money too low everywhere else) but does not happen very often. I have no idea what happened with the Pats last year, I just threw this out there as a FYI.

 

[patman52]

Top tier guys didn't want to come here. That's not my opinion, that's a fact that's been repeated by people who matter far more than me.

As for him coming up empty, that's not entirely true. They dug through guys who didn't draw much interest and found the best of what was left. Signed Hooper and Gibson, both of whom played well last year, and Brissett bought them enough time to get Maye ready. He wasn't great, but I think we've heard plenty of things behind the scenes to prove he played a significant role there. Takitaki was serviceable, especially given their injury situation. And obviously, the extensions of 11 players last offseason helped, with Henry, Ellis, Austin, Onwenu, and Jennings among them.

It is what it is. I know you hate him, and I have no emotional investment in the guy, but I simply realize just how bad they were. They swung and missed on players who flat-out turned them down. Those guys wouldn't - and didn't - take a reasonable deal, and he would have reset their own market by grossly overpaying whoever they would have signed. In my mind, that would have been worse.

And yes, that's what I'm saying about him defending his players. I don't fault him for publicly "lying" about that. Saying otherwise publicly - which Mayo did, and we saw how that went - would have been far worse. It's his job and the job of any NFL GM to talk up their players. That's why, in the end, it's the games that matter, but given the alternative, I understand it.

And this year they got turned down again by players, and we had to overpay Williams to get him out from the panthers. It is not like FA is what it was 10 years ago when about 10 teams were over the cap every year and 5 or 6 teams had loads of cap. This year they were like 8 teams that had 75 mill or more. You have to have a draw, NO QB and a rookie HC that was never even a Co-od or had any connections to another team is not one. Then throw in the rep of having a poor equiptment/food/travel rep in the league.

This year with a promising QB, a ex head coach of the year we still got a lot of thanks but no thanks. Now next year if we win 10 games the offseason pursuit of FA will be much easier.

 

[Wozzy]

Are you implying that grading systems can't change? I agree that Polk and Wallace were reaches and not players that I personally would not have wanted but to insinuate that a grading system cannot be changed is utterly ridiculous. Some Coaches/GMs value certain traits more than others and that is why a grading system would be changed.

Case in point BB liked bigger thumping LBs so they tended to have a higher grade, I assume. Wolf, Cowden, Vrabes like lighter and faster LBs so the thumpers are not graded as highly.

“Grading system” was the excuse given for a crappy draft. A great prospect and athlete can play in any system.

There’s never a good time to draft a WR in the second round that you could have had in the 4th or later. Polk and Baker are twins, taking Polk in the second was a stupid decision… it had nothing to do with system.

We had a first time GM piss down his leg, fall behind in the draft then chase after positions rather than the best players available. Give me a break.

 

[Water Boy]

I think we had a better draft this year because we drafted better players.