So before anyone overreacts, I get that the topic I am about to introduce pales next to concerns about the talent level on the defensive side of the ball. I get that the team they just lost to is pretty damned good. I get that the Pats are going to lose some games. And to me, this is just an interesting little side point that is getting some national attention, as opposed to something that is more tangibly tied to the Pats success, like Gronk's health and whether the Pats will actually pressure opposing QBs going forward.
For those who missed it, Bart Scott essentially said on Showtime's NFL Show that Belichick doesn't value his players. His trading of Jones and Collins tells you that. He thinks it's all about him and the other coaches. And that unless you are one of the favored few, you are always subject to being dumped. And that some players will not go the extra mile given how much they are devalued.
So the question can be asked: Is Scott onto to something or is he just another Tom Jackson, on the verge of becoming another punch line. See also Dilfer, Trent.
The "Scott is just the next Tom Jackson" rationale is pretty easy.
- Scott is arguably a Pats and BB Hater.
- We've been down this path numerous times, and BB hasn't lost his team or the willingness of players to go the extra mile yet.
- Players in NE are willing to buy in, even when they don't understand the rationale, because the Pats win.
- It's easy to kick the Pats after a loss. It was one loss. This happened with Tom Jackson and the Buffalo trouncing in 2003.
- BB might have been sending or reiterating a message to the team against complacency and not doing your job, and that message might be absorbed in the long run.
- Scott may have just been looking for some attention and knew this would generate some heat.
On the other hand:
- Is it possible that we've reached a tipping point? Maybe the players have seen two contract year guys go over a relatively short span, and two superior athletes, and they are scratching their heads and are even disaffected by the moves, in sum.
- Maybe some of them tie this in to Mankins, and say "enough is enough."
- Maybe players in this generation are different than they were in prior periods. Millenials and all that.
- Maybe Collins was exceptionally popular and there is a personal hangover that matters.
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If this belongs in the larger Collins thread, so be it. Please move it there if so. My assumption is that more threads are better but do what you will.
I am on the side of Bart Scott is Tom Jackson. And I am just as, if not more, concerned that the bigger problem is the impact Collins' departure has on the field. Not that I view that problem as huge. But on a relative basis, that concerns me more.
Still, I wanted to see if people here think this is a complete non-event, which I sort of expect, or if some posters here have some level of concern that BB might have gone a little too far this time from the "team/morale management" perspective.
For those who missed it, Bart Scott essentially said on Showtime's NFL Show that Belichick doesn't value his players. His trading of Jones and Collins tells you that. He thinks it's all about him and the other coaches. And that unless you are one of the favored few, you are always subject to being dumped. And that some players will not go the extra mile given how much they are devalued.
So the question can be asked: Is Scott onto to something or is he just another Tom Jackson, on the verge of becoming another punch line. See also Dilfer, Trent.
The "Scott is just the next Tom Jackson" rationale is pretty easy.
- Scott is arguably a Pats and BB Hater.
- We've been down this path numerous times, and BB hasn't lost his team or the willingness of players to go the extra mile yet.
- Players in NE are willing to buy in, even when they don't understand the rationale, because the Pats win.
- It's easy to kick the Pats after a loss. It was one loss. This happened with Tom Jackson and the Buffalo trouncing in 2003.
- BB might have been sending or reiterating a message to the team against complacency and not doing your job, and that message might be absorbed in the long run.
- Scott may have just been looking for some attention and knew this would generate some heat.
On the other hand:
- Is it possible that we've reached a tipping point? Maybe the players have seen two contract year guys go over a relatively short span, and two superior athletes, and they are scratching their heads and are even disaffected by the moves, in sum.
- Maybe some of them tie this in to Mankins, and say "enough is enough."
- Maybe players in this generation are different than they were in prior periods. Millenials and all that.
- Maybe Collins was exceptionally popular and there is a personal hangover that matters.
****
If this belongs in the larger Collins thread, so be it. Please move it there if so. My assumption is that more threads are better but do what you will.
I am on the side of Bart Scott is Tom Jackson. And I am just as, if not more, concerned that the bigger problem is the impact Collins' departure has on the field. Not that I view that problem as huge. But on a relative basis, that concerns me more.
Still, I wanted to see if people here think this is a complete non-event, which I sort of expect, or if some posters here have some level of concern that BB might have gone a little too far this time from the "team/morale management" perspective.