And if BB doesn't agree that these are team needs? Or that the draft is deep in these positions?
Right? "We just need to do three things we haven't done well in 10 years. No big." Let's not be surprised when the scorpion stings us on the other side.
Yes, this was my point above. You can't call it low hanging fruit. Everyone knows we need a QB, a WR and help on the line (at least). Going out and actually getting that help has proven difficult for them. It is why the offense is so bad, they have whiffed on their efforts to draft those positions, even when using first and 2nd round picks.
Cole Strange is better than he gets credit for, Mac Jones was a pick that no one should question and TT sucks. So yeah they tried to address the problems and failed once and the consensus player turned out to be meh.
Right, and I think you and I see this similarly.
Speaking only for myself, I'm not using this as a reason to get rid of BB. I'm torn on whether I want him in charge of the draft board in 2024 personally. I'm just saying calling it "low hanging fruit" to draft three good players at three positions of need in one draft is ludicrous. Drafting is hard, everyone misses.
Chargers are $40M over the '24 cap. Allen, Everett, and Ekeler are leading the team in catches and are the oldest trio in the NFL. Mike Williams is always hurt and unlikely to be healthy moving forward. Top heavy roster on defense with paying a ton to Mack. This team will need to get younger, cut/trade players to get under the cap, and they lack bottom of roster resources/talent. To get BB, they would need to part with draft capital which is not ideal or even viable when trying to get younger.
If Mac sucks, why did BB draft him? And what is the guarantee that Williams/Maye/Daniels are going to be the *actual* good QB, after BB didn't get that good QB in Jones (who was so bad that BB's godlike coaching couldnt fix him)?
Hell if they offered the Krafts the 5th pick in the 2nd round for Belichick they should jump all over it.
How much draft capital will it take at this point though? It’s now common knowledge — at least via rumors and innuendo from journos like Curran — that BB is on the hot seat anyway. It kind of feels like the Pats should be happy to get anything for him at the present.
Sure but it is all speculation and rumor. Curran has no real inside knowledge here, it's click reporting with nothing substantial to back up those stories.
There are a couple of problems with this post. First, who said "OL". They need a tackle, which Cole Strange is not. Second, they weren't picking quarterback at #2 when they drafted Mac Jones. There were four QBs taken above him. Is anyone really concerned that Williams/Maye/Daniels can't play at the NFL level? Two of those guys are available at #2, maybe all three. There were definitely question marks about Mac Jones and everyone drafted after Trevor Lawrence basically.
They whiffed at 15, not 2. As far as the OTs go, Bill gambled and didn't even draft anyone this year. It's a catastrophic mistake to roll the dice the way he did, and I'd be super surprised if he's unaware of how much his tackle play has sunk this team.
None of this is wrong, however they have a very good player at the single hardest position to fill in sports with Herbert. They have a very highly regarded young LT in Slater.
Why should this not be questioned? Because people agreed with it at the time?
And then what? Hire a hot young coach like Staley but not him of course. Maybe Flores...but no that didn't work out for him. Oh, I know what about Eberflus - he should be available. Or maybe they can get Bieniemy. Or Ben Johnson but nobody really knows if he is HC material. So go with a retread?
+100
Luckily for the Patriots, I think the consensus 3 strongest positions in this draft are QB/T/WR. It's really a matter of evaluation and scheme fit.
I disagree with nearly every word of this post. There were no questions about Mac's ability to play at the NFL. None. Zero. There were questions about his ability to ascend to a top 10 NFL QB. And I'd say there are significant questions about all 3 of Williams, Maye, and Daniels.
Sure, but you can't hope that when the next Peyton Manning comes along you're in position to pick him.
A lot of this reads as an indictment of BB's ability to draft. If they needed a tackle why take (and reach) for Strange? If Mac just isn't that good, why take him at 15, or at all?
I’m expecting a lengthy rebuild with or without Bill Belichick. So, give me the draft capital and I’m fine letting a 70+ year-old coach move on, if he’s interested in doing so.
I wasn't making any argument with my post if that's what you are referring to. I don't know what direction the Patriots should take because I don't have enough information about what their realistic options are and what vision the Krafts have going forward. You clearly do and want them to move on if I am reading correctly.
Read the draft thread, man. People were on Mac's arm strength then. Ask SMU what he thought at the time.
A lot of people also assumed that Russell, Leaf, and Darnold couldn't play too. Kyle Boller is another one--all arm talent, no brain talent. None of these guys in the draft are Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen. Even Josh Allen wasn't Josh Allen in college and his first year in the league. The trick is figuring out who has enough skills to build on and enough of a foundation that they can build on them. Anyone who is saying that Williams/Maye/Daniels look like Mac did in his senior year in Alabama is unserious.
Completely agree you have to take a shot. I'm just saying it's not even close to a lock that any of those guys even ascend to league average. It is a total crapshoot aside from the best of the best.
Agreed that, in general, we were lukewarm on Mac. Fully agreed that his arm talent was questioned. That's why I say his upside was questioned. I don't see a single post in that thread that says "this guy won't be able to play in the NFL".
I’m sure that if Bill could have skipped along at 8-9 wins a season then he’d 100% be retained until he broke Shula’s record. Personally, I was down with that plan.
You say you aren't making any argument... but it realllllllyyyyy comes off as you want to keep BB. Not sure if that is your intent, but you sound like you are making an argument to keep him.
Not sure I understand this post. I stated something and then asked some follow up questions. You respond by telling me that I meant something else and didn't answer any of the questions. Its your prerogative but I am now going to assume that you just want BB gone period with no realistic thoughts about how it might look on the follow. Its entirely fair but that ends the conversation. You want to move on from BB no matter what.
I mean... "just asking questions" is certainly a defense some people use when they want to get a point across without saying it. How long a leash should the next guy get? Depends! I don't know who the next guy is. Does he go 3-whatever? Does he have no solution at QB? Does he make 1 playofff appearance since losing the GOAT and in that meeting he is thoroughly outclassed? What if BB sticks around and limps to 4 more 3-win seasons? Is that okay because the Krafts did not fire him and ipso facto he is the best option because they have the vision?
Why? You miss on a QB and have horrible injuries for most of the season and this is what happens. There's always a certain element of luck in drafting QBs, especially when you get the 5th taken in a given draft. It doesn't take much for this to happen in the NFL, there's not much room for error.
So what happens when you pick MHJ at #2 and Maye/Daniels go #3 and #4? Are you happy drafting JJ McCarthy at #5?
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The bolded is why I called the current situation low-hanging fruit. There isn't a lot of nuance as to what the needs are. Number one need is QB. Getting a QB who is better than this year's edition of Mac is the bare minumum of what should be expected. After that, it's just going down the line. The big caveat in all this is do they draft based on need or draft based on the best athlete available at the time.
