Serious question - do you watch the games?
These are all really different teams, and they also have injuries you could point to that make them look closer to the Patriots. They also DO have better players than the patriots - Ward and Garrett are like the dream version of gonzalez and judon, plus Chubb, cooper, etc.
What makes you think the current brain trust can identify a franchise QB, a good WR, and why would the D be healthier next year with Judon older?
Regarding the D, Gonzalez will be back, and Judon is not going to be that old. I guess some of us weigh 20 years of success over 2 down seasons. It's certainly reasonable to think that Bill armed with the likely #2 pick in the draft (and similarly high picks in most of the other rounds) and probably the largest amount of available cap space in the league could get this team back to respectability in the next couple of seasons.
Yeah, sure, there's more data pointing one way, but all those seasons aren't equal. IMO, the degradation of the coaching staff and front office and inability to backfill those positions with adequate replacements is a major differentiator between, say 2012 and 2023.
That’s SoSH. Anyone who didn’t like the job Bloom was doing was considered an idiot for not seeing the plan. And 2021!
So what happens if they do screw if up? They suck and do it again a year later. And maybe the draft then is better.
But just think. If we draft a young QB, find a good wide receiver, and have a healthy D, we could almost be as good as a team on their 4th QB missing Nick Chubb, Amari Cooper, and Denzel Ward!
This is the biggest supporter board of BB in the Internet, bar none. Far more than the Pats fans board and others.
Maybe you should go to one of those other boards and regale them with your keen insights and analysis.
Are you lost? This is a goat/gameball thread.
I don't know what's wrong with the Patriots. I do know they scored 0 points today. I do know the guy who picked every person on the field today who failed to score a single point in an NFL game. My spidey sense is that it's this person's fault. I don't know how to fix it.
I'm old enough to remember when people were saying stuff like this before the 2021 off-season. But I'm sure BB will nail it this time.
Skip the rest of the season in franchise mode, draft a stud QB and build it back up.
So that's it? Is it that simple? BB drafts Maye and then Jabril is saying, "we used to be ass, now we bussin?" I don't think this is going to play out the way you think it could. Would be nice, but it's not likely.
Amen to this.
That's the big question, right? Is BB's (and his assembled staff's) ability to assess talent on the offensive side of the ball as hopeless as it's looked, or is a good chunk of it bad luck and not indicative of future performance? The problem is it seems very hard to tell - even organizations with great offensive minds have stretches where they make bad assessments on that side of the ball - take the haul the 49ers traded for Lance, or the Chiefs recent drafts.
Watching Thuney play so well in KC makes me hopeful they'll hang onto Owenu instead of letting him walk. Keep developing Sow, Mafi, Strange, etc. Injuries have been an issue on the line, and they need continuity and depth. I'd be fine if they over invest (within reason) on the line, particularly with a young QB likely arriving next year.
He had 6 snaps. Saw a tweet saying the game plan was heavy on WRs so he didn't get much playing time.
Honestly I think he's still coaching like they are scrapping for a playoff slot and trying to maximize the percentages on each drive choice. He's still coaching for field position and small wins, which is fine if it's a close game involving Tom Brady and not so fine when it's Bailey Zappe and you're starting 6 drives within your own 10 yard line.
Sure, but this team has more talent than last year's Texans for example, so hitting on a QB in the top 3 could well bring a major turnaround.
I agree with this but I'd say a lot depends on the coaching staff and any changes that are made. If BB (and Mayo and Steve) leave, then I don't think we can assume the Defense remains constant. The personnel there is OK, but they also benefit from a good scheme. If we bring in an outside coach as HC, then who knows how that affects each side of the ball. If we just bring in Josh to replace BOB or a new OC and then leave the defensive staff largely intact and BB remains, then maybe we isolate the issues that need to be fixed and so on.
Agreed on defense but I am not sure that's true on offense. Pierce would be a nice addition here and Nico Collins and Brandin Cooks are better than anything we have at receiver. Davis Mills would likely be an upgrade on both Mac and Zappe too.
And our WRs had 7 catches on 13 targets. Laughable.
They did try to run a lot with Stevenson and that was effective until Stevenson got hurt.
Nico Collins is criminally underrated around here. Dude is a 6'4 monster who is a deep threat any time he's on the field. He was battling injuries his first two seasons. Then they went and grabbed a sleeper in the third round in Tank Dell, who excels at the things that Collins doesn't do well, intermediate and short route running, and he's a threat to take it to the house any time it's in his hands. Schultz was an absolute steal for them, he's on a one year/6mil deal. In addition to being a good receiver, PFF had him rated as the #6 run blocking TE in football last year. He should be getting paid this offseason. The only reason Dell wasn't taken higher than the 3rd was because of where he played, his size and he had some drops on tape that weren't pretty.
Gesicki blows but the WR yesterday were Parker, Juju Thornton, Reagor. A WR heavy game plan...what are we doing here?
To be fair to Metchie, he had cancer last year, which caused him to miss his rookie season.
Define "effective?"
Yeah, I didn't mean to imply its his fault, and I'm rooting for the kid. If he pops for them too, that offense will be filthy.
Isaiah Pacheco is on a team that can complete passes more than five yards past the line of scrimmage. It's hard to break tackles when you never have space.
Wouldn't the definition of "breaking a tackle" involve no space?
Very good points. I'm more and more coming around to the idea that the NFL is just one big crapshoot. Not just the draft, but every personnel transaction that has similar risk parameters. When you hit on the GOAT you get away with just about everything - the good moves look historically great, the bad moves are quickly forgotten. This affects the legacy of owners, coaches, coordinators and everyone who doesn't get to step on the field and create their own destinies.
Why in God's name are they elevating Malik to the active roster and giving him zero snaps in a game where they can't score a single point. Not a single package.
According to Zolak on the radio this morning, he believes that if it had been 50 and sunny yesterday that Malik would have gotten some snaps as QB.
That's a nice thought but it doesn't make any sense, haha. Yesterday was exactly the conditions to design some RPO stuff and get him involved. Just incredible decision making going on in Foxboro right now. I've seen this team not really try too hard this season but this is the first I believe they truly checked out. Nobody cares anymore and it's unclear if Kraft is on board with all of this.
Even lining him up would cause the defense to account for him which could have cascading effects. They scored zero fucking points and as far I can tell they didn't change the game plan at all throughout the game. They lost their RB1 but that still doesn't account for pretty much just letting Zappe run around all day and look like shit. I didn't see any sort of adjustments which makes me wonder what's really going on. They have to do this charade 5 more times.
Even though Owenu was asked to play tackle all year, if Belichick is still here, I’m sure he’ll remind him that he’s a guard at contract time. It’s just the way he does business.
To your first point, not really - yes, you need to be close to a defender to miss a tackle, but it doesn't do any good if there are three other players waiting to tackle you after you discard a players hand from your thigh. Did you watch the game last night? Pacheco was getting three yards past the line before defenders touched him. Rhamondre gets very few opportunities like that.
