This is now: BB and the direction of the Patriots
- Thread starter DennyDoyle'sBoil
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It was both luck, and Brady going to the best possible place he could have for coaching and development. It isn't one or the other. And BB absolutely gets credit for having the balls to not go back to Bledsoe when he was healthy mid season in 2001.Most coaches would have made the safe call to give the big money incumbent his job back. And Bill did that with zero cache built up yet. And to his credit, Kraft didn't second guess/undercut him.
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The best short term plan is to overpay Cousins (if he can play to start the year) draft MHJ at #3 and overpay Higgins to get him here. That's probably an awful long term route but they'd probably win 10-11 games and maybe win a playoff game.
TB got Baker basically for free this year and will have to get creative due to some big cap hits over the next few years. If Baker decides not to resign, they could be in trouble.
24 years and he never had a top 5 pick. Just two top 10 and 3 11-20.
Never ever see that again.
And his first time with a season resulting in a top 5 pick and it seems like we won’t see him take it.
Never ever see that again.
And his first time with a season resulting in a top 5 pick and it seems like we won’t see him take it.
Some people think today’s NFL is like college 30 years ago. They’re wrong.
You don’t need multi-year rebuilds. Hell, the Pats went from 5-11 to SB champs in one season.
The Pats have what appears to be an excellent D. The O is a mess. But with a strong draft and some key FA signings they can get that back to average next season.
If this is the end, I can understand the reasoning behind it. Doesn't mean I have to either like it or agree with it. Other teams have had longer playoff dry spells and have kept their staff intact. Still, there is some logical timing in starting the transition now. Seeing BB in Hard Knocks would have been appointment viewing, however, but some fans simply do not believe in fun.
EDIT: And the anonymous leaks from the Krafts regarding Belichick really should put a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Robert Kraft could have said some words in support of the guy responsible for hoisting 6 flags in Foxboro when Bill was being hounded by the media over his future. I guess billionaire NFL owner gonna billionaire NFL owner, but it does raise concern over the thought process for the future.
Highly doubtful that next season's Kirk Cousins, playing outdoors in Foxboro, is going to be the same Kirk Cousins whose past performance intrigues some here.
EDIT: And the anonymous leaks from the Krafts regarding Belichick really should put a sour taste in everyone's mouth. Robert Kraft could have said some words in support of the guy responsible for hoisting 6 flags in Foxboro when Bill was being hounded by the media over his future. I guess billionaire NFL owner gonna billionaire NFL owner, but it does raise concern over the thought process for the future.
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There isn't one. The argument would be that the aggregate value of the new coach and front office (plus coordinators) might be more than Bill
They were the second worst team in the league with the greatest coach of all time, and the offense never showed any signs of improvement over the course of the year. It’s not as if the coach was having a positive impact this season.
The next guy probably won’t win 6 super bowls, but I’m not confident Bill would have either.
The next guy probably won’t win 6 super bowls, but I’m not confident Bill would have either.
I'm not so sure. Kraft was smart enough to trade for him in the first place; I think even in his old age he's smart enough to know when it's time for him to go. Part of the calculus might be what is Belichick worth to other teams? If he's still seen as an asset then it might be worth it to treat him as such while he still has value and trade him. If he's not, then maybe he holds onto him.
In fairness, much of this fanbase preferred Dom Capers to Bill back in 2000.
Lol, sure...the entirety of the NFL year after year says they will be worse.
This is the path Brady took going to a Tampa squad that had some very nice pieces on Offense and a good defense.
What are the teams that would everyone consider somewhat ready made? In need of a great coach that can get them over the top?
… not a true suggestion but I’m watching the Dallas game hoping for a Washington win. Would Dallas fans and ownership feel a great deal of confidence with BB at the helm? JJ makes it a no for BB probably.
Bill to the Bills. It would be poetry.
He prevented them from winning a Superbowl, then beat then for like 15 straight years and then finally leads them to a Superbowl.
I look forward to hearing about the secret Kraft succession/rebuilding plan of which there's been no evidence whatsoever. Hey, maybe we can land Rivera.
There’s a perfectly good argument for moving on.
but I hope Kraft understands he’s been part of the problem
Brady, bb, and Kraft are the theee key elements of the dynasty. Brady has proven he can do it alone (not six championships, but still). And there’s a decent chance of bill goes to a talented team, he’ll have success-/maybe not sb, but something. If they fire bill and suck three or four years later, Kraft is exposed. Not accountable, but exposed.
but I hope Kraft understands he’s been part of the problem
Brady, bb, and Kraft are the theee key elements of the dynasty. Brady has proven he can do it alone (not six championships, but still). And there’s a decent chance of bill goes to a talented team, he’ll have success-/maybe not sb, but something. If they fire bill and suck three or four years later, Kraft is exposed. Not accountable, but exposed.
Yeah sure but not what I would hold up as a turn around. They don't even make the playoffs in the AFC. So um yay miss the playoffs and get a shitty pick....cool.
Are you saying having the worst offense in the NFL is better because it means a better pick?
Because the teams that stink usually stink for a while. Draft picks are just one part of it.
But weren’t the Bucs supposed to be in cap hell now and forever since they sold out to win a Super Bowl? Same was said of the Rams. The point was simply that teams can rebuild quickly. A bad “cycle” isn’t really a thing in the NFL.
Hell, if the Pats get an average QB, not even a great one, they are a playoff team, right?
There are singular important decisions. The single most important decision in the whole dynasty was to leave Brady as the starter. I compare it to Churchill not surrendering. Without that decision, none of the what eventually happened happens.
I mean we have been over this alot...average QB the team doesn't suck.
But not the time for this again.
Also from a pragmatic standpoint, yes it is better to have a terrible offense and get a good pick than a meh team with a meh pick.
Isn’t the most important thing then getting an average QB, or ideally better? You can have the greatest coach of all time, yet how good is the team when the QB’s are terrible?
BB isn’t the only good coach out there, eventually they gotta move on. Might as well be now, I think.
The Rams are old, have very little young talent and are not a favorite for the NFC. That is because they are both in cap hell and sold there draft picks trying for one SB.
And re the Bucs, 9-8 in a terrible division proved nothing but most of the teams in the NFL are bad.
I mean yes? That's the reason they should keep Bill.
Mac killed them by busting harder than anyone though was possible.
I don't know why you would place that on the greatest coach of all time.
But worse than the 10-7 Patriots from 2021. Which is kind of the point. You can have a good year here and there but unless you have a plan for a franchise QB it's fools gold.
We don’t have details, of course, but Kraft owes BB tens of millions of dollars if he doesn’t let him coach somewhere else, right? So, knowing how cash stingy Kraft tends to be, do we really think he’s going to hold out for draft picks in comp for BB? He’ll probably be happy to have someone else pick up the tab.
If we can trade ourselves to the NFC South, I’ll go ahead and assume we can compete next year too.
Right now the division is a meat grinder. Even the Jests will have to find unique ways to fuck up assuming their anus face of a QB comes back healthy. Maye or Daniels is the question now, and the decision Kraft has to make is whether BB is the guy to lead them.
Have you not seen Puka Nucua or Kyren Williams play? Puka would easily be the #1 WR and Kyren the #1 RB in NE and it wouldn't be close. Both were 5th rd picks as well. LAR have also done a decent job rebuilding their D through the draft. They are old at QB but Stafford could have another year or two which allows them to remain competitive while he is there.
They are 9-7, not sure why we keep pointing to them as an example of anything.
If the Pats were 9-7 they would miss the playoffs.
Put Stafford on this team and they are probably better than 9-7...so again comes down to the QB
I like Puka, but I'm not sure if he's all that much better than Bourne or Douglas. Stafford makes stars out of WRs.
I don’t follow this.
I suppose Kraft could have fired Bill after 2018/19 and kept Brady. Or just forced Bill to re-sign Brady at least.
He let his GOAT head coach implement his post-Brady plans and they’ve gone pretty badly, all things considered.
If he dumps Bill and moves on, of course there’s a good chance they don’t win a SB in 3-4 years.
I’m not really clear on what you’re saying here?
I’m just going to go on record as saying that I, for one, am OK with being a team that wins 10-ish games, makes the playoffs and has an outside (but plausible) shot a making the SB.
It’s bizarre to me that some people seem to either want to be a 14 win #1 seed or a 3 win, top 5 pick team. And anything in between is totally unacceptable
It’s bizarre to me that some people seem to either want to be a 14 win #1 seed or a 3 win, top 5 pick team. And anything in between is totally unacceptable
You don’t think the coaches and coaching staff has any accountability for Mac’s regression in Years 2 and 3? None? It is all on Mac and the coaches get a total pass?
Except they are nowhere even close to that in the bold. This team is not good at all.
If he lets bill go and they suck while bill has success in as or wherever, Kraft looks like a fuckup who left both legends leave town.
Six championships will do that. If, though, you were a fan of a team that's always close but not close enough, it would drain on you after a while. Heck, this team might drain on you if it's like that for another 5-10 years
Did I say that? I’m talking about people here slagging the Rams and Bucs for being only a playoff team.
The Rams have the 2nd youngest roster in the NFL, 0.2 years older than GB. Calling them old seems at odds with reality.
And the picks they traded are in the past. They have all their picks now.
Otherwise, you nailed that.
I mean the guy could not make basic reads and refused to step into throws with a hint of pressure around.
Yes it's too bad his coaches in year two might have been trash, but I would expect a good QB to be able to not become the ball of suck he turned into.
Ah, got it. I don’t think he’s a “fuckup” for the Brady situation. He bought into what BB was selling, and it turned out to be very wrong. But he believed the GOAT HC, it’s not shameful.
And we’ll see what happens to Bill.
Belichick has no agency whatsoever on this team when things go badly.
Only when they win. Then he's all agency.
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