Level of Confidence in Direction of the Patriots Franchise

[Van Everyman]

The one thing you can say about Bill is he can still rock on defense. This team is 5th in defense by DVOA, 7th in points allowed, and second in the league in TO forced behind Philly with 17. They have had trouble with mobile QBs but every team does. Fields and Lamar are deadly running the ball. This team gets after the quarterback, they are second in the league in sacks, they did have 9 against Indy but they have been after the passer all year. They are doing this with a pretty mediocre set of LBs for a Pats team. It's debatable that Judon is a LB in this scheme. They are also clearly better when Dugger is on the field.

They are playing a lot of good QBs in the second half. Hopefully, they maintain this level of play.

I’m sorry, I was told nepotism had ruined this team. Please keep up or edit your post to reflect how Bill doesn’t have time to work with the offense because he’s busy compensating for the nepotism on the other side of the ball.

 

[lexrageorge]

I would still like to know what the plan was at QB for 2020 after Brady left.

Hoyer and Stidham were the only QBs on the roster (other than, I think, some undrafted FA for a bit). They didn't sign Newton until June, so that was certainly not somebody they knew in April they could sign for cheap. Maybe they would have made a trade for a veteran during preseason or something?

But that chain of events seemed questionable the whole while.

It's been discussed here. The original succession plan was Jimmy Garappolo, but Brady broke that plan by continuing to play at MVP level.

Team went all in on 2019, signing Brown and giving Brady a one year voidable deal. Made sense at the time as it was obvious that it was going to be Brady's last season with New England. But the WR corps went belly up for various reasons and then Brady moved on. Pats had no cap space to bring in any good free agent QB's or even make a trade, so were left with the scrap heap guys, which included Cam. Also, the timing of the 2020 offseason was altered by CoVid, so the June signing is not as late as it seems.

And rather than throwing desperately needed draft capital at a marginal veteran, the Pats went in on the 2021 QB class instead. Betting on Mac was not the huge mistake some revisionist posters in this thread are making it out to be; Jets made a far larger bet on Zach Wilson. And the Pats hedged the bet with Zappe. And the defense is better and younger than it was in 2019 (that group had a great start but aged out quickly in 2nd half of the season) or 2020 thanks to the additions of Duggar, Barmore, Uche, Judon, the Jones group, et al.

 

[BaseballJones]

It's been discussed here. The original succession plan was Jimmy Garappolo, but Brady broke that plan by continuing to play at MVP level.

Team went all in on 2019, signing Brown and giving Brady a one year voidable deal. Made sense at the time as it was obvious that it was going to be Brady's last season with New England. But the WR corps went belly up for various reasons and then Brady moved on. Pats had no cap space to bring in any good free agent QB's or even make a trade, so were left with the scrap heap guys, which included Cam. Also, the timing of the 2020 offseason was altered by CoVid, so the June signing is not as late as it seems.

And rather than throwing desperately needed draft capital at a marginal veteran, the Pats went in on the 2021 QB class instead. Betting on Mac was not the huge mistake some revisionist posters in this thread are making it out to be; Jets made a far larger bet on Zach Wilson. And the Pats hedged the bet with Zappe. And the defense is better and younger than it was in 2019 (that group had a great start but aged out quickly in 2nd half of the season) or 2020 thanks to the additions of Duggar, Barmore, Uche, Judon, the Jones group, et al.

This is a really great summary of how things unfolded.

 

[astrozombie]

The 2020 misses are among the more embarrassing of the BB era, but I’m glad that draft is overall looking decent.

Depending on how you define "embarrassing", I am going with 2019, a draft that made me queasy at the time and has only looked dramatically worse in the years since. The "best" player to come out of that draft for the Pats was their punter, who now might have the yips. I don't watch college football, so I admit that I did not know much about AJ Brown or Mecole Hardman, but I definitely knew about Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf. They were on the board and the Pats went with... Harry.

 

[Devizier]

The real problem with the quarterback situation is that getting an elite one at a productive part of their career is very hard to do. Taking your shots in the draft is probably the “safest” way but the hit rate is not going to be great.

 

[lexrageorge]

Depending on how you define "embarrassing", I am going with 2019, a draft that made me queasy at the time and has only looked dramatically worse in the years since. The "best" player to come out of that draft for the Pats was their punter, who now might have the yips. I don't watch college football, so I admit that I did not know much about AJ Brown or Mecole Hardman, but I definitely knew about Deebo Samuel and DK Metcalf. They were on the board and the Pats went with... Harry.

The 2018 and 2019 drafts were mostly meh with some genuine busts (Harry) mixed in, and the combination of those misses along with the relatively bare cupboards of the prior drafts (partly thanks to Roger) have hurt the team over the past couple of seasons. Wasn't all bad: Ju'Whaun Bentley is what you hope for from a 5th rounder, and Damien Harris was a good pick where he slotted.

2020 is an example of why it can be difficult to judge a draft for a couple of seasons. It looked weak due to their striking out on the 2 tight ends, but Duggar has turned into a solid pick, and so has Uche and, to a lesser extent, Jennings.

 

[astrozombie]

2020 is an example of why it can be difficult to judge a draft for a couple of seasons. It looked weak due to their striking out on the 2 tight ends, but Duggar has turned into a solid pick, and so has Uche and, to a lesser extent, Jennings.

You are more optimistic than I am on Uche and Jennings. I keep hearing that they are monsters in practice , then gametime comes and they disappear. Duggar was good and I will admit that I did not like that pick at the time, but mostly because BB has a history of drafting secondary high and it seemed unnecessary at the time.

 

[lexrageorge]

You are more optimistic than I am on Uche and Jennings. I keep hearing that they are monsters in practice , then gametime comes and they disappear. Duggar was good and I will admit that I did not like that pick at the time, but mostly because BB has a history of drafting secondary high and it seemed unnecessary at the time.

Uche has had a solid season. 4 sacks, and complementary pressure that has allowed Judon to get free (doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but just as important). Jennings is fine as a run stopper; the Pats run D got a lot worse when he went out against the Bears.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger

Can anyone get his name right? Jesus, do a search and virtually everyone here spells it "Duggar".

 

[Jimbodandy]

Uche has had a solid season. 4 sacks, and complementary pressure that has allowed Judon to get free (doesn't show up on the stat sheet, but just as important). Jennings is fine as a run stopper; the Pats run D got a lot worse when he went out against the Bears.

Yeah Uche has been pretty good. Of course that doesn't mean that we can spike the football yet, but he has been solid.

 

[Mugsy’s Walk-Off Bunt]

Uche has been a disappointment overall. Is he turning a corner now? Maybe. I hope so. He’s had four sacks over the last two games. Not sure how I’d grade his season overall. Last two games have been promising.

 

[astrozombie]

Uche has been a disappointment overall. Is he turning a corner now? Maybe. I hope so. He’s had four sacks over the last two games. Not sure how I’d grade his season overall. Last two games have been promising.

This. I honestly don't get the Uche love, other than the power of positive thinking and hoping that he magically transforms into the player people want him to be. And considering one of those games was against the Colts, I am not even sure that should count for much.

 

[BaseballJones]

Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger

Can anyone get his name right? Jesus, do a search and virtually everyone here spells it "Duggar".

Dug'r has been a really good pick, don't you think?

 

[Bowhemian]

Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger
Dugger

Can anyone get his name right? Jesus, do a search and virtually everyone here spells it "Duggar".

Don't hold back, Farm Shellar, tell us how you really feel.
Also, I am not sure you can tell Jesus to do a search, but it's worth a shot I guess

 

[ShaneTrot]

The 2018 and 2019 drafts were mostly meh with some genuine busts (Harry) mixed in, and the combination of those misses along with the relatively bare cupboards of the prior drafts (partly thanks to Roger) have hurt the team over the past couple of seasons. Wasn't all bad: Ju'Whaun Bentley is what you hope for from a 5th rounder, and Damien Harris was a good pick where he slotted.

2020 is an example of why it can be difficult to judge a draft for a couple of seasons. It looked weak due to their striking out on the 2 tight ends, but Duggar has turned into a solid pick, and so has Uche and, to a lesser extent, Jennings.

Hitting on Owenu in the sixth round in 2020 is one of the best choices of the BB dynasty.