I post on a british NFL site and the pat fans there are not liking their draft.They failed to get one of top tier WRs and have drafted against their standard MO. I don't really understand what they are doing,they have a window to win a championship that closes when Brady retires.You'd figure they'd be happy to get the big name guys who can help right now rather than in a year or two.
Yeah the draft position had a lot to do with it. 12th overall was a sweet spot. Miami has had a pretty amazing offseason so far.
The pats draft actually scares the shit out of me. Brandon spikes WILL be a player in this league. I've watched him for years and i can tell you in the last 2 years, he was BAR NONE the best player on a very talented defense. Watch film on UF (I go there and have seen most of the games) and you will see brandon spikes in the middle of every play. He can tackle, stop the run, and is excellent in coverage. He had a shit combine but his instincts and coverage skills are some of the best you'll see out of an ILB in this draft. With him and Mayo, they're going to have as good an inside linebacking core as we do, if not better. And mccourty....the 3rd best CB in the draft. With Leigh Bodden for now and mccourty, they'll shore up that position. Not to mention they merriweather in that secondary also Hernandez is also going to be a problem. not a star, but he's a very good receiver that will give defenses headaches. he's not jason witten, but he'll definetely be better than Ben Watson was. I won't be surprised if hes better than the kid from Arizona (pulonski or whatever the fuck his name is) This is not me being a gator homer, but i can tell you that the UF team the past 2 years was riddled with stars in the making who skills will translate on the big stage, unlike some of their teams of the past. I'm a little worried quite frankly. The pats had a good draft, the fans are just too stupid to see it because they wanted star power and flashy picks. they know what they're doing as much as i hate to admit it. it won't pay off this year, but next year they're going to be dangerous with all the 1st round picks they have.
Drafting the Michigan punter was a savvy move. Kind of reminds me of when they drafted Gostkowski, which was another ST pick i really liked by them.
you would rather have a punter, and a broken Leon than Mcknight who is essentially the same prospect Leon was, possibly even a little better?
the pats had a great draft. everyones saying brandon spikes is overrated, but they got him late second round. if he were to get drafted in the top 15 like he was supposed to in the beginning of the year, thatd be overrated. but getting someone like spikes in late second round is a great pick. zoltan was great at michigan. he was sadly the second best player on that team behind brandon graham. mccourtney is a decent pick but not great but im sure belidick will use him creatively. as much as i hate to say it, they had a good draft
I honestly have no idea how we did. I usually am up on these prospects, but not this year. That, combined with the crap shoot element in taking these guys leaves me with nothing! haha, interesting takes here though, and I appreciate reading fellow football fan's thoughts on the matter. TE is obviously a need with us, and these two kids look like monsters. I used to get so psyched a while back, but after seeing so may guys disappoint, like Ben Watson, and so many others either never take the field or just get cut, I just really take a wait and see approach now. :beer:
I love the Pats' draft. They trade down 10,000 times and rarely get any impact players. They'll have some starters, but very few stars. It's funny, the Jets and Pats are antitheses to each other in terms of draft philosophy.
It wasn't always that way. They used to make those trades and get good players. They have lost that in recent years.
Five Picks Jesus. They have 5 picks in the 7th round. That's more than we had the entire draft. Thoughts on this? In a deep draft I guess it's a good idea, but these players aren't far off from being undrafted FA's. Obviously our strategy has been less picks, but picks that are virtually assured of making the team.
the #1 pick in the 7th was from a trade, but the rest are compensatory which they are forced to make and cannot be traded.
Here's the thing I've noticed about the Pats drafts the last few years: They're obsessive about getting "value" for "their" players. There's a massive ego at work, there. It's like they're aware of the popular consensus and purposefully avoid getting players other teams covet. 2008: "Leodis McKelvin and Rodgers-Cromartie are good, you say? Fuck you, we're trading down. Oh they're still there at 10 and we have a need at corner? Fuck you, we're reaching for Jerod Mayo, bitches. We know more than you." 2009: "Michael Oher? You guys like Michael Oher, huh? Fuck you, we're trading down. Everyone's shocked that Rey Mauluga's available at that spot? He'd be a perfect fit? Fuck you; Pat Chung. Go fuck yourself, NFL." 2010: "Kyle Wilson might be the best corner in the draft? Suck our Foxboro balls, we're taking McCourty. Everyone likes Dunlap? Jermaine Cunningham. Eat shit. You know what, give us all Florida guys, 'cause fuck all y'all." I, for one, am not the least bit worried about the draft pick the Patriots picked up next year, because I've had an important realization: The Patriots suck at the Draft. Somebody in that organization (and honestly I'm not limiting it to Belichick) is way too self-involved to look outside their own prospect reports. So they've got their tight end... err... ends. Big deal. I'm not exactly terrified of a Big set with Laurence Maroney coming at us. The Pats had the opportunity to murder this draft and they traded back and back and back like they always do. GPC due to draft day arrogance.
How is 2008 a good example, they got Mayo who is a better player than mckelvin or RC and paid less money for him. 2009 you made a bit of a mistake chung was taken with the pick from the chiefs they got for cassel. The first was traded for Darius Butler, Julian Edelman, Brandon Tate, and the pick they traded for gronkowski. Oher looks like he could be the real deal, but even with Tate on the IR all year they got a ton of production out of that pick. 2010- tough to tell as they haven't played yet, but while I personally like Wilson better I can understand McCourty as that pick they are different types of corners. Wilson is a gambling playmaker ala assante samuel, charles woodson or Ronde barber. McCourtney is more of a fundamental corner, he doesn't make picks as often, but keeps everything inside him, more like Nmandi or Champ bailey.
2008 could be my prime example. The Patriots reached for Jerod Mayo. That's a fact. Whether he's better than DRC or McKelvin, opinion. One I disagree with personally; I don't think Mayo has been particularly spectacular. But after that pick, where was the keen-eyed scouting department that have been fed additional lower-round picks for years? Terrence Wheatley (liability.) in the 2nd; Shawn Crable (ugh.) in the third; Kevin "The Next Tom Brady" O'Connell in the third; Jonathan Wilhite (MEH.) in the 4th; Matthew Slater and Bo Ruud in the remaining rounds. That's a fucking awful draft. So where's the value in the trade down? Where?! A decent young ILB is all you get out of an entire draft? That's insane! The entire scouting department should have been gutted after that fiasco. But still, every year, we have to listen to the pundits explain how brilliant the Patriots are for trading down and adding a whole bunch of "their guys." "Their guys" suck.
I agree with you that 2008 was a very bad year, that was an ugly draft for them, only mayo whilite, and the UDFA guyton were even decent, but 2009 appears to have been excellent: They got at least 3 starter quality NFL players in Butler, Vollmer, and Pryor, and rotation players in Chung, edelman, and brace. Ingram was a specialist (long snapper) Tate Bussey and McKenzie were on IR so it's tough to tell. but even if none makes it they got 7 guys who can play well in the NFL. Ohrhberger is a backup OL who'll probably make their team. There is something to be said about the fact that the Patriots trade back strategy does lessen their chances of drafting a true elite player, but it also means they get a lot of solid NFL players. It is a very sustainable strategy because it gets you lots of good young players at below market cost, which lets you pay top talents (brady, Wilfork etc.). What it also does is keep a team competitive every year without needing a full rebuild.
