Not to mention all the washed up retread RB's they sign year after year. We had Leon and TJ and still drafted Shonn Green. They have some bizarre philosophy about drafting RB's. It's like he doesn't want to admit that he was wrong about Maroney. If he drafted like Parcells we'd be doomed.
Experts say you can"t judge a draft until after 2-3 years so let's look. Pats 2006 Draft 1) Maroney- OK back. Not a pro bowl level back. 2)Chad jackson- Bust 3)David Thomas-now a backup in N.O. 4) Garrett Mills-? 4)Gostkowski-great pick 5) Ryan O'callaghan- Back up 6) Jeremy Mincey- ? 2007- 1) Meriweather- Played better this year, doesn't scare anyone. 4) Kareem Brown-? 2008 1)Mayo-DROY. Played great until knee injury 2)Wheatley- should be a solid corner(not there yet) 3)Shawn Crable- Meh. 3) Oconnell- Now our 4th string QB. 4) Wilhite- nickel corner. At best. 5) Slater-? 6) bo Ruud- LB-?
you make a good point overall in that time period, but i'm going to have to disagree about your brandon merriweather description. He's a really good safety, i wish he was on the jets for sure. If the rest of his secondary hadnt been so piss poor the last couple of years, i think he'd have even better numbers. most of the patriots core was built in 2005, 2004, 2003, and before. in 2005 they had a ridiculous draft mankins, hobbs, james sanders, kazcur, and matt cassell 2003 also was insane. Ty warren, asante samuel, Dan koppen, banta-cain They either got lucky, or must have changed something within they're scouting since 2005. They get at least 1 impact/borderline pro bowl per draft, but as far as overall, we have drafted significantly better than them since 2006. It might also be that belichick is such a nazi that he always put a premium on character and guys who play "his way", not that character isn't important but i think he falls in love with guys based on their work ethic and personality maybe more than their ability to contribute. I think when you look at it, that's the biggest reason for their decline from their super bowl years and part of why we've risen towards the top of the AFC east. yes we spend more money than them on free agents and such, but a lot of our team was built internally.
Meriweather improved this year, but is still not great considering where he was picked. He still makes mistakes in coverage and doesn't tackle that well. I think BB is more talented picking O/D linemen than anywhere else. Most of the Pats best players,with the exception of Brady and Asante, were brought in before his run. Most of the others (Welker,moss,Dillon,vrabel,stallworth, Rodney Harrison etc.) were from other organizations.
I agree with the Spikes pick, he's a player that I think is going to be successful in the NFL. His 40 time wasn't amazing, but if you watch the tape he has game speed. Besides that he's physical, athletic, and plays downhill; Belichick will find ways to maximize his skillset. Gronkowski is, I think, an example of a "classic" Patriots player (the kind they added back when they had good drafts routinely). He's not amazing and nothing about him really stands out, but he'll be very effective for them and will help them get the production they've heretofore lacked at the TE position. McCourty is a need-pick in that they really needed help in the secondary. Having said that, he'll probably struggle this season because they didn't really address what I feel is their biggest need... Pass-rusher. Granted the Cunningham pick might remedy this, but I can't see their sub-par pass-rush being anything more than average this year. All in all I think they had a good draft, BUT it could have been great (considering all the picks they had). Furthermore, they needed a great draft if they wanted to keep up with the Jets. They didn't do that, and I think the edge going in to this season belongs to the Jets. Of course, if Brady is still recovering from his knee surgery and plays like the Brady of old this season, that changes everything...
Yeah the Spikes pick is the only one that made me double-take. He's a friggin beast, lousy 40 time or not. And Hernandez will be great too if they can get him to put down the bong. (Full disclosure: Gator Alumni so I'm biased)
Normally, gators don't seem to have too much luck on Belichick's teams. Jabar Gaffney, Reche Caldwell, Chad Jackson...etc. but Belichick did try and study Meyer's offense. Maybe he'll finally be able to get some real production out of a UF receiving option.
Catch up with us? God damn, that is arrogance. The Jets haven't done shit with the exception of last year and they went far because the Colts laid down. The Pats are still the team to beat until the Jets win the AFCE. The dulfags grabbed an AFCE crown as an aberration. Otherwise its been the Pats except for 2002. I think the quality over quantity approach Tanny has taken is benefiting us from a core standpoint. However, we still need a piece or two to put us over the top and I don't care if its coming in the form of 1 year Mercs (e.g. Taylor.) Just keep hoping that the Pats ineffective drafting continues and that Parcells decides he had enough of the sweat under his man-boobs and leaves the division after this year. That will kill off the fins and TB should be on the decline now.
In all fairness, the Jets are clearly the team to beat in the AFC East right now. If you guys don't at least make it to the Super Bowl, you would have to say it's a disappointment. You have amassed a large amount of talent and don't have a glaring weakness. Should be a fun year to be a Jets fan!
here's how i see it, going in to the draft, the pats main needs were in the Secondary, LB, DE, and TE, and needed OL, QB and RB depth.... with about 12 picks they couldn't go wrong... but you have to wonder about their two TE selections. I like the selection of hernandez in the fourth, because that guy is a freak, even though he's apparently been a total pot head through most of college.... Spikes, McCourty, Price, and Hernandez were all good picks, without reaching, and Robinson (great value for a 7th rounder) could come in and claim the backup role right away, but as for the other picks (disregarding the 4 other 6th and 7th rounders) you can't help but feel that there could have been better selections made. If I'm BB (which obviously I am not) I take Sergio Kindle and either Ben Tate or Hardesty with those first two second rounders... Cody or Joseph would have been a nice addition to the DL rotation, but i guess he saw something he liked in Cunningham, even with Dunlap on the board.... I guess BB just has a hardon for the gators
It's three years in a row I really don't like how the Pats draft... The Dolphins however did a pretty good job. IMO, depending on when Welker returns, the Jets are the team to beat in the AFC East, the Dolphins second and the Pats third...
the Price pick was a nice insurance plan in case Welker struggles getting back in time... let's be honest, Edelman only has one thing in common with Welker, and that's being a tiny white guy. Spikes and McCourty are solid additions, but the Pats still could have used another impact DE/LB in this draft, especially with the release of Thomas..... as for the dolphins... Misi and Odrick were great selections and marshall instantly legitimizes their anemic passing games... and as for the bills......... LOL. Barring serious injuries or steps backwards from Sanchez and/or Greene, the J-E-T-S should be the AFC EAST favorites, with the pats just barely in our rear view mirror and the dolphins a bit behind them.
I disagree. It's a qb driven league and the teams with the elite qb's Brady, Brees and Manning will always be the favorites to win their division and go to the superbowl. The Jets will have a nasty defense and will run the ball well but the only way they get to the superbowl is if mark sanchez plays at an elite level and thats probably not happening this year. If you swap qb's then yes the Jets would be favored but the Pats still have Brady who can win 10 games with his eyes closed against crappy teams.
Agreed, there was so much talent on the board and they had so many picks, but they kept trading, and trading, and trading, and trading.. There were alot of guys that they could have had.. I just don't get why they kept trading..
I'm pessimistically optimistic. However, paper doesn't always translate to the field (eg Redskins). That being said, barring a major injury to a key player, the Jets should run roughshod over the division. But as stated by others, the elite QBs are great equalizers. Manning, Brees, or Brady could probably get Oakland or the Rams to a playoff appearance. If Sanchez plays the season like he did during the playoffs, The Jets should have a 12-4 record, AFCE crown, and most likely a SB appearance...
I still fail to see why the Pats took McCourty over Wilson. I wouldn't be surprised to see the Jets Pats and Fins go 11-5, 10-6, 10-6 respectively. The Fins had a solid draft. It made me angry.
