Normally New England is a team who others try to steal talent from. But this year they pick up 4 waiver guys. These are players who were not good enough to make other ballclubs. That's pretty pathetic. Only Miami is as active now and they had all of 1 win last season. I think the poor drafts the Patriots have had recently are starting to catch up with them.
I'm pretty sure Mark LeVoir and Pociask are signed to the active roster. Jacob Bender and TE Tyson DeVree are on the practice squad. But still the Patriots have to scavange guys for their PS ?
The PS is for people that are cut, it could be that the players they wanted on their own team were picked up by other teams, to other teams active squads which would totally undermind your argument.
How about if we stop trying to read tea leaves regarding the Patriots, and just wait until they start playing to see how good they are?
That front 7 got better. When I heard they got Shawn Crable with the last pick in the 3rd round I was pretty pissed at the other 3-4 teams for not getting him sooner. Michigan 3-4 OLB played next to Harris. Fuck....
They have lost some depth from not drafting well lately. They still have the best team in the NFL by far. Their defensive line with Ty Warren, Vince Wilfork and Richard Seymour is flat out nasty. At linebacker they have Thomas, Mayo, Vrabel, Bruschi and they have been developing some depth over the years. The secondary is the only place on the team that is a question mark but since they play so much zone they don't have to have great players. They have a top 5 offensive line, Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Maroney, Ben Watson and so on. They have the best coach and best quarterback in the NFL. They have the best offensive/defensive line combo in the league. I doubt they will win less then 11/12 games for a long time unless they have a serious injury to Brady. It sucks that they are in our division.
The OP was not to suggest that somehow the Patriots would end up a 2 win team this season. They are still a strong team and will continue to be so for the foreseeable future. But their active use of the waiver wire made me question their depth and recent player development. Their 2007 draft was a disaster - only one guy remains and he's not even a starter. Sure it didn't hurt the team last season (16-0) but not adding rookie talent has to hurt the team eventually. And I think we're starting to see signs of that now. The Patriot OL and DB depth is not so great. And even some of their starters at DB are nothing to write home about.
It's actually 5, not 4. Nobody is mentioning Deltha O'Neal. Probably more on the way too. Also, let's not forget that everybody the Pats pick up on waivers were passed on by 28 other teams. What does that say about them?
Deltha Oneal is a pretty good pick up for them. They are obviously hurting at this position and two or three years ago this guy was pretty nasty. I have seen BB do more with much worse than him.
The Pats felt the 2007 draft was weak, so after Merriweather, they traded their next 3 picks. The guys they dropped were from the 4th round on. Moss they got for a 4th rounder Welker they got for a 2nd & 7th rounder Hardly a disaster. In 2008 they drafted LB's Mayo and Crable who both look like they will help immediately. DB's Wheatley and Wilhite also look to be in the mix.
I agree with 90% of your post, but the idea that the Pats have not drafted well..... 2007 Rd 1- Brandon Meriweather (on team) Traded the next two picks (Became Moss and Welker) 4th round and below no keepers 2006 Rd 1- Laurence Maroney (RB) Rd 2- Chad Jackson (released) Rd 3- David thomas (#2 TE) Rd 4- Steven Gostkowski (K) Rd 5- Ryan O'Callaghan (OL IR) Rd 6- LeKevin Smith (DL Backup) Rd 6 & 7- 3 players who didn't make the team 2005 Rd 1- Logan Mankins (OL-pro bowl) Rd 3- Ellis Hobbs (CB) Rd 3- Nick Kaczur (OL) Rd 4- James Sanders (S) Rd 7- Matt Cassel (QB #2) Rd 5 & 7- Two guys who didn't make the team
Lets try and uses a little common sense here, answer me this quesrtion, On a team that has the talent to go 16-0, exactly how many rookies are going to have a chance to make that team????
See what threads like this do? They attract Garbage fly pat fans who not only come here and try to stir the pot..but remember this thread 7 weeks down the line when they are 6-1 w/ all the bounces going their way and we have have half our team on IR and are hanging on for dear life to a wild card birth. yes, eventually the Patriots will come back to earth. But can we PLEASE just let it happen on its own and wait to talk trash till after it does?
