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Indefinite New England Patriots Thread (1 Viewer)

tone1oc said:
Yeah McClellin was brought in to replace Urlacher, which was just a terrible fit for him.. They switched him between LB and DE a few times, in addition to the defense going from 4-3 to 3-4 to now back to 4-3 with Fox (I believe).  Between that an injuries he just never was able to find a role.
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he was drafted to play DE in a 4-3... very quickly they found he couldnt rush the passer from a 3 point stance... so they've tried him at linebacker and he was pretty much always a step slow.

 
iamkoza said:
he was drafted to play DE in a 4-3... very quickly they found he couldnt rush the passer from a 3 point stance... so they've tried him at linebacker and he was pretty much always a step slow.
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You're right, he did play DE his rookie year.   In Chicago it was widely considered Phil Emery brought him to replace Urlacher, I remember it was a hot button issue on talk radio for awhile.   Emery insisted that he was there to play DE and not a backup, the next year he replaced Urlacher at MLB.  

 
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Jercules said:
They seem to be going heavy with the reclamation projects this year.
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It makes sense when you look at the upcoming free agents...it keeps getting mentioned but the list of players potentially hitting free agency next year is long and has quite a few big names...they can't be pulling a Peter Chiarelli and pay for middle-of-the-road talent now so it hurts you later...also, this off-season is really about adding depth and in some cases high-end depth to what they currently have in place...as far as these reclamation projects go BB has a long history of hitting them big time as well as missing wildly...the key is that you are not in a position where you are absolutely counting on them which they really aren't right now...if the Pats hit on a few draft picks and add another body or two there's a real good chance they will have as deep a roster as any team in the NFL... 

 
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Kraft seemed like he wanted to reinforce the idea that he is a Pats fan and hears/feels the same. Whether fans will accept that is questionable. Roger isn't gonna listen so it's a half empty gesture.

 
First and only mock I did for this class.

2.29 Braxton Miller, WR Ohio St/Leonte Carroo, WR Rutgers
2.30 Austin Hooper, TE Stanford
3.28 C.J. Prosise, RB Notre Dame
3.33 Scooby Wright III, ILB Arizona
6.21 Deiondre' Hall, DB Northern Iowa
6.33 Devon Cajuste, WR Stanford
6.39 James Bradberry, DB Samford
6.46 Caleb Benenoch, OT UCLA
-
7.22 D.J. Foster, RB Arizona St
7.29 Stephen Weatherly, DE Vanderbilt

Not a huge fan of the OT in this class probably some 6th round steals available. I think those first three picks are perfect, and I'm a huge fan of Wright also at ILB losing Mayo and Collins/Hightower contracts upcoming. I've heard people suggest 3/4th round is too early, but I think he should probably even go sooner than that. Huge 2014 season, got hurt in 2015 - just the kind of guy BB would reach for imo.

 
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Still a month out, you may be right. 

I'm not an NFL GM but if I watched any college football in 2014 I would be reaching for Scoob.

 
Patriots signed WR Nate Washington, formerly of theTexans.
The Pats were Washington's only known visit of free agency. Going on 33, Washington gives a Pats team sorely lacking outside receivers an option on the perimeter. He was an effective role player for Houston in 2015, catching 47 passes for 658 yards and four touchdowns. The Pats probably still aren't done bringing in downfield options after releasing Brandon LaFell. Washington joins Chris Hogan, Keshawn Martin and Aaron Dobson.
 
Like the Nate Washington signing...he's always been a solid veteran who has the ability to make a big play...he's a real nice fit depth-wise with what they currently have on their roster...he's not gonna put up big numbers but he's a WR that defenses have to account for...

 
Boston said:
Like the Nate Washington signing...he's always been a solid veteran who has the ability to make a big play...he's a real nice fit depth-wise with what they currently have on their roster...he's not gonna put up big numbers but he's a WR that defenses have to account for...
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I agree with this fully.  No game breaker, typical WR1 types on the roster, but with Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Washington, Gronk, and Bennett, plus Lewis, White and Brown out of the backfield, that's a lot of NFL capable receivers.  It'd take a lot of injury bad luck to end up with as bad a set of receivers as they Pats had going in the middle of last year.

 
Road Warriors said:
Road Warriors said:
I agree with this fully.  No game breaker, typical WR1 types on the roster, but with Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Washington, Gronk, and Bennett, plus Lewis, White and Brown out of the backfield, that's a lot of NFL capable receivers.  It'd take a lot of injury bad luck to end up with as bad a set of receivers as they Pats had going in the middle of last year.
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I agree with this fully.  No game breaker, typical WR1 types on the roster, but with Edelman, Amendola, Hogan, Washington, Gronk, and Bennett, plus Lewis, White and Brown out of the backfield, that's a lot of NFL capable receivers.  It'd take a lot of injury bad luck to end up with as bad a set of receivers as they Pats had going in the middle of last year.
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I would like to see them grab a RB with one of those first four picks in the second and third round (would also like to see them grab a T, a CB and a front seven defender)...once Lewis went down last year that position hurt them and I am just not a big James White fan...would like it to be a RB that can catch and is capable in short yardage (a Ridley-level player with better receiving skills...and less prone to fumbling...not that I am asking a lot)...I have never been a big fan of the BJGE/Blount type of back because they are one-dimensional and they take away some of the diversity of the offense...if you can bring in a back like that I would like the Brown signing even better as he would be more of a depth guy...it would also settle down this position for the future (and at low money) with the pick, Lewis and Bolden all being around for a few years...

 
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Does anyone have any insight on Dion Lewis's recovery from knee?  It seems the way some players heal they can be back the very next season producing at a high level.  For example Adrian Peterson, J Charles and Gronk..  I also heard if GB had made it deeper in the playoffs last year Jordy could have been ready to go.

I understand the NE backfield can be tough to predict even when everyone is healthy, but should we anticipate a 100% healthy Lewis week #1.???

 
There's so many considerations that conceivably can go into whether or not to draft a player, it surprises me how often layman fans sit there and criticize with such confidence.

Gronkowski, Collins, Hightower, Chandler Jones, McCourty, Solder, Vollmer... I ask, in all sincerity, who has drafted better than the Patriots in recent years? If you can name a few teams, fine, but remember that in a league of 32 teams, you'd need to have about half the league on your list before you can credibly characterize Belichick as being "bad".

Especially since NE, being a perennial playoff team, is a tough environment for rookies. Not only is there more intensity, there are less spots available (especially since the Patriots, unlike a lot of teams, aren't about to just stuff the special teams units with cheap rookies).

They're also not about to take a rookie and make him the centerpiece of the offense/defense (e.g. Gurley in St. Louis), so when he compiles all those stats and sells all that merchandise, the GM looks even more like a genius.

The Patriots are also not willing to play guys based upon who the GM wants to see on the field (e.g. Indianapolis, particularly with Trent Richardson--wasn't a rookie, but still). The best guys play, and sometimes the rookies that everyone thinks are busts (e.g. Vereen for a while) are actually helping the team immensely in practice.

Honestly, I'm a Pats fan, but the truth is this: They are good because they actually do what people think every team in the league is doing; putting the best product they can on the field, without letting egos, apathy, or fan pressures get in the way. 

 
That's a blast from the past. Amazing how quickly a guy can fall from potential stud to completely forgotten about.

(Rotoworld) Free agent WR Mike Williams worked out for the Patriots. Analysis: Williams has been out of the league since last season. It's just due diligence from the Patriots. 28-year-old Williams remains unlikely to sign with any team.

 
If Harbor makes the team you can pencil NE in for the highest percentage of ridiculous redzone/goal line packages.

Gronk, Bennett, Harbor, Develin, Lewis/Edelman. 20 presnap motions.

The old 4TE becomes the 2TE 2HB 1RB.

 
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NE said to have interest in ubermensch Moritz Boehringer.

Imagine a draft where NE takes Braxton Miller, the ubermensch and Cajuste.

 
Anarchy99 said:
Pot Roast apparently will sign with NE. Although it doesn't sound like he has just yet. 
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1 year, up to $4.5 million.

Basically Fairley's deal but only for one year. Heavily incentivized, probably playing time.

 
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All of these WR/TE signings won't mean a thing if they don't get a handle on the

playbook. M Bennett has never been accused of being a rocket scientist. All

the Pats need is one or two of these guys to step up. At some point Amendola

and probably A Dodson will be gone or bench fodder.

 
Dobson is absolutely gone. He couldn't beat out anyone else, no way he will beat out the handful of competition in front of him. I think Dola is here to stay though, pay cut or not. Might be wishful thinking but Edelman's role is too important to this team and his injury history is just as bad as Dola's.

Bennett might struggle with the system, but I think he'll go at it. People that wanna get paid come to NE on prove it deals for a reason.

 
nightmare said:
All of these WR/TE signings won't mean a thing if they don't get a handle on the

playbook. M Bennett has never been accused of being a rocket scientist. All

the Pats need is one or two of these guys to step up. At some point Amendola

and probably A Dodson will be gone or bench fodder.
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i'm curious why you say that.  And have you ever been accused of being a rocket scientist?

 
Nope. This will be M Bennett's fourth team in nine years and he was traded.

He might not want to play for N.E. R Wayne retired rather then playing at a

place where it "was to much work" or "not enough fun" I forget which.

 
Bennett is playing for a contract. He should be extremely motivated to do well. He would only be hurting himself if he doesn't. He could cost himself millions by dogging it. Realistically, he has one more contract left before the sun sets on his career. MAYBE he gets a hanger's on contract after that for close to the league minimum. He'd be crazy to phone it in this season. Whether he stays with NE or not past this season shouldn't matter. If he does well, he will get a better deal next off season, either in NE or elsewhere. 

As far as Reggie Wayne goes, it sounds more like he wanted a paycheck and to phone it in wherever he went. Not sure it is out of the ordinary to expect a player to come in and learn the playbook of your new team, work with the starting QB, and work hard to get up to speed in the preseason.

 
Anarchy99 said:
Bennett is playing for a contract. He should be extremely motivated to do well. He would only be hurting himself if he doesn't. He could cost himself millions by dogging it. Realistically, he has one more contract left before the sun sets on his career. MAYBE he gets a hanger's on contract after that for close to the league minimum. He'd be crazy to phone it in this season. Whether he stays with NE or not past this season shouldn't matter. If he does well, he will get a better deal next off season, either in NE or elsewhere. 
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Bingo. 

 
Bennett's in the last year of a 4yr/$20.4 mill deal. I think it's a coin flip on what he

does. ALL of the players are playing for a contract-unless it's their last one.

He had his chance to be TE1(or future-Dallas) on three different teams and they

passed. We have absolutely no idea what he is going to do. If we did he would

be one of the hottest players to trade for. Some guys are thinking back to the

Gronk/Hernandez days.

 
nightmare said:
Bennett's in the last year of a 4yr/$20.4 mill deal. I think it's a coin flip on what he

does. ALL of the players are playing for a contract-unless it's their last one.

He had his chance to be TE1(or future-Dallas) on three different teams and they

passed. We have absolutely no idea what he is going to do. If we did he would

be one of the hottest players to trade for. Some guys are thinking back to the

Gronk/Hernandez days.
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He was second fiddle to Witten in DAL for 4 seasons . . . and Witten is still in DAL. How long was he expected to stay as a cog or a bit player?

When given more of a chance and a bigger role with the Giants, his numbers went up. He was on a one year deal and parlayed that into s 4-year deal with the Bears.
The Bears got two solid seasons out of him and he wanted more money after catching 90 passes. It's not all that unusual to want more money after a good season.

The Bears opted to deal him rather than give in to his salary boost requests. No matter how you slice it, it does him no good to mope on the Patriots for the reasons I already mentioned.

To put an end to the double spacing, if you hold down the shift key while you press enter, it will single space the cursor. Not sure how it works if you are posting from a phone.

 
I'm not thinking back to Hernandez. I'm thinking what its like to have two Gronks. Bennett is imo the most complete TE in this league not named Gronk.

He's not coming off the field. 2TE all day.

 
I expect Bennett to do well in a contract year, as is his pattern.

Any word on the Court's ruling in the Brady appeal?  I thought the Court promised us a prompt ruling.  Seems to me prompt is now out the window.

 
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Original projection was 2-3 months. That was before opening arguments. All sides agreed to a ruling before the draft.

The opening arguments themselves were optimistically split 3 ways, for-against-remand.

Clement is playing games though, could slow things down and if the judges take Blecker's amicus brief or his appeal to the judges to recognize that Clement willfully misled them and misrepresented facts it could swing votes.

I think the longer it takes the better for Brady it is. If it gets remanded back I think the NFL settles immediately, they gain nothing by seeing Judge Berman's court again.

 
Can you believe this crap.  What does this accomplish other than making Goodell feel like he has a big unit.

FOXBOROUGH,Mass. -- With the NFL draft less than a month away, how the New England Patriots employ a strategy to maximize their 11 selections will soon come into sharper focus. Last week, we examined how the team's back-to-back picks at the bottom of the second round -- No. 60 and 61 -- could potentially be packaged to move up in the draft.

As for how far the Patriots could trade up, one thing to keep in mind is the specifics of the NFL's Deflategate punishment announced in May.

The league stripped the team of its first-round draft pick (No. 29), but added the stipulation that if the Patriots acquire another first-round selection, the club would forfeit the better of the picks. This dynamic was pointed out by Steve Muench in his ESPN.com Insider piece on AFC East draft fits.

In adding that stipulation to the Patriots' punishment, the NFL might have had the 2008 draft in mind. That was the draft in which the league stripped the Patriots of their first-round pick as part of Spygate penalties, but the team still had a top-10 pick that year from a prior trade with San Francisco.

 
Has been known since it was handed down, used very specific wording to guarantee they will always lose their highest first round pick. 

One of a kind punishments appear to be a Patriot thing.

 
Tool said:
Can you believe this crap.  What does this accomplish other than making Goodell feel like he has a big unit.

FOXBOROUGH,Mass. -- With the NFL draft less than a month away, how the New England Patriots employ a strategy to maximize their 11 selections will soon come into sharper focus. Last week, we examined how the team's back-to-back picks at the bottom of the second round -- No. 60 and 61 -- could potentially be packaged to move up in the draft.

As for how far the Patriots could trade up, one thing to keep in mind is the specifics of the NFL's Deflategate punishment announced in May.

The league stripped the team of its first-round draft pick (No. 29), but added the stipulation that if the Patriots acquire another first-round selection, the club would forfeit the better of the picks. This dynamic was pointed out by Steve Muench in his ESPN.com Insider piece on AFC East draft fits.

In adding that stipulation to the Patriots' punishment, the NFL might have had the 2008 draft in mind. That was the draft in which the league stripped the Patriots of their first-round pick as part of Spygate penalties, but the team still had a top-10 pick that year from a prior trade with San Francisco.
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Shows you how much they were gunning for them...I'm surprised they did not also stipulate that can't draft anyone over 180 pounds in this draft...

 
I don't even want them to move up,  but if they did,  I would want them to do a draft day deal with the team on the clock, have that team select a player for them, let the guy walk across the stage and shake hands with goodell, and then trade for the player so Goodell has to announce it live on television. 

 
bostonfred said:
I don't even want them to move up,  but if they did,  I would want them to do a draft day deal with the team on the clock, have that team select a player for them, let the guy walk across the stage and shake hands with goodell, and then trade for the player so Goodell has to announce it live on television. 
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That would be awesome!  Make this happen, BB.

 
bostonfred said:
I don't even want them to move up,  but if they did,  I would want them to do a draft day deal with the team on the clock, have that team select a player for them, let the guy walk across the stage and shake hands with goodell, and then trade for the player so Goodell has to announce it live on television. 
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 There's also a stipulation that the Pats can't ever trade for anyone picked in the first round.

 
Reading reports that the Pats release Dominique Easley... wtf.

He had to have killed somebody or something... 3.6m to cut him, up from 1.9m to keep him, jesus

 
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He tweeted something about fibromyalgia this afternoon,  maybe they found out his many injuries were actually something else 

 
One would think that another team would have given up a pick in a trade to get him. As of now, things don't add up. Either he is more hurt than has been disclosed or something else happened off the field. 

 
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