How About Those Patriots? (install, prestigious, year)

[OutdoorLover]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Interestingly, the Globe and other local spots outlets appear to be turning on Bill. The Globe has a headline about him "clinging to the past" today. Of course, it's not the first time people have questioned his decisions. And in the past, he's often made the doubters look silly. But without Brady, that's a lot harder to do. The last several seasons are proof. And I've got to wonder how many more middling seasons ownership and the fanbase are willing to tolerate before the previously unthinkable happens - we start to look at moving on from BB.

In the past 4 years, Bill Belichick is the guy who:

• Didn't think Brady was that valuable, and let him walk
• Despite being on the fence about Brady for years, and knowing he would go at some point, didn't have a viable successor in the stable
• Despite it not being any secret that Josh McDaniels still had head coaching ambitions and was interviewing outside for years, didn't have a viable successor in the stable
• Spent $163M on free agents in 2021, most of which was a bust
• Hired coaches with no experience as offensive coach and quarterbacks coach to take over those roles - and this with a 1st round QB going into a critical 2nd year of development

Whatever he may have done in the past, these are all highly consequential mistakes, one after another. It's not like there is no reason to question Bill Belichick.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Dalvin Cook isn't McCaffrey or Ekeler, but he can catch the ball out of the backfield. In fact, both he and Stevenson can. But I agree that he's not the weapon this team needs. They needed a #1 wideout and there isn't one left on the market. I could see BB potentially kicking the tires on 34yo Julio Jones, but he's no longer a true #1 option.

I could see them bringing in Jones on a cheap contract. He doesn't have much of anything left in the tank though. I think this late in the offseason trading for a true #1WR is off the table too. Any team that's rebuilding and would want to shed a contract like that would have already done it before the draft.

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Are we forgetting about the draft and basing this solely on Hopkins?

It's hard to get excited about the draft until those guys hit the field and you can actually see what they can do in the NFL. Also, I think the team prioritized D over O in the draft and most of the offensive players they drafted came in later rounds. I would have preferred to see a more balanced approach to the draft but I know it all depends on who's on the board. Still, it would be nice if the team at least OCCASIONALLY traded up in the first round to get a player with a lot of talent at a position of need. I'm sure there were #1WRs in this draft Bill just didn't go get them.

Originally Posted by lrfox

Interestingly, the Globe and other local spots outlets appear to be turning on Bill. The Globe has a headline about him "clinging to the past" today. Of course, it's not the first time people have questioned his decisions. And in the past, he's often made the doubters look silly. But without Brady, that's a lot harder to do. The last several seasons are proof. And I've got to wonder how many more middling seasons ownership and the fanbase are willing to tolerate before the previously unthinkable happens - we start to look at moving on from BB.

No surprise. It's been what 3 seasons since TB12 left and this team has gone from the top of the division to the bottom and doesn't look to be climbing out of the cellar any time soon. Plus, that whole debacle around the offensive coordinator position last year was a pretty egregious mistake. I wouldn't hesitate to call it boneheaded. Hands down that was by far the dumbest thing I've witnessed Bill do and I would say is likely one of the worst decisions made by a head coach in the NFL in recent history.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

Whatever he may have done in the past, these are all highly consequential mistakes, one after another. It's not like there is no reason to question Bill Belichick.

Exactly. I'm personally conflicted. I do think that he's earned quite a bit of goodwill here and I personally want to see him succeed without Brady. But the list of accomplishments is a lot shorter than the list of issues. The regression is real and much of it directly attributable to his decision making. I really want the team to exceed expectations this year, but I'm not optimistic and I'm not sure he gets another shot if the team has a bad season.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by lrfox

Exactly. I'm personally conflicted. I do think that he's earned quite a bit of goodwill here and I personally want to see him succeed without Brady. But the list of accomplishments is a lot shorter than the list of issues. The regression is real and much of it directly attributable to his decision making. I really want the team to exceed expectations this year, but I'm not optimistic and I'm not sure he gets another shot if the team has a bad season.

Agreed. I'm happy to give him a little rope but as a fan I also want to see some glimmer of hope that the team is improving and the team really seems to be just treading water. Although, the team has fallen so far they're not treading water they're just standing on the ocean floor.

You also made a great point that a lot of the decisions that landed the team here are easily attributable to Bill.

[OutdoorLover]

"New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien may have been one of the most important moves of the 2023 offseason. Pro Football Focus has him ranked at No. 3 on their list of top-10 offensive coordinators."
https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/20...-coordinators/

I so wish that Bill Belichick had taken some WR and OL talent in the early draft rounds this spring - it's no secret that they really help in both areas to compete at a high level.

But they do have a very good OC now, and appear to have two good pass-receiving tight ends in Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki - maybe the tight end squad can do some damage in the passing game.

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

"New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien may have been one of the most important moves of the 2023 offseason. Pro Football Focus has him ranked at No. 3 on their list of top-10 offensive coordinators."
https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/20...-coordinators/

I so wish that Bill Belichick had taken some WR and OL talent in the early draft rounds this spring - it's no secret that they really help in both areas to compete at a high level.

But they do have a very good OC now, and appear to have two good pass-receiving tight ends in Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki - maybe the tight end squad can do some damage in the passing game.

Great coaching will certainly get the most out of the talent on the field. However, there's a limit to how far you can go with great coaching. You still need to give the coaches some great talent and the Pats have limited talent on that side of the field. For example, Juju is not a true #1. Because he's the most talented guy in the group, they'll likely use him as a #1 which is NOT a good example of putting someone in a position to have the most success.

[Desiigner]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

"New England Patriots offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien may have been one of the most important moves of the 2023 offseason. Pro Football Focus has him ranked at No. 3 on their list of top-10 offensive coordinators."
https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/20...-coordinators/

I so wish that Bill Belichick had taken some WR and OL talent in the early draft rounds this spring - it's no secret that they really help in both areas to compete at a high level.

But they do have a very good OC now, and appear to have two good pass-receiving tight ends in Hunter Henry and Mike Gesicki - maybe the tight end squad can do some damage in the passing game.

O’ Brien is definitely an upgrade from last year

I hope he does better in the nfl than he did in the ncaa

[OutdoorLover]

"Zeke Patriots Recruiting Dinner with Mac Jones in Boston" - Ezekiel Elliott is probably past his prime, but his prime was pretty great, so he still might add some juice to the Patriots rushing attack.

https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/...c-jones-boston

Whether we're talking rushing or passing though, having a good offensive line with some big dogs can go a long ways towards enabling the skill players to look good. Belichick wasn't interested though.

[OutdoorLover]

There isn't always a lot of good news about the Pats offense, but apparently 6th round draft pick Demario Douglas is impressing in training camp at WR. The first preseason game is coming up on August 10th (Houston)!

https://www.masslive.com/patriots/20...e-of-camp.html

[MikePRU]

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

"Zeke Patriots Recruiting Dinner with Mac Jones in Boston" - Ezekiel Elliott is probably past his prime, but his prime was pretty great, so he still might add some juice to the Patriots rushing attack.

https://www.si.com/nfl/cowboys/news/...c-jones-boston

Whether we're talking rushing or passing though, having a good offensive line with some big dogs can go a long ways towards enabling the skill players to look good. Belichick wasn't interested though.

Personally, I don't think there's a lot of tread left on Zeke's tires and everything I'm reading about him lately says he's not committed to being a great player. I'd rather they sign Cook but I agree with you that any improvement with the run game should have started with getting more talented players on the o-line.

Originally Posted by OutdoorLover

There isn't always a lot of good news about the Pats offense, but apparently 6th round draft pick Demario Douglas is impressing in training camp at WR. The first preseason game is coming up on August 10th (Houston)!

https://www.masslive.com/patriots/20...e-of-camp.html

Yeah . . . I'm not going to anoint him the next great Pats WR and honestly I wouldn't even say at this point he's a roster lock. I've just seen way too many players look great in the pre-season and then never even sniff the field in the regular season or sometimes they don't even make the roster.