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Post by Wozzy on May 16, 2024 8:46:30 GMT -5
Last year I hated that Mapu pick in the 3rd round. I was wishing for an OT at #76 (Blake Freeland and Dawand Jones were available). In the mean time they resigned Kyle Dugger thus even lowering the chance for Mapu to make an impact. Unfortunately it looks like I was right about picking Mapu. For the better part of the last decade this has been a three safety base defense with one strong safety taking the place of the weak side linebacker. Last season Duggar played the most defensive snaps on the team, Peppers played the third most. If you add up the defensive plays by Adrian Phillips and Mapu last year that amounts to a lot of snaps... and now Phillips is gone. There will be plenty of snaps for Mapu if he earns them and comes back stronger his sophomore year.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 16:10:37 GMT -5
Can we just put the "Milton has a stronger arm" nonsense to bed already?
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 12:19:47 GMT -5
I never mentioned Tavai and salary I am saying he has improved tremendously from when he first arrived. Does he have another level? We see players improve (Bentley) because they get very comfortable in the defenssive scheme/having experience, more so that physical attributes. Uche is a physical stud. Tavai is not. But Tavai's production and impact on the defense dwarfs Uche's Tavai's pretty good now, I don't see a huge increase in sacks or interceptions in his future. He's a solid lunch pail guy like Van Noy. Uche is a situational pass rusher, he can't play inside linebacker, he is limited... but Tavai will never be lightning fast off the edge like Uche because of athleticism. All the wishing in the world won't increase speed or explosion. Tavai showed he was a good signing, we should be happy with that.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 11:20:23 GMT -5
I am looking for another vet CB if one is available that the team likes. no one said anything about 5 All Pro's. imo, Wade, Bolden, Hearn, Dial, austin are all roster bubble players. I did not say Marcus is a roster bubble. I said I am not sure how many snaps he should get given his size. Tavai is what he is, which last season, was the teams best LB with Judon out. I only ask does he have another level? If they can improve the roster then I'm all for it. They have money coming out the nose. Patriots.com lists Marcus Jones at 188 pounds or a similar size as Jon Jones. He's the perfect size to defend Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle or most smaller slot receivers, so I don't know what you're talking about. There's a tool for every job. Last year and going back multiple years Ja'Whaun Bentley was the best inside linebacker and was a team captain. After Judon got hurt Jennings was the best outside linebacker. Tavai was a good glue guy, but he's not going to make a massive jump because he's not some amazing athletic talent. If the defense is great, he can certainly benefit from that like JC Jackson benefitted from a great defense around him, but I'm not paying Tavai like Devin White because he isn't. He's a guy they picked off the scrap heap and found good value... thanks Matt Patricia.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 10:13:38 GMT -5
SInce he has missed 5 games in 2 of his 3 seasons Ginbson does have 11 fumbles in the past 3 seasons Not sure what Harris can do. he had 34 offensive snaps last year. I agree Gonzo and Jon jones should be very good. after those 2 who knows? I have hope for Marcus, but otherwise a bunch of roster bubbles I thought last year Tavai was the better player of the 4 you mentioned. he played 74% of the snaps and the team moved him around a lot. when he was targeted in pass defense, his rating against (the lower number the better) was 69, Bentley 96, Jennings 107, Uche 119 Rhamondre didn't miss games as a rookie, he was a healthy scratch while he learned how to pass block. He missed one game as a rookie with a concussion. He's not a lesser player because he missed five games last year in what can only be described as a lost season. He amassed 1461 total scrimmage yards the year prior... that's great. Gibson had 4 fumbles last year, he fumbles too much... like I said, if he doesn't fumble he's one of the better starters on the NFL, he needs to protect the football. Kevin Faulk fumbled a lot until he learned not to, it's something he can work on... in the meantime Gibson is one of the best third down backs in the league and an exceptional athlete. Harris only played the last four games of the season, he looked pretty good averaging 4.1 yards per carry on a terrible offense... like I said. Marco Wilson is not on the roster bubble, neither is All Pro Marcus Jones... suggesting so is silly. Shaun Wade clearly showed he can play last year, he's not on the bubble if he plays the way he did last year, there's no reason he should regress. Isaiah Bolden, Azizi Hearn, Marcellas Dial, Kaleb Ford-Dement and Alex Austin are young and have talent... no team has five All Pro CB's on their roster, that's ridiculous. Did you read what I wrote? Tavai plays inside linebacker, Jennings played exclusively outside and played a lot more when Judon got hurt. He is a lot more talented than Tavai, but Tavai is a solid instinctual player. Different positions entirely... Tavai is not suddenly going to start running a 4.4 forty simply because you like him. He is what he is.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 9:16:56 GMT -5
DHop-2023. 75 rcpts. 1057 yards. 7 td's. 2 years $26m. $11m guaranteed JuJU-2023. 29 rcpts. 260 yards. 1 td. 3 years $25m. 16m guaranteed JC Jackson, like Jon Jones, could have been signed early. he was a 2nd team all pro. put down the bottle. Hopkins is a possession receiver now and had a much better QB than Mac Jones... and that's not saying much. 2 years at 26 million for Hopkins is not a bad deal, but Julio Jones was toast. JC Jackson signed a 82.5 Million dollar deal with the Chargers and you said BB made a mistake and would regret it, the Chargers regretted it... not Bill. You looked foolish, you were wrong... now you're dancing and saying something about signing him early, which is not what you said before. It's a lie.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 9:11:51 GMT -5
RB depth, CB, LB I assume they are waiting for camp to see how Wallace looks, how healthy Anderson might be and how Okorfor looks at LT. I could see them looking at another vet over the summer not sure I would have any of the 3 as great. not sure Harris is even good not sure a day 3 rookie who more than likely projects as a S, amd a UFL player can be considered depth when in truth, they are 50/50 to be on the roster, at best. Wade got his chance last season after both Jack and Marcus were out, and Bryant was lacking. I think he is on the roster bubble. I thought Tavai far outperformed both Uche and Jennings last year They have three RB's, the most they'll carry is 4-5 but they should use the three they have to get through the 53 man roster cutdown assuming they're all healthy exiting camp then fill in the depth behind them. RB's are a dime a dozen and they already have talent there. Rhamondre isn't great... since when? If Gibson didn't have fumbling issues in the past he'd be one of the better starting RB's in the league. Kevin Harris looked very good after Rhamondre got hurt last year and he averaged 4.1 rushing yards per carry on a bad offense that couldn't pass and had spotty blocking. They should have filled the LT position by signing a better player than Okorafor and drafting a stud... now it's still a question mark. They should mitigate that by signing a vet like Donovan Smith, not because it's a great idea but because they already fumbled the ball. Depth Chart
FS (2) – Shaun Wade, Marcellas Dial, BIG CB (4) – Christian Gonzalez, Marco Wilson, Isaiah Bolden, Azizi Hearn, Alex Austin (PS), SLOT CB (2) – Jonathan Jones, Marcus Jones, Kaleb Ford-Dement (PS), That's ^ a pretty deep group. You seem to think other team's in the league have All Pros coming off their bench and have no developmental rookies. They could potentially use another free safety, but could also get by with what they have. Tavai is not an outside linebacker, so he can't do what Jennings can do, he can't play contain on the edge or rush the passer as well as Jennings or Uche especially. He makes tackles inside, he is an average athlete who plays smart and hard... he doesn't have another level he can reach because he doesn't have the athleticism to do so. Good player, but there's no upside there... he's maxed out. Bentley is a better interior player and Jennings can play better anywhere and probably has earned more reps.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 8:21:53 GMT -5
drinking early today, huh? Julio and DHop when they came available, never approached "top dollar" costs. simply opting for DHop over JuJu would have cost a few mil. if the team was pro active on JC Jack they could have signed him early for half the amount he rcvd in free agency. I have never commented on Kraft's spending. I have been steadfast that every decision on a player and his contract has been Bill's decision, other than Brady. put dwn the bottle. you have to go to work at 3:00pm Julio and DHop were toast… everybody recognized it except you, you wanted to pay them and called BB cheap for not doing so. JC Jackson was like Malcolm Butler, an UDFA CB who BB developed into a solid #2… they didn’t deserve the money their next teams paid them and got exposed. You called BB cheap for not matching those deals. You called BB cheap during two decades of wild success. Now after players and former coaches call Kraft cheap you rush to his defense… laughable. His employees called him cheap, not some fans on here.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 7:32:13 GMT -5
so does he spend money? seems for Brady and Bill, yes he does. seems for amenities, he does not. although the yearly upgrades to the stadium have been impressive, and it appears he is correcting the player family amenities now. I find it ironic that Rkarp, the most free spending armchair GM on here, the guy who called BB cheap for a decade and suggested they could buy every expensive free agent any and every offseason, a guy who wanted to spend top dollar for fossils like Julio Jones and Deandre Hopkins and called Bill cheap when he didn’t, a guy who wanted to give a #2 CB like JC Jackson 90 million… suddenly reverses course now that BB is gone and pretends like Kraft has been some paragon of spending. Laughable. Pete Carroll coached back in the 90’s, the current players complained about the organization being cheap… that’s an almost three decade long reputation. I do find the rush to fix this now after Bill leaves funny though. He needs to fix those plane seats first and foremost, that is something that could affect the performance of players on the field. I can’t believe they have to sit in commercial seats for tiny people.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 7:20:24 GMT -5
-Pats with in the area of $50m in cap space still available, with some noticable holes. as usual there will be some vets coming available as teams cut down. will the Pats be players? Other than left tackle where are the noticeable holes?-LT's Leno and Donovan Smith still out there in free agency. both not ideal, but could they fit into what the Pats want to do on offense? Both are up there in age but both would be far superior to Okorafor. They collaboration station seem content at LT which is concerning.-there is little doubt with AVP, Brissett and eventually Maye, the team will want to be a run first team. they simply don't have enough RB's on the roster. last year eke came on board a little later. is a move like that in the cards? They have three great to good backs in Rhamondre, Gibson and Harris. They also have a couple jags behind them. They should run the jags into the ground in camp, cut down to 53 and sign someone afterwards for depth. There’s always good vet RB’s sitting there early in the season.-I also see the CB position as light. until he shows otherwise, I am not sure on Marcus Jones. like him or not, last year the team relied pretty heavily on Bryant and he no longer is here. also like him or not, JC Jack is still out there. has played well in this defense. likes it here. I see them as pretty deep at CB. A player being forgotten about is Marco Wilson, he arrived late in the season last year, has the athleticism to be a #1 CB and should pair nicely with Gonzalez. They have Jon Jones, Shaun Wade and brought in two intriguing rookies in Dial and Azizi Hearn. A player they should bring in is free safety Kai Nucua who is playing well in the UFL.-while both Jennings and Uche were resigned, the LB that made the most progress the past 2 seasons is Tavai. does he still have another level? He is what he is, a not super athletic lunch pail guy who is reliable and plays snaps. They should expand Jennings and Uche’s roles if possible.
-clearly more was expected from Mapu. he actually contributed nothing last year. is he a roster lock? I did think White contributed. can he offer more and play more snaps? He played a fair amount of special teams which is how you earn more playing time. He had Duggar, Peppers and Adrian Phillips ahead of him on the depth chart last year. There were no snaps to be had, Phillips is gone now.-I heard Lazar's pod and he likes C/G UDFA Turners chances as a candidate to make the team. he put J Andrews on notice. Jake Andrews is bigger stronger and more athletic… unless the collaboration station engages in nepotism and simply wants to prove they made the correct draft choices I don’t see it. Jake will have to have been doing nothing this off-season except eating doughnuts and laying about. -it would not surprise me if both Polk and Baker have already shown the staff enough that they cut Boutte. Boutte probably should have been cut last season. That’s not a large hurdle for the rookies to overcome.-bumped into Joe Andruzzi, he coaches (assnt) at my local high school, and he likes the Pats OL draft picks. also thinks Milton is a major project and would not surprise to see the team keep 4 qb's Foxboro flu would cure this, they shouldn’t carry 4 QB’s.
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Post by Wozzy on May 15, 2024 6:50:41 GMT -5
on the one hand I have Wozzy telling me Kraft made Brady the highest paid player for a decade, and on the other hand I have you saying Kraft doesn't spend money. I also saw BB as the highest paid coach in sports for a loooooong time. sports, not only football. does the truth lie somewhere in the middle? if he has something he feels is worth paying, he will? From 2005-2014 Brady was one of the highest paid players in the league. I didn’t tell you that, it was well known league wide and could be confirmed on sites like OTC or Spotrac. The team was also one of the least spending teams in the NFL, but that never bothered me much as long as they spent to the salary cap which they usually did. You pay BB so much because he was a team builder who assemble a winning team despite both of these facts above. As far as Kraft being cheap it was his former head coach and players who called him cheap. It was also current players who ranked the Patriots as being the stingiest place to work in terms of facilities and amenities. His employees called him cheap, so while your white knighting on his behalf perhaps you should consider this.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 19:19:44 GMT -5
I'm glad they got rid of Vaughn but these four guys are jags. The New England Patriots announced today that they have signed four rookie free agents: RB Terrell Jennings, G Ryan Johnson, LB Jay Person and Australian DE Jotham Russell. The Patriots will receive a roster exemption for Russell as an International Pathway Program player. All four players attended the Patriots rookie mini-camp this past weekend. In addition, the Patriots released RB Ke'Shawn Vaughn. www.patriots.com/news/patriots-sign-four-rookie-free-agents-release-rb-ke-shawn-vaughn
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 13:34:06 GMT -5
could have thrown the bag at Tyron Smith It's too late now to fix anything in free agency, unless you want them to bring in an oft injured guy who will barely play like Riley Reiff last year... I'd rather they go with the long shot rookies or shove stiff Okorafor in there, at least he can stay healthy. The free agent ship has sailed...
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 13:22:27 GMT -5
Anybody scouting the UFL? I started then stopped. Too much playoffs going on. Hakeem Butler is looking good at WR, leads the league in yards and he is supremely talented at 6'4" tall. Maybe his time on NFL rosters helped him, he had hands issues before but according to FOX Sport's stats he has caught a high amount of his targets. Kai Nacua is Puka's brother and leads the UFL in interceptions and is also a plus athlete, he has earned himself a camp invite at the very least and he plays free safety... I'd put the Patriots on the list of teams who should at least be interested. Carlos Davis is the twin brother of Khalil Davis, he leads the UFL in sacks and is also a plus athlete at DT. I'd love it if the Patriots brought all three of these guys above into camp. The Pat's don't need another QB in camp, but Luis Perez is the best passer in the UFL, some QB needy team should give him a shot.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 13:00:33 GMT -5
if our draft picks are mediocre or bad, but Maye is clearly great, we do have the FA money to spend to sign guys. If they can't spot great rookie talent, they probably won't be able to spot free agent talent... especially after all of the previous regimes players filter out over time. And their 2024 offseason rush to sign Okorafor, Nick Leverett and Michael Jordan at the very least points to a potential blind spot in their evaluation process on the offensive line... these guys are stiffs. These guys suck. I like the signings of Antonio Gibson and Takitaki, so their issue may be limited to offensive line alone, but a shtty O-Line alone can make an otherwise good team suck. Football is won in the trenches. I'm concerned about their infatuation with signing poor free agent athletes along the line... along with drafting rookie lineman with some good traits but limited work outs and strength.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 11:19:38 GMT -5
often we merge draft pick success and player success as one, yet they are not the same. the team addressed thier off season needs really well. if those drafted players succeed does not make the draft a success or not. it is now up to the players and coaches to get these guys ready to play. Only time and results will determine how well they did in the draft… or who was correct here in their post draft assessments.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 11:00:03 GMT -5
I do think it’s funny we have such a new era for this team and a thread like this that offers plenty of things to talk about, get excited for, etc is less popular than other threads because those involve arguing over the same opinions for years and years on this forum, even back to the Boston.com days. There’s not much going on, the draft is over, they’re not signing anymore free agents, rookie camp reporting is limited as is what they’re allowed to do, this is OTA work in shorts and T’s… no contact. Any arguments raging now are over the draft mostly, that will be all there is to talk about until the schedule is released.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 10:57:30 GMT -5
if Maye becomes a star QB, alone that makes this draft a A++, if Maye is pro bowl level, one of the WRs is hauling in 1000+ yards a season and one of the OL is a regular starter and doing his job well, this draft is also a huge win. I can’t expect Maye and both the WRs and both the OL to all be contributors for the future, but if they are…Wolf is gonna look like a genius. Conversely if Maye becomes a star and the rest of this draft class sucks, it will be good in the immediate but not great over time unless the collaboration station improves at drafting. They’re entering this season with a top five defense, the majority of their starting offensive line, a great TE and RB room and some serviceable WR’s… they should immediately be much better than last season assuming health. Maye was a no brainer at #3, but it’s a team sport.
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Post by Wozzy on May 13, 2024 10:48:30 GMT -5
Rookie camp reports have what we already knew about Milton coming in, as having accuracy issues.
It’s important to have arm strength, but it’s overrated in relation to accuracy and smarts.
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 22:50:03 GMT -5
I like three of his picks. I think he effed up the rest. But, time will tell. It’s just my personal opinion. I never said anything about Belichick in relation to this draft, however. Some people so want someone else to bring Belichick into this conversation so they can say “see, you can’t let it go.” But, the reality is they’re the ones who can’t quite seem to move on. I accepted that Bill’s time was done in Foxboro. I just wanted change. Real, radical change. Certainly something other than the collective (with the last name Harbaugh…). The name “Belichick” will live rent free in the heads of the haters for a decade at least.
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 20:10:13 GMT -5
Well, no more Collaborative, the buck on personnel stops with Eliot Wolf now - let the calling him stupid, and saying he can’t hold Belichick’s coat commence, evidenced by this last draft, where every picks sucks wet socks, right Muzz and Wozzy? Show me the post where I say that? Oh yeah... it's a lie.
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 20:08:09 GMT -5
Oh! YOU evaluate most players before the draft, why didn’t you say so before? Did you want to provide us all a link to the Amazon page that offers your best selling guide to the NFL Draft? You are like all the losers I hear at the track on Derby day, woulda, coulda, shoulda……… You're a jackass...
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 19:18:27 GMT -5
"I look at this pick and see a guy not big or strong enough to play DE, and not mobile or fast enough to play side to side at OLB. Maybe this guy just has football instincts or tests better in private workouts, but I'm not high on this one." - Wozzy 2021
When I said this ^ about Ronnie Perkins getting drafted in 2021, was I wishing and hoping BB would fail?
Just dumb... I evaluate most players prior to the draft, I don't make my mind up about them after the draft depending on who drafted them and whether I like that guy.
I root for the laundry, once they put on the pads I root for them... but all the hoping and wishing in the world rarely made a bad or average athlete into a great player.
And just to be sure, I got accosted here for suggesting Ronnie Perkins was a bad draft pick. I don't think the guys the collaboration station took this draft were Perkins bad, just reaches for where they were taken.
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 18:04:37 GMT -5
I totally get the critics of this draft….and just about every draft we've ever had lol. I can't think of many/any that made most of us happy. Nothing has changed. We can sit here and say they should've/could've done this or that instead, and I agree with some of those takes, but if Wallace can play LT and one of the WRs can play it means they were right about those players. Whether or not Maye works out is to be seen but we can't criticize the pick. I'm wary of the new regime but I think talent evaluation probably improved, especially on offense. Get rid of Matt Groh and it will improve more. Maybe I just can't get the image of Groh drooling over the Thornton pick out of my head. We shall see. If our two WRs suck and Wallace can't play LT then my inkling above about talent evaluation improving can and should be used against me lol. Drake Maye was a layup, we'll see what becomes of the remaining seven picks they made. Why is this an important distinction? Because in time, as BB's players filter out due to injury and age, the collaboration station's ability to replace that talent will determine the future team playing around their stud QB. Justin Herbert's career record is 30-32, he has only played in a single playoff game in his four year career... a loss. Justin Herbert is a top three QB in this league, his team has sucked. If the collaborators hit on the Maye pick but suck at putting a team around him, we'll become the Chargers eventually... a 500 football team with a great QB.
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Post by Wozzy on May 12, 2024 17:55:12 GMT -5
saying a guy is the same height, weight and speed means they’re the exact same player is not only not science based but not football based, so you sound dumb twice in one go. I didn't say they were the same player, I said they were the same prospect, they could be brothers. Whether one turns into a player or not is totally up in the air... the draft is a crapshoot. But I know one thing, if Baker becomes a better player than Polk and one or both of those tackles I mentioned above become great... this conversation is going to look really foolish in hindsight for you. Polk's wearing #1, he'd better become a #1 WR.
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