Looking Forward

[BigKen]

It appears that the position that is the weakest will be linebacker. It was a position of strength in 2019 with a group that could be moved around could do just about anything. 2020 presents John Simon, Ja'Whaun Bentley and Chase Winovich as the most experienced LBs.

Unless the Patriots sign a veteran free agent linebacker, Brandon Copeland, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Cassh Maluia, Brandon King will round out the linebacker position. Maybe someone unknown will stand out during training camp and be the next Willie McGinest or Ted Johnson.

 

[Southieinnc]

It appears that the position that is the weakest will be linebacker. It was a position of strength in 2019 with a group that could be moved around could do just about anything. 2020 presents John Simon, Ja'Whaun Bentley and Chase Winovich as the most experienced LBs.

Unless the Patriots sign a veteran free agent linebacker, Brandon Copeland, Josh Uche, Anfernee Jennings, Cassh Maluia, Brandon King will round out the linebacker position. Maybe someone unknown will stand out during training camp and be the next Willie McGinest or Ted Johnson.

I believe we have some diamonds in the rough. More likely 2021 before they stand out?

 

[BigKen]

I believe we have some diamonds in the rough. More likely 2021 before they stand out?

Sometimes is just take a set of circumstances to bring out the best in someone. I have afeeling that come November, Van Noy, Collins, Hightower and Roberts will not be mentioned in the same paragraph. I just have this guy feeling that Maluia is going to be the next Lawrence Taylor. I don't know why, but it's like he's just going to explode.

 

[Southieinnc]

Sometimes is just take a set of circumstances to bring out the best in someone. I have afeeling that come November, Van Noy, Collins, Hightower and Roberts will not be mentioned in the same paragraph. I just have this guy feeling that Maluia is going to be the next Lawrence Taylor. I don't know why, but it's like he's just going to explode.

We have typically lost a lot of linebackers and D-backs. Pats are very good at picking up and training both.
We lose them to $$$ but replace them. I see several LB's and a couple of DB's that other teams will be crying for. IMHO

 

[nefansince75]

We have typically lost a lot of linebackers and D-backs. Pats are very good at picking up and training both.
We lose them to $$$ but replace them. I see several LB's and a couple of DB's that other teams will be crying for. IMHO

picking d-backs, not so much... signing unknowns and training them up... absolutely.

 

[Southieinnc]

picking d-backs, not so much... signing unknowns and training them up... absolutely.

I think Joejuan Williams will be very special

I expecy Kyle Duggar to be a very good one - at least.....

 

[nefansince75]

I think Joejuan Williams will be very special

I expecy Kyle Duggar to be a very good one - at least.....

I don't disagree, just that their picks for dbs in the early rounds have a history of missing. I subscribe to the theory that this is largely due to a history of back of the draft picking and taking risks. With that said guys like Malcolm Butler, Jonathon Jones and JC Jackson say to BB "Go for it and we'll make it up for you"..

 

[Yankee Traveler]

I don't disagree, just that their picks for dbs in the early rounds have a history of missing. I subscribe to the theory that this is largely due to a history of back of the draft picking and taking risks. With that said guys like Malcolm Butler, Jonathon Jones and JC Jackson say to BB "Go for it and we'll make it up for you"..

I'll let somebody with more football knowledge rank them....

2001
Brock Williams - cut in 2001
Hakim Akbar - 6 games ST only, cut after the SB
Leonard Myers - 2 years, 3 teams, 15 games...2 passes defended.

2003
Eugene Wilson - Good pick
Asante Samuel - Good pick

2004
Guss Scott - IR 1st year, cut, resigned 2nd year, 5 games IR again.
Christian Morton - cut
Randall Gay - Undrafted, played well but 2 years on IR

2005
Ellis Hobbs - Good pick
James Sanders - Good pick

2006
Willie Andrews - ST, multiple arrests

2007
Brandon Meriweather - Good pick
Mike Richardson - IR then PS to 10 games, meh

2008
Terrence Wheatley - 6 games then IR, then inactive then cut.
Jonathan Wilhite - a Starter for 12 games over 2 seasons before IR then cut. Meh.

2009
Patrick Chung
Darius Butler -8 starts in 2 seasons, cut. Played for 8 years.

2010
Devin McCourty

2011
Ras-I Dowling - From IR to...IR.
Malcolm Williams - PS

2012
Tavon Wilson - 4 years, meh pick
Nate Ebner - ST Ace, good pick
Alfonzo Dennard - So much potential, some great games, multiple arrests, fights, DUI and drugs

2013
Logan Ryan - good pick
Duron Harmon - good pick

2014
Jemea Thomas - PS
Malcolm Butler - Undrafted, Some really great play

2015
Jordan Richards - Brandon Bolden on Defense.
Darryl Roberts - IR, released

2016
Cyrus Jones - potential, college potential...
Jonathan Jones - Undrafted, The better of the two Jones, far better

2018
Duke Dawson - IR then inactive and released
Keion Crossen - Athletic, traded.
J.C. Jackson - Undrafted, Fantastic

2019
Joejuan Williams - Jury still out
Ken Webster - Released

 

[nefansince75]

I'll let somebody with more football knowledge rank them....

2001
Brock Williams - cut in 2001
Hakim Akbar - 6 games ST only, cut after the SB
Leonard Myers - 2 years, 3 teams, 15 games...2 passes defended.

2003
Eugene Wilson - Good pick
Asante Samuel - Good pick

2004
Guss Scott - IR 1st year, cut, resigned 2nd year, 5 games IR again.
Christian Morton - cut
Randall Gay - Undrafted, played well but 2 years on IR

2005
Ellis Hobbs - Good pick
James Sanders - Good pick

2006
Willie Andrews - ST, multiple arrests

2007
Brandon Meriweather - Good pick
Mike Richardson - IR then PS to 10 games, meh

2008
Terrence Wheatley - 6 games then IR, then inactive then cut.
Jonathan Wilhite - a Starter for 12 games over 2 seasons before IR then cut. Meh.

2009
Patrick Chung
Darius Butler -8 starts in 2 seasons, cut. Played for 8 years.

2010
Devin McCourty

2011
Ras-I Dowling - From IR to...IR.
Malcolm Williams - PS

2012
Tavon Wilson - 4 years, meh pick
Nate Ebner - ST Ace, good pick
Alfonzo Dennard - So much potential, some great games, multiple arrests, fights, DUI and drugs

2013
Logan Ryan - good pick
Duron Harmon - good pick

2014
Jemea Thomas - PS
Malcolm Butler - Undrafted, Some really great play

2015
Jordan Richards - Brandon Bolden on Defense.
Darryl Roberts - IR, released

2016
Cyrus Jones - potential, college potential...
Jonathan Jones - Undrafted, The better of the two Jones, far better

2018
Duke Dawson - IR then inactive and released
Keion Crossen - Athletic, traded.
J.C. Jackson - Undrafted, Fantastic

2019
Joejuan Williams - Jury still out
Ken Webster - Released

We really need to compare these to what others teams hauled in the same period... Sounds like a job for super BK...

And take out the UDFs because they are out of scope.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

We really need to compare these to what others teams hauled in the same period... Sounds like a job for super BK...

And take out the UDFs because they are out of scope.

I disagree.
UDFA's that play well enough in practice and preseason to make the team take that position from a drafted player or a FA pick up or even a trade.
What is the real difference between Jonathan Jones, an UDFA and J.C. Jackson a 7th round pick up?

 

[BigKen]

We really need to compare these to what others teams hauled in the same period... Sounds like a job for super BK...

Be nice to the elderly.

I panic'd when I turned 20 because I was in a hell hole and never thought that I'd make 21.

I panic'd when I turned 25 and thought how close I was to forty and getting that old.

I panic'd when I turned 40 because I had three kids and hadn't really saved that much for their college.

I started to relax when I hit 60 and figured I could enjoy my golden years.

now @nefansince75 is starting to wind up my panic button trying to make me do research . C'mon man, be nice to old people.

 

[nefansince75]

I disagree.
UDFA's that play well enough in practice and preseason to make the team take that position from a drafted player or a FA pick up or even a trade.
What is the real difference between Jonathan Jones, an UDFA and J.C. Jackson a 7th round pick up?

Because it arose out of the comment about picks and the UDFA prowess has already been discussed as a patriot positive. I'm a "all personnel decisions matters" guy so I agree with your statement, but the context is off.

 

[nefansince75]

Be nice to the elderly.

I panic'd when I turned 20 because I was in a hell hole and never thought that I'd make 21.

I panic'd when I turned 25 and thought how close I was to forty and getting that old.

I panic'd when I turned 40 because I had three kids and hadn't really saved that much for their college.

I started to relax when I hit 60 and figured I could enjoy my golden years.

now @nefansince75 is starting to wind up my panic button trying to make me do research . C'mon man, be nice to old people.

I was giving you props for your relentless digging and not demanding you earn your keep.

I thought the superlative said it all.

 

[BigKen]

I was giving you props for your relentless digging and not demanding you earn your keep.

I thought the superlative said it all.

I apologize. I totally misread it. Big stress day. Took the grandson for his physical to play football that he can't play because the season has been cancelled.

The he came home with a tattoo on his entire inner left forearm. The name he gave me because he could never say "Gram "pie". He could say grammy, but he could not say words with a "p" except one and he always called me that and now more than 1000 kids and parents only know me as Coach Bumpah.

 

[Southieinnc]

I'll let somebody with more football knowledge rank them....

2001
Brock Williams - cut in 2001
Hakim Akbar - 6 games ST only, cut after the SB
Leonard Myers - 2 years, 3 teams, 15 games...2 passes defended.

2003
Eugene Wilson - Good pick
Asante Samuel - Good pick

2004
Guss Scott - IR 1st year, cut, resigned 2nd year, 5 games IR again.
Christian Morton - cut
Randall Gay - Undrafted, played well but 2 years on IR

2005
Ellis Hobbs - Good pick
James Sanders - Good pick

2006
Willie Andrews - ST, multiple arrests

2007
Brandon Meriweather - Good pick
Mike Richardson - IR then PS to 10 games, meh

2008
Terrence Wheatley - 6 games then IR, then inactive then cut.
Jonathan Wilhite - a Starter for 12 games over 2 seasons before IR then cut. Meh.

2009
Patrick Chung
Darius Butler -8 starts in 2 seasons, cut. Played for 8 years.

2010
Devin McCourty

2011
Ras-I Dowling - From IR to...IR.
Malcolm Williams - PS

2012
Tavon Wilson - 4 years, meh pick
Nate Ebner - ST Ace, good pick
Alfonzo Dennard - So much potential, some great games, multiple arrests, fights, DUI and drugs

2013
Logan Ryan - good pick
Duron Harmon - good pick

2014
Jemea Thomas - PS
Malcolm Butler - Undrafted, Some really great play

2015
Jordan Richards - Brandon Bolden on Defense.
Darryl Roberts - IR, released

2016
Cyrus Jones - potential, college potential...
Jonathan Jones - Undrafted, The better of the two Jones, far better

2018
Duke Dawson - IR then inactive and released
Keion Crossen - Athletic, traded.
J.C. Jackson - Undrafted, Fantastic

2019
Joejuan Williams - Jury still out
Ken Webster - Released

Lost in the cold hard facts:

Some years our defense has been so good there is no room on our team and good players are lost.

 

[Yankee Traveler]

Lost in the cold hard facts:

Some years our defense has been so good there is no room on our team and good players are lost.

And Bill cannot stash them all.
And even some of the busts were decent players who were often injured or went on to play well elsewhere.
Or were cut due to ongoing legal trouble.

 

[BigKen]

Great argument on the tube........

If Brady had stayed in New England.................would the Patriots be any better than they were in 2019?

Brady had an hour long press conference in Tampa Bay after the Bucs practice and basically said that he didn't have the surrounding cast to be successful in New England and that the Bucs are making every effort to put everything in place to be a winner. So he wasn't better than a 50% completion passer because the Patriots didn't surround him with better players? From the fifteen or so minutes that I've been able to hear, it was more about TB12 selling Tom Brady and blaming other people for his brand suffering in 2019. Maybe I'm wrong, but he's selling 2014 Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay area. Amazing the media coverage that's been allowed to access the practices and the players in TB. Hundreds of Brady and Gronk photos in their Buccaneer tee shirts. Just today, I'v seen at ;east an hour of video clips of the Bucs practice and of course most of it Brady throwing passes to different receivers.

Back to original question because it appears that this question was the big one after Brady's press conference.

It appears that the general concensus is that the patriots would not be any better than 2019 because they couldn't sign free agents because they had no cap space. They lost a group of defensive players and that brought up the question ....."Would they all have left if Brady had stayed?" If they were looking for the money that they got from other teams, then the answer id 'NO". The patriots would not have been able to get any name wide receivers so Brady would have had the same guys. Would he have frozen anybody out in 2020?

So what does the Patriots SportsHoopla bunch think.

Would the Patriots have been as good or better than 2019 in 2020 considering all things?

 

[nefansince75]

Great argument on the tube........

If Brady had stayed in New England.................would the Patriots be any better than they were in 2019?

Brady had an hour long press conference in Tampa Bay after the Bucs practice and basically said that he didn't have the surrounding cast to be successful in New England and that the Bucs are making every effort to put everything in place to be a winner. So he wasn't better than a 50% completion passer because the Patriots didn't surround him with better players? From the fifteen or so minutes that I've been able to hear, it was more about TB12 selling Tom Brady and blaming other people for his brand suffering in 2019. Maybe I'm wrong, but he's selling 2014 Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay area. Amazing the media coverage that's been allowed to access the practices and the players in TB. Hundreds of Brady and Gronk photos in their Buccaneer tee shirts. Just today, I'v seen at ;east an hour of video clips of the Bucs practice and of course most of it Brady throwing passes to different receivers.

Back to original question because it appears that this question was the big one after Brady's press conference.

It appears that the general concensus is that the patriots would not be any better than 2019 because they couldn't sign free agents because they had no cap space. They lost a group of defensive players and that brought up the question ....."Would they all have left if Brady had stayed?" If they were looking for the money that they got from other teams, then the answer id 'NO". The patriots would not have been able to get any name wide receivers so Brady would have had the same guys. Would he have frozen anybody out in 2020?

So what does the Patriots SportsHoopla bunch think.

Would the Patriots have been as good or better than 2019 in 2020 considering all things?

How is this any different than what we were discussing just before he announce he was testing the FA market?

 

[Southieinnc]

Great argument on the tube........

If Brady had stayed in New England.................would the Patriots be any better than they were in 2019?

Brady had an hour long press conference in Tampa Bay after the Bucs practice and basically said that he didn't have the surrounding cast to be successful in New England and that the Bucs are making every effort to put everything in place to be a winner. So he wasn't better than a 50% completion passer because the Patriots didn't surround him with better players? From the fifteen or so minutes that I've been able to hear, it was more about TB12 selling Tom Brady and blaming other people for his brand suffering in 2019. Maybe I'm wrong, but he's selling 2014 Tom Brady to the Tampa Bay area. Amazing the media coverage that's been allowed to access the practices and the players in TB. Hundreds of Brady and Gronk photos in their Buccaneer tee shirts. Just today, I'v seen at ;east an hour of video clips of the Bucs practice and of course most of it Brady throwing passes to different receivers.

Back to original question because it appears that this question was the big one after Brady's press conference.

It appears that the general concensus is that the patriots would not be any better than 2019 because they couldn't sign free agents because they had no cap space. They lost a group of defensive players and that brought up the question ....."Would they all have left if Brady had stayed?" If they were looking for the money that they got from other teams, then the answer id 'NO". The patriots would not have been able to get any name wide receivers so Brady would have had the same guys. Would he have frozen anybody out in 2020?

So what does the Patriots SportsHoopla bunch think.

Would the Patriots have been as good or better than 2019 in 2020 considering all things?

I'm crazy, I Know. I think we'd be better with Stidham - if we had normal practice and camp and a full preseason.
If Brady stayed? Need to find out how we deal with Covid football.
At this point I dont care. I wont care if the season is cancelled.
My only oncern is I don't want to spend the restof my life dealing with covid.....

 

[NWPATSFAN]

Well I don't think they'd be any better.

Ready to get past this and move on from post Brady. We all knew this was coming.

Let's see what the next two decade holds?