New England Patriots Thread Mod Warning Post #253

JCTO wrote: »

Scarnecchia wouldn't have even been able to anything with the abilities of the guys we have and the injuries we had.

I disagree, I think he would have done a better job.
Sure, we still wouldn't have had a run game, but we wouldn't have a 6th linemen entering the formation only to have miller behind his back before he was out of his stance....

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25463330/why-the-patriots-still-have-to-be-the-favorites-in-the-afc-in-2017----and-beyond

Something to cheers us up...

Who do we see moving this off season?

I think losing Mayo is a must at this stage, too much money for his contributions in comparison to Collins and Hightower.

We should hopefully have very little roster turnover this year with some cap space to make some moves, OL has to be the no.1 priority for BB.
If we draft another injury prone DL as a "bargain" instead of paying for a real OL again, I'll be pretty ticked off.

Even so, I think at 60 we'll still be able to pick up better than Cannon or Kline.

I'm actually more hopeful for some moves in FA this season.
We have space under the cap to make some signings, with one major point of weakness and no other position taking a big hit.

We need new starters for the OL, and some better backup at LB & WR.

I've a feeling the team will come to rue that lost pick in years to come, especially with Brady coming to the end of his career.

Been up to my eyes these past few weeks with exams, training & work. So I hope ye don't mind me giving some belated thoughts on the AFC title game. We never play well in Denver at that altitude so I was expecting the loss. Our shockingly bad O line was a disgrace as most of us feared, they cost us the game and another Superbowl shot. But tbh, I never expected them to play so badly. That said and despite all that, it's a game we could have won at the end. So in many respects I'm proud of the team for their toughness in hanging in there and for the fight that they showed. And feck there's no tougher QB in this league than Brady, he took a record amount of shots & hits and he still kept fighting when most other QB would have been dropping into the foetal position.

DeGuglielmo moving on came as no surprise and I'm glad they had the sense not to extend him. Yes when he took over, he had a fair few O line wasters to deal with. But throughout the season, we saw repeated mistakes by the O line. In the AFC game itself, he failed to make any adjustments to improve Brady's chances and for me that's on the coaches shoulders. I also hope to see Canon, Fleming and Kline follow him out the door because imo, none of those are even worthy of being back ups. So once again we enter an off-season with the O line being a priority and Belcichick needs to have this issue sorted by next September.

Looking at the contract situation, I think we need to sort out Hightower, Collins and Butler and I hope they do before 2016. I couldn't careless about Jones staying or going back in September and he's done nothing to change my mind since then. In fact as a 1st round pick, I think we could really leverage a nice quality trade using him. And I'd like us to swap him out for a quality addition to the O line.

On the offensive off the ball, we need to get rid of Chandler and LaFell because neither of them contributed anything to the offense in 2015. We also need to get an effective running game back, because if you haven't got one, you're not keeping defenses honest and are undermining your own pass game. So hopefully we'll pick up a quality RB from the draft or FA. The AFC title game also took me back to Vereen , the guy caught every ball in the superbowl (11) and we let him go for the sake of saving 1/2 million a year. We certainly missed him in Denver because White's 5 catches from 16 targets was far from good enough. Having Vereen's talent in that game could have been the difference maker for Brady.

But that's all water under the bridge now. Looking on the positive side, we've a lot to look forward to for 2016. We were brutalised with injuries this year so I think we deserve a rub of the green for next year. Brady is as good as ever and I think he had a great season playing behind one of the worst O lines in the league. Gronk is not human and just can't be stopped, even when he isn't 100%. So roll on 2016 and the if key areas are addressed on the team, then I'll be really looking forward to a more successful run.

Beyond the obvious attention needed to the OL, I think that the offense as a whole could do with a bit of balancing. Brady isn't getting any younger and could really benefit from being able to ease the pressure with a competent running game. Tired of watching Brady killing himself to make throwing plays, it only takes one bad hit at this stage for his career to be over.

munstermagic11 wrote: »

Having Lewis back (hopefully at 100%) will be a big addition. It'll feel like a new signing. He was a big loss, as he was making guys miss and turning 2yd gains (i.e. Bolden/Blount) into 6-7yds on first or second down. And he was huge as the 3rd down back as well (looking like a more dynamic Vereen).

Maybe it's my old age, but when I was speaking about Vereen yesterday, I completely forgot about Lewis (Ya, I don't know how that was possible). He was a fantastic edition to the offense and losing him proved to be huge, because we sure could have done with him Denver. Hard to say how he'll be next year because some players do need a full year under the belt to get back to 100%. Hopefully though Lewis won't need that, because having him fit and fully capable already significantly improves our offense for 2016.

In many ways, I'd think Denver's current model would be one to look to. Brady is clearly in a better place than Manning, but a strong running game makes everything so much easier. Of course that would require McDaniels to deviate from his preferred playcalling...

A strong running game improves your passing game hugely though by opening up so many more possibilities and play actions! I think it is something to look at certainly, but it will require very big improvements in that O line, it would keep the D's honest and they wouldn't always be able to pin the ears back and just charge for Brady if there was a genuine running threat in the backfield.

That said I think dink and dunk will still be the main game plan of the offence next year unless I see something unusual in the draft/FA, but yet again that makes the O line the most crucial part to sort out

To be honest. Id like two impactfull veteran o line brought in. Im talking 5mil a season guys. First two picks in the draft going to the oline.

Can you imagine lewis behind an good oline. One of those aggresive lines that are pancaking lbs.

No point having a target in the later rounds. Take the best player avalible. You'll find more use then taking a sub optimal player and trying to mould them.

An elite oline. Gives an elite qb pocket time. Gives a very good wr and te group time to get open. Creates room for lewis and lets blount build up that heas of steam.

Lets the defense play more game mangment. Forces the the opposing offense to make plays, which can mean mistakes.

paulie21 wrote: »

In talks to bring Scar back as OL coach

Looks like he is on the way back. Both sides have said they'd like the idea.

If Scar does come back they better get his succession right the next time he retires. And if they do recruit from outside, hopefully they won't bring in someone from a predominantly run based offense they way they did with the last guy. My only concern about Scar coming back is the likes of Cannon, the guy is useless and has to go, but Scar recruited him and he might think he can cure him.:(

I'll be happy if Scar stays until he's pushing up daisies. But I will be praying he at least gets rid of that basket case Cannon. I don't know about the rest of ye, but I prefer Andrews at Center over Stork. Line play seemed to deteriorate when Andrews lost his solid starting role there. Stork also seems to be worryingly prone to concussions, so solidifying Andrews in the role seems a better move for me.

Guess it's a more pleasant ending than him being cut by the team.

Sad news but we all knew that Mayo was unlikely to be coming back. And ignoring the obvious financial aspect, I think his Patella Tendon tear was the nail in the coffin for him, because you really couldn't ask for a worse injury to try and come back from. With the last three seasons ending on IR, I think that made up his mind to hang up the cleats.

But I'm glad that he's retiring as a Patriot, because there was really was no better leader on and off the field. He was a great role model to all in the locker room and took a lot of young bucks under his wing. A tackling machine in his prime, outside of Patriot fans, he never really got the wider NFL recognition he truly deserved.

He's one of the special Patriot players down the years, that I'll always raise a glass to for their service & dedication to the cause....