New England Patriots thread (MOD WARNING - #4503)

TO.

me89 wrote: »

Yes pretty much sums up how i feel to, Really think this season was the time to splash the cash and bring in two good WR's.

A good deep threat and another decent WR and I would make us superbowl favorites especially with a healthy Gronk.
We probably have 2/3 good seasons of Brady left, after that who knows it could be 10 years before we have a realistic chance of a championship?

I agree with a lot of points you and Bruschi made but did the Pats really have enough cap space to bring in a more profile WR? And wouldn't that decision have to been made a few weeks or months before Hernandez became a dumbass because most of the high profile WR were snapped up before the murder? Lets face it before Hernandez became a dumbass we were actually alright with weapons. Granted no Welker and an injured Gronk but Hernandez offered a lot himself as does Amendola.

So Bill probably thought with Hernandez and Amendola and the 2 rookies would have offered Brady enough until Gronk was back on the field. Bill actually addressed the concern we all have with our WR in the draft and FA with those rookies to a point. But lets face it the whole plan went tits up and of course in hindsight it is a lot easier to criticise.

I personally think we should have grabbed a high profile WR also though as it would have helped the rookies and given Brady an experienced target.

Son Of A Vidic

TO. wrote: »

I agree with a lot of points you and Bruschi made but did the Pats really have enough cap space to bring in a more profile WR? And wouldn't that decision have to been made a few weeks or months before Hernandez became a dumbass because most of the high profile WR were snapped up before the murder? Lets face it before Hernandez became a dumbass we were actually alright with weapons. Granted no Welker and an injured Gronk but Hernandez offered a lot himself as does Amendola.

So Bill probably thought with Hernandez and Amendola and the 2 rookies would have offered Brady enough until Gronk was back on the field. Bill actually addressed the concern we all have with our WR in the draft and FA with those rookies to a point. But lets face it the whole plan went tits up and of course in hindsight it is a lot easier to criticise.

I personally think we should have grabbed a high profile WR also though as it would have helped the rookies and given Brady an experienced target.

I agree with all of that. Our offseason went totally tits up and nobody could have foreseen that happening. As TO said, Belichick did prioritise WR and pretty much covered it with our draft & UDFA moves. The only disappointment for me, was the offer we made to restricted FA Emmanuel Sanders. The Steelers easily matched our offer and he stayed with them. Pity we didn't offer a bit more, because he would be a Patriot now. The way things worked out, I'd say they're kicking themselves now over that lost opportunity.

BaronVon

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

The only disappointment for me, was the offer we made to restricted FA Emmanuel Sanders........... The way things worked out, I'd say they're kicking themselves now over that lost opportunity.

I'd say he's kicking himself too!

Hazys

I'd say BB is getting a little tired of the repeated Gronk status questions every day. Here's his response to the Gronk question today:

"We haven't practiced today, we've just been sitting in a meeting. He looks great sitting in a meeting."

I love Bill's dry humor when dealing with the ridiculous journalist questions

Masked Man

Ninkovich signed through 2016!

davyjose

Hazys wrote: »

I'd say BB is getting a little tired of the repeated Gronk status questions every day. Here's his response to the Gronk question today:

"We haven't practiced today, we've just been sitting in a meeting. He looks great sitting in a meeting."

I love Bill's dry humor when dealing with the ridiculous journalist questions

He's out today though, right? I mean, I can understand BB getting tired of the questions, but people know he's fairly close to being back, so obviously they're going to ask.

TO.

davyjose wrote: »

He's out today though, right? I mean, I can understand BB getting tired of the questions, but people know he's fairly close to being back, so obviously they're going to ask.

Stupid thing is had they left there questions until now instead of every day of the last few months they might have gotten better answers well somewhat better answers. Talk about beating a dead horse at this point. Like kids in the car continually saying "Are we there yet" Like most coaches the answer will be he will play when he is ready to play and he is named on the team sheet until then no comment. The fact Bill is now finding humour in it shows how persistent the questions have been.

Son Of A Vidic

Masked Man wrote: »

Ninkovich signed through 2016!

Delighted, love Ninko. My favorite player on the Pats D side.

Son Of A Vidic

davyjose wrote: »

He's out today though, right?

I said a few weeks back, that I'd expected Gronk to be back by week 4 if he's not put on PUP. I'd very surprised to see him today. A weeks 4 return, ties in with the normal recovery time you'd expect from the micro back surgery he had.

eagle eye

So how are my fellow Patriot fans feeling now? 3-0 baby! Rookies looking better, Gronk to come back, Amendola to come back, Vereen hopefully back and in good shape come playoff time.:)

JaMarcus Hustle

Will take the record over the performances any day. Big props to the defence too. Granted, the quality of offence faced is a factor, but likely to have the least (or 2nd least) points conceded after 3 weeks.

Son Of A Vidic

eagle eye wrote: »

So how are my fellow Patriot fans feeling now? 3-0 baby! Rookies looking better, Gronk to come back, Amendola to come back, Vereen hopefully back and in good shape come playoff time.:)

I am very, very pleased with today's performance. The offense is far from perfect but they made some real good steps today. So proud of our babies Tompkins and Dobson, they made some very good plays today. That shows a lot of character especially after our last offensive nightmare.

The Buccs run defense was the best in the league last season. But out run game was very good against them today. Ghost was rock solid with his kicking, especially with his two excellent kicks at 53 & 48 yards.

Getting pretty excited with our defense after a very slow first quarter, they really stepped up again. Our front seven was excellent, Talib and Dennard made key plays and Gregory's tackling continues to catch the eye this season. So we're 3-0 for the first time since 2007 and I am a very happy bunny.

bruschi

eagle eye wrote: »

So how are my fellow Patriot fans feeling now? 3-0 baby! Rookies looking better, Gronk to come back, Amendola to come back, Vereen hopefully back and in good shape come playoff time.:)

havent seen the game yet, but sounded good. Yes it may have been the Bucs, but game sounded more convincing than the previous 2.

TO.

eagle eye wrote: »

So how are my fellow Patriot fans feeling now? 3-0 baby! Rookies looking better, Gronk to come back, Amendola to come back, Vereen hopefully back and in good shape come playoff time.:)

Its actually refreshing to see us go back to the days of old grinding out results. If we keep grinding out these results only good things can happen. Rookies with more time on the field, Gronk back Amendola back and Vereen eventually. So far so good.

On the rookies Sudfeld needs a lot more work. Thompkins seems to be settling in nicely now and Dobson is a week away hopefully from being at the same point as Thompkins.

Hazys

Love it:

Q. How close was Rob Gronkowski to playing yesterday?

BB. I don’t know. He was inactive.

Q. Did he have a shot to play?

BB. He was inactive.

Q. Going into the day, was there a chance he’d play?

BB. He was inactive for the game.

Q. What about Danny Amendola?

BB. He was inactive too.

Q. I know they were inactive.

BB. They were inactive so they didn’t play.

Q. I think you have an idea how close they were.

BB. Well, they weren’t able to play. What do you want, percentage points? They couldn’t play.

Q. Going into the day, did you know they couldn’t play?

BB. They were inactive.

Q. That doesn’t answer my question.

BB. They were inactive, it’s as simple as that.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/23/belichick-doesnt-have-much-to-say-about-gronk-or-amendola/

helimachoptor

Quality stonewalling there by BB, however the journalist really needs some common sense there and has to realise he's not going to get any info

davyjose

Hazys wrote: »

Love it:



http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/23/belichick-doesnt-have-much-to-say-about-gronk-or-amendola/

I saw that yesterday. What an idiot reporter. What did he expect by getting into a war of words with BB. Good luck in the future.

Son Of A Vidic

Amazing how stupid journalists can be. The problem I think with most is, they are so busy formulating the next question in their own head, they don't actually listen to an answer. That and I think most seem to have a natural built in Troll. Sadly for them, you don't get a bigger can of anti-troll spray than BB in a press conference.

ReacherCreature

Some journalists are idiots. If you talk football with Bill he will reply in kind I feel. This is from interviews I've seen but this is especially the case in a video from the most recent draft: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap2000000164652/Bill-Belichick-evaluates-Patriots-draft

Maybe it's the great respect between Mayock and Bill but Mayock is asking really good questions about Bill's strategy and he replies in kind rather than really idiotic questions like those coming from 'journalists'.

Son Of A Vidic

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Maybe it's the great respect between Mayock and Bill but Mayock is asking really good questions about Bill's strategy and he replies in kind rather than really idiotic questions like those coming from 'journalists'.

That's very true and one thing about Bill, when he is asked a really good question. He just lights up in response. Don't know if any of you guys seen the press conference a few weeks back. But he was asked a question about special teams....

Question: Why do you like having Punters hold the ball on field goal attempts?

Bills reply: “Most teams had kickers, most of the punters played another position and I would say all of the long-snappers played another position, either center or linebacker or tight end or whatever it was,” Belichick recalled, according to a transcript from the club. “Then punters became pretty much specialized so every team carried a kicker and a punter. Occasionally you had a guy who could do both but that was more the exception than the rule.

“Eventually, teams started going to just pure long-snappers. Like [former Giant] Steve DeOssie, who came into the league as a linebacker/snapper, kind of ended as a snapper and was one of the best snappers in the league. He was part of that transition and in that era where teams went and committed fully to a long-snapper that played no other position. You’ve also seen that now in college. Most college teams have a pure snapper as well as a pure kicker and a pure punter.

“I just think that when you have that situation, if your punter can hold, then the amount of snaps and time that those guys get to practice together, work together, meet together, watch film together, watch slow-motions films, concentrate on the technique as opposed to the backup quarterback or somebody like that who has a lot of other responsibilities.”

Belichick also noted the role of expanded rosters in allowing teams to carry specialists on special teams.

“There was kind of that transition there from maybe ’85 to the early-‘90s. I’d say by around ’95 or so, it was pretty much one snapper, one kicker, one punter on every team,” Belichick said. “Also as the roster numbers have creeped up as well, that’s made it affordable. When you’re down in the 30s then it’s a lot tougher to carry one of each of those; that slices into your roster pretty good. The rules have made it much easier to do.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/13/bill-belichick-gives-special-teams-history-lesson/

The guy is an encyclopedia of football knowledge and is a real student of the game. Ask him a good question and that's the kind of answer you'll get from him.

Hazys

The majority of journalists have this self-appointed self worth that its their right to know everything they ask questions about. Why would Belichick give up any information that could possibly give the Falcons any advantage to somebody who doesn't care about the team, the players or the fans who is just looking for a story? What a dick to continue asking like he's a lawyer in a court room and its his right to get the answer.

ReacherCreature wrote: »

Some journalists are idiots. If you talk football with Bill he will reply in kind I feel. This is from interviews I've seen but this is especially the case in a video from the most recent draft: http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-draft/0ap2000000164652/Bill-Belichick-evaluates-Patriots-draft

Maybe it's the great respect between Mayock and Bill but Mayock is asking really good questions about Bill's strategy and he replies in kind rather than really idiotic questions like those coming from 'journalists'.

Bill Belichick gives special teams history lesson:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/13/bill-belichick-gives-special-teams-history-lesson/

Exactly. Somebody asks an intelligent question about the actual game of football as opposed to the majority of the 'journalism' questions that are trying to print headlines and BB will talk for hours. BB is a football coach, that's what he is paid to do, that's what he loves to teach people about and its what the fans of the game love to learn to.

And then of course a journalist then asks him about his contract and ruins it FFS. How inappropriate to ask somebody about how much they earn? fcuking journalists.

The majority of journalists care more about their own ego than reporting of the game the fans watch. People like Skip Bayless, Ron Borges, Dan Shaughnessy, Goerge Hook, Eamon Dunphy & co only care about building their own celebrity and proving how smart they are than doing what they are paid to do, which is to report on the sport they are covering

tbh, there very few journalists i actually like, Mike Reiss is about the only one I trust to give a fair and balanced story.

Hazys

Corvus Maximus wrote: »

That's very true and one thing about Bill, when he is asked a really good question. He just lights up in response. Don't know if any of you guys seen the press conference a few weeks back. But he was asked a question about special teams....



http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/09/13/bill-belichick-gives-special-teams-history-lesson/

The guy is an encyclopedia of football knowledge and is a real student of the game. Ask him a good question and that's the kind of answer you'll get from him.

I was wondering how i missed you posting the same link as i did...i realized i went to make a cup of tea mid-post, hence why it took so long to write.

Son Of A Vidic

Hazys wrote: »

I was wondering how i missed you posting the same link as i did...i realized i went to make a cup of tea mid-post, hence why it took so long to write.

You know what they say about great minds think alike.:cool:

ReacherCreature

I find Christopher Price a good follow on Twitter when it comes to the Patriots and he's a solid journalist: https://twitter.com/cpriceNFL

I'd do a better job than some of the shams that they let into Gillette.

eagle eye

ReacherCreature wrote: »

I find Christopher Price a good follow on Twitter when it comes to the Patriots and he's a solid journalist: https://twitter.com/cpriceNFL

I'd do a better job than some of the shams that they let into Gillette.

I remember before he was a journo, he was a member of a forum I frequent. Best poster ever on that site. I remember reading his reports from TC as he was a regular attendee at them being an avid Patriots fan. Great guy and one of the best Patriots writers.

Son Of A Vidic

Looking back at the weekend's victory, the most pleasing part was obviously Dobson and Thompkins. Dobson had 7 catches and his 3rd and 4th Down conversions were pretty big plays. Thompkins had 3 catches and the two TD's of course. Both seem to be settling in a bit more and are hopeful starting to develop that all important connection with Brady. Hopefully they will continue to progress int the right direction.

Bolden also had a very good day at the office. He had a really productive 51 Yards rushing and 49 Yards receiving. He's a much better pass catcher than Ridley and he performed a role similar to Vereen at times on Sunday. The only boo boo, was when he pulled up on a sideline route when Brady had delivered a nice deep ball to him. He failed to look back and track the ball, so he didn't realise he was targeted. No doubt he will learn from that mistake.

Gostkowski's kicking was perfection on Sunday. With his 53 yard field goal being the icing on the cap. All of his kickoffs on Sunday except for one, resulted in a touchback. Which is critical for us, especially since at times our ST unit has looked very shaky against returns. And with Slater out, his kicking is more important than ever.

Arrington looked very poor playing CB on Sunday in the first quarter. A couple of plays had him completely out of position and then we had the usual DPI call given against him which gave up a big chunk of the field to the Buccs. He needs to be kept in the slot cover role and nowhere else imo.

I find myself wondering where is the Zach Sudfeld of the preseason gone too? Because it seems anytime Brady targets him, it results in an Int. The Int on Sunday was mostly Brady's fault, because Sudfeld had double coverage and there were better options available. That said, I saw Sudfeld outplay three defenders in preseason to win a ball for a TD. I need to see a lot more from Sudfeld in the next couples of games. Right now, I think he is struggling when playing the single TE role.

Boyce played 17 snaps on Sunday and had no catches from 1 target. I'm still not seeing enough of this kid. So I would like to see him targeted more to make a better evaluation of him. Because right now it's just not possible

Son Of A Vidic

Reports are uncertain about whether Gronk or Amendola might suit up on Sunday. But I'd prefer not to see them, especially Amendola. Gronk might be close, but if Amendola is rushed, then the groin/abductor injury could end up being a issue for the rest of the season.

Son Of A Vidic

Gronk and Amendola apparently did not travel with the team. Good to see they are not being rushed back.

heres a fun game i understand one may not have worked without the others but if you had to pick one of robert craft, bill belichek or tom brady never being a patriot who would ye choose?

following that if you had to chose only one that would be a pat who would it be?

kryogen

Noel Jolly Fountain wrote: »

heres a fun game i understand one may not have worked without the others but if you had to pick one of robert craft, bill belichek or tom brady never being a patriot who would ye choose?

following that if you had to chose only one that would be a pat who would it be?

How is that a "fun" game!