I hate to say this

[jgcrawfish 232]

As a Steelers fan, I have to give some props to New England and their coaching staff and GM. Having 4 picks in the first 53 available in what will be one of the deepest drafts for non-skill position players looks more brilliant by the day. They traded down and out of a weak draft last year and banked picks in what will be a strong one. The Pats can conceivably come out of this with help at several positions they have issues at, and get immediate help there. It may just be blind luck, but it definitely looks shrewd. As much as I want to say "SCREW YOU PATRIOTS" I have to admit that if they hit on their 4 early picks, it's a worthy of praise. For a team that is in need of retooling, this looks like a damned good start.

 

[kutulu 1,555]

Not a PATS fan, although I do follow them closely living a few towns over from Foxoboro. And as a minor draft junkie...very interested to see how they draft.

[WoodDuck2003 0]

Yeah draft junkie here and a Cowboy fan. Last year as I was watching the Cowboys load up on picks and the PATs load up on picks this year I had a bad feeling my Boys were screwing the pooch and the PATs where being very wise! One year later I am convinced my feeling were right. The PATs as an organization are as good as it gets! I one draft, without picking but trading away the PATS went from being quite old at several skill positions to extremely young and talented at those same skill positions.

[WhiteWonder 2,196]

the Pats are notorious for trading back or out of picks if they don't like what is on the board for them. but im not so sure there was anything special about the 2010 draft that they were targeting.

 

I guess what Im saying is don't be surprised to see them do it again if they are not in love with their options.

[kmbryant09 1]

As a franchise, long-term, strategy...I think this is great management...However, I see a few flaws in their plan:

 

This team has a short-term window to win NOW. Not saying they can't open another window after Brady is gone, but he has a solid 3-5 years of elite play left in him. Moss is at the end of his career. The offensive line has been great the past few years, and certainly isn't getting younger. It seems that they've traded away some present performance for future picks (i.e. what we're seeing with this year's draft picks). They traded away arguably their best DEF player (Seymour) for a 1st round pick NEXT YEAR. Now that's good value, but it set back their DEF tremendously, both on a talent level and a leadership/locker-room level.

 

Draft picks often take time to develop, and aren't even a sure lock to pan out as expected. If they had kept some picks the last few years, they'd have a few more impact players ready to contribute NOW. I'm not sure how many picks they've given up in recent years, but imagine this team right now with a solid RB, Richard Seymour, and another playmaker or 2 on DEF. They would immediately be considered a SuperBowl contender. Now they are just a solid team well-positioned for the future.

[jgcrawfish 232]

the Pats are notorious for trading back or out of picks if they don't like what is on the board for them. but im not so sure there was anything special about the 2010 draft that they were targeting.

 

I guess what Im saying is don't be surprised to see them do it again if they are not in love with their options.

 

yeah, like I said, whether it was luck or skill, they're in a much better position this year with all those picks. I was looking at an NFL mock draft that had them taking Ryan Mathews with their early 2nd round pick which scares the hell out of me for them to be getting the 2nd rated RB in the draft, not to mention the ability to package 2 2nd's to move back up in to the end of the 1st round again if they want. For guys that lost a draft pick for the taping scandal, they sure still got a lot of picks!

[Patriotsfatboy1 1,432]

They had 4 picks in the first two rounds last year as well. I hope that Belichick has learned from some of his bad decisions to not get younger in the past.

[redtodd 7]

As a Steelers fan, I have to give some props to New England and their coaching staff and GM. Having 4 picks in the first 53 available in what will be one of the deepest drafts for non-skill position players looks more brilliant by the day. They traded down and out of a weak draft last year and banked picks in what will be a strong one. The Pats can conceivably come out of this with help at several positions they have issues at, and get immediate help there. It may just be blind luck, but it definitely looks shrewd. As much as I want to say "SCREW YOU PATRIOTS" I have to admit that if they hit on their 4 early picks, it's a worthy of praise. For a team that is in need of retooling, this looks like a damned good start.

 

 

In all fairness, they have not really been kicking arse with their picks the last few years. We had 4 in the 2nd round last year and the only one that really looked good was Sebastion Volmer (O-Tackle). But then again, it may be early for the others but they sure did not look like anything special. The Pats had the chance to grab Oher and Malaluga (who I was screaming for during the draft) and chose to continue to trade down.

 

I hope they turn those picks into something special that can contribute soon, but that remains to be seen.

[redtodd 7]

As a franchise, long-term, strategy...I think this is great management...However, I see a few flaws in their plan:

 

This team has a short-term window to win NOW. Not saying they can't open another window after Brady is gone, but he has a solid 3-5 years of elite play left in him. Moss is at the end of his career. The offensive line has been great the past few years, and certainly isn't getting younger. It seems that they've traded away some present performance for future picks (i.e. what we're seeing with this year's draft picks). They traded away arguably their best DEF player (Seymour) for a 1st round pick NEXT YEAR. Now that's good value, but it set back their DEF tremendously, both on a talent level and a leadership/locker-room level.

 

Draft picks often take time to develop, and aren't even a sure lock to pan out as expected. If they had kept some picks the last few years, they'd have a few more impact players ready to contribute NOW. I'm not sure how many picks they've given up in recent years, but imagine this team right now with a solid RB, Richard Seymour, and another playmaker or 2 on DEF. They would immediately be considered a SuperBowl contender. Now they are just a solid team well-positioned for the future.

 

With the exception of the locker room stuff (which honestly none of us have a clue about), you are over-valuing his performance on the field. Any "honest" Patriots will tell you that he was not doing all that much the two previous year before he was traded. He would have one or two games where he was disrupting the pocket or stuffing RB's that went to his side, but the majority of games he was invisible.

 

I think with the relatively inferior play from the Pats defense last year made people think they could have been a lot better with Seymour. This would not have been the case. They were going to be weak on defense last year with or without Seymour. They were smart in turning him into a high draft pick, granted next year will be a weak draft, but still it is more than they should have gotten for him (thank you Al Davis).

[kmbryant09 1]

In all fairness, they have not really been kicking arse with their picks the last few years. We had 4 in the 2nd round last year and the only one that really looked good was Sebastion Volmer (O-Tackle). But then again, it may be early for the others but they sure did not look like anything special. The Pats had the chance to grab Oher and Malaluga (who I was screaming for during the draft) and chose to continue to trade down.

 

I hope they turn those picks into something special that can contribute soon, but that remains to be seen.

Point wel taken about Seymour....

 

My whole argument was just that, while this is a great strategy for future success, this team is built to win now. I guess I jut expect teams like the Colts & Patriots to pretty much start over after Manning & Brady leave, so why not try to win as much as you can NOW.

 

It just remains to be seen if the front office can make the right selections, but also if they will all pan out in time to still be on a championship-calibur team.

[doughboys_2002 11]

Point wel taken about Seymour....

 

My whole argument was just that, while this is a great strategy for future success, this team is built to win now. I guess I jut expect teams like the Colts & Patriots to pretty much start over after Manning & Brady leave, so why not try to win as much as you can NOW.

 

It just remains to be seen if the front office can make the right selections, but also if they will all pan out in time to still be on a championship-calibur team.

I have to agree, I do think the Pats did make some good picks on defense though. Bandon Mereweather looks pretty good, and is growing into a good safty, and if Mayo can develope his leadership skills, then I think he will make a great MLB. I think Wilfork is a little over rated, just my opinion, but they need a lot of help on the O-line and D-line, and a decent RB to fill in for Morris and Faulk! I hope the can draft wisely in those positions!

 

I am a Saints fan living in Northern New Hampshire soI have to watch a lot of Pat's game, so I guess I kinda root for them too! I was pulling for both teams in 06, could have died a happy man after that SB!