Hunter2_1 Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 (edited) Bill, I salute you. Not that Bill would ever need anyone to tell him, of course, but do you remember the end of year survey where we all said the weaknesses were either receiving or run defense? With the moves we've seen so far we are directly addressing the two biggest weaknesses. We've become stronger on the edge and at the POA vs the run - we may not routinely surrender the edge now. And we've massively upgraded Red Zone passing options. Moving the ball wasn't an issue for us, but scoring through the air was. I don't expect to usurp Buffalo, but I'd be disappointed if we weren't in a battle for 2nd. RUN D You now have a situation where you don't need to use Simon, Winovich and Uche on the edge - they were getting pushed back, the safeties had to come down and got punished themselves. Judon is very stout, Godchaux is a fatty who can eat up space, Wise was good against the run, and of course Guy, and sub in Cowart. This frees up Wino and Uche to play off the ball and use their athleticism O So Cam had 20 TDs, but mostly had to run them in. The TEs gives us a lot of flexibility down there. With two blocking TEs, as well as a 6th OL and/or FB, and Cam at QB - there's so many ways you can pound it in. There's also a threat of PA with Smith and Henry now able to spill out into the end zone - defenses won't know whether to sht or go blind. I love these moves. LOVE them. Not mentioning the money yet... Edited March 17, 2021 by Hunter2_1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deadpulse Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Agreed, it seems very obvious that BB is getting people to move sticks, score TDs in the RZ, stop the run, and be in the box. This team already has a pretty good identity and it is March 17th. We didn't have an identity last year at all. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimmage Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 I agree, he's done an awesome job so far. The more I think about the pickups the more of a good deal most of them seem to be given the structures and you can't go wrong. The concern I had with the spending spree is that BB was going to spend huge money and ruin the cap a few years down the line trying to get back into the playoffs. The reality is he has been able to do both, none of these deals are going to crush them cap wise. Even Agholor which most have said was a major overpay is really a 1 year deal if he doesn't perform. The player i'm surprised by is Curtis Samuel, I figured the Patriots would love the versatility and the league in general would.. yet he is still not signed. The only thing I can think of is that they want bigger receivers for Cam given how inaccurate he is ( or that he wants crazy money). I love the 2 TE but hope Asiasi still gets some opportunities to play.. I have high hopes for him. This offense can be built in such a way that we see over 2,000 yards from the TE position between the 3 of them, which gives every team in the league a different look when they play the Pats. Both Smith/Henry are athletic enough that they can be treated as a WR when necessary so you can easily fit all these guys on the field together. BB has put himself in a position where he still has some money to spend for FA deals and he can go a variety of directions in the draft. This could mean resigning Guy / Butler among others at a discount which would be great. Trading for a veteran QB is an option, trading up for a QB is an option, drafting a corner, etc. are all options. He's done a great job so far. My current offseason thoughts are: What is the plan with David Andrews? Seems like they could have easily resigned him if they wanted.. are they planning to go with a rookie? Karras? Are Gilmore and JC Jackson gone soon? Is Gilmore gone or extended? Is JC extended or tendered? Lots of uncertainty 2022 and beyond from this position Is Dugger / Mills the safety combo of the future? Is BB trying to fill all of his needs with young players so he can trade away 2-3 drafts worth of picks for Watson? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 2 hours ago, Crimmage said: My current offseason thoughts are: What is the plan with David Andrews? Seems like they could have easily resigned him if they wanted.. are they planning to go with a rookie? Karras? Are Gilmore and JC Jackson gone soon? Is Gilmore gone or extended? Is JC extended or tendered? Lots of uncertainty 2022 and beyond from this position Is Dugger / Mills the safety combo of the future? Is BB trying to fill all of his needs with young players so he can trade away 2-3 drafts worth of picks for Watson? Surely we have to bring Andrews back. So underrated. Karras is a Dolphin still, right? Still think Gilmore could be on his way...early days still. Whether he is on roster or not, I expect an early round CB I don't expect Watson under any circumstances. I now kind of expect us to draft a Qb at 15, whereas before this I thought we'd try and get a FA or trade the pick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crimmage Posted March 17, 2021 Share Posted March 17, 2021 Reports are that he tried to get a deal done with the Patriots but is now going to see what other teams offer because he isn't happy with it. They could be low balling him as they try to keep enough cap space to go after a QB. Karras had a 1 yr deal with the Dolphins, so he is a free agent. Miami is most likely to throw money at Andrews so he could come back here and draft a rookie to compete with him. I believe BB tried to draft his replacement last year but he was the kid who retired during training camp. Problem is this draft is loaded at the top for corner, but I don't see a future #1 corner anywhere else. Lots of smaller guys. I could see them trying to extend him only if they get a high end QB and go into win now mode Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 Everyone thinks we're going to go the 2TE set again. I totally disagree. Nonesense. ....we are going to draft Kyle Pitts and go 3TE set !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted March 17, 2021 Author Share Posted March 17, 2021 46 minutes ago, Crimmage said: Reports are that he tried to get a deal done with the Patriots but is now going to see what other teams offer because he isn't happy with it. They could be low balling him as they try to keep enough cap space to go after a QB. Karras had a 1 yr deal with the Dolphins, so he is a free agent. Miami is most likely to throw money at Andrews so he could come back here and draft a rookie to compete with him. I believe BB tried to draft his replacement last year but he was the kid who retired during training camp. Problem is this draft is loaded at the top for corner, but I don't see a future #1 corner anywhere else. Lots of smaller guys. I could see them trying to extend him only if they get a high end QB and go into win now mode Ergh. I like Andrews Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoleINGout Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 This is the kind of free agency I have been craving since I found the forum back in 2006. That 2007 free agency came close to scratching the itch but this actually got it much better. Not perfect but a dream free agency as a fan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoleINGout Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 Just now, DoleINGout said: This is the kind of free agency I have been craving since I found the forum back in 2006. That 2007 free agency came close to scratching the itch but this actually got it much better. Not perfect but a dream free agency as a fan. Fun. Things I got right so far this year in predictions for the Patriots: -adding a former pro bowl veteran (traded for Trent Brown) -departures: Andrews, Thuney, Butler, Cannon -re-signing: Cam, Justin Bethel, Wise (disagreed with it but knew they would bring him back) -UFA: Judon, Jonnu, Karras -knew there would be interest in: Henry, Anderson, Bourne, Agholor, Carson, Fournette -surprises: Jalen Mills at $6 mill per, Davon Godchaux at $8 mill per, Agholor at $11 mill, signing BOTH Jonnu and Henry -misses: didn't bother to scout out Davon Godchaux at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBLIII Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 16 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said: Everyone thinks we're going to go the 2TE set again. I totally disagree. Nonesense. ....we are going to draft Kyle Pitts and go 3TE set !! Might as well do it if he is somehow available, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Third Rider Posted March 18, 2021 Share Posted March 18, 2021 9 hours ago, DoleINGout said: This is the kind of free agency I have been craving since I found the forum back in 2006. That 2007 free agency came close to scratching the itch but this actually got it much better. Not perfect but a dream free agency as a fan. Patriots are the 6th team ever to hand out $100 million+ in guaranteed money in free agency. This is a very unique year, very exciting as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 And it makes sense. Less than half is guaranteed, they're all relatively young, they're mostly injury free, the structure doesn't hurt us down the line. It's like...where has this been for the last few years? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission27 Posted March 19, 2021 Share Posted March 19, 2021 1 hour ago, Hunter2_1 said: And it makes sense. Less than half is guaranteed, they're all relatively young, they're mostly injury free, the structure doesn't hurt us down the line. It's like...where has this been for the last few years? They haven’t had cap space. And ideally you don’t have to do this because you already have good players through the draft. This is fun but there are like 30 other fan bases who would tell us flashy off-season spending doesn’t usually translate. This feels different because the team was already 7-9 and were getting other guys back and these were smart adds. But we will see how they fit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hunter2_1 Posted March 19, 2021 Author Share Posted March 19, 2021 2 hours ago, mission27 said: They haven’t had cap space. And ideally you don’t have to do this because you already have good players through the draft. This is fun but there are like 30 other fan bases who would tell us flashy off-season spending doesn’t usually translate. This feels different because the team was already 7-9 and were getting other guys back and these were smart adds. But we will see how they fit. Yeah. Are these also the same people telling us that these aren't great players anyway? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mission27 Posted March 20, 2021 Share Posted March 20, 2021 10 hours ago, Hunter2_1 said: Yeah. Are these also the same people telling us that these aren't great players anyway? major overlap tbh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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