I called this from the beginning and it's looking more and more like the GENIUS screwed up another big trade, possibly as awful as the Seymour trade was. (or beautiful if you're a Bills fan)
The Pats traded away Chandler Jones and got a guard (Cooper) and a 2nd round pick from Zona. They traded that pick down into a pair of picks where they selected guard Joe Thuney and WR Malcolm Mitchell.
Cooper turned out to be a bust, and Malcolm Mitchell contributed a little last year but can't stay healthy and never even saw the field this year. Thuney is a decent guard by most accounts, ranked average by PFF but that's essentially all they got from the trade.
Meanwhile Chandler is ripping it up again this year. 8 sacks already this season and one of the elites at his position. The Patriots defense is awful, and just got worse with Hightower out for the season. To make matters worse, the GENIUS guaranteed $40M to dopey Gilmore, whose cap hit is similar to what the Cards are paying for Jones in his new deal. (Gilmore cap hit $9M this year, then $12M and $14M in year three. And his dead money will be heavy if they dump him. Jones is around $10M cap hit annually)
Even without my Patriots Hating Bias, Belichick may be a good coach--as evidenced by his awesome #32 ranked defense this year, and the offensive mastery he showed last year at home without Brady scoring that whopping ZERO points against our mediocre defense), but he sure sucks as a GM.
Hey.... at least he has a pleasant, engaging personality and sense of humor.......