dave mcbride

All of this is certainly putting to rest the happy talk on this board about players not wanting to go to NE.

They still have a ton of cap space.

The Pats still have the third most available cap space after all of these signings (https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/), and Newton is being paid a back-up salary ($5 million base). The acquisition of Kendrick Bourne, who Garappolo is a big fan of, suggests to me that Jimmy G is a real possibility for NE. I'd be very hesitant to project Newton as their starter given their available cap space and the fact that Newton's salary is backup level.

They had good-to-great drafts every year from 2010-2015. Lately, not so much.

You have to give him credit for the SB defensive schemes he came up with to beat the Bills in 1991, the Rams in 1992, Andy Reid in 2005, and McVay in 2019. Those were all high-flying offenses, and he grounded them on the biggest stage. Indeed, they had basically shut down the Giants offense in 2008, but then Asante Samuel drops a relatively easy INT, David Tyree makes his catch, and then Plaxico beats his man badly (Hobbs) on a blitz.

The Cleveland story is WAY more complicated than him just failing. They were excellent in 1994, and then 1995 happened. I can't think of a worse coaching situation than Cleveland in 1995. As for the Pats, yes, Brady is great, but a) Belichick drafted him, b) handed the keys to him despite having a franchise QB with one of the biggest contracts in the NFL on the roster, and c) oversaw mostly fantastic and well-schemed defenses for two decades. I doubt there's a coach in the NFL that would say he's not the greatest ever.

Well, they finished allowing the 7th fewest yards and 15th fewest points last season. I mean, some of that was a product of their offense's style of play and the sorts of games they found themselves in, but that's still pretty good for a unit that was missing a couple of key pieces and had no pass rush (24 total sacks). Judon is a huge upgrade in that area, and Winovich is one of those Ninkovich-type players who produces in that system. We'll see what they do with the rest of the line, but getting Hightower back will be a major upgrade too. He had his best season in 2019 and just dominated in the 2018 Super Bowl. That's three legit good players on their front seven, and you know as well as I do that they always get some bargain defensive guys that fit their system. I don't profess to have any deep knowledge about the quality of the others on the line, like Brandon Guy. We all know their secondary is going to be at the very least good.

I seem to remember the Bills losing almost every game they played against them for nearly 20 years. I also remember the 1991 SB in which a great Bills team was severely outcoached. I hate the Pats but I respect BB's acumen and their accomplishments. I am also not at all convinced that Newton will be their starting QB. He got a backup's salary ($5 million with incentives).

NE's success was just as much him as Brady. Don't forget his DC stint with the Giants either.

Yeah, looks like it. He's not going to play on that salary.

I'm a believer in quality secondaries being more important than LBs/interior linemen. It is also the case that their coach is the best defensive coach in league history. I do respect my enemies.

It's the contract, it appears. He's being paid peanuts, relatively speaking, and if NE doesn't redo (I doubt they will), he won't play: https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/2021/03/15/report-teams-are-aware-that-stephon-gilmore-is-available-through-trade/.

What?? Cannon was great from 2016 onward.

Yeah, completely missed that trade! As for Gilmore, he was defensive mvp in 2019. He's not soft; he's good.

I just saw this! Thanks for alerting me.

The thing about Belichick is that he's smart. Judon has had his way with the Bills in their last two meetings, racking up 2.5 sacks and a bunch of qb hits/hurries. He clearly gives the Bills (and presumably Dawkins) problems.

Marcus Cannon is as good as Thuney and plays a tougher position.

Remember they're getting their best player back, Dont'a Hightower, a good vet in Patrick Chung, and one of their best linemen in Marcus Cannon. They're all good players. Gilmore and Edelman will be healthy too. They are loading up, and won't be an easy out.

Judon is a lot better than decent.

And the best coach of all time. This ain't Mike Mularkey we're talking about.

Yup. People here love to rip on Newton because of the passing stats, but had a crazy number of rushing/receiving TDs last year. I am not sure he'll even start next season, but he's hardly the worst QB in the league and as I say above, their defense is absolutely loaded. It'll win 8 games for them alone.

Judon is a flat out great player. Their defense is looking it'll be the best unit in the NFL next season. They are LOADED. They are the threat in the division regardless of QB, not anyone else. I don't see them winning fewer than 9 games.

Is Poyer aware of our current cap situation?

He's a good returner, but he never scored in two seasons with the Bills and he took it out of the end zone plenty of times when he shouldn't have. Still, he's better than average. The fact that it's a pretty unimportant position makes me not care so much, however.

I'm not saying Levi Wallace is any sort of star, but he's decent, knows the system, and competent CBs are way valuable than RBs. The Bills were second in the league in both yards and points last season, and while their running game isn't great, offense isn't the problem. Bad cornerback play will really expose the defense, which needs to improve. Bad corner play is the sort of thing no defense can tolerate. My point is, in a season in which you're gunning for SB, do you want to weaken our pool of corners for a RB coming off a down year and who is kind of a nothing in the passing game?