dave mcbride

Branch has been shockingly good for the Pats. I can easily see that as one of those cases in which Belichick looked at the basic situation -- a talented guy in a losing culture acting irresponsibly -- and saying to himself, "if he's in a different situation he's likely to act a lot differently." And the Bills were glad to send him packing. Re: big Ted - the Bears went from 20th in points allowed in 2000 to 1st in points allowed in 2001, the year he joined the team. They finished second in fewest rushing yards and fewest rushing TDs allowed and 4th overall in lowest yards per attempt that season. Buy you know Greggo -- no fat guys! In 2003, Ted's one and only year with the Pats, they finished 1st in points allowed, 7th in yards allowed, and were dominant in practically every category. In 2002, the Pats were 17th in points allowed and 23rd in yards allowed. Don't get me started on Antowain. He wasn't great, but he had not one but two strong Super Bowl performances.

Hogan led the league in ypc. Perhaps more importantly, in three playoff games (and please, let's not assume those away when talking about stats!!!!) he had 17 catches on 23 targets for 332 yards and 2 TDs. That translates into 19.5 ypc and 105.7 ypg.

really interesting. thanks.

I'm no fan of Cowherd, but he makes a really interesting point about all of this, and I think it makes a ton of sense: http://www.newyorkupstate.com/buffalo-bills/index.ssf/2017/04/new_england_patriots_working_over_poorly_run_buffalo_bills_says_colin_cowherd.html "Cowherd believes that Belichick has lost interest in draft picks after the collective bargaining agreement made things more "pro player" by eliminating the number of practices and amount of hitting that takes place. Instead of teaching rookies, Cowherd believes that Belichick prefers to get veterans who understand the game."

I know I may sound like a broken record at this point, but people should read this if they haven't yet: http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-still-reaping-rewards-seymour-deal . My point is that we need to think about who we're dealing with here. Also, as for those mocking the length of this thread and saying that it wouldn't be nearly as long as if SF were the suitor, no sh*t. The reason it's a big deal is the other party--the party that has dominated the Bills for over a decade and a half.

No you didn't. Blount looked slow late last season and he's not going to get any faster.

Huh? Most fifth rounders don't last more than a season in the nfl. Gillislee is actually good.

Take out the 24 carries for 28 yards game against a great jets d-line in a game when the playoffs were on the line, and he had 43 carries for 223 yards in games mccoy didn't start or left early. Do the math.

He was the opposite of broken down in 2002. He threw the ball better and to better receivers than any season in his career. Yet he was Bledsoe as he was in NE -- feasting in the bad teams and crapping the bed against the good ones. The idea that he was broken down in 02 is 100 percent false.

Sorry, but I thought Williams looked BAD. Slow, tentative, and a fumbler. I hope he improves, but good RBs are usually good right off of the bat. I was shocked at his lack of elusiveness.

Sorry for the re-post, but this feels like essential reading given that NE is the other team in this conversation. It's effing hard to compete against them. http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-still-reaping-rewards-seymour-deal

Gillislee was cut for odd reasons. It was injury/roster related and not performace related IIRC. The Bills lucked into him. The guy can play. Very good RB.

This is an impressive chain of events. I recommend everyone read this who thinks we're a competently run franchise. http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/patriots-still-reaping-rewards-seymour-deal

PFR's metric is different. Favre, for instance, has way better advanced stats overall than Alex Smith. And Tebow got an 85 (garbage level) in his one full season starting.

I like him and think he has a really bright future. He needs better receivers. Even in his bad games he did things that impressed me.

???? 100 is average, and the average is based on qb play that year alone. It's an apples-to-apples comparison. Most of Bledsoe's seasons were under 100.

He started out hot in that game with two nice passes but was abysmal after that. After starting 3-3, he was 7-18 the rest of the way and 10-21 overall. The Pats' D and ST won that game. They had a punt return TD and a blocked FG return TD. That accounted for 14 of their 24 points. I remember Simon ripping Bledsoe after that game, saying that he played terribly after the start.

+1. Lee is fine; lots of coaches think he's a good qb coach. As they say, you can't make silk from a sow's ear.

Disagree - look at the advanced passing stats (100 is average: http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BledDr00.htm). Also, in 7 playoff games his lifetime QB rating was 54.9.

Drew Bledsoe is probably the most overrated QB of all time. He certainly wasn't horrible, but he was never good against strong competition. His career record against winning teams was abysmal. Regardless of where he was drafted, he was a classic "average" qb. Their defense plus Curtis Martin, a solid o-line, Coates, and a couple of solid receivers put them over the top. Scroll down to "advanced passing": 100 is average. He had far more below average years than above average years. http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/B/BledDr00.htm

They went to the playoffs in four of the seven seasons preceding Brady and went to the SB once.

Williams stinks. Tolbert is too old and slow. And Gillislee is quite good. This turn of events is a big net negative, in my opinion.

the 2004 defense was really good, but it faced a wretched schedule and feasted on terrible competition. The 2014 defense faced a much tougher schedule. Interestingly, the 2004 D was #1 overall in DVOA and the 2014 D was #2 overall in DVOA. I'll take either!

yup; good take. Williams looked horrible - slow and tentative. He's not good.

Not from me! If I would fault him for anything, it'd be on Carr - a clear first round talent who I firmly believe dropped because of his brother and the fact that said brother went to the same school. That's judging a type, not an individual. In retrospect, Carr merited a first round pick on production and clear physical talent alone. But every other team passed on him too.