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Re: 2012 NFL Season
Faldor, you guys could have had Cordarelle Patterson or Matt Elam... You could have got Matt Elam and traded UP for Justin Hunter. The best selection you've had for the past couple of drafts was when you moved UP (not down) for Chandler Jones.
Agreed, but they've hit on a lot of their middle/late rounds picks in the past few years too (Gronk, Hernandez, Ridley, Vereen, Dennard, to name a few). It's possible they didn't love any of the guys at 29 or felt the difference between 29 and 52 wasn't that great. Or that 5 picks on day 2 was better than 3 picks over the first 2 days. For a good team, they have a good number of holes to fill. Easier to do with more draft picks. We'll see if they made the right choice.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
http://www.csnne.com/blog/patriots-talk … lans-boyce
Patriots squished Dolphins plans with Boyce
Josh Boyce was under the impression his NFL career was going to begin in South Florida. With their fourth-round pick approaching, the Miami Dolphins got the TCU receiver on the phone and told him they were spending the 104th pick on him.
But the Patriots, picking at 102 with a selection acquired from the Minnesota Vikings, got the drop on Miami and selected Boyce first.
“As soon as I got off the phone the Patriots called me,” Boyce told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “You never know,” he said. “I’m just glad God gave me the opportunity to get drafted. I can go forward from there.”
Boyce is perhaps the most intriguing player the Patriots selected during the draft. Some of his measurables are eye-popping – 4.38 in the 40 with a broken toe, 22 reps on the bench press with 225 on the bar. His 34-inch vertical isn’t out of this world but it’s still more than adequate.
More than anything, though is the way coaches and teammates rave about Boyce’s toughness and smarts.
Boyce’s coach at Copperas High School, Jack Welch, told WEEI.com, “I can tell you that Josh Boyce is a phenom. He’s a freak. An athletic freak. But when you put that personality in that body, along with that great attitude, you have a winner. He’s never missed a workout, as far as I know. Never.”
Spend a few minutes (if the spirit moves you), watching Boyce play against Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.
You’ll see some of the quarterback play from redshirt freshman Trevone Boykin that made it hard for Boyce’s performance level to be easily judged. Boykin is a little erratic. But you can see Boyce is a thickly built receiver, competitive as a blocker, and a little more plodding than you’d expect on some plays.
At about the 1:30 mark, you’ll see Boyce lined up as the lone wideout to the right, run about an 8-yard out (not sure why he has the hop start to his route, but…), turn the defender, make the catch and then accelerate for about a 60-yard gain.
Boyce explained during his Combine interview period with the media that he was turning pro for a few reasons. One, was he had gotten his degree in sociology. The other was because of uncertainty at the quarterback position. As you watch the video, you can see Boyce’s concerns are well-founded.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
misterID wrote:Faldor, you guys could have had Cordarelle Patterson or Matt Elam... You could have got Matt Elam and traded UP for Justin Hunter. The best selection you've had for the past couple of drafts was when you moved UP (not down) for Chandler Jones.
Agreed, but they've hit on a lot of their middle/late rounds picks in the past few years too (Gronk, Hernandez, Ridley, Vereen, Dennard, to name a few). It's possible they didn't love any of the guys at 29 or felt the difference between 29 and 52 wasn't that great. Or that 5 picks on day 2 was better than 3 picks over the first 2 days. For a good team, they have a good number of holes to fill. Easier to do with more draft picks. We'll see if they made the right choice.
There's no doubt there's great value in those rounds, I don't deny that. The best draft picks are, and where the best talent evaluators shine are in those third and forth rounds. I just think there is more value in the first round than Bill thinks. Those SB teams had a lot of first rounders on them. There's something to be said for that and the rosters following. But Bill is willing to invest in risk projects that fall.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
There's no doubt there's great value in those rounds, I don't deny that. The best draft picks are, and where the best talent evaluators shine are in those third and forth rounds. I just think there is more value in the first round than Bill thinks. Those SB teams had a lot of first rounders on them. There's something to be said for that and the rosters following. But Bill is willing to invest in risk projects that fall.
I don't think Belichick necessarily doesn't value first round picks. As you referenced, he traded up to get Chandler Jones last year and stayed put to draft Donta Hightower. He targeted a few players they really liked and drafted them. If he wasn't in love with any of the guys available in this years draft at #29, in which many people deemed the weakest draft in a decade, it might make a lot of sense to trade down and accumulate 3 extra picks. He traded up to get Gronkowski in the second round a few years back. It's possible they wanted to trade up to earlier in the 2nd round this year but couldn't find any takers. Maybe they felt there were a number of decent players on their board at 29 and if they could trade up into the 30's or even 40's they'd still come away with them. You just don't know exactly what they, or any team is thinking. They all evaluate these players differently.
Again, it'll take some time to see if they made the right move or not. But I can understand why they traded down. While they have a decent number of holes to fill, they were mostly for depth purposes. They really don't have any immediate needs they needed to address by drafting a potential starter in the first round. Their biggest need for depth was at WR, and they picked up 2 in the draft. They still need to revamp the defense, so if they stayed at 29 they probably would've gone that route. Unfortunately people are going to look at Patterson in relation to who the Patriots could've had, but I doubt they would've gone that way. They ended up taking 5 defensive players of the 7 players they drafted, so I like that. Can these guys play and make an impact? I have no idea, and that remains to be seen. Will there be players drafted from 29-51 that they'll look back on and regret not taking? Odds are, yes. And if the guys they picked don't work out, it'll be proven to be a terrible trade. I'll reserve judgement until then.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
It's fun looking back on draft day trades of years past that people thought were bad at the time. I remember in 2010, Patriots fans wanted Dez Bryant and they traded down, twice. Turns out Denver got the better WR (to this point) at 22 in Demaryius Thomas. You can't really complain about New England coming away with Aaron Hernandez though.
As for the deal with Dallas, they missed out on Bryant and took McCourty and Taylor Price as a WR. Well they struck out on the WR pick, but McCourty was an all pro corner his first year and while he struggled mightily his second season, he's turned into a pretty solid free safety.
#22: New England ? Denver (D). New England traded this selection to Denver for a first-round selection (24th overall; traded to Dallas, who selected Dez Bryant) and a fourth-round selection it acquired from San Francisco (113th overall; New England selected Aaron Hernandez).
#24: New England ? Dallas (D). New England traded this selection it acquired from Denver and its fourth-round selection (119th overall; traded to Miami who selected A. J. Edds) to Dallas for a first-round selection (27th overall; New England selected Devin McCourty) and a third-round selection (90th overall; New England selected Taylor Price)
In 2011 the Pats had a need at RB. At 28 a lot of people wanted them to take Mark Ingram. They traded down and took Shane Vereen in the 2nd and Stevan Ridley in the 3rd. Both have been better than Ingram to this point. They did trade up to the top of the 2nd round to select Ras-I Dowling. That pick hasn't panned out to date, as he hasn't been able to stay healthy, which was a concern coming out of college for him.
#28: New England ? New Orleans (D). New England traded this selection to New Orleans for New Orleans' second-round selection in 2011 (56th overall) and first-round selection in 2012.
With the first round pick they obtained from New Orleans in 2012 they were able to package that pick to trade up and grab Chandler Jones. Not too shabby.
Now, they're far from perfect. In 2009 they made what turned out to be a horrible trade.
#26 New England ? Green Bay (D). New England traded the first-round selection it acquired from Baltimore (26th overall, used to select Clay Matthews) and a fifth-round selection (162nd overall) to Green Bay for a second-round selection (41st overall, used to select Darius Butler) and two third-round selections (73rd overall, traded to Jacksonville, who selected Derek Cox; and 83rd overall, used to select Brandon Tate)
#73: New England ? Jacksonville (D). New England traded this selection to Jacksonville for its 2010 second-round selection and 2009 seventh-round selection (232nd overall, used to select Julian Edelman
They then used the 2nd round pick they acquired to move up in the 2nd round the following year to draft Rob Gronkowski. So they missed out on Matthews, but in a roundabout way got Edelman and Gronk, and 2 busts in Butler and Tate. So they certainly ended up saving face, but they had to work hard, and get lucky to do so because the initial trade alone was real bad.
So you win some, you lose some. We'll see what category this one falls under.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
Faldor, you guys could have had Cordarelle Patterson or Matt Elam... You could have got Matt Elam and traded UP for Justin Hunter. The best selection you've had for the past couple of drafts was when you moved UP (not down) for Chandler Jones.
I think you're slightly overrating Patterson. He had problems with drops last year and had problems picking up the playbook. I still expect him to contribute on ST for the Vikes. I just don't expect that much from him as a wideout this year. The Pats just love to throw early draft picks at DB's. Since 2007, they have selected a DB within the first three rounds every year. Most of those have been misses.
I'm happy with the Titans draft. I really would have liked an edge rusher but they were all gone at #10 and I guess Warmack was the best available player. At the very least, I expect him to be a solid player. LOVE the Justin Hunter pick. Not real keen on giving up a third rounder in a deep draft next year to SF but that's ok. Another big wideout who can get down the field and they don't have to depend that much on Kenny Britt. It would be nice if they drafted a WR in the first three rounds that actually worked out. I think the last time that happened was Earnest Givins in 1986. Like I said in the past, this team is a black hole for WR. I'm pretty sure they traded up to get in front of DET to draft Hunter.
They've basically rebuilt the entire interior of the OL this off season. Chris Johnson has no excuses now.
If you guys need a laugh, the Cowboys and their bungling of the first rounder is pretty hilarious. They had Floyd who was rated seventh on their board and they didn't take him for whatever reason. Then they trade the pick and get less than the value chart says. And this pisses off Garrett and their scouting director. The best part of all this is that this chaos is that it is all being broadcast live on a webcast of the Cowboys war room.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
The thing is, The Patriots always have tons of draft picks, but year after year, they STILL have holes on their roster. I think Hunter is better than Patterson (I really like Da'Rick Rogers, too. Bills got a steal there) but Patterson is still and upgrade over any other WR on the Pats offense. And they showed with Moss that Bill is willing to focus on a player's strength and not force them to learn all the positions like a Welker or Branch, etc. I just like seeing teams get aggressive and go after that big play-maker instead of trading them away for a few more picks that probably won't work out.
Dez Bryant would be a totally different receiver on The Pats than he is for Dallas. He'd be the top wide out in the league with Brady as his QB and Bill as his head coach, imo.
It looks to me that Jerry Jones son is just as big of a problem as he is... May even end up being a bigger problem.
Yeah, I liked the Titans draft and The Cardinals.
I think Miami whiffed after the third round, but I love Jamar Taylor. We could have got Phllip Thomas (need) Marcus Lattimore (he can sit til next season) and we could have got John Jenkins (going to be a huge need).
I loved the Dion Jordan pick, but Floyd could have been a great pick, too.
Re: 2012 NFL Season
pats sign tim tebow? wtf?
I kind of expected this move eventually, but the timing of it did surprise me. But I guess the timing is right. He was there for the taking, and his stock was at an all time low. They signed him for 2 years and no guaranteed money. If they can turn him into something, good. If not, they cut him loose without taking a financial hit. Belichick and McDaniels love the guy and obviously feel he can do some things to help the team. I highly doubt he'll be a major factor, if one at all. We'll see.
