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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 24, 2021 10:26:21 GMT -5
If you say so, I'm slightly skeptical that's true, maybe because most faster guys are slightly smaller. I mean look at the list I posted, there are many guys faster. It's like saying you want Harry over a smaller faster WR. The days of teams just running it all day long are gone, the NFL is changing. I want speed to match up with that, not good weight to speed ratios. You can always find guys like Bentley and Robert's late in the draft. The idea of big slower LBers is from the days where running dominated the game. There's a huge group of players bigger than safeties and smaller than the biggest ILB in football, which is what I want. We play safeties because we don't have fast LBers and it kills is when they want to run. If you see Collins as more of an OLB that could change things, I see him as an ILB. I disagree on Parsons, he's so special because there's nothing he can't do. He’s a much better Hightower, just remember Hightower went 25th in the draft. That's the point where I start liking Collins, yet frankly I'd likely still take a faster LBer. I don't care what he did at Tulsa versus that level of talent, 4.67 is slow to match up with today's NFL weapons, most TEs are faster than that. Don't let me get you down, if you love Collins pound the table for him. Not my cup of tea though and I look around and just see better athletes everywhere. Look at Paye, look at Bateman and Marshall Jr., all guys projected mid to late first. The small WRs that are unreal athletes. I don't see LBers as a massive need, it's Parsons is just a beast. Speed is important but you don't simply draft the fastest players and have a track meet, it's much more nuanced than that. Plenty of WR's with speed have busted too, and plenty of WR's without elite speed have been pro bowlers. If Harry had elite releases instead of below average he'd be a more viable WR. As far as Collins, objectively speaking, RAS rates his 40 time in the "good" range, but you seem to be talking about him as a liability in that area when that doesn't feel accurate. He's certainly not Parsons, but few linebackers are, and Collins is still a good athlete in his own right. Plenty of LB's with elite speed aren't going to be able to do what the Pats are looking for. Collins isn't going to be the TE coverage chess piece, they have other guys for that, but he's certainly not going to be a liability in coverage in space either. Hightower went 25th, but if you redraft that draft he'd go higher, and the goal isn't to get the best players based on pre-draft rankings it's to get the best pros. Hightower has been an all time great Patriot, and the defense has always been much weaker without him. I've clearly said I don't consider Collins a top 15 prospect but still really like him as a fit here overall. There's a difference between liking a prospect in his projected range and pounding the table for him at #15. I'd do that for Surtain or Pitts or Fields, but those guys will likely be gone. I'd prefer other guys at 15, but I'd prefer Collins to say Barmore, so he's not the worst case realistic scenario at #15 either. If the Pats traded back from #15 and landed Collins in the 20s or if they traded up from #46 and landed him in the 30s I'd be very happy. I've also been pretty clear I consider Parsons a better prospect, but you seem to ignore the possibility that the Patriots won't consider Parsons a culture fit. Again, I know nothing about Parsons character to say either way, but some people have suggested it goes beyond the hazing scandal. Part of the reason the Patriots have a notoriously small draft board is the way they evaluate culture fits. Also, I believe it's more likely than not he'll be off the board before #15, and that's part of the conversation too. I'm also trying to protect in terms of how Belichick views fits/needs. For example, I love Owusu-Koramoah as a player, but I have a harder time seeing him as a Patriot given his size. You may want a bunch of speed LB's at the expense of size, but I doubt Belichick goes that route entirely. Last year they lacked his prototypical linebackers and their run defense was atrocious, and he's arguably overspent trying to improve the run defense this offseason. I think Bill will adjust his LB size standards a bit, but it'll be a more modest shift. I also don't think Bill will say *we need X position*, he'll look for the best value and system fit and draft accordingly.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 23, 2021 23:34:01 GMT -5
What do you see Collins as? It's mixed 3-4/4-3 ILB, 4-3 OLB or 3-4 OLB? Overall his speed isn't horrible, yet it's not close to elite either. This is all context, Collins at 15, when he's slower then both Jamie Collins and Hightower. A bunch of people see his best current skill as pass coverage, yet no 3 cone time. Which scares the crap out me. I like him, just not at 15 and frankly I want a faster guy. I'd rather a smaller LB with sideline to sideline speed. Dylan Moses didn't run, yet was projected in the high 4.4s, Jamin Davis put up massive numbers. Bill has done this complete change on what his 3-4 is for modern day football. I think the final piece is a big time speed guy at ILB. Usually that means smaller, yet Paron's gives you both. Watch Bill take him, he loves big LBers. I just wouldn't do Collins at 15, I'd trade down. If you miss him, I just move onto my other targets. He's different than Hightower but that's probably very similar to his eventual role. Hightower got a 4.62 at his combine, but that's 97.8% at his size so he set a really high standard. With Collins, his coverage grades were so off the charts that even if he's not actually *that* good he's still very likely an asset in that capacity from day one. I've really seen mostly highlights but he flashes in those clips. I think a player like Hightower or Collins will still be utilized by Bill going forward, you can only put so many Adrian Phillips/Kyle Dugger types in the box, and having one big body in the middle helps. The appeal with Collins is to avoid Belichick plugging in more Elandon Roberts/Bentley types in that role once Hightower is gone. Parsons would be a bit limited by that role given his skill set, I see Parsons fit being closer to a mix of roles held by Jamie Collins and Van Noy depending on the situation. Hopefully he'll be rushing off the edge in most passing situations, he's just too good not to. Of course, Hightower could rush/blitz too and so can Zaven, just not at the level of Parsons. Collins is not one of my top 15 prospects, but he's top 22, and a couple others probably aren't ideal system fits. Collins wouldn't be a favorite pick at #15, but there are worse possibilities in that range imo. I'm cool with trading back assuming they get value. Parsons would be a home run if they've cleared his character concerns, but ultimately I think he'll be off the board by #15.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 23, 2021 21:43:27 GMT -5
www.nbcsports.com/edge/edge/article/weekly-update/2021-nfl-draft-pro-day-trackerI think that does a great job showing why I'm obsessed with WRs and CBs in this draft. Not only are they both big needs, just look at the athletes. You see why I'm not in love with a guy like Collins at 15 and why I am with Parsons. Parsons is a top 5 athlete in the whole draft, Collins 4.67 is highly disappointing and he of all LBers doesn't do a 3 cone time. Paye also disappoints at only 6'2" and 261, that's a big difference off of my draft magazines 6'3" 275 and 277. That is screaming 4-3 DE or OLB yet I haven't seen anyone say he could be an OLB. One of the more shocking numbers Ben Cleveland a 6'6" OG at 354 ran a 4.85 40. I don't know if it really matters much being a guard. Very few times he'll ever get 40 yards down field. Yet he's just a beast 30 reps and that speed at that size is just eye opening. I also love Ian Book being 211 pounds, that's important for him. That puts him in line with other shorter QBs that have done well in the NFL. Lawrence scares the hell out of me at 6'5" 213 pounds. People wonder how Book will do taking hits, yet he's rather stout for his height, Lawrence is a big time string bean. It was shocking seeing him last year without pads on the sidelines. The Jags better have a great OL. Collins at 4.67 is actually good according to the RAS composite speed grade system (his 20 split not so much), you've got to keep in mind he's just under 6'5" and 259lbs. Parsons put up a freakish 40 time for sure, as far as speed goes Collins can't compete and Parsons is certainly the superior athlete overall. Collins doesn't have the sideline to sideline game of Parsons and isn't as good of a pass rusher (who is?), but he's certainly the superior pass defender. I definitely prefer Parsons, but he might not be viewed as a culture fit. Collins at #15 wouldn't be exciting, but if they try to get too cute and trade back I could totally see him being off the board soon after (the Cardinals have been connected to him at #16). I'd be thrilled to get Parsons because that would mean the Patriots feel comfortable with the character concerns, I obviously can't say how legit they are.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 19, 2021 20:49:01 GMT -5
I think the lesson here is it's easy to have a great draft when you use a fundamentally broken trade simulator that significantly overpays in every single deal. The PFF simulator will consistently accept awful trades for the other side, it has no value beyond entertainment.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 19, 2021 12:45:04 GMT -5
I've seen it all now, you really trying to say Cam Newton was better than Brady in 2019? Give Brady 2020s OL and RB production in 2019 and things would have been different. Even with a worse OL, go look at sack percentage. Newton's was almost double with the #4 OL. You brought up completion percentage and James White had a career high. I didn't see a single thing different with him, just how he was used. It was easy passes, go watch the tape, look at the numbers. He didn't crater it was Newton, he doesn't have the accuracy to get the full value out of a guy like White. Have you looked at the defensive ratings of the teams Newton had big yards against? Seahawks 31st worst passing D in the league. His best games were against the worst passing defensive units in the league. Only one game with over 200 yards passing against a good D. 2019 I truly believe it was just Brady needed more talent, 2020 with Newton wasn't that. He kept missing open WRs, not something Brady does much. He needs better mechanic just as much as more weapons. You seem to just be missing Brady threw so much more because that was the best option. They couldn't run the ball and everything was on him. 2020 we played a dumped down offense to help Newton and ran the ball a ton. You seem to be hinting at that all Newton needed was more chances and he'd be better. That's just not true, if he threw at Brady's level things would have been much worse. Heck Newton bad passing was hurting Harris. I pointed to two basic passing stats to push back on these crazy narratives that make it seem like Cam was the sole reason the passing offense struggled. When I mentioned completion percentage, you suggested it was due to dump offs to RB's. Then I noted his yards per attempt were higher, to push back on that idea. Instead of ever addressing this, at all, you just resort to *omg I've seen it all you think Cam is better than Brady* and keep citing only James White as if he was his sole pass catcher. Again, you make it seem like Cam had some fake completion percentage because of easy throws that Brady didn't have in 2019, yet Brady averaged 6.6 Y/A. How difficult were Brady's throws then? Brady was the dump off king in 2019 and still rocked a 60.8 completion %, even with his great accuracy. You claim Brady didn't miss open receivers and Cam did, as if in 2020 guys got separation and in 2019 they didn't. Of course Cam missed guys, so did Brady, and I'll agree Cam missed them at a higher rate, just not as much as the narrative suggests. I watched the games too and disagree with your assessment. I don't care to argue with your eye test further, so I'll agree to disagree. For the record, I think Tom was a better QB in 2019 than Cam was in 2020, but I don't think the difference was as significant as the narrative suggests. I agree the offensive line and run game was better in 2020 than 2019. The schedule was easier in 2019, and Brady's stats for 2019 were a bit inflated from the start of the season vs. what it was down the stretch. The defense was elite in 2020 and bad in 2019, and that often impacted game situation and field position vs 2019. I also think Cam deserves *some* credit with the run game, as his ability to run made it a more dynamic attack than if Brady was under center with the same o-line and running backs, but you can disagree. And yes, of course he took more sacks, that's what you'll get with a mobile QB vs a guy like Brady. Frankly these things aren't what the discussion was about. Cam is a less consistent thrower (to be kind) and struggled pre-snap while Brady was a master at it, I'm not debating those aspects. My thing is I think people had an unrealistic idea of what was possible for the Patriots passing offense last year, and I'm confident Brady's passing numbers would've declined from 2019 if he stayed (I realize that's hypothetical and can't be proven). Finally, when you say James White didn't decline last year, you're on an island on that one. Again, beyond the passing game he notably declined as a runner (he was never a great runner, but still) and pass blocker. He received minimal outside interest as a FA and took a dirt cheap deal to come back, but whatever, think what you want. I love White and hope he rebounds, and I certainly empathize with what he went through last year, but I'm far from the only one that saw a different player last year…your mileage may vary, but that's not an unpopular opinion, at all.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 18, 2021 11:57:28 GMT -5
I think he struggles with everything except those crazy nice passes to Meyers when yeah he's literally wide open. Yet Burkhead and White had higher catch percentage with Newton in 2020 than Brady in 2019. Heck James White had a career high, yet they were also all easy screen or dump down passes where yeah he missed a bunch of them. Looking at Cam Newton completion percentage and comparing it to Brady in 2019 is laughable. Newton wasn't good last year. If Brady made the same passes he likely completes 80% of them. Brady would throw those long sideline passes to James White, Newton never did that. Why are you focusing solely on passes to running backs? Collectively, Cam's total attempts averaged more yards per attempt than Brady's attempts. Brady got to throw the ball a ton basically every game. When Cam got a lot of attempts he generally threw for a lot of yards. A lot of games he didn't have many attempts, partly because of his struggles but also because of the terrible supporting cast and dominant run game. In Brady's last ten games here his completion percentage was over 56% twice. In 5 of his last 7 games, he threw for 221 yards or less despite throwing a healthy amount of attempts each game (never less than 29). The offense was getting worse as the season progressed in 2019, with the one exception being the second Bills game. Also, again, James White cratered as a player in all ways last year. He even became a liability as a pass blocker. We can understand why he struggled last year dealing with a personal tragedy, but he was a different guy last year beyond the Brady/Cam switch.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 17, 2021 22:00:24 GMT -5
Book can sit in the pocket and March a team down the field, yet also make plays with his feet and arm outside. Unlike Mac Jones Book didn't always have awesome protection. He had a bunch of games when he was under a massive amount of pressure, so he'd have to move around to make plays. It's a good thing with him, he's very athletic. Exactly what teams want right now, a QB with the ability to turn a bad play into a good one. A sack or throw away turns into positive yards. What the hell is Mac Jones going to do in those games? We have no clue because he's yet to face that, Bama's talent was just that great. It's rather simple, easier drop down passes to the RBs and Meyers. If Meyers doesn't bust out when Edelman gets injured, Newton wouldn't have that completion percentage. It was easier passes and a lot less of them. Why wouldn't the Patriots throw on short yardage more? Why wouldn't they try more throws on the goal line when Newton has this high completion percentage? Come on now you had to watch the games, Newton bounced more passes to receivers than I've every seen a Patriots QB do in 20 plus years. His mechanics would come and go all the time. You'd get awesome throws and then head scratching ones. I think he can do better, I'm not convinced he can keep his mechanics good enough to run this offense. You know more about Book than me so I'll defer to your opinion. From what I've read he was often too eager to abandon his progressions and resort to playground style quarterbacking. If that's due to necessity and poor protection that certainly changes the narrative. I do acknowledge Mac Jones is a bit of a question mark due to his supporting cast, but Joe Burrow and Tua had similar talent surrounding them and didn't get nearly as much doubt for it. Ultimately I agree though, I think Jones needs a good system/coach fit and above average supporting cast to be a successful starter in the NFL. I don't think the completion percentage was all about easier drop down passes to the RBs and Meyers. Brady utilized the RB's on high percentage passes more than Cam, and White wasn't nearly as good in 2020. Again, Cam had more yards per attempt. Yes, his inconsistent mechanics led to accuracy issues, but in 2019 how many times did Brady chuck it out of bounds or throw it away from everyone simply because guys weren't separating? Well, he did it a whole lot, and that's why his Y/A and completion percentage were so similar to Cam's. The reason why they didn't try more throws on the goal line with Cam is because they quite literally had zero red zone targets. Ryan Izzo was the TE #1. As good as Meyers was, he isn't a primary red zone option and couldn't compare to even Edelman in that role. Cam was effective in short yardage areas, why try to throw to Ryan Izzo or Harry or Byrd in a goal to go situation when the field is crammed with bodies when you have an elite run blocking o-line and Cam Newton? This year, they have a totally different red zone dynamic with Henry and Smith. Bill spending so much on not one but two TE's is proof enough about what he thought of the red zone passing options. As far as not seeing a Pats QB do that in 20 years, examine the context. Obviously Brady, the GOAT, was the QB for almost the entirety of that period. The short times filled with Jimmy G and Cassel featured players like Randy Moss, Wes Welker, Edelman, and Gronk. This was the single worst WR/TE groups in those twenty years. And I agree with the mechanics with Cam. He'll never be a consistent thrower, you'll always have to deal with bouts of inaccuracy which is a major reason why we all want to upgrade from him. He's a flawed player but the team can have a functional offense with him assuming the supporting cast plays to expectations, which is the point I'm making. The narrative is this team literally can't with Cam, and a Brissett/Fitzpatrick/Trubisky type as starter would clearly upgrade the team, that's what I'm pushing up against.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 17, 2021 21:37:58 GMT -5
The point on drafting a QB late who “projects as a baxkup” is because you want as many bites of the apple at that position as possible. I remember a late round QB who was 4th on the depth chart one year that worked out pretty well. You misquoted me. I didn't say "projects to be a backup", I said ceiling of a backup. There's a big difference between the two. Only five QB's in this draft project to be starters, but I'd be fine with drafting some of the guys outside of that group. For example, Mond and Trask project to be backups, but they have the tools to start so I'd be fine with utilizing a pick and roster spot on them. The Brady mention is beyond silly for obvious reasons: he was the outlier of outliers, and the claim is the Patriots felt like Brady should've been drafted rounds earlier and only drafted him due to the overwhelming value at that spot. That's totally different than forcing a pick on a JAG because you want to wishcast at QB with quantity.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 17, 2021 13:45:10 GMT -5
I haven't seen enough of Book to have an opinion, but other than the size concerns I've read multiple scouting reports claim he often plays out of structure. If that's true he's not really comparable to Mac Jones, who is all about playing within the structure but doesn't have the skill set to "create" when things break down. I've seen Book listed as a 6th-7th round guy or possibly undrafted, so at that cost it'd be an Etling type flyer and it'd be hard to get worked up about him at such a low cost. Personally, I don't see the point of drafting a guy with a ceiling of a solid backup at this moment (again, I haven't seen enough of Book to say that's his ceiling, I'm just going off scouting reports).
The Cam hate has gone way too far. Cam is not an ideal fit for this offense and certainly a bottom 5-10 starting QB, but the media and fan narrative is he literally can't throw. If so, how did Cam have a better completion percentage in 2020 than Brady had in 2019, while also averaging more yards per attempt? The total numbers look way different, but Brady got to throw the ball 245 more times and Cam rushed for 12 TD's and nearly 600 yards. It's not like he had better weapons than Brady, as Brady had Edelman for 16 games. It's weird how people could watch Brady perform like he did in Tampa this year after being mediocre at best in 2019, yet no one can comprehend how Cam could improve assuming the Patriots get the 2020 versions of Smith, Henry, Agholor and Bourne. Passing rating is flawed, but 2019 Brady was 88.0 and 2020 Cam was 82.9, yet the narrative makes it feel like the passing offense failed because of Cam. If Brady is the GOAT, you'd think the discrepancy would be significantly bigger. I know no one wants to blame COVID for Cam's struggles, but how about the fact that the team barely practiced for weeks and 5 of Cam's 10 INT's came in the two games following COVID? I'm not blaming his health as much as the missed practice time. He's flawed and ideally the Pats would upgrade, but people act like a Ryan Fitzpatrick type would've significantly elevated the Patriots offense and I think that's ridiculous.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 7, 2021 12:30:13 GMT -5
I buy Jones to SF after Schefter mentioned it. It doesn't feel like a lock in the same way Lawrence and Wilson do at 1-2, but all the smoke is around Jones right now. SF doesn't have much incentive to leak misinformation, the top two picks are locked in. If the pick is Jones, most fans and media will criticize it, so it makes some sense to leak how much they like Jones now to shift the expectations and take away the shock on draft night.
If Jones is the 49ers pick as rumored, I think Jimmy will be gone by this trade deadline, if not before week 1. Jones isn't a guy that should need a redshirt year. If Jimmy is such a big upgrade over Jones next year that it's worth carrying Jimmy's huge cap number, that's a really bad sign considering the prospect's profile and acquisition cost. Jones isn't a toolsy but raw prospect like Lance, his appeal is being polished and NFL ready. If the 49ers like Jones enough to give up a draft pick haul, they should trust him to be at least comparable to Jimmy in year one. Even if they put him on Tua's path from last year, it's a poor use of resources to pay Jimmy to start ~6 games or so. His salary could significantly upgrade the roster at other spots. They could easily grab a Mariota type to maintain veteran insurance at a much lower rate.
The 49ers have no incentive to admit they'll be moving Jimmy right now. Maybe some team (Patriots?) strikes out at the draft and gets desperate for a competent veteran QB. Jimmy can provide important competition for Mac and serve as injury insurance during camp and preseason, and cutting him just before week 1 is an option. Also, it buys the 49ers time to see if another team's starter gets injured before week 1. If Lance or Fields is the pick it'd make more sense to keep Jimmy.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 3, 2021 14:27:13 GMT -5
If the Pats project any of those QB's as the future starter, then sure, overdraft by 15-30 spots and get your guy. I'd still prefer to trade back from #46 to at least the bottom of round 2, but that's not a big deal if they pick the right guy. If the Pats wait until pick #96 they'll be in a tough spot, but they have plenty of picks to bridge the gap between #46-96, so they should be able to get one of those guys in a reasonable value range.
Ultimately, I think if they draft any of those players they'll still firmly be in the QB market moving forward. I see them all as high end backups or fringe starters, but I don't think any have the ceiling of an above average QB in today's NFL, and given the league's depth moving forward even top 20 feels very unlikely imo. They are built to win now and need a QB ASAP, but I'd rather punt the trade capital to 2022 and wait for a viable solid average to better starter than reach on a fringe option. 5+ years ago fringe starters had more value, but going forward it feels like there will be a number of those types who are readily available for minimal resources. There's value in finding system fits and getting them in your system in hopes of unlocking their ceiling, but if you buy high it'll basically mean that ceiling needs to be realized or else it's a bad pick.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Apr 2, 2021 18:52:50 GMT -5
I definitely wouldn't take any of the non-top 5 QB's before the third round.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Mar 27, 2021 11:02:08 GMT -5
If all the QB's are gone at #15 I'd be fine with a trade, assuming they can acquire something like a 2022 1st and a 2021 2nd. If they miss out on their QB of the future this draft, they really should start stockpiling ammunition to land a guy next offseason. I know people are already hating on the next QB class, but we don't know what the QB trade market will be next year either. Maybe they get lucky like the Dolphins after the Tunsil trade and the 1st rounder turns into a high pick. Otherwise, if the Pats make the postseason next year they'll have less draft capital than other QB needy teams and will be in a tough position again.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Mar 19, 2021 12:01:00 GMT -5
In my very uneducated opinion, even with all these changes, with the huge exception of the tight end positions in which they dramatically improved themselves, what can they do with the wide receiving position? They still don't look like they have a go-to-guy and Edelman has physical issues. Is there somebody in free agency that can really help them. If so would they be far enough under the cap to afford the player? I'm assuming now that they'll be trading to move up in the draft and snag their future QB as trading for Watson doesn't really look like an option now. So their 1st pick will be a QB. But will they be looking for an impact wide receiver in the draft as well? I would think they'd have one more spend in them. But then again they were also looking for another running back as well, weren't they? I doubt they'll sign a big money WR, it wouldn't make sense to give Bourne and Agholor their deals and pay two TE's top of the market money if they were still going to sign a top WR. Drafting a WR makes a lot of sense, this class is deep and they can get a future starter outside the 1st round. They also have the depth to not need the rookie to make a significant year 1 contribution. If they have a RB on the field, they can only align four other skill guys: Smith, Henry, Agholor seem like locks most plays when healthy, so only one of Meyers, Bourne, Edelman, Harry, etc. would join them on the field. Depth matters and having the ability to utilize 4 WR sets in certain matchups is nice, but if they plan to sign a Golladay type or trade for OBJ they should've passed on one of Agholor or Bourne (or one of the TE's).
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Post by beasleyrockah on Mar 15, 2021 13:40:21 GMT -5
Just curious, would you rather have Smith or Ertz? There was a rumor that he could be had for a 3rd or 4th round pick and his cap hits appear to be $12.7m, $1.8m, and $1.8m over the last 3 years of his contract. Ertz has one year left, not three. You are counting void years. Ertz was bad last year, Smith is a much better player. I wouldn't be excited for Ertz at his salary even if he didn't cost a pick. Even if Ertz can get healthy and rebounds, he'd be a one year stopgap and the Patriots need a longer term solution. It does feel like the Patriots overextended for Smith financially, but he's a perfect fit. Hopefully Asiasi becomes a dependable #2 and they can run a lot of 12 personnel, it'd be ideal with their running attack and oline.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Mar 10, 2021 23:13:18 GMT -5
Patricia is definitely not going to be the de facto coordinator, that's so far off base from every report I've read. Bill is clearly grooming his kid for that role, and Patricia isn't going to cut into Mayo's role either. Patricia isn't going to be a positional coach or be in that type of situation, Reiss suggested his role would be like Mike Lombardi's old role. Caserio reportedly bounced between personnel and coaching duties at various times, and Patricia will probably take on a portion of those duties.
Also, it's laughable to suggest the players opted out because Bill was a "tough coach". Multiple opt outs were guys who were free agents and willingly signed on to play for Bill just months earlier. All of the internal vets who opted out were possible cap casualties if they didn't opt out. I feel very comfortable saying none of those guys decided to opt out for the primary factor of Bill being a tough guy to play for, or that they would've played last year for say Josh McDaniels. I think it's fair to say Gronk retired because he didn't want to play for Bill, but this other suggestion is baseless.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 22, 2021 12:28:42 GMT -5
I admittedly didn't watch much baseball last year, and the sample size is so small, but it's interesting how much better Xander hit on the road last year. I know it wasn't the typical road environment, but he consistently hit better at Fenway prior to this past season (other than 2013). Maybe COVID forced him to change his road routine and something clicked and it carries over. Again, I recognize he played in 56 games last year so this could just be noise, and I'm not suggesting he definitely changed something significant in his routine.
EDIT: Looking further, it seems like his road damage came against lefties.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 21, 2021 13:12:31 GMT -5
The two players I enjoyed watching the most (Pedro and Ortiz) were not home grown. The 2004 team was mostly led by acquisitions from other teams. Yes, I prefer a mostly home grown superstar team as a concept, but it's not nearly that simple. Would you prefer to watch Carl Pavano and Tony Armas Jr over Pedro Martinez? Was Pedro not a "true" Red Sox because he played with other teams before and after? The best teams have a combination of the two. In reality, I just want entertaining players, hopefully with charisma and personality.
I'd love for Xander to be a life long Red Sox, but I also don't want the team overpaying just because they lost Mookie either, that doesn't make any sense. Luckily, based on his last extension, it seems like Xander wants to be here and doesn't feel the need to max out every dollar. Cora's presence can only help.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 14, 2021 14:20:55 GMT -5
Which is why I had hoped good sense would prevail and ST would start at end of March. I got my two Pfizer shots because of age (79), and now those in their sixties are eligible. People with disabilities as a category will begin in mid-March. So good chunks of front line workers, first responders, and essential workers are already vaccinated, as well as seniors. And this process is accelerating. Soon the disabled and those with other underlying conditions will be safer. Baseball? Certainly most older, eligible baseball staff (at every level, including college and high school) like scouts, coaches, FO, grounds crew, ushers, concessions etc. will have been vaccinated, probably independent of baseball, I would be surprised if most teams didn’t guarantee this through team physicians and medical affiliates. So where does that leave players and young staff who will begin playing baseball next week during a mutating and still spreading pandemic? This is the age group (20-39) that continues to spread this virus by living carelessly, often intentionally. Unless strictly mandated and enforced, mask wearing, distancing and hand washing will be as rare as spitting, high fives and chest bumps are common. A scary thought. They are neither seniors nor health workers. Will these healthy kids be considered essential workers? More essential than pharmacy and grocery store personnel, public transportation and restaurant workers? I hope not. Sure baseball could make it work. But as new vaccines roll out, if the season were to begin in May or June, the teams could likely be universally vaccinated and the stands increasingly fuller, and no one would accuse them of cutting in line. In my personal experience the most responsible people have been in the age 20-39 group, and the people with the most contempt for social distancing and masks are mostly 50+. Of course many young people don't do the right thing, but many seniors don't as well. By nature, young people have more active social lives and are sacrificing the most during this time by behaving responsibly (more things to do and less personal risk). It'd be nice if future generations eventually stop the cycle of blaming young people for the world's problems. As far as mask mandates go, that's a political decision - and without making it a party issue, who controls the government: young people, or old people? The young politicians aren't the ones standing in the way of a mask mandate fwiw. Moving back to baseball, I don't think the league can afford to lose more momentum by delaying the start of this season. The NFL had some issues this year, but they got through the eye of the storm in terms of COVID relatively successfully, despite much bigger rosters. The infection rates will be lower and they can do as much testing as they need. If the MLB delayed the season it'd be a bad look considering the other three leagues have figured out a way to play through a more challenging time.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 13, 2021 12:40:17 GMT -5
Moreland and Shaw are a lot closer than people think. The huge difference is Moreland has been used in platoons a lot more than Shaw has. Moreland .794 RHP .672 LHP in fenway .860 OPS Shaw .803 RHP .683 LHP in fenway .844 OPS Shaw gives you a lot more flexibility and is 4.5 years younger. I'd also assume he's cheaper. Yet whatever, they are very similar. Shaw has been below average against righties each of the last two seasons (not a huge sample to be fair) while Moreland has been very good. The big question with Shaw is what happened to him the past two years, and is it possible to get him close to the hitter he was in 2017-2018, because that guy would be a great fit. Moreland feels like the safer play (although ZIPS doesn't agree fwiw), but Shaw has real upside if they can fix him.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Feb 10, 2021 23:19:23 GMT -5
I'm discovering a lot of posters know what a PTBNL means, but don't understand the variance of quality that comes from players given that title. Guys, being a PTBNL doesn't automatically mean you have no value. If these three players are organizational filler you can be mad about it once they are identified. Crushing this trade before we know the full details is extremely unreasonable and only serves to undermine the opinions of the posters who feel the need to be reactionary before they have the information to make an informed evaluation. So many sports fans act personally offended any time all the details aren't immediately know to a trade, contract, etc.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jan 10, 2021 14:36:59 GMT -5
YUP, what 10 days on the practice squad. He throws a nice ball, of course that is after watching Cam throw all season. He looked better than Cam has in any game, made himself millions. Back up QB is the second best position in football - only surpassed by punter. Remember when Matt Flynn got paid by Seattle because he had that one good game against the Pats, but then never actually started a game for them? That would be a good outcome for any team that signs Heinicke for real money. It was a nice story, but I don't even want him as the backup.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jan 4, 2021 15:25:37 GMT -5
Caserio can leave if the title is a promotion, and since Bill has final say he'll be able to go if he runs the show elsewhere. I'd like to see Bill bring back Dimitroff and maybe Bob Quinn, assuming they don't get better jobs elsewhere. They're guys who have been in his system and know what Bill wants, but also have run the show themselves in a different system and can maybe bring some new ideas or evaluations. I'd also like to see a few more established positional coaches added, at least one on both sides of the ball. This was Bill's least impressive coaching staff in a long time, even with Popovich and Bricillo doing a fantastic job replacing Scar. Hopefully Troy Brown continues to take a bigger role and Mayo sticks around for years to come. I’ve seen that thrown around but he wasn’t able to leave for the Houston GM job last year and the same thing was said and then he signed a contract extension so I would be shocked if he left. I believe Caserio had specific language in his old deal that blocked a move. The league prohibited such contract language this past offseason, so I believe he can walk as long as it's a promotion but I'm not 100% sure. I don't think Houston would've reached out if they knew the Pats could block it.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jan 4, 2021 14:17:04 GMT -5
Caserio can leave if the title is a promotion, and since Bill has final say he'll be able to go if he runs the show elsewhere.
I'd like to see Bill bring back Dimitroff and maybe Bob Quinn, assuming they don't get better jobs elsewhere. They're guys who have been in his system and know what Bill wants, but also have run the show themselves in a different system and can maybe bring some new ideas or evaluations. I'd also like to see a few more established positional coaches added, at least one on both sides of the ball. This was Bill's least impressive coaching staff in a long time, even with Popovich and Bricillo doing a fantastic job replacing Scar. Hopefully Troy Brown continues to take a bigger role and Mayo sticks around for years to come.
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Post by beasleyrockah on Jan 3, 2021 16:02:33 GMT -5
Worst win all time. This winter might cost you 2-4 places in the draft. Even at rock bottom with a ton of injuries, it's hard to be Jets bad…they just set the bar so low
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