If the Giants stick with Mike DeVito, they will be difficult to pass, They signed Matt Barkley this week and Tyrod has a chance to come off IR in 4 weeks. But that game in two weeks is looking tough - even with Mac.
I think if they played the way they did today they win easily because NYG can't take advantage of mistakes and our defense was good, which given how NYG have played means the D could score enough to win on their own.With the way they played today, I trust them to find a way to lose.
If they can somehow pull out a loss against the Giants in a couple weeks, they will be sitting pretty.Given that this season is now a lost cause, I think it's really important for NE to hold onto the #3 slot and not drop down further. Because ultimately, that means that one of Harrison, Williams, or Maye is available. This brings up two possibilities. First, if you can get the guy you want at whatever that spot is, you draft him. Second, if you can't, you look to basically do the trade the Bears did with the Panthers last year.
Can we let BB negotiate the trade and then fire him and let someone else make the picks? Jokes aside, this highlights why I am rooting for L’s hard the rest of the way. The value of a top 3 pick is simply immense. You either get your franchise guy or you can get a ton of trade value.If the Pats are able to trade down from #3 to, say, #9, and pick up another first rounder in 2024 and then in 2025, along with a couple of 2nds or 3rds, in just this draft they could potentially draft (using this mock draft to see guys who could be available at those spots):
1st round (#9) - TE Brock Bowers, Georgia - An absolutely elite TE prospect that can do it all. What BB has been looking for since Gronk left.
1st round (#28 say) - OT Patrick Paul, Houston - A stud OT prospect, which the Pats desperately need.
2nd round (#35) - QB Michael Penix, Washington - A QB prospect they really could use.
2nd round (#60, say) - WR Ja'Lynn Polk, Washington - Already polished and huge (6'4"), has great chemistry with Penix and could step in right away.
That would be incredible to walk away with a haul like this. Elite TE, stud OT, highly regarded QB prospect, and a quality WR (that plays the X position) that already has chemistry and experience and trust with this QB.
The Pats are probably better than the Giants, but it wouldn’t shock me if we see another game like the ones the past few weeks, where the Pats are in a tight, one score game that comes down to which QB manages not to shit all over himself more. They could easily lose that kind of game.The Giants defense has been pretty good at times so it will really depend on them generating turnovers and/or hoping Saquon just breaks a fluky long one because they have no OL and basically no QB.
Not impossible to lose that game but it will be very very difficult. I would expect the Pats defense to roll in that one.
The perfect epitaph for the season.The Pats are probably better than the Giants, but it wouldn’t shock me if we see another game like the ones the past few weeks, where the Pats are in a tight, one score game that comes down to which QB manages not to shit all over himself more. They could easily lose that kind of game.
I love all of this. That’s an optimistic, but somehow still realistic, path forward and I’m onboard. Nice to look forward after yesterdays sheisse sandwich.If the Pats are able to trade down from #3 to, say, #9, and pick up another first rounder in 2024 and then in 2025, along with a couple of 2nds or 3rds, in just this draft they could potentially draft (using this mock draft to see guys who could be available at those spots):
1st round (#9) - TE Brock Bowers, Georgia - An absolutely elite TE prospect that can do it all. What BB has been looking for since Gronk left.
1st round (#28 say) - OT Patrick Paul, Houston - A stud OT prospect, which the Pats desperately need.
2nd round (#35) - QB Michael Penix, Washington - A QB prospect they really could use.
2nd round (#60, say) - WR Ja'Lynn Polk, Washington - Already polished and huge (6'4"), has great chemistry with Penix and could step in right away.
That would be incredible to walk away with a haul like this. Elite TE, stud OT, highly regarded QB prospect, and a quality WR (that plays the X position) that already has chemistry and experience and trust with this QB.
Isn't that a different argument?Anyone who finds this team uninteresting is missing out. They're bad, yes, but profoundly interesting. This offseason is going to be one of the most interesting in team history, up and down the entire organization.
I actually think they're interesting NOW. They don't play exciting, quality football but they're still interesting to me for lots of reasons.Isn't that a different argument?
Watching the team this season is incredibly uninteresting but the off-season will be very intersting. I think those are two separate things
Which ones?I actually think they're interesting NOW. They don't play exciting, quality football but they're still interesting to me for lots of reasons.
On the field, why is it interesting?Which ones what? Which reasons?
Yeah. I mean I can name maybe 3 guys (Pop, Barmore, White) who I’m excited to see develop and the rest is noise on the way to a top pick.Which ones what? Which reasons?
Or, do they try to find a trade partner for Kyler?If Arizona has the two pick, do they keep it or trade it?
On the field, why is it interesting?
First off, because it's my team, which I'm always going to find to be interesting to a degree. Second, right now it's like a car wreck - horrible but man, I just can't take my eyes off it. Third, let's face it...they're incredibly creative. Creative in how they find ways to lose. I'm watching each game now and I'm like, ok they've got first and goal at the 7...how are they going to find a way to screw this up? Or...they're driving for the winning score...what crazy awful thing is going to happen to keep them from pulling this out? It's incredibly fascinating.Yeah. I mean I can name maybe 3 guys (Pop, Barmore, White) who I’m excited to see develop and the rest is noise on the way to a top pick.
NOTE TO SELF: Find another Tom BradyLike, he's writing stuff down in his notebook during the game. What the heck is he saying?
Jeff Howe spells it out pretty well here. A trade is possible, but unlikelyI don't really know how this all works in the NFL, but according to Spotrac...
So his 2024 dead cap hit is $81.5 million. That can't be what Arizona would be on the hook for if they trade him, can it?
That's a release. Click on the red "x" on the right for more details on trade/cuts.So his 2024 dead cap hit is $81.5 million. That can't be what Arizona would be on the hook for if they trade him, can it?
Ah thank you very much. Sorry @E5 Yaz - I couldn't open that article but I appreciate you linking to it anyway.That's a release. Click on the red "x" on the right for more details on trade/cuts.
I'm SO torn. If they have the #1 pick, say, and could have their choice between Maye, Williams, and Harrison.... here's the argument for all of them, as I see it.A lot of good talk here, but I think I'd like to see a quick poll--if the Pats have the chance to draft one of the "Big 3" (as of mid-November), who do you want them to take.
Problem with this strategy is there is no guarantee you can get that QB later. I've seen Penix go as high as six in mock drafts. If there is one QB you are targeting, you are be better of trading down slightly and grabbing him .But because I think legitimately good QB options a bit later in the draft, I think I'd go with Harrison and then make sure I get a shot at Penix, even if it means trading back up a little.
I'm mostly onboard with this. I don't see Williams or Maye as the same caliber prospect as, say, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is generally regarded as a top 10-12 QB and is very far from garbage, but by many standard metrics he's been meh this season: QBR (16th), RTG (18th), ANY/A (17th).I really like the top two QBs, and at the start of the year I was like either would be amazing, but I've slowed down just a bit on both Williams and Maye, and think there are other really good QB options that could be had later. I could be WAY wrong on this (probably am), but I think I'd go with Harrison and try to snag Penix with the next pick. I just think Harrison is that good, that transformative.
Lawrence was also a generational prospect who’s arrow is pointing up. Headed toward a second straight playoff appearance. Little chance Maye or Williams or really any individual QB becomes that good.I'm mostly onboard with this. I don't see Williams or Maye as the same caliber prospect as, say, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is generally regarded as a top 10-12 QB and is very far from garbage, but by many standard metrics he's been meh this season: QBR (16th), RTG (18th), ANY/A (17th).
Maybe it's irrational, but if we're spending a top 5 pick on a QB, I'm hoping he's better than Lawrence. And I'm not at all convinced Williams or Maye will be.
If your standard is better than Lawrence, the best QB prospect of the last decade.... you're going to be waiting a while for a QB, and playing guys you HOPE are better than Mac. Trevor Lawrence would be an incredible outcome for a top 3 pick, you then just need to build around him. You are almost certainly not getting a QB of that quality later in the draft, and all of the sudden Marvin Harrison Jr is your Allen RobinsonI'm mostly onboard with this. I don't see Williams or Maye as the same caliber prospect as, say, Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence is generally regarded as a top 10-12 QB and is very far from garbage, but by many standard metrics he's been meh this season: QBR (16th), RTG (18th), ANY/A (17th).
Maybe it's irrational, but if we're spending a top 5 pick on a QB, I'm hoping he's better than Lawrence. And I'm not at all convinced Williams or Maye will be.
Lawrence was also a generational prospect who’s arrow is pointing up. [snip] Little chance Maye or Williams or really any individual QB becomes that good.
Well, I did say maybe I was being irrational...If your standard is better than Lawrence, the best QB prospect of the last decade.... you're going to be waiting a while for a QB, and playing guys you HOPE are better than Mac. Trevor Lawrence would be an incredible outcome for a top 3 pick.
I completely agree with this, which is why I voted MHJ in the other thread.If we're going to spend a top 3 pick on a QB, I want someone at least as good as Lawrence ... but probably better. To put it another way, if either Williams or Maye were a Lawrence-like prospect, I'd draft him happily and accept the outcome. But they're not.
Any of them winning today is huge. The Bears and Cardinals are competitive with Fields and Murray, respectively - they aren’t good, but they’ll clip a few teams.This week was almost a huge week for NE. The Giants won, but it’ll still come down to next week. CHI and AZ came pretty close too. Those would have been massive. If there’s a positive, it’s that all the teams threatening to pass NE looked kinda scrappy today. And maybe Murray and Fields are the answer? Maybe?
My concern is a little bit of a reverse. Like perhaps ARI & CHI feel they are their respective answers, & as such, a team like LAR, GB, &/or TB will pip the Pats to trade up.This week was almost a huge week for NE. The Giants won, but it’ll still come down to next week. CHI and AZ came pretty close too. Those would have been massive. If there’s a positive, it’s that all the teams threatening to pass NE looked kinda scrappy today. And maybe Murray and Fields are the answer? Maybe?
Chicago owns their pickThe Panthers might finish 1-16 and trade down from #1 to anyone, anyways.