Search results

Lots written about this draft so far, but I thought I'd add a few thoughts. I'll organize this into 3 sections: I. The Malcom Brown Pick at #32 - Its been a long time since a Pats' 1st round pick was greeted with such universal enthusiasm. Vince Wilfork in 2004 is probably the last time that...

I haven't been paying attention to the board for a while. My basic draft board and view of this draft was set about a month ago, and while there have been some changes due to late risers and fallers, it hasn't substantially changed. I find the "noise" of the last month before the draft to be...

A new "Gridism", unveiled in his scouting report on Vic Beasley (about the 7th guy so far to get a top 3 grade, along with TJ Clemmings, Todd Gurley, Melvin Gordon, Marcus Mariota, Leonard Williams and Randy Gregory; Shane Ray gets a top 5 grade; Cam Erving, DeVante Parker, Kevin White, and...

With Revis gone and Browner interviewing with other teams, there is a lot of angst going around right now. One thing to think about is the secondary and its importance relative to the Pats' regular season schedule. In 2014 the Pats had a schedule that was loaded with good QBs and talented...

With FA and the start of the new league year a few days away, I've been think a lot about the general process of team building, and thought it might be worth discussing some general approaches: 1. In no other major sport that I can think of is there 30% yearly roster turnover. Free agency and...

I don't think there's a thread on this yet (if so, mods can feel free to merge). Pro Days start on Monday. This week there are a number of prospects of interest: March 2: Minnesota (Maxx Williams), Virginia (Eli Harold, Max Valles) March 3: Auburn (Nick Marshall) March 4: Mississippi St...

I've been vocal about Arizona St. DT Marcus Hardison, who I think can line up all over the DL from the 9 tech to the 0/1, and who would make a dynamic dual along with Dominique Easley. But with Vince Wilfork a question mark for 2015 and certainly beyond, a run stuffing DT is definitely a...

I don't know if this is worth a separate thread, but I feel like my overall approach to this draft is finally crystallizing. Paradoxically, it's becoming harder for me to mock players, because my approach is based on building out around a couple of guys who should be day 2 prospects. Last year...

It's still 10 weeks until the 2015 draft, and plenty of time for prospects to rise and fall on draft boards, so I take all rankings with a healthy grain of salt. But right now it looks like there are only about 15-20 clear 1st round talents in this draft, and some of them are not necessarily...

Two very good reads today, one from Jackie McMullan, the other from Greg Bedard: http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12192685/tom-brady-bill-belichick-new-england-patriots-old-tricks http://mmqb.si.com/2015/01/19/nfl-afc-championship-new-england-patriots-bill-belichick-tom-brady/ Both...

As was discussed last year, the Pats reportedly use a "short" big board of about 75 players based on their own scouting, as opposed to using a much larger big board and basing things on the national scouting services. This may end up omitting some very good players, but tends to focus on guys...

86 underclassmen reportedly declared. There's still 2 days for some to withdraw, but right now the 2015 draft class looks pretty much set: Offense: QB (weak): Marcus Mariota, Jameis Winston, Brett Hundley, Bryce Petty, Sean Mannion, Garrett Grayson, Nick Marshall, Shane Carden RB (very...

Matt Miller from the Bleacher Report posted this list of "10 rules for player evaluation": http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2331270-2015-nfl-draft-matt-millers-scouting-notebook-pre-conference-championships I thought it was a good read, and a good reminder as we ramp up our own evaluations.

I'm certainly not a Bert Breer fan, but thought this was a good read: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000457252/article/peyton-mannings-nfl-future-up-in-the-air-after-humbling-defeat From NFL personnel people: And from the Colts' players: Nothing that we haven't all noticed and...

The Pats currently have an early 6th round pick from TB and an early 7th from Tennessee. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a 6th round comp pick, and I wouldn't be surprised if BB manages to pick up an extra late round pick along the way (he's done so in 2012, 2013 and 2014). I personally...

It's usually a bit early for this, but I thought this was interesting: http://georgiatech.blog.ajc.com/2015/01/10/days-thrives-at-medal-of-honor-bowl-workouts/#__federated=1 Days is listed as 6' 0 1/2" 232# by CBS Sports/NFLDraftscout. In Georgia Tech's triple option offense, the B-back is...

Disclaimer: I'm ashamed to admit I didn't get to see the whole game, and had a day from hell that I'd like to forget. My cell phone died as well, so I lost real time feed after the game was tied in the 4th quarter, and didn't find out the final score until later. Agony. I haven't been able to...

Interesting tidbit from Florio: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/09/browns-apparently-violated-electronic-devices-rule/ I'm sure they get a slap on the wrist and no one remembers it (I certainly didn't remember the Jim Mora incident). Of course, if it had been the Pats then people...

http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/photo/2015/01/08/0ap3000000455475.pdf Haven't read it in full yet, but:

Nice read from Jenny Ventras, interviewing NY Jets DC Dennis Thurman. http://mmqb.si.com/2015/01/08/how-to-stop-tom-brady-and-the-patriots/ Thurman's basic take on how to slow the Pats' offense: 1. Start with stopping the run. Makes the offense more 1-dimensional, makes you put an extra...