Eliot Wolf Press Conference

[UGAPatsfan]

After listening to Wolf, there is no way Mac Jones is the starting QB next year

Or even likely to be on the team

 

[dtbrks]

Or even likely to be on the team

we can only hope.

 

[varjao]

I feel like the Aaron Hernandez pick really changed BB's philosophy to drafting only yes sir and choir boys instead of talent first, I remember him taking risks, Aaron H included. That had to have Kraft fingers on it.

Now they are changing. I hope Kraft let them do their job without interference.

 

[Steve102]

My notes:

- Says that a key difference you will see now vs. Bill's approach is that there will be a much bigger emphasis on playing young players
- Confirms that they changed their grading system. Moving to a system that ranks players based on overall value. Says that the previous system ranked players based on their role and was overly nuanced and hard to understand. Feels that the new system will lead to players getting drafted in more appropriate slots.

This is great stuff right here, for all y'all that hated how Bill drafted later in the run, this is very exciting! We should see some young, explosive players in Foxboro. Gone are Bill's ways of not being able to deal with these young guys.

I really expect this to be a youth movement, with a young, exciting, fun team to watch. The rub will be whether or not the young guys fold when the pressure gets high.

Great stuff. Thanks for the recap.

 

[mike_usagisan]

I feel like the Aaron Hernandez pick really changed BB's philosophy to drafting only yes sir and choir boys instead of talent first, I remember him taking risks, Aaron H included. That had to have Kraft fingers on it.

Now they are changing. I hope Kraft let them do their job without interference.

You mean like Jack Jones?

 

[archstanton543]

I feel like the Aaron Hernandez pick really changed BB's philosophy to drafting only yes sir and choir boys instead of talent first, I remember him taking risks, Aaron H included. That had to have Kraft fingers on it.

Now they are changing. I hope Kraft let them do their job without interference.

That's not true. He drafted guys after with character issues. Like Jack Jones, for instance.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

This is great stuff right here, for all y'all that hated how Bill drafted later in the run, this is very exciting! We should see some young, explosive players in Foxboro. Gone are Bill's ways of not being able to deal with these young guys.

I really expect this to be a youth movement, with a young, exciting, fun team to watch. The rub will be whether or not the young guys fold when the pressure gets high.

Great stuff. Thanks for the recap.

I thought the book War Room by Michael Holley had a great analysis of how Belichick drafted (that book is over 10 years old now so didn’t reflect his shift to the “I only draft players I want to coach” mode that happened mid-2010s which also seems to align with when the draft drought started). Belichick’s system really analyzed things from a coach’s perspective who was expected to compete every year:
- what role does this player fill on this team in year 1, who does he beat out?
- what role does this player fill on this team in year 2 and beyond?

And Belichick would define the roles, and the scouts would provide reports based on that design. It’s a logical system from a coach’s perspective, but the key point that Wolf mentioned today was how tough that was to understand from a scouting perspective — presumably because the scouts aren’t strategists, they’re talent evaluators first and foremost. Wolf is basically saying — he wants his scouts now to just tell us how talented these guys are, and we’ll do the next steps and figure out where he fits, and even take a guy if the role doesn’t exist now if the talent is deems it. Hopefully this change will help produce better overall drafts, if it allows them to get better information from their scouts.

 

[mike_usagisan]

Wolf is basically saying — he wants his scouts now to just tell us how talented these guys are, and we’ll do the next steps and figure out where he fits, and even take a guy if the role doesn’t exist now if the talent is deems it. Hopefully this change will help produce better overall drafts, if it allows them to get better information from their scouts.

Yeah, and have coaches that have systems that can adapt based on the talent.

 

[Ross12]

He also once again re-iterated that ownership stays out of the football decisions. They may share an opinion but thats the extent of it. Great recap Ross.

Thanks, I meant to list this but I must have accidentally skipped it. He pretty much said exactly what you noted here.

 

[Ross12]

This is great stuff right here, for all y'all that hated how Bill drafted later in the run, this is very exciting! We should see some young, explosive players in Foxboro. Gone are Bill's ways of not being able to deal with these young guys.

I really expect this to be a youth movement, with a young, exciting, fun team to watch. The rub will be whether or not the young guys fold when the pressure gets high.

Great stuff. Thanks for the recap.

Sure thing. I think this was very encouraging too, and his comments about QBs very tightly aligned with Alex Van Pelt's comments so it seems like they have a consistent vision from an organizational standpoint.

Your point about handling pressure is a good one - Wolf and AVP both mentioned that toughness and leadership top the list of important traits for them in a QB, and that they expect the QB to be the guy at the front of the pack so if the QB can handle it then the other guys should be able to rally around him.

I think they are also hoping that Mayo can draw from his experience as a player and coach under Belichick and use pieces of that experience to forge a mentally tough group like Bill was frequently able to do, while also being a more empathetic personality.

 

[Hammer of Thor]

Yeah, and have coaches that have systems that can adapt based on the talent.

That’s a great point. Not that Belichick didn’t adapt on the whole (2007 and the two TE offenses show he did), but there were many key principles he never deviated from - like size in his LBs, ability to two gap in his DL even if he didn’t use it all the time, etc. His scouting system reflected his coaching style, and he’d cut or trade guys who didn’t fit or work in the mold (Michael Bennett for example). Other coaches take the talent first and build a scheme based on that. This new scouting method works better with that latter approach.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

This is great stuff right here, for all y'all that hated how Bill drafted later in the run, this is very exciting! We should see some young, explosive players in Foxboro. Gone are Bill's ways of not being able to deal with these young guys.

I really expect this to be a youth movement, with a young, exciting, fun team to watch. The rub will be whether or not the young guys fold when the pressure gets high.

Great stuff. Thanks for the recap.

tbh I think the "Bill not being able to deal with young guys" was a media fabrication. The players were almost unanimous in their praise of BB. Even meatheads like Jack Jones complimented him. Relating to players wasn't the issue. That said, I think Mayo is a cut above almost any coach in terms of communication skills, he's exceptional.

 

[40yrpatsfan]

Sure thing. I think this was very encouraging too, and his comments about QBs very tightly aligned with Alex Van Pelt's comments so it seems like they have a consistent vision from an organizational standpoint.

Your point about handling pressure is a good one - Wolf and AVP both mentioned that toughness and leadership top the list of important traits for them in a QB, and that they expect the QB to be the guy at the front of the pack so if the QB can handle it then the other guys should be able to rally around him.

I think they are also hoping that Mayo can draw from his experience as a player and coach under Belichick and use pieces of that experience to forge a mentally tough group like Bill was frequently able to do, while also being a more empathetic personality.

Good points. And I think the obvious chemistry with Wolf-Groh-Mayo-AVP-McAdoo reminds me of what we had in the early days with Pioli-BB-Weiss-Crennel-Ernie. Guys working together to build something exciting. We just need the new OL coach to meet Dante standards and we'll be all set.

 

[Nikolai]

Part of the issue is that talent started to weigh more than role/fit once the practice reps were greatly diminished following the last labor deal, and it didn't seem like our draft strategy adapted to that reality consistently enough. For better or worse, collecting talent plays a bigger role than (though doesn't supplant) "building a team" that is greater than the sum of its parts. It feels like the vibe in Foxboro is aligning to address the shift and while the results are far from certain, it will definitely be entertaining to watch.

 

[203Pat]

I feel like the Aaron Hernandez pick really changed BB's philosophy to drafting only yes sir and choir boys instead of talent first, I remember him taking risks, Aaron H included. That had to have Kraft fingers on it.

Now they are changing. I hope Kraft let them do their job without interference.

Like drafting Jack Jones, or bringing in/trading for guys like Trent Brown, Josh Gordon, JC Jackson, Legarrette Blount, Antonio Brown, Kayshon Boutte, Alfonso Dennard, and Dominique Easley.

Mean old Mr Kraft stop letting Bill take risks!

 

[Steve102]

tbh I think the "Bill not being able to deal with young guys" was a media fabrication. The players were almost unanimous in their praise of BB. Even meatheads like Jack Jones complimented him. Relating to players wasn't the issue. That said, I think Mayo is a cut above almost any coach in terms of communication skills, he's exceptional.

I dunno man, this is right out of his mouth.

Sure thing. I think this was very encouraging too, and his comments about QBs very tightly aligned with Alex Van Pelt's comments so it seems like they have a consistent vision from an organizational standpoint.

Your point about handling pressure is a good one - Wolf and AVP both mentioned that toughness and leadership top the list of important traits for them in a QB, and that they expect the QB to be the guy at the front of the pack so if the QB can handle it then the other guys should be able to rally around him.

I think they are also hoping that Mayo can draw from his experience as a player and coach under Belichick and use pieces of that experience to forge a mentally tough group like Bill was frequently able to do, while also being a more empathetic personality.

I think Mayo's draft position is a big help to him. Hightower's too. The early round picks will come in and they'll get it from a guy who has been in their shoes. I think that's important to today's young 20-somethings, as opposed to Bill's "prove it" attitude in the above clip. An early round pick at a skill position is going to come with some swagger, something that Bill had no tolerance for.

It's going to be very different around here.

 

[PatsFan2]

He mentions the QB and how it’s important his teammates want to play for him. Tells me Mac has no future in NE.

Boy can't wait for that Seventh Round Conditional hope we can turn into a Brady talk about value for a former First Rounder.

 

[203Pat]

 

[PatsFan2]

I liked everything I heard from this presser. Also confirmed that they will be using a more similar to GB draft philosophy, emphasizing value over fit.

Given GB's draft success over the years, I'll take it. They've done very well.

Especially in the WR and TE Departments sign me up: they took Musgrave and *Kraft* but BB took Marte Poopoo instead who couldn't even get on the field.

 

[PatsFan2]

I dunno man, this is right out of his mouth.


I think Mayo's draft position is a big help to him. Hightower's too. The early round picks will come in and they'll get it from a guy who has been in their shoes. I think that's important to today's young 20-somethings, as opposed to Bill's "prove it" attitude in the above clip. An early round pick at a skill position is going to come with some swagger, something that Bill had no tolerance for.

It's going to be very different around here.

Thank goodness he'll be retired permanently.