dave mcbride

I expected him to be better than he has turned out to be. I thought he was going to be elite coming out of college, but he hasn't been. Still, he's at least pretty good now after some early career struggles. The Jets have a ridiculous amount of space. They HAVE to spend. It's the opposite of cap-starved for a handful of teams.

As I've said elsewhere, every NE draft from 2010-2015 was good to great. Not so good lately, but he's certainly had good drafts in the past.

Yeah, but the thing about NE is they're near the top for the next three years as well (click on the tabs). To be sure, the 2024 numbers aren't reliable given everything that is bound to happen between now and then, but they clearly have a plan. https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/

Jets and Jags. They went in with roughly the same amount of space.

Bill, they ALWAYS had a plan to go big on spending this year. They very clearly set themselves up last year to go big in 2021, and it was reported on. When the financial effect of COVID on the cap became known (which was well before the start of last season), they figured that having a ton of space this year (because more teams than ever would be up against it) would give them a competitive advantage in FA. And they're not like the Bengals; their owner isn't cheap.

Yup. Still, I'd pay the most attention to Jimmy G.

I think people need to take a look at the Pats' remaining cap space. They set themselves up for a huge buying spree this year, and this was always expected.

All of this is certainly putting to rest the happy talk on this board about players not wanting to go to NE.

They still have a ton of cap space.

The Pats still have the third most available cap space after all of these signings (https://overthecap.com/salary-cap-space/), and Newton is being paid a back-up salary ($5 million base). The acquisition of Kendrick Bourne, who Garappolo is a big fan of, suggests to me that Jimmy G is a real possibility for NE. I'd be very hesitant to project Newton as their starter given their available cap space and the fact that Newton's salary is backup level.

They had good-to-great drafts every year from 2010-2015. Lately, not so much.

You have to give him credit for the SB defensive schemes he came up with to beat the Bills in 1991, the Rams in 1992, Andy Reid in 2005, and McVay in 2019. Those were all high-flying offenses, and he grounded them on the biggest stage. Indeed, they had basically shut down the Giants offense in 2008, but then Asante Samuel drops a relatively easy INT, David Tyree makes his catch, and then Plaxico beats his man badly (Hobbs) on a blitz.

The Cleveland story is WAY more complicated than him just failing. They were excellent in 1994, and then 1995 happened. I can't think of a worse coaching situation than Cleveland in 1995. As for the Pats, yes, Brady is great, but a) Belichick drafted him, b) handed the keys to him despite having a franchise QB with one of the biggest contracts in the NFL on the roster, and c) oversaw mostly fantastic and well-schemed defenses for two decades. I doubt there's a coach in the NFL that would say he's not the greatest ever.

Well, they finished allowing the 7th fewest yards and 15th fewest points last season. I mean, some of that was a product of their offense's style of play and the sorts of games they found themselves in, but that's still pretty good for a unit that was missing a couple of key pieces and had no pass rush (24 total sacks). Judon is a huge upgrade in that area, and Winovich is one of those Ninkovich-type players who produces in that system. We'll see what they do with the rest of the line, but getting Hightower back will be a major upgrade too. He had his best season in 2019 and just dominated in the 2018 Super Bowl. That's three legit good players on their front seven, and you know as well as I do that they always get some bargain defensive guys that fit their system. I don't profess to have any deep knowledge about the quality of the others on the line, like Brandon Guy. We all know their secondary is going to be at the very least good.

I seem to remember the Bills losing almost every game they played against them for nearly 20 years. I also remember the 1991 SB in which a great Bills team was severely outcoached. I hate the Pats but I respect BB's acumen and their accomplishments. I am also not at all convinced that Newton will be their starting QB. He got a backup's salary ($5 million with incentives).

NE's success was just as much him as Brady. Don't forget his DC stint with the Giants either.

Yeah, looks like it. He's not going to play on that salary.

I'm a believer in quality secondaries being more important than LBs/interior linemen. It is also the case that their coach is the best defensive coach in league history. I do respect my enemies.

It's the contract, it appears. He's being paid peanuts, relatively speaking, and if NE doesn't redo (I doubt they will), he won't play: https://patriotswire.usatoday.com/2021/03/15/report-teams-are-aware-that-stephon-gilmore-is-available-through-trade/.

What?? Cannon was great from 2016 onward.

Yeah, completely missed that trade! As for Gilmore, he was defensive mvp in 2019. He's not soft; he's good.

I just saw this! Thanks for alerting me.

The thing about Belichick is that he's smart. Judon has had his way with the Bills in their last two meetings, racking up 2.5 sacks and a bunch of qb hits/hurries. He clearly gives the Bills (and presumably Dawkins) problems.

Marcus Cannon is as good as Thuney and plays a tougher position.

Remember they're getting their best player back, Dont'a Hightower, a good vet in Patrick Chung, and one of their best linemen in Marcus Cannon. They're all good players. Gilmore and Edelman will be healthy too. They are loading up, and won't be an easy out.