First Patriots post of the year! Haaaaaail to the Patrioooooooooooooots, haaaaaaaaaaaail vic-to-ryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! Don't misinterpret the lateness of this post... training camp bores me. All of the interesting decisions have been made, and the news that comes out is generally insipid; anyone reading up on Iggles camp knows this. The big story now is whether Tom Brady is hiding an arm injury. Who cares? He's fine, so shut up and move on. That's why I generally don't pay attention until our fantasy draft approaches. (Rule one of Postgame Spread is...) Anyway, here's what I think as of right now.
I was concerned about the Pats' losses on D (Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson) until I looked over the depth charts. They have a few spots of weakness, notably at starting cornerback and inside linebacker. However, the importance of the shut-down corner has been in question lately, and Bill Belichick always gets something out of his linebackers. Sure, there's only so many times you can lose a big-name player before it becomes a problem, but the situation with young players now (Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Vince Wilfork, Eugene Wilson, Dan Klecko) as compared to, say, when Lawyer Milloy was cut, is far different. Plus they added Duane Starks, Chad Scott, and Chad Brown to help out with those positions. They're better off with Law and Bruschi than without them, but if this team proved anything last year, it's that they can still dominate with lesser talent.
The only unknown on offense is how they will do w/o Weis, but I have a suspicion that Brady and Dillon can fly on their own. Other than that, they are 100% intact, and only getting deeper.
And that's the beauty of this team... the work is done. Depth at nearly every position, talent and brains in every sub-unit, good coaching, smart management. Not to mention that everything they've done since 2001 has worked magnificently. There's no need to argue about, say, whether Green or Warren should start at the left end, because whatever what happens will work; the choice is between Yes and Yes. Speaking as someone who regularly questions the sanity of moves made by the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics, it's nice to leave the details to the Patriots, and just enjoy them.
...Quite frankly? That's all you need.
I was concerned about the Pats' losses on D (Ty Law, Tedy Bruschi, Ted Johnson) until I looked over the depth charts. They have a few spots of weakness, notably at starting cornerback and inside linebacker. However, the importance of the shut-down corner has been in question lately, and Bill Belichick always gets something out of his linebackers. Sure, there's only so many times you can lose a big-name player before it becomes a problem, but the situation with young players now (Ty Warren, Jarvis Green, Vince Wilfork, Eugene Wilson, Dan Klecko) as compared to, say, when Lawyer Milloy was cut, is far different. Plus they added Duane Starks, Chad Scott, and Chad Brown to help out with those positions. They're better off with Law and Bruschi than without them, but if this team proved anything last year, it's that they can still dominate with lesser talent.
The only unknown on offense is how they will do w/o Weis, but I have a suspicion that Brady and Dillon can fly on their own. Other than that, they are 100% intact, and only getting deeper.
And that's the beauty of this team... the work is done. Depth at nearly every position, talent and brains in every sub-unit, good coaching, smart management. Not to mention that everything they've done since 2001 has worked magnificently. There's no need to argue about, say, whether Green or Warren should start at the left end, because whatever what happens will work; the choice is between Yes and Yes. Speaking as someone who regularly questions the sanity of moves made by the Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics, it's nice to leave the details to the Patriots, and just enjoy them.
...Quite frankly? That's all you need.
posted by Jeff at
11:06 AM
5 Comments:
The growth of the Pats over the last few years made me realize just how big a role luck can play in championships. The Pats got seriously lucky in 2001, and they parlayed it into three Super Bowls. That doesn't mean they didn't earn what they got, it just means they were very fortunate to be in the positions they found themselves in.
If they hadn't won the Snow Game, I wonder if they'd have had the confidence to beat the Colts, Steelers and Titans the last couple years. I think they prove that having everyone believe in The System is as important to winning as The System itself.
On the Brady subject, there is a lot of buzz about the USC quarterback they drafted in the 7th this year, whose name is Matt Something. He was Palmer and Leinart's backup at USC for four years, never really played, but is a game or two away from taking Doug Flutie's job, which is OK by me.
By
Jeff, at 2:56 PM
The second rule of Postgame Spread is: You Don't Fuck with Flutie.
You have just cursed your team to oblivion. Enjoy the ride.
By
Alex, at 10:23 AM
Oh yeah? Flutie Flakes taste like Bigfoot's dick. How about that???
By
Jeff, at 11:10 AM
Glad to hear you've finally come to publically acknowledge your sordid history with Bigfoot, bud
By
Alex, at 11:22 AM
Huh? No! Frank Rusch told me about it.
By
Jeff, at 11:35 AM
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