Season over for the New England Patriots, who will rise to the top?

by MaPatsFan on Jan 11, 2010 6:39 PM EST in Opinion/Analysis

They fought hard. They fought all year to establish themselves again, to find an identity. There will be much analysis, many bits and bytes consumed opining on the issues that plagued, and are plaguing, our favorite team. However, the further this team gets from the glory days of 2001-2005 the more difficult it is to hold them up on a pedestal, to stare at those three trophies and say, "Yeah, team of the decade." Call it what you want: a building year, a brief respite while the organization reboots itself. We will spend a great deal of time in the coming days, weeks, and months analyzing what went wrong and what needs to be done to fix it. But I have an opinion as to what is systemically wrong with this team.

More after the jump...

There are clearly missing links from a skills perspective: pass rushing, a 3rd receiver, offensive line, ball hawk corner back, offensive coordinator, you name it. Like I said, we will analyze all of this in the coming months. As I read through the post apocalypse Boston MSM stories there was one overriding theme that caught my eye: leadership.

Tom Brady, one of the offensive captains, was very revealing on WEEI this morning:

Speaking during his weekly appearance on WEEI, Tom Brady acknowledged that, indeed, there was a leadership problem in the Patriots' locker room. And he was fine with the assessment that losing guys like Rodney Harrison, Tedy Bruschi, Richard Seymour, Larry Izzo and Mike Vrabel was one heck of a contributing factor.

"We've all thought about that," Brady said. "Those are special players and special guys, and it's not the uniform that makes players play the Patriot Way."

Take a moment and look at that list of players, would you? Are you kidding me? Leaders, every one of them. In an effort to get younger, to extract "maximum value" from players, head coach Bill Belichick and the Kraft family may have gutted this team. Granted, Harrison and Bruschi left of their own accord, but Seymour, Izzo, and Vrable were shown the door. In doing so, the powers that be tied leadership to the firing squad pole and filled it full of blazing lead. How do you replace that? How do you cultivate a leader?

Rodney Harrison was like an on-field coach. Hand picked from San Diego by Belichick, he prowled the defensive backfield looking for opponents who unwittingly stepped into his territory. Safe to say, when the game was done the knew whose ground they had trespassed on. But that wasn't all Rodney brought to the table. He worked harder than any other defensive back on and off the field. His intensity and fire inspired others and if you didn't get the lesson, Harrison would make sure it stuck.

Tedy Bruschi had been the heart and soul of this defense for so many years. A stroke and a hole in his heart couldn't stop the man. He felt blessed to play football, especially after overcoming what he had to overcome. If you weren't fired up for a game, you'd better find a hole to crawl in and hide.

OLB/DE Tully Banta-Cain confirmed Brady's opinion on the lack of player leadership:

The players, though, seemed fairly certain that Brady's assessment was a good one. I thought Tully Banta-Cain -- who was here from 2003-06, then left, and came back -- would give a unique perspective, since he wasn't immersed in things over the last few years. And he did.

"Obviously, when you lose veteran guys, like the [Tedy] Bruschis and [Rodney] Harrisons, you miss their presence," Banta-Cain said. "They’re always kind of the example to look at. And this year with a lot of different guys, guys trying to figure out what their role is and how they fit in, it’s kind of tough for anybody to be that vocal guy, because everybody is so focused on just doing the best job that they can do.

Is there a leader in this group? Is it Jerod Mayo? Is it Brandon Meriweather or James Sanders? Or is it a younger FA in the mold of Junior Seau? Only time will tell, but I hope this organization understands the value of players who are leaders and I hope they understand rather quick like.

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Comments

I'm predicting we bring in a veteran on defense...

…and youth on offense. Our defense needs the swagger. Our Offense just needs an upgrade.

Offensive Coordinator > Guard > Tackle > DE > OLB > RB > WR > CB

by Richard Hill on Jan 11, 2010 7:06 PM EST reply actions

I was listening

to Sirius, which had “NFL Total Access” just a few moments ago. The announcer suggested there was a silver lining to yesterday’s loss, but I wasn’t able to stick around to hear what it was; did anyone hear what they had to say?

by Kiribub on Jan 11, 2010 7:39 PM EST reply actions

i think i saw that on tv on the nfl net

something to do w. the fact that we have 1st rd and 3 2nd round picks

Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!

I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life

by NinjaZX6R on Jan 11, 2010 7:59 PM EST up reply actions

saw it again...i was kinda wrong

here is what they said….
if the collective bargaining ends this year…the final 8 teams right now in the playoffs can not sign FA’s; only replace the ones they have….so the Pats can sign numerous FA w.o a cap (bc they we have money and we have not signed big money guys since 07 unlike the colts and 7 other remaining teams)
so i guess we can sign wilfork, peppers, and other good players
so i guess thats a good thing we got creamed..plus it might (should) be a wake up call
plus

Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!

I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life

by NinjaZX6R on Jan 11, 2010 11:12 PM EST up reply actions

sounds like maybe the upper enchelons of command saw this perspective in advance and thew the game for the ability to capitalize on the FA market.

by oldflapatsfan on Jan 12, 2010 3:41 PM EST up reply actions

BB would never, ever throw a game.

by nbradley07 on Jan 12, 2010 3:46 PM EST up reply actions

i don't see BB doin' that

by mellyh on Jan 12, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions

well

if we did win that game against the ravens….we could not sign any FA’s..only the ones on our teams..

Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!

I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life

by NinjaZX6R on Jan 12, 2010 5:38 PM EST up reply actions

Best acting job in the world

Keep the faith!

by Marima on Jan 12, 2010 6:06 PM EST up reply actions

i'm still pissed @ BB

for trading away Vrabel. unlike King Richard of Seymour land, Vrabel never held out for money. i know he lost his edge in 08 but i still think the team would have slightly better w. him.
i supported BB for trading away King Richard

Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!

I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life

by NinjaZX6R on Jan 11, 2010 7:58 PM EST reply actions

Vrabel didn't cover himself in glory in Kansas, though

and considering how often that opposition teams were on the offensive against Kansas, his lack of stats says a lot. It shouldn’t be too hard to get a few sacks and a lot of tackles when your own offence can barely stay on the field; Vrabel wasn’t doing it.

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.

by Comedic.Sans on Jan 11, 2010 8:09 PM EST up reply actions

Vrabel was always good with us. He "did his job" plus some.

by mellyh on Jan 11, 2010 8:15 PM EST up reply actions

he would have provided some leadership in the locker room for the D

there is only 2 guys on D that has rings wilfork and TBC and they dont look like leaders to me. no ray lewis/ harrison /bruschi type fellow on the D

vrabel did not anything or piss off BB unlike seymour and AT and he did not deserve to rot in kc. he was a loyal teammate @ ne. he played whatever BB told him to- 3-4 olb, 3-4 ilb, 4-3 de and goaline te. he never held out in training camp like AS and king richard

Non Sibi Sed Patriae.
Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!

I bleed Scarlet and Grey...A Buckeye for Life

by NinjaZX6R on Jan 11, 2010 10:54 PM EST up reply actions

hey guys, first comment longtime reader and Pats fan

We definately need leadership, especially on defense, but i think most every move the hoodie made was warranted. We’ll be able to lock wilfork down long term with the departure of seymour, and i think our major weakness this year was rotation and depth at LB, which we can definately cover in the draft. another major component of our inconsistency this year was a rotating cast across the secondary, and having no major personality to put a stamp on the D. I think that we should trade to get a dynamic safety/ linebacker, and our defensive unit can use some cohesiveness, but the Pats should hire an O coordinator so BB can work on defensive schemes more.

by Austin Martin on Jan 11, 2010 8:36 PM EST reply actions

No more clearance rack personnel moves

I rarely comment but I feel I must. Over the past few years, I have often wondered why the Pats draft picks did not, for the most part, pan out. BB constantly traded downwards for extra “value” picks while passing on outstanding kids that are now starting/studs on other teams. Losing our 1st round pick for Spygate also hurt.

If you shop on the clearance rack, you know that you’re mostly getting seconds or items that no one else wanted at full price for various reasons, i.e. flaws. Quantity does not always outwiegh quality. Our Pats need to:

1) Hire a top personnel guy ASAP to replace Pioli. BB needs to be honest with himself that most of his personnel moves did not work out. This is the one area that Bob Kraft should decide on and not leave up up BB.
2) Stop trading our high picks downward for the next year or two and use them for restocking the team with quality. Keep Oaklands 1st round pick for 2011.
3) We should be drafting with a goal of the top 3-4 picks should at least make the team out of training camp and be groomed for starting spots.

by jdn on Jan 12, 2010 8:35 AM EST reply actions 1 recs

Rec'd, well stated

Blogger at SBNation's Patriots blog, Pats Pulpit

by MaPatsFan on Jan 12, 2010 9:41 AM EST up reply actions

Where is the evidence of BB failing at personnel decisions?

The only year we have on record where BB was likely in TOTAL control of the offseason personnel moves was last year – the 2009 offseason. Most of the acquisitions, except perhaps at WR, were very, very good. The draft class looks to be in excellent shape, with 8 rookies giving the team meaningful contributions this year. Bodden was more than serviceable, and the Seymour trade was a real coup, IMO (not that it’s hard to out-bargain Al Davis).

So I don’t understand all the negative reaction to BB’s allegedly poor personnel choices. If anything, I think there is a strong argument that it was PIOLI who had the negative impact. In the early years of BB’s regime, he was calling most of the shots. Those shots were, largely, hits. It wasn’t until Pioli’s star began rising in the organization, and BB started listening to him more, that the offseason moves’ success started to wane.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that in Pioli’s prime years of influence in the Pats organization, we had less than stellar offseasons, and in the first year after his departure, we have a very strong offseason. Maybe I’m extrapolating too much from outward appearances, but I think the negative attitudes toward BB’s supposedly bad personnel decisions are misguided and baseless.

by nbradley07 on Jan 12, 2010 12:12 PM EST up reply actions

Scott Pioli had a lot of the control on personnel moves, though

So it’s a bit rough on Belichick to condemn him for Pioli, too.

Further, a lot of the draft picks didn’t so much ‘fail to pan out’ as fail to displace already solid, experienced and game-winning veterans. David Thomas didn’t work as a TE in New England because he didn’t outplay Ben Watson; he got traded to New Orleans and blossomed under a system that throws a lot to TEs and a QB who passes the ball to every player on the field. That’s not a dud draft pick, that’s evidence of a great drafting system – that the Pats have quality starters (that they drafted) AND quality depth guys (that they drafted). That’s something to be happy about.

When he passed on some guys who are now studs/starters on other teams, he also passed over a bunch of highly expensive duds. He picked a few guys in the second or third rounds instead of one in the first. That guy who he passes over in the first round might be great. However, he might also be a JaMarcus Russell or Matt Jones or Darrius Heyward-Bey. That’s a lot of money to sink into guys who might not turn out, and once you sign them, you’re basically stuck with them because of the insane bonuses first-round picks demand as a seeming right.

Hoodie doesn’t hijack the next season’s performance (or the season after, or the one after that) by dicing on a highly ranked college player. It’s not worth the risk, nor the money. Ask yourself this when you say how Hoodie should pick first-round guys: how many years would it take to turn around the current Oakland Raiders? They get first-round, top-ten picks every year, but they’re still awful. Why? Because one or two of those picks flunked, and it means they’re absolutely handcuffed to their current roster because they can’t afford to sign FAs, they can’t afford to cut anyone because of their ridiculous guaranteed money arrangements, and they can’t afford to trade them because they’re just too godawful. They can’t afford a decent QB, so they’re stuck with JaAwful Russell, they don’t have a good receiver on the roster because they’re stuck with Darrius NoHandsBey’s signing bonus, they can’t get a good running-back because they have Darren McFumble and his signing bonus. They’re stuck because of only three guys. That’s why first-round picks are a gamble.

Token southern hemisphere guy - 14,688km from Foxboro. That's 9128 miles, for you heathens.

by Comedic.Sans on Jan 12, 2010 7:20 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs