Hoodie's Draft Philosophy

by sweetjesusihatethejets on Feb 11, 2012 7:06 PM EST

I enjoy reading the in depth knowledge of the Pulpiteers concerning draft prospects. If the sports media knew half as much as some of our contributors maybe they wouldn't be so incredibly lame.

What can we learn about the drafting ways of Belichick? He isn't going to tell us. We can revel in the folly of trying to predict what players he is going to choose. One can only attempt to discern his methods.

Last year I was convinced he was going OLB/DE. They were logical spots to address. A couple pass rushers and we would be complete. In our simple linear world there were no other alternatives. He went OT/CB/RB/RB/QB/OL. A chorus of anger and bewilderment ensued. We need a GM, Hoodie lost it etc. etc. We know BB isn't stupid, what can we learn from these actions?

Teams were reaching for pass rushers. BB wasn't going to join the lemmings running over the cliff. Let us look at the 2011 pass rushers by draft position and sacks, simplistic as it is,

2 Miller 11.5
7 Smith 14
11 Watt 5.5
14 Quinn 5.0
16 Kerrigan 7.5
20 Clayborn 7.5
24 Jordan 1.0
31 Heyward 1.0
37 Sheard 8.5
39 Ayers 2.0
42 Reed 6.0
51 Bowers 1.5

Miller and Smith were clearly on the top of the food chain and there were certainly other good players. Trading four or five picks to get in the top 7 is debatable. BB decided to fill the pass rush need through free agency. Carter and Anderson each had 10 sacks. Ninko had six. Just as many as Clay Matthews.

He had more needs than OLB/DE. Why not address those needs? The offense can't rely on TFB/Welker forever. Even with Gronk/A-Bomb this side of the ball was incomplete. They needed to pour the foundation for their running game. We begin to see the transformation away from the pass only offense. The seeds have been sown to produce balance, to take the pressure off TFB.

How many holes do we have on offense now? Center? Not a huge hole. WR no doubt. There are a dozen big WRs available in this year's draft? Plus several free agent candidates. The Pats will not have to spend a lot of assets to have a fine offense.

Therefore we have the means to obtain defensive players. There are worthy players in the first two rounds. Is it a coincidence that this draft is deep in CB/OLB and WRs? Really? Aren't we lucky.

To see BB's draft philosophy we have to look beyond the clichés. If you draft in the high 20's every year eventually your talent is going to be in the high 20's. So he moves to get the players he wants and gets future picks. He must take chances. Playing it safe guarantees mediocrity. I also think he has improved drafting in recent years. It has been reported that he is far more engaged in the process since 2009.

Will all the picks work out? No. Will we be able to point at good players we didn't draft? Yes. Is the draft a crapshoot? No. It is much more complex. Dice produce a finite number of outcomes. Predicting human performance is an exponentially more difficult endeavor.

The views expressed in these FanPosts are not necessarily those of the writers or SBNation.

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Comments

losing his touch?

in a passing league now I wonder why he drafts 2 straight RB when they already had 3. He needs to draft a CB or sign someone (Finnegan). Whats up with McCourty too, is he playing safety or not? If not we need another safety opposite of Chung.

This is what we need assuming we resign welker and maybe branch.
1. CB
2. Safety
3. DE
4. WR/LB

Lets put a smile on that face!

by Why So Serious on Feb 11, 2012 7:55 PM EST reply actions

I disagree with you on that

1. OL
2. DL
3. WR
4. Safety

Tedy Bruschi- "How do we feel about being AFC Champs?"
Team- "Aww Yeah!!!"

by freeland1787 on Feb 11, 2012 9:30 PM EST up reply actions

OL?

We already have that locked up. Center is really the only need on that line.

Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"

by Chris Kole on Feb 12, 2012 10:29 AM EST up reply actions

Have you seen the quality and size of the G position in this draft?

They have huge size: Cordy Glen 6’6" 346, Brandon Washington 6’4" 320, Kelechi Osemala 6’5" 333, and my personal favorite Brandon Brooks (proj 3rd Round) at 6’5" 353. The beauty of half of these guys is that they play OT as well and give you a ton of depth. Light is on the way out, Vollmer’s contract is up after next year. Restocking the O line in the Third Round makes sense with our ability to trade back and get good value.

by waldoon on Feb 12, 2012 3:37 PM EST up reply actions

We just locked up Mankins to a huge deal

and we have Marcus Cannon, who’s 6’5 360. We’re set at guard for a long while, and that’s not even mentioning Brian Waters who will likely come back this year. Also, I don’t see any way the Pats get rid of Vollmer. He was only hurt this year, and when he’s healthy he’s a great tackle. He and Solder will protect the edges for years to come.

"Fight on, my men!" Sir Andrew said, "A little I'm hurt, but not yet slain. I'll just lay down and bleed awhile... and then I'll rise, and fight again!"

by BigRussNovak on Feb 12, 2012 4:00 PM EST up reply actions

If Mankins gets injured

are we really going to throw Cannon in at LG (which isn’t even his position)? I think getting a guard is fine by me this draft. While Mankins is still sort of young, 3 years down the road who knows what will happen. better to have people get groomed.

I’ll take 11 players with heart on the field over 11 guys with just talent. Talent is fleeting, it goes away over time. Heart is what drives you to be better. To push yourself beyond what you think your capabilities are. To show us that when you strive, all things are possible.- SMP

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 13, 2012 12:12 AM EST up reply actions

I will say Connely I am fine with at LG.

But he is only average there. I would like to draft a guard that would be better than connely most likely if a situation where mankins cant play will occur.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 13, 2012 12:13 AM EST up reply actions

We had 3 RBs yeah

but two of them were very up in age.

He drafted a CB last draft, and an OL for Brady too.

by Jack'sAxe on Feb 12, 2012 1:18 PM EST up reply actions

I think BB knows what he is doing...

Our defense needs pass rushers to create more pressure On opposing qbs and another corner or safety to sure up the secondary. lack of Pressure seems to be the root of our problems.

by Kris_Risk on Feb 12, 2012 12:38 PM EST via mobile reply actions

We had the guys that could get pressure

last year. The main problem was coverage. DMC was getting beat at the LoS and no safety help to help deep

Rex Ryan: "There’s no way that we’re looking to replace Mark Sanchez"
Patriots Nation: "Thank God"
Giants Fans: "FOUR MORE YEARS!! FOUR MORE YEARS!!"

by Chris Kole on Feb 12, 2012 1:33 PM EST up reply actions

Anderson and Carter each had 10+ sacks

Only top picks surpassed and we didn’t have to move up – and there was almost no way they could move up that high. Add in Ninkovich’s sacks and their outside rushers were excellent if you go by numbers – one of the best in the league. So, I think BB did the right thing. I spat at my TV at the time, but I was wrong and shortsighted. Solder looks great to me. If we took a speed rusher last year, we would be crying about the sky falling on the OLine this year. BB got his guy without reaching or losing any picks. And he addressed the outside rush.

It would still be nice to get a terror speed rusher though. Not many of the Patriots sacks were Jared Allen quality – where the QB is 3 steps into his 5 step drop and end up on his back. They usually took a while to get there. Same thing with pressures. Pressure go there eventually, but there weren’t many QB’s panicking before the snap staring across the line. Every team would love to have Allen or Ware, but they are hard to find and expensive to boot.

It's not whether you win or lose.
It's whether you win.
-Trump 'The Game'

by iLikeStuff on Feb 13, 2012 3:44 PM EST reply actions