Thank you New England!!

[HHURRICANE]

That stupid pick really helped us!!

[DrastiK]

What do you mean?

[HHURRICANE]

I think many had the Pats taking McKelvin. I thought they were trading down to take him and not a guy that was projected as a late first rounder.

[Marvelous]

Me too... I can't believe they took Mayo... I woulda sworn it was Cromartie. And i thought McKelvin woulda been gone before we(&they) picked @ 10...
---I am amazed that in all of my scenerios i never ever saw any thathad McKelvin falling to us... WOW, just WOW... Our football team just improved greatly... Now lets score some great depth just in case the injury bug is still lingering...

[Michael82]

Me too... I can't believe they took Mayo... I woulda sworn it was Cromartie. And i thought McKelvin woulda been gone before we(&they) picked @ 10...
---I am amazed that in all of my scenerios i never ever saw any thathad McKelvin falling to us... WOW, just WOW... Our football team just improved greatly... Now lets score some great depth just in case the injury bug is still lingering...
I was thinking the same thing. When I saw the Patriots trade down, I figured they were going to snatch McKelvin right in front of us. Then they grabbed Mayo and I laughed a bit. And McKelvin fell right into our lap. Sure I hated taking a CB there, but he was definitely the best CB in the draft and the Bills had him top on their list. :up:

[Carlton Bailey]

Who am I to laugh at the Patriots for a personnel decision? They aren't exactly wrong often.

Mayo was a bit of a surprise, but not really. Once Rivers left the board, I knew Mayo was a good possibility at 10.

[Ickybaluky]

I think many had the Pats taking McKelvin. I thought they were trading down to take him and not a guy that was projected as a late first rounder.

"projected"? By whom?

Let's compare him with the LB drafted #11 overall last year:

Jerod Mayo: 6-1, 242#, 4.54 40, 40.5 VJ, 4.29 Shuttle, 7.31 Cone

Patrick Willis: 6-1, 242#, 4.51 40, 39 VJ, 4.37 Shuttle, 7.10 Cone

Both players were team captains and leaders, called defensive signals in the huddle and came out after their Junior seasons. Compare their final seasons:

Mayo: 140 tackles (79 solo), 1.5 sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss, 1 FF, 1 Int (for TD)

Willis: 137 tackles (87 solo), 3 sacks, 11.5 tackles for loss, 2 FF, 0 Int

So, the Pats got a very athletic ILB, their biggest need, who is a smart, tough, team leader and had great production and a real high ceiling. He can play any LB position and can play on all 4 downs. The Patriots were most impressed by his intelligence, as evidenced by his completing his degree despite leaving college after his Junior season.

You don't like the pick, though. I can live with that.

[Ickybaluky]

I was thinking the same thing. When I saw the Patriots trade down, I figured they were going to snatch McKelvin right in front of us. Then they grabbed Mayo and I laughed a bit. And McKelvin fell right into our lap. Sure I hated taking a CB there, but he was definitely the best CB in the draft and the Bills had him top on their list. :up:

The Patriots don't pay big money for CB. They let Ty Law walk. They let Asante Samuel walk. They invest their money in the front 7.

Further, they like to select small quick CB in the mid rounds. They picked Samuel in the 4th. They picked Ellis Hobbs in the 3rd. Randal Gay was undrafted.

It has worked pretty well so far.

Trading down allowed them to get another 3rd, giving them 3 3rd round picks tomorrow. They get their LB and save some money by trading down.

Yet, you laugh.

[chernobylwraiths]

The Patriots don't pay big money for CB. They let Ty Law walk. They let Asante Samuel walk. They invest their money in the front 7.

Further, they like to select small quick CB in the mid rounds. They picked Samuel in the 4th. They picked Ellis Hobbs in the 3rd. Randal Gay was undrafted.

It has worked pretty well so far.

Trading down allowed them to get another 3rd, giving them 3 3rd round picks tomorrow. They get their LB and save some money by trading down.

Yet, you laugh.

They paid Law a crap load of money and then let him go a year early (or did they keep him for the whole contract?) because of his high salary cap figure AND because he wanted a crapload of money. Wasn't Assante franchised last year? They pay for good corners when they have them, they just won't mortgage their future for them. Smart move.

[Ickybaluky]

They paid Law a crap load of money and then let him go a year early (or did they keep him for the whole contract?) because of his high salary cap figure AND because he wanted a crapload of money. Wasn't Assante franchised last year? They pay for good corners when they have them, they just won't mortgage their future for them. Smart move.

Ty's big contract was signed when Pete Carroll was the coach. He had a high cap number in his walk year, but the other years he played to his value. Samuel as well was cheap until his franchise year. They don't invest huge signing bonus money in CB. They weren't about to take one high.

The Pats feel they can plug guys into their secondary who are smart and quick. They don't really value size, they seem to pick smaller CB who have great shuttle times. They lose guys all the time, and plug new ones in. It has been done consistently since Belichick got here.

They invest their money in their front 7. I'm not sure how you can look at the team since 2000 and argue otherwise.

[Dozerdog]

The Pats are the smartest drafting team in the NFL.

They have the record to prove it.

[PECKERWOOD]

Sad thing is, even if McKelvin does pan out we will end up letting him walk like we did with Nate Clements.

[mikemac2001]

Ty's big contract was signed when Pete Carroll was the coach. He had a high cap number in his walk year, but the other years he played to his value. Samuel as well was cheap until his franchise year. They don't invest huge signing bonus money in CB. They weren't about to take one high.

The Pats feel they can plug guys into their secondary who are smart and quick. They don't really value size, they seem to pick smaller CB who have great shuttle times. They lose guys all the time, and plug new ones in. It has been done consistently since Belichick got here.

They invest their money in their front 7. I'm not sure how you can look at the team since 2000 and argue otherwise.

Well they can plug in anyone because they cheat and know what is coming

Not to hard to tell me Hey when he does this he is throwing a 10 yard curl



good old cheater mc belicheat

[Mr. Cynical]

The Patriots don't pay big money for CB. They let Ty Law walk. They let Asante Samuel walk. They invest their money in the front 7.

Further, they like to select small quick CB in the mid rounds. They picked Samuel in the 4th. They picked Ellis Hobbs in the 3rd. Randal Gay was undrafted.

It has worked pretty well so far.

Trading down allowed them to get another 3rd, giving them 3 3rd round picks tomorrow. They get their LB and save some money by trading down.

Yet, you laugh.

Who do you think they're gonna get to tape other teams this year? Maybe grab someone in the 7th round?

[Philagape]

The Patriots don't pay big money for CB. They let Ty Law walk. They let Asante Samuel walk. They invest their money in the front 7.

Further, they like to select small quick CB in the mid rounds. They picked Samuel in the 4th. They picked Ellis Hobbs in the 3rd. Randal Gay was undrafted.

It has worked pretty well so far.

That illustrates why I didn't want to take a CB first. It seems the Pats can just plug anyone in and they do well, because the real damage is done up front (or on the sideline).

[Mr. Cynical]

Key word being "plug". Video cameras run through alot of power and their batteries need to be plugged in all the time. ;)

[Nighthawk]

The Pats are the smartest drafting team in the NFL.

They have the record to prove it.

Exactly!

[justasportsfan]

you guys are crazy for questioning the pats ability to draft.Over the years they have proven time and again they know how to draft guys that can disect game tapes . Although having taken sign language in college is a plus, it's not a must. their coaches will teach them that at the rookie orientation and rookie camp

[chernobylwraiths]

Ty's big contract was signed when Pete Carroll was the coach. He had a high cap number in his walk year, but the other years he played to his value. Samuel as well was cheap until his franchise year. They don't invest huge signing bonus money in CB. They weren't about to take one high.

The Pats feel they can plug guys into their secondary who are smart and quick. They don't really value size, they seem to pick smaller CB who have great shuttle times. They lose guys all the time, and plug new ones in. It has been done consistently since Belichick got here.

They invest their money in their front 7. I'm not sure how you can look at the team since 2000 and argue otherwise.

I was just emphasizing the fact that the Pats HAVE paid big for CBs in the past. I understand it wasn't for long, but they could have dumped Ty a year earlier and not franchised Sammuel. They chose to pay them. I did say they are smart though, acknowledging the fact that they don't do long term huge contracts with them and also with the knowledge that they have plugged nobodys into the system without a significant dropoff. As another poster stated, it is the reason I DIDN'T want to draft a CB with a high pick either. Not because our CBs are anything great, but that getting good pressure on the QB makes good CBs look great. I guess there just wasn't anyone available with that pick to do the job.

[Dozerdog]

It was a dep CB draft.

They chose to get the best ILB to fit their scheme and maybe they got the 7th- 8th-9th best CB (in a very deep CB pool this year) to fill their needs instead of the best CB and some schmo at LB that won't stick on the roster in 2-3 years.

[mybills]

:rofl: Who cares about the Pats? They're just another team. The Bills did great! :bf1:

[justasportsfan]

:rofl: Who cares about the Pats? They're just another team. The Bills did great! :bf1:
the draft sucks without a pissing contest

[Ickybaluky]

I was just emphasizing the fact that the Pats HAVE paid big for CBs in the past.

Look at what they have done. Do they pay for premium talent? Sure, but they value the front-7 on defense. Belichick inherited the Law contract and played more man defense with him, but then he cut him with a year left on it because his cap number got real high and he didn't want to sign him to a big money extension to lower it (although there is talk they are negotiating to bringing him back now, if they can agree on money). He kept Samuel on a one-year franchise tender, then let him walk. Those are facts.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that is the way it is for everyone, but for their defense they don't value the position highly. The draft a lot of DBs. All of them are midgets who are real quick. Look at the guys they drafted today, both in the same mold as Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs. They like guys with speed and good shuttle times, so they can make quick breaks on the ball.

The way their defense is set up they don't ask their CB to line up and play man-to-man coverage. They sometimes play man under, but they usually sit their S back to help. Because of that, they don't pay big money for CB.

That isn't true for everyone, but it is their system. The fact is, they were not going to draft a CB high in this draft. If they were going to invest the money it would take to sign a highly-drafted CB, they would have just kept Samuel. They weren't going to take the CB for the same reason they didn't pay Samuel. They would rather spend the money elsewhere, in the front 7.

[chernobylwraiths]

Look at what they have done. Do they pay for premium talent? Sure, but they value the front-7 on defense. Belichick inherited the Law contract and played more man defense with him, but then he cut him with a year left on it because his cap number got real high and he didn't want to sign him to a big money extension to lower it (although there is talk they are negotiating to bringing him back now, if they can agree on money). He kept Samuel on a one-year franchise tender, then let him walk. Those are facts.

Don't misunderstand me. I'm not saying that is the way it is for everyone, but for their defense they don't value the position highly. The draft a lot of DBs. All of them are midgets who are real quick. Look at the guys they drafted today, both in the same mold as Asante Samuel and Ellis Hobbs. They like guys with speed and good shuttle times, so they can make quick breaks on the ball.

The way their defense is set up they don't ask their CB to line up and play man-to-man coverage. They sometimes play man under, but they usually sit their S back to help. Because of that, they don't pay big money for CB.

That isn't true for everyone, but it is their system. The fact is, they were not going to draft a CB high in this draft. If they were going to invest the money it would take to sign a highly-drafted CB, they would have just kept Samuel. They weren't going to take the CB for the same reason they didn't pay Samuel. They would rather spend the money elsewhere, in the front 7.

I did agree and that it is a good philosophy. Good teams aren't getting beat by great corners, they are getting beat by teams that can put pressure on the QB with as few people as possible. Even your team lost because of that. That is why I wasn't ecstatic about our first round pick. I just hope Stroud takes enough blockers to free up Schobel or Kelsay.

[Ickybaluky]

I did agree and that it is a good philosophy. Good teams aren't getting beat by great corners, they are getting beat by teams that can put pressure on the QB with as few people as possible. Even your team lost because of that. That is why I wasn't ecstatic about our first round pick. I just hope Stroud takes enough blockers to free up Schobel or Kelsay.

I don't think one philosophy is better than the other.

I think teams like NE who don't invest big dollars in the CB position, also play more conservatively on defense, reading and reacting. They prefer to give their CB help outside, and force teams to execute. They want to get to 3rd down, where they can dictate more what the offense can do and play more aggressive to get off the field.

I think a team that invests in the CB position, like Green Bay, Denver, Washington and Oakland, tends to play more man coverage outside and more aggressively up front (especially on early downs). Premium cover guys cost money, and allow you to shoot gaps up front to disrupt the offense, with the S playing aggressively in support instead of helping outside. This type of defense trys to force the offense into more negative plays.

Obviously, all teams are going to play a mix in coverage. However, if a team is investing money in the CB position, they should be playing aggressively up front and bringing their S up to help. If not, they are wasting their money. Thus, I'd expect to see a more aggressive Bills defense this year, with McKelvin allowing a guy like Whitner to come up and make big plays.