Zone Original- New England Patriots Post Draft Report

[Dozerdog]

The end of the draft signals an annual lull for the year-‘round NFL fan, as the pace of off-season activity slows to a crawl until training camp. There are still some post-June 1 signings that will shake up depth charts but, for the most part, teams’ rosters are set for training camp. This presents the opportunity to examine the changes that have occurred in the last few months, and review the outlook for camp. Though Bills fans may be aware of the changes on their own team, they may not know as much about what they are up against. Thus, without further delay, here is a comprehensive look at the World Champion New England Patriots....MORE...

[Tatonka]

i look at their roster.. and i swear they are NOT more talented that the bills.. it all comes down to great coaching and strong qb play.

something that we just dont have. at least not at this moment.. but hopefully that changes this year.

[mypoorfriendme]

Originally posted by Tatonka
i look at their roster.. and i swear they are NOT more talented that the bills.. it all comes down to great coaching and strong qb play.

something that we just dont have. at least not at this moment.. but hopefully that changes this year.

agreed. although i would take their overall depth over ours

[Jared]

You can't only count 22 positions to decide which of any two teams is more talented.

Just counting the people you can expect to see in a game on a regular basis...

QB

2 or 3 RB

5 OL

4-5 WR (depends on team)

2-3 TE/FB/H-Back


5+ DL*
5+ LB*

*yay for rotations!

7 DBs

[BillsRockSOMUCH]

We are just as talented... it's just that they have Belichek, Weiss, Cronell.

[Alluro]

They have brady... maybe the best clutch player in the nfl. that is a huge edge over us

[SABURZFAN]

new england had a helluva draft.that pk sam kid could give us fits for years.

[Ickybaluky]

What is interesting about the Patriots is, despite their recent success, they are a team in transition.

They have a core group of veteran players (Bruschi, Vrabel, McGinest, Andruzzi, Phifer, Harrison, Law, Poole, T. Johnson, T. Brown, Patten, O. Smith) who have been a big part of their recent streak of winning. However, very few of those players will be on the team in a few years.

However, the Pats also have a group of very young players they are building around. Brady, Light, Koppen, Hochstein, Ashworth, Wilson, Samuel, Seymour, Warren, Green, Hill, Wilfolk, Colvin, Graham, Watson, Givens, Branch and B. Johnson are all less than 27 years old. A lot of those player have already contributed to their recent sucess, and all have the promise to be part of the future.

The key to how the Pats will be in 2006 is how that 2nd group contributes.

There is little doubt the Pats are well-coached and well-run, but they have some talented players as well.

[mybills]

Looking at some of the guys on the GONElist...

Damon Huard
Antowain Smith
Larry Centers
Dedrick Ward
Damien Woody
Ken Walter

Smart!

[clumping platelets]

Solid write up

[BillsRockSOMUCH]

Belichek is the best coach in the NFL period.

[Alluro]

Originally posted by BillsRockSOMUCH
Belichek is the best coach in the NFL period.

nah..without brady he would be the same sorry guy he was in cleveland, and in new england during the drew bledsoe era

[Tatonka]

Originally posted by SABURZFAN
new england had a helluva draft.that pk sam kid could give us fits for years.

he might not even make their roster.. they have alot of decent wrs.. but no great ones.. and sam has not impressed so far.

[finsrclowns]

Originally posted by Tatonka
i look at their roster.. and i swear they are NOT more talented that the bills.. it all comes down to great coaching and strong qb play.

something that we just dont have. at least not at this moment.. but hopefully that changes this year.

By that logic Bill Belichick & Brady could have won 15 in a row and a SB with last year's Bills roster? I’d like to think so but I don’t. Here’s how I see the personnel match up in a nutshell:

On defense, NE has 4 legitimate playmakers, Seymour, Bruschi, Law and Harrison, with honorable mention to Vrabel. The Bills counter with Spikes and Schobel, honorable mention to Fletcher. Advantage- NE.

On offense, their OL gave up zero sacks in 3 playoff games and gave Brady a consistently solid pocket and allowing Brady to survey the field. Has our OL had one sack free game in the past 2 years? Yes, Brady throws a lot more short passes but he also gets better protection. They’ve added Dillon and Watson to that team. We now can match up skill wise, except at TE where NE has a big edge, but until I see solid OL play I’d have to say advantage: NE.

[ScottLawrence]

Originally posted by Alluro


nah..without brady he would be the same sorry guy he was in cleveland, and in new england during the drew bledsoe era

I agree.