An Independent Patriots Blog
I’d love to see Schiano on BB’s staff with so many of his former players already here. Between him and Lombardi there would be a good influx of new ideas and perspective.
Source on Schiano and #Patriots: “Sounds like he could go if he wants, but also considering taking the year off or doing media.”
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) February 23, 2014
As for the remainder of the team’s key free agents, it’s been completely silent on wide receiver Julian Edelman, and there haven’t been any negotiations with center Ryan Wendell or running back LeGarrette Blount, according to sources. And the Pats also appear unlikely to trade quarterback Ryan Mallett due to a faded market, according to a source.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/as-for-the-remainder-of-the-teams-key-free/
Patriots to Meet with Aqib Talib – Pats Pulpit
Good sign that they’re in contact with Talib at the Combine. Don’t want to say that it’s rare for them to do something like this, but I can’t remember any non-draft business ever being reported during the combine.
When we evaluate players, it’s a long, thorough process we go through. Obviously it’s very inexact. We’ve been right on players, we’re been wrong on players, just like every other team, every other coach, and every other personnel person has. So we do the best we can. It’s a long process that involves visiting the school, interviewing with the player, talk with the people who have had the most involvement with him, like his coaches, college coaches, high school coaches, even beyond that. Other people that have had associations with him, former teammates, so forth and so on. It’s a mosaic composed of a lot of different pieces and you try to fit them all together and put some type of evaluation on the player. You do that for all the players. Each one is different. Each one is unique. But at the same time you have to have some type of system that accounts for what you feel the player’s value is to your football team. That’s what it’s all about.
https://www.patspropaganda.com/when-we-evaluate-players-its-a-long-thorough/
Maybe the Cowboys brain trust should spend some time at the combine watching how the Patriots go about this process.
There were a record 1,030 games started by NFL rookies in 2013. The Patriots had a league runner-up 57. Despite all that youth on the field, New England still won 12 games, another AFC East title and reached the AFC title game.
The league is getting younger. The number of rookie starts has increased by the year from 650 in 2008 to 706 in 2009 to 763 in 2010 to 853 in 2011 to 1,000 in 2012 and now 1,030 in 2013.
The Patriots have kept pace. They have retained 43 rookies on their roster over the last four years 27 draft picks and 16 college free agents. Those rookies have combined to start 186 games for New England.
Great must-read, thanks to @PatriotsSB49 for the link…
https://www.patspropaganda.com/maybe-the-cowboys-brain-trust-should-spend-some/
While the Patriots defense has been trending up the last few games, I was surprised to see they had fallen from a mid-season 23rd-ranked run defense to 30th in Football Outsider’s DVOA, an analytic that weighs situation and opponent. This is of course about when Dont’a Hightower went on IR, so some drop-off should be […]
