Now before I get any people yelling at me for not knowing, I'm a new Pats fan, knowing nothing but that we sucked ass in the 24-25 season. I am willing to be proud to wear Pats colors knowing that we will do decent.

I’ve watched his Games with Names episode. That’s the most I’ve heard him talk.

I’ve also been fascinated with the stories about him and all the mystery.

I haven’t seen the analogy before but he really seemed like a computer/analytics before it became mainstream.

Granted, teams had film and data, but his ability to recall things similar to filtering in a database was what made him special during his time.

Gotta love him.

https://youtu.be/K6HTDJ2Nt1I?si=5KGn78QfyQlYfU9E

Yeah yeah they want to keep it in the family but Kraft never shuts up about Tom being part of his family .. his % wouldnt have given him any great power but he would provide a wealth of knowledge and support.. just seems like a wasted opportunity to have the GOAT on your side

If Carter isn't there at 4, what do we think of trading down still in the top 10 and drafting Tyler Warren while also accumulating draft picks?

Brady + Gronk, Mahomes + Kelce... to a lesser extent, Lamar + young Mark Andrews.

He'd thrive in short yardage clutch situations and the redzone which are arguably the most important offensive situations.

Big body target for Maye that can be used all over the field, especially in a Josh McDaniels offense.

Not to mention we can try to employ the two tight end offense that worked so well with Hernandez and Gronk.

He has the added bonus of being able to block if necessary.

My son just mentioned it to me and I thought he was joking. Is there something to that rumor? It doesn't quite make sense to me but neither does the fact that Elliot Wolf is still with the team so I wonder if that exacerbated Mayo's bitterness at how things turned out.

On a related tangent, as a fan who loved the Mayo hire and pulled for him, by mid-season I realized it was a mistake. Based on my observation, obviously from a distance, it seemed to me the issues went deeper than inexperience. Mayo seemed not to be engaged appropriately for a HC. I know he had proposed the CEO idea, but has Jerod ever been a CEO in the corporate world? It makes little sense to try an approach based on a role that you have no experience with.

After a while watching him I wondered how it was possible that a guy who was coached by Belichick for his entire pro career to stand on the sidelines and have little to no interaction with his team and coaches.

I guess that was inherent in his approach but, to me he just didn't seem to be involved enough in the management of his team.

Maybe most importantly, he didn't seem to enjoy the job at all. I know losing caused some of it but his in-game and post-game demeanor gave off the impression of a guy who had the aptitude for the job. In my opinion, that conclusion is reinforced by the way the team's shabby performance week after week and by the fact that he lacked a strong network of contacts around the league.

Yes Jerod got a raw deal given the roster he had to work with, but I also think we saw enough of him in the role to determine that it just wasn't going to work.

As I said from the moment he was dismissed, I'd be surprised if he ever gets back into coaching. My impression is he's a smart guy who thought he could rely solely on his intelligence to succeed. But like any challenge in life, you've got to love - or at least like what you do.

Finally, why is it we haven't seen any coverage on any of this? It's really too bad our present day sports media is content with the nearest shiny object and never delves any deeper into underlying issues, subtleties or the cause and effect that would the audience understand why things happen

IIRC when Vrabel was coaching at Tennessee, he had big, burly dudes in Lewan and Conklin blocking for Derrick Henry.

Tate has made a name for himself in Georgia with run blocking and nastiness. However, if Bill was still head coach, he’d probably pass on Ratledge due to lack of versatility. (Only played right guard in college.)

Worst case scenario, Ratledge doesn’t pan out like former Bulldog Isiah Wynn. Best case scenario would be developing into a Logan Mankins esque kind of player….

As we are approaching the Super Bowl, I’ve begun to have this debate in my mind before the game has even been played. The Patriots steamrolled through just about everyone in their path in ‘07 but fell short of the ultimate goal of winning the Lombardi against the most underdog of teams in that Manning/Strahan led Giants squad. The Chiefs have become the most recent form of NFL excellence and consistency, but have one of the most talented on paper rosters of recent memory to defeat to achieve the 3-peat. IF the Chiefs do not win this game on Sunday, would you view it as a bigger loss than the ‘07 team? Both right on the doorstep of NFL immortality to fall just short. I’ve gone back and forth without yet settling on one yet. While an undefeated season being spoiled in the Super Bowl is single-handedly the toughest loss I’ve experienced as a sports fan, it’s tough for me to discredit how big of a loss missing out on a 3-peat would be at the threshold when it’s never been done before; the 1972 will always be the first undefeated season.

edit: To clarify, despite it being close, I lean toward it being the ‘07 season but was trying to see if that my bias showing 😅

10 years ago, the Seahawks had a chance to beat a dynasty. They were one score away on the one yard line. But instead of running it with their elite RB, they passed it with their good but not great QB leading to a game ending interception to cement another victory in the dynastys chapter

Fast forward 10 years, the Eagles have a chance to beat a dynasty. With an elite running back, and a good but not great QB. We have to hope they don't make the same mistakes and history doesn't repeat itself...

The NFL draft is a couple of months away, so I thought I'd ask some early questions for the sub:

1. Would we be better off taking Carter or Hunter? I know its BPA and both will definitely not be there, but who would you rather have and why?

2. Is trading back into the end of the 1st round a realistic option for us? If so is it worth it?

3. In the later rounds should we look on bolstering one position, such as WR/DL/OL/Etc... or do we draft depth at every position?

4. I know that FA will impact our draft, but say we sign good OL in FA, should we still draft projects in earlier rounds for OL?

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this and hopefully get some good discussions going on before the "official" start to the offseason