[aeneas1]

sure, they cheat, so we're told, deflategate and such, but deflategate doesn't explain their 4th ranked defense in offensive points allowed through week 11, nor does it explain their 4th ranked defense in offensive points allowed since 2012, i.e. the last 4+ seasons, since fish has been the rams hc...

their offensive line is currently made up of 1 first rounder, a 3rd rounder, a 4th rounder, a 5th rounder and an undrafted guy - 3 of these guys had a whopping 1 year or less worth of nfl experience under their belts headed into this season, while averaging just 7 nfl starts among them.

defensively the pats have 3 of their first round picks, 2 of their second round picks, and 2 of their third round picks starting - butler, their 3rd year undrafted db, has already made a pro bowl, along with two of their other picks. they've also filled in the gaps with 5 free agents, 4 of whom were drafted in the 1st and 2nd rounds by their original teams.

draft picks? since 2010 the pats have taken 6 guys in the first round, only 4 teams have selected fewer. comparatively the rams have taken 9 guys in the first round, only 2 teams have selected more.

interestingly, of the 4 teams that have taken fewer first round picks than the patriots since 2010, the seahawks, raiders, ravens and redskins, all have winning records and 3 are either in first place or tied for first place. and of the 3 teams that have taken more first round picks than the rams since 2010, the vikes, browns and niners, 2 have losing records while one is free-falling as the weeks go by. go figure.

what the patriots have done is pick a ton of second and third rounders since 2010, no team has picked more second rounders than the pats, and only 1 team has picked more third rounders. the league average for second and third round picks since 2010 is 14 per team, the pats have picked a whopping 21.

that said, of the 55 draft picks the pats have taken from 2010 through 2015, only 16 are currently on their team, i.e. less than 1 out of 3.

here's a look at the pats' 2016 roster, the 15 offensive and defensive guys who have played the most snaps... red text indicates acquisitions, tm exp shows the years and starts each player had with the pats headed into this season, lg exp shows the total years and starts players had in the league headed into this season:

and here's a look at the pats' draft picks since 2010:

[dieterbrock]

Hate to say it, but Belechick is 2 things
1) Knows how to coach each and every position ont he field as good, if not better than anyone else
2) He has an uncanny ability to train his coaches, instill his vision and discipline on them. Almost cloning himself

[moklerman]

Hate to say it, but Belechick is 2 things
1) Knows how to coach each and every position ont he field as good, if not better than anyone else
2) He has an uncanny ability to train his coaches, instill his vision and discipline on them. Almost cloning himself

The problem with that theory is that none of his coaches can duplicate, or even approach the same kind of success. There has to be something more that is being done than just imposing discipline.

I'm more inclined to believe that they still have some way of reading/predicting plays. Someone, somewhere once posted an article about some genius that the Patriots have had under contract that is some kind of savant when it comes to stealing signals.

"Do your job" and "the Patriot Way" and all of that is just fluff. First and foremost, they know what other teams are going to do and then everything else is secondary. It's easy to just do your job when you know what the play is. It's easy to block when you know what the defense is doing too.

There's just no other way to explain it. They don't have the best talent, their own coaches can't do elsewhere what they did in NE and they never get worse with injuries. Most importantly though, the league doesn't want them to be exposed any more than they have been. They've already been caught cheating on multiple occassions and at this point, it's detrimental to the league more than it is to the Patriots.

[dieterbrock]

The problem with that theory is that none of his coaches can duplicate, or even approach the same kind of success. There has to be something more that is being done than just imposing discipline.

I'm more inclined to believe that they still have some way of reading/predicting plays. Someone, somewhere once posted an article about some genius that the Patriots have had under contract that is some kind of savant when it comes to stealing signals.

"Do your job" and "the Patriot Way" and all of that is just fluff. First and foremost, they know what other teams are going to do and then everything else is secondary. It's easy to just do your job when you know what the play is. It's easy to block when you know what the defense is doing too.

There's just no other way to explain it. They don't have the best talent, their own coaches can't do elsewhere what they did in NE and they never get worse with injuries. Most importantly though, the league doesn't want them to be exposed any more than they have been. They've already been caught cheating on multiple occassions and at this point, it's detrimental to the league more than it is to the Patriots.

He teaches them how to coach his way, on his team. He doesn't teach them how to coach
And when they leave and try to be like him, it doesn't work. Because in all likelihood, he would coach differently based on the personnel he inherited.
I believe that had he stayed with Baltimore, that he would have built the empire there as well

[moklerman]

He teaches them how to coach his way, on his team. He doesn't teach them how to coach
And when they leave and try to be like him, it doesn't work. Because in all likelihood, he would coach differently based on the personnel he inherited.
I believe that had he stayed with Baltimore, that he would have built the empire there as well

That implies that he does something that no one else can. It makes no sense that Crennel or McDaniels or any of the guys who've tried to make a go of it on their own would disregard the things that make the Patriots winners. Which makes me believe it isn't in the coaching or discipline. Whether it's motivation or playcalling or any of those types of things I don't think Bilichick has some secret that other coaches are unaware of.

I think he's built up a network of rule bending that is now a fully functional machine.

[dieterbrock]

That implies that he does something that no one else can. It makes no sense that Crennel or McDaniels or any of the guys who've tried to make a go of it on their own would disregard the things that make the Patriots winners. Which makes me believe it isn't in the coaching or discipline. Whether it's motivation or playcalling or any of those types of things I don't think Bilichick has some secret that other coaches are unaware of.

I think he's built up a network of rule bending that is now a fully functional machine.

Because you're not seeing my point. Belechick knows what each coach needs to do to make the Patriots better. He makes them great coaches on the Patriots, not great coaches

[moklerman]

Because you're not seeing my point. Belechick knows what each coach needs to do to make the Patriots better. He makes them great coaches on the Patriots, not great coaches

But that still falls under the umbrella of him knowing how to do something that NO ONE else does. It's too far fetched to me. There are only so many ways to do things as a HC and it's unlikely to me that BB has tapped into some secret or formula that no other coach can implement. Not just his own subordinates, not anyone else.

Seems a lot more plausible to me that he's taking advantage of an unlevel playing field.

[Rams the Legends live on]

Mok, I don't think it is a secret is just a knowing bro. A born talent or one ya work to have. Robert E. Lee had said that he found that some men who are great battalion leaders made poor division leaders and because a man was a great division commander does not mean he will be a great corps commander.

One of the best qualities ya can have as a leader is proper delegation and the confidence you have chosen wisely. I hate to say it but I believe Bill has it. He knows what to see in a guy and then coach it out of him so his chosen can coach who he has been delegated.

Bill just knows how to delegate and coach his people so they serve as a force multiplier of his ideology. An in reality like Lee found in life because someone is good at the position of authority they are in is no guarantee they will excel at the next level of authority.

Bill just has a talent I so wish Fish had and so hope our next coach has.

[dieterbrock]

But that still falls under the umbrella of him knowing how to do something that NO ONE else does. It's too far fetched to me. There are only so many ways to do things as a HC and it's unlikely to me that BB has tapped into some secret or formula that no other coach can implement. Not just his own subordinates, not anyone else.

Seems a lot more plausible to me that he's taking advantage of an unlevel playing field.

Who said that?
He's the best at it in the business today and of the past 20 years
BB knows what each position coach needs to be and he has a unique ability of getting them there
Again, he doesn't make them great coaches per say, he makes them great for what he needs them to do
No secret sauce, he's just better at it than anyone else

[Rams the Legends live on]

A1, Nate Solder is who I was hoping we would take in the first round in 2011, we chose Quinn instead which I have no complaints we did.