Patriots Off-Season News

[Vermont Green]

The way it all played out sucks. Milton balls out final week, costing us the #1 overall pick, and then ultimately we still only traded him for like a 5th rounder. I would have rather kept him even as a 3rd backup (or with Dobbs as QB3) but my guess is he expressed that he wanted to leave and find an opportunity elsewhere.

Still blame Jerod Mayo for letting this happen. Felt he knew he was getting canned so he sabotaged the Patriots

Hard to know what's in someone's head.  I was (still am) pretty disgusted that the Pats won the game but I think coaches and players always try to win.  Mayo did play his third string QB and of course Milton had to give it everything he had because he's trying to show what he can do. Could Mayo have played worse players?  I don't really know that he could have.  Pats roster was pretty bad.  Bills had the excuse that they were resting players for the playoffs.  I doubt that sabotage was on Mayo's mind - that's an ugly thing to put on display if you want to coach again.  You put your best foot forward and you try to win.   

Yes, exactly, hard to argue that the plan was to screw the team by starting Joe Milton.  The problem was that no one told Joe he was not supposed to win.  And like you say, this was his one chance all season, of course he is going to play his best.

[Goldstar88]

Huh.  I would have thought Milton would have more value than that.  So, they drafted him with a 6th, and they're trading him and a 7th for a pick at the end of the 5th.  That's basically zero ROI even though he showed some potential.

Yeh.  That's a weird one.

He?s worth more than that, but it seems like they didn?t want another QB controversy so they gave him away.

On a report I read that he asked to be traded so he can go someplace where he has a chance to play. That makes sense but I still think Patriots should have gotten more out of the deal.

I don?t think he has any leverage to be asking for a trade, plus the Pats could have let him get plenty of run in the preseason to boost his stock before trading. I don?t think they wanted to go into camp with him incase Drake struggles and fans/media start calling for Milton to play. Would be Mac/Zappe part 2.

[Goldstar88]

It is hard to know based on one game that didn't matter, against special teams players, but I am surprised that they were willing to take this little in return.  I don't see there being a QB controversy.  Maye is clearly the guy.  Apparently, the Patriots and the rest of the league are basing their assessment of him more on what they saw in college than what they saw in that one game.  But my question is, if that is all you are getting back, why do the trade?

A 7th round pick in my mind has no value at all, so that part doesn't worry me at all, who cares.  You can get the same player as a undrafted FA as you can in the 7th Round (more or less).  I guess this turns out to net to be about a 6th round pick.  Not sure the Patriots will do better than Joe Milton even with the 5th round pick straight up, even discounting that it is costing you a 7th round pick too.

Maybe it is easier to use a 5th round pick to move up in the draft than to use Milton directly and/or a 7th round pick, that is the only thing I can think of.

Drake hasn?t done anything in the NFL at this point. He had 2200 yards passing, 15TD?s, 10int?s and a QBR of 58. Pats won 1 game with Maye as the starter. He is very gifted physically and has upside, but I?m not sure why people are making it sound like he?s a sure thing or ?the guy?. I?d like to see him have one good season first.

[Vermont Green]

It is hard to know based on one game that didn't matter, against special teams players, but I am surprised that they were willing to take this little in return.  I don't see there being a QB controversy.  Maye is clearly the guy.  Apparently, the Patriots and the rest of the league are basing their assessment of him more on what they saw in college than what they saw in that one game.  But my question is, if that is all you are getting back, why do the trade?

A 7th round pick in my mind has no value at all, so that part doesn't worry me at all, who cares.  You can get the same player as a undrafted FA as you can in the 7th Round (more or less).  I guess this turns out to net to be about a 6th round pick.  Not sure the Patriots will do better than Joe Milton even with the 5th round pick straight up, even discounting that it is costing you a 7th round pick too.

Maybe it is easier to use a 5th round pick to move up in the draft than to use Milton directly and/or a 7th round pick, that is the only thing I can think of.

Drake hasn't done anything in the NFL at this point. He had 2200 yards passing, 15TD?s, 10int?s and a QBR of 58. Pats won 1 game with Maye as the starter. He is very gifted physically and has upside, but I'm not sure why people are making it sound like he's a sure thing or "the guy". I'd like to see him have one good season first.

Everything you say is true, Maye still has plenty to prove, but isn't it clear that Maye is clearly established as QB1 on the Patriots?  Didn't he show enough on a bad team?  It doesn't seem that the Patriots have any question about that, or they wouldn't have traded Milton.  I say that just relative to having Milton on the team having the potential to create some kind of QB controversy.  I don't see that happening.  Maye still has to prove he can play better on a better team but I think it is pretty clear that the Patriots are expecting him to be QB1 for the next several years.

[Goldstar88]

It is hard to know based on one game that didn't matter, against special teams players, but I am surprised that they were willing to take this little in return.  I don't see there being a QB controversy.  Maye is clearly the guy.  Apparently, the Patriots and the rest of the league are basing their assessment of him more on what they saw in college than what they saw in that one game.  But my question is, if that is all you are getting back, why do the trade?

A 7th round pick in my mind has no value at all, so that part doesn't worry me at all, who cares.  You can get the same player as a undrafted FA as you can in the 7th Round (more or less).  I guess this turns out to net to be about a 6th round pick.  Not sure the Patriots will do better than Joe Milton even with the 5th round pick straight up, even discounting that it is costing you a 7th round pick too.

Maybe it is easier to use a 5th round pick to move up in the draft than to use Milton directly and/or a 7th round pick, that is the only thing I can think of.

Drake hasn't done anything in the NFL at this point. He had 2200 yards passing, 15TD?s, 10int?s and a QBR of 58. Pats won 1 game with Maye as the starter. He is very gifted physically and has upside, but I'm not sure why people are making it sound like he's a sure thing or "the guy". I'd like to see him have one good season first.

Everything you say is true, Maye still has plenty to prove, but isn't it clear that Maye is clearly established as QB1 on the Patriots?  Didn't he show enough on a bad team?  It doesn't seem that the Patriots have any question about that, or they wouldn't have traded Milton.  I say that just relative to having Milton on the team having the potential to create some kind of QB controversy.  I don't see that happening.  Maye still has to prove he can play better on a better team but I think it is pretty clear that the Patriots are expecting him to be QB1 for the next several years.

Did you see what happened with Mac and Zappe. That was after Mac had a great rookie year. I?d imagine they don?t want that to happen again with Maye and Milton. Drake is going to have to learn a whole new offense this season. It might not be pretty, at least to start the year.

[Goldstar88]

The Patriots wanted to clear the decks for Drake Maye entering offseason workouts and Joshua Dobbs indicated to the team that he would only sign with them in March if he was the primary backup, Sports Illustrated?s Albert Breer reported.

[The Patriots] said to [Dobbs] in no uncertain terms that, We don?t want competition in the room for Drake right now. What we?re looking for is a resource,Breer said on 98.5 The Sports Hub?s Toucher and Hardy. They had sort of signaled to him that this was a likelihood, that they would wind up moving on from Joe Milton.

[kraidstar]

You know what all of this Milton innuendo tells me? The Patriots are afraid of the fans and are making fear-based decisions.

That's not the hallmark of a well-run franchise. Whatever happened to competition being a good thing? Whatever happened to culture?

I will admit, Patriots fans are generally quite stupid - some of the dumbest fans in all of American sports - but that doesn't mean you let the inmates run the asylum.

[jambr380]

You know what all of this Milton innuendo tells me? The Patriots are afraid of the fans and are making fear-based decisions.

That's not the hallmark of a well-run franchise. Whatever happened to competition being a good thing? Whatever happened to culture?

I will admit, Patriots fans are generally quite stupid - some of the dumbest fans in all of American sports - but that doesn't mean you let the inmates run the asylum.

What on earth are you on about? Stupidest fans in all of sports? Take a chill pill.

No, they saw what happened with Mac and Zappe and didn?t want a young qb possibly making things difficult while fighting for his NFL life. Having a veteran who understands his role, but who also wants to be the primary back-up makes perfect sense.

Maye is obviously a superior prospect to Mac and may very well be more mentally strong, but why even risk it? If the Pats were that high on Milton, they would have asked for more from him. They know what they have in Maye

[Goldstar88]

Guard at #4. Smh

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Yay. Campbell better be the best offensive lineman the Pats have ever had.

So glad they bothered to win that last game of the season.

[Phantom255x]

Hoping Egbuka falls into the mid-to-late 20s and we trade up for him

[Phantom255x]

Hoping Egbuka falls into the mid-to-late 20s and we trade up for him

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[SparzWizard]

Campbell is ready to fight and die for Maye, the OL, and the offense.

Also was an emotional interview

[Goldstar88]

Will be interesting to see what they do in the 2nd round tomorrow.

[rocknrollforyoursoul]

Will NE ever have a dominant pass rusher? *sigh*