Monthly Archives: April 2006

This weekend the New England Patriots will be participation in the 2006 NFL Draft. Currently the Patriots have the 21st selection.
With Coach Bill Belichick and Personnel Manager Scott Pioli, you never know what they will do. They could move up, move down or remain where they are. If the Patriots do take the 21st selection, we have outlined our prediction during the MVN Mock Draft With the 21st overall pickÖ..
Tom Casale of Patriots Football Weekly has been highlighting positions in the Draft NFL Draft prospects on the rise and kinda of agrees with our selection. Tom also goes on to comment on the other opportunities at linebackers and their potential fit with the Patriots. Definitely a good read.
Since the NFL Draft is coming up next weekend and it is the biggest NFL event outside of the season, I also wanted to point out that MVNís own Mike Boyko (Steelers) and Chris Maier (Bengals) are the hosts of 360thePitch’s NFL Show The Blitz and are making a big push for the upcoming draft with the following events:
Monday, April 24th Draft Preview Show (Sorry ñ I am late on this one, but you can still listen to it?)
Saturday, April 29th Post-Draft Recap Show
Monday, May 1st Draft Recap Show
Soon we will know who Bill and Scott have chosen and what it may mean for the Patriots future. I truly believe the Patriots have many opportunities what ever they choose to do.
IN BILL WE TRUST!!

The New England Patriots and Richard Seymour, arguably the best Defensive End in the NFL, have agreed to a 4-year extension reportedly worth over $30 million. This allows Seymour the peace of mind that he is compensated at a level he plays without breaking the Patriotís piggy bank.
As announced by ESPN.com Seymour, Pats agree to long-term extension
the deal keeps Seymour with the Patriots through the 2010 season and is believed to be loaded with guaranteed money and additional incentives.
This is probably a first for Bill Belichick and Scott Pioli, but as Patriot Nation read the articles and commentaries around the world, we can at least breathe a bit easier through the offseason.
There have been many comments and articles on the recent losses of Willie McGinest, Adam Vinatieri and David Givens and the lack of signing any big name players. The hopelessness should subside now that we have locked up the best defensive player on the team.
IN BILL WE TRUST!!

It’s been three weeks since the Patriots let Vinatieri sign with the Colts. That’s enough time to have let the emotions die down and take a realistic look at what exactly this means. And more importantly, how New England is planning to replace the most clutch kicker of all time.
The New England organization is a very smart one, we all know that. They’ve released a lot of big-name veterans in the past — Ty Law, Lawyer Milloy, Antowain Smith — and you could argue that they’ve never regretted one of those moves. Until they mess up big time, I suppose I’m forced to give them the benefit of the doubt. Or at least look at some stats to help their case. Sure, he’s kicked the most difficult FG in NFL history, but the past few years have shown him to be rather inconsistent:
If you exclude his 2004 season in which he made 94% of his field goals — far and away his career best — Vinatieri has never kicked better than 90%, which he did in 2002. His past five seasons, starting in 2000, have shown a roller-coaster like pattern for his FG% — 80, 90, 74, 94, 80. Hardly the consistency you look for in a kicker. By comparison, Matt Stover has varied between 84 and 91 percent during the same time period.
This past season, Vinatieri made exactly 20 FG’s, by far the fewest of his career (his previous low was 24 back in 2001). In addition, Vinatieri hasn’t made a field goal of over 50 yards since 2002. I don’t want to say that he’s done, because I don’t think he is. But his stats indicate that he may be on his way out, and no one would know better than the Patriots staff.
So let’s assume that Vinatieri isn’t the same kicker he once was — then the Patriots are smart for letting him go. But now they need to replace him. And so far, they haven’t done the best job with that. As you’ve probably heard, the Pats have signed Martin Gramatica. In case you don’t keep up with the Gramatica Brothers, it was his brother Bill that tore his ACL while celebrating a rather routine field goal while kicking for the Cardinals.
Here’s what Martin has been up to since he played his last NFL game in 2004 (Tampa Bay cut him after he missed three FG’s in the 11th game of that season): A week and a half later he signed with the Colts as their “kickoff specialist”…underwent surgery last June to repair tears in his lower abdomen and adductor muscle…rehabed and was at full strength but did not sign with a team last year…and continued learning Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (don’t forget — May 20, Showtime, live from the MGM, The Gramatica Brothers vs. Elam and Sauerbrun, tag-team match).
One of those might be untrue. But the fact remains, Gramatica will not replace Vinatieri. The Patriots have said that they plan to have a competition in training camp for their next kicker, most likely coming from a rookie kicker they take late in this year’s draft. Either way, it will probably be a couple of years before the official “replacement” is firmly in place. As one veteran player recently said, “Adamís replacement wonít be the next kicker we bring in here. It will be the guy after that guy.î

As I look through a myriad of internet sites reading through the power rankings, free agency signings, hopeful draft picks and drooling commentary of combines and individual workouts, I reflect on everything I think I know about the New England Patriots.
It is true no one really knows the inner working of the minds of Scott Pioli and Bill Belichick. An enigma if there ever was one.
I have recently finished reading David Halberstam: The Education of a Coach as suggested by http://www.mrblackandwhite.com/. This book does give valuable insight into the inner workings of the education of Bill Belichick as a coach, but it also educates the fan as well.
Having read through the life of Bill Belichick and his family and the development of ideology of what is now known to Patriot Nation as the Bill Belichick era.
It may be true the stars may have lined up perfectly that the right coaching and personnel man met a team owner that was not only a fan, but a pragmatic (and realist) businessman. The combination of Bill, Scott and Robert Kraft turned a franchise that struggled in the NFL for generations, into an iconic force that has changed the front office mindset within the NFL as an organization.
The Patriots having won 3 of the past 5 Super Bowls are not a dynasty. They are a team that is able to reinvent themselves within the confines of the rules that restrict every team.
Good players leave. Even Great Players leave. That is business and that is life in the NFL.
Bill, Scott and Mr. Kraft have never designed or built their team around one or two key individuals. Every player the Patriotís bring in has to contribute in more then one way or else the player is gone. Every player also has a value assigned to their contribution within the team. If the player is able to obtain more in the market then the Patriots have assessed, the team will not try to keep them.
It was hard for me to digest this as read through the book on the great leadership and contributions provided by Willie McGinest and Adam Vinatieri, as I read about them walking out the door.
But as I continued to read I still felt confident that Bill, Scott and Mr. Kraft are correct in their assessment and will be able to bring the right players into the team to remain a Super Bowl caliber team.
Free Agency has pretty much come to an end and the focus has turned to the draft. All is still quiet in New England, only a few small signings – same as it has been the past few years. Attention turns to the Red Sox and the start of the MLB season, but I can enjoy my Wachusett Country Ale knowing that Bill and Scott are not watching the Red Sox, but working away on implementing the release of the next Super Bowl Champions, New England Patriots.
In Bill We Trust!