Re: Still more cheating

h.oser@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

But did they *really* scout him better? Other than using hindsight to
say it I mean.


I think they did and conversely, I really don't have a problem with giving the Rams credit for pulling out Warner out of nowhere and I also don't have a problem with giving Jax credit for having had better scouts in their selection of Garrard.

I'm just saying it'd be hard to convince me they saw
something "special" in him that no one else saw, something that made
that pick be anything more than run-of-the-mill at the time.


I've always maintained that much of this had to do with a combination of luck and scouting acumen and I think I stated or have implied the same in this thread. As far as luck is concerned, I'm sure the Pats themselves admit this freely. Here's what Pioli says on the selection:

"If anyone from this office tells you that, that he spotted back then what Tom was going to be, he's simply lying."

No one plans to take their QB of the future in the sixth round. It's almost
a throw away pick. I'm not saying it was total "dumb luck" either but
heck, if QB was an urgent position of need heading into that draft,
their advance scouting might've concluded to go after Pennington if
they had the chance to be in position to get him.


It wasn't a position of need per se considering all the other holes the Pats had in 2000, but they knew well that Bledsoe wasn't their guy. BB actually felt Bledsoe time had passed and the pace of the game had really passed him by. BB also was the one who exposed Drew's achilles heel or his inability to throw toward his left side when he coached the Browns. Still, though Bledsoe did have his weaknesses, with him leading the helm, the Pats were in contention for a winning season if not the playoffs. This is why I say QB wasn't the biggest need on the team, but as I've stated, the coaching staff knew and wanted to get better at the position.

As MZ had stated, the Pats did scout Brady enough and put much effort into assessing his play. They recognized that though Brady did not handle being beaten out by Brian Griese earlier in his career at Michigan, they also knew that Brady just won games when he did become the starting QB. They also recognized that Brady was put into a really tough position when Drew Henson came aboard at Mich, as well as having come to the determination that Brady, upon giving his team a lead in the game, would get pulled by Carr in favor of Henson, and would be reinserted into the game when Henson squandered leads. Brady went 20-5 as a starter at Mich and the Pats coaching staff appreciated not only his poise and winning percentage, but also his TD to INT ratio. This ratio and winning percentage hasn't changed all that much from Brady's collegiate to pro careers. And more so, the Pats never were blinded my Henson-mania that swept across pro sports at the time.

Brady's stats and winning percentage aside, what really impressed Belichick was Brady's character. To BB, Brady was a young adult who confronted an extremely difficult situation during college and instead of wilting under pressure, he rose to the occasion with savvy and maturity that belied his young age. He did not crack under pressure, was not babied or coddled and excelled through hard work and innate talent. Character became an extremely important attribute for Belichick because he had learned the hard way from his years of struggles with one Lawrence Taylor.

Now, Brady himself felt he would get drafted in the fourth round. I actually don't know where the draftniks had him going in that draft nor do I know where the Pats had him listed in their war room. But when he kept falling and no one showed interest in the guy, the Pats played it out and took him with their sixth round pick, which incidentally happened to be a comp. pick.

Given that Bledose, who had made the pro bowl and was considered by the owners as the franchise even in 2000, BB was not going to use their top pick, which was a second round pick, on drafting a QB. In reality, the were looking for a project who'd turn out to like, well, Brady so that they could in the future move away from Drew-ball.

So again, though there was luck involved in Brady becoming one of the greats, there was also skill and astute scouting by the Patriots. It wasn't like Brady never played, and it wasn't like the Pats pulled the guy out of Div III ball. He had a nice career at one of the storied programs in all of college football.

.

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