FOXBOROUGH -- Patriots coach BIll Belichick held a press conference to wrap up the Patriots' draft, and he opened on a light note.
"Who would have ever thought you would be covering a Bill Belichick draft with no offensive linemen, defensive linemen, or tight ends taken?" he said to the reporters sitting in front of him.
The Patriots selected three linebackers, two defensive backs, one quarterback, and one receiver/special teams player.
A few points of note from Belichick's post-draft press conference, which focused on the second day of the draft (rounds 3-7):
He pointed out the absence of the late Bucko Kilroy in the team's draft room, noting that Kilroy was in the team's thoughts. "He's been such a pillar here for so long, particularly as it relates to the draft," he said.
The trade with the Chargers in the third round came late. "We had [Shawn] Crable on the line and we were actually going to take him with that first pick and San Diego kind of swooped in there and made the trade and we picked up a second-round pick next year," Belichick said.
Belichick sees a lot of Pierre Woods in Crable. "They're both tall, very rangy, fast, good special teams players," he said.
On QB Kevin O'Connell: "A big, strong, athletic quarterback. Runs well. Very athletic. He played on a passing team in a passing league, in all honesty not behind a real good line. So he was kind of on the run a little bit. I thought he held in there and did a pretty good job of being productive and making good decisions, and a lot of times he was under a lot of pressure."
Belichick was on campus at Auburn along with defensive coordinator Dean Pees, vice president of player personnel Scott Pioli and director of player personnel Nick Caserio, and part of their visit was to see CB Jason Wilhite. He said there are some similarities between Wilhite and second-round CB Terrence Wheatley.
On fifth-rounder Matthew Slater: "He's been a very productive special teams player and high quality, a great character kid. Comes from obviously a good family."
Belichick said the Patriots had been charting sixth-round pick Bo Ruud for a few years at Nebraska as they had visited campus to see other prospects. "He's another guy with some good size, runs well, and is a real competitive, smart kid -- and I think he has a little bit of position flexibility for us on the inside positions as well."
What big bodies will Belichick have his eye on among the Rookie Free Agents(RFA)? Also, any other linebackers/secondary players in the RFA group that may pique the Pat's interest?
Yeah, the similarities between Wheatley and Wilhite are that they are both too small to play in todays NFL which is getting bigger each year, especially at the WR position. Two wasted draft picks, IMO.
Having one "Hobbs" is bad enough. Now there are three.
Neither of these guys will make this team as a CB. They are more likely toend up in the hospital than on the roster.
My guess is that if they ARE released, no other NFL team will pick them up.
We will see when camp opens.
BB seems to be obsessed with special teams this year.
No offense to Pierre Woods but lets hope Crable can recover fumbles - and you know what I mean. Two tendencies I see confirmed here about the Pioli/Belichick scouting method that concern me:
1.) Cornerback hieght does not appear to be as much of an issue as speed and technique. Randy Moss and Plaxico Burress alone dictate the importance of size deep down the field.
2.) On the other hand Belichick is obviously more concerned with size and strength of LB's than speed. Great against the run and to wear down the offensive line but what about coming off the edge and in coverage?
Great insightful comment as usual, M. Allen.
Great Draft IMO...The CBs look like studs, Wheatley has starter potential while Jason Wilhite looks like he could be as good as Hobbs. That would be a great pick then. LBs are good, mayo is going to be a starter from day 1, just like mankins was.
Why is everyone so crazy about CB height, WRs that are tall are 6-3 to 6-6 if you want a CB to match them. Then look for them. Who were the tall and good (keyword good). Hey I am 6-3, why doesn't BB draft me since you guys want tall CB, forget about the talent. There weren't any tall great CB in this draft but you guys complain.
Mike Allen, so your concerns are a little alleviated, the Patriots opposing 2008 combined average starting WR height is 6' with the tallest WR being Vincent Jackson at 6'5". Also the average height of corners of this years draft is 5'11". Most of the WRs in the AFC East are about 5'11". So I think we'll be fine with very fast, very athletic, intelligent corners.
Didn't you hate Wes Welker too, Mike? Give me a break, it's rare to see a corner taller than 6'1", let alone a corner that tall or taller who is any good. Height only comes into play on a handful of patterns anyway. Give me speed, quickness and agility over height any day at CB.
Jose,
Your rational response is wasted on Mr. Allen.
Very Good offseason so far. Filled in need at LB and DB, brought in what appears to be some good competition and depth. Not many great teams are able to reload like this in any sport. Pat fans are lucky to have the best front office/coaching combo in the league still at the top of their game playing chess while clowns like Jerry Jones are playing checkers for headlines. Mike Lombardi on NFL Network already predicting ROY for Mayo. Check Crable's stats vs. Gholston, more sacks and tackles for loss.
All the bashing on Hobbs is funny considering he gave up less touchdowns than Asante Samuel last year, all while defending the other team's #1 wide receiver most of the time. The way I see it, having another Hobbs would be good for this team.
To answer Belichick's question, I never thought I'd see a draft where he didn't take an offensive lineman, defensive lineman, or a tight end. I was definitely expecting at least one of those in the later rounds.
M.Allen, the way to counter tall WRs is not with tall CBs. It's with CBs with leaping ability and good ball skills. A guy like Ty Poole had very good leaping skills and great make-up speed, and as a result had quite a few PDs against tall receivers, despite being a shrimp. You don't typically want tall corners because with height usually comes less agility and quickness, which are awful traits to have as a corner. There's a reason most of the top corners in the league are under 6' (with the exception of a certain physical freak of nature on the Chargers...).
Mike, any news on undrafted free agents fo the pats?
A CB needs to be able to jump, good hips, eyes and hands. I think we remember than from the super bowl. As for complaints about the QB. It could have been a pick to add depth and prevent the Jets from getting him. The Jets added a QB in the next round.
Of the 9 players the Patriots drafted last year, only 1 is currently out of football. Most of the 8 that remain couldn't make the Pats roster and ended up with other teams, 2 of them are on the practice squad. If we can have the same level of success this year, and there's no indication that we shouldn't, then we will be fine.
This is my source: http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2008/04/26/last_year_didnt_yield_many_keepers/
the hobbs bashing is a result of the last images we saw of the sb....give us a break. we should have had a safety over the top on the play or something! tall corners dont exist oh well
I hear you, Alex. People seem to forget that Ellis Hobbs actually caught the ball and made the interception when the ball came his way during the Super Bowl (in the red zone, if I remember correctly). Asante didn't. Hobbs deserves a lot more credit than he gets.
If Crable is Woods cut him now and look elsewhere. Ditto for Alexander and ANY of the inside guys we got. These two should have took the ax last year.One for the Rodgers kid we lost to Dallas and the other for the D-line guy we cut that the jets picked up.Last years situation at LB probally would not allow this to happen though.
I think Crable is better day one
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