Tyrone McKenzie analysis

i love this guy. he may not have the great top-end speed or the superb ball skills, but the kid's got heart and he doesn't let go of a guy when he's got his hands on him. what a great time to get him into the team, let Bruschi mentor him, and have him standing side-by-side with Mayo at ILB in the future.

FINALLLLLYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Really though, here's a kid to root for and a kid that can succeed with the Pats. He has good game speed and quickness, he can roam the field similarly to former NE LBs, and all indications are that he is a high character, hard-working kid. I remember watching two or three South Florida games and noticing the guy particularly. Nice.

Oh, and long live Sea Bass!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last time I post this! I apologize for the overkill! I put a lot of work into it, and I hope y'all enjoy it, and comment, if you're so inclined!

***
As expected, Coach Bill ANNIHILATED my perception of what we should be doing, in the first 2 rounds!

And that is fine with ME! In Bill We Trust!

By far, the most underrated aspect of managing a football team is the Salary Cap, the constraints of which force all teams to plan a good 3 to 5 years ahead. While that may seem ridiculous ~ and of course it IS ~ the ones who fail to do so ~ and that's at least 25 of the 32 teams, frankly! ~ continually and constantly watch, helplessly, as their teams get torn apart, as they are forced to let more of their Core leave than they can possibly afford.

The rest of the league was cutting the distance between them and Coach Bill, ere the last 4 years...

But Coach Bill is pulling away, surging, once again, and doing so right before our very eyes...VERY reminiscent of Bill Walsh and the Miners of the latter 80's.

***

In short, Coach Bill wasn't feeling the love for Maualuga, Matthews, et cetera...or any of the rest of the Top 32. He just didn't see them as being worth investing a Gold Chip Pick in...or, more importantly, in investing precious Salary Cap Room in.

Now, we've got 4 2nd Round Picks, and 4 3rd Round Picks.

That...is INSANE.

That is INSANE.

Right now, most Yankees are howling in rage, because Coach Bill didn't draft anyone most'f us'f ever HEARD of.

But those folks don't realize how SEISMIC this weekend's event have BEEN.

The most damaging attribute of The Salary Cap Era has been DEPTH. Had the Salary Cap not forced us ~ even with the truly MAGNIFICENT management of Coach Bill and Counselor Pioli, ere the last 9 years ~ to strip down our Reserves to vulnerable levels, we wouldn't've bottomed out at Running Back in 2005, at Wide Receivers in 2006, at LineBackers in 2007, and at QuarterBacks in 2008.

We would've, most likely, won an additional 4 Super Bowls...and been working on our 7th consecutive, right now.

The Salary Cap is EVIL.

***

DEPTH.

Depth of Talent.

Depth of young, talented players of Skill and Ferocity at all positions.

Because of YEARS of judicious, patient, and disciplined management of Draft Picks and Veterans, Coach Bill has put us in...an extraordinary position.

We went into this draft with the deepest and most talented team in the WORLD. In the WORLD.

We went into this draft with two guys who I'm betting will soon be considered the Greatest Coach AND the Greatest QuarterBack of All Time.

We went into this draft with a fusion of talent, experience, depth, and youth that is the ENVY of all other 31 teams.

And now we're in the middle of surging FAR ahead of where we already were.

8 picks in the first 3 Rounds???

The value of having a DEEP roster of young, talented, and dedicated professionals, playing for BEANS...can NOT be overestimated.

We are going to have ~ minus whichever number of picks we trade forward to enhance NEXT year's draft ~ anywhere from 6 to 8 Top 3 Round picks ~ and an equally advantageous position NEXT year! ~ who we'll be able to lock up for 5 YEARS, as they and the other young talents we already have infuse a TIDAL WAVE of Speed, Power, and Ferocity into this team of passionate, self-sacrificing GREATS that it is truly a privilege to root for.

Coach Bill just took out a Lien on the next 5 years.

As INSANE as it is to even say it, the best years of the Patriots are almost certainly yet to come.

I can't believe it.

He was also teammates with George Selvie, a guy who I thought might come out this year, but will be in the draft next year. Fantastic edge rusher with the ability to play OLB. Hope the Patriots can pair them up again.

McKenzie.

PERFECT.

We are now 4 Deep at ILB, NOT including Teddy Ice Cold Bruschi, and 4 Deep at OLB. McKenzie is a SCRAPPER, and I REALLY look forward to watching Mayo, McKenzie, Guyton, and Ruud compete, under the fiery leadership of Teddy Ice Cold!

Those are 4 young guys with good talent and young legs.

And the same is true at OLB: Thomas, Crable, Woods, and Colvin on the Outside: Youth, Experience, and 4 deep, not including the hyphenated one, who I don't particularly like!

I'd love to see us pick up another Vet or two, frankly...But this is solid depth and talent. And with a truly GREAT D Line, and a RIDICULOUSLY deep Secondary, we are looking really, really GOOD.

Love this pick. The Pats needed another ILB with Tedy being on his last legs and Guyton more of a nickle LB than a 3 down guy. Now they can keep Adalius on the outside where he should be and hopefully one of the young guys (Woods, Crable, Redd) steps up on the other side. I'm loving this draft so far. Lots of defense and 2 extra 2nds for next year.

This pick completes a picture perfect 3rd round for the Pats.

"and comment, if you're so inclined"
"Right now, most Yankees are howling in rage, because Coach Bill didn't draft anyone most'f us'f ever HEARD of."

Right now most Yankees are howling because their $215 Million payroll looks like garbage. They're the complete opposite of the Pats.

Most Pats fans are pretty happy because Belichick is addressing team needs without sacrificing future flexibility. Like always.

Fanatical Yankee...

You wrote three pages, THREE PAGES, telling us what we already know. You repeatedly used caps, CAPS, in places I am guessing to emphasize your points, but is really just annoying to the eye when reading.

Anyway, I was happy with the way the first day turned out. I know a lot of people were looking for one of the USC linebackers. I just could not figure out why. Cushing does not really fit our scheme, Clay Matthews looked decent in college but is undersized to play OLB for us by about 20 lbs. That is after he put on like 60 lbs coming into college. Rey Rey looks like he could play, was kind of interested by him. I have thought we needed Safety, DL and OL more than anything. We picked up players at each position in the second round. With Ron Brace coming in Wright will be able to move to probably his more natural position at end. Chung will be a young Rodney and this Sea Bass will be a work in progress but with Dante coaching him up he will be a player.

Surprised we did not pick up a guard to replace Neal

I think he meant "yankee" in the more general sense. Like north-easterners.

Certainly overstated, but I love the enthusiasm.

Thanks for correcting Rob, Jape! WE are the ONLY Yankees!

Nice pick. They guy plays strong. He's no wimpy OLB like PSU's Maybin. He good a setting the edge and thats key to the Pats D. He got pretty good quickness off the ball as well.

Being a USF Alumni I have a boy to root for on the team now!!!!!

When Gasper wrote about him on the 13th he was the one player I hoped they would pick. This guy is a tackling machine! Plus he's got a story everyone enjoys. I hope he makes the team and contributes this year. If he's as good as advertised then the middle of the field is going to be a forbidden zone.

No doubt, this team is better than it was two days ago, plus the Pats are well set for next year's draft which will have a better pool of players. Kudos to the organization and thanks Mike for your efforts.