How Things Work

Every player taken in the NFL is a projection, even #1 pick Myles Garrett. Perhaps he'll be great, perhaps he'll be a transcendent, generational talent who draws comparisons to the Hall of Famers he will one day join in Canton. Or maybe he'll fail to live up to his draft status; maybe he'll be an outright bust. Unlikely? Sure, but not unprecedented.

This was an unusual draft for the New England Patriots and it's hard to take a single data point and discern a pattern but Bill Belichick provided an interesting business case for managing draft picks as assets. He's always moved around the board. He's always like to convert 5th round picks into blue collar veterans as depth pieces. He's always called the draft just one part of the overall team-building process. But I can't remember a draft where so many picks were converted from risky, unproven assets into known commodities.

It's not like anything Bill Belichick did with New England's 2017 draft picks is against the rules; once again, he's just reading between the lines.

The Triumph of Hope Over Draft Profile

Loved it when Bill Belichick reminded the pigskin pundits and bobbleheads in his post-Day 2 stand up the Patriots had already banked WR Brandin Cooks (and his 5th year option), DE Kony Ealy, TE Dwayne Allen and RB Mike Gillislee before Day 1 of the draft.

He didn't mention keeping QB Jimmy Garoppolo or CB Malcolm Butler; I know they were on the roster all along but somehow it seems like the Patriots acquired them from Cleveland and New Orleans, respectively, doesn't it?

Also loving the reaction to the Patriots 3rd round picks but I have to admit I'm caught off guard by a New England draft that doesn't get a C+ "Failed to work up to expectations" kind of grade.

Perhaps an even bigger surprise? Belichick didn't take a safety nobody ever heard of in the 3rd round this year.

Last Minute Pre-Draft Doodles

The NFL Draft is almost, mercifully, finally upon us. The fates of Jimmy Garoppolo, Malcolm Butler and hundreds of young men with the hopes and dreams of pigskin fame hangs in the balance. It isn't exactly western civilization we're considering here but for whatever reason, I'm far more interested in football. I mean, western civilization is so 20th century, am I right?

Dead Is Dead

Am I missing something?

RIP Phil Simms

First, let me say that as a New England Patriots fan, I hate all of the network broadcast teams. They fall into two categories for me; the New York Guys and the Beat Guys. The Beat Guys are second- or third-teamers for their network who have gotten used to calling games for the Bills or 49ers. They might as well be beat reporters for the other team. Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts are the perfect Beat Guys. They've called a lot of Dolphins games and almost can't help themselves when they spend the whole game speaking in glowing terms about the players on a team getting beaten by double digits by the Patriots. The New York guys live in or around NYC and in some cases, like Phil Simms, played for one of the New York franchises. Simms and Jim Nantz are the quintessential New York Guys. They can't help but enjoy themselves when the Patriots are losing and get obviously peeved when New England is winning.

So, yeah, I hated - and mocked - Phil Simms. 

He's a New York Guy.

Confirmation Bias

It seems the longer we don't know something, the more confident we are that we do.