Bill Belichick is the gold standard for NFL coaching and roster building. Since he a sumed the reins of the in 2000, New England has become a modern day football dynasty. At times, it seems as if Belichick is playing che s while the rest of the NFL is playing checkers. Belichick's magic touch was on display last season as the Patriots won their fifth Super Bowl. The Patriots didn't mi s a beat after jettisoning arguably their best two defensive players from their 2015 roster. was shipped to the in an offseason trade because New England was never going to pay him the going rate for productive pa s rushers, which starts in the $16 million per year neighborhood with over $50 million in guarantees, once his contract expired after the season. Linebacker turning down an $11 million per year contract extension during training camp was an impetus for dealing him to the as last season's trading deadline approached. Losing , the game's best tight end, to a season-ending back injury didn't derail New England's championship hopes. , who was acquired in an early offseason trade, took up the slack during Gronkowski's absence.Belichick was just as aggre sive this offseason as in 2016 with roster moves. The prevailing view before the start of
Thomas Vanek Jersey the season was New England had a chance at the perfection that eluded the 2007 Patriots by winning their sixth Super Bowl with a 19-0 record. Perfection went out the window in the season-opening lo s at home to the . Although the Patriots are sitting atop the AFC East with a 4-2 record, they seem more vulnerable than Belichick's championship-caliber teams of the past few years. The defense is giving up a league-worst 440.7 yards per game after ranking eighth in the NFL last season at 326.4 yards. Every quarterback who has faced New England this season has thrown for at least 300 yards. Opponent scoring is way up this
Ryan Suter Jersey season. The Patriots are allowing 26.5 points, 30th in the NFL. The 15.6 points per game given up last season were the fewest in the NFL. The Patriots' defense also ranks last with 6.6 yards per play. The defense was 10th in 2016 allowing 5.2 yards per play.Surprisingly, the offensive line has been inconsistent despite returning the same unit from last season. Quarterback was sacked 16 times in the first five games. He was taken down 15 times in the 12 regular-season games he played during the 2016 season. The offense also hasn't excelled in short-yardage situations. The bar was set incredibly high but the 2017 Patriots haven't come remotely close to living up to preseason expectations. Overall, Belichick's roster moves have been questionable at best so far. Some have been complete failures. The biggest succe s has been acquiring wide receiver from the e sentially for New England's 2017 first-round pick (32nd overall). He is the Patriots' best deep threat since Randy Mo s almost a decade ago. Cooks leads NFL wide receivers with 19.7 yards per catch and his 78.7 yards per game are seventh in the league.Every team would like a mulligan with offseason and preseason roster moves after the fact. There are several things Belichick could have done differently in a sembling the roster that might have the 2017 Patriots already performing up to the high standards of their predece sors.Belichick made a rare high-priced free-agent signing with cornerback from the . Gilmore received a five-year, $65 million contract containing $40 million in guarantees despite inconsistent play in 2016. Defensive breakdowns and untimely penalties have defined Gilmore's short stint in New England. He got the money cornerback , who will be an unrestricted free agent in 2018, wanted from the Patriots. Butler is probably playing his final season in New England since Belichick investing heavily in two cornerbacks seems like a remote po sibility. Re-signing , who was significantly cheaper than Gilmore, would have given New England a better shot to maintain continuity at cornerback because the chances of keeping Butler long term would have increased. The pried Ryan away on a team-friendly three-year, $30 million contract in free agency, which can be exited after this year with minimal salary cap consequences because there is only a $2 million
Mikael Granlund Jersey signing bonus. The $31 million Gilmore has fully guaranteed at signing is more than Ryan's entire contract. Pursuing A.J. Bouye would have been a better option for a major expenditure at cornerback even though he was le s of a known quantity than Gilmore. Bouye is proving with the that he isn't just a contract year wonder. His Jaguars deal is also $65 million for five years. Bouye's $26 million fully guaranteed at signing is $5 million le s than Gilmore's. He's also $1.5 million behind Gilmore after three years with $40.5 million.Belichick jumped the gun at tight end by trading a 2017 fourth-round pick to the for and a 2017 sixth-round pick. The same patience that was exhibited with linebacker in free agency should have been exercised with Bennett. The Patriots were able to re-sign Hightower at a good value after he didn't generate the interest and offers he expected as a free agent. The big payday Bennett was looking for on the open market never materialized although he was clearly the best tight end available. He took three years and $21 million from the , with just $6.3 million of guaranteed money in the form of a signing bonus. The Patriots a sumed the final three years of Allen's contract worth $17.4 million
Minnesota Wild Jersey in the trade. Allen has been a major disappointment. He has only been targeted six times in six games and doesn't have any catches. Bennett immediately made a difference in 2016 with the Patriots. He was invaluable in helping keep New England afloat as the key cog in the pa sing game while Brady was serving his four-game suspension relating to Deflategate and Gronkowski was recovering from a hamstring injury. Allen is probably going to be a one-year experiment costing $5 million where the Patriots are looking for a second tight end in 2018 unle s his play drastically improves over the season. Bennett isn't thriving in his new environment either.Under Belichick, the "Patriot Way" has been to get rid of a player a year too early rather than a year too late, whether it's because of salary, performance or age. Thirty-year-old running back is the latest victim of the philosophy despite a career-high 1,161 rushing yards (eighth in the NFL) and a league-high 18 rushing touchdowns in 2016. He was one of the NFL's best veteran contract values because he was playing on a one year, $1 million deal worth up to $2 million through incentives.
Nino Niederreiter Jersey The Patriots quickly signed to a one-year, $3.15 million deal in free agency because of his dual threat capabilities, which put Blount's return in jeopardy. Signing restricted free agent to a front-loaded two-year, $6.4 million offer sheet which the Bills didn't match made Blount expendable. Buffalo received New England's 2017 fifth-round pick as compensation. Blount didn't
