The possibility of keeping Alex Smith.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by O.city

They should have traded jimmy or moved on from Tom

I think they'd have traded Garapollo had they gotten a 2nd round offer for him. The rumors were that they wouldn't even take a 1st but that was an obvious smokescreen.

We'll never know, but Belichick has never been loathe to trade a player, let alone a backup QB, in the past (hell, he traded Brissett right before the season started). Had he been able to get a mid 2nd for JG, he'd have done it.

But Garapollo is starting to get an 'injury prone' label and nobody truly knows what they have there.

I'm not sure what else the Pats could've done. You don't trade Brady to clear a space for a guy like Garapollo who, apart from Patriot hype, hasn't shown a ton. And you don't just dump your backup when you have a 40 year old starter.

I think the Patriots have handled it fine.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I think they'd have traded Garapollo had they gotten a 2nd round offer for him. The rumors were that they wouldn't even take a 1st but that was an obvious smokescreen.

We'll never know, but Belichick has never been loathe to trade a player, let alone a backup QB, in the past (hell, he traded Brissett right before the season started). Had he been able to get a mid 2nd for JG, he'd have done it.

But Garapollo is starting to get an 'injury prone' label and nobody truly knows what they have there.

I'm not sure what else the Pats could've done. You don't trade Brady to clear a space for a guy like Garapollo who, apart from Patriot hype, hasn't shown a ton. And you don't just dump your backup when you have a 40 year old starter.

I think the Patriots have handled it fine.

Say they traded Jimmy G for at worst a 2nd and a conditional mid-rounder before the start of 2017. Then Brady blows his ACL against the Chiefs, forcing Brisset (or better yet some shiftless vet FA) to start. They go 4-12 or worse, they'll be in a better position to draft a dude that you can justify sitting a few years to wait out Brady's swan song.

If he doesn't get hurt then it doesn't really matter that they don't have Jimmy G anyway.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Say they traded Jimmy G for at worst a 2nd and a conditional mid-rounder before the start of 2017. Then Brady blows his ACL against the Chiefs, forcing Brisset (or better yet some shiftless vet FA) to start. They go 4-12 or worse, they'll be in a better position to draft a dude that you can justify sitting a few years to wait out Brady's swan song.

If he doesn't get hurt then it doesn't really matter that they don't have Jimmy G anyway.

"eh **** it, it'll make it easier to rebuild..." is not an acceptable attitude for a defending Super Bowl champion who'd added to their defense and had aspirations to repeat.

Not, it's not likely that JG would take them to a championship, but that was still a team that added weapons in several key areas. Garapollo can win 10-11 games with that team much like Cassel did.

It's not okay to write a season off when you're in the midst of a dynastic run. That's a losers mentality and one that we fell into when we were so desperate to get a QBOTF. For the Chiefs, it's a fair outlook and justifiable approach. For a team that's made more Super Bowls than it's missed over the last decade, that's not okay.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

I think the Patriots have totally misplayed the Brady - Garoppolo situation and they should be the case study on not to handle the QB position.

Way to overreact over one game.

[Discuss Thrower]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Way to overreact over one game.

Garoppolo should have been traded before this season began.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by Discuss Thrower

Garoppolo should have been traded before this season began.

Ah, no.

The main thing about Belichick is he's going to rip the bandaid off before it's too late.

What that means is Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the job in 2018 and Brady is released/traded/retires.

While fans obsess over hanging on to limpdick players, the elite teams stay one step ahead. Kraft has already given him the green light to dump Brady.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by BryanBusby

Ah, no.

The main thing about Belichick is he's going to rip the bandaid off before it's too late.

What that means is Jimmy Garoppolo is getting the job in 2018 and Brady is released/traded/retires.

While fans obsess over hanging on to limpdick players, the elite teams stay one step ahead. Kraft has already given him the green light to dump Brady.

That's yet to be seen. Yeah he can dump players before they drop off a cliff....but can he do it to the most important player on the team? Will he be able to do it and deal with the blowback from fans when it's time to dump Brady? Or will he just ride off into the sunset with Brady and go out on top?

[Sassy Squatch]

I hope it happens just to see the kicking and screaming on CP.

[Black Bob]

You know what's gonna happen right? Things will be handled the Chiefs way. We will let Alex go and sign Drew Brees to start for a couple years. Lol

[DaneMcCloud]

The cracks in Belichick's armor are beginning to show and very soon, Brady won't be able to cover those mistakes.

He's had the greatest QB in NFL history for the past 16 seasons, which has made it easier to create a roster of "JAG's" as opposed to truly talented offensive and defensive players. He can get away Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and players of that ilk but once they have a non-HOF QB, he'll need to invest draft capital and free agent money into talented offensive and defensive players.

The game will change completely for the Patriots at that point and it'll be interesting to see if Belichick can adjust. Based on his recent trades and dumps (Kony Ealy, Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones), his arrow is pointing down.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

The cracks in Belichick's armor are beginning to show and very soon, Brady won't be able to cover those mistakes.

He's had the greatest QB in NFL history for the past 16 seasons, which has made it easier to create a roster of "JAG's" as opposed to truly talented offensive and defensive players. He can get away Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola and players of that ilk but once they have a non-HOF QB, he'll need to invest draft capital and free agent money into talented offensive and defensive players.

The game will change completely for the Patriots at that point and it'll be interesting to see if Belichick can adjust. Based on his recent trades and dumps (Kony Ealy, Jamie Collins and Chandler Jones), his arrow is pointing down.

Plus Brady's contract has always allowed him to add free agents he normally wouldn't be able to

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by O.city

Plus Brady's contract has always allowed him to add free agents he normally wouldn't be able to

Yeah, there are all kinds of factors in play but from my perspective, Belichick has made some mistakes the past few years and those will only be magnified when Brady's play inevitably declines and/or he's traded or retired.

There's no way that the current Patriots roster wouldn't be better if they had kept Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. They have a lack of edge rushers which will likely lead to their downfall.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Yeah, there are all kinds of factors in play but from my perspective, Belichick has made some mistakes the past few years and those will only be magnified when Brady's play inevitably declines and/or he's traded or retired.

There's no way that the current Patriots roster wouldn't be better if they had kept Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. They have a lack of edge rushers which will likely lead to their downfall.

Bill is one of those coaches that likes to think he's better than everyone else and loves to do it with questionable moves.

[DJ's left nut]

Another consideration - Andy Dalton could easily be traded. He has 3 years left on his deal at below market value for an average starting QB. He may well have burnt out in Cincy and they could be looking to blow it up.

He's more accomplished, younger, cheaper and under control for longer than Smith is.

So unless Smith kills it this season, why would a team prefer Smith to Dalton if they're looking for a veteran bridge to a younger QB? If you're the Jags and you can have Smith for a season or Dalton for 3 (with no guaranteed dollars still attached).

I don't think Smith will have much trade value.

[BryanBusby]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Another consideration - Andy Dalton could easily be traded. He has 3 years left on his deal at below market value for an average starting QB. He may well have burnt out in Cincy and they could be looking to blow it up.

He's more accomplished, younger, cheaper and under control for longer than Smith is.

So unless Smith kills it this season, why would a team prefer Smith to Dalton if they're looking for a veteran bridge to a younger QB? If you're the Jags and you can have Smith for a season or Dalton for 3 (with no guaranteed dollars still attached).

I don't think Smith will have much trade value.

Andy Dalton is a younger Alex. They are both the definitly average, just different flavors.

Andy is only as good as the talent around him while Alex is Alex regardless of talent.