AFC East.. did Patriots win offseason, too ? ? ?

[kelly]

It's time to reflect on the 2017 offseason. There are a few stray veterans left in the free-agent pool, and teams could still execute something unexpected if injuries arise, but organizations have mostly closed their checkbooks and built the rosters they're going to take onto the field in September.Of course, we can know only so much right now. This time last year, there was no way anybody knew that the Cowboys had drafted a franchise quarterback. Kyle Shanahan was lucky to have survived the offseason in Atlanta as an offensive coordinator, let alone be considering head-coaching roles.

At the same time, we can look at what each team's goals were (or should have been) heading into March and gain a sense of whether they did enough to address those concerns. In most cases, we can also plot out what they have to do before hitting Week 1.We'll run division by division over the next two weeks. Let's start with the Super Bowl champs and begin with the AFC East, which was perhaps surprisingly as full of turnover as any group in the league :

To go directly to your favorite team, click the links below :

Bills | Dolphins | Patriots | Jets

 

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New England Patriots

What went right

They maximized their short-term window around Tom Brady. It's weird to say for a team that just won the Super Bowl, but the Patriots conducted most of this offseason like they want to build the best team possible over the next two seasons, as opposed to building a team that is more likely to be great four or five years down the line. It explains their move to trade a first-round pick for Brandin Cooks, who is signed for the next two years at a total of just over $9.2 million. It justifies their aggressive decision to head into free agency and sign Gilmore in lieu of replacing Logan Ryan with a draft pick. They traded for or signed guys in their prime, including Dwayne Allen, Lawrence Guy and Kony Ealy.

Crucially, they also held onto Malcolm Butler instead of trading him before the cornerback leaves in free agency, as the Patriots did with contemporaries Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins last year. It will likely cost the Patriots a couple of rounds of draft value -- they would likely have recouped the 32nd pick from the Saints and will get a max of a third-round pick as a compensatory selection -- but Butler and Gilmore could be the anchors of the best secondary Bill Belichick has had in New England.

They brought back Dont'a Hightower. Allowing a player to evaluate his options in free agency can be a dangerous game, but the Patriots let Devin McCourty explore the market before bringing him back and did the same with Hightower. The inside linebacker market never really developed, which isn't necessarily a surprise, but Hightower's versatility and knack for big plays make him a critical component of this defense. He's likely worth more to the Patriots than he is to any other team in the league.

The critical components of Belichick's coaching staff stuck around. Going to the Super Bowl made it easier, but every year Belichick gets to spend with Josh McDaniels is a plus. Dante Scarnecchia wasn't going to leave for another team, but the legendary offensive line coach didn't sneak back into retirement after winning another ring, which could make all the difference in terms of protecting Brady in 2017.

 

What went wrong

They didn't trade Jimmy Garoppolo. It's totally defensible to hold onto Garoppolo, of course, but it's the one move that doesn't fit with the win-now philosophy. Millions of words have already been spilled about the backup quarterback, and it's unlikely that the Patriots got anything close to the sort of massive haul they were reportedly requesting in trade.Now what, though? The arguments that the Patriots needed Garoppolo in case of a Brady injury were flimsy, given that Brady has missed time due to injury once in his career, and the Patriots could easily have signed Brian Hoyer or a similar backup to provide competency if Brady had been hurt again. The Patriots have $19 million free in 2018 and could franchise Garoppolo to keep him around, but that's with Butler, Ealy, Nate Solder, Julian Edelman, Rob Ninkovich and Dion Lewis all hitting unrestricted free agency. If Garoppolo signed the tender, the Patriots would be in serious cap trouble.

Garoppolo's value could erode dramatically. He could be mediocre if given the chance to play in a larger sample. He could move into the lineup and suffer another injury, suggesting that he won't hold up to a starter's workload. A reasonable chunk of his value would have come by virtue of the bargain-basement $1.1 million cap hit Garoppolo was due in 2017, which won't be the case in years to come.Chances are this will all work out just fine for the Patriots; teams are desperate enough for quarterbacks to give Mike Glennon $18.5 million in guaranteed money and bail on the plan a couple of months later. Maybe they know something about Brady's career timeline that we don't. For a team that seems to be gearing up to (continue to) win over the next two seasons, though, holding onto Garoppolo is more surprising than it might seem to just about any other team in the league.

They didn't add a cheap pass-rusher looking for a ring. Chris Long wasn't a superstar in New England last season, but the former Rams standout came up with a few big plays and was an effective rotation end at the bargain-basement price of $2.4 million. The Pats did address defensive end by adding Guy and trading for Ealy, but nobody would complain if they had convinced somebody such as Julius Peppers or the retiring DeMarcus Ware to finish with a year in Foxboro.

What's next?

Adding one of those ring-chasing veterans. The Patriots have a long history of bringing in veterans and moving on when they don't work out in camp -- some poor fan out there has John Lynch, Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt Patriots jerseys -- but there are enough names on the market for the Pats to pursue. Elvis Dumervil would be a feasible pass-rush flyer. Vance Walker is versatile and was effective before he tore his ACL last summer and missed the season. Darrelle Revis and Sam Shields are still free agents.

Grade: B

New York Jets

What went right

They (mostly) went all-in with their rebuild. The worst thing the Jets could have done would have been to half-commit to a plan and keep players around for old time's sake. That didn't happen. Among others, the Jets dumped Brandon Marshall, Nick Mangold and Darrelle Revis, moves that might have seemed unthinkable as recently as this time last year. With Matt Forte's contract mostly guaranteed, the only high-priced veteran additions left standing are Eric Decker and Buster Skrine.The Jets then traded down four times in the draft to acquire much-needed extra picks for a roster almost entirely bereft of young talent. It's still important to develop those new additions, but if any team in the league needed to draft nine players, it was Gang Green. Going after secondary pieces who will play critical roles in Todd Bowles' defensive scheme, such as safeties Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye, doesn't hurt matters.

They attempted to supplement their offensive line. If there's a place for a rebuilding team to spend, it's up front, where a good offensive line can help cover for mediocre quarterback play. The Jets released Mangold and Ryan Clady, but they could very well be better up front in 2017. They were able to re-sign Ben Ijalana and Brian Winters, the latter of whom has matured into an above-average guard after struggling mightily earlier in his career. They also replaced Clady with Kelvin Beachum, who wasn't effective while playing his way back from a torn ACL in Jacksonville but should be better another year removed from the injury. Given the price of offensive linemen this year in free agency, the Jets didn't break the bank to try to piece together a competent line for 2017.

What went wrong

They signed Josh McCown to play quarterback. It's hard to see the logic in adding McCown, who has been a replacement-level passer over his career, besides one magical half-season in Chicago four years ago. McCown also struggles to stay on the field, so he isn't even a reliably healthy mediocre quarterback. The argument in favor of McCown -- as is always the case for old, white quarterbacks -- is that he'll bring along New York's young passers as a mentor, but it's bunk. McCown has been in the league long enough to mentor JaMarcus Russell, Matt Moore, Caleb Hanie, Mike Glennon, Johnny Manziel and Cody Kessler, and none appears to be better off for the privilege.Coaches and players making the veteran minimum (such as the still available Luke McCown) can also mentor quarterbacks, but the Jets are paying Josh McCown $6 million to do it. As bad as the Jets' other options are, they aren't going anywhere with McCown under center. They're better off taking a risk on a veteran with any sort of upside or handing the job over to the combo of Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg.

The Jets still haven't done anything about the tight end spot. Having punted tight end seemingly for years, this would have been a great offseason for the Jets to try to find a safety valve for whomever ends up playing quarterback in 2016. That didn't happen. Mike Maccagnan used a fifth-round pick on Jordan Leggett, but it'll be Leggett and the oft-frustrating Austin Seferian-Jenkins competing for the starting job under new offensive coordinator John Morton.

What's next?

Inquiring about Colin Kaepernick. It's possible that the Jets might be committed to McCown, but Kaepernick is unquestionably the better player and is certainly the passer with higher upside. If the price is right -- and by now, it likely would be -- bringing Kaepernick into camp would be a low-risk, high-reward move.

Grade: C+

>     http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/page/Barnwell2017GradesAFCEast/bill-barnwell-2017-nfl-offseason-report-card-free-agency-draft-afc-east-buffalo-bills-miami-dolphins-new-england-patriots-new-york-jets

 

 

[Integrity28]

Patriots beat us in May + Kapernick

This article is strong in the double-down trolling ~~~~~~~~~~~dept~~~~~~~~~

 

[Jetdawgg]

What's next?

Inquiring about Colin Kaepernick. It's possible that the Jets might be committed to McCown, but Kaepernick is unquestionably the better player and is certainly the passer with higher upside. If the price is right -- and by now, it likely would be -- bringing Kaepernick into camp would be a low-risk, high-reward move.

 

Makes a great deal of sense. This team may not be competitive within the AFCE at the QB position. The McC contract is an outrage and a slap in the face to Jets fans. 

[HighPitch]

No no no no kap. Never. We dont antifa on our team. 

For gods sake evaluate the young guys and keep mcclown benched