Despair In New England
March 17th, 2022
“Who are you Santa Claus, Bill?”
Joe always enjoys a good fan freakout when it doesn’t involve Tampa Bay and it’s a feel-good thing for the Bucs.
The Bucs coughing up a fifth-round pick to the Belicheats for an established right guard in Shaq Mason this week had Joe headed to Boston sports radio and websites for feedback.
Overall, Joe found disbelief that the Patriots GM and head coach, Bill Belicheat, would dump Mason from his playoff team and its young Pro Bowl quarterback.
Joe’s favorite line came from the Patriots’ official website. Yeah, the team freakin’ website. “On the surface it was a horrible deal.”
There also was disbelief on a WEEI Radio blog. “Bill Belichick must be setting up the Patriots for something big. That’s the only plausible explanation for trading Shaq Mason to the Buccaneers for a fifth-round pick. The move creates a giant hole on the offensive line and makes the Patriots worse.”
Joe heard of the Mason trade and immediately thought of the Bucs trading with the Patriots for Pro Bowl left guard Logan Mankins in 2014 for a backup tight end and a fourth-round pick.
That worked out well. Mankins was a Bucs Pro Bowler the following season before retiring, and he left a lasting impact on Ali Marpet and Donovan Smith.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:22 am
Head scratcher to say the least!
March 17th, 2022 at 11:28 am
I remember a quote from Belicheat from back in the day. It went something like “I would rather get rid a player a year too early than a year too late.” The Brady and mason stuff just doesn’t make sense to me tho.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:30 am
Still can’t believe Tim Wright never became anything in New England. He looked more than halfway decent with Mike freakin’ Glennon at QB, I was sure Brady was gonna turn him into the next superstar.
Glad I was wrong!
March 17th, 2022 at 11:33 am
Crazy thing was Belicheat used one of his 4th round picks in 2015 to select Shaq Mason. He had 3 in the 4th round that year (one of which was from Tampa for Mankins but did not want to look far enough into it to see if it was exactly Shaq on that pick where the bucs would have been).
March 17th, 2022 at 11:37 am
I’m not sure anyone is qualified to question Bill Bellicheat. I’m glad he made the trade, but he has his reasons. I’m sure he will find a suitable replacement. Their lines have always been strong.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:39 am
Shaq Mason is the equivalent of Ali Marpet. I still don’t quite believe it, I would have thought Belichick could have done better than a late 5th round pick when he shopped Mason around.
From a cap perspective, it made some sense as I think they’re going to plug Mike Onwenu in as an RG. Onwenu projects to be a quality starting guard.
From a football perspective, it’s a WTF moment. Mac Jones was getting the crap kicked out of him last season. To his credit, he stood tall in the pocket despite the beatings. If anything you’d think New England would work at giving him better protection. Instead, Belichick is going to have to replace two starting guards, a starting RT, and perhaps a high-quality backup at OT as their LT struggles to stay healthy.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:40 am
Huge move that bucs dont have to make now in draft
Belly helping out his boy Tommy
March 17th, 2022 at 11:45 am
Maybe he’s gunning for Watson….
March 17th, 2022 at 11:48 am
Belicheat must be using saber metrics. LOL.
March 17th, 2022 at 11:50 am
I’m suspicious because it’s Belicheat. Maybe Bill has a Tarot card reader who foretold that Mason would go postal one day at a team meeting and thought the Bucs would be the best place for that.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:01 pm
Has anyone ever thought that perhaps Bill’s not as sharp as he used to be?
March 17th, 2022 at 12:05 pm
SKBucsFan … nailed it.
Don’t question Bill. He’s the smartest guy in the room.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:09 pm
The only thing I can think of is that they are planning to move up a couple of spots for a Guard and figure they can package this 5th rounder in the trade up and save money against the cap.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:13 pm
Gunning for Watson?
As in Desaun?
Looks like DW will be a Falcon to me.
Makes sense too. Better fit at QB for both teams.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:16 pm
Bellicheat…the gift that keeps on giving.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:25 pm
As a pats fan, it’s funny to see all the Belicheat references, but guess you’re all ok with Tom “Deflatey” Brady…bit hypocritical don’t you think?????
March 17th, 2022 at 12:26 pm
I was surprised when we only gave up a 5th round pick! But you never know what went on behind closed doors in New England. Seems like he fell out of favor there maybe but glad we got him for a very low pick. Saves us from pulling the plug early on a draft pick there. Now go build that Defense!
March 17th, 2022 at 12:27 pm
951, that old quote from belichick gets way too much traction. Give me an example of one that actually worked well? Even Richard Seymour from back in the day was quite productive with the raiders. He unloaded Jamie Collins for the same reason but yet they resigned him several years later! We all know about Brady. And now there’s Mason. Where are all the great success stories with him unloading a player and then having that player take a dump with his new team?
March 17th, 2022 at 12:32 pm
@007
Don’t think I am defending bill. I was simply quoting the dude.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:33 pm
This is much better than the Mankins trade although Mankins is a superior player.
Mankins was older & really didn’t want to move…
We gave up a decent player and a 4th rounder 2nd pick……in 2015 for Mankins
This year….the 28th pick in the 5th round…….that is 101 vs 170….a huge difference.
Mason was Brady approved…….Mankins wasn’t.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:35 pm
PhilR — as a Pats fan…..WTF are you doing hanging around a Bucs site? Lost love? Both hypocritical and pathetic methinks.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:45 pm
Bill is only average as A GM. Look at the list of guys he let go early and he got burned a lot. You just never heard about the bad moves. There are a lot of ex patriots who have done pretty good after they left Bill. He also is below average at drafting. IMO Bill is a great defensive coach who got lucky when Brady dropped in his lap. Brady would take less money and Bill would spend it on his defense, because he sure didn’t spend it on receivers or running backs.
March 17th, 2022 at 12:47 pm
Common sense that most Pats fans go where Tom Fraudulentl goes aka fake retirement bc of Arians. Bill without Tom is even more of a fraud than Tom is as a person using his family as a prop when he never wanted to retire. I’d rather disgusting and a bad look but Tom isn’t a normal person. When are you guys gonna address your league worst secondary? Thought for sure you’d have brought in Jackson. Address that and your pass rush and you could be legit contenders again. But hey least you have a great O again: 👍 Go rams.😎
March 17th, 2022 at 12:51 pm
Suffering- I nearly spit my drink out reading that! Hilarious!
March 17th, 2022 at 12:57 pm
And Tom didn’t cheat lol. The text messages with the two attendants that vanished without a trace and the golden child’s destroying of his phone like a child was even more damning than the football air controversy. Was the heart of the case most ignore. Tom cheated ‘nuff said. Payton did with his steroid neck issue but they conveniently said it was all his wife’s because he didn’t win multiple super bowls. That’s the NFL. It doesn’t mean we all didn’t know what was going on. It happens. Get used to it, but crapping on one fraud over saying your fraud isn’t guilty is hilarious. But least your franchise is legit now but don’t kid yourself. Tommy cheated too. They all did. That’s football.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
The Belicheats are taking BC OG Zion Johnson at #21…Book it!
Will plug Zion into the starting line up & save ~$5M on 2022 Cap in the process….That’s why he moved a proven asset in Mason – w/ 2yrs & $16M left on his deal.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:12 pm
Maybe Belichik looks at it purely from a cost perspective. This player originally cost a 4th rd pick that they only received as a trade for something else they really wanted? So to move on from Shaq he feels not much is invested. And he gets back 5th round pick he can use to trade up and potentially improve the position. Or they have someone on the roster to replace him. And they were planning on replacing him for whatever reasoning? I dunno it’s a head scratcher for sure.
In reality it’s probably way simpler. Something stupid like the two teams wanted the trade but couldn’t agree on specifics so they tossed a coin and New England lost.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:15 pm
catcard202 Says:
March 17th, 2022 at 1:04 pm
The Belicheats are taking BC OG Zion Johnson at #21…Book it!
Maybe…..just maybe Zion won’t be there at 21….
Could have traded him after the pick….could have made that deal with many teams…..easily.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:24 pm
951, didn’t mean to point that directly at you, my bad. But yes, I’ve heard that quote a hundred times and there’s nothing behind it.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:36 pm
My only worry is that there is some injury we don’t know about, ala JR Sweezy.
Before Mankins, the Pats always got the better of us in trades. And at least with Mankins, everyone knew he was close to done. But Mason is still so young… it’s bizarre but hopefully we just got a good deal! Maybe Pats trying to clear cap space for an even bigger signing / trade?
March 17th, 2022 at 1:37 pm
PassingThru Says:
March 17th, 2022 at 11:39 am
Shaq Mason is the equivalent of Ali Marpet.
———-
NOT… Shaq is pretty good, it sounds like, but also is a player on the decline if you’re to believe Patriots fans, even ones that think this was an awful trade say Shaq had peaked in like 2018 or something.
He’s not the equivalent of Marpet, who should have been a year-in, year-out ALL PRO player. He is, however, a nice upgrade to Cappa, even if he’s a bit on the decline.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:44 pm
Big Jimbo, why did Brady smash his phone? Remember the first time he let them go through it a little later the story came out that Brady had texted someone about Peyton Manning being done as a football player? Well that was taken off his phone when the NFL had his phone. So you think maybe Brady had more stuff on his phone he didn’t want leaked out? Come up north here some day. Check your air pressure when your tires are warm, let’s say 35 psi. Now check when they cool down. Probably around 32 psi.
March 17th, 2022 at 1:46 pm
If Beli cheated, doesn’t that mean Brady cheated too?
March 17th, 2022 at 2:07 pm
@Rod Munch
Not remotely true, they are remarkably similar in overall effectiveness. Both are solid in pass protection, and both excel at run blocking. In the latter, Mason is arguably the best in the business. Marpet was slightly sturdier though he did miss some time last season, and Marpet has an edge in athleticism. In overall effectiveness, they are remarkably similar.
I’ve watched both players for years. Marpet had a small edge overall, to the point where they could have been interchangeable (discounting the fact that they lined up opposite sides of the Center.
Since when did you start listening to whining fans after they know their team screwed up a trade?
I know Belichick did it to increase cap space, they have a very capable (and cheap) OG waiting in the wings. The Patriots have been miserable on Days 1 & 2 of the NFL draft, and are looking at an aging roster. Bill overspent on some mediocre free agents last offseason, and he realizes he’s going to have to do that again this offseason.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:11 pm
Phil, I to am a Pat’s fan just not a Belichick fan. Riddle me this though, what the hell is he doing? No OC, Trent Brown leaving, Karass gone and Mason? Losing 3 offensive linemen? At the end of this season Mac Jones is going to look like he went 5 rounds with Chandler Jones brother MMA Champion John Jones. Burrows will have nothing on this guy after the beatens he’s about to take. Phil I guess you choose to ignore the news about Troy Vincent with holding information that would of cleared Brady. It appears the NFL cheated.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:17 pm
The easiest position to find on offense is probably offensive guard. Just for starters Cappa and Marpet were D3 players. Hell Benenoch was playing. Stennie played for Cappa. I’m sure Hainsey will be in the mix somewhere. I’m thinking Belichick thinks he can replace that position with a cheaper model.
Nothing really to see here.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:48 pm
PassingThru Says:
March 17th, 2022 at 2:07 pm
@Rod Munch
Not remotely true, they are remarkably similar in overall effectiveness. Both are solid in pass protection, and both excel at run blocking. In the latter, Mason is arguably the best in the business.
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I hope you’re right, I’d love that to be true. In any case, at the very least, he’s really good and I doubt as fans we’ll ever notice him – which is a great thing for offensive lineman. Also Licht was able to get, at worst, a good starter for a 5th rounder – and clearly upgraded over what Cappa brought to the table. That’s huge since a lot people were thinking you needed to spend a 1st and 2nd on guards to sure things up, and even then you’re betting on two rookies.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
Belicheat almost always gets trades right. He has dumped a bunch of guys who didn’t look washed up, only for everyone else to find out that they were ashed up.
Maybe O-line guys are his Achilles Tendon, hope so, we did need at least one other good lineman. Could use one or two more in the draft.
March 17th, 2022 at 2:53 pm
Listnfrmafar – I wonder if Bill just wants huge giants on the offensive line and is just going to run the ball 80% of the time. It wouldn’t shock me if he completely changes his scheme to try to outthink everyone else. I thought a couple of years ago when he got Newton that was the plan, just come out, run, run and run some more.
What if Bill has wanted to run a run-first offense since he got to NE, but had Bledsoe at QB, but figured he was old, was going to age out, then he’d get a young mobile QB, only to fall into Brady, and against his will he’s been running a shotgun offense. Now, finally, we’re going to see what he’s been wanting to do this entire time…
March 17th, 2022 at 2:55 pm
Craig Says:
March 17th, 2022 at 2:49 pm
Belicheat almost always gets trades right. … Maybe O-line guys are his Achilles Tendon
————–
Well, one thing is for sure, the offensive line is where Licht has excelled in terms of evaluating talent.
March 17th, 2022 at 4:08 pm
You guys, seriously! Remember, everything, EVERYTHING is “alleged”. Besides, “cheating” is just another way of trying harder!!!
LOL!
March 17th, 2022 at 4:41 pm
^
“If you ain’t cheatin, you ain’t tryin.”
March 17th, 2022 at 5:12 pm
BigJim you are nuts. You obviously didn’t see Brady’s interview with Oprah when he delved into “deflategate”. You also seem to think that Tom would be happy winning a game that he cheated in. That is totally ridiculous to me, knowing him the way I think I do.
March 17th, 2022 at 5:18 pm
Rod, he is letting Trent Brown go, they don’t come much bigger than him.
March 17th, 2022 at 9:10 pm
There’s always initial “despair” in NE after the many typical Belichick jettisons of good players, but there are always ulterior motives that often pan out. Revisit these “shocking” decisions and Belichick gets the last laugh. So, no despair, really.
March 17th, 2022 at 10:16 pm
For all his greatness the hoodie will sometimes go sour on a player and stick with it no matter what. Even in a Super Bowl (against the Eagles) when your best corner is Malcolm Butler but he would not let him play. He’d rather lose a super bowl than go back on a grudge with a player. So maybe Bill got sour on Shaq. And it is as if he is trying to humiliate the player for trading him for next to nothing. For example see Chandler Jones and Jamie Collins. If an adult was the GM of the Patriots, instead of a vindictive child, they could have been a lot better in the last two decades, and that is a scary thought.